BOSNIA: NGOS PAINT A GLOOMY PICTURE OF POLITICAL

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 002557

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/SCE (HOH, FOOKS, STINCHCOMB)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: NGOS PAINT A GLOOMY PICTURE OF POLITICAL
CLIMATE


Summary
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1. (U) On November 21, the Ambassador hosted NGO
representatives participating at a roundtable commemorating
the twelfth anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace
Accords. Participants were pessimistic about the prospects
for improvements in Bosnia's political environment and
complained of being marginalized by the government. They
accused political leaders of ignoring the needs of the
electorate to pursue their own agendas. Nonetheless,
participants offered no suggestions on how they could improve
the situation. The Ambassador urged participants to consider
how they as heads of organizations and as individuals can
affect change.

NGOS PAINT A GLOOMY PICTURE --------------


2. (U) To commemoate the twelfth anniversary of the
signing of th Dayton Peace Agreement, the Ambassador
participted in a USAID-hosted roundtable with
representatves of NGOs from around the country who expressed
frustration with the current political climate. hile they
acknowledged the progress NGOs have mae over the years,
representatives described being &marginalized8 in
government decision making on a wide range of issues
affecting their constituencies. Most blamed incompetence and
corruption on the part of political parties and consecutive
governments, although one participant accused other NGOs,
particularly RS-based organizations, of working to advance
political agendas. Another blamed the international
community for doing little to help civil society become
involved in policymaking but acknowledged the responsibility
of civil society in realizing that objective.


3. (U) Participants cited constitutional reform as among
the most important objectives in national politics and
intimated that, until this issue is solved, it is unlikely
that other issues would be fully addressed. At the same
time, they noted the need to pay greater attention to
minorities such as the Roma, as well as issues affecting
women and rural communities; public fatigue and apathy; and
the tendency to elect corrupt officials. Encouragingly, a
participant noted that, though NGOs had focused on working
with the international community on humanitarian aid, NGOs
now want to become involved in decision-making to address the
public,s needs.

CHANGE IS NEEDED NOW
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4. (U) Participants were adamant that the current political
structure in Bosnia must change but offered few ideas of how
to achieve this. After thanking the USG for its
contributions to Bosnia over the years, an academic called
for greater U.S. engagement in the country in general terms.
He also spoke of educating politicians on the need to work
with civil society to address the public,s needs. This
prompted another participant to declare that civil society
have been educating politicians for years but that the only
thing politicians respond to is pressure. Another recurrent
theme was the need to improve the education system and
creating a workforce equipped with the skills foreign
companies need in Bosnia.
ENGLISH