SARAJEVO, April 2 (Hina) - The incumbent chairman of Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-man presidency, Mirko Sarovic, offered his resignation on Tuesday, thus avoiding at the eleventh hour a possibility of being sacked from this post by the
international community's High Representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown.
SARAJEVO, April 2 (Hina) - The incumbent chairman of Bosnia-
Herzegovina's three-man presidency, Mirko Sarovic, offered his
resignation on Tuesday, thus avoiding at the eleventh hour a
possibility of being sacked from this post by the international
community's High Representative to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown. #L#
For days, the political career of this Bosnian Serb leader has been
regarded to be over after international diplomats in the country
labelled him as one of directly responsible persons for the illegal
export of arms and military equipment to Iraq. The illegal trade was
carried out by military companies in the Republic of Srpska while
Sarovic was the President of the Bosnian Serb entity.
The news about Sarovic's resignation was announced by the speaker
of that entity's parliament, Dragan Kalinic, at the ongoing
parliamentary session in Banja Luka on Wednesday.
High Representative Ashdown later in the day confirmed in Sarajevo
that he had received the information about Sarovic's decision.
The British diplomat said that by stepping down this Serb leader had
accepted the objective political responsibility. According to
Ashdown, if Sarovic had not done so, it would have been inevitable
to relieve him of duty, given that the arms scandal could not be
underrated, especial in light of the current developments in Iraq
and the fact that that country was using also weapons from the
Republic of Srpska in this war.
The arms trade with Iraq has caused more damage to the international
reputation of Bosnia than anything else since the end of the war,
the Briton added.
He said that Sarovic was equally liable for a recent scandal about
the spying activities of the Bosnian Serb army's intelligence.
During a March 7 search of the offices of the Serb army's
intelligence service in Banja Luka, international peace-keepers
found materials confirming the involvement of Bosnian Serbs in
serious espionage activities which breached the Dayton peace
accords.
Ashdown described both scandals as a result of non-existence of an
efficient civil and state control over the military and its
intelligence services. Therefore the High Representative has
decided to impose a package of reforms aimed at the establishment of
such surveillance.
The Briton announced he had decided to dissolve a body called the
Supreme Defence Council of the Republic of Srpska, amend the
constitution of that entity and change laws on the army and defence.
Under his decision, all terms speaking about that entity as a
country would thus be erased.
In addition, a special commission has been set up whose task is draw
up changes to the existent constitution and laws of Bosnia until 1
June with the aim to help establish the command and control over the
army at the state level. The measures would also eliminate the
existent two separate national components in the other entity, the
Croat-Muslim Federation.
Ashdown's measures should facilitate the country's bids to draw
closer to NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.
Asked by reporters about a single defence ministry, Ashdown said
that at the moment it was impossible to form a united ministry, as it
was not envisaged by the Dayton peace accords.
He told reporters that local authorities would be allowed to elect
Sarovic's successor in the collective Bosnian presidency.
Pursuant to relevant laws, the new Serb member of the country's
presidency will be elected among MPs in the Bosnian House of
Representatives, and Sarovic's colleague from the Serb Democratic
Party (SDS), Borislav Paravac, is likely to be appointed to
office.
(hina) ms