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To: | Mirko Mihaljevic, Prime Minister, Canton 10 |
Dear Mr. Mihaljevic:
For reasons outlined in the attached Decision, we herewith notify you of the
following: under the powers vested in the High Representative, you are
removed from public office with immediate effect. In addition, in accordance
with the Provisional Election Commission Rules and Regulations, this
decision bars you from holding any public office and/or any position in
public companies in the future.
It is with great regret that we are forced to acknowledge that during your
term in office not only have you failed to show any commitment to the
implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace, but you have
also seriously and persistently obstructed its implementation.
Sincerely,
|
Wolfgang Petritsch | Robert L. Barry |
|
High Representative | Chairman of the PEC |
| | OSCE Head of Mission |
Cc.:
Mr. Anto Omazic
President Canton 10 Assembly
Mr. Ejup Ganic
President Federation BiH
Mr. Ante Jelavic
Member of Presidency of BiH;President HDZ BiH
In the exercise of the powers vested in the High Representative by Article 5
of the Annex 10 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, according to which the High Representative 'is the final
authority in the theater regarding interpretation of [the] Agreement on the
civilian implementation of the peace agreement';
Endorsing the interpretation of these powers given in paragraph XI, 2 of the
Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference held in Bonn on 10
December 1997, in particular, sub-paragraph c thereof, by means of which the
High Representative is entitled to take actions against persons holding
public office who are found by the High Representative to be in violation of
legal commitments made under the Peace Agreement or the terms of its
implementation;
Noting the reiteration of the acknowledgement of such powers by the Peace
Implementation Council in Chapter X of the Annex to the Madrid Declaration
of 16 December 1998;
Considering the mandate entrusted with the Provisional Election Commission
under Article III of the Annex 3 to the General Framework Agreement for
Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and article 7.11 of the Rules and
Regulations adopted thereafter which provides that no person who has been
removed by the High Representative shall be permitted to be a candidate in
the elections.
We hereby issue the following
Decision
To remove Mr. Mirko Mihaljevic from his position of Prime Minister of Canton
10 and to ban him from holding any public office at any level unless
authorised to do so.
This Decision has immediate effect.
Reasons for removal
Mr. Mirko Mihaljevic has abused his power by persistently and seriously
obstructing implementation of the General Framework Agreement for Peace. By
pursuing an extra-legal agenda, he has consistently refused to take
ownership of the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In particular, since his appointment in 1998, Mr. Mihaljevic has exercised
direct control over Ministers and Ministries that have been characterized by
under-performance and non-compliance. He bears ultimate responsibility for
the Canton's dysfunctional judicial system and its blatant disregard for the
Rule of Law, as well as for the Canton's abysmal record in implementing
property laws, and for its substandard policing. Through his consistent
obstructionism and refusal to take necessary actions, Mr. Mihaljevic has
played a central role in creating a climate of hostility and intolerance
toward returnees in Canton 10.
- Mr. Mihaljevic's blatant disregard for his responsibilities as Prime
Minister and for the Rule of Law in his Canton was vividly demonstrated by
his reaction to a inflammatory and threatening leaflet distributed against
independent journalists from Livno's Radio N. On April 21, 2000, the Prime
Minister sent a letter to the media stating that "the author of the leaflet
could have been anybody: frustrated failures from the recent elections, some
representatives of the International Community who see no good here, sick
individuals, envious colleagues, and even the journalists named in the
leaflet." Such a response is not befitting of a public official.
- According to Article 41 of the Canton 10 Constitution, as Prime
Minister Mr. Mihaljevic bears ultimate responsibility for the abysmal state
of Canton 10's judiciary, which has been extensively criticized in two
separate decision by the Human Rights Chamber.
- Prime Minister Mihaljevic is ultimately responsible for the refusal
to take action with regard to the judiciary's consistent failure to apply
fundamental judicial principles in minority related and other cases led to
the September 16, 1999 removal by the High Representative of Mr. Stipo
Babic, then the Canton's Minister of Justice. However, Mr. Mihaljevic
blatantly disregarded the OHR's authority and allowed Mr. Babic to continue
to perform Ministerial duties and attend Government sessions until February
2000. In November, 1999, he even appointed Mr. Babic to the Cantonal Agency
for Health Insurance. In addition, Mr. Mihaljevic has also refused to take
action with regard to an April 10, 2000 OHR letter requesting the suspension
of the Livno Prosecutor.
