Pismo KBSA Članovima Kluba Prijatelja Bosne i Hercegovine u Američkom Kongresu

 

Pismo KBSA Članovima Kluba Prijatelja Bosne i Hercegovine u Američkom Kongresu

 

May 4, 2011

 

Pišem vam u ime Kongresa Bošnjaka Sjeverne Amerike izražavajući svoju zabrinutost u vezi trenutne političke pat pozicije u Bosni i Hercegovini. Naša organizacija zastupa interese preko 300,000 Amerikanaca bosansko-hercegovačkog porijekla koji žive u vašim distriktima. Većina nas je došla kao prognanici zbog srpskog rata i agresije na Bosnu i Hercegovinu (BiH) nastalim poslije proglašenja neovisnosti BiH 1992-ge godine. Poslije pada komunizma BiH je priznata od strane SAD i meÄ‘unarodne zajednice poslije provedenog referenduma i glasanja da se ova mlada demokratska i suverena nacija osnuje na principima jednakosti prava svih graÄ‘ana i u njenim historijskim granicama. Na žalost, ova mlada i ranjiva demokratija je podlegla organiziranoj politici mržnje brutalnog srbijanskog diktatora Slobodana Miloševića i njegovih pomagača Radovana Karadžića i Ratka Mladića i drugih srpskih ekstremista i ratnih zločinaca koji su ovu politiku sprovodili u djelo u BiH.

 

Posljedica ove genocidne srpske politke je bio pokolj hiljada nevinih žrtava rezultirajući u bosanskom genocidu čije je izvršenje počelo tačno prije 19 godina u aprilu 1992-ge godine. Više od 15,000 civila je poginulo samo u Sarajevu, hiljade žena su sistematski silovane širom zemlje, i više od 8,000 ljudi su pobijeni od strane srpskih paravojnih i vojnih formacija u samo nekoliko dana za vrijeme genocida u Srebrenici.

 

Sa svježe urezanim sjećanjima na rat, Bosanci i Hercegovci su i biće zauvijek zahvalni SAD i administraciji predsjednika Klintona koji su intervenirali kada nitko drugi nije imao hrabrosti niti političke volje da zaustavi rat vojnom intervencijom i pregovorima doÄ‘e do rješenja u vidu Dajtonskog sporazuma iz 1995e. Rezultat rata su bili milioni lica raseljenih po čitavom svijetu, koji i dan danas pokušavaju da se vrate u normalno stanje i dobio svoje prijašnje domove. O ovo se računa i 300,000 Bosanaca koji sada žive u svojoj novoj domovini SAD, ali se i dalje brinu o zemlji u kojoj su roÄ‘eni i gdje im još uvijek žive roÄ‘aci i prijatelji.

 

Najveći izazov sa trenutnim stanjem u post-dejtonskoj BiH su nedostatak osnovnih uvijeta za demokratiju i garantovanje ljudskih prava, pogotovo u manjem entitetu, kao i strah da će se nasilje ponoviti. Ovaj strah je opravdan ako se uzme u obzir obnavljanje ultra-nacionalističke retorike, posebno od strane Milorada Dodika, koji se i dalje suprostavlja meÄ‘unarodnoj zajednici i ruši sve pokušaje bosansko-hercegovačke euro-atlantske integracije, tj. članstvo u EUropskoj Uniji i NATO-u. Ovo je sve moguće zbog nedostatka izvršavanja zadatih smjernica zacrtanih Dejtonskim sporazumom koji je okončao rat. Milorad Dodik i oni koji ga podržavaju i dalje ignorišu Ured Visokog Predstavnika i suprostavljaju se Uredu Visokog Predstavnika, koji je stvoren Dejtonskim sporazumom kao europsko nadzorno tijelo, sa ciljem da nastave sa politikom nacionalnog ekstremizma da bi paralizovali zemlju u nadi da će dovršiti djelo Miloševića i Karadžića.

