Dayton Peace Conference 2000
Ana Trbovich
Issue date: 12/4/00 Section: International
The fifth anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords was marked by a conference at the Wright-Peterson Airforce Base, the very place where these accords were negotiated. The Dayton Conference attracted the most influential US diplomats working on the Balkans, high dignitaries from various Bosnian factions, the president of Croatia with his fleet of advisers and diplomats and, finally, the Yugoslav politicians--the president of Montenegro, the foreign policy adviser to the president of Yugoslavia, and the representatives of Kosovo Albanians. Wright-Peterson Airforce Base also played host to the diplomats of the EU member countries, representatives of NATO, OSCE, and numerous non-governmental organizations working on issues related to the Balkans.
Never before has the Dayton Conference gathered this many people, and this is the first time that the conference has been considered a significant event. Its importance is attributable to the changes in governments in both Zagreb and Belgrade within the last year, as well as the upcoming change in the US administration.
Several major issues were considered: the future of the Dayton Peace Accords, the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro, and the status of Kosovo and Metohia. The conference aimed both at facilitating a discussion regarding these issues amongst all political actors and at compiling recommendations for the new US administration.
Nevertheless, the most important deals were probably made in the darkness of the corridors or behind closed doors. Although the panel discussions proceeded “off the record,” nobody spoke as though not being filmed by TV cameras, and most statements were repeated outside the panels. Only rarely was the apparent harmony broken by emotional outbursts, notably during the Bosnia panels where the lack of common purpose did not surprise the international community.
There was tension in the air, given the perceived American dominance and the accompanying European frustration. Former Yugoslav politicians begged for aid while simultaneously defending themselves from verbal beatings. Stipe Mesic, the President of Croatia, emerged as the biggest winner of this conference. He firmly supports the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and regrets the policies of the previous Croatian government, which “not to a small extent contributed to the creation of conditions that made such accords necessary.”
Never before has the Dayton Conference gathered this many people, and this is the first time that the conference has been considered a significant event. Its importance is attributable to the changes in governments in both Zagreb and Belgrade within the last year, as well as the upcoming change in the US administration.
Several major issues were considered: the future of the Dayton Peace Accords, the relationship between Serbia and Montenegro, and the status of Kosovo and Metohia. The conference aimed both at facilitating a discussion regarding these issues amongst all political actors and at compiling recommendations for the new US administration.
Nevertheless, the most important deals were probably made in the darkness of the corridors or behind closed doors. Although the panel discussions proceeded “off the record,” nobody spoke as though not being filmed by TV cameras, and most statements were repeated outside the panels. Only rarely was the apparent harmony broken by emotional outbursts, notably during the Bosnia panels where the lack of common purpose did not surprise the international community.
There was tension in the air, given the perceived American dominance and the accompanying European frustration. Former Yugoslav politicians begged for aid while simultaneously defending themselves from verbal beatings. Stipe Mesic, the President of Croatia, emerged as the biggest winner of this conference. He firmly supports the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and regrets the policies of the previous Croatian government, which “not to a small extent contributed to the creation of conditions that made such accords necessary.”