Murphy: Washington accepts Dodik's dangerous agenda

Former United States (US) Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Michael Murphy said that he believes that the administration of US President Donald Trump has reached an agreement with the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Milorad Dodik, regarding the appointment of a new High Representative in BiH.

"Dodik agreed to step down as president of Republika Srpska (RS), which he was obliged to do due to the ruling issued by the Court of BiH, and then the administration would remove (High Representative to BiH) Christian Schmidt from the position of High Representative," Murphy said in an interview with the Sarajevo-based portal Žurnal.

If that is the case, he assessed, for the administration, the "problematic" aspect of Schmidt's tenure was probably his use of the "Bonn powers" to defend the Dayton Peace Agreement and BiH from Dodik's attacks.

If that is true, he emphasized, "it says something about the US administration's agenda for BiH."

According to him, Dodik's goal is the disintegration of BiH, which he openly says and does not hide from anyone, including the American administration.

"This raises the question - is the administration seeking negotiations among local actors on the territorial integrity of BiH? This is what Dodik is seeking when he calls BiH a 'failed state' and calls for its disintegration," the former US ambassador to BiH said.

He assessed that Dodik is a politician in BiH who "is trying to return BiH to the 1990s, not those who are trying to protect the Dayton Peace Agreement and the territorial integrity of BiH from his dangerous agenda."

Speaking about the election of the new High Representative, Murphy pointed out that Italian Antonio Zanardi Landi "is the American candidate for High Representative," adding that there is a paradox here.

"The administration has criticized the OHR, the High Representative and the 'Bonn powers'. It has called for 'local ownership' and an end to outside interventions. So why is the administration proposing any candidate for High Representative? Why doesn't it simply advocate for the closure of the OHR and the inclusion of the remaining 5+2 tasks in the EU accession process," he said.

In his opinion, the Trump administration "must want something from the high representative it trusts, rightly or wrongly, in order to control him."

“I don’t know what it is, but given how the administration has embraced Dodik, I understand why people sitting at the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) table might be concerned,” Murphy said.

He believes that the current US administration "does not like the EU", adding that "this contempt is manifested throughout Europe, not just in the Western Balkans", adding that the differences in the positions of Washington and Brussels are not the reason for the stagnation in reforms in BiH, but that they have been "deliberately blocked by ethno-nationalist political leaders in the country".

"The blame here lies, first and foremost, with Dodik. (HDZ BiH leader Dragan) Čović also bears some responsibility, as he continues to provide Dodik with de facto support, despite Dodik's blockade of BiH's European path," Murphy concluded.

The former US ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that the country still needs an OHR and a High Representative with "Bonn powers" (the ability to impose decisions and dismiss elected officials) to implement and defend the Dayton Peace Agreement.

He explained that this means protecting BiH and its institutions from attempts to undermine them, but also defending against threats to the territorial integrity of BiH.