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John Major, Back from Bosnia, says December Pullout May be Premature
"So the international community will be working, I am sure,
in one way and another for a long time to build up confidence to
encourage those people to return."
Major on Friday visited some of the 11,500 British troops
serving in the NATO-led peace implementation force (IFOR)
helping to reconstruct Bosnia.
But asked whether they would withdraw as envisaged under the
December 20 IFOR deadline, Major said in the interview it was
too soon to give a definitive judgement.
"We must see what the position is like in December.
The IFOR mandate is quite clear. That is an international
mandate. It ends in late December and the expectation is that
everyone would leave at the same time. That's still the
expectation. What happens thereafter is too early to judge at
this stage," he said.
Major said he hoped elections planned for September in
Bosnia would go ahead.
"That seems to be on track though there are still a number
of difficulties to be overcome, but I think anybody who made a
long-term projection at the moment would be a brave man but thus
far things have gone in many ways as well as we could have
hoped," he said.
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LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister John Major
said in an interview on Saturday he saw long-term tasks for the
international community in Bosnia and it was too early to judge
whether British troops would pull out by a December deadline.
Speaking on BBC radio after a one-day trip to Bosnia on
Friday, Major said more had to be done to enable refugees to
return home and to repatriate people driven out of the country.
Berserkistan, May 24 · Izetbegovic to Major: Elections Depend on Dayton Compliance
Berserkistan, May 24 · John Major Tours Banja Luka
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