Enes Becirbasic was quoted by the 'Nezavisne Novine' daily in last Thursday's issue as saying that these three months were necessary for additional training and equipment of Bosnian mine removal experts. In addition, an officer is expected to arrive from the United States to co-ordinate all those activities.
In compliance with a decision of Bosnia's three-man Presidency, a unit of 36 mine removal experts from the armies of the Croat-Muslim Federation and the Serb entity was to leave for Iraq in early September.
Bosnian authorities have no problems to find applicants for this job. A total of 55 experienced experts applied as they could earn up to three thousand euros in Iraq monthly, while their monthly salary in Bosnia is between 250 and 300 euros.
The US Administration immediately pledged to offer financial and material assistance to the Bosnian contingent, and State Secretary Colin Powell, who was in Sarajevo in early August, praised Bosnia's authorities for the decision to participate in the ongoing peace mission in Iraq.
Bosnian Presidency members and Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic resolutely defended the decision on Bosnia's participation in the mission in Iraq saying that Bosnians' engagement would be primarily humanitarian and could help strengthen ties with the Untied States.
This month, a part of media and some citizens, however, have launched a campaign against Bosnian troops' engagement in Iraq.
The Social Democratic Union (SDU), a minor opposition party set up by activists who left the Social Democratic Party, last weekend organised a petition in Sarajevo to get plans about Bosnians' engagement in Iraq halted. So far the petition has been signed by 3,000 citizens.
Some politicians from a few parties in the ruling coalition also voiced disagreement with such a plan.
The Dnevni Avaz daily, which carried out an opinion poll on the issue, reported last week that 63 percent of respondents favoured the reconsideration of the Presidency's decision on sending Bosnian explosives disposal specialists to Iraq.