National Bank Liquidation
On 9 April, the BiH Presidency signed a decision on the liquidation of
the insolvent BiH National Bank (NBBH). This decision appoints Mr.
William Dudley, an expert from the consultancy firm of Barents, as the
Liquidator. As Liquidator, Mr Dudley has full authority in the
implementation of the plan for liquidation.
Liquidation of the NBBH gives full and clear responsibility to the
lately established Central Bank, which is its successor. Liquidation
should sever all disputable connections between the Central Bank and the
NBBH which could prevent confidence in the Central Bank's issuance of the
new BiH currency, the Convertible Mark (KM). The liquidation of the NBBH
also enables BiH to benefit from IMF funds.
The Liquidator subsequently issued the instruction on July 16 to freeze
all deposit activities of the NBBH, in order to assess the situation and
to proceed with liquidation. However, to the concern of the Central Bank
Governor and the OHR, more than a month after this instruction was
issued, it had not been followed
Moreover, this failure revealed that the Central Payment Office (ZPP),
the institution which controls the accounts at the NBBH, is
government-influenced. It was the Federation's Finance Minister who on
July 17 asked the ZPP Director to disregard the Liquidator's decision.
This is a clear violation of Article III of the constitution of BiH,
which states that the Entities must comply with the decisions of the BiH
central institutions.
If the instruction continues to be ignored, the High Representative will
be forced to use his powers under Annex 10 of the Dayton Peace Agreement
and the Bonn Document and take all necessary decisions to ensure that the
Liquidator's decision is implemented.
According to Deputy HR for Economic Affairs Didier Fau:
'The OHR firmly believes that banking institutions should be free of any
political influence. The OHR also believes that the ZPP is an outdated,
non-transparent ultra-bureaucratic relic, which exerts a financial
dictatorship in BiH.'
He stated that the International Community is working on establishing a
functioning banking sector with viable local banks, which will take over
the functions of the ZPP, thus greatly improving the environment for
local business.
Presidency
The 37th session of the BH Presidency accepted the newly appointed
Ambassadors of Turkey, Poland and South Africa to BiH. The establishment
in Sarajevo of a Cultural Centre of the Federal Republic of Germany was
also agreed.
The Presidency members 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.
The Agreements between the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) and BiH on the Urgent Reconstruction Projects and the
Telecommunication System were ratified.
The Presidency discussed some items proposed by presidency member
Kresimir Zubak. These included his proposal for the establishment of a
Ministry for European Affairs. The Presidency decided to task the CoM to
prepare a practical proposal to be discussed after the election.
Council of Ministers
The Memorandum of Understanding on the BiH Agency for Statistics,
submitted by the OHR, was adopted by the CoM with no changes.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications (MCAC) was given
responsibility for the Border Commission which was recommended to convene
early next week.
The Agency for Foreign Investment was accepted.
The CoM formally adopted the Decision on the Sphere of Activity and
Organization 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.
Co-Chairman Haris Silajdzic, reported that prior to the CoM meeting, the
MoU increasing the sphere of civilian operations within Sarajevo airport
had been signed between CoM representatives and SFOR.
The next meeting of the CoM will take place on Thursday 27 August. This
will be the last opportunity for the CoM to approve items for
consideration in time for the final BiH parliamentary session on Sept
1-2, prior to the elections.
The OHR will request the addition of the Law on Immunity to the agenda of
next CoM meeting.
BiH Anthem
Scores of entries have been received for the public competition for a
National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deadline for entries to be
submitted expired on 15 August 1998.
The Independent Commission for Common Symbols, formed by the High
Representative, held its first meeting on 21 August 1998, to begin work
on selecting three entries, which it will then submit to the High
Representative.
SCMM
The 9th session of the Standing Committee on Military Matters (SCMM) took
place on 13 August. This is to be the last session before the September
elections. All three members of the BiH Presidency were in attendance,
together with representatives for both the Entity Ministries of Defence,
and the Entity army Commands.
Following the adoption of statements from the Ministries of Defence the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) gave a detailed
presentation on the search for missing persons. This met with support of
all three Presidency members.
President Zubak in particular called upon the representatives of the MoDs
to offer all possible assistance in helping to identify missing persons
and potential burial sites.
The proposed introduction of a regime of cross IEBL helicopter flights
was introduced by SFOR. The Committee endorsed the initial selection of
three routes, to be resolved by the MoDs. Subsequently the Committee
agreed on the mine definition offered by OHR.
