§ 16. Ms SouthworthWhen he next intends to visit Bosnia. [31813]
§ Mr. Robin CookI am pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend that I visited Bosnia on 4 March. I was encouraged by the significant progress that has been made—particularly on the key issues of corruption, black-marketeering and poor transparency in the use of public funds, which I highlighted on my visit in July. It is a sign of the new mood in Bosnia that I was invited to address an assembly of the Republika Srpska—the first Foreign Minister to do so.
The new Government of Prime Minister Dodik have made more progress on the Dayton peace process in two months than his predecessor did in two years. However, much remains to be done. I stressed during my visit the need for more rapid results in the return of refugees to their homes, and the central importance that Britain attaches to the prosecution of all those indicted for war crimes. If we want to build a future for Bosnia based on ethnic tolerance, we must be resolute in bringing to justice those who committed the atrocities of ethnic cleansing.
§ Ms SouthworthI congratulate my right hon. Friend on the dramatic changes that have occurred in Bosnia since last summer. I congratulate him also on the moves that have been made towards implementing the Dayton treaty, which is so important to so very many people. Does he agree that those changes are a vindication of the tough stance that he and his colleagues took at their meeting, last June, in Sintra?
§ Mr. CookI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I agree that the progress that has been made in Bosnia is entirely the result of the resolute approach from outside Bosnia, coupled with the will of many people in Bosnia for peace. One of the central challenges that we now face, if we are to secure and stabilise that peace, is to ensure that we 315 also tackle the regional dimension provided by Bosnia's neighbours. One very important message that I sent in Sarajevo is that there is no map of Europe that has on it any place for a greater Croatia or a greater Serbia.