Slovak diplomat steps in as Bosnia peace overseer

SARAJEVO, July 2 (Reuters) Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak formally took over as Bosnia's new peace overseer today, the sixth holder of the powerful post that oversees the Dayton peace deal agreed after the end of the country's 1992-95 war.

Lajcak replaces Germany's Christian Schwarz-Schilling, who critics said had a laid-back style which left room for bitter intra-ethnic bickering that brought reforms to a halt.

Lajcak's main task during his 12-month tenure will be to press the Balkan country's rival ethnic leaders to agree on key reforms demanded by the West.

''I will say one thing - I will not tolerate obstructions,'' Lajcak said in an interview to Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz at the weekend, explaining that Bosnia needed to start moving faster towards the European Union.

He has said his priority would be to create a positive atmosphere in a country which has returned to wartime rhetoric.

Bosnia's Western backers had originally wanted to shut down the post of overseer this year and let Bosnians go it alone.

But the reform impasse and the rise of nationalist rhetoric gave rise to fears of renewed ethnic strife, and they decided to extend the post until mid-2008 and give Lajcak a strong mandate.

Lajcak said he would not hesitate to sack officials and impose laws if need be. Schwarz-Schilling, who held the post for 18 months, was reluctant to use these powers, hoping that local leaders would agree on key issues without outside intervention.

But Serb and Muslim leaders refused to agree on key reforms such as unifying the ethnically-split police force and reforming the constitution to take power away from the two autonomous entities, the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation.

The European Union says it will not sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement - a key step on the road to EU membership - with Bosnia until the reforms are completed.

REUTERS RN BST1813