OPA Release STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN UNITED STATES SUPPORTS THE DECISION OF THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR BOSNIA TO DISMISS ANTE JELAVIC FROM OFFICE Sarajevo, 07 March 2001

For Immediate Release #2001/176 The United States joins the international community in supporting the decision by the High Representative for Bosnia Wolfgang Petritsch to dismiss from office Ante Jelavic, the Bosnian Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to dismiss or ban from public office three other Bosnian Croats. The High Representative has the authority to remove any official who obstructs implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords or violates the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The High Representativešs decision is an appropriate response to the extra-constitutional actions taken by Jelavic and other extremist elements of the political party that he led. The High Representativešs decision is not aimed at the Croat people but at extremists who reject legal institutions and processes in order to promote their own self-interest over the interests of the Bosnian Croats. The United States supports the efforts of the High Representative and the international community to bring democracy and the rule of law to Bosnia and Herzegovina. OPA Release, Sarajevo, 07 March 2001