Second Round Hopes

The primary complaint of the EC Arbitration Committee concerning the recognition of B&H sovereignty is the fact that this republic did not hold a referendum and thus, as they claim, the expressed will of the people is missing. This complaint has been accepted in the way typical for Bosnians; on the one hand Izetbegovic has a ready answer: "It is our old proposal. But some parties in the Republic rejected it. Now we will have a better chance to carry out a referendum requested by the EC. I think that this is the right way to keep the territorial integrity of B&H and to achieve the independence of our republic". Karadzic, (the president of the Socialist Democratic Party) on the other hand, returns the blow by saying that "the Serbian people had a referendum which has shown a strong desire of the Serbian people to stay in Yugoslavia", adding that "the Serbs can not afford to lose the second half of the World War I which refers to the state unity of the Serbian people". Karadzic failed to say that his referendum was not under the international control which is supposed to guarantee its legality and the authenticity of the will of the citizens expressed in this way. This "citizen" is another part of the complaint concerning Karadzic's referendum which was conducted as the referendum "of the people" and not "of the citizens" upon which the Arbitration Committee insists. According to their official announcements, it is only a matter of time when Italy, Germany, Austria and France will give their consent to the sovereignty and independence of B&H. A few powerful states who did not recognize the independence of either Croatia or Slovenia, thinks B&H, are waiting for the more explicit formulation of the request for independence to be announced in Bosnia. Turkey was explicit in this respect and good news are coming from America as well.

"The American State Secretary has stressed that the USA think highly of the constructive approach which Bosnia and Herzegovina followed in the Yugoslav crisis, and he added that the USA will also most severely react to any attempt to redraw the external or internal Yugoslav borders by force".

The announcement of Gianni de Michaellis had a similar tone: "...In this republic (B&H) the referendum was not carried out in the same manner as it was in Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia. Only when the referendum is carried out in the proper manner and when the results come out will there be no obstacle to recognizing the sovereignty of this republic".

In Bosnia, therefore, a referendum is soon to be held ( this time "a citizens'" referendum) so that, corresponding to the international criteria the "will" of the people in B&H will be tested.