CONTENT
1. Washington Office for Bosnia Welcomes the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”
2. Announcement of the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”
3. The Latest Development in Bosnia: People Have Rejected Once Again the Dayton Constitution
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1. Washington Office for Bosnia Welcomes the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”
Thanks for this announcement, Peter,
I extracted a quote from your Bosnia/Kosova announcement so amazing that I am responding to a Bosnian e-mail for the first time in years and even dug up some emails of our old “Bosnian and Kosovar hands.”
The announcement reports that “Almost daily calls are coming from various think-tanks and Congressional committees in Washington for de facto liquidation of the Republika Srpska (“Dayton II”) and for an even greater pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosova’s unilateral declaration of independence.”
I am not yet sure it is true, but I certainly hope so. (Why that might make sense for a new Obama/Hillary is described later in this e-mail)
We at the BSC and Washington Office for Bosnia were almost alone in fighting for the goal of abolishing Republika Srpska in the nineties after the fights over the embargo were over. It was our own Colleen London, who, while working in Prime Minister Ganic’s office, succinctly summed up the Dayton Accords in one sentence, “they had the abuser move in with the rape victim, so the property transfer would appear legal after she dies of her wounds.”
So these new “daily calls” for the abolition of Republika Srpska (a $10 billion property reward to the genocidal perpetrators) may possibly save the victim after all.
Even the Bosnians (except for the Bosnian Congress, an e-mail network of thousands of Bosnian diasporans) have thrown in the towel for a decade, except for a recent “abolish Srpska” announcement from Siladjic. (There seems to be some rhetoric for independent Kosova, but the US-backed diplomatic machinery of betrayal, with the acquiescence of American-Albanians, still grinds forward). So the alleged widespread calls, if they are in fact occurring, may constitute a victory for our multi-year effort for Bosnia, signaling a possible change in policy, and deserve our support.
I have recently been immersed in helping the Sudanese resistance fight oppression and genocide so I might have missed this good stuff. If anyone has any verification of these calls, I would appreciate hearing about it.
A note on the speakers - they seem to be one-sided, at least the half I’m familiar with: two Serb ultranationalists, two other persistent and effective pro-Serb ultranationalist Americans (Schindler and Jatras), and one Pat Buchanan type anti-interventionist think-tanker (Bandow). So eating a free lunch at their expense would be satisfying.
The Capitol Hill Club is a Republican venue and Jatras, the most notoriously pro-ultranationalist congressional staffer in Congress during the genocide, is also a life-long Republican.
Hillary could become Bosnia’s friend. As you may recall, during the campaign, she became famous for ducking Serb ultranationalist sniper fire while deplaning in Sarajevo :-).
On a more serious point, as Bill Clinton’s spouse, she may have learned enough about the issue to fix it, and possibly understand its usefulness as part of an administration strategy to repair America’s relationships with Muslims that goes beyond rhetoric. (Did our documents exposing the evils of the Dayton Accords - once posted on dozens of websites, many of them Islamic ones - get to Hillary?) . .
Andrew Eiva
Washington Office for Bosnia
PS: BTW, I will speak on the clash of bureaucratic obstacles versus grassroots ideals on Thursday, May 28 at 121 Caldwell Hall (80 yards northeast of the Basilica) at Catholic University (parking entrance near corner of Michigan Ave. and Harewood) to a Poli-Sci graduate studies class Thursday. It will be preceded by a showing of Charlie Wilson’s War, which touches on these issues, as I was a minor character in the book the movie was based on.
The following is the announcement of the conference:
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2. Announcement of the Conference “UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”
Please pass this information on to all potentially interested parties!
http://www.balkanstudies.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:conference-program-capitol-hill-Washington-dc-may-27&catid=36:forthcoming-events&Itemid=37
The Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies and The American Council for Kosovo
invite you to a conference
“UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”: RHETORIC, STRATEGY, IMPLICATIONS
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 12 NOON – 5 PM
CAPITOL HILL CLUB
300 First Street SE, Washington D.C. 20003
(The Club is directly opposite Capitol South Metro Station)
A major security issue facing Europe is the stated intention of the Obama Administration to play a more active role in the former Yugoslavia. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is committed to wrapping up what she calls “the unfinished business in the Balkans.” Almost daily calls are coming from various think-tanks and Congressional committees in Washington for de facto liquidation of the Republika Srpska (“Dayton II”) and for an even greater pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. To discuss the motives, implications, likely course, and possible results of such U.S. policy, we have assembled a panel of foreign policy experts, several of whom have just come back from Serbia and the Republika Srpska.
No cost to attendees, lunch provided.
You are also cordially invited to the reception to mark the Conference:
CAPITOL HILL CLUB
Tuesday, May 26, 6–8 p.m.
Open Bar
For all information please contact Terri Alder (202) 626-6625 talder@ssd.com
“UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THE BALKANS”
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Eisenhower Room, Capitol Hill Club, Washington D.C.
11:30 Registration
12:00 Welcoming remarks
Ambassador James Bissett, Chairman, The Lord Byron Foundation
12:15 Keynote address: Bosnia, America’s Unlearnt Lesson
Doug Bandow
12:45 Lunch
1:30 PANEL I: DEFINING THE PROBLEM, chaired by James George Jatras
Imperial Democracy in the Balkans
Gregory Davis
The European Union’s Imperfect Role
Ronald Hatchett
Do We Need “Dayton II”?
