MOSTAR, Dec 3 (Hina) - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian Croat Ante Jelavic, said Thursday night in Mostar that the recent decision of the High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, and
chief of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission Robert Barry, to dismiss 22 Bosnian officials, was a "big surprise and a step back". "Who will have the will to succeed the officials if they need consent from the OSCE," Jelavic told Mostar's television Erotel Thursday night. "The necessity for consent for successors by the OSCE is in fact a kind of protectorate of the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said. commenting of Petritsch's and Barry's explanation that the dismissal has foundation in the New York Declaration, Jelavic said that this was in fact an "attempt of discrediting the three members of the Presidency of Bosnia
MOSTAR, Dec 3 (Hina) - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Bosnian Croat Ante Jelavic, said Thursday night in
Mostar that the recent decision of the High Representative to
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, and chief of the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission
Robert Barry, to dismiss 22 Bosnian officials, was a "big surprise
and a step back".
"Who will have the will to succeed the officials if they need
consent from the OSCE," Jelavic told Mostar's television Erotel
Thursday night.
"The necessity for consent for successors by the OSCE is in fact a
kind of protectorate of the international community in Bosnia-
Herzegovina," he said.
commenting of Petritsch's and Barry's explanation that the
dismissal has foundation in the New York Declaration, Jelavic said
that this was in fact an "attempt of discrediting the three members
of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina,".
"Every of the three members of the Presidency has a large electoral
body and ahead of the municipal elections in April next year, they
are trying to weaken our position," Jelavic said.
Commenting on a recent statement uttered by Petritsch that the end
of rule of Croatian President Franjo Tudjman would have a positive
outcome for inter-ethnic relations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and that
it would contribute to calming the Croat leadership in the country,
Jelavic said "it is unnecessary to give such statements while the
Croatian President is fighting for his life".
He recalled that Tudjman was a co-signer of the Washington and
Dayton peace accords, and that, thanks to Tudjman and Croatian
forces, large parts of western Bosnia had been liberated, thus
creating preconditions for the signing of the Dayton Agreement.
"President Tudjman was one of the factors of peace and stability in
Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region," Jelavic said.
He added the establishment of Bosnia-Herzegovina border police
would contribute to preventing "international organised crime".
(hina) lml