TV news broadcast on 1 July
RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | TV PINK (18,00 hrs) | BHT 1 (19,00 hrs) |
| War crime suspects deported to BiH | Oric at |
| Oric arrived to | Reactions to Oric’s release |
| Reactions to Oric’s sentence | Compensation for Srebrenica victims |
| Gregorian criticizes BiH Presidency | HR pardons 7 officials |
NTV Hayat (19,00 hrs) | FTV (19,30 hrs) | RTRS (19,30 hrs) |
Naser Oric arrives to | No transmission | Davidovic on signing of |
Reactions to Oric’s sentence |
| Oric arrived to |
HR rehabs seven persons |
| Reactions to Oric’s sentence |
Issue of naturalized BiH citizens |
| Politicians on Oric’s sentence |
Oslobodjenje | Ovations in |
Dnevni Avaz | Five questions that need to be answered |
Vecernji List | I have seen death in my dream [excerpts from diary of Jake Kovco, Australian soldier of BiH origin who committed suicide in |
Nezavisne Novine | Even the Prosecutor’s Office was surprised with mild sentence [Refers to the statement of ICTY Spokesperson Nikiforov on sentence to Oric, see OHR BIH Media Round-up: July 1] |
Note: Dnevni List was not delivered to Brcko office this morning
Naser Oric returned to BiH/further reaction on his verdict | |
Wartime Srebrenica commander Naser Oric arrived to
| BHT1 – Approximately 1000 people gathered at |
A number of people known to public were present at the Airport to welcome Oric / NN: even persons known to have committed acts of crime were present
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3, announced on cover ‘Naser Oric arrived to Sarajevo’ by D. Muminovic – reads a number of persons known to public came to Sarajevo Airport to greet Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric when he arrived: Sefer Halilovic (first commander of BiH Army who was acquitted of charges before ICTY), Head of Sarajevo Municipality Centar Amir Zukic, Srebrenica politicians Ahmed Sadikovic, Sefket Hafizovic, Abdurahman Malikic and representatives of F BiH Ministry for Veterans’ Issues. NN reads “even several persons known to have committed acts of crime” were present. Dnevni Avaz pg 3, announced on cover ‘Thousands of people welcomed Naser Oric in |
RS President Cavic: ICTY’s sentence to Oric is shameful
| BHT1 – RS President Dragan Cavic stated that the sentence to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric is the biggest shame of ICTY. TV Pink – Cavic stated that the trust in justice has faced a complete defeat, adding that Oric would have faced a much harsher verdict if he stood trial before any |
PDP’s Ivanic: ICTY’s sentence to Oric is disastrous, may have negative consequences in BiH | BHT1 – BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs and PDP President Mladen Ivanic stated that the sentence to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric is a disastrous decision made by ICTY. “I feel it will have extremely negative consequences and lead towards division of our society even further in BIH”, says Ivanic. RTRS, Nezavisne Novine cover pg splash and pg 3 ‘Even the Prosecution was surprised with mild sentence’ by G. G. – also reported. |
RS PM Dodik: Oric was commander and he holds responsibility for murders
| BHT1, TV Pink, Nezavisne Novine cover pg splash and pg 3 ‘Even the Prosecution was surprised with mild sentence’ by G. G., Oslobodjenje cover pg splash ‘Ovations in Sarajevo, strong condemnations in Banja Luka and Belgrade’ and pgs 4-5 ‘Oric was awarded, not punished for crimes’ by Onasa – RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik stated that Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric was a commander of a unit that had committed crimes in Srebrenica area and therefore holds responsibility for concrete murders. |
RS parties DEPOS, DNS and
| RTRS, Nezavisne Novine cover pg splash and pg 3 ‘Even the Prosecution was surprised with mild sentence’ by G. G. – DEPOS issued a press release stating that the verdict to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric is deeply embarrassing the international legal order. According to DEPOS, the attitude of the international community towards the Serb victims is a result of years of negative media campaign. DNS believes that the verdict of ICTY shows that justice is subject to different manipulations, stressing that the verdict shows the hypocrisy of the international community regarding the Serb victims. Head of the Executive Board of Serb Radical Party “Dr. Vojislav Seselj” Mirko Blagojevic stated that Oric’s verdict clearly shows that ICTY has been established in order to punish only Serbs. |
RS NA Speaker Radojicic: sentence to Oric is too mild
| RTRS – RS NA Speaker Igor Radojicic stated that sentence to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric is too mild, adding that ICTY keeps destroying its credibility. Radojicic stressed that RS investigation agencies should continue gathering documentation on war crimes committed in Srebrenica area. |
Serbian President Tadic: verdict to Oric is scandalous
| Nezavisne Novine cover pg splash and pg 3 ‘Even the Prosecution was surprised with mild sentence’ by G. G., Vecernji List pg 3 ‘Oric welcomed’ announced on cover ‘Hague convict welcomed as a hero’ by Dejan Jazvic Inset ‘Punishment insufficient for the crime’, Oslobodjenje pgs 4-5 ‘Credibility of the Tribunal questionable’ by B. Boskov – Serbian President Boris Tadic expressed his dissatisfaction with the verdict to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric and assessed the verdict was “scandalous”. |
