As the PIC Steering Board stated at its December 2003 meeting in Brussels, it “will give its full support to the implementation of a solution to the issue of Mostar based on a single coherent city administration with effective guaranteed power-sharing mechanisms which prevent any one people having majority control of the City Council.”
With this in mind, the Ambassadors of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council fully support the decision taken by the High Representative to enact a new Statute of the city of Mostar. This represents the culmination of a nearly year long effort by the local authorities, with the assistance of the international community, to develop a new organisation for the City of Mostar that will unite its people and end their administrative partition. In the spirit of compromise, the second Commission for Reforming the City of Mostar managed to reach agreement on the majority of issues – but not all issues – addressed by the new City Statute. It has been left to the High Representative to bridge the gap on the 10% of issues where a compromise was not possible. His decision has been taken in the interests of all the citizens of the City of Mostar as a whole.
The Ambassadors urge Mostar’s citizens, politicians, civil servants and public employees to do all they can to ensure that the new City Statute is implemented in a timely and effective manner. By doing so, officials and residents alike will help ensure that the forthcoming reopening of the Old Bridge represents more than a symbolic reunification of the city. It will be a real bridging of divisions that have prevailed for far too long, and will also significantly increase the city’s potential for attracting both foreign and domestic investment and re-establishing itself as a significant tourist destination.