OHR Chronology January – December 1998

OHR Chronology

1998

Please also consult the OHR’s chronology for 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 and 1995

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

January

3 January

UNIPTF hosted a ceremony in front of the local Brcko police station to mark commencement of the work of the Brcko Multi-Ethnic police force (OHR Brcko press release).

5 January

• Spanish King, Juan Carlos, visited Mostar and Medjugorje and met with Spanish troops.
• First meeting of the multi-ethnic Brcko government

6 January

• Minister for Development and Collaboration of the Netherlands, Jan Pronk, visited BiH.
• US decided to give $ 29 million to the UNHCR in order to help the return of refugees this year.
• Trial of a Bosnian Croat, Zlatko Aleksovski, began in the Hague.

8 January

• SFOR Czeck helicopter crashed near Bosanska Krupa.
• New Mayor of Sarajevo, Prof.Dr. Rasim Gacanovic, elected. His Deputy is Ante Zelic.
• Meeting of the Contact Group in Washington

9 January

Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

10 January

Statement by the Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher in the run up to the second constitutive session of the RS National Assembly.

12 January

• The High Representative declared the establishment of an independent commission to propose alternatives for the flag of BiH.
• RS National Assembly session – failure to elect the Prime Minister. Dragan Kalinic re-elected as Assembly President. Nikola Poplasen and Jovan Mitrovic elected as his Deputies.
• US Special Envoy Robert Gelbard started his Balkan tour and visited Podgorica.
• Sipovo declared an Open City.

13 January

• BiH Presidency meeting with Robert Gelbard – agreement reached on the appointment of 32 ambassadors, while the ambassador to Washington will be nominated by the Presidency’s Serb member, Momcilo Krajisnik, at the next session. They failed to reach agreement on the design of the Bosnian currency.
• SFOR seized two tons of illegal weapons and ammunition in the Ozren area of RS.

14 January

• Bosnian Croat, Drazen Erdemovic, sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment last year after pleading guilty to crimes against humanity, renewed his plea but asked for the charge to be changed to war crimes.
• Montenegro’s interior minister, Filip Vujanovic, announced that forty-four policemen and four other people were hurt in Podgorica when police clashed with supporters of the former president, Momir Bulatovic.
• Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

15 January

• UNTAES mandate in Croatia expired. UN mission handed authority for Eastern Slavonia to Zagreb.
• Mile Djukanovic sworn in as President of Montenegro in Cetinje.

16 January

• The HR announced that, in accordance with his authority under the Peace Agreement and the Bonn conference, and after receiving a report from the Governor of the Central Bank, he will take a decision about the currency coupon design by January 20.
• The HR wrote a letter to the RS President, the Serb member of the BiH Presidency, the Speaker of the RS Assembly, and the SDS President to express his “grave concern” about the interview given by RS Prime Minister Klickovic, where he spoke about the need to “remove” certain individuals to ensure the unity of the RS police. The HR requested that “it be ensured that Mr. Klickovic shall not hold any public office in RS, that he be barred from nomination in the September 98 elections, and that criminal proceedings be initiated against him.”
• High Representative’s report to the UN Secretary-General published.
• Mladen Ivanic resigned from his post as RS Government Prime Minister designate.
• An American SFOR helicopter crashed near Srebrenica.
• Vlatko Kupreskic pleaded not guilty on all counts before the ICTY. He is charged with war crimes against humanity for the killing of Muslim civilians in 1993 in the central Lasva valley region.

17 January

• RS National Assembly session-new government elected. Milorad Dodik elected as Prime Minister.
• The International Commission for Missing Persons, chaired by US Senator Bob Dole, visited Sarajevo.
• The OSCE condemned attacks on Amb. Ellerkman and several colleagues when they visited Srebrenica.

18 January

OHR Press Statement on the election of a New Republika Srpska Government.

19 January

• BiH Presidency session- failure to adopt the design for the new currency
• New OSCE Head of Mission, Amb. Robert L.Barry arrived in Sarajevo.
• UN War Crimes Tribunal began the trial of the Croatian Serb, Slavko Dokmanovic, for his alleged role in the massacre of over 200 civilians in Vukovar.

20 January

• The OHR expressed profound concern over the judgement issued on 19 January by the Sarajevo Cantonal Court in the case of Veselin Cancar. (see press release)
• The Bosnian Joint Presidency and the World Bank signed two credit agreements worth $ 27 million aiming at financing reconstruction projects.
• The High Representative has received the design for the Convertible Marka Currency and has accepted the recommendation of the Governor of the Central Bank. (see press release)

21 January

The High Representative and the Cantonal Bank Governor, Nicholl, presented the new BiH currency.

22 January

• NATO troops in BiH arrested Goran Jelisic, a Bosnian Serb indicted for war crimes by the ICTY, near Bijeljina.
• A European Commission Spokesman announced that the European Union has allocated 100 million ECUS to help Bosnian refugees return.

24 January

The speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament, Dragan Kalinic, postponed a session to swear in the new government until January 31.

26 January

• The Flags Commission proposed three alternatives for the flag of BiH. The High Representative presented three designs for the future flag of BiH. (see press release)
• Goran Jelisic appeared for the first time before the Hague Tribunal, and pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
• Bosnian Serb authorities have agreed to a retrial for three Muslems from Srebrenica jailed in 1996 for murder. The UN, OSCE and OHR “welcomed the decision of the Bijeljina district court to accept the appeal by the defendants in the Zvornik Seven case “.

27 January

• Council of Ministers session adopted the proposed memorandum on registration plates and draft proposal on customs tarrifs.
• Danish Prime Minister, Paul Nyrup Rasmussen, visits Banja Luka.

28 January

Council of Ministers session

29 January

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC, Brussels
• Conference to discuss the pressing problems of the water supply and water distribution system for Brcko (OHR Brcko Press Release).

30 January

NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana, visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency.

31 January

• The Bosnian Serb Parliament session in Banja Luka – new Bosnian Serb government sworn in and the Parliament voted to move the seat of the government from Pale to Banja Luka.
• The High Representative announced that the registration and issue of the new licence plates will begin on 2 February.

February

2 February

• Presentation of the new licence plates in various places across BiH. (Remarks by the Principal Deputy High Representative in Sarajevo, and remarks by the Deputy High Representative and Supervisor for Brcko in Bijeljina).
• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – agreed on the appointment of the BiH Ambassador to Washington.
• Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

3 February

• Sarajevo Returns Conference (Sarajevo Declaration and speech by the High Representative)
• Signing of Licence Plates Memorandum of Understanding (OHR Press Release)
• The House of Peoples and the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament meeting – rejected the proposed designs for the flag of BiH.
• German Defence Minister, Volker Ruehe, visits Mostar

4 February

• Council of Ministers session, Lukavica
• The High Representative took the decision about the flag of BiH.
• The Head of the Stolac police opened fire after a number of incidents which occurred in the town. Senior Deputy High Representative visited Stolac and Capljina.

4,5, 6 February

Plenary meeting on Succession Issues in Brussels

5 February

• Council of Ministers session – failed to adopt Law on the Council of Ministers
• Brcko Arbitration Hearing meeting in Vienna started

6 February

• Ceremony at the Banja Luka post to deliver the mail (Remarks by the Principal Deputy High Representative).
• New flag of BiH hoisted outside the UN Headquarters in New York
• Sarajevo Cantonal Police arrested Goran Vasic in Sarajevo suburb Dobrinja. He is accused of killing Hakija Turajlic, the BiH Vice Prime Minister, in 1993. A UNHCR bus was blocked by 100 Serbs unlawfully detaining 25 people and preventing them returning to the Federation. They were all released the same day.

7 February

• Ceremony of signing the Memorandum of Understanding on the functioning of the BiH railways at the Central Railway Station in Sarajevo.
• Meeting in Prijedor of the Coordination Board of the Association of refugees and displaced persons of west Krajina municipalities, attended by the Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher.

9 February

• The High Representative briefed the Security Council and met with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in New York.
• Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

10 February

• Council of Ministers session
• Republika Srpska citizens started to construct a wall in Dobrinja in protest against the arrest of Goran Vasic.

11 February

• Session of the Standing Committee on Military Matters
• Media Roundtable in Sarajevo
• The wall in Dobrinja dismantled after the intervention of representatives of international organisations.

12 February

OHR Brcko Press Release about reports in some Federation media alleging the burning of Bosniac houses and instances of verbal abuse directed against returnees.

12/13 February

Senior Deputy High Representative, Hanns Schumacher visited Drvar, Petrovac, Bihac and Mrkonjic Grad. He was accompanied by the two ministers responsible for refugees in the Federation and Republika Srpska.

13 February

The RS government and OHR reached agreement over an assistance package for SRT.

14 February

Two Bosnian Serbs, Miroslav Tadic and Milan Simic, indicted on war crimes charges, surrendered to SFOR in Bosanski Samac.

16 February

• German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel, visited Banja Luka.
• Meeting of the Media Support and Advisory Group

17 February

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency with the newly appointed BiH Ambassadors.
• Principal Deputy High Representative, Jacques Paul Klein visited Brcko and Bijeljina.
• NATO SACEUR, General Wesley Clark visited Sarajevo
• Miroslav Tadic and Milan Simic pleaded not guilty in the Hague.

19 February

• Council of Ministers session adopted the budget for BiH’s Joint Institutions for 1998.
• The High Representative declared that the independent commission established on 12 January 1998 to propose alternatives for the flag of BiH has been requested to continue its work and propose alternatives for the Coat of Arms of BiH.
• BiH Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that the new BiH common passport is to be issued in May.

20 February

The North Atlantic Council agreed that NATO is prepared to organise and lead a multinational force in BiH following the end of SFOR’s current mandate in June.

23 February

Meeting of the Media Support and Advisory Group

24 February

• Ceremony in Banja Luka to mark the delivery of international financial aid to the Republika Srpska (Remarks by the High Representative).
• The High Representative met with the Croatian president Franjo Tudjman in Zagreb.
• Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Simo Zaric surrendered to the Republika Srpska police in order to be handed over the the UN War Crimes Tribunal.
• OHR Press Statement about the agreement on Trains.

25 February

• Contact Group meeting in Moscow (Contact Group Statement and Statement on Kosovo).
• Council of Ministers session
• Senior Deputy High Representative, Hanns Schumacher, visited Kakanj.

25-28 February

Banja Luka Trade Fair in Sarajevo (Remarks by the Principal Deputy High Representative).

