SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, June 14 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb entity's finance minister, Milenko Vracar, resigned from the office at the insistence of the international High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown.
SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, June 14 (Hina) - The Bosnian Serb entity's
finance minister, Milenko Vracar, resigned from the office at the
insistence of the international High Representative to Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown. #L#
Vracar announced his resignation at an urgent session of the
Bosnian Serb government on Thursday night in Banja Luka.
He explained his move as "his moral responsibility" for the
recently discovered corruption scandal in the customs
administration of the Republic of Srpska.
According to the findings of a European Union office for assistance
in the enforcement of the customs and tax policy, several customs
officers, organised in a cartel, took bribes to allow lower tariffs
for the import of textile goods in the entity. They thus embezzled
at least 30 million convertible marks from the entity's budget.
At the urgent session Vracar also proposed that some other high-
ranking officials, held responsible for the scandal, in the customs
administration should step down, but government members who are the
members of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) refused this proposal.
Serb Premier Mladen Ivanic relieved Zeljko Tadic of his duty as the
minister of trade and tourism.
Following such developments in the Serb entity, the finance
minister of the Croat-Muslim Federation, Nikola Grabovac, is
likely to be exposed to mounting pressure.
British diplomat Ashdown also insisted on Grabovac's resignation
owing to a scandal involving the illegal refund of KM1.7 million of
tariffs to a company which showed false papers on how it was
fulfilling its duties to the federal budget.
Ashdown asked Vracar and Grabovac to step down by the end of this
week, regarding them morally responsible for the financial
scandals. Otherwise, he will take necessary measures to remove them
from politics.
Contrary to Vracar, Grabovac seems resolute not to bow to
pressure.
Grabovac forwarded an open letter to Ashdwon, published by the
media on Friday, asserting that the Briton is completely
misinformed about the case and as a result made the wrong
decisions.
Grabovac also reminds Lord Ashdown that he has had no opportunity to
talk with him.
The federal finance minister raises the question of the
responsibility of international diplomats who aggravated the
financial situation in the Federation due to their irresponsible
conduct.
Grabovac emphasises that the Office of the High Representative is
still blocking 40 million marks from the federal budget, which were
deposited in the accounts of Hercegovacka Banka.
(hina) ms