OHR, Kevin Sullivan
OSCE, Aida
Besic
EUFOR, Tim Smith

OHR

RS Obstructionism Must Stop

The Principal Deputy High Representative, Larry Butler,
will be in

Banja Luka

tomorrow. He will meet RS Prime Minister Bukejlovic
in the morning. As you know, the RS Supreme Auditor published reports earlier
this year that uncovered huge losses of revenue at RS Elektroprivreda and Srpske
Sume. These losses were caused by negligence and fraud. The RS Government was
charged with cleaning up the mess and getting rid of the guilty managers. It
hasn’t done so in most of the cases. Ambassador Butler will be asking Mr
Bukejlovic to explain why.

These audits are a public service. Their object is to identify shortcomings
in public companies and recommend ways of addressing these shortcomings.
However, until now the auditor hasn’t uncovered shortcomings but wholesale theft
and monumental mismanagement. Citizens are being robbed. The RS government must
put an end to this robbery. Otherwise citizens will start to think that members
of the government are colluding in it. 

Also on the agenda for tomorrow’s discussion will be the RS Government’s
inability to deliver reforms that, by universal consensus, will have a direct
and positive impact on living standards. The list includes passage of a BiH Law
on Obligations, that will modernise the business environment and help attract
investment to create jobs, transfer of banking supervision responsibilities
to a state-level institution so as to protect small
depositors more effectively, passage of a BiH law on pharmaceuticals
that will ensure the safety of medication sold in BiH, and supporting
the issuance of state bonds to settle government debts to citizens. This is
by no means an exclusive list.

These are all steps that have to be taken in order for BiH to
move forward into the Stabilisation and Association process. But just as
important they are all actions that have to be adopted in order to
serve citizens’ interests. Every day of delay is a day in which citizens are
being ill served.

There will be a media opportunity at the conclusion of this meeting. We’ll
issue a media advisory with details later today.

OSCE

No statement.

EUFOR

General Chiarini continues with his initial round of visits which have
included a visit to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Defence
Minister, Chief of The Joint Staff and Minister for Security. General Chiarini
will today visit the Presidency.

All these meetings have demonstrated the good will and cooperation that
continues to exist between the Government and EUFOR. General Chiarini has
emphasised that EUFOR’s current capability will continue through 2006, a year
that will be crucial to the continued development of the country.

General Chiarini has also stressed EUFOR’s important role of supporting local
authorities, particularly in their fight against organised crime; EUFOR will
also continue to work closely with the EUPM in this task.

General Chiarini has also carried out his first visit outside of

Sarajevo

to Srebrenica where he paid
his respects. This visit was in recognition of the significance of past events,
not just for BiH but also for humanity.