Dok se približava dvadeseta godišnjica Mirovnog sporazuma, svi se možemo složiti da je taj sporazum ljudima BiH donio prijeko potreban mir. To nikad ne treba zaboraviti. Mir nema cijene i nikada ga ne treba uzimati zdravo za gotovo. Ali on je osnova, a ne konačno stanje.

Naša zajednička vizija je funkcionalna i prosperitetna BiH: država koja radi u interesu svojih građana, kao potpuno integrisana članica evroatlantske porodice. To je vizija za čiju smo realizaciju i dalje opredijeljeni, ali da bismo to postigli moramo se uozbiljiti.

Takođe smatram da bi se većina građana u BiH složila da su mnoge reforme koje su usvojene da bi se proveo Mirovni sporazum u prvih deset godina poslije rata - s ciljem reintegracije zemlje i njenih naroda i izgradnje institucija koje treba da im služe - bile impresivne. Da budem jasan, kad kažem reintegracija ili funkcionalnost, to naravno ne znači centralizacija.

Na primjer, ogromnoj većini ljudi koji su napustili svoje domove na kraju je omogućeno da vrate vlasništvo nad svojom prijeratnom imovinom. Doduše, ukupne brojke u vezi s povratkom bile su razočaravajuće i dosta toga još ostaje da se uradi prije nego što možemo reći da su vlasti u cijeloj zemlji stvorile uslove da u potpunosti prihvate povratnike. Ipak, Aneks VII Mirovnog sporazuma obezbijedio je okvir za povrat imovine, a - uz dovoljno političke volje - moguće je postići puno više.

Druge reforme koje su preduzete da bi se proveo Mirovni sporazum takođe su donijele određena poboljšanja u svakodnevnom životu: uspostava jedinstvene, stabilne bh. valute, čime je omogućeno slobodno kretanje robe; zajedničke registarske tablice, čime je omogućeno slobodno kretanje i reintegracija stanovništva; jedinstvene lične karte i savremeni pasoši, što je osnovno što je građanima omogućilo da bez viza putuju u EU; moderan sistem poreza na dodatu vrijednost, koji pokazuje impresivne rezultate u punjenju javnih budžeta. Lista je beskonačna.

Nabrajanjem ovih poboljšanja ne želim reći da je Dayton savršen. On to nije. Niti želim reći da ovoj zemlji trenutno ide onako dobro kako bi joj moglo ići. Jasno je da nije tako.

Hoću reći da je u prvih deset godina, kada je postojala dovoljna politička volja i spremnost za postizanje zdravih kompromisa, dejtonski okvir omogućio da ova zemlja postigne napredak.

Tako jednostavno nije uvjerljivo kada današnji političari upiru prstom na Dejtonski sporazum ili njegovo provođenje da bi opravdali sopstveni kontinuirani neuspjeh kada je riječ o ostvarivanju promjena koje su ovoj zemlji i njenim građanima prijeko potrebne. S obzirom na to da zemljom vlada raširena korupcija i da se, posebno mladi, suočavaju s ogromnom nezaposlenošću, jasno je da je pristup nekih političkih lidera tokom posljednih deset godina za obične ljude bio poražavajući.

As the 20th Anniversary of the Peace Agreement approaches, one thing on which we can all agree is that it brought desperately needed peace to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina We should never forget that. Peace is a priceless commodity and it should never be taken for granted. But it is the base, not the end state.

Our shared vision is a functional and prosperous Bosnia and Herzegovina: a state working in the interests of its citizens, as a fully integrated member of the Euro-Atlantic family. That is a vision we remain committed to realising, but to do so we must once again get serious.

I also believe that most citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina would agree that many of the reforms undertaken to implement the Peace Agreement in the first ten years after the war – to reintegrate the country and its peoples and to build the institutions to serve them – were impressive. And let me be clear, when I say reintegration or functionality, that, of course, does not mean centralisation.

For example, the vast majority of people who fled their homes were eventually able to regain ownership and possession of their pre-war property. True, overall rates of return were disappointing, and much remains to be done before we can say that the authorities throughout the country have created the conditions to fully welcome returnees. Nevertheless, Annex 7 of the Peace Agreement provided the framework for people to have their property restored to them and, with sufficient political will, much more can be achieved.

