Bosnian prime minister resigns over reforms proposed by international administrator

[Marulus]

Bosnian prime minister resigns over reforms proposed by international administrator

By SAMIR KRILIC


Nov. 1, 2007


SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric resigned on Thursday over a parliamentary reform proposed by the top international administrator in the country.

"For 12 years foreigners have run this country and this is not good. I resign and this is the only right decision," said Spiric, a Bosnian Serb who is the President of the Bosnian Council of Ministers.

Miroslav Lajcak, a Slovak diplomat who is the top international administrator in the ethnically divided country, has proposed new rules designed to strengthen the ability of the central Bosnian Parliament and other bodies to enact further reforms that could eventually lead to Bosnian membership in the European Union.

The proposals would change the way a quorum is calculated in order to make it more difficult for lawmakers to block decisions simply by not showing up.

Serbs fear the proposal could lead to the end of their mini-state within Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In neighboring Serbia, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica offered support to the Bosnian Serbs. He said in a statement that "Lajcak was responsible for this crisis, and it would have been natural if he had resigned."

The peace agreement that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war divided Bosnia into two mini-states _ the Serb Republic and a Bosniak-Croat Federation. International efforts since then to meld the country together have been supported by the federation, but leaders of the Bosnian Serb mini-state have tried to block full integration.

On Wednesday, Lajcak's reform proposals won support from the steering board of the international Peace Implementation Council, which is comprised of more than 40 countries and international organizations that oversee the conditions of the peace agreement.

"The only objective of these measures is to streamline the decision-making process in the (Bosnian) Council of Ministers and the Parliament and they are necessary to speed up the reform process," the international council said.

But Spiric objected.

"No one asked me will this (Lajcak's) decision help my work in any way. The international community cannot run the country and at the same time I have all the responsibility," he told reporters in Sarajevo.

Lajcak, who is appointed under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement, announced his changes to the way a quorum is calculated last week. He has given Parliament until Dec. 1 to adopt the measures; otherwise, he said, he will simply impose them.

Reacting initially to Lajcak's proposals, the Serb Republic's prime minister, Miroslav Dodik, threatened to walk out of joint national institutions, including the country's tripartite presidency and the central government. Spiric is the first member of Dodik's party who has resigned.

A withdrawal by Dodik's Party of Independent Social Democrats would complicate the political situation in the country, since the party has the support of most of Bosnia's Serbs.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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[Marulus]

Bosnian Serbs in walkout threat


Silajdzic accuses Serbia of leading the political crisis in response to the pending status of Kosovo


Bosnian Serbs have threatened to pull out of joint national institutions, a move that would effectively paralyse the country's government and threaten Balkans stability.

The threat comes in response to a plan by Miroslav Lajcak, chief Bosnia UN-EU administrator, to strengthen the central parliament and facilitate possible entry into the EU.

Bosnian Serbs, one of the three distinct groups in the country, fear a stronger central government will reduce their partial autonomy.

Planned changes to the government would prevent political parties from blocking legislation simply by not attending parliamentary sessions or cabinet meetings.

The wider political dispute however, revolves around the degree to which the institutions of the country's two ethnically distinct mini-states will be merged.

Merging institutions

Bosnia-Herzegovina comprises two states: a Bosnian Serb republic and a federation of Bosniaks and Croats, created under the Dayton peace accord that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

The European Union is demanding that various institutions be merged ahead of membership.

Bosnian Serbs, fearing the loss of their mini-state, the Serb Republic, have stayed away from meetings to block laws that could lead to the merger of government agencies.

Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Party of Independent Social Democrats, the most influential Bosnian Serb party, on Friday said his party would abstain from voting if Lajcak's plan was not changed.

Dodik also said two of his most important supporters would quit the government altogether.

"The leadership of the parliament will be lost ... that's our answer to political violence," Dodik said.

Nikola Spiric, the Bosnian prime minister and an ethnic Serb, resigned last week in a protest against Lajcak's plan.

However, Lajcak's office said on Friday that the Bosnian Serb proposal "does not constitute a basis for further discussions".

"Instead of streamlining and improving the decision-making process", the Bosnian Serb proposal "introduces new possibilities of blockage which did not even exist before," a statement from his office said.

Kosovo controversy

Diplomats have suggested that the discussions over neighbouring Kosovo's future status have worsened the situation.

They say that the Bosnian Serb Republic, encouraged by Belgrade and Moscow, could decide to go its own way in reaction to a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo once last-ditch negotiations on the future end on December 10.

"Belgrade is clearly stirring the pot in Bosnia," James Lyon, senior Balkans adviser for the International Crisis Group, said.

"There are people in the Serb government who'd really like to see Bosnia fall apart. There is a very strong impression that Serbia is doing all it can, with Russian support, to make this happen."

Haris Silajdzic, the ethnic Bosnian president, seemed to agree, telling Al Jazeera: "There is a crisis generated [in Bosnia] by the government in Belgrade because of the fact that the solution of the promise of Kosovo is now imminent.

"They would like to strengthen their position by generating another crisis and running a parallel crisis in Bosnia, so as to help their negotiating position."

However, he said he did not believe that the political crisis would lead to the country's split.

"Serbia is right now negotiating the status of Kosovo, and Kosovo will be independent, so they would like to get something too. But they will not get a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina."

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