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Brcko
The first meeting of the Brcko Implementation Conference will be held in Vienna on 7 March. Main topics on the agenda will include the repatriation of Bosniac refugees to Brcko, establishment of democratic institutions in the town, and the need for economic reconstruction and revitalisation as the key to reconciliation and implementation of the arbitral decision. The conference, over which the High Representative, Carl Bildt, will preside, will be attended by BiH State and Entity Government officials, as well as representatives from the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, and key implementation agencies such as the UN, OSCE, UNHCR SFOR and the World Bank.
Mostar
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton announced on 5 March that it had been "established that there was well founded suspicion concerning the responsibility of the commanding officers of the Mostar police department". Based on this, the statement said that Cantonal Minister of the Interior, Valentin Coric, had suspended the Commander of the Mostar police station, Marko Radic, his deputy, Ivan Hrkac and two other police officers, Zeljko Planinic and Bozo Peric, until completion of the investigation. All four men had been named in the IPTF report into the 10 February incident. Mr. Jadranko Lovric was appointed as new Commander of the Mostar police station.
Head of the OHR South (Mostar) Office, Sir Martin Garrod, held talks on 3 March with the Mostar Mayor, Ivan Prskalo and his Deputy, Safet Orucevic. In this first meeting between
the Croat Mayor and his Bosniac Deputy since the 10 February incident, talks focused on easing tensions in Mostar and implementation of the Parties' commitments in light of the IPTF findings. Sir Martin Garrod said after the meeting that although they had not managed to resolve all outstanding problems, they had succeeded in identifying those which needed to be dealt with, and this was a positive sign. Another meeting is scheduled for 10 March.
Right to Return
SFOR reported that on 2 March a group of about 150 Serb civilians set fire to prefabricated houses built for returning Bosniac refugees in the northeast village of Gajevi. Nine of the eleven houses were set on fire and despite attempts by Russian SFOR troops to extinguish the flames, the resultant blaze ignited the other houses. International officials condemned the failure of the RS police to prevent the incident and uphold and enforce the law, as agreed by all sides.
The incident was preceded by a number of tit-for-tat events in recent days, including one which involved the kidnapping of 3 Bosnian Serbs from the area. They were later released and a full investigation under the supervision of the UN IPTF is underway. Acting IPTF Commissioner, Robert Wassermann, said that both the Republika Srpska and the Federation police had failed to provide for public safety in the area. "Their failure to act raises serious questions about the competence of their police management", he said, adding that they must be held accountable for these failures.
On 3 March the Principal Deputy High Representative, Ambassador Michael Steiner, together with UN Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ambassador Kai Eide, and then Acting IPTF Commissioner, Robert Wassermann, met in Banja Luka with RS President Plavsic to discuss the recent incident in Gajevi. It was agreed that, in order to deal with crises such as Gajevi, in future a series of measures would be put in place. These would include: a quick reaction mechanism between the two entities; a "hot line" of improved phone communications; more rapid consultations through the medium of the international community; and a cooling off period of seven days.
Federation Forum
The second session of the Federation Forum on a working level was held under the co-chairmanship of the OHR and the US Embassy at the OHR on 4 March. Mato Tadic, Minister of Justice, Safet Pasic, Deputy Minister of Justice, Pavo Boban, Deputy Minister of Traffic and Communications, Nasid Halimic, Representative of the Minister of Traffic and Communications, Martin Raguz, Advisor to Kresimir Zubak, as well as the Federation Ombudsmen and representatives of the ECMM and the UNMIBH were in attendance.
A Working Group for dealing with the draft Criminal Law has been established and work has begun. The outline text for the draft Law on Municipalities, prepared by an Advisory Commission in Brussels, still included some open issues which need to be resolved. Work has started on the draft Laws on Railroads, Roads, and Post and Telecommunications with some drafts still under preparation. A number of items on the agenda were deferred for the next working level Federation Forum meeting.
