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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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• Bosnia 2003
  
• Bosnia 2004
  
• Bosnia 2007
  

Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country among the poorest in Europe, has still nothing serious to offer to the international investors, especially small ones. On the contrary, all facts speak against any idea of moving there. Yet this country has other interesting endowments, it has shown the world that different ethnic groups can live together without fighting each other. May this peace be just no more than fragile and temporary stabilization, it's much better than the situation on the ground 8 and more years ago.

I remember when I was young international journalist in Bulgaria; my task between 1992 and 1995 was extremely simplified by the fact that the major world, continental and regional news, the war in Bosnia, had been playing in the backyard, so to say. After three years of fighting I must acknowledge I have run out of fresh ideas about the titles of my new comments. It was all the same, blood, blood, blood. Towns were taken, left and retaken again. It seemed there would be no end to this massive madness and the world seemed not to care much about the civil population.

Finally the so-called international community put end to this bloodshed and sent 60,000 troops in a country that wasn't the same compared to 3 years earlier. Before the Dayton Peace agreement was brokered between 200,000 and 250,000 were dead or missing, 2 million (40% of the whole population) were displaced, up to 80% of all housing were destroyed or damaged. Thousands of land mines were left on the roads, on the arable land, near the schools and the hospitals.

Given this history background, the progress of Bosnia seems extraordinary. The arms now are silent, some 900,000 refugees have returned home. Some 400,000 dared to go to the areas where their ethnic communities are minorities. The international military presence from the initial 60,000 was gradually reduced to 12,000. The United States that provided one-third of the initial force plan to withdraw completely by the end of next year. And what seems almost unimaginable some years ago, Bosnia is ready to provide small force to be sent to Iraq as part of the international commitment for stabilization of this country.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina peace meant first and foremost stabilization. So far it didn't brought economic prosperity. Many federal institutions exist more on paper than in reality. The two ethnic entities that control roughly half of the country's territory - Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks and Croats) and Republika Srpska (Serbs) continue to stress on their differences rather than on their common interests. Some war criminals such as Radovan Karadzic and gen. Radko Mladic still hide from the justice, presumably helped by the local Serb population. With the American and European military presence on the ground, the local warlords are still afraid of showing muscles.

Even with these huge improvements over the situation of 1995, the country itself is still under international quarantine. There is still no complete border delimitation with the neighboring Serbia and Montenegro, and Croatia. Not all the population displaced by the war has returned, not all the missing persons have been accounted, and there are still problems of properties' claims. There are no immediate perspectives for the country to become NATO and EU member. There are all chances that Bosnia will remain a country with limited sovereignty in the years to come. With the neighboring nations gradually joining EU and NATO, this discrimination toward Bosnia may have negative consequences on its future. The persons who can compete on the markets will emigrate; the remaining won't be able to build alone a prosperous country. But even with such pessimist scenario, at least there will be no more blood as during the early 90's.

Bosnia and Herzegovina profile:

• Area: 51,129 sq km
• Population: 4 million (July 2003 est.)
• Population growth rate: 0.48% (2003 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: 72.29 years
• Ethnic groups: Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
• Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
• Languages: Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian.
• GDP per capita: purchasing power parity $1,900 (2002 est.)
• Unemployment rate: 40% (2002 est.)
• Main trading partners: Italy, Germany, Croatia, and Slovenia.
• Internet users: 45,000 (2002)

(CIA - The World Factbook 2002)