MATTHEW RYCROFT: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY COULD DECIDE TO IMPOSE SOLUTIONS AGAIN IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 28,2007) – Ambassador of Great Britain to Bosnia Matthew Rycroft warned yesterday Bosnia's political leaders that the International Community could consider an option of returning to the old approach of imposing the solutions if no agreement on police reform is achieved.

”If no agreement on police reform is achieved, we will need to think about our role here. That could mean the return to the old-fashioned model of removing the obstacles and imposing the solutions”, Ambassador Rycroft said.

He opened this possibility at the “Open Parliament”, held yesterday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. The event was organized by Transparency International.

Emphasizing the data from the new Global Corruption Index, Ambassador Rycroft said that the Report states that Bosnia is one of the most corrupt countries.

He emphasized that it is vital that the corruption problem is dealt with as soon as possible, for if the important issues are postponed, it will become even more difficult to deal with them later.

Several reforms need to be implemented ion order for the issue to be solved. A good structure and laws that truly function in reality are necessary for a country to function.

”Auditor’s Office functions well in Bosnia. However, implementation of their decisions needs to be insured”, Ambassador Rycroft said.

”He added that the responsibility for solving the corruption issue is in the hands of Bosnia's leaders, not the International Community. The international representatives are the ones to ensure help in the process”, Rycrof said.

Deputy Speaker at the Bosnian Parliament’s House of Representatives, Niko Lozancic, stated that Bosnia is certainly not a functional country.

He said that if everybody truly loved this country, nobody would wait for things to happen. We would all act and take some of the responsibility.

The Open Parliament was organized so that the prominent experts from Bosnia and abroad would talk about the issues of the rule of law and corruption.

One of the leading experts in the field, Professor David Chandler, attended the session.

He has written many works on Bosnia's development and talked at this session about a transparent and a responsible government.

The Open parliament was organized with the support of the British embassy to Bosnia and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.