The first meeting took place under OHR Chairmanship of the Federation Forum's Special Group to resolve questions on the status and organisation of the broadcast media. The Croat delegation included Neven Tomic, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Martin Raguz, President Zubak's Principal Advisor and Chef de Cabinet, the Bosniac delegation included Amila Omersoftic, acting Director of RTV BiH and Emin Skopljak, Director of BiH Telecommunications and Frequency Board. There was agreement on an agenda including media law, the future of BiH TV, an inventory of frequency arrangements and broadcasting infrastructure, and confidence-building measures. This agenda will be taken up at the next meeting of the Special Group on 13 March.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers (CoM) met in Lukavica for their 10th session on 27 February. Mr. Boro Bosic chaired the meeting which was also attended by the Principal Deputy High Representative, Ambassador Michael Steiner. The Law on External Debt was adopted by the CoM following a review of the draft article by article. This session was concluded on 5 March at which the CoM decided that the State Commission on Demining should compile a report on how demining in Bosnia should proceed and present it to the CoM for a decision. All Quick Start Package laws are expected to be concluded and discussed at next week's CoM sessions.
SFOR
SFOR announced on 4 March that the temporary training and movement ban imposed by SFOR on the Entity armies during the lead up to the Brcko arbitration decision would be lifted on 10 March. Training and/or movement requests by the Entity armies scheduled to begin on or after the 10 March would now be considered by the multinational divisions, and may be approved. With respect to the call up of reservists, any intention by the Entity armies to initiate reserve call ups, regardless of whether or not training was involved, would require a 21 day advance request. SFOR announced that it was encouraged by the level of compliance being demonstrated by the Entity armies, and was also encouraged by the fact that there had been no obvious or apparent military involvement in recent civil disturbances or criminal activities.
Republica Srpska
An agreement on Special and Parallel Relations was signed between the RS and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in Belgrade on 28 February. The Agreement, signed by Serb Member of the BiH Presidency Mr. Momcilo Krajisnik and FRY President, Zoran Lilic, foresees the founding of a Cooperation Council to work on "promotion planning and coordination of cooperation" in areas such as the establishment of special parallel relations, economic development and renewal, culture, education, sports, transport, traffic and communications. The concluding Article states that the Agreement is "subject to ratification by the Federal Parliament of the FRY and the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, in keeping with their constitutional regulations".
The High Representative, Carl Bildt, sent a letter to FRY Foreign Minister, Milan Milutinovic, on 5 March to seek an assurance that the FRY Government would not submit the Agreement to ratification by the FRY Federal Assembly before ratification by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. Mr. Bildt said that "while generally not inconsistent with the provisions of the Peace Agreement, it [did] contain important elements which [were] incompatible with the Constitution of BiH." In view of this incompatibility, Mr. Bildt said that he did not see the possibility at this time of the draft Agreement being approved by the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. He said he would recommend initiation of a process which would bring the Agreement into line with the Constitution before submission to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, and in this context, he would recommend a similar procedure for the parallel agreement concluded between the then Republic of BiH, the Federation and the Republic of Croatia.
Cooperation and Reconciliation
The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on 27 February its Democratisation Programme for 1997. The programme aims to extend inter-ethnic relations and understanding; diversify and increase multi-ethnicity in political and social life, including the media; strengthen the development of democratic institutions; and promote respect for human rights. Employing the underlying themes of confidence building, dialogue and reconciliation, the programme will focus on strategic social groups, such as refugees and displaced persons, religious and political leaders, youth, women, journalists, lawyers and other professionals. Prior to the municipal elections support will focus on election related projects such as town meetings on local issues, political party position papers and dialogues, municipal governance round tables and inter-ethnic community dialogue, as well as a public awareness campaign on citizens' rights.
European Commission
The European Commission has been involved in providing assistance, both financial and consultative, for various projects in BiH. A recent update highlighting major projects includes the following:
- Reconstruction /Telecommunication:
A 7 million ECU (MECU) project to restore inter-Entity PTT links has been launched. The first step consists of establishing the necessary backbone system in the RS and providing links with the Federation. Work is scheduled to begin at the end of March '97.
- Technical Assistance / Institution Building / Policy Reform
The EC provided a draft "Trade Law" which is being presented to the Council of Ministers (CoM).
The Foreign Trade Law, Customs Tariff Law and Customs Policy Law have all been agreed at the Working Group level and are being forwarded to the CoM. The draft "Investment Law" is still under consideration.
