German politician Christian Schmidt took over as Bosnia’s highest international envoy on Monday (August 2). Despite opposition from Russia and Bosnian Serbs, he considered him “illegal” and said he would not cooperate with him.
The former German Minister of Agriculture succeeded the Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, who in late July angered Bosnian Serb political representatives by ending his term by prohibiting denial of genocide.
In 1995, the Bosnian Serb army massacred more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the months before the end of the Bosnian War. This incident has been considered genocide by some international judicial decisions.
But Serbian leaders generally deny that atrocities are equivalent to genocide, instead calling them “major crimes.”
The main role of the UN representative in Bosnia is to supervise the implementation of the peace agreement, which ended the 1992-1995 war between Croats, Muslims and Serbs in this Balkan country.
The official also has various administrative powers, including enforcing laws and firing elected officials.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina must return to the political agenda of the international community and the European Union,” Schmidt said in his inauguration speech on Monday.
“I am very optimistic about the ability of the international community, Europeans, Americans and all other countries in the world to work together to achieve this goal.”
Bosnia is often affected by inter-ethnic disputes and is eager to join the European Union, but has not yet obtained formal candidate status.
The Bosnian Serbs are close allies of Moscow and oppose the country’s accession to NATO.
Schmidt was supported by major Western countries, but when the Peace Executive Committee, an international organization independent of the United Nations, appointed him in May, Russia protested.
Russia believed that his appointment should be approved by the UN Security Council. When Inzko was appointed in 2009, the UN Security Council gave the green light.
Moscow submitted a draft resolution co-sponsored by Beijing to the Security Council, according to which the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia will be closed in July 2022.
The draft was rejected.
The Serbian member of the Bosnian co-chair Milorad Dodik called Schmidt’s appointment “illegal and illegal.”
“We will not cooperate with him (Schmidt), nor will we implement his decision,” Dodik told local media on Sunday.
The Bosnian Serb political leader said that he would not attend the meeting between the president and Schmidt to be held on Tuesday.
The new international envoy did not comment on what the Bosnian Serbs think of him.
