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The citizens of Mostar have waited too long for an end to partition and
parallel institutions. Leading international organizations represented in
BiH – OSCE, OHR, EUPM, World Bank, European Commission, UNHCR, UN and IMF -
fully support the newly enacted Statute of the City of Mostar, considering it a
good basis for reuniting the city in a manner that prevents any one constituent
people from dominating the others while enhancing all citizens’ chances of
enjoying a more prosperous future. As Mostar overcomes its reputation for
discord, it will also begin to attract an ever-larger volume of foreign and
domestic investment and recover its status as a major tourist attraction in BiH.
The reunification of the city will mean its administration is better able to
serve its citizens, effectively delivering proper education, healthcare, and
other services. The six municipalities that existed hitherto cost every
man, woman and child in Mostar 310KM.
For too long, Mostar has been a symbol of Bosnia & Herzegovina's division
and dysfunctionality. The High Representative’s decision to enact a new
Statute for the city represents the culmination of a ten-month long effort by
the local authorities, assisted by representatives of the international
community, to develop a new organizational plan for the city – a plan that will
reunite residents and put a belated end to wartime divisions.
Demonstrating a new spirit of compromise, the second Commission for Reforming
the City of Mostar managed to reach agreement on the majority of governance
issues facing the city. It has been left to the High Representative,
however, to bridge the remaining gaps, providing what should prove to be durable
solutions in that same spirit of compromise. The heads of the leading
international institutions in BiH look to all the citizens of Mostar to support
this joint common effort.
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