OHR related Interviews

The High Representative for BiH Paddy Ashdown, prior to the interview for Dnevni list, had no information about the results of discussion between councillors of the Mostar City Council at yesterday’s extraordinary session, which, as announced, was to address the City’s Draft Statute. “As far as I know, the City Council has done something, which has [...]

British politician and diplomat Paddy Ashdown took office as the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2002. Many Croats in this country expressed fears at that time that his appointment was not the best solution. There was talk that the former leader of the British Liberal Party would be particularly disinc [...]

Of course the process will be painful, but less painful than the situation we have now and because of which Mostar is the black hole of the Balkans. I will do my best for consensus to be reached, but if no consensus is reached on the Mostar solution, I will have to impose it, the High Representative said

Mostar is a black hole, the Bermuda Triangle of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it’s unresolved status damages not only the citizens of that city, but of the whole country, not only internally but also externally. Look, I have already said this to Dragan Čović, Chairman of BiH Presidency: in mid-February you have a very important donor conference on [...]

The Council hasn’t finished its work, it hasn’t even been through half its work. But if there is a campaign, then laws get undermined. I think we need to do the following: we need to leave space for the Council to finish its work. When the Council finishes its part of the work, I am certain that ethnic balance will be respected and that no one will [...]

The parliamentarians hope that they will have pensions ten times higherr than the Federation average and that they can retire after only 20 years of service. That is a disgrace. Disgraceful and scandalous – that is what High Representative Paddy Ashdown said of the initiative of BiH parliamentarians aimed at enacting a law regulating their rights [...]

Good evening! Guest in our first Korak edition in this year is the High Representative in BiH, Mr. Paddy Ashdown. Good evening and welcome! As in previous programs, our public can participate in this program with questions through e-mail and phone. Our tele-voting question tonight is: Can we, alone, without help from international community, implem [...]

High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Paddy Ashdown on Tuesday asked the Chairman of the BiH Council of Minister (CoM), Adnan Terzic, to ensure that the that the Draft Law on Intelligence and Security Agency be sent by the Council of Ministers into parliamentary procedure without delay.

Contrary to my previous trips to Western capitals, this time I did not have to explain and convince some interlocutors that Bosnia and Herzegovina was not a black hole and that changes for better were obvious. It shows that this country has made great progress, and the majority of Foreign Affairs ministers and the majority of the people in the mini [...]

At the end of 2002 I made it clear that the economic situation in BiH was simply untenable. I pointed out that we were spending three times more on imports than we were earning from exports; I drew attention to the appallingly low rate of foreign direct investment – per capita, BiH attracts one tenth of the FDI attracted by Croatia; with unemployme [...]