MOSTAR MOSTAR, Jan 9 (Hina) - The international community's High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, said in Mostar on Friday his commissioner Norbert Winterstein's report about the reorganisation of Mostar offered a
solution to most problems in the southern city, but that Croat and Bosniak (Muslim) officials had not reached agreement on the future status of city districts and election rules.
MOSTAR, Jan 9 (Hina) - The international community's High
Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, said in Mostar on
Friday his commissioner Norbert Winterstein's report about the
reorganisation of Mostar offered a solution to most problems in the
southern city, but that Croat and Bosniak (Muslim) officials had not
reached agreement on the future status of city districts and election
rules.#L#
Bosniak officials of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) oppose the
abolishment of three districts with a majority Muslim population. At
the end of last year, a referendum against the abolishment of the
districts was held in one of those districts (District North), and
similar referendums have been announced in the other two districts.
Croat officials of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) have refused
Winterstein's proposals as they believe that his election regulations
favour Bosniaks, giving them more influence in the city even though
they are in the minority in relation to Croats.
District South-West, with a majority Croat population, today decided
to organise a referendum on January 25 on Winterstein's draft election
rules.
Ashdown has said that ethnic referendums are dangerous for
Bosnia-Herzegovina and may lead to the rising of political tensions.
He again dismissed the HDZ's objection that Winterstein's proposal
made the Bosniak vote in Mostar more valuable than that of Croats. If
that were true, the Croat vote would be more valuable than the Muslim
vote in areas with a majority Muslim population throughout the
country, Ashdown said.
The current situation in Mostar is worse than unacceptable, he said.
According to Ashdown, Mostar is an open wound which destroys the
future and could make the country's political tissue fester.
In the next several months the eyes of the international community
will be turned to Mostar as the permanent division of the city would
pose an obstacle to Bosnia's integration into Europe, he said.
Ashdown dismissed the possibility of advocating the reorganisation of
other cities in the country on the model of Mostar, such as Sarajevo,
Banja Luka and Travnik, saying that those cities were not addressed
directly in the Dayton peace agreement, while Mostar was.
(Hina) rml sb