SARAJEVO, May 10 (Hina) - High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, said today the international community will not back away from the violence of chauvinists and criminals who are trying to stop the peace process
in the country. He announced Republika Srpska authorities must urgently undertake measures to show readiness to punish the violators and support the normalisation of the situation. Following a session of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Committee today, Petritsch told reporters the international community is completely unified in the assessment of the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and measures which need to be undertaken in the wake of incidents in Banja Luka and Trebinje when local Serbs violently obstructed the renewal of mosques in the towns. The Committee concluded such incidents should in no case influence the implementation of the peace process and reconci
SARAJEVO, May 10 (Hina) - High Representative to Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, said today the international
community will not back away from the violence of chauvinists and
criminals who are trying to stop the peace process in the country.
He announced Republika Srpska authorities must urgently undertake
measures to show readiness to punish the violators and support the
normalisation of the situation.
Following a session of the Peace Implementation Council Steering
Committee today, Petritsch told reporters the international
community is completely unified in the assessment of the situation
in Bosnia-Herzegovina and measures which need to be undertaken in
the wake of incidents in Banja Luka and Trebinje when local Serbs
violently obstructed the renewal of mosques in the towns.
The Committee concluded such incidents should in no case influence
the implementation of the peace process and reconciliation in the
country.
The international community is not even considering to leave Bosnia
because of the violence in the two Bosnian Serb entity towns,
Petritsch said, recalling Bosnia is not under the protectorate of
the international community, but local authorities shall be under
scrutiny until they show readiness to fulfill set tasks.
During the day Petritsch held talks with Bosnian Serb senior
officials and gave them a list of obligations which they should
begin implementing by tomorrow morning.
The tasks include maximal punishment for the violators and
organisers of the incidents, publicly denounce the incidents,
offer an apology to the Moslem community and organise the
reconstruction of the two mosques destroyed in the war. They must
also secure the building of a monument to people killed in the 1995
massacre in Srebrenica.
Republika Srpska authorities are to begin cooperating with the
international war crimes tribunal, which includes the apprehension
of suspects.
A special task for the Bosnian Serbs will be to actively support the
return of refugees and to draft and promote a reconciliation and
tolerance programme.
Petritsch also demanded of Banja Luka authorities to clearly and
unequivocally provide support to the work of Bosnian state
institutions.
(hina) lml