SARAJEVO, Feb 13 (Hina) - The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina is to discuss draft amendments to the law on passports at its forthcoming session. Draft amendments, proposed by the alternative Ministerial Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(AMV) and endorsed by the international community, initiate changes in the design of passports so that they will contain no symbols of the entities - the Croat-Moslem federation and the Bosnian Serb republic. A Deputy High Representative to Bosnia, Hanns Schumacher, said in Sarajevo on Saturday that the international community supported the proposal since it was in line with conclusions of the Madrid conference on the implementation of the Dayton peace accords. The German diplomat stressed that the High Representative had however, no intention to impose the proposal, as it was up to local authorities to decide on the matter. Apart from the name of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the name
SARAJEVO, Feb 13 (Hina) - The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina is
to discuss draft amendments to the law on passports at its
forthcoming session.
Draft amendments, proposed by the alternative Ministerial Council
of Bosnia-Herzegovina (AMV) and endorsed by the international
community, initiate changes in the design of passports so that they
will contain no symbols of the entities - the Croat-Moslem
federation and the Bosnian Serb republic.
A Deputy High Representative to Bosnia, Hanns Schumacher, said in
Sarajevo on Saturday that the international community supported
the proposal since it was in line with conclusions of the Madrid
conference on the implementation of the Dayton peace accords.
The German diplomat stressed that the High Representative had
however, no intention to impose the proposal, as it was up to local
authorities to decide on the matter.
Apart from the name of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the name of the entity
from which a passport-holder comes, is printed on the cover and the
first page of the current Bosnian passports. Furthermore, the
written term for this document in one of the three local languages
actually shows the ethnic identification of the passport-holder.
Our proposal for amendments to the passport law has ensued after
many common people demanded such change, and the adoption of the
amendment would mean the development of the human rights, Sejfudin
Tokic, Bosnian AMV vice-chairman, told reporters.
Tokic said the introduction of the fourth form of the passport would
not mean the revocation of the forms that had already existed.
The law on Bosnian passports was passed in December 1997 after
protracted discussions on the final agreement. Schumacher blamed
the then Serb member of Bosnia's three-man presidency, Momcilo
Krajisnik, for delays in the adoption of that law.
After the final agreement, a German company "Bundesdruckerei" was
authorised to print passports. Since then, about 500,000 passports
have been issued, and two thirds of them have been given to
residents in the Serb entity.
According to Schumacher, authorities in that part of Bosnia were
prompter in issuing such official documents than authorities in the
Croat-Moslem federation who complained about technical problems.
The German company is also expected to hand over a computer system
which will help establish the central database about Bosnian
nationals, which will be kept in a building of joint bodies of
authorities in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.
(hina) ms