Other reforms undertaken to implement the Peace Agreement similarly brought a measure of improvement to people’s lives: the creation of a single, stable BiH currency to facilitate the free movement of goods; common license plates to facilitate the free movement and reintegration of people; single ID cards and modern passports, central to Bosnians being able to travel visa-free in the European Union; a modern Value Added Tax system that shows impressive results in filling the public coffers. The list goes on and on.

My point in listing these improvements is not to say that Dayton is perfect. It is not. Nor is it to say that this country is currently doing as well as it could. It clearly is not.

My point is that during the first ten years, when there was sufficient political will and a readiness to reach healthy compromises, the Dayton Framework allowed the country to make progress.

So it simply is not credible for today’s politicians to point to the Dayton Agreement or its implementation to justify their long-running failure to deliver the changes the country and its citizens so desperately need. With the country in the grips of endemic corruption and young people in particular suffering brutally high levels of unemployment, it is clear that the approach of political leaders during the last ten years has been disastrous for ordinary people.

Teško je oteti se utisku da je politička klasa izgubila svaki kontakt s problemima s kojima se suočavaju obični građani. Taj jaz je očit i u političkom diskursu, koji se gotovo nikad ne bavi osnovnim i veoma ozbiljnim problemima s kojima se suočavaju obični ljudi. Rješenja za nezaposlenost, korupciju i sve lošije javne usluge gotovo nikada se ne pominju. Umjesto njih, moramo slušati o beskrajnim opsesijama “slovom” Dejtona ili “izvornim” Dejtonom.

Dvadeset godina nakon zaključivanja Mirovnog sporazuma, vrijeme je da se odlučno okrenemo naprijed i da se usredsredimo na izgradnju bolje budućnosti, prvenstveno zbog mladih, od kojih mnogi nisu bili ni rođeni kada je Mirovni sporazum potpisan.

Postalo je redovna pojava u dnevnopolitičkom diskursu da se predstavnici stranaka na svim stranama fokusiraju na one elemente sporazuma koji odgovaraju njihovim kratkotrajnim političkim ciljevima i koji služe kao sredstvo za skretanje pažnje javnosti sa stvarnih problema s kojima se zemlja suočava.

Još gore, i dalje smo svjedoci pokušaja da se očigledno pogrešno tumači, odnosno krši Mirovni sporazum, uključujući i Ustav BiH. Na primjer, prema slovu Aneksa IV Mirovnog sporazuma, tj. Ustavu BiH, suverena država Bosna i Hercegovina 1995. godine prošla je kroz “izmjene svoje unutrašnje strukture”, pri čemu su ustanovljena dva entiteta, FBiH i RS, tako da svi koji pokušavaju negirati ili ignorisati postojanje entiteta koji su ustanovljeni Dejtonskim mirovnim sporazumom samo gube vrijeme. Moj odgovor njima je - pročitajte Mirovni sporazum.

Takođe, svi koji pokušavaju reći da entiteti imaju suverenitet ili državnost prema Dejtonu ili pak da se mogu otcijepiti od BiH isto tako negiraju slovo Mirovnog sporazuma. Moj odgovor njima je isti - pročitajte Mirovni sporazum.

Još jedan primjer gdje političari pogrešno predstavljaju slovo Dejtona su pravosudne institucije na državnom nivou. Neke stranke čak tvrde da država BiH nema nadležnosti u pravosudnoj sferi i da entiteti mogu jednostrano odlučiti da izađu iz pravosudne nadležnosti države. To takođe nije tačno. Država BiH, RS, opština, ili bilo koji drugi nivo vlasti može odlučivati samo o pitanjima koja spadaju pod njihovu nadležnost. A Ustav BiH jasno kaže da država, između ostalih nadležnosti, ima isključivu ustavnu nadležnost za provođenje krivičnog zakona na međuentitetskom i međunarodnom nivou, a ne entiteti. Dakle, umjesto da ugrožavaju institucije koje su tu da bi se borile protiv korupcije, treba da ih jačamo na svim nivoima. Na to treba da se vratimo dok se pitamo - šta je stvarni razlog što političari traže slabljenje institucija koje su nadležne za borbu protiv korupcije?

