Posted on 06/03/2002 11:05:29 AM PDT by Spar
U.S. assistant secretary of state visits Bosnia, says judicial shake-up could help international war on terror
Mon Jun 3, 8:19 AM ET
By AIDA CERKEZ-ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - A ranking U.S. State Department official on Monday said ongoing reorganization of Bosnia's judicial system would help the country contribute to the international war on terror.
Elisabeth Jones, U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Euro-Asian affairs, arrived for meetings with local and international officials amid a shake-up of the judiciary.
All sitting judges and prosecutors have been ordered to reapply for their jobs along with other candidates to a commission comprised of local and international experts. The legal framework of the country is also being reviewed for potential improvement.
This reform is part of the country's transition from war to peace and from communism to a democracy. The process is monitored and supervised by foreign administrators deployed here after the country's 1992-1995 war.
After arrival, Jones said that judicial reform will not only move Bosnia forward on the path of reform but would also help it in efforts to participate in the global anti-terror campaign.
Bosnia's authorities handed over six Algerian terror suspects to the United States last February. Authorities are reviewing various accounts of Islamic charities here to see whether they are involved in financing the al-Qaida or any other terrorist organization.
"The U.S. is very grateful to Bosnia-Herzegovina for the cooperation ... on the war on terrorism," Jones said.
Addressing concerns raised by the reduction of U.S. troop strengths in Bosnia, Jones said that American soldiers will remain part of the peacekeeping mission here but that the ultimate goal was to have Bosnia's leadership taking responsibility for security of its own country.
After the peace agreement was signed in 1995, NATO (news - web sites) deployed over 60,000 peacekeeping troops in Bosnia, of which 20,000 were Americans. As security improved, the number of troops has been decreased to the present 19,500, including 3,600 U.S. troops.
NATO plans to downsize the force down to 12,000 this year. It has not been determined how many of them would be Americans.
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