26 February

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency.
• Bosnian Serb, Simo Zaric pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

27 February

Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC, Brussels

28 February

Around 20 Albanians killed during clashes with the Serbian police near Drenica region in Kosovo.

March

2 March

• OHR Brcko announced that Amb. Farrand is undergoing surgery in the US and that his Deputy, Ian McLeod will act in Amb. Farrand’s stead during the Supervisor’s absence.
• Gen. Pierre-Henri Land replaced Gen. Christian Delanghe as commander of the Southeast division of SFOR in BiH;
• Signing of the Eurocontrol Agreement by the Directorate of Civil Aviation.
• First JAT flight from Belgrade to Banja Luka landed in Banja Luka.

3 March

• The High Representative and the Senior Deputy HR met with the Alliance of Social Democratic Parties.
• The High Representative visited Brcko and met with the leaders of the multi-ethnic authorities.
• The Federation House of Representatives session convened.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein visited a region near Jajce where 21 bodies from a mass grave had been exhumed the day before.
• The Parliament of the FRY ratified double citizenship accord, stipulating citizens of BiH may also acquire Yugoslav citizenship.

4 March

• United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, visited Sarajevo and met with members of the BiH Presidency, and Banja Luka where he met with the HR, RS President Biljana Plavsic and the RS Prime Minister Dodik.
• The High Representative met with RS President, Biljana Plavsic in Banja Luka.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein visited exhumation sites in Kakanj.
• Bosnian Serb, Dragoljub Kunarac, accused of war crimes, surrendered in the town of Pilipovic near Foca.

5 March

• ICTY reduced the sentence against Bosnian Croat, Drazen Erdemovic, from ten to five years.
• Council of Ministers session
• The High Representative used the authority given to him by the Bonn PIC, and dismissed Pero Raguz, Mayor of Stolac.
• Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

6 March

Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Vares and Kakanj.

9 March

• Contact Group meeting on Kosovo in London (statement)
• Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of Sarajevo Housing Committee signed by the Sarajevo Governor, Midhat Haracic, Deputy HR for Reconstruction and Return, Andy Bearpark, and UNHCR Assistant Chief of Mission in BiH, Torbjornsen.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Mostar and met with the Mayor and his Deputy.

10 March

Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

11 March

Principal Deputy High Representative, Amb. Jacques Klein, visited Sokolac and Rogatica.

12 March

• NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana, and NATO SACEUR, General Wesley Clark, visited Brcko and Banja Luka. (Brcko Press Release)
• Council of Ministers session
• BiH Federation House of Representatives adopted the proposed Law on the Cessation of the Law on Abandoned Apartments.

13 March

Jiri Dienstbier appointed new UN special rapporteur for human rights in the former Yugoslavia.

14 March

4TH session of the RS Assembly in Banja Luka

15 March

• Arbitral Tribunal for dispute over Inter-Entity Boundary in the Brcko area announced that “the status quo under international supervision will be maintained pending a final arbitration phase to take place at the end of 1998 or early 1999”. (Supplementary Award).
• Steering Board Statement on the Brcko Arbitral Decision.

16 March

Media Support and Advisory Group meeting

17 March

• OHR Press Statement on the Federation Adoption of Amended Property and Housing Laws.
• The High Representative sent a letter to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mostar imposing a temporary solution for the arrangements necessary to open Mostar airport for civil air traffic.
• First monthly donor meeting of ETF secretariat
• The High Representative announced the appointment of Peggy Hicks as Deputy High Representative for Human Rights.

18 March

• Russian Foreign Minister, Yevgeni Primakov, visited Sarajevo and met with the Presidency of BiH and with the High Representative, and Banja Luka the following day where he met with the RS President Biljana Plavsic and Prime Minister Dodik.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, visited the site of a mass grave exhumation in Balinovac, western Mostar.

19 March

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – The Presidency authorised BiH FM Jadranko Prlic to sign, on behalf of BiH, the Agreement on Establishing the Council for Cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and BiH. They also approved the opening of the US diplomatic offices in Banja Luka and Mostar, and General Consulate of Poland in Sarajevo.
• Council of Ministers session
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, visited Banja Luka and met with RS President Biljana Plavsic and Prime Minister Dodik.
• OHR Press Release on the restructuring of the railway sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Reconstruction and Return Task Force meeting
• OBN Governing Council meeting in Brussels

20 March

• Senior Deputy High Representative, Amb. Schumacher, attended the continuation of the 4th session of the RS National Assembly in Banja Luka.
• The High Representative departed for an official visit to Japan.
• OHR Brcko Press Release about media speculation that members of the multi-ethnic administration have been boycotting their work.

23 March

• SFOR exercise “Dynamic Response” started in BiH.
• Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok, visited Sarajevo.

24 March

Media Support and Advisory Group meeting.

25 March

• Contact Group meeting in Bonn.(Statement on Kosovo).
• Plenary meeting on succession issues started in Brussels.

26 March

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC, Brussels.
• Council of Ministers session – CoM accepted in full the OHR opinion on implementation of the CoM Law, and that the seat of all Common Institutions will be a complex in and around the Old Parliament Building.
• OHR Press Statement on Vojnic.

28 March

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Travnik and met with Travnik officials.
• US Envoy Robert Gelbard visited Sarajevo and met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, and with the Federation President and Vice-President, Ejup Ganic and Vladimir Soljic.

31 March

• UN Security Council imposed arms embargo on FRY, pending action to resolve Kosovo crisis.
• OHR Statement on the meeting of the Standing Committee not taking place in Lukavica.
• The Federation Assembly House of Peoples adopted the Federation Budget for 1998.

April

1 April

• Brcko Press Release on the first train to travel to Brcko since November 1997 to deliver grain to the Zitopromet mill.
• OHR photography exhibition in the Novi Hram gallery in Sarajevo.

2 April

• Council of Ministers session
• The High Representative met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• Meeting of the Media Issues Group.
• SFOR inspected the Special Buildings Unit HQ in Pale in accordance with Annex 1 of the Dayton agreement.

3 April

• Media Round Table meeting
• OHR Press Release on the comprehensive return plan for the six Mostar city-municipalities.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Bijeljina, met with the Mayor and took part in a panel discussion organised by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in RS.
• Representatives of the CoM and the USAID signed amendments to the agreements procuring a further $75 million for the reconstruction of municipal infrastructure and securing commercial credits for economic renewal.

6 April

• The High Representative and the two entity Prime Ministers Bicakcic and Dodik signed an Agreement on the establishment of the public BiH Railway Corporation.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Stolac.
• SFOR confirmed that “unguarded weapons and ammunition” were found by italian military police inside the Famos factory in Pale on 4 April.

7 April

• French President Jacques Chirac met with the BiH Presidency and gave a speech at the National Theatre in Sarajevo. After Sarajevo he visited French SFOR troops in Mostar and met with Mostar city officials and Sir Martin Garrod.
• OHR Brcko Press Release on the announcement that the Brcko region will be receiving over 12 million DM in international aid from the EU Commission.

8 April

• SFOR detained two Bosnian Serbs, Miroslav Kvocka and Mladen Radic, indicted for war crimes by the ICTY.
• OBN Pledging meeting in Brussels
• The Sarajevo Housing Committee became operational. This is an important step forward in the implementation of both the Sarajevo Declaration and the new Federation property laws.

9 April

• Council of Ministers session
• The BiH Presidency signed an agreement on the liquidation of the BiH National Bank.
• OHR Press Release on Drvar
• High Representative’s report to the UN Secretary-General published

10 April

OHR Press Release on the liquidation of the Narodna Banka of BiH.

13 April

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata started her visit to BiH.
• RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik and SFOR Commander in BiH, Eric Shinseki, signed in Banja Luka an MoU ending the presence of SFOR troops at the five SRT transmitters.

14 April

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – adopted a temporary budget proposal for BiH institutions, based on 1997 salaries. They also agreed on the opening of German and French diplomatic offices in Banja Luka and acknowledged the appointment of new Belgian and British ambassadors to BiH.
• Two Bosnian Serbs, Miroslav Kvocka and Milan Radic, pleaded not guilty before the Hague Tribunal.

15 April

• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President and Prime Minister.
• The High Representative and members of the independent commission to propose alternatives for the BiH coat of arms presented colour versions of the three coats of arms which will be presented to the Parliament for adoption.

16 April

• Council of Ministers session
• Federation Forum meeting in Mostar (Agreement on Returns within the City of Mostar).
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, visited Drvar and condemned in the strongest possible terms the murder of the two elderly Serbs in Drvar the night before.
• 6TH session of the Standing Committee on Military Matters (Press Statement).
• The head of the OSCE Mission in BiH, Robert Barry, announced the Additional Arbitration Award of the OSCE and OHR on implementation of the election results in Srebrenica, which disbands the elected municipal council and establishes a Provisional Executive Board.
• Bosnian Serb, Zoran Zigic, surrendered voluntarily to the ICTY.

17 April

• Joint Press Conference by SFOR, UN, OHR and OSCE following the murder in Drvar. The HR announced that he had dismissed the Deputy Mayor of Drvar.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, met with the Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman, and Foreign Minister, Mate Granic in Zagreb.

20 April

• NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana, SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark, Chairman of the Military Committee, Gen. Klaus Naumann, and members of the North Atlantic Council in Permanent Session visited Sarajevo. They met with the HR, BiH Presidency and the BiH Standing Committee on Military Matters.
• New deadlines for licence plates announced
• Exhumations of mass graves near Srebrenica started.
• Bosnian Serb, Zoran Zigic, appeared before the Hague Tribunal and pleaded not guilty.

21 April

• The chief of police in Drvar and the Interior Minister of Canton 10 were removed from their posts by Richard Monk, the UNIPTF Commissioner.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, met with the RS President and Prime Minister.
• The High Representative met with Presidency member, Kresimir Zubak.

22 April

• The transport and communications ministers of the Federation and the RS signed the MoU which opens the way to establishing a joint postal service in the whole territory of BiH. The memorandum was also signed by the Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, who acted as a witness.
• At the church ceremony to mark the anniversary of St. George, Patron Saint of Derventa Church, violent demonstrations disrupted the Mass being held for Bosnian Croat refugees and other BiH Catholics. BiH Cardinal Vinko Puljic, who was celebrating the Mass, and his followers were placed under a serious security threat.

