Sarajevo - Greater Problem than Pale

Jadranko Prlic, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was born in Mostar in 1959. He has a Ph.D. in international economics. He taught at Mostar University and was one of the directors of the "Aluminij" company. When he was in secondary school he joined the League of Communists. He says that the party membership was never a burden for him and that he does not feel it as a burden from the past now. He was the deputy prime minister in Bosnia-Herzegovina's last government before the war - the government which made a 600 million dollar sufficite and which, he says, handed over Bosnia-Herzegovina in quite a good shape to the new government. Prior to the war or during the war, he joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Bosnia-Herzegovina and became the prime minister of Herzeg-Bosnia. After the signing of the Dayton agreement, he became the Foreign Minister in the Government of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina - an interim body which will exist only until the elections.

It was agreed in the latest talks in Geneva that a state delegation of Bosnia-Herzegovina would go to Belgrade. At what level will this delegation be and what will they discuss?

Members of the delegation are not known yet. It probably won't be at a very high level, because we do not have diplomatic relations. They will discuss the establishing of economic relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (F.R.Y.), in the first place the possible economic aspects of cooperation.

Will this visit step up the establishing of diplomatic relations? Offices were to be opened in Belgrade and Sarajevo a few months ago, but they have not yet been established. What is the problem?

We were ready not only to open the offices. I offered the opening of embassies and I am willing, at this moment when we are talking about it, to sign diplomatic relations as the foreign minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina having in mind that we are setting no conditions for the establishing of diplomatic relations. However, the Yugoslav side is setting certain conditions, or even waiting for the elections to be held in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in order to evade possible complaints concerning this act, which might come from the Bosnian Serb Republic or from the Serbian public.

Understanding the overall situation, I demanded that offices be established, or even that a third state be chosen to carry out consular affairs on our behalf for our citizens, because there are citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina who are now in the territory of F.R.Y. and vice versa. However, despite the general consent, we have not managed to carry out any of our agreements.

What are the conditions set by the Yugoslav side?

There are three conditions. First to recognize Yugoslavia's continuity. When it comes to the name, we have nothing against this. This is my opinion, if I have any power in this government and I do as a Croatian official. We do not want to hinder Yugoslavia concerning anything that does not hinder us. We want good relations and there will be good relations very soon. Thus, continuity regarding only the name because we believe that all four or five states that have been formed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia are the successors of the former state.

The second condition set by F.R.Y. is that charges against Yugoslavia be withdrawn in the Hague Tribunal. The third condition, or better element (condition may be too strong a word) was exchange of territories between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which we rejected. We are willing to establish diplomatic relations right away and then, as all other sovereign states, we shall mutually develop these relations.

You said you hoped the relations between the two states would soon be very good. Does this mean that F.R. Yugoslavia will give up its conditions, or that a compromise will be found?

Both.

You visited Banja Luka a short time ago and met with former Prime Minister of the Bosnian Serb Republic Rajko Kasagic.

(laugh) I hope that is not why he was dismissed.

He then said that you represented Bosnia-Herzegovina and that you could help. He meant that you could help the Serb entity. What was it about?

All I want to be is the foreign minister of all the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In a personnel crossword puzzle for this position, I was elected as a Croat, but there is no thing I would not do for someone else. In the talks with the World Bank and EU, my stand was that the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina had to be treated. On the other hand, my suggestion (which was later adopted at the Moscow meeting of the Contact Group) was to pose the question of political conditioning of the usage of international help. And I am now, as the foreign minister, ready to offer every help to the Bosnian Serb Republic. Their representatives are entitled to use the diplomatic-consular offices of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is true that the offices are not in accordance with the ethnic structure. They employ mostly the personnel of Muslim nationality. There are no Croats in them either. It may sound like a paradox to you, but there are more Serbs than Croats among the diplomats. There are two Serbs and one Croat.

Do you agree that Rajko Kasagic was a flexible man and have you had contacts with his successor?

I have not had contacts with his successor and I can't say anything about it. I believe he will continue to cooperate because this is the only way the Bosnian Serb Republic and the Serbian people can survive. The Dayton agreement must be implemented. Kasagic was aware of this. I believe Mr. Kasagic will not object to my mentioning of this. On two occasions he told me that he had often thought and even dreamt about the Republic of Serb Krajina and what happened there a year ago. He told me this twice.

