THE international community will not allow Bosnian Serbs to leave the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and must remain involved in the region to ensure democracy and moderation take root, according to a spokesman for the international High Representative, Mr Carl Bildt.
In a strong statement of international resolve, Mr Colum Murphy told a press conference that "whatever the outcome of the elections there will be no secession".
He rejected constant Serb statements that Serbs, Croats and Muslims cannot live together. "We prefer to say that fascists and democrats do not go well together. We prefer to say that democratic Serbs (of whom there are many) and democratic Muslims (of whom there are many) and democratic Croats (of whom there are many) have always lived together.
The international community had made mistakes in the past in relation to Bosnia. But now its conscience says that it must stay "until the long haul, unglamorous work of democracy is complete in all parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Until the job is done."
AFP adds: The senior Serb leader, Ms Biljana Plavsic, yesterday denied flouting a ban on calls for Serb secession from Bosnia, claiming she had been misquoted by the press, Mr Bildt said.
Speaking after a 50-minute meeting with the fiery Serb interim president, Mr Bildt made no reference to possible sanctions against the Serb leader over her call at a campaign rally on Wednesday for a separate Serb state and unification with Serbia.