24 April

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency.
• A demonstration of about 400 Bosnian Croats in Drvar led to an attack on IPTF HQ, injuring 12 people, among which was Mile Marceta, Mayor of Drvar. Several buildings were burned and IC vehicles destroyed.
• OHR condemned in the strongest possible terms the appalling acts of organised political violence in Drvar.
• OHR deplored the incidents in Derventa on 23 March.
• Comment by the High Representative on re-cantonisation in BiH.
• Senator Robert Dole, head of the International Commission on Missing Persons, began a three-day visit to Bosnia.
• Media Issues Group meeting

25 April

Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, attended mass in a monastery in Plehan.

27 April

The Bosnian Assembly House of Representatives adopted the budget proposal on Bosnia’s common institutions for 1998.

28 April

• Regional Return Conference in Banja Luka, jointly chaired by the High Representative and the Special Envoy of the UNHCR.
• The High Representative met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic.

29 April

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC in Sarajevo.
• Contact Group meeting on Kosovo in Rome.
• Press Statement by the High Representative on the PIC Steering Board meeting.
• Announcement on the renewed process of the appointment of judges to the Cantonal Court, Travnik

30 April

Council of Ministers session – Adopted the Foreign Investment Law.

May

1 May

The High Representative, SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark and SFOR Commander in Bosnia, Eric Shinseki, visited Drvar.

4 May

Media Issues Group meeting

5 May

• Council of Ministers session
• The High Representative visited Drvar
• Amb. Robert Barry, OSCE Head of Mission, announced the new Rules and Regulations for the September elections.

6 May

Sarajevo Declaration Quarterly Implementation Review published

7-8 May

4th Donor Pledging Conference for BiH, Brussels. (Speech by the High Representative and OHR Press Release)

8 May

The ICTY Prosecutor issued a Statement announcing the withdrawal of charges against 14 accused in the Omarska and Keraterm indictments.

11 May

• The High Representative briefed the Security Council and met with the Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, in New York.
• IMSLC Press Release – Establishing a media regulatory body in BiH.
• Media Issues group meeting
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Zepce and met with the municipal authorities.

12 May

The 5th Republika Srpska National Assembly meeting started in Banja Luka.

14 May

• SFOR and IPTF began a joint operation to inspect police activities in the Pale area.
• The Federation Government took the decision to revoke the illegal 10% tax which has been levied on imports.
• An agreement on BiH basketball signed at the International Federation of Basketball Association in Munich by representatives of the National Basketball Federation of BiH, the basketball Federation Herzeg Bosnia and the Basketball Federation of RS.

15 May

Meeting of the BiH Presidency

16 May

• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• Goran Magas appointed special commissioner for the municipality of Drvar. The IC will appoint the second commissioner following the visit of the HR to Drvar on 5 May.

17 May

Birmingham G8 Summit: Statements on FRY/Kosovo and BiH.

18 May

• Media Issues Group meeting
• Public Information Campaign (PSIC) launch
• Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chr
  tien, visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency.
• The Parliamentary Assembly of BiH held its 9th session
• OSCE announced that voter registration for the 1998 elections will begin on 1 June.

19 May

• Council of Ministers session
• Parliament House of Representatives session.

20 May

• The High Representative, using his authority under Annex 10 of the DPA, decided that the Law on the Coat of Arms in BiH shall enter into force with immediate effect.
• The Entities’ Ministers of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Inter-Entity Legal Assistance between Institutions of the Federation and the RS in the presence of Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher.
• The High Representative sent a letter to PIC Foreign Ministers saying that the June 1 deadline for obtaining the new licence plate will not be extended, but he agreed to extend the 15DM discounted rate for the purchase of the plates until 31 August.
• Continuation of the RS Parliament session.

21 May

• Meeting of the Standing Committee on Military Matters.
• Council of Ministers session.
• Travnik Declaration – local return agreement brokered by Christian Schwartz-Schilling, International Mediator for the Federation and the RS, in cooperation with the OHR and other RRTF members.

22 May

• The High Representative sent a letter to the Federation Interior Minister, Mehmed Zilic, and his deputy, Jozo Leutar, saying that they shall immediately contract with any of the companies certified by the OHR and IPTF for the remaining production of Federation licence plates
• OSCE adopted an amendment to Article 1 of the OSCE Rules and Regulations by which the mandate for BiH Presidency members will be four years.
• The UN Security Council unanimously approved the addition of 30 police officers to the existing 2,027 members of the IPTF.

23 May

Bosanski Brod Declaration – return agreement

26 May

• The North West Reconstruction and Refugee Task Force held a meeting in Bosanski Petrovac.
• The High Representative met with the Co-Chairman for the Council of Ministers, Haris Silajdzic.

27 May

The High Representative met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.

28 May

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency-endorsed a plan for the liquidation of the National Bank, paving the way for the functioning of the new Central Bank of BiH.
• Council of Ministers session – adopted the state Draft Law on Privatisation of Enterprises and Banks which will be sent to the Presidency for final adoption.
• NATO Foreign Ministers endorsed the operational planning for the continuation of SFOR beyond June 1998 (Statement on Bosnia and Herzegovina).
• OHR, together with competent German technical experts, organised a presentation of the issuing process for the new BiH passports and the technical equipment to be used for this. The event was hosted by Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, Minister Albijanic and other representatives of the CoM and the IC.
• The High Representative met with the Member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak.
• SFOR detained Milojica Kos, a Bosnian Serb indicted for war crimes in Banja Luka.
• OHR Brcko Press Release about the meeting with trade union leaders.

29 May

The High Representative briefed NATO Foreign Ministers at the NATO/ Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Luxembourg.

30 May

Press Statement by the High Representative reminding of the deadline for the new common licence plates in BiH.

June

1 June

• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak.
• Shaik Hamad Bin Khalif Al Thani, Emir of Quatar, visited Sarajevo.

2 June

• Media Issues Group meeting
• German Minister of Defence, Volker Ruehe, visited Sarajevo and Travnik.
• International Supervisor for Brcko, Robert Farrand, hosted a meeting of the RS and Federation Commissions on Brcko. RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, and President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ejup Ganic, were present as the heads of their respective commissions.
• Robert Farrand met with the RS Interior Minister, Milovan Stankovic.
• Milojica Kos, a Bosnian Serb who was arrested in Banja Luka the week before, pleaded not guilty before the Hague Tribunal.

3 June

• The Bosnian Federation House of Representatives adopted the laws on legal proceedings and criminal statute.
• A protocol on cooperation between Interior ministries in the RS and the Federation signed in Banja Luka. The signatories were on the Federation side Minister Mehmed Zilic and his Deputy Jozo Leutar, and for the Republika Srpska, Minister Milovan Stankovic.

4 June

• The Inaugural Session of the Commission on Inter-Entity Legal Cooperation (OHR Press Statement and Joint Press Statement).
• OHR announced that a regular mail service between Banja Luka and Sarajevo will be established in a week’s time.
• The Bosnian Federation House of Representatives adopted the Plan and Programme for Return and Repatriation of Displaced Persons and Refugees.
• The PEC adopted a ruling by which it may accept the registration of a new political party being established by a group of members who had left an existing registered political party.

5 June

The World Bank approved an IDA credit of $63 million to help BiH introduce key reforms in the management of its public finances.

6 June

• Launching of Campaign to Change NGO Legislation (Press Release).
• Signing of the MoU concerning Water Issues (Press Release).

8 June

Meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg. The Council issued a Declaration on BiH’s place in Europe. They have also banned all new European investment in Serbia and decided to freeze Yugoslav government assets in member states.

8/9 June

Ministerial Conference on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Co-operation in SE Europe, Istanbul

9 June

• Ministerial Meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council in Luxembourg (Declaration, Speech by the High Representative and Communiqu
  by the Foreign Ministers).
• Media Issues Group
• Bugojno proclaimed “open city”.

10 June

• Central Bank Governor, Peter Nicholl, announced that the date for the official release of the Convertible Mark has been pushed back one week to 22 June.
• The Forensic Team of the Office of the Prosecutor completed the second exhumation of a secondary mass grave in the Srebrenica investigation at the Cancari Road, southwest of Zvornik.

11 June

• Meeting of the NAC in Defence Ministers session – The Defence Ministers agreed on the : “activation order necessary to confirm SFOR beyond 20th June, subject to a resolution from the UN Security Council”.
• The High Representative adopted a decision establishing the Independent Media Commission (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative attended the opening of the rebuilt health centre in Rogatica.

12 June

• Last Council of Ministers session held in Museum.
• Opening of the New Seat of the BiH Common Institutions at Marijin Dvor Complex;
• President Izetbegovic signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Restructuring of the RTV BiH. This MoU was signed on 10 June by the Member of the Presidency, Kresimir Zubak, and the High Representative.
• OHR Press Release on the National Anthem
• UN Tribunal in the Hague opened third courtroom.

15 June

• Security Council extended mandate of the UN Mission in BiH until 21 June 1999 and authorised states acting through NATO to continue SFOR for 12 months.
• SFOR arrested a Bosnian Serb, Milorad Krnojelac, in Foca.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak.

16 June

• Principal Deputy High Representative, Amb. Klein, delivered a speech at the Postal Workshop in Sarajevo.
• Media Issues Group meeting.
• The RS Peoples Assembly delegates dismissed the Assembly Speaker, Dragan Kalinic, and his deputy, Nikola Poplasen. They were replaced with Petar Djokic as the Assembly Speaker and Safet Bico as his deputy.

17 June

Tripartite signing by the RS Municipality of Brcko, Mercy Corps Europe/Scottish European Aid and project beneficiaries – for the EU funded reconstruction of 300 houses in the area of Ulice. (OHR Brcko Press Release).

18 June

• Sarajevo City Council adopted the City Statute.
• Bosnian Serb, Milorad Krnojelac, pleaded not guilty before the Hague Tribunal.
• OBN Governing Council meeting in Brussels.

19 June

• Council of Ministers session.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Bugojno, Gornji Vakuf and Prozor, where he met with the municipal assemblies to discuss refugee return process.
• NATO SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark, visited Sarajevo, Visegrad and Srebrenica. In Sarajevo he met with the High Representative and SFOR Commander, Gen. Eric Shinseki.

22 June

New Bosnian currency – the convertible mark was put in circulation.

23 June

OHR Brcko Press Release about the marking of 33 houses in the Klanac area.

24 June

• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik.
• The Decision on changing the seat of the RS Parliament from Pale to Banja Luka was adopted with an Assembly majority of 53 votes.

25 June

Council of Ministers session – adopted the draft Law on Permanent Customs Policies in BiH and will forward it to the BiH Parliament on procedure for adoption.

