We Do Adventure

“Bosnia’s top international representative has imposed an interim resolution on squabbling Mostar political factions, establishing the basis for the temporary financing of public services and sanctioning city councillors.” So begins an article I saw tonight on BalkanInsight.com. I think this is a good news story. I start like that because we’re talking about the dangerous and divided world of politics and I’m not out to play political point scoring but any move that means that municipal workers will receive a pay check again after four months is good in my book. I don’t suppose the squabbling politicians have been struggling to keep food on the table our save their electricity from being cut off. Sadly many whose interests they are supposed to be working to protect are not so fortunate. But if the article is to be believed it seems the High Representative has taken the view that it is unfair that those who have been working haven’t been paid while those who haven’t been working have. C...

The High Representative was in Mostar today to bash some heads together (metaphorically one assumes) over the inexcusable stalemate local politicians seem happy to maintain. The OHR issued a press release on Tuesday. This extract will give you a flavour of the problems the city is engulfed in. “Since the local elections more than nine months ago, the leaders of these parties have failed to hold any serious talks aimed at overcoming the situation in Mostar, despite the fact city council has yet to elect a mayor and adopt a city budget. Instead of pursuing political dialogue, the parties have sought to deflect blame from themselves and direct it towards each other and the OHR.” We heard that if the meeting today did not produce any resolution then protestors would blockade the road to Sarajevo for the next couple of days. There is but one main north/south road so this would be a fairly crippling action. However, the situation should never have been allowed to get to this point. As I writ...

I don’t often post on the political situation here in Bosnia and Herzegovina but when I saw this article today I had to make some kind of comment. It quotes Milorad Dodik, prime minister of Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, from a column published on Monday in Austrian daily Der Standard as saying: “Some countries accept that the people of Bosnia must be allowed to self-manage. Others seem to fear that when the training wheels of this international experiment are removed, "the bicycle" might fall over together with the child. But Bosnia and Herzegovina is now 15 years old. Is it not the time to give it a try?” He is explaining his argument for the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). I can see how what could be seen as a babysitter for the international community could be seen as patronizing. However I’ve done a fair bit of mountain bike instruction over the years with young people aged 11-15. You learn that some riders can be surpris...