SARAJEVO, May 24 (Hina) - Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch, who will leave the post of the High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina in two days, made a tearful final address to reporters in Sarajevo on Friday.
SARAJEVO, May 24 (Hina) - Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch, who
will leave the post of the High Representative to Bosnia-
Herzegovina in two days, made a tearful final address to reporters
in Sarajevo on Friday. #L#
Known for his reserved behaviour, Petritsch surprised all with
tears at the end of his final address to the Bosnian reporters and
public.
Society does not have to be prefect but it must be open for changes,
said Petritsch, adding that a Bosnia-Herzegovina founded on the
idea of open society was something occupying him during the entire
mandate.
In the week that marked the end of his mandate, which lasted almost
three years, Petritsch adopted a package of 42 different
decisions.
Among other things, he imposed laws on civil service, the conflict
of interest in the bodies of state authority, the appointment of
police commissioners, and - perhaps the most important one - a law
that will kick-start the reorganisation of the country's judicial
system.
Petritsch said that by adopting the package he wanted to make his
successor Lord Paddy Ashdown's work significantly easier and
enable him to start the remaining reforms in a more determined and
radical manner.
The last package of regulations enables the most radical changes
which should transform Bosnia into a modern and truly democratic
country, he said.
The Austrian diplomat said that he sometimes doubted if he would be
able to change anything in Bosnia, but he realised that he had to
keep a positive approach to problems. After that, problems became
challenges, to which he tried to find answers, he added.
The decision on judicial reform has been met with harsh criticisms
in the Bosnian Serb entity.
The Bosnian Serb authorities accused the High Representative of
gravely violating the Constitution and announced that they would
file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court.
Petritsch said that he was not surprised by the reaction. The reason
the High Representative was appointed to Bosnia-Herzegovina is the
fact that local politicians are unable to implement necessary
reforms on their own, he added.
The Austrian diplomat also said he did not regret any decision he
had made during his mandate, including the replacement of some 80
officials at different levels of authority.
He added that his only regret was that progress in the country was
not bigger and faster.
Petritsch is satisfied with the Alliance for Democratic Changes
being in power, and believes that its officials are open for
cooperation, which he said was why there was no need for any drastic
measures.
Petritsch considers constitutional changes, agreed on two months
ago, his most important legacy.
Dayton put an end to the war. Since Dayton and until recently,
Bosnia was a no man's land, and today it is a country of all of its
citizens, Petritsch said, adding that the entities had been reduced
to an administrative category.
Speaking at a reception he organised for Bosnian state officials,
Petritsch reiterated that the international community was
responsible for not stopping the war in Bosnia on time. What the
international community is doing now to help Bosnia is only a way to
settle its moral debt to the country, he said.
Petritsch did not speak today about war criminals, but during his
last visit to Banja Luka he said that his biggest frustration was
that Karadzic and Mladic were not behind the bars.
The best way for the Serb people to get rid of collective
responsibility is arresting Karadzic and Mladic, Petritsch said at
the time.
Petritsch will hand over his office to Ashdown on May 27.
Asked what he would do after his mission in Bosnia, Petritsch said
he would first go on a holiday. After that, he leaves for Geneva,
where he will be representing Austria at the United Nations and the
WTO.
(hina) rml