Bosnia's Brcko:
Getting In, Getting On and Getting Out
It is time to consider the future of Brcko District. In particular, it is time
to chart an exit strategy for the supervisory regime that will serve both to
preserve and extend its and the people of Brcko's accomplishments.
The Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), approved in
January 2003 a Mission Implementation Plan (MIP) submitted by High
Representative Paddy Ashdown. Among its specific goals is the legal, political
and financial integration of Brcko District in the state of Bosnia Herzegovina (BiH).
Both Brcko Supervisor Henry L. Clarke and the United States government have
since asked the PIC Steering Board to discuss the status of the district at its
meeting in June. The Supervisor is expected to present his own MIP on that
occasion.
Sarajevo/Brussels, 2 June 2003
http://www.crisisweb.org/projects/showreport.cfm?reportid=987
USIP Report
on Faith Based NGOs and Reconciliation in BIH Special Report: CAN FAITH-BASED NGOs ADVANCE INTERFAITH RECONCILIATION? THE
CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, written by Branka Peuraca. The range of
initiatives undertaken by faith-based NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been
many and varied. Taken together, their activities suggest that reconciliation
may be furthered both directly and obliquely through projects as varied as soup
kitchens, joint public statements, school councils, choirs, and so have
significantly contributed to the long-term endeavor of building relationships
that are critical to post-conflict reconciliation. The report represents
findings from several interviews with faith-based organizations, organizations
engaged in reconstruction and reconciliation, and materials of the Imagine
Coexistence project, an initiative of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and supported by funds from the Japanese government through the United
Nations Trust Fund for Human Security, as well as efforts Tufts University's
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The report was written by Branka Peuraca,
and benefited from substantial editorial assistance by Anne-Marie Smith. See the
full report at
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr103.html.
Military Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Committed Incrementalism Valery Perry
Perihelion: European Rim Policy and Investment Council
For complete text, please see www.erpic.org
Introduction
When describing post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), it is often noted that
it is one state (BiH), with two Entities (the Muslim-Croat Federation (FBiH) and
the Republika Srpska (RS)) and three constituent peoples (the Bosnian Muslims or
Bosniaks, the Catholic Bosnian Croats and the Orthodox Bosnian Serbs).
Unfortunately, this complex country is also a state that for all practical
purposes has three ethnically defined armies. The Dayton Agreement that ended
the 3 ½ year war in BiH (the General Framework Agreement for Peace, or GFAP)
created a complex state with multiple layers of governance and administration
aimed at ensuring a system of powersharing that would maximize the
decision-making authority and autonomy of the three constituent peoples, while
at the same time maintaining a single, multi-ethnic state structure. Defense was
one crucial element that was highly devolved, as the warring parties would not
have accepted any forms of shared military control in 1995. While the best
possible solution and way to end the war at the time, Richard Holbrooke, the
chief architect of the Agreement, himself has described the existence of three
armies as the most serious flaw in the agreement[1].
As its patience with the pace of progress in BiH is beginning to wear thin, the
international community (IC) has increasingly sought to build and strengthen
state-level institutions that will provide a sustainable base for democracy and
rule of law to take root. The development of a State Border Service and the
ongoing negotiations concerning the adoption of a common customs regimen and a
value added tax are two of many examples of this strategy to strengthen the
state of BiH. However, the potential establishment of state-level defense bodies
is a change that will affect and also reflect the essence of the country. This
article will briefly review the BiH defense structure created since the signing
of Dayton, the current state of BiH's armed forces and recent steps toward
harmonization, in order to provide a framework for understanding the complex
picture of BiH's military and the reforms needed to ensure both its
modernization and the country's full entry into European security structures.
