BOSNIA NEWS

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - Political crisis is blocking Bosnia’s path to EU, causing the public to lose trust in politicians and the younger generation to feel less and less optimistic about the future, the international community's High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia, Christian Schwarz-Schilling told Bosnia’s legislators yesterday.

In a wide-ranging farewell speech to the Bosnian Parliamentary Assembly,Schwarz-Schilling explained why he would not be the last High Representative to Bosnia and the significance of the Peace Implementation Council’s decision to keep open the Office of the High Representative; assessed the results of asking political leaders to rise to the ownership challenge, warning that Bosnia was falling behind its neighbours; and outlined a constitution-reform process.

“I have heard politicians making arguments and formulating policies that only exploit fears among the public, instead of building trust between all sides and making concrete progress on real-life issues,” he said.

“All public figures have a duty to behave responsibly in both word and deed to build a climate of peace and security and to respect that the State of Bosnia and both its entities are multinational communities of three constituent peoples,” he said.

“This year has seen a deterioration in the political atmosphere relating directly to reactions to the judgment of the International Court of Justice,” Schwarz-Schilling continued, pointing out that the ICJ had ruled that genocide had occurred in Srebrenica, stressing the need for justice and illustrating steps he had taken to address real issues in Srebrenica.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative also said that he deplored the political manipulation of the issue by politicians and attempts to disrupt the constitutional and territorial order of the country.

“A unilateral change of the Dayton Peace Agreement is legally unachievable and calls for such changes can only pose grave risks to peace and stability,” he told the Bosnian Parliamentary Assembly, adding that: “There is no legal obligation from the ICJ verdict calling for the abolition of an entity.”

The High Representative and EU Special Representative described the PIC’s decision not to close the Office of the High Representative as a “setback”, pointing out that the OHR is not staying to do the jobs for the politicians of this country or to impose new solutions, but to ensure that peace and stability continue.

Schwarz-Schilling also catalogued laws that had not been passed and occasions that he had been forced to intervene to maintain functionality.

“Despite a lack of progress on a number of fronts, the strategy of ownership will not change,” he continued. “It must be a gradual process, and there is no alternative. The lessons are painful, but are an invaluable learning experience in democratisation and nation-building.”

The High Representative and EU Special Representative described Bosnia’s constitutional structures as “complicated and inefficient”, pointing out that they do “not yet fit modern constitutional standards”.

“Now that the peace implementation process and the institution of the High Representative are coming to an end – and the European integration process is now the key task – it is time to reform the constitution and develop a stable, self-sustainable and efficient state structure for Bosnia,” Schwarz-Schilling said.

“This is something that you, the politicians of this country, will have to tackle over the next period,” he continued. “The international community stands ready to assist, but we will not do it for you. It is perhaps the greatest challenge ahead of you and will require the hardest of compromises and the greatest amount of constructive engagement that this country has seen.”

The High Representative and EU Special Representative described constitutional reform commissions and conventions in other countries in Europe and the need for an institutionalised process in Bosnia “led by Bosnian politicians with input from across Bosnian society, supported by facilitation and assistance from the international community”.

He also said that the time had come to set up such a process, rather than leaving it to media headlines and sound bites.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative said that he had been meeting party leaders individually in partnership with the United States, the European Commission and European Union Presidency to hear their views and ask for a commitment to establish such a broad process and that they had showed willingness for such dialogue.

“I shall work to secure that commitment before I leave, so that my successor can work with you and the political leaders of this country to build on this,” he told the Bosnian Parliamentary Assembly.

“This process must be set on track now, so that results can be delivered within this legislative period,” he said.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - The United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson said yesterday in Sarajevo that the prosecution of war crimes suspects from the former Yugoslavia remains one of the priorities of the US administration.

Williamson, who met in Sarajevo with members of the Bosnian State Presidency, said the US government considers the prosecution of war crimes suspects an important issue for both political and security reasons.

The members of the Bosnian Presidency agreed that war criminals must be brought to justice.Bosnia's top officials and Williamson also discussed the pending closure of The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The expected end of work at the ICTY in 2010 would not mean that the hunt for war crimes suspects would stop,Williamson said.

ZAGREB.Croatia - Croatia has launched a tender to build a bridge allowing motorists to avoid a lengthy detour through Bosnia.Bidding for the project, estimated to cost about EUR 260mn , would be opened on August 28, an official of the Hrvatske Ceste company said.

The Peljesac bridge, which will be Croatia's longest at 2.3 kilometres (1.4 miles), is to link the southern peninsula of Peljesac with the rest of the Adriatic country.

The deadline for completion of the project is 2 years after the singing of the contract.The bridge is aimed at enabling traffic to avoid border crossings along a 10-kilometre (six-mile) stretch of road belonging to Bosnia.

It would notably enable motorists to reach the southern resort town of Dubrovnik without the need to cross the border.The Croatian Transport Minister Bozidar Kalmeta has labelled the project as extremely demanding as the bridge is to be built over rugged terrain.

The project sparked controversy between Croatia and Bosnia, as Bosnia said the bridge would hamper its sea access.Officials in Bosnia had been worried that the bridge,originally planned to be only 35 meters high,would block Bosnia's exit to the Adriatic, impeding access to the port of Neum and making maritime traffic impossible.

According to an article published in Slobodna Dalmacija (regional daily newspapers), journalists were talking to prof. dr. sc. Jure Radnić, the head of Bridge and Concrete Department of Faculty of Civil Engineering from Split, Croatia who told them that much better and cheaper way to solve the problem of connecting Croatian territories, would be a tunnel.

Prof.Radanic briefly explained his idea, adding that this option would not only cost four times less than “bridge” one, but would also offer enviromentally safer solution for MaloStonski Zaljev (Bay of Mali Ston) , well known for it’s oyster fields which are specific for this unique ecosystem.

ZAGREB,Croatia - Judge Fausto Pocar, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), together with Judges Orie, Schomburg and Bonomy participated on in an Expert Meeting on Inter-state Judicial Cooperation in War Crimes Proceedings organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and hosted by the Supreme Court of Croatia in Zagreb, ICTY said.

The purpose of the meeting, which brought together judges from Bosnia,Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, was to discuss ongoing challenges in the conduct of war crimes proceedings and to identify ways to further inter-state cooperation as well as cooperation between domestic courts and the ICTY.

All actors present underscored the importance of ICTY's unwavering support to judicial institutions in the region. Before the meeting,President of the ICTY Fausto Pocar met with the President of the Supreme Court of Croatia,Branko Hrvatin, to discuss the progress achieved in the conduct of war crimes proceedings by Croatian courts and judicial cooperation in the region of the former Yugoslavia.