10 May 2000
Dayton's Accords Working Slowly, U.N. Official Reports
(Efforts to undermine Dayton must not be tolerated, U.S. says) (1,180) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Describing the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina's economy, the resettlement of displaced people, and the fractured national leadership, the U.N. High Representative to Bosnia said May 9 that progress in implementing the Dayton peace accords "is as slow and painful as ever -- but it is working." "The remedy we are administering -- our adherence to the principle of multi-ethnicity, and the reversal of wartime ethnic cleansing, together with our insistence on real political and economic reform -- is the right one," said Wolfgang Petritsch in a briefing for the Security Council. "The remedy can work elsewhere too -- in Kosovo, for instance." If the international community fails in Bosnia, Petritsch said, "then ethnically pure mini-states are likely to dominate Southeast Europe in the 21st Century. It is imperative that we persevere." Petritsch focused on what he called his strategic priorities of economic reform, refugee return, and the building up of central state structures. He criticized the Bosnian Presidency for giving precedence to an "ethnic agenda" over "what is best for the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina." "The leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina are still far from ready to take the responsibility that they should for their country," he said. Nevertheless, Petritsch said, the political landscape of Bosnia is now more pluralistic than before. "The voters are beginning to think for themselves and about how politicians who seek to represent them will represent their interests -- not the narrow, sectarian interests of the old ethnic ways of thinking, but the everyday interests of the ordinary public: issues like housing, employment, education and infrastructure." U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham said that having the same goals for Bosnia as elsewhere in the Balkans "is a crucial point." "Our aim is and must continue to be regional stability and peace," he said. "We must send a clear message to all those inside and outside Bosnia-Herzegovina who would undermine this effort -- the extreme nationalists, the indicted war criminals, the promoters of ethnic politics, the underground elements -- that the Security Council and the international community will not be diverted and will not tolerate continued efforts to undermine the Dayton agreements and more broadly, lasting peace." Cunningham, who is the U.S. deputy permanent representative to the U.N., commended Petritsch for "his strong leadership" and the "aggressive and effective" manner in which he has been addressing some of Dayton's most difficult issues. "We encourage him to continue to draw on the full authority of his office to ensure that the parties live up to their international commitments." "Now more than ever...the international community must maintain its focused attention on priority areas such as economic reform, refugee returns, and the consolidation of central state institutions," said Cunningham. "The Security Council, itself, must maintain its commitment to the peace process -- including continuing our strong support for the U.N. Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNMIBH) efforts to carry out its difficult and dangerous mandate." Bosnia's recent municipal election results "reflect some important positive trends," Cunningham said. "Bosnia is finally beginning to transcend the excessive influence of ethnicity in its political life. We hope that [Petritsch] is correct that the everyday interests of ordinary people are coming to the fore." Petritsch told the Security Council that "if Bosnia-Herzegovina is to have any hope of a secure future, the economy must become self-sustaining -- and fast." "Donor fatigue" has set in, but Bosnia-Herzegovina is still far too dependent on the steadily diminishing international aid, the U.N. High Representative warned, and the country still needs both domestic and foreign investment. While economic reform is one of the most potent weapons in trying to reverse the evil effects of the brutal four-year war in Bosnia, the country's economy "is to a large extent the same as it was in the days of communism, despite international pressure," Petritsch said. Bosnia's economy is still comprised largely of giant, state-run industries such as mines and steelworks that are "completely out of step with the market requirements of the new millennium," he said. The lack of a reliable banking system is another important obstacle to private investment. Modernizing Bosnia's economy has met with fierce political resistance, he explained, since state companies and other remaining socialist systems are a source of funding for established nationalist parties. "Such arrangements must not be tolerated. We have to start protecting the economic sphere from this kind of old-style intrusion," Petritsch said. "Investors, unsurprisingly, are discouraged," he noted. Jobs and a secure economic future are of far more concern to the country's ordinary citizens "than the diet of ethnic separatism that is still being fed to them by the nationalist parties," Petritsch said. Cunningham also applauded Petritsch's effort to push the parties on economic reform, calling it "essential." "Progress on this front is the best way to support responsible reformist leaders who have focused on peace and prosperity rather than rekindling old hatreds." Petritsch said that 800,000 people are still internally displaced throughout the country and another 300,000 are still refugees abroad. "Facilitating their return is the number one means of normalizing Bosnia," he said. The U.N. official said that so far this year, there have been more than twice as many returns as there were during the same period in 1999. He attributed the change to his removal of bureaucratic hurdles to property return "that were being mercilessly exploited by politicians on all sides whose agenda was to obstruct the implementation of Dayton," and to his dismissal of 22 public officials who had a proven track record of obstructing the Dayton Agreement on returns. While there is still a long way to go, Petritsch said, refugee return has become "an achievable reality." He accused the Bosnian Presidency of "disregard for the international norms and standards of state leadership" for not following through on the pledge made to the Security Council in November 1999 in the New York Declaration, to establish a State Border Service and promote new election laws. "The State Border Service was seen at the time as an acid test of the Presidency's commitment to the concept of a functioning state -- a concept to which they have all too often paid mere lip service," Petritsch said. "Sad to say, the Presidency failed the test." "The bickering began the moment they got home" from New York, he said. "In the end, I was forced to exercise my powers and impose the State Border Service. Not even a solemn declaration before the U.N. Security Council, it seems, could hold them to it." Although the three-member Presidency did pass a draft elections law onto the Parliament, "Presidency members were not prepared to influence their respective party members" when it came to vote, Petritsch said. "They just stood by and watched as the draft law was voted down." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
