OSCE SG is agnostic on BiH’s territorial integrity?
Kurt Bassuener March 18th, 2008
OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut was interviewed in Dnevni Avaz, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top-selling daily yesterday. In the charged atmosphere of the country’s politics, where the very survival of the state is now frequently questioned, it is easy to put a foot wrong, or worse. Brichambaut’s very visit to Dodik’s new office complex in Banja Luka helps undercut state institutions. But he then sprang head-first into the political minefield. First, he appeared to support the prospect of an independence referendum for the RS (unofficial translation circulating in BiH circles):
“In Republika Srpska, there are ever stronger voices calling for secession. What is your view on the issue?
The beauty of a democratic state lies in the possibility of its citizens to say what they think and decide which politician they trust, and in the way they decide. Sometimes, important decisions need to be verified with the citizens before they are taken.”
The whole international community concerned with Bosnia continues to reject an RS independence referendum, most recently in the declaration of the Peace Implementation Council, which met in Brussels less than a month ago, to which I believe the OSCE subscribed in full.
The interviewer then gave Brichambaut a chance to backtrack or clarify a statement which he should have known would come back to bite him, but he didn’t take the bait. He instead took the opportunity to dig the hole deeper.
“Does this mean that you support the secession of the RS?
I am completely neutral. It does not concern me. This is a decision that concerns the political process in a particular state. I can only say that, if this continues, there will be consequences outside BiH.
What consequences?
This is difficult to judge, but there will undoubtedly be consequences.”
One of those consequences should be Brichambaut’s departure or censure. At the very least, he should be compelled to recant and reaffirm his and the OSCE’s collective position on the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
