UN SECRETARY GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT POLITICAL SITUATION IN BOSNIA

NEW YORK ,USA (October 28,2007) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is concerned about recent political developments that could hinder the functioning of the Bosnian state institutions, thus undermining the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and affecting stability in the region.

The UN Secretary-General has urged Bosnia's political leaders to show restraint and support the International community's High Representative in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, in carrying out reforms needed for Bosnia to join the European Union.

“The Secretary-General is concerned about recent political developments that could hinder the functioning of central institutions in Bosnia, thus undermining the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and affecting stability in the region,” a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said.

Lajcak is charged with overseeing implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement ,which ended the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.

“The secretary-general encourages political leaders and officials in Bosnia to exercise maximum restraint, continue to engage in inter-ethnic dialogue and constructively co-operate with the High Representative,” the spokesperson said.

Ban's call came as Lajcak on Thursday told the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) permanent council meeting in Vienna, Austria, that tensions are rising in Bosnia.

“The recent failure to forge a political agreement on police reform was merely the last, albeit crucial, confirmation of the worsening political dynamic that we have witnessed in Bosnia since April 2006, when the first modest but mould-breaking package of reforms to the Dayton constitution narrowly failed to win adoption,” Lajcak said.

“Since then, there has been a poisonous election campaign, characterized by intransigent and destabilizing rhetoric; a prolonged process of government formation, leading to the unavoidable cohabitation in power of the more radical and intransigent parties; and a virtual halt to European Union-compatible reforms and normal government activity.”

The Un Secretary-General reiterated his support for Lajcak, emphasising that the International community's High Representative in Bosnia acts in the interest of all Bosnian citizens.

Talks between Bosnia's political forces on the question of police reforms collapsed earlier this month after after a year of negotiations failed to produce a real breakthrough.

The European Union has set three main principles for police reform, demanding from Bosnia that it should be organised and financed on a country level, without political influence.