BOSNIA SOON TO INTRODUCE VISA REGIME FOR TURKEY, IRAN, ROMANIA

SARAJEVO, Oct 20 (Hina) - Bosnia-Herzegovina will soon introduce visa requirements for the citizens of those countries which are the biggest generators of illegal emigrees who enter Bosnia- Herzegovina and then illegally cross over to west European countries, the Sarajevo press reported on Friday. Bosnia's deputy minister for human rights and refugees, Fadil Haveric, said the country's Council of Ministers could soon receive a suggestion to introduce visa regimes for Turkish, Iranian and Romanian nationals. "This decision was adopted on the basis of an analysis of attempted illegal crossings of the border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia and such a solution is what the Office of the High Representative has insisted on as well," Haveric told 'Dnevni avaz' daily. Haveric's assistant Sinisa Davidovic said the Council is expected to decide on introducing visa regimes with the three countries as early as the end of this month. These announcements, however, have provoked a strong reaction by Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Erozan who even said the introduction of the visa regime could jeopardise the 'strategic partnership' between the two countries. Ankara has never been informed about such plans of Sarajevo authorities, he said, adding the visa regime could most harm BH citizens, particularly Bosniaks (Muslims) who travel to Turkey most. The ambassador said Turkey would have no other choice but introduce reciprocal measures. Douglas Coffman, spokesman for the UN Mission to Bosnia, said the introduction of visa requirements was not the most ideal solution, but it was something that had to be done in the current situation. Illegal immigrants are not Bosnia's problem any more but the problem of West Europe which is their final destination, he told Hina. According to data of the International Police Task Force (IPTF), between 20,000 and 25,000 illegal immigrants enter Bosnia and try to reach the West via Croatia annually. This year, 20 immigrants lost their lives while trying to illegally cross the Bosnian-Croatian border. Almost 90 of them are the citizens of Turkey and Iran, which do not have visa regimes with Bosnia, Coffman said. Big money is involved in the business of illegal border crossings. Every 'illegal' must pay between DM2,000 and 10,000 to the organiser of the 'travel'. In Bosnia alone, the organisers of illegal immigration earn millions of marks, Coffman said. Even though nobody wants to talk about it, the basic problem, at least in Turkey's case, is the status of Kurds in that country. Most illegals arriving from Turkey are Kurds and Ankara has been persistently avoiding to admit to the existence of the Kurdish problem. Illegal emigrees from Iran are mostly people in search of better living conditions, who are fleeing poverty. The problem of illegal immigration was put on the agenda in Bosnia only after the establishment of the State Border Service (DGS). Thorough control of foreign arrivals has shown that most arrivals from Istanbul, Tehran and Bucharest simply 'disappear' because they all enter Bosnia with return tickets which they never use. The police and DGS have so far been unsuccessful in preventing passengers from Iran or Turkey, for whom it is obvious that they are travelling to third countries, from entering Bosnia-Herzegovina because the only condition they had to fulfil was to possess the sufficient amount of money, which they did. (hina) rml