Statement of
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina met for its third session at the National Museum in Sarajevo on October 29, 1996.
The Presidency continued discussions on the formation of the common institutions, most importantly the Council of Ministers.
The Presidency appointed Hasan Muratovic, Martin Raguz, and Nenad Radovic as members of a working group and instructed it to make a proposal on organisation of the Council of Ministers and the technical services of the Presidency and the Council of Ministers. At its next session, the Presidency will appoint a Working Group to prepare the budget for 1997 of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The first meeting of the Working Group will take place in the Office of the High Representative on Thursday, October 31.
The Presidency approved the Provisional Rules of Procedures of the Presidency. These are attached as an Annex to this Statement. They will remain in force until the Presidency adopts Permanent Rules of Procedure.
The Presidency, following its discussions on October 25, welcomed the appointment by the International Monetary Fund of Mr. Serge Robert as Governor of the Central Bank in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The Presidency appointed as members of the Governing Board Mr. Kasim Omicevic and Mr. Jure Pelivan from the Federation and Mr. Manojlo Coric from Republika Srpska.
The Presidency asked the Governing Board of the Central Bank to finalise preparations for the Central Bank Law for presentation to the Council of Ministers before December 1.
The Presidency heard a report from caretaker Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Jadranko Prlic. Special emphasis was given to preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council in Paris on November 14 and the full session of the PIC in London on December 4 and 5.
The Presidency appointed Mr. Martin Raguz, Mr. Mihovil Malbasic, Mr. Hasan Dervisbegovic and Mr. Mirza Hajric from the Federation, and Mr. Momir Brajic and Mr. Manojlo Coric from Republika Srpska to the Working Group to prepare the further decisions of the Presidency on these issues, and asked the Working Group to report to the Presidency at its meeting on November 8. The Working Group will meet under the chairmanship of Mr. Prlic.
The Presidency decided to accept the accreditation of Mr. Heiki Koponen, as Ambassador of Finland to BH, and Mr. M. Loulicki, as Ambassador of Morocco to BH.
The Presidency confirmed that all persons elected to public office on September 14 enjoy total immunity. The Presidency underlined the responsability of the authorities of the Federation and the Republika Srpska for the complete safety and security of all those elected across the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Presidency agreed to meet every Tuesday and Friday until November 14, during the period when the common institutions are set up at locations according to its decision of October 22.
Accordingly, its coming meetings will be on Friday, November 1, at the National Museum, on Tuesday, November 5 at the Electrotechnical Faculty, on Friday, November 8, at National Museum and on Tuesday, November 12, at the National Museum.