The urgent and unconditional closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) is the first step toward normalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the existence of such a colonial instrument in a sovereign state is inconceivable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Lavrov stressed that the OHR has become one of the main sources of instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that its presence in a UN member state in the 21st century is unacceptable.
He noted that it is long past time for the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina to attain genuine sovereignty and independence and to determine their own future and the fate of their country.
“Western actors are doing everything they can to prevent the termination of foreign oversight,” Lavrov wrote in a column for Politika.
He recalled that the OHR was originally conceived as a support mechanism for international oversight of the civilian aspects of the peace process but has gradually turned into a puppet structure enabling Western powers to interfere almost without limitation in the country’s internal affairs.
“Instead of fulfilling its direct Dayton-mandated function of facilitating dialogue between the parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, high representatives — all of whom represent the Western community — have been exercising legal coercion against a sovereign state. They deliberately provoke internal political turmoil in order to justify maintaining a protectorate over Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Lavrov stated.
At the same time, he added, responsibility for the ongoing political crisis is shifted — without evidence — onto Republika Srpska.
According to Lavrov, “the masks finally fell” after the secret “appointment” of retired German politician Christian Schmidt as high representative, without even attempting to preserve a semblance of legality and in violation of all procedures.
“Entirely in line with the infamous so-called ‘rules-based order’. The legally insignificant ‘decrees’ of this self-proclaimed high representative — who has no mandate from the UN Security Council — contradict democratic principles and inflict irreparable damage on internal dialogue in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Lavrov concluded.
Source: RTRS
