US SECRETARY of state Hillary Clinton has urged Bosnians to resolve their entrenched political divisions and said Serbs and Kosovars should proceed with EU-led talks on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
On her first official visit to the Balkans as chief diplomat of the Obama administration, Ms Clinton urged bitterly divided Bosnians to unite to achieve the ambitions of the 1995 peace pact.
Addressing university students in Sarajevo in the week after Muslim, Serb and Croat nationalist parties prevailed in elections, she urged Bosnians to set aside ethnic differences and follow their neighbours on the path to European integration.
“Hatreds have eased, but nationalism persists. Meanwhile, the promise of greater stability and opportunity, represented by integration into Europe, remains out of reach,” she said.
“Your neighbours have taken strides in that direction. They know there is no better way to achieve sustained economic growth and long-term political stability than by integrating with Europe . . . Now is the time for the citizens of this country to make your voices heard.”
Ms Clinton’s visit comes amid renewed efforts to reform Bosnia’s political system, blighted by years of corruption, deepening divisions between its ethnic communities and political paralysis.
While Europe and the US see eventual EU and Nato membership for Bosnia as a crucial to regional stability, Ms Clinton said neither of these goals could be achieved without making the Bosnian government more functional and accountable.
She said nobody would create a stable and prosperous future for Bosnia by stoking past animosities. “Those will lead only to more distrust, disunion, stagnation and poverty,” she said.
Ms Clinton later travelled to Belgrade and heard Serbian president Boris Tadic say his country “doesn’t and won’t” recognise Kosovo’s independence.
A month after he promised to enter talks on Kosovo’s status, Mr Tadic said he wants to start a dialogue on the question as soon as possible.
Welcoming his co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Ms Clinton said there were clear benefits to be gained from political talks between Serbia and Kosovo.
“That dialogue can and will benefit people in Kosovo and in Serbia by addressing practical, day-to-day issues and the long-term relationship between you,” she said.
