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German ex-minister named Bosnian
administrator |
By Katrin Bennhold
International Herald Tribune
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14,
2005
| PARIS Western powers guaranteeing
Bosnia's decade-old peace agreement on Wednesday appointed a former
German cabinet minister, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, as the
country's next international administrator.
Schwarz-Schilling, 75,
will take over from Britain's Paddy Ashdown on Jan. 31.
Schwarz-Schilling, formerly the minister for Germany's postal
service, became an expert on the region while working as a mediator
following Bosnia's 1992-95 war and supervising the return of
refugees to Bosnia's Serb and Muslim-Croat regions.
His appointment came on
the 10th anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-brokered Dayton
Peace Accords. It was announced in Paris after representatives of
the countries that backed the accord as guarantors in 1995 met to
assess Bosnia's progress over the past decade.
"While much has been
done, much still remains to be done," said Stanislas de Laboulaye,
the senior French diplomat who played host to the meeting. "The
reform process, which has achieved major successes in the last two
years, must be pursued."
Laboulaye said
constitutional reform was needed to strengthen Bosnia's central
institutions and to reduce the need for an international presence.
He also renewed a call for the arrest of two top war crimes
suspects, Radovan Karadzic, the wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs,
and Ratko Mladic, Karadzic's military chief.
But the meeting on
Wednesday was overshadowed by concern that the EU's appetite for
admitting new members was drying up.
The Bosnian prime
minister, Adnan Terzic, warned EU countries on Wednesday not to
remove the promise of Union membership, which has been a key factor
driving reform and stability in the Balkan countries.
"If they fear the
membership of western Balkan countries, they should realize that
what happened 10 years ago can happen again," Terzic said.
Bosnia last month
started talks on closer economic and political ties with the EU.
Ashdown, the former
leader of Britain's Liberal Democrat Party who has been Bosnia's
chief administrator for over three years, welcomed
Schwarz-Schilling's appointment.
"I don't think there is
anyone who knows Bosnia-Herzegovina better than him," Ashdown said.
"He is deeply trusted in the country. The international mission is
in save hands."
As Bosnia's Serb and
Muslim-Croat communities, under pressure from Western governments,
grudgingly improve cooperation, the powers of the chief
administrator are set to shrink in coming years, suggesting that
Schwarz-Schilling will be a less influential figure than his
predecessor.
Ashdown made full use of
his far-reaching authority, dismissing officials who appeared to be
opposed to building a multiethnic democracy.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/12/14/business/bosnia.php
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