The OSCE proposed that the Committee endorse a seminar and a field
exercise to test inter-Entity and civil military cooperation in the event
of a natural disaster. The Committee agreed to endorse the seminar, with
a decision on the exercise to be taken after the seminar. (The latter
will be held in Banja Luka in October).
The next session of the SCMM is to take place on 30 September.
Media
IMC and MEC
On 18 August a joint press statement from the Media Experts Commission
(MEC) and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) was published. The MEC,
the Election Appeals Sub-Commission (EASC) and the IMC have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the OSCE and the IMC
that could potentially impact the current pre-electoral period and
outcome of the 12-13 September elections.
The MEC and the EASC are official bodies set up by the OSCE Provisional
Election Commission (PEC) for the purpose of enforcing the rules and
regulations established by the PEC. The MEC is OSCE's mechanism for
enforcing media access requirements and to remedy improper media behavior
or misconduct by governmental authorities with respect to the media
during the pre-election campaign period.
The EASC is a juridical body that ensures compliance with the PEC rules
and regulations and adjudicates complaints with regard to the rules and
regulations referred to it by the PEC, the MEC, political parties,
candidates, individuals or other entities.
The IMC has general authority over broadcasters and other media in BiH
following its inauguration on 11 June 1998. The IMC has issued a
broadcasting code of practice, which took effect on 1 August 1998, and
will administer a licensing regime for present and new broadcasters.
The MOU signed between OSCE and the IMC, includes an agreement to monitor
compliance with the PEC's rules and regulations regarding media and the
election campaign period. If the MEC or EASC make decisions or judgments
on violators who have relationships with media outlets requiring
broadcast licensing, the MEC and the EASC will refer these judgments and
decisions to the IMC for consideration of action concerning future
licensing. The MEC and the IMC are agreed that the bodies are
complementary, particularly during the election campaign period. The MEC
will refer all non-election related media violations to the IMC during
the election campaign period. The MEC will terminate its operations on
October 31, 1998, and transfer its responsibilities and authorities from
the MEC to the IMC.
HRT
The MEC at its session on 20 August ruled that Croatia Radio Television
(HRT) had failed to provide balance in its current affairs programming
despite repeated warnings from the International Community. In a letter
sent to HRT, the MEC gave the network until Sunday, 23 August, to bring
its programming into compliance with the rules and regulations of the PEC
concerning equitable access for all political parties, candidates and
coalitions. If HRT failed to meet the deadline, the MEC ruled that the
case would be turned over to the EASC for possible action.
Public Service Broadcasting
The Srpska and BiH Radio-Television networks are currently engaged in
producing and planning pre-elections and elections programming. The
International Community is actively assisting with short-term projects to
monitor and improve their output, especially in the elections period. In
the longer term, the ongoing establishment of necessary legal frameworks
will create clear and transparent lines of public funding.
The International Community is committed to ensuring the long-term
viability of both the public service and commercial sectors of BiH media:
the focus of funding is now on projects which will help establish
commercial and public funding, rather than continued reliance on donor
support.
Returns
SARAJEVO DECLARATION QUARTERLY IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW
This review, compiled by the Reconstruction and Return Task Force (RRTF),
was issued on 11 August 1998. The following is drawn from its Executive
Summary:
1. HOUSING/PROPERTY LEGISLATION, INCLUDING MULTIPLE OCCUPANCY
Implementation of the new Federation property legislation is proceeding.
Administrative obstacles to the filing of claims to repossess private and
socially-owned property have diminished, but problems continue to be
reported. In addition, numerous problems have been identified in claims
processing and adjudication. Most significantly, decisions are not be
made within the 30 day period required under the law.
Finally, the criteria under Article 3(6) of the new Federation property
legislation (on the allocation of apartments to returnees other than the
apartments for which they hold occupancy rights) still need to be adopted
in a form acceptable to the High Representative.
The targets for solving multiple occupancy cases have not been met (148
cases verified and advertised vs. 2,000 required). None of the pre-war
occupants have been reinstated (22 pre-war occupants have registered to
return, but evictions are still pending). Recent moves by the authorities
have the potential to improve this situation, however - including the
hiring of more staff to deal with housing issues.
2. RETURN ISSUES, INCLUDING SPECIFIC RETURN CASES
The Deadlines have been missed in solving specific return cases: only a
small fraction of cases have been solved, well below the set targets.
This confirms the concerns raised above.
