DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) –Representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina reflects on the Dayton Peace Accords.
While there is no public access to the NATO village, the community still has the opportunity to get involved through public forums at the University of Dayton. A representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina speaks to the significance of the Dayton Peace Accords.
Sejfudin Hodzic, representing the Bosnian speaker of their Upper House, says Dayton has been marked in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina because of that meeting 30 years ago.
“Today, 30 years later, we have NATO Parliamentary Assembly again talking about Bosnia Herzegovina to see what we have done good and what we need to do in the future. So it’s reviewing what’s been going on for the last three decades and also marking the important steps to take in the future. So it’s very important for us today,” said Hodzic.
Hodzic said there are still serious challenges Bosnia is facing that need to be discussed this weekend. He says Bosnia also hopes to become a full member of NATO with the support of the U.S. and NATO allies.
“Bosnia was a success story of the American administration, and we hope similar stories will follow in Ukraine and other places around the globe. It’s not easy to negotiate. It’s not easy to sign a peace treaty, and it’s even more difficult to actually keep it,” he added.
Hodzic said he was pleased to attend the public discussions for people to get a look at what happens behind closed doors for these important discussions. And for his first visit to the city, he said he’s impressed by what he’s seen so far.
“I’ve been reading about Dayton for the last 30 years, but to see it, it’s different. It’s beautiful and we are very happy with the hotel accommodation and also with all the venues for the conference. The security’s absolutely top notch. So we feel very safe.”
The City of Dayton has been discussing the significance of the Dayton Peace Accords for the past few days. You can find our previous coverage here.
We will keep you updated with any developments from the NATO village and downtown Dayton on air and online.