:00:00. > :00:00.alleged the UK government signed a deal in 2007 for the US to process
:00:00. > :00:13.the data which had previously been off`limits. Those are the headlines,
:00:14. > :00:17.time now for HARDtalk. Welcome to HARDtalk. Bosnia
:00:18. > :00:24.Herzegovina is a nation state built on fragile foundations. It emerged
:00:25. > :00:27.from a brutal ethnic war. Its make`up ` a Serb mini`state
:00:28. > :00:30.reluctantly yoked to a Muslim Croat federation ` is dysfunctional. And
:00:31. > :00:40.there are now fears it could disintegrate. My guess today is
:00:41. > :00:43.Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska
:00:44. > :00:44.enclave in Bosnia. Are the separatist Bosnian Serbs playing
:00:45. > :01:20.with fire? `` guest. Zeljka Cvijanovic, welcome to
:01:21. > :01:25.HARDtalk. Let me ask a question which I have never asked of a Prime
:01:26. > :01:33.minister before. What country do you feel you are from? A country which
:01:34. > :01:42.has operated in peace for 18 years now. As of this Thursday marks an
:01:43. > :01:53.important anniversary. No hesitation in your mind. I am speaking about
:01:54. > :02:10.Bosnia Herzegovina because it was... As you may know, we are not
:02:11. > :02:14.speaking about the enclaves... Even as we begin to discuss it, it can
:02:15. > :02:21.become very complicated very quickly. In a sense, you see
:02:22. > :02:29.yourself as a citizen of Bosnia Herzegovina? That is very important.
:02:30. > :02:41.I see myself as a citizen of Bosnia Herzegovina. You have a passport?
:02:42. > :02:51.And that was a Bosnian passport? By speaking about civil rights, their
:02:52. > :03:05.citizenship, by law it was possible to say many of us are the citizens
:03:06. > :03:12.of Bosnia Herzegovina. The man who appointed you to your current
:03:13. > :03:15.position says that Bosnia Herzegovina has no viability and no
:03:16. > :03:29.future and will very soon be dissolved. Many people think about
:03:30. > :03:40.it that way. Do you? I think Bosnia Herzegovina is a country... It has a
:03:41. > :03:49.possibility to have a future. It depends how realistic we are in our
:03:50. > :03:56.approach. Unfortunately, it has suffered from stereotypes for many
:03:57. > :04:06.of years. I think it is high time we dispelled prejudice and I think the
:04:07. > :04:20.whole region actually has been seen through this prison of stereotypes
:04:21. > :04:24.and never enough the economically. All these other countries in the
:04:25. > :04:29.region, they are good places to invest money to start businesses. I
:04:30. > :04:38.fully agree with what the President said. This country, Bosnia
:04:39. > :04:48.Herzegovina, is facing a lot of challenges. We have to be realistic
:04:49. > :04:54.in identifying them. Thank you. When you talk about people who bring
:04:55. > :05:15.prejudicial attitudes to the table, do you include... Who has insisted
:05:16. > :05:29.that Bosnia Herzegovina cannot function and does not have a future.
:05:30. > :05:38.All these names that you mentioned, they are separated from the practice
:05:39. > :05:47.of normal life in our country. We should give possibility to the
:05:48. > :05:53.European union to function. Concerning the question of
:05:54. > :06:06.perception of Bosnia Herzegovina full, I understand... It is my duty
:06:07. > :06:13.as Prime Minister to deal with these present challenges and to think
:06:14. > :06:19.about what we can do and at the same time to be realistic. When it comes
:06:20. > :06:30.to money, there is always disagreements. We have an
:06:31. > :06:40.administrative monster, there is only a 4 million population. We are
:06:41. > :06:55.trying if we can to get a question and answer going here. One EU source
:06:56. > :06:59.who is intimately involved with Bosnia Herzegovina sad, let's be
:07:00. > :07:12.clear, only a sovereign united and independent Bosnia Herzegovina can
:07:13. > :07:20.join the EU. To you agree? There is no secret about that. They believe
:07:21. > :07:26.that your party and your government is in a sense the suing a separatist
:07:27. > :07:34.agenda. Are you walking away from that? We are working very hard to
:07:35. > :07:40.ensure stability foreign citizens. To be able to have functional and
:07:41. > :07:54.stable institutions. Will you renounce separatism? I would say,
:07:55. > :08:00.please allow me to explain, Bosnia Herzegovina, when we speak about
:08:01. > :08:10.Bosnia Herzegovina, we try to refer to problems which exist, so now at a
:08:11. > :08:16.state level, there are 22,000 people working as a administrative
:08:17. > :08:24.workers, there is no country on this planet with only a 4 million
:08:25. > :08:34.population which can afford that. Former Yugoslavia had... Let me pick
:08:35. > :08:44.up on that point you made. Make a point and let me pick up on that.
