Mercedes It Is

To an ordinary person in the RS, the arrival of German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel might have seemed like the second coming of the late Josip broz Tito. The euphoria began the moment Kinkel announced his visit. On Sunday night, the night before his arrival, the streets of Banjaluka were washed clean. Journalists were given an unofficial statement saying meetings had been scheduled between “Kinkel, RS President Biljana Plavsic and Prime Minister Milorad Dodik”. The fact that only Kinkel’s title was justified by Plavsic’s cabinet with practical reasons, shortage of paper, an effort to avoid unnecessary detail and the assumption that “everyone knows who Kinkel is”.

Dodik seems to have understood best who Kinkel is and what he means to German investments in the RS. Although Kinkel’s associates say his hair stands on end if he sees a large number of men in uniform during his visits to other countries, Dodik intervened personally to get “the highest level of security” in place. In simple terms, 300 Banjaluka security center policemen were on duty.

The column of cars waiting for Kinkel was at Banjaluka airport with German precision, an hour before the plane was due to land. Kinkel’s delegation numbered 25 people, including a business delegation (Siemens, Krupp, RWF, the German railways, Volkswagen) and another 45 reporters and crews from Germany’s biggest TVs, radios and newspapers.

Under international protocol, Kinkel should have been met by his counterpart Bosnian Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic but the Bosnian Croat minister did not show up. Kinkel also gave up his habit of riding in the same car as his cabinet staff and accepted Dodik’s offer of a ride in an RS government Mercedes. Dodik found it a little strange that the German ambassador to Bosnia suggested a ride in a bus.

Someone noticed that the high level meeting did not include the obligatory state flags.

Plavsic found new friends and said “friendly relations between our two peoples should finally start” because “it’s good to have a friend in the EU who will represent us objectively”.

Kinkel almost started moaning when he spoke of the problem of RS refugees in Germany.

“We’re not asking much of the RS but we hope, from the German perspective, that 1998 will be the year the refugees return home and we ask for your understanding. We have over 350,000 refugees, 140,000 asylum seekers from Kosovo and more are coming every day. We were humane and we will help resolve the refugee issue in a humane way”. The RS would have to accept 170,000 refugees who are in Germany.

Although the eyes of Europe, especially Germany, are focused on Dodik’s new government, Kinkel said several times that the prime minister should not be swamped with requests. He added that this government should be helped in the same measure as the previous government was prevented from getting international support and aid.
To Dodik, the most important issue of his short term in office has become Brcko. Dodik is threatening that his government will resign if that town is given to the Moslem-Croat Federation.

A week ago, when he returned from Bonn, Dodik said he got “Kinkel’s guarantee that he will do everything to make sure Brcko stays part of the RS”. Kinkel altered his stand somewhat in Banjaluka: “It’s up to Robert Owen to resolve that issue. We won’t interfere, but we feel that it would be good to postpone that decision and there are many reasons for that”.

Diplomatic circles said Banjaluka Orthodox Shristian Bishop Jefrem was the biggest headache for the German government delegation. Calls to the Holy Trinity church ended immediately, as soon as anyone said the German embassy was calling. No one knew where the bishop was. An invitation for a meeting with Kinkel was delivered but the bishop did not come.

At the banquet, most of the guests were delighted more by the food than Kinkel’s speech. The Banjaluka security men asked their German counterparts if they had brought any money for the RS so that their salaries could be paid since Kinkel promised to urge “economic well being in the RS”.

The euphoria was gone in three hours. Both sides were satisfied. The police and the airport staff were delighted by the Germans because everything went exactly as planned. Kinkel asked to be left alone in the car with Hans Schumacher, deputy high representative for Bosnia and his former spokesman, on his way back to the airport.