26 June

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, opened a regional OHR office in Derventa (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative and COMSFOR Gen. Shinseki strongly condemned the inflammatory remarks made by senior BiH officials recommending the use of BiH territory for military intervention in Kosovo.
• The Hague Tribunal started investigations at one of the alleged mass grave sites in Hodzici, near Zvornik.

27 June

President of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), Aleksa Buha, resigned. He was replaced by Dragan Kalinic.

29 June

• A Croatian Serb, Slavko Dokmanovic, who was under indictment for allegedly overseeing the massacre in 1991 of more than 200 civilians in Vukovar, committed suicide in his cell in the Hague.
• British Embassy opened an office in Banja Luka.

30 June

Media Issues Group meeting

July

1 July

• The High Representative made a decision on acceleration of implementation of the Dayton agreement. With the decision, the HR requested that the Bosnian authorities accelerate implementation of the DPA “in order to establish enduring peace and stability in BiH, phased and orderly return of refugees and displaced persons and to guarantee the respect of the basic constitutional principles of reconciliation and multi-ethnicity”.
• Inauguration of the Federation Ministry of the Interior.

2 July

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency with the NATO Secretary-General.
• Bosnian Parliament House of Representatives adopted Law on Seal of Bosnian institutions.
• Meeting of the BiH Standing Committee on Military Matters.

2/3 July

• NATO Information Seminar in Sarajevo opened by the NATO Secretary-General.

3 July

• OHR Press Release about the Federation Army Combat Training Centre at Livno/Glamoc.

5 July

• SFOR soldiers from the Polish Battalion of the Nordic-Polish Brigade, in cooperation with local authorities and the IPTF, seized illegal cache of weapons near Zavidovici.

6 July

• Polish Foreign Minister, Bronislaw Geremek , visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency.
• A former Bosnian Serb hospital director, Milan Kovacevic, went on trial before the UN War Crimes Tribunal and pleaded innocent to genocide charges.
• Sir Martin Garrod, the head of the OHR in Mostar called on the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Governor, Zeljko Obradovic, and his deputy, Fatima Leho, to condemn the shootings on Saturday in Mostar, causing the death of one woman and injuring an elderly man after the football match between Germany and Croatia.

7 July

• Opening of Mostar airport (remarks by the High Representative and OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative met with the US President’s envoy to the Balkans, Robert Gelbard . They discussed a number of issues, most particularly privatisation and succession issues in terms of the whole former Yugoslavia.
• Media Issues Group meeting

8 July

• Contact Group meeting in Bonn.
• Council of Ministers session
• The High Representative appointed Tomaz Perovic as the international adviser at the RTV BiH. He will assist with the restructuring of the television network. (OHR Press Release)
• The Federation House of Representatives adopted the Law on Pension and Invalids Insurance.
• Media Support Advisory Group meeting

9 July

• Continuation of the Council of Ministers session – adopted the Law on Bosnia’s customs policy.
• It was announced that the High Representative had ratified the names of the RTV BiH Board of Governors. The Board of Governors consists of Hamza Baksic, Boro Kontic, Zlatko Prlenda, Fehim Kapidzic, Ante Domazet, Plamenko Custovic, Enver Cengic, Jelenka Vockic-Avdagic, Dunja Blazevic, Lamija Hadziosmanovic, and the international adviser, Tomaz Perovic

10 July

• The High Representative met with the BiH Federation President, Ejup Ganic, Minister of Urbanism and Environment, Ibrahim Morankic, and Minister of Social Welfare and Refugees, Rasim Kadic, to discuss the return of refugees.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, met with the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, in Banja Luka.
• Forensic Team of the Hague Tribunal’s office of the Prosecutor begun its second mass grave exhumation in the Hodzici area, near Zvornik.

13 July

• The High Representative appointed the Head of Media and Public Affairs Department, Simon Haselock, his Deputy for Media Issues (OHR Press Release).
• Amb. Robert Farrand, Supervisor for Brcko, issued a Supervisory Order.

14 July

• Italian President, Luigi Scalfaro, visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency.
• Simon Haselock said that the High Representative endorsed the decisions by USAID to stop municipal infrastructure projects in Sarajevo worth some $5 million and the EU Commission decision not to use $15 million worth of aid designated for Sarajevo. He said that the High Representative had endorsed those decisions because he was not satisfied with the implementation of the Sarajevo Declaration. However, he has not made any recommendation to that effect and it is for donors to decide on their own how and where they spend their money.
• BiH Parliament House of Representatives adopted the Law on Privatisation of Companies and Banks in BiH.
• High Representative’s Report to the UN Secretary-General published.
• Media Issues Group meeting

15 July

• OHR condemned delays in passport issuance (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative appointed Head of Economic Department, Didier Fau, his Deputy for Economic Issues (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative met with the Federation President, Vladimir Soljic, and Deputy Prime Minister, Drago Bilandzija.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Gornji Vakuf and Travnik.

16 July

• BiH Foreign Minister, Jadranko Prlic, and Minister of Civil Affairs and Communications, Spasoje Albijanic, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, officially took over responsibility for the demining process in BiH from the United Nations.
• Council of Ministers session

17 July

• The High Representative appointed Christian Clages, Head of the Political Department, his Deputy for Political Affairs.
• Federation House of Peoples adopted Criminal Law and Law on Legal Criminal Procedure.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina signed Landmark Environmental Pact (OHR Press Release).
• An inauguration was held in Prijedor to celebrate installation of a Telecommunication Radio Link between Sanski Most and Prijedor.

20 July

• The Banja Luka Mufti, Ibrahim Halilovic, died in Banja Luka.

21 July

• Council of Ministers session.

22 July

• The BiH House of Peoples rejected the Framework Law on the Privatisation of Enterprises and Banks.
• The High Representative decided to impose the Framework Law on the Privatisation of Enterprises and Banks (OHR Press Release).
• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC in Brussels.
• ECHO and IMG donation to help maintain Brcko’s sewage system (OHR Brcko Press Release).
• The Forensic Team of the ICTY Prosecutor’s office completed its fifth exhumation related to the Srebrenica investigation at a secondary mass grave in Hodzici.
• SFOR troops detained two persons who were believed to have been Nenad and Predrag Banovic who had been indicted by the ICTY.

23 July

• Negotiations of BiH delegation with the Paris Club of investors began in Paris. The High Representative also participated at that meeting.
• In a press release, the ICTY Office of the Prosecutor stated that the two persons detained the day before by SFOR troops were not Nenad and Predrag Banovic. The two detained persons had not been indicted by the Tribunal, nor were they suspected or accused of having committed any crime.

27 July

• The High Representative briefed the Security Council and met with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in New York.
• OHR welcomed the start of regular passenger service on the Sarajevo-Capljina train route (OHR Press Release).
• OHR Press Release about the implementation of the Sarajevo Declaration.
• The Republika Srpska Information Minister, Rajko Vasic, said in a statement that general managers and chief editors of 16 radio and TV stations in the Republika Srpska had been fired. He said that “the local stations were biased, working in interest of one party and/or one local boss, creating discontent among the people”.
• Presiding Arbitrator, Roberts Owen, made a brief private visit to Brcko and met with Brcko Supervisor, Amb. Robert Farrand, RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, and President of the Federation of BiH, Ejup Ganic.

27/28 July

• The EU Commissioner, Hans van den Broek, visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency. He also visited Banja Luka and Bijeljina.

28 July

• The Supervisor for Brcko, Amb. Robert Farrand, was deeply disturbed to hear of the violent death of Amir Karic in Brcko (OHR Brcko press release).
• Hans van den Broek and RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, signed a MoU by which the EU promises to further financially assist agriculture and infrastructure reconstruction projects in the Republika Srpska.
• Six Bosniak houses and two barns were damaged or destroyed by explosive devices near Stolac.

29 July

• BiH Federation Parliament House of Representatives adopted the Laws on the Criminal Code and Penal Proceedings.
• The RTV BiH Board of Governors appointed Miro Purivatra as a General Manager for the RTV BiH.
• The High Representative met with the Member of the BiH Presidency Kresimir Zubak.
• The High Representative met with the HDZ President in BiH, Ante Jelavic.
• OHR Press Release on the Dual Citizenship.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Vares and met with the Mayor, Pavo Vidovic, and his Deputy, Samir Musa.
• An explosion damaged a Roman Catholic Church in Kakanj.
• A hand grenade was thrown in Skenderija Street in Sarajevo, near the premises of magazine Dani.

30 July

• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and Prime Minister Dodik.
• BiH Federation Parliament House of Peoples adopted Laws on Contributions and Foreign Currency operations.
• Office of the High Representative condemned recent attack against the Catholic Church in Kakanj, as well as the explosions that occurred in Stolac municipality. The High Representative was also very concerned because of the explosion of a hand grenade in Sarajevo the day before, if indeed it was an attempt to intimidate the magazine Dani and its editors.
• Independent Media Commission presented unique media codes for establishment of TV and radio programmes in BiH that will become valid on 1 August and will be implemented in all TV and radio companies.

31 July

• A Bosnian Croat police officer, Ante Valjan, was killed by an explosive device placed in a garbage container 50 metres from the Travnik police station.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Travnik and met with the Mayor of Travnik and representatives of Travnik police department. He strongly condemned the killing of Bosnian Croat policeman.
• US Special Envoy for Balkans, Robert Gelbard, visited Sarajevo and met with the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, and Federation officials.

August

1 August

• OHR response to Mayor of Brcko Reljic’s statement (OHR Brcko press release).
• Barry Rigby was appointed new Chief of the UNHCR Mission in BiH.
• Bosnian Serb warcrimes suspect Milan Kovacevic died in his cell at the Detention Centre of the ICTY in the Hague.

3 August

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher visited Travnik and met with the Federation Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic and Minister of Interior, Mehmed Zilic.

4 August

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher and IPTF Commissioner, Richard Monk met in Sarajevo with the Federation Vice-President Vladimir Soljic and Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic to discuss the situation in the Central Bosnia Canton.
• The High Representative imposed Laws on Courts in Mostar (OHR Press Release).
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic to discuss refugee return and current situation in the RS.
• soldiers of SFOR multi-national specialised units arrived in Sarajevo. Their mission is to promote public security, assist the process of refugee return and help with the establishment of elected authorities.

5 August

• OHR encouraged people to file claims to repossess apartments (OHR press release).
• A grenade exploded a few miles from central Sarajevo, damaging cars but causing no injuries.

6 August

• Independent Media Commission published the names of members of the Council and the Board for its implementation. Both bodies will comprise seven members, four of which are citizens of BiH and the other three international representatives.
• The Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein visited a reconstructed school in Dobrinja.
• Brcko Supervisor, Amb. Robert Farrand met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic.

