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Bosnia's multi-ethnic parliament has first meeting
January 3, 1997
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT)SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- In an important step in Bosnia's reunification, Muslim, Serb and Croat lawmakers met for the first time Friday in a joint Parliament session.
The multi-ethnic parliament appointed a peacetime Cabinet that will rule over a loose union of Serb and Muslim-Croat territories.
The 42-member House of Representatives, holding its first full session since post-war elections in September, backed nominations for the Cabinet submitted by Bosnia's collective presidency with only one deputy abstaining.
Muslim, Croat and Serb deputies empowered the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, to form a weak central authority governing an autonomous Muslim-Croat federation and Serb republic.
Joint governing problems averted?
The constitution set out under the Dayton peace agreement requires consensus among the three national communities but critics say the joint governing bodies could end up deadlocked indefinitely.
But international mediator Michael Steiner said the new Cabinet, presidency and parliament provided a mechanism to settle disputes. "This is a process of creeping implementation. It's moving forward slowly," he said.
After the parliament vote the Council of Ministers held its first session and discussed an international conference in February on reconstruction aid for Bosnia, Steiner said.
The Council of Ministers is led by two co-chairmen, Haris Silajdzic, a Muslim and former Bosnian prime minister, and Boro Bosic, a Serb.
Other ministry posts were distributed equally among national communities, a formula that was employed in old Yugoslavia before the 1992-95 war.
Entered Serb territory without incident
A 15-member upper chamber, the House of Peoples, also met for the first time in the Sarajevo suburb of Lukavica in Serb- controlled territory on Friday afternoon.
Muslim and Croat members were allowed to enter Serb territory without incident, unlike ordinary Bosnians who risk arrest or worse if they try to return to homes from which they fled or were expelled.
NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana and Supreme Allied Commander Gen. George Joulwan traveled to Sarajevo to mark what they called an important step forward in the peace process.
Speaking after meeting members of the collective presidency, Solana said it was ultimately up to Bosnian political leaders and not NATO peacekeeping troops to build a lasting peace.
Some 35,000 troops are currently deployed in Bosnia as part of the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR), policing the peace treaty under an 18-month mandate.
Friday's parliament session -- held in Sarajevo's National Museum -- had been repeatedly delayed over the past three months with Serb leaders arguing over where the meeting should be held.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- NATO's new Bosnia mission formally begins - December 20, 1997
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