3. EDUCATION ISSUES
The Education Working Group (EWG) continues to work effectively and
successfully. The Sub-Group responsible for reviewing all textbooks in
use in Sarajevo schools has identified all material thought to be
offensive and it has been agreed that the Ministry, working in
conjunction with an expert team led by UNESCO, will ensure the
eradication of this material by the coming school year. In particular,
the section in history books on the recent war is to be entirely omitted:
a new outline drafted in consultation with all parties will be submitted
in its place. In the meantime, posters and leaflets outlining where to
turn to for help in the case of discrimination in schools will be put up
and distributed in all schools at the beginning of September. Of the
proposals submitted to foster democracy and tolerance, some four projects
were short-listed; two been funded so far; further funding is urgently
required.
4. EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
In the reporting period, the Employment Working Group has focused
primarily on exploring credit options for minority entrepreneurs and
small businesses, and organising meetings bringing creditors and
potential lenders together.
5. PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY ISSUES
Representatives of the Sarajevo Cantonal police and the UN Mission to BiH
(UNMIBH) have finalised a detailed strategy to support returns on 20
July, addressing the requirements contained in paragraphs 29 - 31 of the
Sarajevo Declaration. To address the issue of incorporation of minority
police officers in the police force, the Cantonal police has adopted the
approach proposed by UNMIBH. Some progress is visible in the area of
public relations. UNMIBH continues to explore further with the Cantonal
police how these campaigns can be improved either with a specific focus
on return or to attract minorities to join the police forces.
6. CONCLUSIONS
While a number of positive steps have been taken in the fields of
education and public order and security, the principal issues of housing
and return to own homes of minorities have still not been addressed
sufficiently vigorously or systematically by the authorities.
Kotor Varos Returns
In recent weeks around 250 representative members of displaced Bosniak
families have returned from the Central Bosnian Canton to the Kotor Varos
municipality in the RS. The returnees are engaged in clearing the areas
where their houses stood, while living in tents and containers provided
by the UNHCR.
The RRTF is concerned that the families should be adequately housed and
self-supporting by winter. Approximately one million DEM are needed to
facilitate the delivery of reconstruction materials to Kotor Varos and
supply other urgent needs. There has been a positive response from donors
so far, but the need continues.
For the longer term and the revitalisation of the local economy, the
municipal council is drafting project proposals for small local
industries and businesses. The RRTF is investigating possibilities of
obtaining credits.
Some Highlights from the Weekly Report of the NorthWest RRTF, 8-14 August
1998
Positive Developments in Croatia:
A visit by 25 Croatian Serb refugees to Gvozd (formerly Vrginmost) and
Topusko, Croatia, which took place on 11 August passed off successfully.
Visits are now taking place on a regular basis.
Bridge Building:
The reconstructed bridge between Blatna (RS) and Ivanjska (Federation)
was opened on 12 August. The bridge, financed by donations from the UK
and Canada, is important for inter-Entity freedom of movement. The RRTF
now intends to encourage 'clean-up visits' (enabling refugees and DPs to
clear their property sites) in the area.
Drvar:
The meeting of the Drvar/Glamoc/Grahovo RRTF took place on 13 August.
Return is continuing in all three municipalities. Water and sometimes
electricity are the main reconstruction topics discussed apart from
housing. Donor attention is urgently needed for Glamoc and Grahovo.
A visit of 50 Serb DPs from Bijelina and Srebrenica to Drvar 13 August
was organised by the NGO OXFAM. 20 of these people are currently living
in collective centres that the IC and RS authorities wish to close as
soon as possible.
The EC is looking to provide 500 beneficiaries in Drvar, Bosanski Grahovo
and Glamoc with cattle. This donation of livestock will be very
important in terms of achieving sustainability in the return process.
Human Rights
Killing of Policeman in Pale
On 7 August, Srdjan Knezevic, Deputy Chief of the Public Security Centre
of Pale, was killed. Charges have been brought against seven individuals
in connection with the killing. UN IPTF has established an investigative
support team which is conducting an independent investigation into the
alleged crime and into the manner in which the case is being handled by
the local police. The investigative support team also provides expertise
to the local police.
On 18 August, during the course of UN IPTF investigations, UN IPTF
discovered individuals in illegal detention in the Famos Factory in Pale.
The individuals were released upon the request of UN IPTF. The
individuals had reportedly been held for nine days. Investigations into
the incident are ongoing.
