OHR & OSCE OFFICIALS ON REPLACEMENTS OF BOSNIAN OFFICIALS

MOSTAR, Dec 1 (Hina) - The acting head of the Regional Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Mostar, Gerhard Sontheim, on Wednesday told reporters a recent decision on the replacement of 22 Bosnian officials was a watershed on Bosnia's political scene. The decision was passed on Monday by HR Wolfgang Petrisch and the head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Bosnia, Robert Barry. Sontheim called on parliaments and governments on all levels in Bosnia to propose new officials to take the posts of the replaced ones, in cooperation with the OHR and the OSCE, in order to overcome the vacuum period. Sontheim said the replacements were directed towards the welfare of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its citizens, and the rule of law, and not, he added, against one people or party. The replaced officials did not abide by the law, despite warnings, said Sontheim, pointing out the international community had to intervene the way it did because, he explained, divided structures work to the detriment of the people. Sontheim called on local politicians to turn a new chapter in Bosnia's history, and in doing so to concentrate on what they have in common, and not on what divides them. The head of the OSCE Mission office in Mostar, Gary Matthews, announced the OHR and the OSCE would not cooperate with the replaced officials. He asserted they could not be appointed to new duties, nor run for candidates at next year's municipal elections. (hina) ha