INTERVIEW: GISELLE WILZ, BRIGADIER GENERAL, COMMANDER AND HIGH MILITARY REPRESENTATIVE OF NATO HEADQUARTERS SARAJEVO
Interviewed by: Ajsela ZAHIROVIĆ
SARAJEVO, October 22 (ONASA) – Brigadier General, commander and senior military representative of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Giselle Wilz in an interview for ONASA Agency speaks, among other things, on the key tasks during the mandate in BiH, dynamics of destruction of surplus weapons, ammunition and explosives resources of the Armed Forces (AF) BiH, BiH’s progress on the path to NATO …
ONASA: Since your appointment to the position of Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, just over four months have passed. What will be your key tasks while you are in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
WILZ: Throughout my mandate in BiH, intense cooperation with BiH Ministry of Defence and AFBIH will continue, and NHQSa main focus will remain to be day to day support to reform efforts and further modernization of BiH Armed Forces. All these reforms are aimed at strengthening the key pillars of any democratic society, to include Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A part of this achievement is the important start of registration of immovable defence properties to the State of BiH, for the use of BiH Ministry of Defence. Within NATO’s commitment to BiH authorities, we will continue providing expert advice and assistance in this process, to include close cooperation with BiH Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence, to provide support to the BiH defence reform efforts, which will improve the security infrastructure of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
ONASA: Are you satisfied with the pace of destruction of surplus of weapons, ammunition and explosive ordnance of the Armed Forces of BiH?
WILZ: There is really good news on that front, and room for progress, too. Just last week I visited the KULA Ammunition Storage Site, and saw with my own eyes that the system for inspecting, demilitarizing and destroying surplus ammunition of what the government determined is not needed in the perspective storage is a process that’s improving and that’s becoming more and more self-sufficient for the BiH Armed Forces.
Primary areas of improvement are the rate of demil destruction which could probably accelerate, while capacity is still less than ideal of what your citizens would like to see. Still, with the substantial assistance of bilateral donors and key partner international organizations such as OSCE and UNDP, this process can only get better. So, a lot of good news, still work to be done, and NATO is proud to be a partner in this process.
ONASA: Could you sum up the results of military exercisesunder the auspices of NATO and with the participation of soldiers of the Armed Forces of BiH and are you satisfied with the results that they achieve?
WILZ: BiH has made significant and concrete contributions to NATO-led collective peace support and security operations, particularly when one considers your limited defence resources. Exercises conducted under the auspices of NATO and/or EUFOR have been and will continue to be an important training and readiness tool for the AFBiH. All the exercises are developed to ensure the AFBiH is prepared to not only conduct Peace Support and Security Operations in a multinational environment abroad, but also respond to events at home in protection of the citizens of BiH. Your professional military personnel have brought great credit to your country, but this isn’t just from my view: It’s the perspective of those that have served alongside them abroad in NATO led multinational operations, and the citizens they have supported here at home during disasters, like we witnessed during the devastating floods of 2014 and the fires this past summer.
ONASA: Politicians from the Republika Srpska are almost unanimous in the view that BiH should join NATO, only if Serbia joins. How this can make it difficult for BiH’s path to NATO?
WILZ: The question for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and therein for the people of Republika Srpska, is whether you would like to remain in NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program only or if you would like to take it all the way and become a full-fledged member, as your neighbors Croatia and Slovenia have already done.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has declared that it aspires to NATO membership. It did so when it announced its desire to join NATO in 2004, when its Presidency re-affirmed this goal in 2005, when it passed its Defence Law in 2005, when it applied for NATO’s Membership Action Plan in 2009, and when it accepted the invitation to begin a Membership Action Plan in 2010.
As far as Serbia is concerned, many of your readers might not be aware that Serbia has a very strong partnership relation with NATO, and has activated this year its Individual Partnership Action Plan, a cooperation program with NATO which demonstrates that, in spite of its military neutrality stance, Serbia has the political will and ability to deepen its relationship with NATO.
This program is designed to bring together all the various cooperation mechanisms through which a partner country interacts with the Alliance, sharpening the focus of activities to better support their domestic reform efforts.