7 August

• SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark visited Sarajevo and met with the Presidency member, Kresimir Zubak and with the Federation Defence Minister, Ante Jelavic.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the Presidency member, Kresimir Zubak to discuss the Ploce port issue.
• Following an unsuccessful return of 40 Bosniak families to the village of Gacice in the Vitez municipality, which was prevented by Croat residents, the expelled Bosniaks blocked the regional road Zenica-Vitez for several days.

8 August

• Deputy head of police station in Pale, Srdjan Knezevic was killed in front of his apartment in the centre of Pale.

8/9 August

• Unidentified gunmen fired several dozen shots at Ukranian soldiers of SFOR on Saturday in Doljani and on Sunday in Sovici. Around 60 Ukranian soldiers were deployed in the area to provide a secure environment for the return of 75 Bosniak families.

10 August

• German Defence Minister, Volker Ruehe and German government coordinator for the refugee return, Dietmar Schlee visited BiH.

12 August

• Special Envoy of the US President, Richard Sclar visited Sarajevo.
• RS Minister of Information, Rajko Vasic has decided “to halt SRNA (Serbian News Agency) activities until its managing board holds an emergency session” and he said that this is “due to biased reporting and tampering with speeches of the country’s top officials”.

13 August

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – discussed the establishment of a Common Service and a Protocol Office for the Presidency and adopted a proposal from the Working Group, which will be signed at the next session. They have approved the opening of the German Cultural Centre in Sarajevo, and agreed on the ambassadors of Turkey, Poland and South African Republic.
• Council of Ministers session – adopted the text of the Law on telecommunications at the state level which will be sent to the BiH Parliament for adoption.
• Meeting of the Standing Committee on Military Matters – adopted the report of defence ministers of the two Bosnian entities on activities of ministries and entity armies between the two sessions.
• OHR Statement on the Serb Radical Party

14 August

• The UN Spokesman Alexander Ivanko said that 14 persons were arrested under suspicion of collaborating in the murder of Srdjan Knezevic, Deputy Head of the Centre of Public Security in Pale.
• Kiseljak declared an “open city”.
• Brcko Supervisor, Amb. Farrand issued a remainder to DPs wishing to reclaim accommodation that there are less than two months left to register claims for socially-owned apartments in the Federation.

17 August

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak and they discussed the return of refugees and displaced persons in the Central Bosnia Canton.
• Six Bosnian Croats accused of organising the slaughter of more than 100 Bosniaks in 1993 in the village of Ahmici, in Central Bosnia went on trial before the ICTY Tribunal in the Hague.
• 220 kw long-distance power line was put into operation. Two combined electric plant installations will provide the whole Una-Sana Canton with electricity.

18 August

• The Bosnian Federation House of Representatives adopted the Law on rights for veterans and their dependants.
• The Media Experts Commission, the Election Appeals Sub-Commission and the Independent Media Commission signed a MoU on cooperation between the OSCE and IMC.
• IPTF formed a team to support the investigation of the murder of Pale Public Security Centre Deputy Head Srdjan Knezevic.

19 August

• The High Representative and Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in Zagreb. They discussed the progress of the DPA and HRT.
• Head of the OHR regional office in Mostar, Sir Martin Garrod condemned an “illegal usage of weapons” which last Saturday in eastern Mostar resulted in the injury of 18 year-old Nihad Zlomislic.
• Standing Committee on Military Matters met in Zenica.

20 August

• Council of Ministers session – The MoU on the BiH Agency for Statistics, submitted by the OHR, was adopted. The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications was given responsibility for the Border Commission. The Agency for Foreign Investment was accepted. CoM formally adopted the Decision on the Sphere of Activity and Organisation of the Cabinet and Services of the CoM, originally signed in March, with amendments for the creation of a 5-person CoM Protocol division under the Administration Service.
• Federation President Ejup Ganic met with Brcko Supervisor, Robert Farrand to discuss the current situation in Brcko.
• SRNA General Manager and Editor-in-chief were replaced at the RS government session in Banja Luka. Dragan Davidovic was appointed for both posts. It was also decided that the seat of the agency will move from Pale to Banja Luka that day.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher visited Bugojno with the three Federation Ombudsmen to meet with Mayor Dzevad Mlaco, and President of the Bugojno Municipal Assembly, Ivo Mrso. (OHR Press Release).

21 August

• New British Ambassador to BiH, Graham Hand, conveyed his Letter of Appointment to the BiH Presidency President, Alija Izetbegovic.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak, and the Vice-President of the New Croat Initiative, Ivo Lozancic to discuss the current political situation in BiH.

24 August

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, the Head of the OHR in Banja Luka, Miguel Arias, and an expert group from Germany visited Prijedor and talked with the municipal authorities about refugee return.
• Supervisory Order on Return to Unoccupied Property in the RS Municipality of Brcko.

25 August

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher met with Croatian and Bosniak municipal leaders from Vitez and other officials to establish an extra-ordinary return plan drawn up by the OHR and other international organisations. In the short term, the plan envisages return to the villages of Gacice, Donja Verceska and Poculica starting on 28 August, and in long term, the full implementation of the Central Bosnia Cantonal Return Plan.
• OHR Press Release about the meeting in Zagreb of Croat Party Leaders and Candidates from BiH.
• BiH Federation House of Representatives held a session. They adopted the Law on Labour and Law on Telecommunications.

27 August

• Three unknown assailants in the Zvornik municipal assembly building attacked and beat up Izet Nakicevic, the Vice-President of the local administration’s executive board.

28 August

• Council of Ministers session – appointed three-member Managing Board for the BiH Agency for Statistics.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher met with the Federation President Ejup Ganic. They discussed the matter of return to Central Bosnia Canton.
• Joint OHR/OSCE Press Release condemning incident in Zvornik.
• The Forensic department of the Hague Tribunal Prosecutor’s office has completed the seventh exhumation of a secondary mass grave near Zvornik, as part of the investigation on Srebrenica.

30 August

• US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright met with the Croatian President, Franjo Tudjman in Zagreb. After that meeting she left for BiH. She visited US troops in Tuzla and met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik in Bijeljina.

31 August

• US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright met with the President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic and the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak in Sarajevo.
• Council of Ministers session.
• German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency.
• Volkswagen factory opened in Vogosca.

September

1 September

• Following the recommendations of the Election Appeals Sub-Commission with respect to the mayor of Orasije, the High Representative sent a letter to the President of the HDZ in BiH, Ante Jelavic, announcing the replacement of Orasje Mayor Marko Benkovic.
• BiH Parliament House of Representatives held a session and adopted the draft Law on Customs Policy in BiH.
• US Special Envoy for Balkans, Robert Gelbard, visited Sarajevo and met with the President of HDZ in BiH, Ante Jelavic.
• US Special Envoy, Richard Sklar, visited Sarajevo and met with the BiH Presidency President, Alija Izetbegovic, Prime Minister Bicakcic and Foreign Trade Minister Kurtovic.

2 September

BiH Parliament House of Peoples held a session and adopted the Law on Customs Policy in BiH.

3 September

• Council of Ministers session.
• Three Bosnian Serbs, Miroslav Tadic, Simo Zaric and Milan Simic pleaded not guilty at the ICTY Tribunal in the Hague.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.

5 September

• The Election Appeals Sub-Commission decided to remove 15 candidates from the HDZ election lists. The EASC found that the HDZ Party controlled HRT and used the broadcasts to benefit the HDZ Party in Croatia and in BiH. HRT has repeatedly violated mandates from the Media Experts Commission (MEC) to provide fair and equitable media access to all political parties.
• President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, met with the US Special Envoy, Richard Sklar, and Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, to discuss the Ploce port issue.

6 September

Two ceremonies held to inaugurate three major USAID projects in the Brcko area. They include the restoration of power to six high-priority return areas in the ZoS and the rehabilitation of the Brcko railway station and the Municipal building. The RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, opened the reconstructed railway station in Brcko. The ceremonies were attended by Amb. Robert Farrand, Brcko Supervisor, US Ambassador in BiH, Richard Kauzlarich, and the Director of USAID, Craig Buck.

7 September

• A European Parliament delegation headed by its President, José Maria Gil Robles Delgado, visited Sarajevo. They met with the High Representative, SFOR Commander in BiH, Gen. Shinseki, Head of the OSCE Mission in BiH, Amb. Robert Barry, and Amb. Parak from the ECMM. They also met with the President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, and Member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak.
• Slovenian President, Milan Kucan, visited Sarajevo and held separate talks with the President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, and member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak. He also met with the CoM.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, met with the Co-Chair of the CoM, Haris Silajdzic. They discussed the results of implementation of the DPA, election preparations in BiH and the reorganisation of the BiH CoM.
• OHR Press Release – OHR initiates discussion on restructuring the CoM.
• EU governments formally agreed to ban Yugoslav airlines from landing in member states of the EU.
• President of the Provisional Election Commission, Robert Barry, excluded Serb Radical Party leader, Vojislav Seselj, from the election campaign.
• The Sarajevo Canton government adopted the cantonal budget for the period from 1 January to June 30, 1998.
• OBN celebrated 2nd birthday (OBN Press Release).

8 September

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC in Sarajevo (OHR Press Release).
• The European Parliament Delegation led by its President, José Maria Gil Robles Delgado and Doris Pack, visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President Biljana Plavsic and RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik.
• BiH Parliament House of Representatives held a session. They adopted the Federation Government report for the period January-June 1998. The Law on Security of Deposits in banks was also adopted as well as the Law on Amendments on the Law on selling of apartments with residential rights.
• OBN Press Release – OBN and SFOR team up to provide engineering support for SRT presidential debates.
• OBN Press Release – The OBN broadcasted on 6th September for the first time using its outside broadcasting unit.

9 September

• President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, CoM Co-Chairman, Haris Silajdzic, and Foreign Trade and Economy Minister, Mirsad Kurtovic, in the presence of US Special Envoy, Richard Sklar, and Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, initialled the agreement between BiH and Republic of Croatia on the use of Ploce Harbour.
• Joint Military Commission met in Travnik.
• OBN Press Release – OBN links live to New York.

10 September

• Council of Ministers session- adopted the Statute of the Agency for the Improvement of Foreign Investments, and five decisions on the regulation of foreign trade.
• The agreement about the use of Ploce Harbour was initialled in Zagreb by Hrvoje Sarinic, Chief of Staff to President Tudjman, Nenad Porges, Economy Minister, as well as Amb. Klein, Principal Deputy HR, and special US envoy, Amb. Richard Sklar. The agreement has to be passed by the Croatian Parliament.
• The High Representative and Brcko Supervisor, Robert Farrand, met with Cardinal Vinko Puljic to discuss the process of return and establishment of peace in BiH.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.

