FOREIGN FACTOR DOES NOT ALLOW NORMAL, DEMOCRATIC LIFE

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 4 /SRNA/ - The Serb Member and Chairwoman of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović says the situation in BiH is unhealthy due to various distortions, such as the Peace Implementation Council /PIC/, which the Dayton Peace Agreement does not recognise, yet seeks to control certain processes and prevent a normal, democratic life in the country.

Cvijanović says it is entirely unnatural for BiH to host representatives of various foreign countries gathered in a non-Dayton structure called the PIC.

“They come here and take the lead, wanting to control certain processes by selecting conversation partners that suit them, thinking such an approach would be realistic,” Cvijanović said.

According to her, due to such practices, BiH stands on very shaky ground even 30 years after the war and the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which has been influenced by numerous deviations like the PIC.

“Not because it didn’t have the chance to be stable, but because others didn’t allow it or give it the opportunity. That alone proves we are far from democracy,” Cvijanović told ATV, commenting on yesterday’s meeting in Sarajevo between opposition representatives from Republika Srpska, the “Troika” from the Federation of BiH and the HDZ with Christian Schmidt and ambassadors of the PIC member states.

Cvijanović noted that in all normal countries, democratically elected representatives meet and make appropriate decisions for the benefit of the citizens.

She emphasized that the violent and undemocratic amendments to the Dayton Accords have always been the problem in BiH and added that yesterday’s meeting in Sarajevo was only important to the unrecognises Christian Schmidt, who seeks to use it to legitimize himself.

“Statements and communiqués following such meetings, which represent a form of interference in BiH’s internal affairs, are destructive and not encouraging for democracy or internal dialogue. These meetings divide us more than they unite us,” said Cvijanović.

She asserted that everything Schmidt has done so far has been backward, unconstitutional, contrary to the Dayton Peace Agreement, and inconsistent with the democratic values promoted by the EU.

Cvijanović, who is also SNSD deputy leader, says that her party does not consider the PIC or the OHR to be legitimate decision-making bodies in BiH.

She concluded that Schmidt, who she says caused a crisis in BiH, is a serious obstacle to the country’s development, survival, and its European path.