by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the
Commission and Council
(05 September
2002)
|
Subject: Women in
black - 7th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre |
E-2564/02EN
Answer
given by Mr Patten
on behalf
of the Commission
(22
October 2002)
The Commission is aware of reports suggesting that several parties were
prevented from travelling to Srebrenica on 11 July 2002 to mark the anniversary
of the 1995 massacre. In one case,
30-40 members of "Women in Black" who had set off from Belgrade were
reportedly stopped by Republika Srpska (RS) police near Bratunac and prevented
from proceeding to Srebrenica. Reports
suggest that several of the bus passengers concerned were not carrying the
required documentation. In a similar
case both the Office of the High Representative and the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation en Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)
expressed concern and called on the RS government to investigate and take any
necessary disciplinary action. While
SFOR contributes to a secure environment, inter alia through patrols, it cannot
provide a blanket security presence.
Although the Commission cannot "compel" the RS government to
allow free movement to such commemorations, the Commission can and does
forcefully point out the responsibility of the BiH and Entity authorities to
guarantee the "full freedom of movement of persons … throughout Bosnia and
Herzegovina" (Article I.4 of the BiH constitution). Any failure to implement this requirement
would, if confirmed, be noted in annual reports on the Stabilisation and
Association Process and would subsequently be reflected in a delay in BiH's
integration into Union structures. In
this context, the Commission would also point to its political and financial
support for the development of the rule of law in BiH. One part of this agenda is the work of the
Union Police Mission; the latter will further combat any excesses. Finally, the Commission wishes to underline
that the elimination of chauvinist opposition to peaceful co-existence in BiH
require attitude changes across the ethnic divide. The Commission attempts to address this through a wide range of
both positive and negative inducements; its final eradication will, however,
inevitably take a long time.