INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO REDUCE ASSISTANCE TO BOSNIA - PIC SUMMIT

MADRID, Dec 15 (Hina) - The international community's assistance to Bosnia is at its peak, but will soon inevitably start decreasing, speakers at the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) summit in Madrid almost unanimously said on Tuesday. They agreed Bosnia must commence preparations for independent functioning. The German state secretary Guenther Verheugen said the international community had to date earmarked some US$4.5 billion for Bosnia at four donor conferences. Given Bosnia's size and population, this amount indeed represented a precedent, Verheugen said. To start functioning as a modern European state in the foreseeable future, Bosnia needs to meet several vital conditions which have been set as the goals of the two-day PIC summit. The participants stated it was first necessary to enable the return of all refugees willing to return to their pre-war homes as well as to establish a multiethnic and truly professional police, reform the judiciary, and to put an end to organised crime and corruption. It was also urgent to bring all war criminals before The Hague tribunal, the speakers said, pointing out this was crucial for peace. They added an economic reform, accompanied by a transparent and effective privatisation, was perhaps the most vital element to preserve Bosnia as an independent state. Also emphasised was the role of the international High Representative for Bosnia, Carlos Westendorp. The extensive powers he had been given at last year's PIC summit in Bonn enabled Westendorp to pass many important decisions which previous agreements among Bosnian political leaders had failed to ensure. (hina) ha mm