Kavazovic delivered an impassioned report on Thursday, titled "The Path to Reconciliation and Coexistence in a Post-Genocidal Society," at a lecture hosted by the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs, or CIPA. He spoke the previous day at Cornell on the theme "U.S. Military Officers and Muslim Leaders in Bosnia," to ROTC members as well as to the general public.
Kavazovic's visit was organized in order to provide an opportunity to speak directly to the Ithaca community regarding conditions, challenges and obstacles facing the development of a functioning civil society in Bosnia today. He's visited Ithaca before, when he was an International Scholar at Cornell in 2002, and during this particular visit Kavazovic addressed a wide range of groups, including Ithaca Rotarians, the women's group of the St. Paul United Methodist church, an Episcopal church in Trumansburg, a Quaker meeting with the Perry City Friends and other area gatherings of friends and colleagues. The visit was organized by Christopher Bragdon, director of the non-governmental organization Bosnia Initiatives for Local Development, or BILD, and Thomas O'Toole, executive director for Professional Development at the Cornell Institute of Public Affairs.
In Thursday's lecture, Kavazovic urged the world to acknowledge that the conflict in Bosnia in 1992-1995 was indeed a genocide - a crucial condition necessary for reconciliation and reconstruction, he argued. Bosnian Serb leaders boasted openly about their intention to expel Muslims from Europe, and current estimates of lives lost in the Bosnian conflict range from 100,000 to 200,000. An estimated 8,000 men were massacred in Srebrenica in the open view of U.N. soldiers in July of 1995, and current attempts to locate the deceased and as well as to resettle displaced persons continue at a painfully slow pace.
Kavazovic was deeply appreciative of the United States' support, and said so repeatedly during his visit. Nevertheless, he voiced frustration with the current U.S. administration's neglect of crucial issues facing Bosnia, such as the failure to capture indicted war criminals and the unwillingness to prevent Serb nationalists from threatening the development of stable institutions in the region.
After his lecture on Thursday, which was delivered in translation by Cornell CIPA Research Fellow and Sarajevo native Belma Pobric, Kavazovic spoke to the Ithaca Times about the goals of his visit to Ithaca. When asked what recommendations he might offer current U.S. administration, he carefully articulated a number of requests.
"First, it would be necessary for the U.S. administration to finish the job it began in Bosnia," he said. "The American soldiers performed superbly, but that role has now been handed over to Russia," he explained, referring to the transfer of certain responsibilities in Bosnia to Russia. According to many observers, this situation now allows Belgrade and Serb nationalists to meddle in Bosnian affairs under the protection of Russian diplomacy.
"Second, it would be essential for Serbia to be fully democratized. It is a very difficult question, but a crucial one for the people of Bosnia," he added.
Yet another paradoxical problem facing Bosnia is the urgent need to join the European Union. "The requirements for joining the European Union are very strict, and unfortunately the political structure inside of our country, as mandated by the Dayton Peace Agreement, makes it extremely difficult for us to satisfy those conditions," he explained, in reference to the convoluted tripartite governmental structure that remains in place in Bosnia, as the result of the Dayton Agreement.
Kavazovic's final suggestion was for the U.S. administration to support Bosnia in joining NATO. He added, "Bosnia must have one government, one civilized country, one legal system and rights for all minorities. But without the United States' support, these reforms will not take place soon enough to allow us to achieve normalcy in our society and its institutions."
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