The newly elected members of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency have previously announced changes within Bosnia’s diplomatic network, as some of the current ambassadors are no longer politically suitable while others have not worked enough in the interest of the country.
At least 20 Bosnian Serb ambassadors of the country may soon resign or be laid off but experts warn such a change could harm the country.
“We will check many things, some bad ambassador appointments,” the newly elected Bosnian Serb member of the presidency, Milorad Dodik, said.
“Each one of them will have to resign the moment i take over the office. Then I will decide who will be representing the Serbs and how,” he added.
The new Bosniak member, Sefik Dzaferovic, said he had no objections regarding the Bosniak ambassadors but he was not happy about some of the others. He is bothered by some who work in the interest of other countries, he said.
“Some of the ambassadors at various destinations in the world tend to represent the interests of neighboring Serbia and Croatia rather then the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina and this has to stop,” he said.
However, Zlatko Hadzidedic, a professor of international relations, believes those statements are unrealistic as the ministry is set up wrongly anyway.
“From the very beginning, the Ministry was set up as a tourist agency for a few families. Everything is organised so that members of certain political forces or even families have a good time for a couple of years abroad and do nothing to serve the foreign policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.
“If this would be a real cleanup, that would be great but I fear it will just be a repetition,” he added.
The real problem is that Bosnia and Herzegovina has no foreign policy at all, as it does not exist at the level of the Presidency or in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
“All of these statements are just a continuation of the pre-election campaign,” said Nedzma Dzananović Mirascija, a professor at the Political Science Faculty in Sarajevo.
She said that diplomacy is still seen as “sort of a party prey” and that the country is often represented abroad by unknown people.
Former Bosnian ambassador to the EU, Osman Topcagic, said such a ‘cleanup’ would harm the country’s interests.
“It is very important to have a stabile diplomatic network. I am advocating for a professionalisation (…) of the diplomatic service of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But ambassadors are appointed by the Presidency and they are laid off when the presidents change like after this election.
If we would have a professional diplomatic service, we would have continuity and support on our path toward Eu membership,” he said.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is entering a new phase of accession without an ambassador to the EU who is supposed to be the country’s main representative in Brussels. Topcagic said every Bosnian embassy should have an expert for EU integration.
