High Bosnia representative: No reason to panic

Miroslav Lajcak says there is no reason to panic, as the crisis in Bosnia has been "artificially caused". In an interview with B92's Poligraf, the high international representative to Bosnia criticized some statements coming from Belgrade following his decision to change the voting system in the parliament and in the Council of Ministers. High Bosnia representative: No reason to panic Lajcak said that he respected Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and for that reason he expected to receive fair treatment in Belgrade, that would, instead of leading to international problems, result in direct talks. He repeated that his decisions had nothing to do with events in Kosovo, as some Serb officials had claimed. “I am of course aware that conspiracy theories are very popular in this part of the world, and it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,” he said. “I can personally assure you, if you like, that Kosovo has never even crossed my mind, believe me. I was thinking about timeframes, we don’t have time to waste if Bosnia-Hercegovina is to become functional, and this has no regional context,” said Lajcak. “Kosovo is a problem apart, that has its own mechanisms and instruments, Bosnia is a country that has its own challenges. My mandate and responsibility is to help it function better,” the high representative stated. “In that sense, I must categorically reject all those paranoid suspicions that this is part of some wider international conspiracy. I certainly would not be part of any regional conspiracy, not against anyone,” he stressed. Lajcak claimed that the measures he had introduced had been in line with the Dayton Accords, the Bosnian Constitution and his mandate, and that they had, moreover, received Russian approval. Firmly denying that he had taken the decisions to weaken the Bosnian Serbs, the high representative also rejected speculation that the measures had been introduced out of fear of possible reactions over the settlement of Kosovo’s status. He had earlier accused Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of deceiving the public, and said he would not allow himself to be blackmailed by Bosnian Serb resignations. The full interview is available here.

High Bosnia representative: No reason to panic

Lajčak said that he respected Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, and for that reason he expected to receive fair treatment in Belgrade, that would, instead of leading to international problems, result in direct talks.

He repeated that his decisions had nothing to do with events in Kosovo, as some Serb officials had claimed. “I am of course aware that conspiracy theories are very popular in this part of the world, and it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest,” he said.

“I can personally assure you, if you like, that Kosovo has never even crossed my mind, believe me. I was thinking about timeframes, we don’t have time to waste if Bosnia-Hercegovina is to become functional, and this has no regional context,” said Lajčak.

“Kosovo is a problem apart, that has its own mechanisms and instruments, Bosnia is a country that has its own challenges. My mandate and responsibility is to help it function better,” the high representative stated.

“In that sense, I must categorically reject all those paranoid suspicions that this is part of some wider international conspiracy. I certainly would not be part of any regional conspiracy, not against anyone,” he stressed.

Lajčak claimed that the measures he had introduced had been in line with the Dayton Accords, the Bosnian Constitution and his mandate, and that they had, moreover, received Russian approval.

Firmly denying that he had taken the decisions to weaken the Bosnian Serbs, the high representative also rejected speculation that the measures had been introduced out of fear of possible reactions over the settlement of Kosovo’s status.

He had earlier accused Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica of deceiving the public, and said he would not allow himself to be blackmailed by Bosnian Serb resignations.

The full interview is available here.