SARAJEVO, April 13 (Reuters) — Former Bosnian prime minister Haris Silajdzic was poised on Saturday to announce the formation of a new political party to contest September elections. The move would pit Silajdzic against Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and the country's ruling Muslim nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), from which Silajdzic resigned in January when he stepped down as prime minister.
Silajdzic Leads Polls in Bosnia-Herzegovina
A recent poll published by Sarajevo's leading monthly magazine, Dani, identified the 50-year-old Silajdzic as Bosnia's most popular politician. Forty percent of those polled, all of whom lived in urban areas controlled by the Bosnian government, preferred Silajdzic as compared to 26 per cent for Izetbegovic.Elections are required under the Dayton peace agreement that ended 43 months of war in Bosnia late in 1995. International mediators have voiced reservations about whether the conditions for a free and fair vote will be in place in time for the election.
Silajdzic's prospects depend greatly on the international community's ability to enforce a provision in the Dayton accord calling for media access for non-government political parties and candidates.
To capitalize on his personal popularity the former prime minister would also have to abandon his habit of performing as a solo political act and create an organization with the depth and muscle to compete against Izetbegovic's SDA.
Defender of Multi-Ethnic Tradition
Born into a prominent Muslim clerical family in Sarajevo, Silajdzic was foreign minister in the Bosnian government when war broke out in April 1992. Fluent in English, Arabic and Bosnian, he quickly established himself on the international stage as the most eloquent defender of his country's multi-ethnic tradition.When Silajdzic was named prime minister in 1993 he moved, at considerable personal risk, to rid Sarajevo of a number of Muslim warlords who were terrorising the capital. Friendly with the international media and never entirely comfortable having abandoned the foreign minister's role, Silajdzic continued to travel widely and argue vigorously against the arms embargo which was crippling Bosnia's defence.
A nominal member of the SDA, over time he drifted away from the ruling party and refused to participate in its conclaves or decisions. A dispute with the party in the summer of 1995 led Silajdzic to resign as prime minister. He was soon persuaded to withdraw the resignation and went on to play a crucial role, with Izetbegovic, in the Dayton peace negotiations.
Silajdzic is expected to campaign against what he sees as the increasingly narrow Muslim nationalist vision of the SDA. Silajdzic, himself an Islamic scholar, has told reporters that continued pursuit of Muslim nationalism could cut Bosnia off from its multi-ethnic history and tradition and isolate the country in the region, Europe and the world.
Haris Silajdzic is Most Popular Politician in Bosnia
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