Cultural Cooperation in the Dayton Triangle
The Igman Initiative, a network of 140 NGOs from Serbia and Montenegro (SaM), Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), led by the Novi Sad-based Center for Regionalism and supported by USAID's implementing partner Freedom House, hosted the President of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, the President of the Republic of Croatia,
Stjepan Mesic and the Chairman of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borislav Paravac at the 10th session of the Igman Initiative, the Cultural Cooperation in the Dayton Triangle.
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| (From left) President Mesic, President Marovic and Chairman Paravac shake hands upon signing a joint statement on cooperation at the 10th Session of the Igman Initiative |
The Igman Initiative conference deals with different aspects of the normalization of relations between SaM, Croatia and BiH, including issues of refugees, and new areas of cooperation and development. The declaration states ". . . as all three countries have the identical long-term goal, namely membership in the European Union, the remaining issues related to the wars that broke up the Former Yugoslavia should be removed to further improve the normalization of relations. Cooperation between the states, state institutions and the non-governmental sector should be continued, in particular in the area of establishment and strengthening of the rule of law, reform of judiciary, modernization of public administration, confidence building, politics, economy and culture. . . "
The three presidents made a joint statement after the meeting, held in Belgrade this summer, calling for the unconditional extradition of all war crime suspects indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and individualization of responsibility for the war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia.
They agreed that significant progress had been made since the end of the Balkan conflicts and also agreed that they share the same goal to join the European Union. The three leaders signed a declaration on enhancing mutual dialogue and cooperation, supporting refugee returns and liberalizing visa regimes. They emphasized that key issues, such as institutionalization and liberalization of visa regimes and border crossings, must be resolved through political dialogue.
President Mesic congratulated the non-governmental sector for "…proving time and time again that they are much braver and have more foresight than those in power."
He thanked NGOs "for having paved the way for the renewal of trust and mutual understanding and the normalization of relations in South East Europe, with a focus on former Yugoslavia."
President Marovic urgently called on the Government of Serbia to resolve the case of Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic. "With the arrival of Mladic in the ICTY, SaM can finally become a member of the Partnership for Peace by the end of 2005 and conclude discussions on stabilization and association with the EU."
The Igman Initiative was founded by the Center for Regionalism from Novi Sad, supported by Freedom House with funds provided by USAID and in cooperation with the Forum for Democratic Alternatives from Sarajevo and the Civic Committee for Human Rights from Zagreb.
The Initiative takes its name from a 1995 trek by a group of 38 intellectuals and anti-war activists from across the former Yugoslavia through Hungary and Croatia and across Igman Mountain to Sarajevo, which was under siege at the time. They attended the annual meeting of the Sarajevo-based Serb Civic Council in of support for the besieged citizens of Sarajevo. The Initiative now comprises more than 140 NGOs from SaM, BiH and Croatia working towards renewing cooperation and normalizing inter-state relations within the Dayton Triangle.
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