|
|
|
|
|
The Steering Board Ambassadors expressed their support for the decision of High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch to dismiss Mr. Ante Jelavic from his position as member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to bar him from running in elections and holding either public or political party posts. This step was made necessary by the regrettable and unconstitutional actions of Mr. Jelavic and an extremist group within his party. With his recent declaration of his own para-state institutions within BiH, Mr. Jelavic not only threatened the Dayton Peace Accords and disregarded the rule of law but also showed that he was willing to put his own personal interests over those of BiH Croats and indeed all BiH citizens. Such actions were not acceptable for a member of the BiH Presidency. The Steering Board Ambassadors also support the High Representative's decision to remove Mr. Ivo Andric-Luzanski as delegate in the BiH House of Representatives, and bar him, along with Mr. Marko Tokic and Mr. Zdravko Batinic, from running in elections and holding either public office or political party posts. The Steering Board Ambassadors want to emphasize that the High Representativešs decisions were not aimed at the Croat people of BiH, but rather at a specific group of individuals who are striving to isolate their people in pursuit of their own narrow interests. There will of course be no economic or other sanctions against the Croat people of BiH, only against those who undermine the Dayton Peace Accords. The Steering Board Ambassadors will continue to take the interests of the Croat people of BiH seriously and offer them a sincere dialogue at any time. The Steering Board Ambassadors urge all political parties and other groups representing BiH society to work within the legal institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which provide all the avenues required to address genuine concerns of the Croat constituent people of BiH. Their elected representatives are again invited to fully participate in the democratic process of forming the relevant constitutional bodies, in order to represent their electorate in shaping the impending reform of the entity constitutions and subsequently the electoral law.
|