:08:45. > :08:51.Inside the government of Bosnia Herzegovina, they have tried to push
:08:52. > :08:56.a series of reforms. They have been thwarted, they have been blocked.
:08:57. > :09:05.The people blocking have been the Bosnian Serbs. Is it not true? We
:09:06. > :09:18.stand for reforms and who want to have our judicial system reformed.
:09:19. > :09:25.There was a system produced... We were the only country actually
:09:26. > :09:34.applying... Such examples you cannot find in any other European country.
:09:35. > :09:40.We decided to participate in dialogue... It has been continuing
:09:41. > :09:52.for years on a whole host of subjects will stop banned from the
:09:53. > :10:00.EU. Dot. Porting efforts to integrate, unify, to make more
:10:01. > :10:03.efficient and stronger the state of Bosnia Herzegovina, and the reason
:10:04. > :10:20.is because you want a separate State of Bosnian Serbs. That is what they
:10:21. > :10:23.say. So your president is wrong? There simply isn't true. The
:10:24. > :10:30.President wants to see a referendum in which he says, in net inevitably,
:10:31. > :10:45.it may not be tomorrow, your people are republicans. I do not think so.
:10:46. > :10:54.The decisions of high representative... The judicial
:10:55. > :11:03.system which was established that there... So that was something which
:11:04. > :11:10.was supposed to be... So you are simply waiting and playing for time.
:11:11. > :11:16.Waiting for a referendum in which your people will vote for a
:11:17. > :11:26.separatist state. All these processes are taking place in Bosnia
:11:27. > :11:37.are right now. To move on the European path... Which would
:11:38. > :11:50.actually suit a country like Bosnia... You are backing that
:11:51. > :11:57.reform? You're going to say to do with ending the power structure...
:11:58. > :12:01.The European Court of Human Rights declared that the way the system
:12:02. > :12:09.works is unacceptable and is discriminatory against minorities
:12:10. > :12:17.who are not part of the Serb or Croat communities. To your support
:12:18. > :12:23.or are you backing that change? It has been discussed for years but it
:12:24. > :12:28.hasn't happened. Yes, of course, but we have to open an election process
:12:29. > :12:43.for minorities. It is something which can be seen... No one is
:12:44. > :12:51.ignoring this. It is not true. It has taken eight years. They are
:12:52. > :13:03.trying to resolve this issue. So it is all their fault? We cannot which
:13:04. > :13:09.is taking place between their partners... The EU is trying hard,
:13:10. > :13:16.which we have heard from different sources. One thing which they also
:13:17. > :13:20.point out is if Bosnia Herzegovina is to get away a rigourous
:13:21. > :13:29.application of sectarianism or communism, if it is to get away from
:13:30. > :13:39.that, is it not time to your Republican serves to stop insisting
:13:40. > :13:45.that people be issued with cards which clearly identify where you are
:13:46. > :13:57.from and what community? It was blocked at state level. They would
:13:58. > :14:08.say that the Bosnian Serbs... They had to act. I had to decide and this
:14:09. > :14:17.is what I did. You decided that the system should remain sectarian base?
