PRIMORAC: BONN POWERS NEED TO BE ABOLISHED

ZAGREB, DECEMBER 12 /SRNA/ – The Bonn powers are the main reason for the emigration from BiH, the dysfunction of the economy, and the high level of inter-ethnic animosity, said Max Primorac, Senior Research Fellow at the “Heritage” Foundation.

Speaking at an international conference in Zagreb dedicated to the Dayton Peace Agreement, he recalled that the international community previously spoke about "local solutions" in BiH.

"Dayton promised three equal peoples. That never happened. We talked about local solutions. But how can you have local solutions if the locals don’t have sovereignty, if the ultimate sovereignty rests in the hands of European diplomats?" Primorac asked.

According to him, this situation has led to tensions, which is why the Bonn powers must "disappear."

Speaking about the OHR, Primorac noted that it is mentioned in the Dayton Peace Agreement, but only as a reporting or mediating body.

"These are very important functions, but they have created a lot of negative consequences. If you don’t have elected leaders in BiH—authorities—what can they even say to one another when they know that the OHR has the final word? Then everyone goes to the OHR to resolve things. When Dayton was signed, there was an attempt to create a civic system of ‘one man - one vote,’ but that wasn’t it. What we got were poisoned relations among the three constituent peoples," Primorac said.

He added that the current state of affairs in BiH is harmful both for BiH and for the United States.