SARAJEVO - SHADOW CABINET PROMOTED

Sejfudin Tokic - Chairman, Miodrag Zivanovic and Zeljko Ivankovic - Deputies

Sarajevo, 4 March, 1997 (AIM)

The Alternative Council of Ministers, or as its already generally accepted name is - the Shadow Cabinet, was finally promoted at today's press conference in Sarajevo held by the Chairman of ther Alternative Council of Ministers, Dr Sejfudin Tokic (Union of Bosnia & Herzegovina Social Democrats), Dr Miodrag Zivanovic (Social Liberal Party of Republica Srpska) and Senka Nozica (member of the Senate of the Republican Party, and Vice-President of the Helsinki Committee of B&H).

The Shadow Cabinet is a project initiated by political parties and associations of citizens of both entities which are also signatories of the previous Initiative on Political Concensus of Anti-Nationalist Forces in B&H Federation and Republiuca Srpska.

The protocol on establishment of the Alternative Council of Ministers - the Shadow Cabinet, was signed by the Union of B&H Social Democrats (UBSD), the Croat Peasants' Party of B&H (HSS), the Muslim Bosniac Organization of B&H (MBO), The Party of Social Democrats of Republica Srpska (SSD), the Social Liberal Party of RS (SLS), the United Left of B&H, and the Forum of Citizens of Tuzla and the Union of Intellectuats "Circle 99".

The Chairman of the Shadow Cabinet, Sejfudin Tokic, says the following about the reasons for establishment of the Shadow cabinet:

"The project of ethnic intolerance and homogenization which were causes of unimaginable suffering in B&H in the past few years has not been pushed aside. In the present political atmosphere which it would be more precise to call interruption of conflicts imposed by the international community than a stable peace, with support of ten odd parliamentary parties and civic initiatives from both entities, we are starting with operation of the Alternative Council of Ministers, the Shadow Cabinet. As the first post-war organized form of activities of the Democratic Alternative from the entire territory of B&H, the Shadow Cabinet will not act solely and only as an opposition structure. We are ready to support any specific move, if it appears, of all political factors, and the ruling political structure, which is going in the direction of a consistent implementation of the peace accords, creation of a legal state, normalization of life and resolution of numerous accumulated problems of parts of the population which are deprived of their rights, such as the unemployed, pensioners, young people... We assess establishment of the Shadow Cabinet as a historic obligation of the B&H opposition to offer the citizens and the people of B&H an alternative in the most difficult period. We must not enter the twenty-first century with ideologies and political concepts of the Middle Ages", declared Prime Minister of the Shadow Cabinet, Sejfudin Tokic.

Deputies of the Chairman of the Alternative Council of Ministers - the Shadow Cabinet, are Miodrag Zivanovic (SLS RS) and Zeljko Ivankovic (HSS B&H) and the "ministers" are Srdjan Dizdarevic (President of the Helsinki Committee of B&H) for foreign policy, Milorad Dodik (President of the SS RS) for development, Nikola Kragulj (Party of Social Democrats of RS) for the economic system and communications, Senka Nozica (Vice-President of HK B&H, member of the Republican Party Senate) for exercising rights of citizens, and Juraj Martinovic (pre-war mayor of Sarajevo and member of the "Circle 99") for science, education, culture and sports. The listed ministries were founded pursuant the Dayton peace accords, that is, according to that which this agreement specified as competences of central agencies of the state of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

According to the Protocol on Principles of Establishment of the Shadow Cabinet, operation of the Alternative Council of Ministers will be based on drafting laws and other solutions, alternative proposals to the official Council of Ministers of B&H (of course, in accordance with the political activities of the creators of the Shadow Cabinet), and working on its own projects from the sphere of activities of relevant ministries. The Shadow Cabinet will primarily work in the council in which each minister is primarily the initiator of a discussion and the proposer of solutions, and will rely on opinions and results of discussions of independent experts. The structure of the Alternative Council of Ministers will be based on principles of ethnic equality and representation of territories-regions. Three leading posts of the Shadow Cabinet (Chairman and two deputies) will be members of the three constituent nations in B&H depending on the needs and interests, the number and spheres of activities of ministers can change, and the seat of the Cabinet is in Sarajevo, but not linked to any political structure or non-governmental organization.

