November 16, 2006.

During October a new team of eight personnel from Linton Military Camp took over the NZ Liaison and Observation Team (LOT) in Prijedor, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

After a long flight via the USA and London, the team underwent a two-day mission indoctrination programme in Banja Luka before moving on to Prijedor to complete the hand-over from the outgoing team. During this period, each of the four patrols accompanied their outgoing predecessors to meet local leaders and personalities within their AO.
The NZ LOT is based in a house just across the Sana River from the centre of Prijedor.

A typical day involves three two-man patrols conducting meetings with mayors, police commanders, religious leaders and other organisations. Some of our team remains in the house to deal with any “walk-ins” – that is, people approaching LOT with their problems. LOT aims to gauge public sentiment on issues such as corruption, security, ethnic tension and crime. It is with this information that the Multi-National Battle Group based in Banja Luka is able to act.

Having now settled into the routine of the mission, the team is looking forward to the festive season, which thanks to the Orthodox calendar will involve two Christmas and two New Year celebrations.

New Zealand has contributed to peace and stability in the former Yugoslav state since 1992. The mission now comes under a European Union Mandate and is known as the European Union Force (EUFOR). The current focus of EUFOR is on transition, aiming to hand responsibility of the nation’s politics, security and administration over to the now well-established civilian apparatus.