Serbian officials Stojkovic, Stankovic and Kostunica comment on sentence to Oric, say ICTY applies double standards
| BHT1 – |
“Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves”: victory of justice / F BiH and RS citizens have opposing views on the verdict
| TV Pink – Head of Association “Mothers of Enclaves Srebrenica and Zepa” Munira Subasic stated that the verdict to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric means victory of justice. Featured citizens of FBiH welcomed the verdict and Oric’s release from detention. On the other hand, RS citizens were disappointed with the verdict and they sharply criticized the ICTY. Nezavisne Novine pg 3, announced on cover ‘Naser Oric arrived to Sarajevo’ by D. Muminovic, Oslobodjenje cover pg splash ‘Ovations in Sarajevo, strong condemnations in Banja Luka and Belgrade’ and pgs 4-5 ‘Naser Oric arrived from the Hague to Sarajevo’ by M. K. S.– carry statement of “Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves” Association. |
Srebrenica Veterans’ Association and RS Office for Missing Persons condemn result of Oric’s trial | BHT1, RTRS – Chair of Srebrenica Veterans’ Organisation Dragomir Zekic stated that the trial to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric was only a “cover” for over 3000 victims in Srebrenica in the 1992-1995 period. RTRS – RS Office for Missing Persons stated that the verdict of ICTY to Naser Oric represents an amnesty for the war criminals and those who were sponsors of war crimes against Serbs in Srebrenica area. |
Bratunac Association of Families of Missing and Killed Persons disappointed / RTRS: families from Srebrenica might organise protest rallies | TV Pink, RTRS – Head of Association of families of killed and missing persons from Bratunac Radojka Filipovic stated that the verdict to Srebrenica wartime commander Naser Oric causes bitterness and disappointment. RTRS Tihomir Joksimovic – RTRS reporter commented that Oric’s verdict might cause an even deeper division between Serb and Bosniak population in Srebrenica area. According to some rumours, the families of killed Serbs from Srebrenica might organise protest rallies. |
General political developments | |
HR lifts bans on holding public office against 7 individuals
| BHT1 – HR Christian Schwarz Schilling lifted bans on holding public office against 7 individuals earlier removed by former HR’s. The seven individuals are: Edhem Bicakcic, Kemal Brodlija, Enes Cengic, Ramiz Dzaferovic, Elvedin Hrelja, |
Gregorian says it is very unfortunate that BIH Presidency failed to adopt decision on organisation of BIH Armed Forces | TV Pink, BHT1, TV Hayat, RTRS – Political advisor to NATO commander in BIH Raffi Gregorian stressed that it is very unfortunate that BIH Presidency failed to adopt a decision on organisation of BIH Armed Forces by 1st of July. Gregorian expects NATO and Peace Implementation Council to fiercely judge this failure and announced that further details will be known on Monday. |
EUFOR Commander Chiarini: reform of BiH Armed Forces represents great step forward, should be considered as example of well done work
| Nezavisne Novine pgs 8-9, announced on cover ‘Defence reform in BiH as an example for others’ by Goran Maunaga – in an interview to Nezavisne Novine, EUFOR Commander to BiH Gian Marco Chiarini assessed the work of EUFOR in BiH in past six months as successful especially in collecting and destroying of illegal weapons and he added they have an excellent cooperation with RS MoI, which had resulted in several arrests of war crimes indictees. General Chiarini said he is convinced the war crimes fugitives would face trials sooner or later. He stated that the reform of BiH Armed Forces represents a great success and a grand step forward towards a complete normalisation, adding this reform should be considered to be an example of well done work, mutual cooperation and understanding. |
BiH Presidency Chair Tihic attended establishing assembly of Adriatic Euro-region in
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Tihic: Adriatic had always been a place of connection and cooperation’ not signed, Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Adriatic Euro-region established in Pula’ by Agencies, Vecernji List pg 2 ‘Tihic attended establishing assembly of Adriatic Euro-region’ by d. k., Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Faster to EU over Adriatic’ not signed – According to the statement of BiH Presidency Chair Sulejman Tihic’s office, Tihic met with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic in Pula (Croatia) on Friday. BiH Presidency Chair Tihic and Croatian President Mesic attended the establishing assembly of the Adriatic Euro-region in |
Croatian President Mesic thinks it would be better to construct a highway through
| Vecernji List pg 9 ‘Highway through Herzegovina’ by Zoran Kresic – Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, in a statement to “Hercegovacka TV” from Mostar, advocated for the Croatia to construct a highway through Herzegovina instead of constructing Peljesac bridge, by which the investment would become cheaper and the two states would strengthen their bonds. He added he believes the construction of Peljesac bridge would be a waste of both money and time and added the bridge would be constructed once there is more money at disposal. |
Austrian Ambassador Almhofer:
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Those who oppose constitutional changes found themselves in a paradox situation’ by Tarik Lazovic – Austrian Ambassador to BiH Werner Almhofer, in an interview to Dnevni Avaz, commented on whether Austria might have done more during its presiding over EU in order to avoid bringing BiH’s negotiations on |
Davidovic: no | RTRS – BiH Chief Negotiator with the EU on Stabilisation and Association Agreement ( |
BiH Helsinki Committee: political parties and religious communities in Mostar are to be blamed for recent incidents, IC contributed to divisions in Mostar
| BHT1 – BIH Helsinki Committee claims that political parties and religious communities in Mostar are to be blamed for the incidents that occurred in this town in the last 15 days. Chair of BIH Helsinki Committee Srdjan Dizdarevic claims that the incidents are a part of dirty pre-election campaign. Dizdarevic also stated that religious representatives use language of hatred in their sermons instead of using the language of peace. He also feels that police and competent legal institutions should finally address these unfortunate incidents. Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘International community contributed to divisions’ by Fena – Dizdarevic believes the international community had contributed to divisions in Mostar because it failed to understand Mostar. Oslobodjenje pg 3, announced on cover ‘International Community feeds parallelisms’ by Fena – Dizdarevic explained IC believes it can resolve the problem by giving RS to Serbs and think Mostar can exist without them, while at the same time IC thinks it can preserve the relations between Bosniaks and Croats by preserving parallelisms and parallel institutions in the two parts of Mostar. ‘International Community failed to understand in the right way multi-ethnicity in BiH, including Mostar. It had chosen a colonial approach, i.e. the approach of division, rather than the approach of reintegration’, Dizdarevic concluded. |
RS President Cavic, RS PM Dodik comment on PACE Resolution: it does not pose a real danger for
| RTRS – RS President Dragan Cavic stated that the PACE Resolution on BiH doesn’t represent a real danger for |
Economy/social issues | |
BiH didn’t reach agreement with | TV Pink, BHT1, TV Hayat, Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘No agreement on social insurance’ by Srna, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Without agreement on pensions’ not signed – BiH and Slovenian delegations didn’t manage to reach a consensus on bilateral agreement on social insurance between the two countries. BiH Minister of Civil Affairs Safet Halilovic stated that BiH will insist on continuation of negotiations right after the consultations of delegations with their governments are held. |
World Bank had suggested introduction of three-way pension insurance in BiH, BiH officials believe changes are needed
| TV Pink Dragica Tojagic – BiH is the only country in the region that still didn’t conduct the reform of pension insurance system. The World Bank, which is involved in the reform process, recommends introduction of three-way pension insurance: the compulsory basic insurance, volunteer insurance and luxury insurance. Director of RS Pension Insurance Fund Slavko Basic believes that this model is acceptable, stressing that it is being implemented successfully in many countries. Head of RS Association of Pensioners Rade Rakulj stated that the reform of pension insurance system is necessary, but he doesn’t believe that the time for this reform has come yet. Rakulj also stressed that the model recommended by the World Bank can’t be successfully implemented in BiH due to the poor life standard and low income of citizens. RS NA Speaker Igor Radojicic stated that a new system would mean different allocation of collected insurance payments. |
Return of VAT revenues still has not commenced
| TV Hayat – According to the Law on VAT, the refund of revenues collected through VAT should have commenced as of July 1st. In an interview to TV Hayat, BiH Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA) Spokesperson Ratko Kovacevic said that the BiH House of Representatives (BiH HoR) adopted amendments to the law, which foresaw the VAT revenues refund but he added that the BiH House of Peoples (BiH HoP) still had to do that, due to which the refund of revenues still has not commenced. Kovacevic explained that the refund of revenues had not commenced to those taxpayers who do their business in BiH, while those who export to other states, have already got the refund. |
F BiH PM Hadzipasic: no means collected through privatisation were paid to F BiH account during my mandate
| TV Hayat By Lejla Gutlic – FBiH still waits for revision of privatization processes, which have been carried out. In a month, the law will be sent to the parliament. As the reporter notes, strikes in privatized companies have lately become FBiH’s reality. In period between 1999 until 2005, BAM 425 millions have been collected through privatization processes in FbiH, but the question is what was the money spent for? At its last session in April, the FBiH Government promised to prepare the information on the way in which the money has been spent, but still no report whatsoever has been developed. FBiH PM Ahmet Hadzipasic claims that during his mandate no means collected through privatization have ever been paid to the FBiH’s account. |