Herzeg-Bosnia was supposed to stop functioning earlier this year. It still exists. Does this mean that the Federation does not exist? Herzeg-Bosnia was to have ceased to exist after the Federation started functioning?

It takes two for love. Croats are a constituent nation and do not want their rights to be lesser than those of the Muslim-Boshnjak people in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They are for the Federation, because it was signed and the Croats will implement the agreements which have been signed. But they will not allow the agreement to be changed at their detriment.

We must realize, when we are speaking about Bosnia-Herzegovina, that the only way to preserve it as a state is to build up harmonious relations between the three constituent nations. Don't forget one thing: No one in Bosnia-Herzegovina, I mean neither of the nations, is so powerful as to impose itself on the others. And no one in Bosnia-Herzegovina is so weak as to submit to anyone else. We must keep this formula in mind when trying to solve all the issues which are arising in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This government is practically an interim one until the elections.

It is strictly an interim government and is designed as a future council of ministers in accordance with the Dayton constitution. It should play the role only in the interim period. Of course, there is nostalgia. There is an attempt to keep up the republic as the form of decision making by the most numerous nation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is a process which will last, in which the Boshnjaks, i.e. Muslims will see what the reality is - that Bosnia-Herzegovina as a civil state is not possible because the other two nations will not agree with this.

The elections are approaching. Most forecasts say they will take place in September.

They will be in September.

Do you think the elections should be held if all the conditions are not fulfilled?

Absolutely. I have thought so from the very start. Elections are necessary to fill the gap, because it is not known which constitution is being applied in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Everyone is right. Everyone is applying what suits him. In order to get a consistent government, we must have elections. In order to get three persons in the Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency, the state's parliament, new structures of authority in the Bosnian Serb Republic and in the Federation and only then to start functioning at full capacity. Thus, the elections are important if we want to implement the Dayton agreement. Any postponing of the elections is contrary to Dayton. Of course, circumstances must be improved. We do not have the freedom of moving, but all those who talk about it must know one thing: no refugees will return unless one state is formed. It is not realistic to expect the people to return to their homes when no appropriate state structure has been made.

It is quite certain that Radovan Karadzic will not be in the elections. His position should formally be taken over by Biljana Plavsic. Karl Bilt's office has not yet decided whether to recognize her legitimacy. What is your opinion?

The problem is how the replacement was carried out. Was it a formal replacement, an essential one, or is it only an illusion. In this respect, there are probably certain doubts at Bilt's office. As for the Foreign Ministry, this is only an internal issue. Bosnian Serb Republic is a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. I am the foreign minister of all of Bosnia-Herzegovina, or I should be. My opinion is: we should contact anyone who is legally chosen by the bodies in charge of the certain regions. Neither am I going to choose for the Serbs who is to be their leader, nor will the Serbs from the Bosnian Serb Republic going to choose the leaders in the Federation.

Of course, the people who are elected should be those who are willing to cooperate and who can understand one another, but I cannot choose the president of another state. Of course, those who have been accused of war crimes cannot take public offices. Everyone else can. I cannot say whether I like someone or not. It is my diplomatic right to contact all those who are on certain positions.

Elections in Mostar are scheduled for 30 June.

Mostar is a test for all of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Mostar is the last multi-ethnic town in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is the main paradox of this war. There is no town in Bosnia-Herzegovina where the population of a different nationality exceeds 20 percent.

Yes, but it is a divided town.

Mostar is the last multi-ethnic town. In Sarajevo there is less than ten or fifteen percent of non-Muslim population. The percentage may be a little higher in Tuzla, but in all other towns it is far below 10 percent. And we say - they have the same rights. They don't have the same rights! Is a multi-ethnic town the town with three percent of the population of other nationality? Conflicts had broken out in the areas where there was an equal percentage of the population of different nationalities. In this respect, Mostar is a very important test.

Finally, do you think that Bosnia-Herzegovina is moving toward some kind of re-integration or toward dissolution?

Both outcomes are possible at this moment. Even if we made a survey now, disintegration would be more likely than anything else. However, if certain positive processes should continue and if the strategy changes when it comes to the policy run in Sarajevo, I think integration is a more certain process. I think, when it comes to integration, that the Bosnian Serb Republic is not as much of a problem as the media try to show.