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NATO Calls Elections Toughest Part of Bosnia Mission
‘We face the political process leading to elections and therefore the establishment of common political institutions.’
"Without a doubt the phase now is the most difficult," Solana told reporters at Tuzla air base in northeast Bosnia. "We face the political process leading to elections and therefore the establishment of common political institutions." Solana and U.S. General George Joulwan, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, met American soldiers at the U.S. 1st Division headquarters less than two months before Bosnia holds elections meant to help reunify the country.
Solana warned that the international community had to guard against attempts by Bosnia's factions to obstruct or defy election results, citing a Croat boycott of the newly-elected city council in Mostar. "We have to fight against the situation like we have now in Mostar. Political parties must abide by the results of elections," Solana said. The Bosnian Croats have refused to accept the results of local elections in Mostar held last month, triggering a political impasse in the divided southern town.
Solana said the NATO-led peace implementation force (IFOR) in Bosnia would work closely with civilian agencies overseeing the country-wide vote scheduled for September 14.
Joulwan said the 60,000-strong IFOR contingent had enforced the military phase of its mission successfully, separating rival armies and overseeing the storage of big guns and tanks. "There have been the military tasks -- separate troops, transfer land, take heavy weapons back to cantonment areas and demobilise troops. That has gone fairly well," said the U.S. general. "The next phase is called transition to peace, where we maintain the military tasks but underpin and support where we can, within our capabilities, the civilian (aspect)."
The civilian side of the peace accord, which depends on the good will of Bosnia's rival leaders, presents IFOR with a complicated job, he said "It's not only extremely tricky but critical for (Dayton's) success," Joulwan said. Solana and Joulwan spoke after holding talks with U.S. Major General William Nash, commander of U.S. troops in the IFOR mission, and other officers and civilian officials.
NATO was dedicated to preserving Bosnia as a single state comprised of Serb and Muslim-Croat entities as set out by the peace deal signed in Dayton, Ohio, Solana said. "Dayton means one country, two entities. We are going to continue to be committed to that. "From now until the end (of the one-year mandate) we will concentrate on the electoral process and work towards all that was agreed in Dayton," said Solana.
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TUZLA, Bosnia, July 25 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said on Thursday post-war elections in Bosnia will pose a difficult test for the alliance-led mission enforcing the Dayton peace treaty.
Many may register to vote in person or as absentees in their pre-war towns but face obstacles from post-war power brokers there bent on preserving the results of "ethnic cleansing." "We're not talking "free and fair' elections. We're talking "reasonably democratic' elections. They won't be perfect," said Johanna van Vliet of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is organising the vote.
Berserkistan, July 25 · Rebel Muslim Fikret Abdic to Seek Bosnian Presidency
Berserkistan, July 22 · Bosnia’s Election Looking Like 'Mission Impossible'
Berserkistan, July 22 · International Monitors Arrive in Bosnia to Supervise Elections
Berserkistan, July 22 · Croats to Boycott Newly-Elected Mostar City Council
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