ONASA: In June was organized the workshop of Medevac by the NATO HQ Sarajevo. How much these workshops contribute to the competence of NATO and the Armed Forces of BiH in missions of rescue of people during natural disasters?
WILZ: You are right in noting that, in the past period, NATO HQ Sarajevo has invested significant effort in supporting local defence and security sector institutions through workshops targeted towards improving local agencies effectiveness and collaboration in fulfilling their mandates, particularly in times of most urgent need. Such was the Medevac workshop, whose main goal was to assess the current status of MEDEVAC service and offer a platform for different ministries/agencies to develop and, subsequently, implement a common policy with the goal to use MEDEVAC / SAR instruments in disaster relief situations. Such events are important since their key goal is to ensure the effective use of MEDEVAC instruments both at home and in NATO led Peace Support Operations. In this regard, the assessments and proposals were based on the future assets use in an environment as close as possible to the NATO interoperability standards.
ONASA: How do you assess the steps of BiH’s progress on the path to NATO?
WILZ: BiH is doing good work within the Partnership for Peace. There are regular, formal assessments that are conducted by NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and agreed by all of the NATO Allies. These assessments show a trend of improvements in the capacity to meet agreed commitments within the structured partnership programmes. As well BiH has made a solid contribution to NATO-led operations for many years now. There is no doubt that BiH faces many structural and economic challenges on the path to NATO membership, but those are the sorts of challenges that are addressed gradually and steadily through the partnership programmes.
ONASA: Montenegro is about to join NATO. Do you expect the remaining countries of the region in the shortest possible time to join NATO after the accession of Montenegro?
WILZ: In general terms, NATO’s stance in relation to BiH has not changed. The door to membership remains open, as it is open for all European countries in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. That is why the 28 Allies have said that once the immovable defence property conditionality is met, BiH may begin the Membership Action Plan, the last stage before being invited to join the Alliance.
On a personal note, I am sure that BiH citizens, as everybody else in the world, want secure and stable environment, good education system for their children, fair judicial system, and protection of law and order. NATO has been providing this security and stability for its member countries in the past 65 years, and once BiH comes under the NATO umbrella, further and more intensified developments will take place, for the benefit of all BiH citizens.
ONASA: Secretary-General of NATO has condemned Russia’s military action in Syria. How much the Russia’s interfering in this conflict can threaten actions of the coalition forces to destroy the extremist group of ISIL?
WILZ: In the words of the Secretary – General, we have seen dramatic changes in the last couple of years, where many countries from the region and every NATO Ally is taking part in the US-led mission against ISIL. The current fragile situation only underlines the importance of what NATO is doing and in increasing our ability to protect our Allies, to reinforce and to deploy. During the last year, the Alliance has doubled the size of the NATO Response Force, making it more ready and more capable, and established a high readiness Joint Task Force, able to move within a matter of days. In addition, NATO has increased its presence in the east, with more planes in the air, more ships at sea and more boots on the ground, and all of this is a part of long term adaptation and resolve that the Alliance has.
ONASA: How is NATO concerned about the constant attacks of the Islamic State?
WILZ: The case of ISIL proves that terrorism poses a real and serious threat to the security and safety of the Alliance and its members. It is a global threat that knows no border, nationality or religion – a challenge that the international community must tackle together. NATO’s work on counter-terrorism focuses on improved threat awareness and preparedness, developing adequate capabilities and enhancing engagement with partner countries and other international actors. In the case of NATO partner countries, the contributions by a number of NATO partners, to include Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as their efforts to introduce defense reforms supported by NATO programs, strengthen efforts to counter terrorism. Dialogue and cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism are priorities in relations with many NATO partners and the most efficient way to tackle the current security challenges of today.
ONASA: How does it feel to be a woman promoted to the rank of General and what is the position of women in NATO in general?
WILZ: It is an incredible privilege to have such an important assignment as a US General Officer. I can only assume that those feelings transcend gender regardless of who is selected for the assignment. As a Female GO assigned here, I am just another example of gender integration and equality across the NATO spectrum.
NATO has made significant efforts in increasing its female work force in the past years. Still, experiences in the private sector as well as empirical data suggest that an organization performs only well if there is balanced gender mix in place. That said, I think NATO can still improve when it comes to gender integration, and the organization is committed to continuing work in this direction. (end)