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Schwarz-Schilling's Exit Leaves Bosnia in Disarray

24 01 2007  Departure of mediator comes in the wake of mounting international and local criticism of his hands-off approach.

By Christian Jennings in Sarajevo (Balkan Insight, 24 Jan 07)

When international mediator, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, this week announced he would not be extending his mandate beyond June, it spelled an end to speculation about the future of the unpopular German diplomat and raised concern about the nature of the international community's involvement in the final stage of the state-building process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The five-nation quorum, comprising France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the US, is believed to have effectively given Schwarz-Schilling the sack, after making it clear this week that he should step down by June at the latest.

The move follows growing complaints from local politicians and the international community about the performance of the country's most important foreigner.

The recent bleak assessments of Schwarz-Schilling's work contrast markedly with the atmosphere on his arrival early in 2005, when he was broadly welcomed.

Local experts predicted that he would be a refreshing change from his predecessor, the former British politician Paddy Ashdown, who made wide-ranging and often controversial use of the so-called "Bonn Powers", which give the High Representative the right to impose laws and dismiss officials.

Bosnians frequently criticised Ashdown for draconian use of these powers, only later to blame Schwarz-Schilling for not using them enough.

The latter used his executive powers mainly to undo Ashdown's decisions to remove corrupt or criminal personnel from political and public office.

At a UN Security Council meeting last April, Schwarz-Schilling argued that the international community should resist the temptation to intervene and under his tenure the Bosnian government operated without the fear of international intervention.

The former German minister for posts and telecommunications said around the election of October 2006 that he "didn't believe in colonialism for Bosnia" - a sharp reminder of the image of the regime of his predecessor.

His approach was based on the premise that the international community's micromanagement of Bosnian politics patronised society and hampered its progress towards genuine independence.

Diplomats told Balkan Insight that Schwarz-Schilling's appointment as High Representative reflected the "temporary loss of interest" by the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

International insiders in Sarajevo said it reflected their determination to disengage from the country after Ashdown's departure, as well as a policy split between Britain and the US on one side and the European Union on the other.

Like Ashdown, Schwarz-Schilling took up the new post announcing he would be the last High Representative and suggesting the post was no longer needed.

He argued that the Office of the High Representative, OHR, should be turned into the office of a EU Special Representative, which would have fewer powers.

By the end of 2006, he appeared to change his tune, however, after concluding that unruly Bosnian politicians still needed more stick than carrot.

This indecision, or change of tack, cost him the backing of some key figures in the international community, which became divided in their support for him.

It left him in a weaker position than Ashdown who throughout his term enjoyed crucial support from the US for a policy of firm, de-facto proconsulship.

Schwarz-Schilling's hands-off approach, on the other hand, carried a risk that his tenure might consist of "doing nothing", as the Financial Times recently suggested.

The failure of his experiment was apparent before the end of last year, when each of the goals set by the EU and the international community was missed.

These included constitutional reform, the adoption of a unified police force and full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

James Lyon of the International Crisis Group, the author of an as-yet-unpublished report into the performance of OHR and Schwarz-Schilling, said his tenure had been "counter-productive and disappointing".

Over the last six months, all progress on meeting the requirements of EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement has indeed stalled, and along with it all progress toward European integration.

At the same time, the territorial integrity of the country again is open to question, as Bosnian Serbs threaten secession in the event of Kosovo's independence from Serbia.

Schwarz-Schilling was wrong-footed in his dealings with the wily premier of Republika Srpska, RS, Milorad Dodik, who last year called for a referendum in the Bosnian Serb entity.

Schwarz-Schilling first declared that no part of Bosnia would be allowed to secede while the OHR was in place, only to announce a week later that the OHR would close by June 2007.

The OHR has appeared unwilling and unable to rein in Dodik's rhetoric. At the same time, it has also seemed at a loss in dealing with the Bosniak presidency member, Haris Silajdzic, who has called for the abolition of the RS, even though this would clearly violate the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.

International judicial and security sources told Balkan Insight that Schwarz-Schilling's reluctance to engage with the issue of war crimes led to him refusing to extend the mandate of Toby Robinson, a Texan auditor whose investigations into - and actions against - criminal banks and insurance companies, according to some, did much to dismantle the support network of war-crime suspects.

At the same time, Schwarz-Schilling found himself marching in operational step with General Marco Chiarini, the Italian commander of the 6,000-plus EUFOR force, who has also been criticised for failing to supply sufficient intelligence concerning war criminals or taking effective action against them.

Embarrassingly, he had a habit of falling asleep in public, sometimes during high-level meetings with Bosnian politicians, international officials, ambassadors, colleagues and deputations. An alleged curt manner towards his staff did him no favours.

The OHR told Balkan Insight that Schwarz-Schilling has been and remains committed to the position and to the process of development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Diplomatic sources say some members of the international community deliberately leaked the news that Schwarz-Schilling would not remain in the country after June, forcing him to hold a rushed press conference at which he presented the resignation as his own decision.

"Following my talk with Chancellor [Angela] Merkel on 11 January, I wrote to inform her that I would not seek an extension of my mandate beyond 30 June this year," he told the press conference

"The Peace Implementation Council is the relevant decision-making body and all decisions relating to the mandate and individuals concerned will be taken by the PIC Steering Board Meeting at the end of February.

"I am confident that my arguments will prevail. What matters is the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not that of myself as an individual," he went on. The PIC meets on February 26 and 27.

The announcement prompted speculation in Sarajevo about the future role of the international community in the country. Specifically, the role of the OHR, the EUSR and the Bonn Powers in any future mission is under scrutiny.

Lyon of the ICG has called for change. "The Bonn Powers are no longer useful," he argued. "We have no effective military force in place to back them up and have destroyed credibility in them."

However, others insist that retaining the powers is essential to Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress.

Continued use of the prerogatives, they say, gives the international community the authority to back up the EU's "softer" powers and so guide the country towards reform and eventual EU membership.

Some experts suggest that OHR will now have to remain past this summer's deadline for its closure, and work alongside the EU Special Representative office.

While some have suggested that they should be independently led, others suggest that the missions, along with the European Commission, should come under a single leadership.

All agree that a successor to Schwarz-Schilling must be announced quickly in order to restore confidence in an international mission that has gone adrift.

Christian Jennings is a freelance journalist based in Sarajevo. Balkan Insight is BIRN's online publication.