 

Ciljevi srpskih ekstremista su još uvijek isti: 1) završiti započeti genocid i etničko čišÄ‡enje na 49% teritorije BiH, 2) secesija ovih teritorija i prisvojenje istih od strane Srbije. Prvi cilj je već ostvaren kroz nasilje i obstrukciju povratka izbjeglica kroz intimidaciju i retoriku punu mržnje. Drugi cilj pokušava Milorad Dodik da ostvari podrivanjem suvereniteta države BiH, obstrukcijom procesa mirne rekonciliacije, i odbijanjem da učestvuje u potrebnim i korisnim reformama koje bi ujedinile sve BiH graÄ‘ane bez obzira na etničku ili vjersku pripadnost. Najnovija provokacija je progurivanje takozvanog zakona o referendumu kojim se otvoreno odbija prihvatanje autoriteta i nadležnosti bosanskog pravosuÄ‘a. Visoki Predstavnik Valentin Inzko je proglasio ovaj akt nevažećim po Dejtonskom sporazumu i meÄ‘unarodnom zakonu. SAD i njeni NATO i EU saveznici bi se trebali potruditi da BiH ne bude opet povučena u ponor rata i nasilja od strane srpskih ekstremista.

 

Mi zahtjevamo i nadamo se da će SAD imati značajniju i aktivniju ulogu po ovom pitanju i spriječiti novu nepravdu u našoj domovini. Spoljna politika izbjegavanja sukoba sa ekstremistima se historijski pokazala neispravnom i lošom za sigurnost budućih generacija tako da si ne možemo dopustiti da se ponovo desi ista stvar. Većina graÄ‘ana BiH žele iste stvari kao i Amerikanci koji ih već imaju: život u mirnom i demokratskom društvu sa istim pravima za sve, bez obzira na vjeru i etničku pripadnost, prosperitet kroz europsku integraciju i globalno povezanu ekonomiju, i mir koji bi bio dugoročno garantiran kroz članstvo u EU i NATO-u. Po izjavama State Departmenta, ovo su ciljevi koji su od strateškog interesa za SAD, ali ne na žalost ne radi dovoljno ne postizanju i ostvarivanju ovih ciljeva.

 

Protivno onom što bi Milorad Dodik htio da uvjeri druge ljude, ostvarivanje ovih ciljeva nije nemoguće. ÄŒvrsto vjerujemo da su ovo univerzalni ciljevi koji se mogu ostvariti kroz proces potpomognut od strane meÄ‘unarodne zajednice, ponajviše kroz aktivnu ulogu SAD i EU. Nekoliko ključnih koraka vodi ka ostvarenju ovih ciljeva:

 

1. Organizacija međunarodne konferencije o ustavnim i demokratskim reformama Bosne i Hercegovine (slično Dejtonskoj koferenciji); ovu je ideju nedavno promovirao i kongresmen Majkl Turner (R-OH),

 

a. reforme se moraju fokusirati na principima glasanja zasnovanim na jednakim pravima svih građana i ukidanju glasanja na etničkom principu koje podriva demokratske institucije,

 

2. Osnivanje jasnih smjernica i institucija koje će osigurati reforme i euro-atlantsku integraciju,

 

3. Garantovanje stabiliteta i sigurnosti povratka prognanika da bi se izbjeglo osnivanje etnički podjeljenih oblasti.

 

Poštovani članovi Kongresa i dokazani prijatelji Bosne i Hercegovine, ne samo kroz vaše članstvo u Klubu prijatelja BiH nego i kroz dodatno zalaganje, koje će se, mi se nadamo, pokazati i ovaj put kada se založite za rješavanje političke pat pozicije u BiH, i time omogućite dugoročnu održivost, mir i stabilnost svih graÄ‘ana BiH.

 

Unaprijed vam dajemo našu zahvalnost i pružamo svesrdnu pomoć kao predstavnici bosanskohercegovačke-američke zajednice. Voljni smo da se sastanemo ovim povodom i da razgovaramo o detaljima ovih ciljeva.

 

S poštovanjem,

 

Mr. Haris Alibašić Predsjednik Upravnog Odbora KBSA

 

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CNAB Letter to Members of the Bosnian Caucus in the U.S. Congress

 

May 2, 2011

 

To the Honorable Members of the Bosnian Caucus in the United States Congress:

 

On behalf of the Congress of North American Bosniaks, I am writing to express my concern regarding the current political stalemate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As an organization, we represent more than 300,000 proud Americans of Bosniak descent many of whom live in your districts. The majority of us came to this country as refugees, as a result of the Serbian war of aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina following Bosnia’s declaration of independence in 1992. After the fall of communist Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was recognized by the United States and the international community following a certified referendum vote as a democratic, sovereign nation based on its historical borders, with equal rights for all of its citizens. Unfortunately, the vulnerable young democracy fell victim to the politics of hatred organized by the brutal Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and his proxies Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and other Serb extremists and war criminals operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Consequently, hundreds of thousands died as victims of the Bosnian genocide that began exactly 19 years ago in April of 1992. More than 15,000 civilians perished in Sarajevo alone, thousands of women systematically raped across the country, and more than 8,000 people were slaughtered by Serb forces in a span of just a few days during the Srebrenica genocide.

