OHR related Interviews

The nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is preparing to mark another milestone. Next month—the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the civil war in the former Yugoslavia—Britain’s Lord Jeremy "Paddy" Ashdown will step down as the nation’s internationally-appointed high representative. Ashdown, 64, has spent the [...]

- I am convinced that we will implement police reform in accordance with the EU requirements and with determination that police regions should cross the inter-Entity border line in those areas where this is necessary. It is of great importance that the EU and the U.S. are involved in monitoring this process, with a mandate and instruments to ensure [...]

In a few weeks’ time the International Community might decide on who will be the new (and the last) High Representative. Paddy Ashdown should leave our country by February next year and go back to London. His home there is now already being renovated. Although when replying to what he will be doing after the end of his mandate as the High Repres [...]

Police reform in BiH could be accelerated if the financial structure of the state allows for that possibility. In an interview for «Dnevni avaz», the High Representative Paddy Ashdown explains that the deadline for the implementation of police reform has not been accidentally specified as a five-year period. -We had the financial capabilities of th [...]

Following the decision of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska not to accept the measures for the police reform, BiH will be, together with Belarus, the only European country which does not have contractual relations with the European Union, warned High Representative Paddy Ashdown at the beginning of the interview for "Dnevni avaz".

Deadlines are linked to mid-September. If we want to start the EU SAA process around the tenth anniversary of Dayton, then a decision concerning police reform should be made around the middle of September. I sincerely hope that we will be concluding a successful police reform discussion this week.

High Representative Paddy Ashdown is worried that Bosnia and Herzegovina could miss the big date and as a result see another postponement of the talks with the European Union on the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Speaking to “Dnevni Avaz” Ashdown took the opportunity to warn the Republika Srpska, and in particular the Serb Democratic Pa [...]

I hope that the PBS Law will be passed before the summer recess * The problem of two schools under one roof needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The activities of the new SDHR to Paddy Ashdown, Ambassador Martin Ney of Germany, will be focused on removing the obstacles on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s road to the European Union.

Negotiations on police reform have collapsed. Whether they will continue will be decided by the RSNA delegates, who need to give a mandate to their politicians to bring this very important process to a conclusion. In his interview for “Dnevni avaz” Paddy Ashdown expresses his hopes that this will be done. He says that Serb leaders have told him the [...]

Nationalist parties cannot take Bosnia-Herzegovina into the European Union, says Paddy Ashdown, High Representative of the International Community for Bosnia-Herzegovina. He added that BiH could not join the EU before it got rid of nationalism.