SARAJEVO, Jan 12 (Hina) - Statements that Bosnia's ruling coalition will fall apart due to retired general Sefer Halilovic's request that he be reinstated as minister for refugees in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina government
have by all appearances turned into a storm in a teacup. Representatives of ten parties making up the Alliance for Changes discussed the Halilovic case for more than three hours at a closed-door meeting in Sarajevo on Friday evening. The president of the Civil Democratic Party (GDS), Ibrahim Spahic, who currently chairs the ruling coalition's co-ordinating body, told reporters after the meeting Halilovic's party did not make any conditions regarding its staying in the coalition. "The Bosnia-Herzegovina Patriotic Party (BPS) has not set any conditions regarding its staying in the Alliance. We have agreed that the BPS should announce its candidate for the post of minister for refugees i
SARAJEVO, Jan 12 (Hina) - Statements that Bosnia's ruling coalition
will fall apart due to retired general Sefer Halilovic's request
that he be reinstated as minister for refugees in the Federation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina government have by all appearances turned into
a storm in a teacup.
Representatives of ten parties making up the Alliance for Changes
discussed the Halilovic case for more than three hours at a closed-
door meeting in Sarajevo on Friday evening.
The president of the Civil Democratic Party (GDS), Ibrahim Spahic,
who currently chairs the ruling coalition's co-ordinating body,
told reporters after the meeting Halilovic's party did not make any
conditions regarding its staying in the coalition.
"The Bosnia-Herzegovina Patriotic Party (BPS) has not set any
conditions regarding its staying in the Alliance. We have agreed
that the BPS should announce its candidate for the post of minister
for refugees in the next few days," Spahic said.
After repeated inquiries by reporters, Spahic confirmed it was
possible the BPS could nominate Halilovic again but no one believed
that would happen.
BPS secretary-general Sead Gajevic said he was not very satisfied
with the outcome of the meeting because neither side was willing to
give up its previous stands. However, he did not announce any
radical steps either.
Halilovic did not attend the meeting despite the fact that he was
the main item on the agenda. The Bosniak general has not held any
meetings with the leaders of partner-parties since his temporary
release from the Scheveningen prison in The Hague.
Halilovic is to stand trial in June before the International
Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes
committed against Croats in Herzegovina.
The BPS is expected to make a final decision on its candidate for the
post of minister for refugees in some 20 days.
The ruling coalition faces other challenges as well, for example
recent statements by Rasim Kadic of the Liberal Party (LS).
This week, Kadic levelled a series of accusations against the Croat
bloc in the Alliance, claiming Kresimir Zubak and Nikola Grabovac
of the New Croat Initiative (NHI) were slowly taking over all
mechanisms of financial influence in the federation to the
detriment of Bosniaks.
Kadic threatened that his party would leave the Alliance if such
conduct was not abandoned.
Kadic has been on bad terms with the Office of the High
Representative for some time and he believes Wolfgang Petritsch is
not doing anything to pressure Bosnian Serbs into making radical
constitutional changes.
The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) has promptly reacted to
Kadic's claims, offering him a coalition in the next elections.
SDA president Sulejman Tihic said he saw Haris Silajdzic's Party
for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the same bloc as well.
Elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina will be held in some nine months
and the success of the currently ruling parties will depend
exclusively on progress in the economy.
International representatives in the country insist on speeding up
economic reforms, knowing they are the only way to prevent the
return of nationalist parties to power.
(hina) rml