:14:18. > :14:19.Not to wait for these guys and not being able to make an agreement,
:14:20. > :14:31.just being able to wait for them. Now we resolve this issue and we
:14:32. > :14:38.will resolve the issues. Do you have children? Yes, too. Do you like the
:14:39. > :14:42.fact that your children have ID cards which immediately tell them
:14:43. > :14:51.which ethnic community the hour from? Is that good or bad? I was not
:14:52. > :14:56.thinking of it in that way. In the formerly Yugoslavia... Looking to
:14:57. > :15:04.the next generation, your children's future... Is it good to be defined
:15:05. > :15:09.ethnic community? People will see and will understand that, it is
:15:10. > :15:14.important to have identification. Do you want your children to be defined
:15:15. > :15:19.by the ethic in Judaea from? `` ethnic committee they are from? You
:15:20. > :15:24.do not have to be defined by numbers. These sorts of nitty`gritty
:15:25. > :15:29.policies are what define peoples attitudes. There are so many things
:15:30. > :15:33.that make one person... Identification, you do not have to
:15:34. > :15:38.specify that way. Your language, your culture. Many other things,
:15:39. > :15:43.this or that. Who cares about that? What I am trained to see here, is
:15:44. > :15:48.actually that date an agreement provided for lots of agreements, and
:15:49. > :15:52.a lot of good. The fact of which, I want to emphasise here, it is very
:15:53. > :15:58.important to know, raced on recent agreements we had peaceful 18 years
:15:59. > :16:03.in Bosnia. This is of great value. Whether you like it or not, this is
:16:04. > :16:04.the value of what we have. The agreement provided for
:16:05. > :16:10.constitutional setup and the political system. It enabled us to
:16:11. > :16:21.operate in peace. It also assumed there would be progress. In Bosnia
:16:22. > :16:23.hurts of any `` Bosnia`Herzegovina, progress has not been delivered. Do
:16:24. > :16:28.you think that is one of the reasons why, for example, inward investment
:16:29. > :16:33.into the country, and including to the Republika Srpska, is so very
:16:34. > :16:37.limited? It is why your own people are suffering the consequences with
:16:38. > :16:40.40% unemployment, no growth in the last year, and with a feeling that
:16:41. > :16:45.you are lagging behind the rest of your region. Something I could not
:16:46. > :16:50.answer, it was action what I wanted to say. It provided something which
:16:51. > :16:53.was very complied with practices we had in Europe. It was
:16:54. > :16:58.regionalisation, which means the importance of regions... If the
:16:59. > :17:01.Republika Srpska subscribes this way, it is not outside of the cost
:17:02. > :17:04.Jewish and which is already recognised and accepted in Europe.
:17:05. > :17:12.Nothing is wrong with the actually... We have moved on from
:17:13. > :17:17.that. The Republika Srpska is not recognised in Europe, you know that.
:17:18. > :17:22.Obviously, a lot of things have to change there. Bosnia is not a
:17:23. > :17:26.fairytale. It will have some deficits. No matter how long it will
:17:27. > :17:32.last, it will last for ever, or for ten years, I do not know that. I do
:17:33. > :17:37.know that it has some deficits, but there are many other countries. It
:17:38. > :17:41.is usually said by European Union people, there is no common vision in
:17:42. > :17:47.Bosnia. Speaking about the attitude of leaders of the parties. Sure, but
:17:48. > :17:51.that goes for many other European countries. I know some other
:17:52. > :17:55.countries, I cannot see this joint, a common vision of the future.
:17:56. > :18:02.Different opinions based on ethnicity. I do not think it is
:18:03. > :18:06.so... We are trying to find common solutions for the problems that we
:18:07. > :18:12.have. I just wonder whether you fear that your place, and that is
:18:13. > :18:17.Republika Srpska, is being left behind in a region which is striving
:18:18. > :18:21.for change and for growth. Serbia is now pushing very hard to get into
:18:22. > :18:25.the European Union... It looks as if it may be on track. Even Kosovo has
:18:26. > :18:30.an economic threat that you can only dream of. There are lots of changes
:18:31. > :18:36.in the region. It seems as if Republika Srpska is not part of the
:18:37. > :18:40.positive change. Republika Srpska is part of the positive change. If you
:18:41. > :18:46.see the details, you will see that it is one of the rare areas in the
:18:47. > :18:52.region, the former Yugoslavia, where there are big investment cycles. 40%
:18:53. > :18:57.on employment. The GDP which is $1000 lower than the rest of
:18:58. > :19:02.Bosnia`Herzegovina. Then we have different figures, actually. These
:19:03. > :19:10.are the latest figures published from Bosnia hurts a good ``
:19:11. > :19:14.Herzegovina. You would be surprised to see many positive activities
:19:15. > :19:18.taking place there. Now, currently, we are the only ones in the region
:19:19. > :19:22.to build highways. Speaking out about the republic, but also
:19:23. > :19:26.speaking out about the Federation. These are also activities that they
:19:27. > :19:28.have there, and I am very happy, because I know that economic
:19:29. > :19:32.development is something that is really very important for Bosnia as
:19:33. > :19:37.a whole. I expect that such things will happen in the future. In the
:19:38. > :19:43.Republika Srpska, we now have several weak energy projects now
:19:44. > :19:50.taking place. Each of them, the value is 550 million euros, huge
:19:51. > :19:55.money. I know you have some positive points in your economy. The overall
:19:56. > :20:00.picture is still quite bleak. It is the same as it is in some European
:20:01. > :20:06.countries. I just want to talk about more values and cultural points.