 

With the memories of war still fresh, Bosnians are forever grateful to the United States and the Clinton administration for stepping in at a time when few had the courage or political will to help end the war with military intervention and negotiate an agreement in Dayton in 1996. As a result of the war, millions were displaced all over the world and have since struggled to find the normalcy needed to return to their previous homes. This includes more than 300,000 Bosnians who now reside in their new homeland of United States but who still deeply care about the country of their birth and the relatives who live there.

 

The main challenge to post-Dayton Bosnia is the obvious lack of democratic conditions and human rights, particularly in the Republika Srpska entity and the fear of a return to violence. These fears are legitimate given the return of ultra-nationalist rhetoric by the leading Serb politicians in Bosnia, most notably Milorad Dodik, who continues to defy the international community and obstruct the roadmap for Bosnia and Herzegovina for euro-Atlantic integration, memberships into the European Union and NATO. These actions are a result of severe deficiencies in the implementation of the Dayton accords which ended the war. Milorad Dodik and his supporters choose to defy and ignore the Office of the High Representative which was established as a European regulatory body in the Dayton accords, and purposely use extremist nationalist politics to paralyze the country in order to further the same agenda and roadmap that were drawn up by Milosevic and Karadzic.

 

The Serbian extremist agenda included and still contains the following summary of objectives: 1) conduct genocide and ethnic cleansing of 49% of territory of Bosnia, and 2) secession and annexation of those territories by Serbia. They accomplished the first objective through violence and obstruction of the process for return of refugees through intimidation and hateful rhetoric. The second objective is now being led by Milorad Dodik by undermining Bosnian sovereignty, obstructing the process for peaceful reconciliation, and refusing to participate in meaningful reforms that would unite the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation. Their most recent provocative act is the passing of the so called “referendum” act by the RS parliament which blatantly refuses to recognize the authority of the Bosnian courts. High Representative Valentin Inzko proclaimed this act to be illegal according to the Dayton agreement and international law. The United States and its NATO and European allies should not allow Bosnia to be taken down a perilous road once again with actions of nationalist extremists.

 

We urge the United States government to take a significantly more active role and not allow hatred and injustice to prevail. The policies of appeasement have proven to be historically detrimental and we cannot afford to let it happen again. The majority of Bosnian citizens just want the same things that the American people already have: to live peacefully in a democratic society with equal rights for all regardless of ethnic background or religion, to prosper economically through integration in Europe and the global economy, and to ensure long-term peace and stability through EU and NATO membership. According to the State Department, these goals remain of key strategic interest to the United States, but not enough is being done tactically to facilitate progress.

 

Contrary to what Milorad Dodik and other extremists want us to believe, reaching these goals is not an impossible task. We believe these are universal goals that can be accomplished through a process facilitated by the international community, most notably active engagement of the United States and the European Union. There are several key steps that need to be taken:

 

1. Organize an international conference for constitutional and democratic reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (similar to the original Dayton conference); This idea was also recently proposed by Congressman Michael Turner (R-OH),

 

a. Reforms should focus on voting principles based on equal rights of all citizens and eliminate voting based on ethnic lines that undermine the democratic institutions ,

 

2. Establish a clear roadmap and institutions for real enforcement of reforms and steps towards euro-Atlantic integration,

 

3. Ensure stability and security and facilitate the return of refugees to avoid ethnically divided territories.

 

As respected members of the Congress and proven friends of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina through your membership in the Bosnian caucus, we ask you to take up this cause and immediately sponsor an effort to address the political stalemate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus ensuring hope for long-term viability, peace and stability for all of its citizens.

 

We thank you in advance and offer our assistance as representatives of the Bosnian American community. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss the proposals above in more detail.

 

Sincerely,

 

Haris Alibasic, MPA

President of the CNAB Board of Directors