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THE SOUL OF EUROPE
THE PROCESS FOR THE OMARSKA MEMORIAL PROJECT
This paper describes in broad outline the process used in
mediating an agreement between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs
for the Memorial to be created at the Omarska Mine.
The process took 9 months.
The process noted the particular situation in Bosnia, but
could be tailor made for other situations.
INTRODUCTION
The Soul of Europe brought one essential requirement to the
project: to create a web of social relationships which
included the enemy.
The Soul of Europe was ‘impartial’ and ‘neutral’. We made
this clear in our rare public appearances: attending a
funeral of Bosniaks found in mass graves, and also being
present at the consecration of a new Orthodox church at
Omarska.
PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES
1 The Soul of Europe ensured the invitation for mediation
was acceptable to all parties.
2 We established a reference group from the international
community for advice and reflection. The group consisted of
the UK ambassador, and representatives from OSCE and OHR.
3 A Bosniak and Serb were appointed as local managers.
4 Agreement with Mittal Steel, who commissioned the process,
was secured for the timescale of the project and reporting
procedures agreed.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
The Soul of Europe undertook a thorough analysis of the
issues surrounding the Memorial project.
We aimed to discover allies for the project from all the
ethnic groups and to note the spoilers.
The Soul of Europe held meetings with politicians and
leaders of influence at the international, national,
regional and local levels, including young people as well as
with the management and workers at the Omarska mine.
MEDIATING
Having completed the analysis we brought together Serbs and
Bosniaks and a token representation of Croats. Each person
was visited, each asked: ‘Would you be prepared to meet a
Serb or Bosniak?’ The meeting took place. After the meeting
we visited each person again and asked: ‘What did you make
of the meeting?’ These meetings took place in pairs, then in
fours, then in small groups, then eventually in plenary
sessions, sometimes 50 people were present. The meetings
then split into sub groups of Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs
working together on the proposal for the memorial.
CONFERENCE
In December 2005 a conference was held in Banja Luka where
the agreed proposals, agreed by all the ethnic groups
working together, were presented to local, national and
international media.
Before the conference, the participants agreed on the
‘ground rules’ for the conference.
Following the conference the Soul of Europe and participants
undertook an evaluation and, as agreed, passed the project
on to Mittal Steel for implementation.
GENERAL
1 MEDIA. During the process we had a media black-out,
because the delicacy of the process could have been
manipulated and harmed by media involvement. In Bosnia
politics = media, and media = politics.
2 WOMEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE. The interaction of Serb, Croat and
Bosniak women and young people was a significant part of the
process.
3 SPOILERS. Spoilers emerged among the Serbs and Bosniaks,
who were divided about the project. The next stage of the
project is dealing with this issue, in order to include the
spoilers, not isolate them.
4 EQUITY. We ensured that all the parties were ‘at home’
with the process, particularly the small Croat
representation.
Donald Reeves
Peter Pelz
The Soul of Europe |
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The Ferhadija Trust is a
company limited by guarantee. Registered no. 509744, and a
registered charity no. 1104416.
All material contained on
this site is Copyright © 1999-2006 Revd Donald Reeves.
Any comments, questions etc. about this site can be directed
to the webmaster/designer (Steven
Stewart). |
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