Principal Deputy High Representative (PDHR), Roderick Moore was in Banja Luka today to meet with RS National Assembly Speaker, Igor Radojicic and RS Minister of Interior, Stanislav Cadjo to discuss the current political situation.
The International Community as a whole takes the view that the political parties themselves must resolve the current dispute over participation in governing bodies with full respect for the rule of law and the Constitution. Moreover, BiH’s EU and NATO aspirations must not fall foul of this disagreement. “The international community as a whole expects the institutions to keep working” said PDHR Moore. “Only four months have passed since cross-party dialogue heralded the end of years of political stagnation in BiH; we need to see the authorities in the country working more effectively together rather than pulling in different directions”.
The PDHR praised the RS Interior Ministry’s organization of security surrounding the annual Srebrenica commemorations in the past and welcomed Minister Cadjo’s continued efforts to ensure that the event this year will also pass peacefully.
In light of the municipality’s tragic history, the PDHR underscored the importance of all candidates for political office in Srebrenica being committed to reconciliation and a truthful accounting of the past.
In this context, PDHR Moore stressed that “there is no doubt about established facts; the ICTY and the ICJ have separately reviewed the evidence and determined that genocide was committed in Srebrenica.” He called on all leaders and elected authorities to avoid provocative acts and to seek constructive solutions to potentially divisive developments, such as placement of religious objects. PDHR Moore also stressed his view that the families of victims of the Srebrenica genocide should be allowed to pay their respects at mass execution sites, such as the warehouse in Kravica where hundreds where brutally murdered.
During his visit to Banja Luka, PDHR Moore also met with the SDS’s Dragan Cuzulan, PDP’s Mladen Ivanic, and DP’s Dragan Cavic.