The path to the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH is not over, said Professor Dr. Marko Attila Hoare, a historian, associate professor at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.
He recalled that the international community rejected BiH's request that independence be recognized at the same time as Croatia, with the explanation that a referendum should be held first.
Between the end of the war in Croatia and the referendum, Serbian forces were simply given the time to recover from their failure in Croatia and prepare for an attack on BiH. The international recognition and independence of BiH in 1992 was the work of the international community, which had already divided BiH in order to appease Serbia, Hoare said.
The struggle for independence was fought against a militarily more powerful enemy, without adequate military preparation and for a population that was not psychologically prepared. He stressed that Western powers, especially the UK and France, supported Serbia, and proposed various plans for the division of BiH, which Serbian nationalists interpreted as a green light Western powers also kept an arms embargo that gave the Serbian rebels military superiority. The United Nations peacekeeping forces on the ground collaborated with Serbian forces. Dutch UNPROFOR forces loaded the victims into the hands of the killers in the Srebrenica massacre. He was therefore forced to lead independence in very unfavorable circumstances without friends among the Western powers, Dr. Hoare said.
However, he added that the BiH Army's victory was prevented by Western diplomacy.
As the BiH fighters advanced toward Prijedor and Banja Luka, US envoy Richard Holbrooke threatened to bomb the BiH army unless Izetbegovic agreed to a ceasefire. This saved the Republika Srpska RS from defeat. In a difficult position, Izetbegovic was in an untrustworthy position, militaryly dependent on untrustworthy Croatian allies and a hostile international community. However, Izetbegovic agreed to partition under enormous pressure from the West, but in a way this fits into his pure Bosniak strategy. With a constitutional solution that crippled the nation, BiH ended its war for independence. Dayton meant recognition of the genocidal entity RS with half of BiH's territory, Hoare said.
He said that the paradox of BiH independence is that its formal recognition coincided with the desecration of BiH's statehood.
Professor Doctor Hoare emphasized that the Dayton Constitution does not hinder the functioning of BiH.
Dayton's system is not working within its framework, so it is impractical to reform it. Under Dodik's leadership, RS s separatism accelerated. Christian Schmidt made amendments to the constitution of BiH FBiH to ensure that the HDZ has a veto on the government. The problem is the Dayton Constitution. The international community will not liberate BiH. BiH should be independent, not under international control. Dr. Hoare added that the path to independence is not over.