Call for New Bosnia EUFOR Mandate
| 16 November 2007 |Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, who resigned earlier this month, and Miroslav Lajcak, the international community’s High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, addressed their call to the UN Security Council while attending its session on Thursday evening.
“Consonant with the prevailing security situation in BiH, EUFOR completed its transition to a reduced force structure of some 2,500 ahead of schedule”, Lajcak said in his first official report to the Security Council since taking office in July this year.
“It should be noted, however, that the presence of EUFOR on the ground provides crucial reassurance which remains necessary”, Lajcak said.
In his report, which covers the period from April 1 to September, 30, Lajcak stressed the “deterioration of the political atmosphere due to negative rhetoric coming from both Serb and Bosniak parties” over police reform, which was the key to BiH’s success in continuing to build closer links with the EU.
“Given the current environment, I welcome the fact that EUFOR retains the capacity to deploy troops throughout the country at short notice as well as the capability to bring in over-the-horizon reserves,” he added.
However, Lajcak’s report did not cover the further deterioration of the political situation which ensued after he imposed on October 19 a decision to simplify the quorum and decision-making process of the BiH Council of Ministers.
Lajcak’s move angered Bosnian Serbs who, along with the Bosniaks and Croats, are one of the country’s three constituent nations.
Claiming that Lajcak’s decision could result in the outvoting of one ethnic group by the other two, Bosnian Serbs threatened to boycott all state institutions.
Spiric went a step further and resigned from his post as prime minister, saying he could no longer perform his duties unless Lajcak changed or cancelled his decision.
Pending the appointment of a successor, Spiric traveled to New York in his role as caretaker prime minister.
Bosnian media quoted Spiric as asking the Security Council to extend EUFOR's mandate, which runs out on November 21, as well as criticizing Lajcak for imposing his latest decisions.
The periodic extension of EUFOR’s mandate is usually a routine matter for the Security Council.
This time, observers say, the decision has greater significance because of the increased tension in BiH.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov directly blamed Lajcak for the latest political crisis in the western Balkan state.
“We hope that the crisis created by High Representative Lajcak's actions will be overcome, and that it will not damage the international community's achievements in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Lavrov told a news conference in Ljubljana following a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart, Dimitrij Rupel, on Wednesday.
