High Representative Ready to Take Steps to Normalise the Situation in Mostar

Meeting this afternoon with trade union representatives from Mostar the High Representative, Valentin Inzko, said that despite promises from the City Council the situation in the city has deteriorated further during the last two weeks.

The High Representative today met Zvonko Stanić and Emir Topuz of the Mostar City trade union and Milenko Zovko of the Mostar City Fire Fighters Union.

“The situation is shameful; you have been doing your jobs while these Councillors haven’t been doing theirs”, HR Inzko said to the union representatives. “They’ve certainly never had to feed and cloth their families and pay the bills without a received a pay check for four months, that is why salaries must be paid as soon as possible”.

Over recent months the political parties in the City Council have been “more concerned with criticizing the shortcomings of the Statute than in committing to serious political negotiations” the HR said; “These elected representatives have made a farce of their office and betrayed the people of Mostar.

Two weeks ago the City Council has adopted a conclusion undertaking to elect the mayor and get the City budget adopted by 15 July, with all unpaid salaries to be paid by 31 August. This has not been met.

“The City Council’s use of the public ballot to elect the Mostar Mayor is clearly not working,” said HR Inzko. “Despite the fact that city council has not accepted to use a secret ballot, this is in fact what the Statute requires.”

HR Inzko will be discussing the current situation in Mostar with political party leaders in a final attempt to get them to resolve Mostar’s political stalemate. If strikes, public protests and the prospect of social unrest do not move the leaders of those political parties to take action, then perhaps they are not fit to lead the city responsibly.