Turkey's reach has strong implications for BiH

20/01/2010

Turkey's desire to become a regional power rattles some in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 20/01/10

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (left, with BiH presidency member Haris Silajdzic) visited Sarajevo in October. [Getty Images]

The new direction of Turkish foreign policy -- including strong efforts to boost relations with neighbours while becoming a regional power -- will have a direct influence on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Media speculation has centred on Turkey's alleged desire to become a power in the Balkans and beyond.

One thing is certain: Turkey's influence in BiH -- for better or worse -- elicits strong response from those inside the smaller nation. Some predict a positive effect, while others fear it could increase ethnic and inter-entity tensions.

BiH was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey, for about 500 years.

Last October, when the Butmir talks on constitutional reform began, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Sarajevo. He was warmly received by representatives of the Bosniak community and met with other dignitaries and politicians, including BiH High Representative Valentin Inzko.

At these meetings, Davutoglu strongly supported BiH as a sovereign country on its way to EU and NATO membership. He also made encouraging statements about the need for EU-related reforms and for a revision of the country's current constitution. The comments were well received, most notably among politicians. This was seen as a sign of strong support for BiH's future as a sovereign state.

In mid-December, three key party leaders in the country -- Sulejman Tihic of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Haris Silajdzic of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SBiH), and Zlatko Lagumdzija, of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) -- received invitations for an informal meeting in Turkey, to mark the anniversary of the Turkish religious order of the Sufis in Konya.

But the meeting never happened. Only Silajdzic confirmed he would come, saying the agenda was cultural and not political. The other two said they would not attend.

It was later discovered that invitations to the meeting had also been sent to party and state representatives of BiH from across ethnic and entity lines. They included all three members of the BiH presidency -- a Bosniak, a Croat and a Serb -- as well as Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, an ethnic Serb.

Reaction was swift and angry, with BiH House of Peoples Republika Srpska representative Dusanka Majkic calling the aborted meeting in Turkey an attempt to create a new Islamic state.

However, the Bosniak Intellectual Council Congress (VKBI), an NGO, issued a statement encouraging closer ties in the future between BiH and Turkey.

"We are aware of the efforts invested by the Turkish government in order to strengthen BiH on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration, where we find any assistance, particularly such as offered by friendly countries, welcome," it said.

Following the visit by Davutoglu in October, BiH has been visited by a number of Turkish business delegations and representatives looking for investment opportunities.

Last year, Turkey was the fourth largest foreign investor in BiH -- with 45m euros -- behind Austria, Slovenia, and Germany, according to the BiH Foreign Investment Promotion Agency.