Consultant services for implementation of such laws will begin shortly.
A draft comprehensive media law proposal has been prepared by the European Institute for Media (EIM).
A 400,000 ECU grant has been approved in support of the Dayton Commission on Real Property Rights.
- Refugees / Housing
About 25 MECU worth of contracts have been signed for the construction of houses throughout BiH and Eastern Slavonia.
5 MECU has been contracted with the Project Implementation Unit to build more than 3,500 apartments, mainly in Sarajevo and Gorazde. Implementation is underway.
A 4 million DEM grant housing project, co-funded by UNHCR and implemented by the Danish Refugee Council, has been completed in the Posavina Corridor. The project includes more than 450 houses and apartments, one primary school, one sports centre and the procurement of school supplies.
- Rehabilitation / SFOR
A micro-projects scheme amounting to 400,000 ECU implemented through SFOR has been completed. The project includes rehabilitation of water and electric systems, as well as other essential public services in the area of responsibility of the Multinational Division South East and South West.
- Media
2 million US$ was recently pledged for the OBN/TVIN media project at the last Governing Council meeting.
Visit of Pope John Paul II
The Apostolic Nuncio issued a press release on 2 March maintaining that BiH should be an integrated country with cooperation among all three major ethnic groups and equal rights and responsibilities for all people. It said that, during his scheduled visit next month, Pope John Paul II would call on all citizens to reconcile and cooperate in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country.
Human Rights
Following an attack on a catholic church in Donji Vakuf on 26 February in which an explosive device destroyed the inner building, as well as other recent attacks on a Franciscan Monastery in Sarajevo, Chairman of the Presidency, Alija Izetbegovic, met with the Federal Minister of the Interior, Mehmed Zilic, and his Deputy, Jozo Leutar to demand increased protection of all Catholic facilities in the country. Mr. Izetbegovic said that such attacks represented a component of the activities against a unified BiH.
On 4 March, UN IPTF reported that St. Joseph's catholic church in Sarajevo was damaged by an unknown explosive device. The explosion resulted in some minor material damage to nearby buildings and cars. There were no injuries, and Federation police sealed off the area immediately. IPTF is monitoring the investigation by the Federation police.
Health Issues
Thanks to funding provided by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), as well as assistance from the implementing NGOs, Italian organisations Cooperazione Italiana and Molisv-Movimondo, the Kosevo hospital Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Sarajevo will have a reinforced capability to diagnose and treat immune deficiency patients, and those infected with AIDs and hepatitis. ECHO provided 150,000 ECU for the overall realisation of the project, which is expected to be completed in the next month.
UN IPTF
The new IPTF Commissioner, Manfred Seitner, arrived in Sarajevo on 3 March and formally took up his duties on 4 March.
Sarajevo
Senior Bosnian Federation and international officials attended the promotion of the Sarajevo Cantonal Police and their new Federal police uniforms on 26 February. Attending the ceremony, were Federation Prime Minister, Edhem Bicakcic, Sarajevo Canton Governor, Midhat Haracic, and Interior Minister, Ismet Dahic, as well as international representatives including UN IPTF Acting Commissioner, Robert Wassermann, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), Ambassador Kai Eide, and US representative Michael Parlmey. The new uniforms are dark gray with the Federal insignia on one sleeve.
Looking Ahead
- 7 March
- International Conference on Implementing the Ruling of the Brcko Arbitration Commission, Vienna
- 11 March
- Eleventh session of the Council of Ministers, Sarajevo
- Media projects Donor Co-ordination Group, OHR Sarajevo
- 12-13 April
- Scheduled visit to Sarajevo by Pope John Paul II
See our Chronology for a full list of activities
The OHR Bulletin is produced by the Public Affairs Department of the Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo and aims to give an overview of what is happening on the ground in the civilian implementation of the Dayton Agreement. Suggestions and contributions are welcome and should be addressed to the Public Affairs Department of the Office of the High Representative in Sarajevo (387-71) 447 275 ext. 562, Fax (387-71) 447 420. Callers from outside BiH dial via Brussels switchboard: Tel. (32-2) 737 7500 & Fax (32-2) 737 7501
OHR Bulletin nr. 39, issued 6 March 1997.
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