08/30/2007 OHR / EUSR

Leaders Should Think About The Whole Of BiH

Reacting to statements made by Haris Silajdzic and Sulejman Tihic today the High Representative and EU Special Representative, Miroslav Lajcak said:

“I am deeply disappointed with statements made by SBiH and SDA leaders, Haris Silajdzic and Sulejman Tihic. By rejecting the draft proposal on police reform before all the major political leaders have even received it, they have demonstrated a disdain for their colleagues and the political process.  They have broken their agreement to provide me with comments on the proposal directly, instead of communicating them through the media.

Furthermore, they have rejected a proposal this is fair and balanced and in line with the three EU principles. There are no losers in this proposal. The only winners would be the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who would benefit from the initialling of BiH’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union. As you know, all my efforts are focussed on helping the BiH citizens get closer to the EU. This includes my proposal on police reform.

In order for BiH to progress, political leaders must think about the country as a whole, which unfortunately is not the case at this time.”