The Shadow Cabinet, respecting the customary practise, will begin operation 100 days after the establishment of the official Council of Ministers, which will expire in the middle of this month. Comments and complaints of individual opposition parties, like that of a group of ex-communists in the SDP, that the project of the Shadow Cabinet is premature and that it is necessary to "give time to the official Council of Ministers to show to what extent it is ready to implement the peace accords" were in fact respected by this decision. But, commenting on remarks about alleged prematurity of such alternative activity, Miodrag Zivanovic establishes that "such assessments have no foundation" and that indeed it is not true that the project of the Shadow Cabinet "is premature, but it has come too late".

"Indeed, our entire life in this space is terribly lagging behind all normal and democratic countries, in all its segments. All that criticism and different commentaries on the establishment of the Shadow Cabinet, even when coming from individual opposition parties or alternative projects, are just another proof that we have started a very serious and historically important project", said Zivanovic.

To a journalist's question whether there is a risk for the Alternative Council of Ministers, along with the thirteen governments which exist in B&H nowadays (of the Federation, of the entities, of the cantons), to become just the fourteenth in the row, Sejfudin Tokic briefly said:

"By no means. We are not the fourteenth, but the first Government in this space which was not established due to anyone's pressure. Contrary to the mentioned official governments, we were not dragged and forced by the international community to sit down at the same table. Therefore, we will not burden any budget in the country which are too burdened as it is by large-scale administrations in power. With our projects, we will compete in governmental and non-governmental institutions in highly-developed countries".

I. KOVACEVIC

Entrefilet

Text of the Initiative for Political Concensus

Establishment of the Shadow Cabinet was preceded by the Initiative for Political Concensus which was towards the end of last year in the name of opposition parties and alternative groups from the Federation of B&H and Republica Srpska, signed by Sejfudin Tokic and Miodrag Zivanovic. The following is the integral text of this Initiative:

"Consistent implementation of the peace accords and of the Constitution of B&H cannot be expected from the three ruling parties. Moreover, it is assumed that they will, in various forms, try openly to obstruct establishment of an efficient state system and affirmation of responsibility of all structures, and to preserve forms of non-institutional decision-making. The SDA, the HDZ and the SDS will not shrink from even refusing financial aid and imposing possible sanctions on B&H or some of its parts, because these structures have become experts in laying the blame at the door of the international community and 'domestic traitors' according to the already tested recipes which they seem to exchange among themselves.

Based on this, one can expect that these parties will intensify control of media, especially that of electronic media. This implies that the predominantly propagandist role of the media will increase, and not the informative, and that the democratic political alternative will not be given any space in the media.

The pressure for exercising the right to return of refugees and banished persons within B&H will increase, and a mass return of refugees from European countries is also expected, which will create new problems of their accommodation, employment and assimilation in the political and social space of B&H.

In such a global situation, social discontent of various social groups is inevitable and nationalistic parties will quite certainly try to direct it towards further national homogenization.

Construction of the future lies ahead of us. The ruling national parties and national oligarchies have no relevant projects. We believe that it is necessary to make these projects as soon as possible. That is why it is necessary to reach a political consensus of all opposition, anti-nationalistic parties and organizations concerning a few strategic issues. First, it is reconstruction and development, then social policy, resolving of problems of refugees and displaced persons, transformation of property, democratization of the political system and consistent implementation of the peace agreement in its entirety.

We must resolve these important, strategic issues jointly, on the level of Bosnia & Herzegovina. On the contrary, we might be faced with two different strategies of reconstruction and development in two entities, or two quite different models of property and property relations, etc. This may lead to nothing but new divisions. We know very well what divisions have brought us and what they can bring us. That is why we are making this Initiative for Political Consensus in B&H, of those forces which are on the opposite side of nationalism.

In reaching a consensus in specific jobs, we will use methods of both parliamentary and non-parliamentary struggle: by action of our deputies in parliaments of entities and in joint agencies of B&H, activities via media, all the way to formation alternative institutions such as, for example, the Alternative Council of Ministers, the shadow cabinet and others. Only in this way in these conditions we can create a footing for the beginning of work on reconstruction of life".