| 20 October 2009
One of the numerous attempts seeking to solve the stalemate of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the summit held on 9 October 2009, at the Butmir military base, near Sarajevo. The initiators of this meeting were: the European commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, who holds the EU rotating presidency and the Deputy Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State, James Steinberg. As many expected, no arrangements were made but this has been perceived as the first step which could, hopefully, bring a brighter future for the people living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Butmir summit indeed has raised high expectations in the country. Unfortunately, looking at the stalemate in Bosnia and Herzegovina these expectations are unlikely to be met. Since the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been under the guardianship of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). As the OHR, and the international community in general, failed in establishing security and prosperity, the alternative of replacing the OHR with an EU Special Representative Office is being contemplated.
| 12 October 2009
The Brutish Connexion
In the darkest and dustiest corners of the human mind lurk such unfortunate traits as greed,active racism, cowardice, and even sheer barbarity. So it is with states and empires, most of which have their fair share of skeletons in the cupboard which, when opened, reveal such nasty events as the destruction of Milos (Athens), blinding of the Bulgars (Eastern Roman Empire), the murder of Irish priests, women and children at Wexford and Drogheda (England), the Amritsar massacre (Britain), the genocide of Armenians and Greeks (Ottoman Empire), the genocide of the Amerindians and the My Laimassacre (USA), the shooting of unarmed Polish prisoners (Soviet Union), the genocide of gypsies and Hebrews (Germany), the bombing of Dresden (Britain byday, the US by night), the genocide of Serbs (Croatia), the genocide of Cambodians (Cambodia), and the butchering of Palestinians at Sabra & Shatila and elsewhere (Israel). These, and many more, bear testimony to the dark side of Man’s behaviour towards Man, and how eminently uncivilised a species we still are, whatever smart clothes we wear, technological gadgetry we use, and clever theories we expound. When it comes to the crunch, we are simply clothed animals. Our civilised technology has meant a greater propensity to kill than hitherto: in the Great War a mere ten million died, while the figure was fivefold in the last world war. Moreover, most who died in the latter were civilians, in contrast to the former.
| 28 September 2009
One of the key successes in foreign policy is local knowledge, particularly in areas a state hopes to work in, where they are engaged in war or which they are occupying. Even local knowledge over cultures within one’s own borders is essential if national policies are to be successful.
But the more one looks at the
Cyprus problem, and in particular the north of
Cyprus, which is described as a “subordinate authority” to
Turkey, the more one can observe a certain short-sightedness in Turkish foreign policy.
Over 35 years,
Turkey has transported tens of thousands of its own citizens to the north of
Cyprus believing it would boost the “Cyprus Turkish people”, but has in fact made some spectacular errors of judgment in its policy.
| 21 September 2009
It was hailed by many as an historic day in Strasbourg. The Polish MEP Jerzy Buzek was overwhelmingly chosen as the European Parliament’s president – the first time a leader from the former Soviet bloc is leading a major EU institution. In his inaugural speech, Buzek said: “Once upon a time I hoped to be a member of the Polish Parliament, in a free Poland. Today I have become the president of the European Parliament, something I could never have dreamed of. I consider my election to be a tribute to the millions of people who didn’t bow to a hostile system”. He stressed that “there is no longer ‘you’ and ‘us’ – we all live in one Europe shared by all”.