RS's Dodik says constitutional reform in BiH cannot be imposed from outside

10/09/2008

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) -- Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said on Tuesday (September 9th) that successful constitutional reform in BiH cannot be imposed from outside. "I object to any kind of outside participation in procedures linked to constitutional changes," Dodik told journalists. He said that he does not expect US representatives to have involvement in the process.

Also Tuesday, High Representative Miroslav Lajcak called on the EU to offer further political and financial support to BiH during what is expected to be a difficult period of reform. "BiH is still an unfinished business, an unfinished responsibility for the international community," he told Reuters.

In other news, the Croat member of the BiH presidency, Zeljko Komsic, urged Sweden not to pardon former RS President Biljana Plavsic, who is serving an 11-year war-crime sentence there. Given the gravity of her crimes, "any act of mercy would be a big mistake and an insult to the victims and their families," Komsic said in a letter to Stockholm, cited by media Tuesday. Plavsic has requested early release from Sweden's Hinseberg prison for health reasons. (Beta, RTRS, Reuters, EUobserver, AFP - 09/09/08)