Sarajevo – NATO delegation, headed by NATO Secretary General Solana and NATO Commander for Southern Europe Joulwan, met the BiH Presidency members, SFOR representatives, and international organisations and NGOs which take part in implementation of the DPA. President Izetbegovic said that the military aspect of the DPA will not be fully implemented unless the civilian part is implemented as well. It is necessary to achieve balance of forces as foreseen by Dayton in order to ensure permanent peace in BiH after SFOR troops leave. Zubak and Izetbegovic emphasised that detaining war criminals is also a precondition for keeping peace, whereas Krajisnik restrained from comments with regard to that issue. NATO delegation fully supported establishment of the Standing Military Committee. After the meeting the NATO delegation held a press conference, at which Solana reiterated the standpoint that permanent peace can only be created through good co-operation with the local authorities. For the rest of its mandate, NATO will keep on providing full security for reconciliation and reconstruction.
4:00
With reference to some RS media reports that give Krajisnik the title of ‘RS President in the BiH Presidency’, HR Bildt said that the only Krajisnik’s title which is acceptable is Member of BiH Presidency, in accordance with Article 5 of the BiH Constitution. Zubak has the same title, while Izetbegovic is the President of the Presidency of BiH.
0:30
SFOR Press Conference – In accordance with the conclusions from the Dublin Conference on democratisation of police forces, handbooks of the Metropolitan Police from London were presented today, and their aim is to point out to Federation Police officers, and eventually to RS officers also, the democratic principles for carrying out of police duties. The distribution of handbooks, which was already carried out in the Federation, should be followed by appropriate police commanders’ training of policemen. The representative of the Metropolitan Police, Justice underlined two problems of the Federal police: lack of equipment and administrative reconstruction of police. The police should not serve the state but the citizens of the state, Justice said.
3:00
OHR Spokesman Murphy said that the OHR welcomes the RS authorities’ decision to postpone the Srebrenica Seven trial until Tuesday. He emphasised that this will allow room for working towards introducing the Federal lawyers to full membership within the Council of Defence, adding that this will be a test for the RS authorities.
3:00
Brcko – After the meeting chaired by the Brcko Supervisor Farrand in Brod, the Commission for Return of Refugees and Displaced Persons gave the green light for return of 377 evicted Bosniaks to the ZOS, with approval from the RS authorities too.
2:00
Una-Sana Canton – 2,500 refugees returned to this region during this month, and additional 2,500 are expected to return by the end of it. The Regional Committee for Refugees and Displaced Persons, a non-governmental organisation, was established in Sanski Most for the purpose of peaceful return and finding accommodation for returnees.
3:00
Bosanski Petrovac – BiH Government team of experts has completed exhuming a number of mass graves in that area and found 30 bodies which will be buried on Sunday. The victims were Bosniaks believed to be killed in the period between March and September 1992.
3:00
Summary SRT News
Sarajevo -RS President in the BiH Presidency Momcilo Krajisnik and presidents in the BiH Presidency Alija Izetbegovic and Kresimir Zubak held talks with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana at the National Museum. The meeting was attended by NATO Generals Joulwan and Nauman and 16 representatives of NATO member-states. The talks focused on the modalities of the implementation of the DPA and the military balance in the RS and the BiHF. Commenting on the talks, Krajisnik said that he pointed to the fact that “the other side has been using manipulations to avoid its commitments under the DPA and shift the blame to the RS”.As to FOM, Krajisnik maintained that while FBiH citizens could travel freely through the RS, RS citizens had been subjected to maltreatment when visiting the Federation. He mentioned the existence of some “private lists of the alleged war criminals”, which he qualified as fabricated and ungrounded. “We are not against the prosecution of war criminals in principle, but we resent that this issue be used as a leverage for some cheap political gains”, declared Krajisnik.
In addition, President Krajisnik reminded his collocutors of disproportionate distribution of international aid between the RS and the FBiH.
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Prijedor – RS PM Gojko Klickovic and Acting President of the SDS Aleksa Buha met with municipal officials to discuss modalities for the restoration of the economy and political and security situation. It was assessed that opening of the railway Samac-Bijeljina and border crossings with Croatia and inter-entity trading check points with the FBiH were crucial for the economy of the region. PM Klickovic announced that negotiations on crossings were under way.
4’50”
Banja Luka – RS Interior Minster Dragan Kijac talked with IPTF Deputy High Commissioner David Kriskovic about cooperation between the two police forces. IPTF will provide assistance in training RS police force and expertise as well as in the obtaining of necessary equipment.
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Zvornik – A hearing in the court trial against seven Muslims from Srebrenica charged with the murder of four Serb civilians has been postponed to 22 April due to “some technical reasons”, as the President of the Judiciary Council put it. However, unofficial sources said that the hearing was postponed under insistence of FBiH and OHR – with the court to allow defense lawyers from the Federation to take an active part in the trial. Namely, defense lawyers were initially permitted to act as assistants to court-appointed defense attorneys without the right to directly address the accused.
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