PRESS BRIEFING ON BOSNIA

7 May 1996

Press Briefing

19960507 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT USE ONLY

The International Police Task Force had moved quickly since its arrival to ensure freedom of movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Nations Commissioner for the Force, Peter Fitzgerald, said at a Headquarters press briefing this morning. The issue had been a major one for the Task Force, which was also concerned with the restructuring of the police forces.

Freedom of movement was absolutely vital for the upcoming elections, Mr. Fitzgerald said, adding that without it, the atmosphere would not be conducive to free and fair elections. The first duty of the Task Force was the removal of the permanent checkpoints that were a way of life in the country. Checkpoints had been erected at every 500 or 600 metres. The International Police Task Force, with the assistance of the Implementation Force (IFOR), had succeeded in removing all the checkpoints.

Mr. Fitzgerald said some checkpoints were being allowed after prior authorization by the Task Force because it was recognized that in any policing, there had to be some sort of control checkpoint to deal with traffic and criminals.

A second and more important area regarding freedom of movement, he said, related to movement to and across the international entry points. There had been some difficulties recently with movement from the west to the east across the boundary. The Task Force was now trying to make certain that movements were not impeded. The free movement of people had been agreed upon in the Dayton Agreement. Mr. Fitzgerald said there had been substantial movements of people, sometimes in the hundreds or thousands. Although not restricting the movements, the Task Force had had to ensure that they were controlled and properly policed by the police forces of Bosnia, the Federation and the Republic of Serbia. The Task Force had made certain that those who wanted to cross the boundaries did so in safety and security and without any fear of being attacked once they went to the other side. There had been an incident a week ago in which three people had been killed and others injured. Mr. Fitzgerald said he had had meetings with the Ministers of the Interior, both of the Federation and of the Republic of Serbia. They had both agreed to a full investigation of the incident. They had also agreed to full cooperation between their police forces and coordination of the investigation by the United Nations International Police Task Force. The investigation had already started, he said.

The situation at the crossing points was getting better by the day, he said. While there had initially been some resistance from both sides in the early days. "It is now becoming the norm for people to move to and fro across

Bosnia Press Briefing - 2 - 7 May 1996

this line and it's now becoming quite acceptable." People were now moving much more freely, but there were still some difficulties which were being dealt with on a day-to-day basis. The International Police Task Force had been holding meetings daily with the local police authorities in all of the areas where the movements were taking place to ensure that the police were aware of and equipped to deal with them. The Task Force planned to organize training soon in crowd control.

On its other task of restructuring of the police forces, Mr. Fitzgerald said the police forces in Bosnia numbered approximately 56,000 which was huge by comparison with the average number in Europe. The Task Force was setting standards to ensure that recruits were qualified and properly trained. It was part of its mandate to reduce the size of the Bosnia Force by approximately 50 to 60 per cent. The Task Force intended to do so by identifying the duties the police should perform and then assign numbers to carry them out. Although the Dayton Agreement had referred to internationally recognized standards for the police, "it is very difficult to put one's finger on what is international standard on policing". He said such standards and needs varied from country to country. The Task Force was in the process of setting the standards and had recently signed an agreement with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation on the restructuring of its police. The Federation had agreed to all of the terms put forward by the Task Force.

Mr. Fitzgerald told a questioner that no decision had been taken about the future of the Task Force after the departure of IFOR.

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