Resolution of the crisis: Mostar must emerge from agony and political monism or dualism this autumn

The Mostar Circle welcomes the initiative of representatives of the US and British Embassies in BiH to find a solution for the city of Mostar, especially the outcome of the first talks where, in the presence of the most responsible political actors, the option of any division of Mostar was definitively rejected, it was announced from the Presidency of the Mostar Circle, reports the Patria News Agency.  

- We believe that these talks should continue with the inclusion of all relevant political parties and with the watchful presence of the non-governmental sector, so that Mostar citizens are also enabled the basic democratic right to elect their local government this autumn.

The Mostar Circle calls on the citizens of Mostar and all civil society organizations to raise their voices energetically and to oppose a kind of political conspiracy against the city and its citizens, the sole content and purpose of which is to preserve the unnatural status quo of division and expensive parallel structures in the city at all costs, a city that is increasingly decaying and sinking into despair, while investors are widely avoiding this place. 

More than five years have passed since the Constitutional Court's ruling, and irresponsible politicians have spent this time without any sincere intention to find a solution and enable Mostar citizens to go to the polls.

Mostar citizens must, through all democratic means, create an environment where those who have ruled Mostar for years without electoral legitimacy realize that they cannot deny citizens fundamental rights while simultaneously demanding that citizens fulfill all their obligations and fill the budget, which politicians spend without the control of the City Council and the public.

We also call on representatives of the international community, primarily the OHR and the embassies of the BiH Steering Board member countries, to continue activities towards reaching an agreement on resolving the political crisis in Mostar, and to also consider other mechanisms available to them in accordance with the Dayton Agreement.

Mostar must emerge from the agony and political monism or dualism that is currently in place this autumn, and all relevant participants in the talks on resolving the issue of holding elections in Mostar must work continuously until a solution is found, according to the statement signed by president Alija Behram.