It is difficult to avoid the impression that the political class has lost all contact with the problems ordinary people face. This disconnect is reflected the political discourse, which almost never addresses the basic and very serious problems facing ordinary people. Solutions for unemployment, corruption and crumbling services are almost never addressed. Instead we must listen to the never-ending obsession with the “letter” of Dayton or the “original” Dayton.

Twenty years after the Peace Agreement, it is time to look decisively to the future and to focus our efforts on building a better future, especially for the young many of whom were not even born when the Peace Agreement was signed.

It has become a regular occurrence in daily politics for party representatives on all sides to focus on those elements of the Agreement which suit their short-term political goals and which serve as a means to divert public attention from the real problems facing the country.

Even worse we continue to see attempts to blatantly misinterpret and/or violate the Peace Agreement, including the BiH Constitution. For example, according to the letter of Annex 4 of the Peace Agreement, the BiH Constitution, the sovereign state of Bosnia and Herzegovina had its “internal structure modified” in 1995 establishing the two entities, the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska.

So anyone who tries to deny or ignore the existence of the entities as they were created by the Dayton Peace Agreement is wasting time. My answer to them is: “Read the Peace Agreement”.

Similarly, anyone who tries claim that the entities have sovereignty or statehood under Dayton or may secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina is also denying the letter of the Peace Agreement.

Another example where politicians have misrepresented the letter of Dayton is the state-level judicial institutions. Some parties even claim that the BiH state has no authority in the judicial sphere and that the entities can unilaterally opt out of the state judicial sphere.

This is also not the case. The state, the Republika Srpska, a municipality, or any other level of government can only decide on a matter falling under its competency. And the BiH Constitution is clear that the state, among other responsibilities, has exclusive constitutional responsibility for inter-entity and international criminal law enforcement, not the entities. So instead of undermining institutions that are there to fight corruption we need to be strengthening them at all levels. This is what we need to get back to while constantly asking ourselves “what is the real reason that politicians are demanding that institutions that are responsible for fighting corruption should be weakened?”

U demokratiji je normalno da postoje neslaganja među političkim akterima o tome kako treba da izgleda ustav.

Iz tog razloga, sam ustav objašnjava kako ga je moguće izmijeniti. U slučaju BiH on se može izmijeniti glasanjem u Parlamentarnoj skupštini BiH.

U demokratiji je takođe normalno da postoje neslaganja među političkim akterima i institucijama o tome šta slovo ustava zaista znači u praksi.

Iz tog razloga, sam ustav obezbjeđuje mehanizam za rješavanje sporova koji proizilaze iz njega: To je Ustavni sud BiH, čije su odluke “konačne i obavezujuće”.

Takođe, Aneks X Dejtonskog sporazuma daje mehanizam za rješavanje neslaganja kod tumačenja civilnih aspekata Dejtonskog mirovnog sporazuma, a to je visoki predstavnik.

Within a Democracy, it is normal for there to be disagreements among political actors about what the constitution should look like.

For this reason, the constitution itself explains how it can be amended. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina it can be changed through a vote in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

Within a Democracy, it is also normal for there to be disagreements among political actors and institutions about what the letter of the constitution actually means in practice.

For this reason, the constitution itself provides a mechanism for resolving disputes arising under the Constitution: the BiH Constitutional Court, whose decisions are “final and binding”.

Similarly, Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement provides a mechanism for resolving disagreements about the interpretation of the civilian aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement: the High Representative.

Navodim komplikovanije detalje Dejtonskog mirovnog sporazuma, uključujući i Ustav BiH, ali ono što želim reći je jednostavno: Dejtonski mirovni sporazum i Ustav iz Aneksa IV Mirovnog sporazuma ne mogu mijenjati jednostrano niti RS niti FBiH.

