BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA
AKSAM- A positive development just escaped public notice for the second time. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a triple summit with his Bosnia-Herzegovinian and Serbian counterparts in Istanbul yesterday, on the heels of meeting them on October 10. I wrote back then that this was just a few hours before Davutoglu flew to Zurich for the signing ceremony of the historical protocol with Armenia.
These triple foreign ministers' summits follow secret Balkan negotiations which have been closely followed by the president, prime minister, foreign minister and diplomats. Rumelia and Balkans, former Ottoman territories, still cause an ache in Turkish hearts.
In her July 18 column 'European Union racism,' Nihal Kemaloglu decried an inexplicable double standard. She wrote that the European Union had lifted visa requirements for Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, but not for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania or Kosovo. Under this embarrassing decision, Serbians and Croatians living in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be able to freely travel to Europe with their Serbian and Croatian passports, but Muslim Bosniaks from the same country will have to get visas. Even putting aside Turkey's decades-long EU quest, this unreasonable policy in the heart of Europe is incomprehensible.
As the trial of Serbian butcher Radovan Karadzic gets underway, humanity is again remembering the biggest massacre of the late 20th century and crying for the innocents who were lost. But the danger isn't over yet. The hidden tension in the Balkans is now very high. Bosnia-Herzegovina is like a ticking time bomb which could go off anytime. Ankara knows the risk. There are fears the country could split up, and ethnic conflicts in the background of this intense diplomacy have been simmering for many months. Ankara is trying to prevent these terrifying developments, which is why Davutoglu often meets with his Bosniak and Serbian counterparts.
President Abdullah Gul's recent visit to Serbia also aimed at heading off war. I heard Davutoglu saying that we've been very concerned over the last month. The Bosnians don't trust Europe and they're right, because it's discriminating against them. The Dayton Accords are about to expire, and new mechanisms are needed for a solution. The political crisis in the country is getting deeper. The UN peacekeepers' term is also ending, and strong efforts against new conflicts are needed. When I asked Davutoglu about developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said that he was working hard. We also spoke of certain details which I can't disclose here, but I can tell you that Turkey is following this issue very closely.