- Canton 10 remains the only one in the Federation to have
demonstrated no progress on the implementation of both the High
Representative's July 30, 1999 decision on insignia and the UN SRSG's
instructions to the police and judiciary pursuant to this decision.
Despite repeated instructions from both OHR and UNMIBH concerning neutral
and non-offensive insignia, the Canton 10 ministries, which are under Mr.
Mihaljevic's authority, continue to refuse compliance.
- The Government of Canton 10, under Mr. Mihaljevic's control, has
demonstrated that it is not prepared to encourage returns in line with Annex
7 of the DPA. To give just one example, despite repeated efforts by the OHR
since September 1999 to open the Prekaja school in Drvar Municipality, it
remains shut. Mr. Mihaljevic has been personally involved in negotiations
regarding the school, and has demonstratively failed to resolve this issue
in spite of his obvious power to do so.
- As Prime Minister, Mr. Mihaljevic is ultimately the responsible
authority for the distribution of revenues to Cantonal municipalities.
While it has proven almost impossible to gain any insight into the public
finances of Mihaljevic's government, it is clear that those municipalities
not controlled by Mr. Mihaljevic's party receive almost nothing, despite
significant revenues generated locally from the forestry industry. This has
forced the International Community to provide basic services for returnee
children in Drvar, for example. To give another poignant example, Mr.
Mihaljevic stated that he had stopped payments into the official account of
Bosansko Grahovo Municipality on the grounds that he did not trust the
elected Serb officials.
- Mr. Mihaljevic has demonstrated a clear lack of willingness to
implement the Property Laws. Despite three meetings (held on November 5
and 29, 1999, and January 21, 2000) and two letters (dated November 8 and
December 9, 1999) urging the Prime Minister and Governor to send written
instructions to all Heads of Municipalities to fully and unconditionally
comply with Property Laws, Mr. Mihaljevic has only just sent out a copy of
those Laws, and without any written instructions.
- The unreformed nature of the Canton 10 MUP was graphically revealed
on 9 February 2000, when a routine IPTF weapons inspection found caches of
illegal weapons, as well as a recently utilized intelligence gathering
complex in the same corridor as the Minister of Interior's office. Under
Article 41 (d) of the Canton 10 Constitution, the Prime Minister bears
ultimate responsibility for this outrage, as he is charged with supervision
of the Canton's police force. In addition, under Mr. Mihaljevic's watch,
the Cantonal police have applied totally different and separate standards of
justice and law enforcement for citizens on Canton 10 depending on their
ethnic origin, which was part of a clear program obstructing returns. Given
his oversight role in law enforcement matters, Mr. Mihaljevic is also
culpable in Canton 10's lack of progress in the Minority Police Recruitment
Plan.
- Recent investigations have raised serious questions regarding the
fairness and transparency of the privatization process in Canton 10. The
Canton 10 Privatization Agency is part of the Government, and is under Mr.
Mihajlevic's supervision.
- Mr. Mihajlevic has refused to appoint Deputy Ministers and
assistants, apparently in order to prevent minority representatives from
receiving these posts.
All of the above establishes a disturbing and unacceptable pattern of
deliberate attempts to obstruct the implementation of the General Framework
Agreement for Peace. For these reasons, we hereby remove Mr. Mirko
Mihaljevic from the position of Prime Minister of Canton 10. The Decision
will be effective immediately and will not require any further procedural
steps. Mr. Mihaljevic must vacate his office immediately.
The position left vacant by Mr. Mihaljevic's removal will be filled in
accordance with the legal regulations governing its appointment. In order to
protect the institution to which a replacement is to be selected, no further
actions are to be taken by relevant authorities until OHR and OSCE
communicate that there are no objections and that the proposed name can
proceed further through the legal process.
Sarajevo, 22 May 2000
|
Wolfgang Petritsch | Robert L. Barry |
|
High Representative | Chairman of the PEC |
| | OSCE Head of Mission |
|