10/11 September

10/11 September – NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana, and SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark visited Sarajevo. They met with SFOR troops and the High Representative on the 10th Sept., and with members of the BiH Presidency on 11 September.

11 September

• Amb. Schumacher on returns to Central Bosnia (OHR Press Release).
• In accordance with his authority under Annex 10 of the GFAP and article XI of the Bonn document, the High Representative has decided that the Telecommunications Law on BiH, as submitted by the CoM to the Parliamentary Assembly for adoption, shall enter into force on 11 September on an interim basis, until the Parliamentary Assembly adopts this law in due form. (OHR Statement)
• OBN and RTVBiH – Joint Programming Plan (OBN Press Release).

12 September

Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Travnik and met with the Head of the Central Bosnia Canton, Adnan Terzic, and his Deputy, Ivan Saric. He also visited polling stations in Travnik and Nova Bileca.

12/13 September

General Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

13 September

• US Delegation led by the US Special Envoy for Balkans, Robert Gelbard, met with the President of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, and Presidency member, Kresimir Zubak.
• The High Representative visited polling stations in Dobrinja and Bascarsija.
• The Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, visited polling stations in Kiseljak.
• The Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited polling stations in Srebrenica.

15 September

• The Media Experts Commission chairperson, Tanya Domi, strongly condemned the arrest and detention of the RTVBiH crew in Banja Luka on election weekend.
• The High Representative, in accordance with his authority under Annex 10 of the DPA and Article XI of the Bonn Document, decided to extend the deadline for pre-war tenants of socially owned apartments in the Federation of BiH to reclaim those apartments.
• UNIPTF Commissioner, Richard Monk, in consultation with the SRSG, Elisabeth Rehn, disqualified Ljubisa Savic, the Chief of RS police, as a police officer. A UNIPTF investigation found compelling evidence that Mr. Savic directly participated in and had supervision over the ill threatment and torture of illegally detained persons in Pale during the investigation of the 7 August killing of Srdjan Knezevic, the Deputy Chief of the Pale Public Security Centre.
• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein, met with the Bosnian Deputy Foreign Minister, Husein Zivalj, and they discussed the elections in BiH.

16 September

• The members of the OHR Reconstruction and Return Task Force, together with the UNHCR and other international organisations, met with the mayor of Travnik and Vitez to discuss the time-table and modalities for returning some 30 Bosnian Croat families to the village of Bukavica in the Travnik municipality (OHR Media Advisory).
• The OSCE Media Experts Commission issued a decision, according to which the interview of Mr. Nikola Poplasen broadcast on Palma TV and carried by Radio Television Serbia on 12 September was a violation of the MEC Blackout Advisory and the PEC Rules and Regulations Article 10.35 sub-section 5 on Campaign Rules. MEC referred the Poplasen interview to the EASC for action.

17 September

• OHR Press Release about the extension of the deadline for reclaiming socially-owned apartments.
• First anniversary of the helicopter crash near Fojnica where 12 members of the OHR and the UN were killed whilst en route to Bugojno. (OHR Media Advisory)
• First inaugural meeting of the Return Facilitation Group in Zagreb. The OHR (through its chairmanship of the RRTF) is a full member, and the RFG is co-chaired by the UNHCR and the OSCE. The RFG will have two functions: to support and assist in the implementation of the Croatian government’s Return Plan and to act as a counterpart to the RRTF for cross-border return between BiH and Croatia.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.

18 September

The US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard, met with the President of RS, Biljana Plavsic, and the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik.

21 September

On 16 September the MEC referred the Poplasen interview to the EASC for action. The Election Appeals Sub-Commission decided to censure RTS for broadcasting the interviews of Seselj and Poplasen during the election silence period. They would forward this case to the IMC for any licensing determination that may bear upon the use of transmitters in BiH to broadcast RTS programs. They are censuring Poplasen and the SRS for failing to respond immediately in the public forum and thereby distance themselves from matters that involve violations of the PEC Rules and Regulations. They have also decided to remove three candidates from the SRS party candidates list for the election of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and six candidates from the SRS party candidates list for the election of the National Assembly of RS.

22 September

• The High Representative met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, in Banja Luka. He also met with the leaders of political parties.
• The chairman of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, met with the US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard, and discussed the implementation of the DPA after the 1998 general elections. Robert Gelbard also met with the BiH CoM Co-Chairman, Haris Silajdzic, and discussed the situation in BiH and implementation of the DPA.
• US Special envoy, Robert Gelbard, and the US Ambassador in BiH, Richard Kauzlarich, met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Kresimir Zubak, to discuss the elections.
• A forensic team of the Office of the Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal has extended the seventh exhumation of a secondary mass grave near Zvornik, in the light of the investigation of a mass grave in Srebrenica.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, met with the Bosnian Foreign Minster Jadranko Prlic.
• OBN Press Release: OBN completes affiliate network.

23 September

• US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard, met with the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, and Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.

24 September

Council of Ministers session – adopted an UNHCR-drafted instruction, at an urgent request of the High Representative, on the temporary admission of refugees from Kosovo. They have also accepted the agreement between Finland and BiH on the second phase of reconstruction of the central heating systems in Sarajevo and Doboj, valued at 12 million Finish marks.

25 September

OSCE announced the results of the general elections. Alija Izetbegovic, Ante Jelavic and Zivko Radisic were elected as the new members of the BiH Presidency. In the Republika Srpska Nikola Poplasen was elected new RS President.

27 September

• SFOR detained Stevan Todorovic, indicted by the ICTY for war crimes committed while serving as the Chief of Police for Bosanski Samac between 13 June 1992 and 29 July 1992.
• US Defence Secretary, William Cohen, visited Sarajevo.

29 September

• Bosnian Central Bank Governor, Peter Nicholl, and Deputy High Representative for Economic Affairs, Didier Fau, presented the new coins of 10, 20 and 50 BiH pfennigs.
• Finnish President, Marti Ahtissari, visited Sarajevo and met with the newly elected BiH Presidency. He also met with the UNSG Special Envoy, Elisabeth Rehn, and SFOR Commander, Eric Shinseki.
• The OHR strongly condemned the incident that took place in the village of Rastani during the past weekend where Bosnian Serbs were prevented from returning.

30 September

• Sir Martin Garrod met with the BiH Presidency Chairman, Alija Izetbegovic, and Federation President, Ejup Ganic, in Sarajevo on his farewell visit, discussing issues relating to the re-uniting of Mostar.
• The Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, met with the Co-Chairman of the CoM, Haris Silajdzic, to discuss the current situation in BiH and the implementation of the DPA.
• The ICTY Tribunal in the Hague announced that the initial appearance of Stevan Todorovic, which began this day, will resume at a later date yet to be decided. This followed a request by the accused that he was medically unfit to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and wanted to undergo some additional medical tests before doing so.

October

1 October

• BiH Council of Ministers adopted the text of the agreement between BiH and the Republic of Croatia on the Ploce port and the passage through Neum. The Council of Ministers will forward the text to the BiH Presidency and the BiH Parliament for ratification.
• Contact Group meeting in London (Chairman’s Conclusions).
• OBN Press Release – New series to start on OBN

2 October

• The Provisional Election Commission technically verified the results of the municipal elections held in 11 municipalities in BiH and adopted the division mandates for all legislative bodies at the level of the state of BiH and both entities, as well as the list of candidates elected for these seats.
• One Bosniak returnee was killed and two others wounded after several explosions rocked the village of Tasovcici, near Capljina, where 50 Bosniak refugees returned to their homes that week.
• The US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard, met with the newly elected RS President, Nikola Poplasen, and the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik.
• RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, received Gen. Shinseki in his farewell visit.
• OBN Press Release – The OBN increase signal on Mount Vlasic.

3 October

• The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton interior minister, Valentin Coric, resigned.

5 October

• BiH Presidency Chairman, Alija Izetbegovic, received Gen. Shinseki in his farewell visit.
• The Media Plan from Sarajevo and the High School for Journalism from France opened the School of Journalism in Sarajevo.

6 October

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC in Sarajevo. (OHR Press Release)
• OBN Press Release – Live interview with Dr. Haris Silajdzic on OBN.
• Last meeting of the BiH Presidency with the outgoing Presidency members.

7 October

• The High Representative and the members of the Steering Board met with the outgoing Presidency members.

8 October

• The High Representative wrote to Dragan Cavic, Vice-Chairman of the SDS, notifying him of his decision to remove him from office in the newly elected RS Assembly (OHR Press Release).
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.

9 October

• The High Representative called on individuals holding public office to refrain from publicly taking sides on Kosovo (OHR Press Release).
• Head of the CAFAO Mission in BiH, Allan Jensen, confirmed that the customs administrations of RS, the Federation and CAFAO discovered that 150 trucks were involved in the transport of 900 consignments into BiH without the payment of duties.

10 October

• The international airport in Tuzla was opened for civilian flights.

13 October

• Inauguration of the new BiH Presidency ( Speech by the Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein).
• First session of the newly elected BiH Presidency
• The North Atlantic Council decided to issue “activation orders – ACTORDs for both a phased air campaign in Yugoslavia and limited air operations”.
• The head of the USAID mission in BiH, Craig Buck, put into operation a USAID-funded local waterworks in the village of Skakava Donja near Brcko.

14 October

• Serbian Ministry of Information banned publishing of the Belgrade dailies, Dnevni Telegraf and Danas, followed by the ban on the independent Yugoslav daily, Nasa Borba, on 15 October.
• High Representative’s report to the UN Secretary-General published.

15 October

• The High Representative and the OSCE Head of Mission, Robert Barry, met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• Travnik declared an “Open City”.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo.
• Contact Group meeting on Kosovo in Paris.
• Croatian President Franjo Tudjman’s Special Envoy for BiH, Franjo Greguric, resigned.

16 October

• The North Atlantic Council “has decided that period before execution of air strikes will be extended until 27th October”.
• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with leaders and representatives of leading political parties. They discussed the formation of the National Assembly – the new government and the property laws that should be passed urgently by the new government and the new Assembly in the RS.

17 October

• The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister Bronislaw Geremek, appointed Amb. William Walker of US as Head of the OSCE Verification Mission.
• Newly-appointed Head of the OHR Regional Office in Mostar, Richard Ellerkman, met with the member of the BiH Presidency and leader of the HDZ in BiH, Ante Jelavic, in Mostar to discuss the implementation of election results in Hercegovina-Neretva Canton.

