Turkey's Gul: united BiH key to stability in Balkans

03/09/2010

"Without permanent peace and security in Bosnia we cannot talk about peace and security in the Balkans and Europe," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Thursday.

(B92, World Bulletin, Zaman - 03/09/10; Reuters, AP, AFP, Hurriyet, World Bulletin, B92 - 02/09/10)

Turkish President Abdullah Gul (left) met with BiH Presidency Chairman Haris Silajdzic in Sarajevo. [Getty Images]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) should step up its efforts to meet the requirements for joining the EU and NATO, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in Sarajevo on Thursday (September 2nd).

Reiterating Ankara's support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of Balkan countries, he said a key objective of Turkish foreign policy is achieving "lasting peace, security and stability" in the region, as it is critical to spurring economic development.

"We want to see this region become a heart of Europe ... a crossroads of important political and economic corridors," the AP quoted Gul as saying following talks with the members of BiH's tripartite presidency. "Anything outside this is not on our agenda."

The Turkish leader arrived for a two-day official visit on Thursday, heading a large delegation of government officials, lawmakers and 70 businessmen.

The visit comes roughly a month before the October 3rd general elections in BiH. Western nations hope the vote will lead to a change in the political landscape. Ethnic tensions have been mounting in BiH since the 2006 ballot that brought to power influential nationalist politicians with conflicting views and agendas.

The slow pace in implementing required reforms over the past four years, and the failure to meet the conditions for closing the Office of the High Representative, have prevented the country from making significant progress along its EU accession path.

Stressing Ankara's continued commitment to the region, Gul reiterated Turkey's support for BiH's territorial integrity.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is the heart of the Balkans and without the permanent peace and security in Bosnia, we cannot talk about peace and security in the Balkans and Europe," he told the central parliament at a session boycotted by Bosnian Serb lawmakers.

One condition for BiH's EU accession progress is constitutional reform to improve the efficiency of state institutions.

The Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the 1992-1995 conflict in the country, left it split into two fairly autonomous entities -- the Federation of BiH, shared by Bosniaks and Croats, and the Serb-run Republika Srpska (RS) -- bound by a weak central government.

Bosniak political leaders, including Haris Silajdzic, who currently chairs the BiH presidency, favour a more centralised state, while Bosnian Croat politicians have called for the creation of their own ethnic entity. Throughout the past four years, Bosnian Serbs have been blocking any steps towards changing RS's current status, insisting on preserving their autonomy.

RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, who has repeatedly threatened to call a referendum on his entity's secession from BiH, revived the idea after the International Court of Justice ruled in July that Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence did not violate international law.

But Gul stressed that BiH can fulfil its Euro-Atlantic integration goal only if it is united.

"[BiH officials] should make significant reforms, and constitutional amendments if necessary; and pass laws if necessary [to achieve that goal]," the Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying.

Rejecting claims by Bosnian Serb politicians who accuse Ankara of pro-Muslim bias, the Turkish president said his country is interested in BiH as a whole. He also pledged that Turkey would continue engaging in diplomatic initiatives aimed at helping the countries of the former Yugoslavia overcome their lingering differences.

The main goal of recently intensified contacts with Croatia and Serbia, he said, was "to build sustainable peace, stability and prosperity in this region".

Gul, who attended a business forum Thursday, is to meet with High Representative Valentin Inzko and members of BiH's Inter-Religious Council in Sarajevo before travelling to Mostar Friday afternoon.