SARAJEVO, Oct 16 (Hina) - Parties which constitute the "Alliance for Change", the ruling coalition in Bosnia-Herzegovina, accepted the resignation of the Croat-Muslim entity's interior minister, Muhamed Besic, and entrusted his party
- the Party for BH, with the task to choose his successor. This conclusion was adopted at Monday's session of the Alliance's co-ordinating body, despite a strong-worded warning from the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Sarajevo, Christopher Hoch. The resignation of Besic, the interior minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina's federation, has elicited a very harsh reaction from the US Embassy in the country. According to American diplomats, Besic's resignation brings into question the U.S. government's trust in Bosnia's willingness to continue taking resolute anti-terrorist measures. Officials of the Party for BH, who are still under strong influence of the party's
SARAJEVO, Oct 16 (Hina) - Parties which constitute the "Alliance
for Change", the ruling coalition in Bosnia-Herzegovina, accepted
the resignation of the Croat-Muslim entity's interior minister,
Muhamed Besic, and entrusted his party - the Party for BH, with the
task to choose his successor.
This conclusion was adopted at Monday's session of the Alliance's
co-ordinating body, despite a strong-worded warning from the
charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Sarajevo, Christopher Hoch.
The resignation of Besic, the interior minister of Bosnia-
Herzegovina's federation, has elicited a very harsh reaction from
the US Embassy in the country. According to American diplomats,
Besic's resignation brings into question the U.S. government's
trust in Bosnia's willingness to continue taking resolute anti-
terrorist measures.
Officials of the Party for BH, who are still under strong influence
of the party's former leader, Haris Silajdzic, although he has said
recently that he is withdrawing from politics, held a meeting with
American diplomats to discuss this issue behind closed doors.
According to unconfirmed reports, the Americans did not explicitly
insist on the return of Besic to the ministerial post, but asked for
firm assurances that Sarajevo would continue the anti-terrorist
fight.
According to unofficial information, the Party for BH justified its
pressure on Besic to resign with the assertion that he cooperated
with international factors, in particular with the International
Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia, better than with authorities in
the country.
Besic was allegedly blamed for appointing Dragan Lukac as police
head and giving irresponsible statements about terrorist threats.
The current president of the Party for BH, Safet Halilovic, has
announced that Besic's successor will not be a policeman but a
career politician.
The Sarajevo press has recently speculated about who may fill the
vacant post of the federal interior minister, mentioning several
potential candidates.
A spokesman for the United Nations' mission in Bosnia, Stefo
Lehman, said this organisation had no intention of giving proposals
for the new minister, but would definitely check whether the
proposed candidate met all the necessary criteria.
We believe that a person who has the same qualities as the former
minister will be proposed as his successor, Lehman said confirming
thus that international representatives in Bosnia were
exceptionally dissatisfied with Besic's replacement.
(hina) ms