20 October

• The Serbian Parliament adopted a new law on public information. The Law includes a ban on re-broadcasting of foreign programmes with “political propaganda” content. Penalties for breaking the new Law include fines ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 dinars to be paid by the publisher or owner of the station or newspaper. This new information Law allows the three dailies that have been banned to continue their work.
• OBN Press Release – OBN enters next phase of development.

21 October

• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher, visited Mostar and met with Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Governor, Zeljko Obradovic, and Vice Governor, Fatima Leho, and discussed the current situation in this canton.
• Head of the OHR Regional office in Mostar met with the Mayor of Mostar, Safet Orucevic, and his Deputy, Ivan Prskalo.
• A Memorandum of Understanding on the European Commission’s 1998 Forestry Programme for BiH, worth eight million ECU was signed in Sarajevo.

22 October

• The High Representative briefed the North Atlantic Council in Brussels.
• Special US Envoy for Balkans, Robert Gelbard, met with the President of the HDZ in BiH and Bosnian Presidency member, Ante Jelavic.
• Media Issues Group in Sarajevo.

23 October

• A ceremony to hand over command of SFOR from Gen. Eric Shinseki to Gen. Montgomery Meigs was held in Sarajevo.
• Council of Ministers session.
• Standing Committee on Military Matters met in Banja Luka.
• OBN Press Release – OBN delivers sweatshirts to children’s houses in Sarajevo.

27 October

• Delegations of the Republic of Croatia and the Federation of BiH, in conjunction with US Ambassador Richard Sclar and Principal Deputy HR Jacques Klein, discussed and initialled the framework agreement on Special Relations between Croatia and the BiH Federation.
• Deputy HR for Reconstruction and Return, Andy Bearpark, together with the BiH Federation President, Ejup Ganic, met with the Central Bosnia Canton officials in Travnik to review progress on return movements in the Canton.
• NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana, announced that NATO had decided to maintain the ACTORD for limited air operations. Its execution will be subject to a decision and assessments by the NAC. He said that NATO will also maintain the ACTORD for the phased air campaign and will continue their activities under Phase Zero. The NATO Secretary-General also said that they have requested their Military Authorities to remain prepared to carry out these operations should they be necessary and to maintain forces at appropriate readiness levels for the operations under both ACTORDs.
• UK Minister of Defence, George Robertson, visited Sarajevo and met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• Meeting of the BiH Presidency
• Delegates of the Herzegovina/Neretva Canton Assembly elected the new Governor, Hamo Maslesa from Konjic and Vice Governor, Rade Bosnjak from Mostar.
• Meeting of the Standing Committee on Military Matters in Sarajevo.

28 October

• Agreement with the Paris Club signed (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with all relevant parties: SLOGA and Federation parties, Vice-speaker Safet Bico and the newly-elected RS President Nikola Poplasen.
• The rotation of Mayors in Mostar – Ivan Prskalo became Mayor of Mostar and Safet Orucevic his Deputy.
• The Northern Local Return and Reconstruction Task Force held a meeting in Sokolac with representiatves of six RS municipalities – Pale, Rogatica, Rudo, Serb Trnovo, Han Pijesak and Sokolac, the Sarajevo Cantonal Minister for Refugees and DPs, the Gorazde Cantonal Prime Minister, and the Minister for Refugees and DPs. This meeting represented the beginning of a dialogue between the Federation and RS municipalities on two-way return.
• Former Bosnian Serb chief Stevan Todorovic pleaded not guilty before the UN Tribunal in the Hague to war crimes against Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks in the northern Bosnian town of Bosanski Samac in 1992.

29 October

• The High Representative attended the beginning of the constituent session of the RS National Assembly in Banja Luka.
• A Bosnian Serb, Goran Jelisic, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of Crimes against humanity and 16 counts of Violations of the law or customs of war. These are related to 12 killings, four beatings and one count of plunder of private property in the Brcko area in 1992. The indictment also includes one count of genocide, to which he pleaded not guilty.
• NATO SACEUR, General Wesley Clark, visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President Nikola Poplasen, and the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic. General Clark, together with the SFOR Commander in Bosnia, Montgomery Meigs, met with the Bosnian Presidency member Ante Jelavic and Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic in Mostar.
• Ten representatives for the Federation House of Peoples were elected at the constituent session of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly.

30 October

• The High Representative met with the Member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• US Special Envoy Richard Sclar met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic.
• The RS Interior Minister, Milovan Stankovic resigned and was replaced by Sredoje Novic. The RS Minister of Justice, Petko Cancar also resigned to take up new duties, and was replaced by Milan Trbojevic.

31 October

• The Media Experts Commission mandate ended.

November

2 November

• The US Special Envoy to Balkans, Robert Gelbard, the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp and his Deputy, Jacques Klein, met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic in Sarajevo.
• The US Special Envoy to Balkans, Robert Gelbard, visited Banja Luka and met with the outgoing RS President Biljana Plavsic, RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and the President of the BiH Presidency Zivko Radisic.

3 November

• Sarajevo Declaration (OHR Press Release).
• Supervisory Order on outstanding cases of Article 17 of the RS Law on use of abandoned property, internally displaced Brcko residents, and cases of multiple occupancy.
• Supervisory Order on Return of non-Serb members of the municipal Assembly, Administration, Police, Judiciary and others to their pre-war homes of origin in Brcko.

4 November

• Continuation of the inaugural session of the RS National Assembly. Petar Djokic was re-elected RS NA Speaker. The RS President, Nikola Poplasen, Vice President Mirko Sarovic and President of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic took solemn oaths at the session.
• Senior Deputy HR, Hanns Schumacher visited Derventa and talked with municipal officials and refugee association representatives.
• Textbook Review in the Canton of Sarajevo (OHR Press Release).

5 November

• Council of Ministers session – adopted a report on negotiations and the agreement between BiH and the Paris Club of Creditors. The agreement will be forwarded to the BiH Parliament for ratification.
• OHR praised Prosecutor’s actions in customs fraud cases (OHR Press Release).
• The High Representative held a press conference in Sarajevo (Transcript).
• French Ambassador to BiH, Yves Gaudeul and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations at the BiH Council of Ministers, Mirsad Kurtovic signed an Agreement on donation, valued 20 million Ffr. These funds are intended for the reconstruction of the 110 kV Gradacac-Modrica-Odzak-Bosanski Samac-Brcko long-distance powerline and for the delivery and monitoring of mini-bakeries in the Federation and the RS, in a 50:50 ratio.

6 November

• Decisions by the High Representative on Property Laws (OHR Press Releasei).
• The President of the Federation, Ejup Ganic signed two Laws: The Criminal Law of the Federation and the Law on Criminal Procedure.
• Head of the OHR Mostar, Richard Ellerkman met with the Mostar Mayor Ivan Prskalo and his Deputy, Safet Orucevic.
• Two Bosniak returnees injured in hand grenade explosion in Aladinci, near Stolac. This incident was condemned by international organisations, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton senior officials and the head of the regional OHR office in Mostar, Richard Ellerkman.
• The RRTF Roundtable in Brussels.

9 November

• OHR/OSCE Press Release about the Bugojno investigation.
• OHR Press Release about the signing of the Agreement on Special Relations.

10 November

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency.
• Meeting of the Contact Group in Washington (Chairman’s Conclusions).
• Branko Golub from Fojnica was elected new governor of the Central Bosnia Canton at a session of the cantonal assembly. Delegates also elected former Governor Adnan Terzic as his Deputy.

11 November

• Brcko Supervisor, Amb.Robert Farrand issued an Order on the Municipality of Ravne-Brcko.

12 November

• The High Representative met with the BiH Presidency members to discuss preparations for the PIC conference in Madrid.
• Human Rights Steering Board Statement – Human Rights Chamber Public hearing in Banja Luka.
• The Northern Local Return and Reconstruction Task Force held a first meeting with officials from the RS municipalities – Visegrad, Cajnice, Serb Gorazde, Serb Ilidza, officials from the Cantons of Sarajevo and Gorazde and on the RRTF side were OHR, OSCE, ECHO, UNHCR and UNMIBH. Topics of discussions were two-way return, the concept of conditionality and the role of the RRTF as an international coordination body to support the implementation of Annex 7 of the DPA.
• The Head of the OHR office in Mostar, Amb. Richard Ellerkman said that two bombs were set off in two abandoned homes in Stolac municipality and one person of Bosniak nationality was injured.
• Sarajevo Canton Assembly appointed Mustafa Mujezinovic as new president of Sarajevo Canton.

13 November

• Principal Deputy HR, Amb. Klein, on behalf of the High Representative, declared Vojislav Seselj persona non grata in BiH and directed him to leave the territory of BiH.

14 November

• The RS President, Nikola Poplasen proposed Dragan Kalinic of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) as the new RS Prime Minister. His choice will need the backing of a parliamentary majority.

16 November

• The signing of the Agreement on Special Relations between the Federation of the BiH and the Republic of Croatia, as well as the Ploce-Neum Agreement, was postponed. The Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein expressed his extreme disappointment (OHR Press Release).
• Brcko Supervisor, Amb. Robert Farrand issued a Second Addendum to the Order on the Multi-ethnic Administration in the RS Municipality of Brcko of 10 November 1997.
• The International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague sentenced Hazim Delic to 20 years in prison, Esad Landzo to 15 years and Zdravko Mucic to 7 years. They were sentenced for crimes committed in the war camp in Celebici.

17 November

• Meeting of the Steering Board of the PIC, Brussels.

18 November

• Romanian President, Emil Contantinescu visited BiH and met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jadranko Prlic as well as with the members of the BiH Presidency to discuss the current situation in BiH and relations between Romania and BiH.
• The High Representative was invited as a guest speaker at Circle 99 (Association of Independent Intellectuals) in Sarajevo.
• BiH Federation House of Representatives held a session discussing the Agreement on Special Relations between the Federation of BiH and Republic of Croatia.
• Two Commissions for Missing Persons from the Federation have, for the first time, jointly exhumed a mass grave in Modrica.

19 November

• The Federation House of Peoples was inaugurated for the mandatory period of 1998-2000, and the mandates for its 71 deputies were verified.
• A two day conference called “The Media in Democratic Society” started in Neum. More than 150 representatives of broadcast and print media throughout BiH joined with officials of the Independent Media Commission, the Council of Europe and other international agencies to consider the development of media law in BiH and a code of ethics for print media (Presentation by Simon Haselock, Deputy HR for Media Issues).
• OHR Press Release – OHR Plans and Funding requirements for 1999.