Steven Meyer
The Balkans and Global Jihad
William Lind
3:00 Coffee break
3:15 PANEL II: PREVENTING ANOTHER DISASTER, chaired by Ronald Hatchett
The Administration’s Balkan Gambit: Dangers, Strengths, Weaknesses
James George Jatras
A Canadian Solution to Bosnia’s Impasse?
James Bissett
Republika Srpska: Essential Part of Any Solution
Srdja Trifkovic
The Balkans and the War on Terrorism: Defending the American Interest
John Schindler
4:30 OPEN FORUM
5:00 Conference Closing
P A N E L I S T S
Ambassador James Bissett is Chairman of The Lord Byron Foundation, former head of Canada’s Immigration Service, and former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia
Dr. Doug Bandow is world affairs commentator, author (most recently) of Foreign Follies: America’s New Global Empire and former special assistant to President Reagan
Dr. Gregory M. Davis is the author of Religion of Peace? (2006) and co-director/producer of the documentary Islam: What the West Needs to Know
Dr. Ronald L. Hatchett, Col. USAF (Ret.), a senior DoD official under Reagan, is Director of the Center for Global Studies and professor of international relations at Schreiner University
James George Jatras is Director of The American Council for Kosovo and Deputy Director, American Institute in Ukraine. He is former Foreign Service officer and former senior analyst with the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee
William S. Lind is the leading authority on Fourth Generation Warfare, a prolific author, and Director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation
Dr. Steven Meyer is Professor of Political Science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University
Dr. John Schindler is Professor of Strategy at the Naval War College and the author of Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qaeda and the Rise of Global Jihad
Dr. Srdja Trifkovic is Executive Director of The Lord Byron Foundation, the author (most recently) of Defeating Jihad, and former foreign-affairs editor of Chronicles
(NB: The opinions expressed by Professors Meyer and Schindler are their own, and do not reflect the views of the U.S. government or the Department of Defense. )
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3. THE BOSNIAN PEOPLE REJECT ONCE AGAIN THE DAYTON CONSTITUTION
By Muhamed Borogovac, Ph.D., ASA, MAAA
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Filing the law suit for genocide in 1993 at the International Court of Justice by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro precedes all subsequent constitutional and legal arrangements for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The final judgment of the International Court of Justice supersedes all constitutional arrangements that are today imposed on the victims of aggression and genocide, including Annex 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement (the so-called Dayton Constitution) and the Brcko Amendment.
Bosnia-Herzegovina was a victim of aggression from Serbia, as established by the UN Security Council’s Resolutions 752 and 757 in 1992, for which Serbia was punished as the aggressor by the economic sanctions and blockade..
On February 26, 2007, The International Court of Justice in its legally binding judgment in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro “Finds that Serbia has violated the obligation to prevent genocide, under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in respect of the genocide that occurred in Srebrenica in July 1995.” The Court ruled that genocide in Srebrenica against the people of Srebrenica and the entire East Region of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was committed by the government and institutions of “Republika Srpska” and specifically the Army (VRS) and Police (MUP) of “Republika Srpska” and that Serbia had an obligation to prevent the genocide.
As a reminder, the war ended in the fall of 1995 when Dayton Peace Agreement has been signed. Even though it is an international treaty signed by presidents of three countries Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia (Izetbegovic, Tudjman, and Milosevic, respectively), it contained the new constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the infamous Annex 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement. This agreement was in direct violation of the international law, which prevents countries to impose constitutional changes onto its neighbor, and especially if one of them (referring to Serbia) committed aggression and violated the court imposed obligation to prevent the genocide of that neighbor.
In addition, the so-called Dayton Constitution was imposed on B&H even though the final version signed in Paris was never ratified in the Parliament of the Republic of B&H. Even worse, the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic B&H (Article 268) and procedures for the change of the constitution were totally ignored, as proven by constitutional scholars [e.g. Sienho Yee in the article “The New Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina” published in European Journal of International Law article ( Yee Eur J Int Law.1996; 7: 176-192)]: http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/7/2/176 )
These days we witnessed an attempt by enemies and traitors of people of B&H to provide some legality to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution by amending it using provisions of the Constitution of the Republic B&H (the Article 268) that requires public debate. The so-called Brcko Amendment did not have any other objective but to legalize the illegitimate Dayton Agreement, as was well summarized by Professor Boyle in his interview to BosTel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLugRtFoVZc
In expectation that people of B&H will be in favor of the amendment to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution, traitors and enemies of people of B&H initiated public debate as part of the procedure required for the adaptation of the amendments. However, during the Public debate, which took place in series of town hall meetings in 5 major Bosnian cities and on the internet, people of Bosnia-Herzegovina overwhelmingly rejected the constitutional change. Raffi Gregorian, an Acting High Representative (AHR) and Brcko Supervisor, was quoted expressing his regrets because of the strong opposition of the people of B&H to the amendment. Transcripts of town hall meetings are available on the website of the Parliament, which clearly show that the people of B&H rejected the amendment.
At the end of the public debate, surprisingly, the constitutional committee decided to disregard the opinion of the people of B&H and to go with the amendment to the so-called Dayton Constitution, not even mentioning the results of the public debate.
People of Bosnia-Herzegovina reject any amendments to the illegitimate Dayton Constitution, as well as the Dayton Constitution itself. Now it should be clear to the world community and all freedom loving people that people of Bosnia-Herzegovina reject the illegitimately imposed Dayton Constitution as the law of the country.
On Tuesday, June 11th, Bosnian Muslims held a funeral for a nine-month old baby and her family - victims of Visegrad massacre of 1992. Visegrad is a municipality bordering with Srebrenica.
