The challenges today to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and multiethnic character are impossible to deny and for many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the similarities to this country’s pre-war history are unnerving. But one thing is different. The United States is here, said US ambassador Michael Murphy in a speech marking the 4th of July, the US Independence Day.

“While the United States and much of Europe were exiting the 80s on a high note, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina were facing a very different and a much darker reality – one that many in America and the West did not want to see. We did not react decisively when ethnonationalist rhetoric reached dangerous levels in the Balkans. And when war came, when this city was besieged, when your horror was broadcast into our living rooms, through the same CNN born in the 80s, we did not immediately answer your calls. We hesitated… for too long. With time though, we did act. It is a tragedy that it was too late to save thousands of lives, including the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. But when we came, we did so decisively,” said Murphy recalling of the events of the early 1990s.

Murphy noted that the Dayton Peace Agreement, which the United States brokered, ended the 1992-1995 war, stressing that it was not and is not a perfect agreement.

“Today, Dayton is subject to second-guessing, deliberate misinterpretation, and is blamed for the country’s persistent ethnic divisions. The latter mistakes cause and effect, but it is true that the political leaders of this country squandered the promise of that peace. They have chosen to perpetuate and reinforce this country’s divisions. Nonetheless, the Dayton Peace Agreement stopped the bloodshed and saved lives. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a fact, and the alternative, more death and destruction, was and is too horrible to contemplate,” he stressed.

The work of defending peace and democracy, the work of building prosperity, and the work of healing are never ending, said the ambassador, adding:

“In the same way, the challenges today to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and multiethnic character are impossible to deny. From election irregularities and corruption to warmongering and genocide denial to the actions of the RSNA on June 26, the tension is clear, and for many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the similarities to this country’s pre-war history are unnerving. But one thing is different. The United States is here.”

Speaking of the US support to Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said that the US “quickly planted roots in Bosnia and Herzegovina” after the 1992-1995 war.

“We became your top bilateral development partner, and in time, your top military partner. Today, no other country can match our sustained commitment to BiH, to its institutions, to its organizations, to its youth, and to its future inside the Euro-Atlantic community of nations. The team of Americans and their BiH colleagues hosting you today works tirelessly every day to help the people of this country realize your aspirations for a peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and secure Bosnia and Herzegovina in which votes are counted as cast, hard work is rewarded, politicians answer to citizens and to the law, and businesses can thrive,” he stressed.

The ambassador emphasised in the conclusion of his speech that the United States’ commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina “is not to a specific political leader or party, it is to the people of this country. That has not changed, and it will not change.”

He reiterated that the United States is here “now and always.”