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ZAGREB, April 5 (FENA) - The civic concept for Bosnia and Herzegovina can only be discussed after it becomes a member of the European Union, and until then the framework is the Dayton Accords, said Gabriel Escobar, the US government's special envoy for the Western Balkans.
Escobar believes that BiH is currently not a functioning state because the BiH institutions "have not been effective for a long time", "which is not a consequence of the Dayton Agreement but the "lack of will of the political leadership in BiH."
The agreement has been "successful in maintaining peace in the country for 25 years" and is not the cause of the problems in BiH.
"The problem is irresponsible leadership, corruption, politicians who insist on staying in power at all cost," said the envoy of the government of US President Joe Biden, Hina reports.
Escobar believes that the agreement has been a good compromise that recognized the interest of the three constituent peoples and a good signpost for European integration, "but it has not been used that way."
On the concept of a civic state advocated by part of the international community, the US officials said that it could be discussed "perhaps in the future" after BiH becomes a member of the European Union.
"Until then, the Dayton PA is a roadmap for European integration and it must remain so," Escobar said, reiterating US support for the concept of one state, two entities and three constituent peoples.
The US envoy "understands concerns about high tensions in BiH and sees an analogy with 1991" because politicians in the country do not talk and threaten to withdraw from the central institutions.
However, Escobar emphasizes, there are peacekeepers in BiH, the presence of NATO and a high representative of the international community with the Bonn powers, Serbia and Croatia are not interested to have a war on their borders, and young people in BiH do not want to fight for governing structures and corruption.
"That is why I do not see any chance of conflict. There may be acts of violence, but all responsible politicians and public officials are working to prevent that from happening. That is why I think that war is not possible," Escobar said, adding that he was still worried about BiH because of the "equally dangerous scenario of the country's economic and demographic collapse."
"BiH is an exception to all the good news about the Western Balkans," according to an independent analysis, said Escobar.
"Political leaders with such numbers in the private sector would be fired," Escobar said, adding that was why the United States hoped for an agreement on electoral reform and elections so that voters could "remove some leaders."
Escobar did not want to speculate on whether an agreement would be reached, nor to comment on their course because he is not directly involved, although he believes there is a solution that would suit all sides.
In every media appearance, the US envoy emphasizes that the will for change in BiH must take place within the country itself, and not through the actions of the international community because it is a sovereign country.
"We want the people in BiH to sanction their own politicians and it is up to us to encourage change," concluded Escobar, who was in Zagreb on the occasion of the two-day American-Croatian forum.
(FENA) S. R.