Update on Implementation of Federation Property Legislation
OHR has continued to intervene where obstacles to the full implementation
of the Federation property and housing laws have been identified. A
number of obstacles in the claims filing process have now been addressed,
although problems continue in relation to the charging of fees and
military apartments.
An additional obstacle has arisen in a number of areas, namely the
requirement that a hearing be held before a decision is rendered on a
claim for a socially-owned apartment. The Law requires that proceedings
shall be considered urgent, hearings are both legally unnecessary and not
practical. Hearings have tended to balance the rights of the current
occupant against those of the occupancy right holder.
Obstacles in the claims adjudication process and delays in the rendering
of decisions are being identified throughout the Federation.
Specifically, municipalities are failing to issue decisions within the
35-day time period required by the Law. This has been extensively
documented by the Federation Ombudsmen in their recently issued Special
Report. OHR has intervened with the Federation Prime Minister to ensure
that these obstacles are addressed.
Monitoring is being carried out throughout the Federation in order to
gather statistical information on progress in the claims-filing and
decision-making processes of the property and housing Laws. OSCE and
ECMM are monitoring every municipality in Cantons 1- 6, 9 and 10. The
Mostar Regional Human Rights Working Group is monitoring every
municipality in Cantons 7 and 8. The information gathered will be
influential in making the decision as to whether it will be necessary for
the 4 October deadline for submitting claims for socially-owned
apartments to be extended and if so by how long.
The final training sessions on the new Federation property and housing
laws, which have been conducted jointly by UNHCR, CRPC and OHR, took
place in Sarajevo on 13 August. This session was supported by Prime
Minister Bicakcic and participants included municipal, Cantonal and
Federation Government officials.
Over ten training sessions have been held throughout BiH and in Belgrade,
with a total of around 500 participants. The objective of these sessions
was to enable staff of national and international organisations to
identify and address obstacles to implementation of the laws so that
interventions can be made and to identify legal benchmarks and standards
for their implementation by government officials.
Halting of Evictions of Illegal Occupants in the RS Update
Evictions in the RS, including legal evictions have been halted since
April 1998, as a result of measures taken by the RS National Assembly and
the RS Government (see HRCC Human Rights Monthly Reports, May and June
1998). On 25 July a Decision was passed by the Assembly which excludes
from the ban four categories of occupants: illegal occupants; multiple
occupants; those who occupy property pursuant to Article 17 of the RS Law
on the Use of Abandoned Property (Ed. Note: In a report issued in April,
the Human Rights Ombudsperson found the content and application of
Article 17 to be in violation of the European Convention on Human
Rights); and displaced persons and refugees who are using abandoned
property and who have sold property in their previous place of residence.
OHR and other international organisations will be monitoring to ensure
that these exceptions are appropriately interpreted and applied and that
legal evictions are continued. Despite the passing of this Decision,
evictions of illegal occupants in the Banja Luka area, including
evictions which will bring about the reinstatement of the floater cases,
were not carried out in July. Twenty court-ordered evictions were
scheduled to take place in the Banja Luka area in July. Despite ten
attempted evictions, only one reinstatement took place.
Sarajevo Education Working Group
The Sub-Group responsible for reviewing all textbooks in use in Sarajevo
schools has identified material thought to be offensive and it has been
agreed that the Ministry, working in conjunction with an expert team led
by UNESCO, will ensure the eradication of offensive material from
textbooks for the coming school year. In particular, the section in
history books on the recent war is to be omitted in its entirety and a
new outline drafted in consultation with all parties will be submitted in
its place.
The Sub-Group on Democracy and Tolerance Building Projects has secured
funding from the Austrian Government, the Canadian Government and the
OSCE for three projects aimed at fostering tolerance and harmony in
schools. These projects will start at the beginning of the new school
year. Direct contacts will be made with other embassies to secure
funding for more projects. The Sub-Group has agreed to write up the
experiences from its projects in the form of a booklet on model good
practice.
The Sub-Group on Discrimination has solicited inputs from all schools and
select NGOs on possible discrimination against teachers or students.
SFOR CIMIC has prepared leaflets and posters to assist in this process.
The posters will go up in all schools before the beginning of the new
school year and the leaflets distributed immediately after. Follow-up
visits are to take place following the distribution. The Sub-Group on
Resources has adjourned, pending the outcome of a project by the World
Bank which will analyse the financial needs of the whole education sector.
