PICHUGIN: NEO-COLONIAL MOVES IN BiH MUST COME TO AN END

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – Adviser at the Office of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in BiH Yuriy Pichugin stated that neo-colonialist moves in BiH must be brought to an end and emphasized that dialogue should be left to the constituent peoples without outside interference.

"The greatest destabilizing factor is the illegitimate High Representative, who, unfortunately, is now introducing numerous reforms into BiH's constitutional framework. As seen at the UN Security Council, we firmly support the efforts of Republika Srpska to preserve the constitutional and legal framework of the Dayton Peace Accords and to protect the constitutional competencies of all three constituent peoples and both entities," Pichugin said. Speaking to reporters in Banja Luka prior to the opening of an international political science conference marking 30 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords — attended by eminent experts from Republika Srpska and Russia — Pichugin said that over the past three decades, dialogue among the constituent peoples has been negatively affected by the approach of Western countries. "The Dayton Agreement envisaged a mechanism to protect and maintain the balance of interests of all three constituent peoples and both entities. That balance was well designed and cannot be changed through external interference," Pichugin stressed. Yekaterina Entina, Director of the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the Higher School of Economics and adviser to the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, stated that the research was conducted in several directions, with the sociological aspect including an online survey and interviews with representatives of the three ethnic groups in BiH. "The results clearly showed that there is deep division, but contrary to what the West and NGOs claim, there is no great hatred. There has also been no economic integration because of constant interference in BiH’s internal affairs, which has limited investment and willingness for mutual economic cooperation," Entina pointed out. She referred to cinematography and films made in the past 30 years, noting that out of 50 films, only two or three do not portray Serbs as major villains. "It is important to present this to the wider public to show what kind of cultural framework is being created in this country. As researchers, we agree with our state’s position that the OHR has become an obstructive factor and has caused greater disintegration now than 20 years ago," Entina said. She added that after analyzing the decisions of past high representatives, the researchers concluded that those decisions had most severely affected Serbs in BiH. The conference is organized by the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Banja Luka in cooperation with the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.