German Bundestag member, Michael Brand, strongly criticised the High Representative of the international community in BiH, Christian Schmidt, who is a member of his own CDU/CSU coalition, saying his recent actions produced "serious damage” in Bosnia.
Christian Schmidt, the international official overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement and a member of Germany’s Christian Social Union (CSU), imposed on Wednesday a set of technical changes to the BiH Election Law concerning the integrity of the electoral process in the country.
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Last week, N1 broke the story that, according to diplomatic sources, High Representative Christian Schmidt plans to use his ‘Bonn Powers’ to impose measures to secure the re-functioning of Bosnia’s Federation (FBiH) by August 1. The draft decision contains changes to the Election Law.
While Schmidt’s plan was welcomed by Bosnian Croat political parties, most notably the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), opponents argue the changes would lead to further systematic divisions in the country based on ethnicity.
The decision prompted thousands of Bosnians to protest in front of the Office of the High Representative.
Schmidt finally gave up on imposing extensive electoral reform but did impose technical changes to the election law.
Brand, a member of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stressed that BiH must not become a “toy for dangerous nationalists who have wanted to destroy this beautiful country for a long time.”
“Security, the rule of law and democracy are values that many ordinary Bosnians stand for and rely on Europe's support for – against corrupt “elites” who don't think about their own people but about the money in their own pockets,” Brand wrote.
He stressed that Berlin must “play a much more active role” in stopping nationalists, “especially since they are also a massive threat to our stability.”
“This is playing with fire. Not diplomatic phrases, but active action,” he wrote.
Brand warned that there has long been a “war-capable axis” of “dictator (Vladimir) Putin in Moscow” which includes BiH Presidency member, Milorad Dodik, and Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic.
Brand stressed that Croat “nationalist politicians”, such as the leader of the Croat Democratic Union in Bosnia (HDZ BiH), Dragan Covic, and the Croatian President, are also producing tensions and working against BiH.
Brand wrote that Schmidt's actions shortly before the elections in BiH “caused serious damage” and resulted in him losing a great deal of trust.
He stressed that not it is important to refrain from creating further tensions, but also to “defend democratic principles in BiH and not to appease the nationalists.”
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