20 November

• The High Representative met with the Federation President, Ejup Ganic to discuss preparations for the PIC meeting in Madrid.
• The High Representative expressed his profound disappointment with the decision by HDZ delegates at the inaugural session of the House of Peoples of the Federation of BiH to choose five HDZ members to be the Croat delegates in the HoP of BiH. (OHR Press Release).
• Director of the German Association for Development Joachim Naitinger and Head of the Tuzla municipality Selim Beslagic signed a contract on a housing units reconstruction project valued at 2.5 million DM.

21 November

• OHR Press Release – Soldiers claims in the privatisation process.

22 November

• Agreement on Special Relations between the Federation of BiH and the Republic of Croatia, and Ploce-Neum agreement signed in Zagreb. ( Remarks by the Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein).

23 November

• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic and discussed refugee returns to Mostar.
• Government of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton appointed. Frano Ljubic was elected new Prime Minister of the Assembly and Mirsad Saric his Deputy.
• Representatives of the Finnish Government, OHR and RTV BiH signed a contract on cooperation for the realisation of a donation worth 500,000 DM to the RTV BiH. The money will be used for the purchase of equipment, training of personnel, improvement of management and development of information-political programmes of the television station. Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein said that the improvement in the work and programming of RTV BiH is already visible.

24 November

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – discussed preparations for the Madrid PIC Conference.
• OBN Governing Council meeting in Brussels.
• The High Representative, Carlos Westendorp met with the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in Bonn.

26 November

• German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping visited Sarajevo and met with the members of the BiH Presidency and also visited German troops in the Sarajevo suburb of Rajlovac.
• Council of Ministers session
• Constitutional session of the BiH Parliament House of Representatives started.
• For the first time the Commission for Missing Persons from RS exhumed a mass grave at the “Lav” cemetery in Sarajevo.
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo
• The European Commission approved two projects aimed at supporting the establishment of democracy in the countries of the former Yugoslavia worth ECU 524,800. The first project concerns the training of lawyers and law students in BiH to conduct judicial monitoring, and it will be implemented by the International Crisis Group. The second project foresees the establishment of a “Centre for Free Elections and Democracy” in the FRY.

27 November

• An Agreement was reached between the OHR in Mostar and representatives of the Rastani village which will allow the safe return of Bosniaks to the village no later than 12 December 1998.

28 November

• Principal Deputy HR, Jacques Klein met with the Co-Chairman of the BiH CoM, Haris Silajdzic and discussed the current situation in BiH before the PIC meeting in Madrid.

29 November

• Swiss Defence Minister, Adolf Ogi delivered a donation of the Swiss Government comprising 15 trucks for demining, to the Mine Action Centre in Sarajevo.

December

2 December

• SFOR troops detained a Bosnian Serb General Radislav Krstic who had been indicted by the ICTY Prosecutor on 30 October 1998. The indictment alleges that the accused, as Commander of the Drina Corps of the BS Army, committed genocide during and after the fall of the UN safe area of Srebrenica between 11 July 1995 and 1 November 1995.
• The RS National Assembly adopted the Law on Cessation of Application of the Law on Abandoned Property.
• Order suspending Councillor from the Ravne-Brcko Municipal Council published.

3 December

• The BiH House of Representatives elected Bosniak representative Halid Genjac as the first chairman of the House. After that the HoR will be chaired by the Serb representative Mirko Banjac, and the third chairman will be the Croat representative, who has not yet been elected.
• The High Representative visited Banja Luka and met with the RS President Nikola Poplasen, PM Milorad Dodik and Dragan Kalinic.

4 December

• The Bosnian parliamentary House of Peoples was constituted, verifying 14 out of 15 delegates’ mandates. Vladimir Soljic was elected Croat chairman of the House. He would receive his authority in the first mandate. The Bosniak chairman will be Izet Zigic, while the Serb representative in the House is Drago Ljubicic.
• A public rally was held in Vlasenica in reaction to Gen. Krstic’s arrest. Following a statement made by the President of the Vlasenica Municipal Assembly that Gen. Krstic was tortured by SFOR troops during his detention, the crowd attacked and injured two members of the ECMM mission and burnt an ECMM vehicle. The same day an explosion occurred near the IPTF Bratunac station.

5 December

• The High Representative condemned incidents in Eastern RS (OHR Press Release).

5-6 December

• Senator Bob Dole, Chairman of the International Commission on Missing persons visited BiH and Croatia to review the progress on the missing persons issue in BiH and Croatia and the identification process.

7 December

• General Radislav Krstic pleaded not guilty before the ICTY in The Hague.
• The exhumation began of the Omarska camp inmates’ bodies from the Hrastova Glavica mass grave near Sanski Most.
• Special US Envoy, Robert Gelbard visited Banja Luka and talked with the RS President and Prime Minister.

8 December

• Meeting of the BiH Presidency – discussed the preparation of the PIC Madrid Conference.
• BiH Council of Ministers session.
• NATO Foreign Ministers in their statement said: ” In reviewing the size and shape of SFOR, we have decided that, at present, there is no scope for major changes, nor should its mission be changed. We note, however, that there is scope for short-term efficiency measures. We have also endorsed the commissioning of a study of options for possible longer term and more substantial adjustments in the future size and structure of SFOR. Decisions on future reductions will be taken in the light of progress on implementation of the Peace Agreement”.
• US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard visited Sarajevo and held meetings with the BiH Presidency members and the Federation PM Bicakcic.

9 December

• The Central Bank of BiH put the first allocation of the new 10-feninga coins into circulation.
• In Banja Luka, representatives of the UN and the RS signed the general framework agreement on restructuring, reforming and democratisation of the RS police. The agreement was signed by the SRSG, Elisabeth Rehn and IPTF Commissioner Richard Monk and on the RS side by the RS President Nikola Poplasen, Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and the Interior Minister Sredoje Novic.
• US Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard met with the Co-Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Haris Silajdzic and also with the President of the New Croat Initiative, Kresimir Zubak.
• The RS National Assembly adopted a Conclusion instructing the authorities not to carry out evictions of refugees, displaced persons, families of killed soldiers and war invalids from 15 December 1998 until 15 April 1999, except where alternative accommodation is available.

10 December

• The ICTY in the Hague sentenced the Bosnian Croat Anto Furundzija to 10 years in prison. The Trial Chamber found him guilty as a co-perpetrator of torture, a violation of the laws or customs of war, and also of aiding and abetting outrages on personal dignity, including rape, which constitutes a violation of the laws or customs of war.
• NATO Secretary-General, Javier Solana and SACEUR, Gen. Wesley Clark visited Sarajevo and met with the members of the BiH Presidency, and also with the High Representative and SFOR Commander in BiH, Gen. Montgomery Meigs.
• The IPTF investigation team which was examining the performance of the Stolac police in preventing and responding to returnee-related violence was attacked by a hostile crowd. As a result of the incident, the new Cantonal Minister of Interior dismissed the Stolac Chief of Police.
• Meeting of the BiH Presidency- mainly devoted to the definition of a joint platform for the Madrid PIC Conference.
• BiH Council of Ministers session
• Media Issues Group meeting in Sarajevo
• OBN Press Release: OBN signal covers new ground.
• A 240-channel inter-satellite link between the transit stations Sarajevo and Banja Luka was put into operation, which improved the quality of inter-entity telephone traffic.

11 December

• The Federation Parliament appointed Ejup Ganic and Ivo Andric-Luzanski, president and vice-president of the Federation.
• The High Representative met with the member of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, in the framework of preparations for the meeting of the Peace Implementation Council in Madrid.

12 December

• The District Court in Bijeljina sentenced Nedzad Hasic and Ahmo Hrbas to 20 years’ imprisonment, Behidin Husic to 11, and Samir Abdic, formerly released presently absent, to 10 years.
• The OHR welcomed the formation of the Joint Power Coordination Centre (OHR Press Release).
• Sarajevo Declaration Quarterly Implementation Review compiled by the RRTF published.

15/16 December

• Meeting of the Peace Implementation Council in Madrid. (Declaration and Annex: The Peace Implementation Agenda, and the opening speech of the High Representative).

15 December

• The OSCE, OHR, UNMIBH and OHCHR strongly condemned the verdict by the Bijeljina District Court in the re-trial of the defendants in the Zvornik 7 case (Joint Press Release).
• Following violent incidents in Vlasenica the High Representative under his Bonn powers suspended the President of the Vlasenica Municipal Assembly pending the findings and results of ongoing criminal investigations.

16 December

• Exhumation of the “Hrastova Glavica” mass grave finished. 144 bodies of killed Bosniaks were found from Omarska and Keraterm Camps.
• OBN Press Release – OBN only sponsor for TV Cazin Football Team.

17 December

• A credit agreement for an urgent project to improve the electricity generating system in BiH, worth $34 million from the Japanese fund for overseas cooperation was signed in Sarajevo.
• OBN launched new web site (OBN Press Release).

18 December

• The European Commission approved 2.6 million ECU for continuation of the reconstruction works on Sarajevo airport, and also 3 million ECU as fresh funding for mine clearance in BiH and Croatia.

21 December

• Italian Prime Minister, Massimo d’Alema visited Sarajevo and met with members of the BiH Presidency and the High Representative.

22 December

• The ICTY in The Hague indicted Mladen Naletilic,”Tuta”, and Vinko Martinovic, “Stela”, for their alleged involvement in the ethnic cleansing of the Mostar municipality.
• The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the US army, Gen. Henry Shelton visited the US army base in Tuzla.
• Celebration of the opening of the bridge on the river Sava, between Orasje in BiH and Zupanja in Croatia.
• Two British Army soldiers were killed and one seriously injured in a helicopter crash near an SFOR base in the Gornji Vakuf area.

23 December

• OHR supported COMSFOR’s action which resulted in the departure of Croatian police from the Martin Brod area (OHR Press Release).
• Meeting of the BiH Presidency
• German Defence Minister, Rudolf Scharping came to Sarajevo for a two-day visit to German troops.

28 December

• The BiH Presidency appointed CoM Co-Chairmen Haris Silajdzic and Svetozar Mihajlovic, and Vice-Chairman Neven Tomic.

29 December

• OHR condemned the murder of a taxi driver (OHR Press Release).

31 December

• The RS President Nikola Poplasen nominated Brane Miljus from SNSD as the new Prime Minister designate.

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