“The recent public statements made by the US Ambassador to BiH, Michael Murphy, warning the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, about his statements on secession, have sparked a wave of negative reactions in the Republika Srpska.
Murphy has stepped out of the permissible diplomatic boundaries, openly siding with one Bosniak side, blatantly undermining the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina by supporting the illegitimate Christian Schmidt. He is a pale copy of the former creator of American realpolitik and diplomat who resolved, not created, global disputes—Henry Kissinger. These are just some of the assessments voiced against the US ambassador.”
In two years of his ambassadorial mandate, Michael Murphy did not miss an opportunity to verbally attack the institutions of Republika Srpska and its officials. At the same time, he unconvincingly tries to assure that he has nothing against the Serbian people. In his latest speech, he strongly warned the President of Srpska about what he calls secessionist rhetoric, threatening that the US will hold him accountable. Dodik responds that the real threat to Bosnia and Herzegovina comes from Marfi.
“Your actions are hostile towards all citizens. You undermine the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina by imposing a tutor and turning it into a protectorate. You destroy the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina by supporting the suspension of parliament as the supreme and sole legislative authority. You are doing all the negative things to Bosnia and Herzegovina that you accuse others of,” Dodik stated.
The American ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina is violating all norms of proper conduct in a country where he is just a guest. He threatens, disrespects the electoral will of the Serbian people, publicly promotes that BiH is a colony, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Stasa Kosarac stated. He told Marfi to go home and enforce his laws there.
“In international practice, it is unacceptable for any ambassador to come to a country and launch any attack or pressure on domestic politicians who were elected according to the electoral will. We expect him to leave this country and let us, in line with the Dayton Accord, work on the agreement of the three peoples; that is the only model,” emphasized Kosarac.
If Bosnia and Herzegovina were a state valuing its sovereignty and dignity, Michael Murphy would have long been declared persona non grata, stated diplomat Aleksandar Vranješ. American ambassadors, then and now, decisively influence decision-making, create political conflicts, instead of calming the situation. Marfi incites anti-Serb sentiment, so it can freely be said that they are the most responsible for the poor situation in BiH, according to Vranješ.
“We have the USA acting as co-opters, viewing BiH as a colony and a space where they are the supreme authority. They can dismiss, appoint, punish, sanction, reward, finance, and influence the order, and behind that concept is Marfi, trying to wage a personal war against President Dodik and the leadership of Republika Srpska,” Vranješ believes.
Marfi is part of the establishment that targeted Serb as the bad guys in the ’90s. Today, those same individuals in ambassadorial and other positions in American diplomacy continue to pursue an unscrupulous, cowboy-like policy towards Republika Srpska and the Serb people—a professional assessment.
Minister for Scientific Technological Development and Higher Education of Republika Srpska, Željko Budimir, emphasizes that it is particularly concerning that Marfi gets involved in personal conflicts with the highest democratic representatives of Republika Srpska on a daily political level, trying to involve other foreign policy organs of the US.
Lawyer Goran Petronijević emphasizes that the US ambassador should apologize not only to the citizens of Republika Srpska but also to BiH because he undermines international law and BiH.
Serb MPs and delegates in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly also conveyed the message that the threat to the leadership of Srpska is a threat to the Serbian people. Marfi’s assessment that Milorad Dodik’s policies jeopardize BiH’s European perspective raises disbelief. They question what relevance the American ambassador has to the EU unless the European path goes through the US.
