OHR/EUSR welcomes the move towards reconciliation evident in recent visionary statements regarding innocent victims made to Radio B92 by Bosniak member of the Presidency elect, Bakir Izetbegović.

Statements that encourage reconciliatory dialogue and problem solving represent a welcome and significant change in the political life of Bosnia and Herzegovina. OHR/EUSR expects that BiH’s political leaders will seize the opportunity after this statement to take a further step forward and make BiH a different country.

This statement does not come in a vacuum; Serbia’s adoption of the Srebrenica Resolution, and efforts made by Serbia’s President Tadić and Croatia’s President Josipović indicate that the region is changing and that the future of the region lies within the European Union – based on trust, dialogue, tolerance and healthy compromise in the period after the Second World War. Reconciliation and enhanced cooperation are necessary pre-requisites for this future to come about sooner rather than later. 

BiH leaders can and must take advantage of this positive atmosphere created by the prospect of EU membership and turn the elections into a new start for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Reconciliation begins with compassion, a basic recognition of our common humanity, where political considerations are not that relevant. At the same time, reconciliation can form the basis for the political dialogue needed to improve life for citizens in BiH and entire region”, HR/EUSR Valentin Inzko said.