Prague, 22 October 1997 (RFE/RL) - Carlos Westendorp, the international community's chief representative in Bosnia, has released a report, in which he said that rampant corruption is undermining the peace process.
According to Western news agencies, the Westendorp report says graft is especially pronounced in the collection of taxes and customs revenues, as well in the distribution of international aid. Westendorp contends money is siphoned off to support criminal structures that often overlap with official ones on all three sides.
Meanwhile in Mostar, international election officials announced that a recount of the votes in the recent local elections gives the multi-ethnic Coalition for a United and Democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 out of 24 seats, or one more than the coalition got in the first count. The Croatian Democratic Community, which demanded the recount, took only nine seats in the end. And in New York, Bosnian Co-Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said that NATO should use force to implement the Dayton agreements.
According to Western news agencies, the Westendorp report says graft is especially pronounced in the collection of taxes and customs revenues, as well in the distribution of international aid. Westendorp contends money is siphoned off to support criminal structures that often overlap with official ones on all three sides.
Meanwhile in Mostar, international election officials announced that a recount of the votes in the recent local elections gives the multi-ethnic Coalition for a United and Democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 out of 24 seats, or one more than the coalition got in the first count. The Croatian Democratic Community, which demanded the recount, took only nine seats in the end. And in New York, Bosnian Co-Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic said that NATO should use force to implement the Dayton agreements.