Bosnia in 1995 provided Europe with its greatest moment of shame and humiliation since the Nazi Germany depravities 50 years before. The troops guarding the Srebrenica “safe haven” may have been wearing blue UN helmets, but they came from Holland and their failure to protect the Muslims of the besieged town led to the butchery of 8,000 people by Ratko Mladic’s Serb militiamen.
It took NATO troops and muscular US airpower to defeat the Serbs and lead to the Dayton peace agreement. The NATO force, 65,000 strong at its peak, has patrolled the peace in Bosnia for nine years. This week its duties were officially handed over to a European Union military formation of some 7,000 men (Eufor). The challenge of a war-riven country on the border of the wealthy and peaceful EU has therefore been returned to where it should have been handled in the first place. The inability of the European powers to muster the strength and determination to intervene by themselves in Bosnia in 1993 was far from being the EU’s finest moment. It must be hoped that nine years on, they can make an altogether better job of fostering peace and prosperity in a small country that is very much in their own back yard.
The agenda is clear. Bosnia-Herzegovina is still far from resuming its former easy going multiethnic identity. Recent municipal elections showed a disturbing level of support for candidates who took strident nationalist positions and it is believed that some religious leaders in Muslim, Roman Catholic and Orthodox communities encouraged worshippers to vote for hard-liners. This is not the way forward but it does demonstrate how much more healing is necessary for this deeply damaged country.
One important cure will be the arrest and tracking down of all alleged war criminals, not least Gen. Mladic and his political boss Radovan Karadzic. The only NATO unit to stay behind is that which is charged with tracking down war criminals from all three communities.
It would do the new EU force’s standing no end of good both locally and internationally if they took a proactive early role in helping track down these suspects.
Brussels has a further important job in Bosnia. Though the economy is growing steadily and the currency is stable, unemployment stands at 40 percent and is fueling both crime and the departure for overseas of the more talented and entrepreneurial Bosnians in search of opportunity. The world has already given Bosnia $5 billion and a further $1 billion was pledged at a recent aid conference, but the country needs more than handouts. The EU has in its gift a raft of trade and social concessions which it could deploy to Bosnia’s economic advantage. Easing the issue of EU visas would be a big start. Allowing Bosnia some trade privileges would also be a boost and giving incentives for EU firms to invest in the country would help create jobs and attract back the many tens of thousands of young people who have already emigrated, many illegally.