Law on Courts in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton The "Law on the Courts of
the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton" and the "Law on the Court of the Central
Zone of the City of Mostar" were imposed by the High Representative and
went into effect on 3 August. The laws were imposed as a result of the
failure of the Herzegovina-Neretva authorities to implement the High
Representative's "Decision on the Establishment of Municipal Courts in
the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton" of 6 May 1998.
The Law on the Courts recognises the right to a court of each
municipality in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, including the six Mostar
municipalities. The ethnic composition of the judges at each court are
to reflect the results of the 1991 census in the municipalities or the
territory that newly-created municipalities cover. The national
structure of the senior judicial staff at the Central Zone Court are to
reflect the overall national structure of the population in the entire
City of Mostar based on the 1991 census.
The High Representative has requested the authorities to fully implement
the laws by 15 November 1998.
ICVA
The International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) is pleased to
announce that the July 1998 edition of the Return Directory for BiH is
now available. This directory contains contact and programme information
on a number of national and international agencies who are currently
providing information and legal advice to refugees, IDP's and returnees.
Available in a combined English/local language version and free of charge.
Contact:
ICVA Sarajevo - phone: 00387 71 668.298/ fax:668.297
ICVA Tuzla - phone: 00387 75 283.600/ fax: 281.465
ICVA Banja Luka - 00381 78 (058) 68.335/ fax: 66.784
Brcko
Supervisor Farrand issued on Friday 14 August a reminder to DPs wishing
to reclaim accommodation that there are less than two months left to
register claims for socially-owned apartments in the Federation.
Thousands of people who used to live in socially-owned apartments located
in territory that is now in the Federation, will lose their occupancy
rights if they do not file their claims by October 4, 1998.
He warned:
In order to maintain your right to that property a claim must be filed
with the housing authority in the Federation municipality where the
apartment is located.
File the claim by October 4 or you risk losing your occupancy right
forever.
Supervisor Farrand stressed in his reminder that if any problems were
encountered during the filing process, OHR Brcko, the UNHCR, OSCE or the
regional legal information centre should be contacted immediately.
Freedom of Movement
Sarajevo Airport MoU
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Co-Chairs and Deputy Chairs
of the Council of Ministers, and SFOR command, enables increased civilian
operations in this airport. Overnight stops by civilian planes and their
crews are now possible, as are cargo operations. Also, the training of
civilian air traffic controllers can now begin.
Tuzla and Banja Luka Airports
A donation from the EC will enable the urgent runway repairs necessary
for Tuzla airport to reopen to civilian flights this September.
Meanwhile, civilian flights are proceeding smoothly at Banja Luka airport.
Mostar Airport
Sarajevo-based company Air Commerce intends to move to Mostar, and is
planning flight schedules between Mostar and Sarajevo, to start in
September. The company also intends to organise flights to Zagreb, in
cooperation with Croatia Airlines, and is planning direct flights to
Montenegro and Rome.
Inter-Entity Links
Power Plus
As of August 15 two power transmission lines of 220 kV now connect the
Prozor/Rama hydraulic powerplant with the Jablanica switchyard. During
the war both these lines were destroyed: following the Dayton Agreement
one was rehabilitated, but without the second line the power supply
transmitted was unreliable. The Western BiH towns of Bihac and Prijedor,
the latter in the RS, were particularly vulnerable to loss of power due
to inclement weather (from a charge of lightning for example). The
installation of the second line increases the reliability of the entire
BiH Federation transmission system.
The line was installed through the credits provided by the World Bank,
and investments by the BiH and Mostar Elektroprivreda companies. As
Prozor/Rama powerplant is under the jurisdiction of Mostar
Elektroprivreda, while Jablanica switchyard is under that of BiH
Electroprivreda, this reconstruction is not only a positive step for BiH
power infrastructure, but a sign of improving cooperation between the
individual Elektroprivreda companies.
In addition, a 110 kV power transmission line running between the towns
of Doboj, Gracanica and Maglaj, has now been repaired. This line crosses
the Inter-Entity Border Line (IEBL) between Gracanica and Maglaj, and is
the main source of supply for the major RS town of Doboj and a number of
smaller towns. Should the system suffer any damage the line can now be
fed from either Kakanj or Tuzla power plants, so the towns between are no
longer vulnerable to supply loss. The repair of this line, which will
improve the supply of power in both the Zenica-Doboj and Tuzla-Podrinje
cantons, is the result of cooperation between the BiH and RS
Elektroprivreda companies.
Diary
27 August - Session of the CoM
1 September - Session of the BiH House of Representatives
2 September - Session of the BiH House of Peoples.
30 September - SCMM session
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