On Thursday, November 19, the deadline expired for a decision on the ratio between claims from soldiers of the Armija of Bosnia and Herzegovina and soldiers of the HVO with regards to their participation in the privatization process in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The same day, the High Representative Carlos Westendorp received a letter from HDZ President Ante Jelavic, stating that he accepted a ratio of 28 percent to 72 percent in favor of the Armija component of the Federation Army. Similarly, the OHR received a copy of the letter from Deputy Defense Minister Sakib Mahmuljin to Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic, stating that the position of the Armija was a ratio of 20 percent to 80 percent in favor of the Armija component.
The High Representative Carlos Westendorp deeply regrets that the political leaders have failed to reach an agreement, in particular as they themselves set the mentioned deadline at the session of the Federation Government on October 6. The High Representative considers this to be a failure to provide the necessary political leadership.
In view of the urgency to begin the privatization process in the Federation, the High Representative has decided to arbitrate by setting the ratio between the two Federation Army components at 24 percent to 76 percent in favor of the Armija side. These figures are based on a purely mathematical mediation between the two current positions.
The High Representative requests the authorities in charge of implementing this decision to act as quickly as possible so that claim books can be allocated to beneficiaries as soon as possible.