Bosnia: Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic Says She Will Press Ahead With Early Parliamentary Elections

Record ID: 3929

  • Title: Bosnia: Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic Says She Will Press Ahead With Early Parliamentary Elections
  • Date: 18th August 1997
  • Summary: Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic has said she would press ahead with early parliamentary elections in October despite a court ruling that the move would be unconstitutional. Plavsic also pledged on August 18 to carry on fighting against what she called hard-liners' "terror" in Serb-controlled areas. "We will continue on the road towards early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 12 regardless of the constitutional court decision," she told reporters at a news conference in the northern town of Banja Luka. The Bosnian Serb Constitutional Court, under pressure from government nationalist hard-liners loyal to ex-Bosnian Serb president and indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, ruled on Friday against Plavsic's decision to disband parliament and call early elections. "I say they (the court rulings) are not binding for me and I will continue to struggle for the establishment of the rule of law," Plavsic said. The court decision was also condemned by Western powers after reports that severe pressure was brought to bear on the judges, one of whom was badly beaten. Plavsic then went on to meet Michael Farand, the special representative' s administrator in the disputed town of Brcko. Farand highlighted the Republika Sprska's intransigence regarding the return of Moslem refugees to Brcko.
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  • Location: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
  • Reuters ID: LDL001271Y24J
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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  • Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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