CoE Chair,Bosnia-Herzegovina President i.o. Ivanic to Eurofora on Ukraine DeCentralisation for Peace

 

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- Political Leaders' "Courage" for Early "Negotiations", in order to "Fine-Tune" a Compromise Solution between the sides involved the soonest possible, without making more People Suffer, is the Advise for the crucial Ukraine Constitutional Reform on Decentralisation/FDevolution of Power, which is notoriously the key for Peace in Eastern Ukraine Autonomist regions of Donetsk/Luhnsk, according to the Reply given by the Experienced incoming CoE's Chairman, Head of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Presidency, Mladen Ivanic, to a relevant "EuroFora" Question at a Press Conference given this Afternoon, just after his official address to CoE's PanEuropean Parliamentary Assembly.

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 - "Mr. President, despite Difficulties in the Past of your Country, you have Succeeded, at least, to have Peace for many Years. But, as you know, in Other parts of Europe, it's not the case, for instance, in Ukraine, which must Soon make Choices on the Constitutional Structure of the State, for Decentralisation : a very Important issue for a Peaceful Future., during your CoE's term of Chairmanship" (May - November 2015), "EuroFora" observed, in our Question to CoE's Chairman.  

=> - "Do you have anything to Advise, according to your Experience", and as current CoE's Chairman, "either to Avoid, or to Do ?", "EuroFora" asked President Ivanic.

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- "It's very difficult for me to see, what kind of Solution this has to be, in that delicate issue", reacted Modestly, at first, the Incoming CoE's Chairman, which Heads the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- But, "Definitively, my Advise is to Start Early Negotiations", he stressed from the outset.

 - Since "Nobody can be Completely Winner in these Political Games. So, there must be a Compromise". "And the Best Compromise is the Concrete Solution to which the two Sides will reach between them, then Finalize, and try to Implement as soon as you can", Ivanic advised.

>>> - "Because the Cost of any Compromise at the End, would be much Higher, more People would Suffer", the Experienced Head of Bosnia-Herzegovina Warned.  

=>  "And because of that, there must be a Courage for the Politicians to Negotiate", he urged.

 -  "Definitively, I know, even then, the Solution will be somewhere Between". For the Solution, both sides will Not be completely Happy. - "But, if both sides are Unhappy, and "Fine-Tune" it, then, there is a Key of Possibility !", he interestingly suggested...

    + "Also the CoE can Help in that", (i.e. to "Fine-Tune" a Compromise Solution : Comp. Supra),  President Ivanic observed, (while, f.ex., CoE's "Venise Commission" is, notoriousy, following actively that issue, making concrete Recommendations right from the Start, until now : Comp. f.ex. , among others, also : ....)

    - So, this is my Best Possible Advise at  this Moment". In order "to go More Concretely to this (particular) situation (of Ukraine), "may be, I'm not the real person for that, because I have not (yet) been involved in these Negotiations", he noted again with Careful Modesty the incoming CoE's Chairman. (Comp. Supra).

 - In fact, "this Opinion is based on our (Bosnia-Herzegovina's) Experience", he concluded, according to "EuroFora"s Question (Comp. Supra).
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 + Meanwhile, UNO's Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, speaking Yesterday to Journalists in Strasbourg, including "Eurofora", "stressed the Importance of Full Implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures", after an "exchange of views with CoE Assembly's President Anne Brasseur "on the situation in Ukraine".

=> More particularly, experienced CoE's Director on Human Rights, and Special Envoy of the PanEuropean Organisation's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland to Ukraine, Christos Giakoumopoulos, speaking to "EuroFora" Yesterday Evening, revealed that, before returning definitivey back to Strasbourg, for the moment, he still has to stay close to Kiev, because of the forthcoming Reforms on the Decentralisation, (the main point for a Political Solution in Eastern Ukraine), and the Independence of Courts. In this context, he is, moreover, due to Visit OSCE's Headquarters in Vienna (Austria) from Next Monday.

++ Moreover, mainstream French MEP Jean-Marie Bockel, a former MInister from Strasbourg's region Alsace (Center-Right/Republican), also asked, Yesterday Afternoon during CoE Assembly's debates, the CoE's Secretary General Thornbjorn Jagland from Norway, whether the many times promised (initially by Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko himself, in his June 2014 Speech in Strasbourg : Comp. f.ex. : ....) but postponed until now "Constitutional Reform" on "Decentralisation" and Devolution of Power in Eastern Ukraine would respect, or not, certain "Timelines", and, (obviously, even more Important), if the Content of its "Text" would be "Satisfactory to All" sides involved.

>>> CoE's Head, Jagland, replied, in substance, that, as things stand Today, in principle, a "1st Reading" of that Draft had been expected "Before Summer", and "a 2nd Reading, before Autumn", as he said.

-+++ As far as it concerns the Substance of the process of "DeCentralisation and/or Devolution of Power", Jagland observed that "the CoE has recommended an <<Asymetric>>" overall Table, with "Different Powers, to Different Regions", (as it's also the case, already in some other CoE Member Countries), considered to be more appropriate in the particular case of Eastern Ukraine, while, in order to Help Prepare, set up and apply a DeCentralisation Reform, CoE has already "Deployed", on the spot, "more than "25 Experts in 25 Oblasts", in addition to his Envoy for Ukraine, Christos Giakoumopoulos (Comp. Supra).

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     According to the MInsk Agreement of February 2015, (endorsed by a special Summit with German Chancelor Merkel, and French, Russian and Ukranian Presidents, Hollande, Putin and Poroshenko,  Kiev has to a "Constitutional Reform in Ukraine" must be "carried out, ... with a New Constitution Entering into Force by the End of 2015, providing for DeCentralisation, as a Key element".  This must "include... a reference to the Specificities" of the Autonomist Donetsk/Luhansk Regions, which has to be "Agreed with the Representatives of these Areas", according to the Official Text.

        
    + In Addition, Ukraine must "adopt Permanent Legislation, on the Special Status of certain Areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, in line with Measures set out" in that Document : - I.e., particularly : Amnesty, "Right to Linguistic Self-Determination", "Participation of organs of Local Self-Government in the appointment of Heads of public Prosecution offices and Courts", "Possibility" for "Agreements" between Kiev's "Central Government" and "Organs of Self-Government" regarding "the Economic and Social Development" of these areas, which will be "Supported" by "the State" of Ukraine, "Cross-Border Cooperation ...with districts of the Russian Federation" in full "Support by the (Kiev's) Government", as well as "Creation of the People’s Police units, by decision of Local Councils, for the maintenance of Public Order", (etc).

    Earlier, Kiev has to "Launch a Dialogue" including  "on the Law ...“on interim Local Self-Government order" in the Autonomist Areas of Donetsk/Luhansk Regions,  "as well as on the Future Regime of these Areas, based on this Law", (See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/fulltextsofallukraineagreements.html).

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    Meanwhile, Ukranian President Poroshenko, in statements made these Days, after Refusing any kind of "Federalization", added that "the issues of national Defence, Security, Public Order and External Relations, as well as issues that keep Integrity and the Vertical Chain of Command", as he reportedly said,  "will be regarded as an Exclusive competence of State Power".

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