After this year’s local elections and events in Stolac, and after the appeals by Ćamil Duraković on the election process in Srebrenica, international officials in BiH are a lot more cautious in their statements pertinent to the regularities of the election process.
Jonathan Moore, Head of OSCE Mission to BiH, spoke about elections, the referendum, and the rewarding of war criminals in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska.
“The referendum was useless, but we have bigger challenges ahead,” said Moore, commenting on the violation of the Dayton Agreement and the Constitution of BiH at the recently held referendum in the RS. Moore added that the international community did not reach consensus on penalizing the RS authorities.
What is the concrete task of OSCE Mission to BiH in the Stolac office and what have they done so far?
Moore: It is still early to talk about concrete results. With our presence on the field, we want to offer the citizens of Stolac an opportunity to be in direct contact with the international community. We are ready to support both the citizens and representatives of local authorities in their endeavors to create conditions for the strengthening of democratic and non-discriminatory society in the Municipality of Stolac.
How do you comment the fact that the Central Election Commission has not reached any concrete decision about elections in that town yet?
Moore: We are carefully monitoring and supporting the work of CIK. Only independent and unbiased election bodies are capable of guaranteeing fair elections and we hope that CIK will reach a decision on elections in this municipality soon.
How would you assess the elections in Srebrenica and, according to you, how justified are the requests by Ćamil Duraković for the annullation of elections in this municipality?
Moore: We fully trust the relevant institutions and believe that they will make conscientious decisions about all objections, in accordance with laws, and reach decisions that are based on facts.
Does Dodik’s behavior, which remained unsanctioned, means that anyone in this country can violate the Constitution of BiH and decisions by the Constitutional Court of BiH, or it that a privilege allowed to Dodik only?
Moore: It is sad and shameful that in BiH there are more than 200 unimplemented verdicts of three constitutional courts, some of which date back to the nineties. I repeat again that the BiH authorities and institutions must assume responsibility for the solving of many difficult issues, including the increasingly frequent failures to implement decisions by constitutional courts in BiH.
The National Assembly of Republika Srpska presented awards to the convicted war criminals like Radovan Karadžić, Momčilo Krajišnik and Biljana Plavšić at an official session on the occasion of the anniversary of its establishment. Moore was asked to say what kind of message is sent to the non-Serb population in the RS with this act.
“Rewarding war criminals is unacceptable and war criminals should not have any kind of role in public or political life in BiH. Construction of permanent peace and stability in BiH requires tolerance, respect for human rights and the rule of law. It is necessary to achieve progress and development through dialogue and compromise. All parties in BiH must actively engage in processes that contribute to reconciliation and peaceful coexistence, which is a basis for the future of a stable and safe BiH,” Moore said.
(Source: Almir Šarenkapa for Faktor.ba)