I svi koji vam kažu suprotno ne samo da vam ne govore istinu nego aktivno vode ovu zemlju u prošlost, nastojeći da ponovo otvore pitanja koja su riješena prije dvadeset godina, kako bi vama i vašim porodicama donijela mir. To je - da se blago izrazim - sramotno. Dvadeset godina kasnije, građani ove zemlje imaju pravo da očekuju od svojih političkih lidera da budu stubovi mira i stabilnosti, a ne inicijatori sporova.

Umjesto toga, treba da vam kažu zašto tokom njihovog mandata nisu napravili više prilika za zapošljavanje mladih. Takođe treba da vam kažu zašto tokom svog mandata nisu stvorili bolji životni standard za građane. Treba da vam kažu zašto nisu poboljšali lokalne zdravstvene usluge. Treba da vam kažu zašto nisu preduzeli korake da se riješi politička korupcija. Lista je beskonačna.

Sve su to oblasti koje su ponajviše u nadležnosti entiteta, pa ipak oni ne žele da brinete o ovim stvarima. #$9ele da vjerujete da je problem uvijek izvan njihove zone odgovornosti, tamo gdje uvijek ima neko drugi ko može da se okrivi: pripadnici drugog naroda, druge političke stranke, međunarodne zajednice itd. Međutim svakodnevni život odigrava se u opštinama i entitetima. Ako ima problema, krivce treba tražiti tu, a ne na državnom nivou. To je suviše providno.

Osim toga, oni ne žele da ih pitate zašto njihova vizija nije prerasla politiku mržnje i podjela i zašto su oni i njihovi saradnici sve bogatiji, dok su siromašni sve siromašniji.

Ne žele da ih pitate zašto više ne izvlače najbolje što se može izvući iz dejtonskog okvira kako bi napredovali s reformama i istinski se približili integraciji s EU i prosperitetu koji bi to donijelo.

Vrlo jednostavno, oni moraju promijeniti pristup i to ga moraju promijeniti iz temelja, ali da bi se to desilo, vi, javnost, morate da se angažujete više nego ikad i tražite da građani ove zemlje budu stavljeni na prvo mjesto i da problemi s kojima se suočavate vi i vaše porodice budu jedan i jedini prioritet za vaše izabrane predstavnike.

Budućnost može biti bolja, u to sam duboko ubijeđen, ali to se neće desiti bez vaše podrške i angažmana.

My point in delving into some of the more complicated details the Dayton Peace Agreement, including the BIH Constitution is a simple one. The Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution as set forth in Annex 4 of that Peace Agreement cannot be changed unilaterally by either the Republika Srpska or the Federation BiH.

And anyone who tells you otherwise is not only not telling you the truth, but is actively driving the country into the past by seeking to reopen issues that were resolved twenty years ago to bring peace to you and your families. This is – to put it mildly – shameful. Twenty years down the line, the citizens of this country are entitled to expect their political leaders to be pillars of calm and stability and not the initiators of disputes.

Instead they should be telling you why during their mandate they have not created more employment opportunities for young people. They should also be telling you why during their mandate they have not created more wealth for citizens. They should be telling you why they haven’t improved local health services. They should tell you why they haven’t taken steps to tackle political corruption. The list goes on.

These are all areas predominantly within the competence of the entities, yet they don’t want you to worry about these things. They want you to believe that the problem is always outside of their area of responsibility where somebody else is always to blame: another ethnic group, another political party, the International Community, etc. However, everyday life takes place in the municipalities and entities. If there are problems, that is where the culprits should be looked for, and not the state level. That is too transparent.

Besides, they don’t want you to challenge them as to why their vision hasn’t evolved beyond the politics of hatred and division, and why they and their associates get ever richer and the poor get poorer.

They don’t want you to challenge them about why they are no longer making the best of the Dayton Framework to move ahead on reforms and move decisively towards integration with the European Union and the prosperity it would bring for all.

Very simply they need to change their approach and they need to change it fundamentally, but for that to happen you, the public, need to engage more than ever before to demand that the citizens of this country are put first and that the problems of you and your families face are the one and only priority for your elected representatives.

The future can be better, but it cannot happen without your support and engagement.