:20:07. > :20:12.Striking was from Serbia's President, not so long over. He was
:20:13. > :20:18.asked about what happened in 1995. He said, I am now down on my knees,
:20:19. > :20:23.asking for it part in for the crime that was committed. I apologise for
:20:24. > :20:36.the crimes committed on Bihar for our state, and our people. `` in
:20:37. > :20:44.behalf of our people. Would you apologise rural crimes committed by
:20:45. > :20:49.Serbs? We pay respect to the victims, the families, those who
:20:50. > :20:54.survived, and who suffered a lot, they deserve to be treated with
:20:55. > :21:00.respect. The Muslims committed to use his words, self genocide, did
:21:01. > :21:10.you find that as offensive as the Muslims in Bosnia Herzegovina Ellett
:21:11. > :21:12.this? ``? It is actually his sentence that everybody who
:21:13. > :21:18.committed crimes should be brought to justice. He has not apologised.
:21:19. > :21:26.For what happened, on half of his people. But what he did was a unique
:21:27. > :21:31.thing. Unlike those who apologised, when he was appointed Prime Minister
:21:32. > :21:41.in 2006, one of his first decisions was to allocate 50 million marks, 25
:21:42. > :21:51.million euros, to be spent in order to work on infrastructure... But
:21:52. > :21:54.this goes beyond money. This is about D`Link. This is about changing
:21:55. > :22:04.an entire regions culture and mindset. At apology is enough, and
:22:05. > :22:08.money is needed to help people... But I'm talking about the
:22:09. > :22:15.recognition of what happened. There were the chief of staff and repel ``
:22:16. > :22:20.president of the Republika Srpska. Is it not up to you to apologise
:22:21. > :22:28.unvented knee, as did the President of Serbia? You are suggesting it is
:22:29. > :22:33.a bad decision, if you want to support people who suffered so much,
:22:34. > :22:36.economically, as people suffered... This was a good decision, was very
:22:37. > :22:41.proud of the government, who allocated that amount of money to
:22:42. > :22:45.show, look, this is where we should work on economy. This is where we
:22:46. > :22:50.should open new jobs. This is where we should invest in infrastructure.
:22:51. > :22:54.This should bring new investors. This is a very practical approach to
:22:55. > :22:59.the area that suffered so much. Though one is escaping from this
:23:00. > :23:04.suffering. It is not for you and me to measure human pain. We have to
:23:05. > :23:08.know, we had to treat victims with dignity. This is what they stand
:23:09. > :23:14.for, this is what the government stand `` stands for. If I may, we
:23:15. > :23:17.are out of time, a quick question. About the future. We talked about
:23:18. > :23:21.the children. You believe your children eventually will live an
:23:22. > :23:27.independent republic, worried Bosnia`Herzegovina that is a pretty
:23:28. > :23:30.European Union? We will have to wait to become a former browser the
:23:31. > :23:35.European Union, unfortunately it is so, it is a good formula for
:23:36. > :23:38.Bosnia`Herzegovina, to have improved life and society, which will be
:23:39. > :23:45.better. I want to be a part of the European Union. If there are... If
:23:46. > :23:49.there is any politician in Bosnia`Herzegovina, who worked very
:23:50. > :23:55.much on the agenda, it is me. Even before I was proud minister. But I
:23:56. > :23:59.am not going to make some things. `` Prime Minister. I know some things
:24:00. > :24:03.that need to be done. I am not go to say what will happen in ten years,
:24:04. > :24:10.20 years time, I will not say what you expect it to say. Turn a blind
:24:11. > :24:16.eye to the problems that exist in Bosnia, I cannot guarantee what is
:24:17. > :24:41.going to happen. Thank you very much for being on HARDtalk. Thank you.
:24:42. > :24:47.Hello again. A little bit of everything over the past 24 hours.
:24:48. > :24:51.The heavy showers slowly started to ease over the next day also. It is
:24:52. > :24:55.going to stakeholder. We start off with a touch of frost. It goes into
:24:56. > :24:59.Scotland and Northern Ireland, certainly in rural areas. Here, we
:25:00. > :25:03.still have wet ground. There could be a bit of ice in the morning,
:25:04. > :25:07.across parts of Scotland in particular. We still have some
:25:08. > :25:09.showers coming across eastern Scotland, still