 In December 1999 the municipality of Skelani was abolished by the international community's post-war High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch.According to Petritsch, the RS National Assembly wanted to isolate the town of Srebrenica and deprive it of security, territory, and economic resources for political reasons.The municipality's continued existence was seen as having a negative effect on the efforts of the newly established joint administration in Srebrenica to encourage the free return of refugees and displaced persons return to their homes of origin (a constitutional right).