- BH-Central Institutions
- BiH Parliament's House of representatives holds constitutive
session: SDP's Sead Avdic elected chairman, SNSD-DSP's Zeljko Mirjanic -
the first vice chairman, HDZ's Mariofil Ljubic - the second chairman;
- Zivko Radisic says his visit to Belgrade was not illegal;
- Alija Izetbegovic: If Wolfgang Petritsch does not support the
creation of the House of Peoples in the RS National Assembly, he virtually
rejects Silajdzic's requests;
- Federation
- Despite Federation Government's promises, (August) December pensions
may not be disbursed at the beginning of January;
- Edhem Bicakcic appointed the General Manger of Elektroprivreda;
Republika Srpska
- Biljana Plavsic invited to testify in The Hague?;
- Bratunac authorities announce the destruction of a hundred Bosniak
houses;
- Republika Srpska
- Wolfgang Petritsch New Year's address to citizens of BiH: Now is the
time to build the state;
- Dnevni Avaz: Miller, Petritsch, Lagumdzija and Silajdizic -
personalities of the year:
- Wolfgang Petritsch: There is no threat of war in BiH; now is the
time for building the state;
- International Community
- Yugoslav Foreign Minister says dissolution of FRY will effect the
region, especially BIH:
- 'Crisis in the relations between Petritsch and the US Ambassador to
BiH Miller?'
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Central Institutions related Issues:
BiH Parliament's House of representatives holds constitutive session:
SDP's Sead Avdic elected chairman, SNSD-DSP's Zeljko Mirjanic - the first
vice chairman, HDZ's Mariofil Ljubic - the second chairman:
The BiH Parliament's House of Representatives held a constitutive session
on Friday, during which the present deputies elected the House chairman
and his two deputies. According to Sarajevo papers, after a long and a
dramatic discussion, SDP's Sead Avdic was elected the chairman, while the
SNSD-DSP's Zeljko Mirjanic received most votes for the post of the first
vice chairman and HDZ's Mariofil Ljubic - for the second vice chairman of
the House. The election of the HDZ's candidate for the later post caused a
good deal of controversy because of the alleged failure of representatives
to count one vote, which would be of crucial importance.
The most important task of the HoR in the next month will be the
appointment, i.e., the formation of the executive government - the Council
of Ministers.
Zivko Radisic says his visit to Belgrade was not illegal:
The chairman of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic, said that his recent
visit to Belgrade has been neither illegal nor accidental, since it was
agreed upon with the other two members. In an interview with the BiH
Radio, Radisic confirmed that his visit to Belgrade was not an official
one. "With the President Kostunica I discussed the priorities which need
to be resolved in order to establish the diplomatic relations", Radisic
said. He added that Kostunica's official visit to Sarajevo was also
agreed to take place in the next 15 to 20 days. "This will be a good
opportunity for us to define the priorities of mutual interest" -
concluded Radisic.
Alija Izetbegovic: If Wolfgang Petritsch does not support the creation of
the House of Peoples in the RS National Assembly, he virtually rejects
Silajdzic's requests:
According to SRNA news agency, the President of the SDA, Alija
Izetbegovic, said that if the High Representative does not accept Party
for BiH's proposal for the formation of the House of Peoples in the RS
National Assembly, he would consider this to be an open rejection of Haris
Silajdzic's requests ". Izetbegovic stressed again that he also supports
Silajdzic's requests.
Federation
Despite Federation Government's promises, (August) December pensions may
not be disbursed at the beginning of January:
Despite the claims of the Federation Prime Minister, Edhem Bicakcic, that
the late August pensions would be disbursed at the very beginning of
January, Oslobodjenje writes that this promise will not very likely come
true. According to the daily, the next disbursed pension cannot be for
August, but for December, since the new Law on Pension Fund, which is
already in force, could not be applied retroactively. In addition,
Oslobodjenje claims that the PIO Fund has not succeeded in collecting 45
million KM, which are necessary for the adequate disbursement of pensions.
Moreover, it is probable that this sum will not be collected before
February, which in turn means that pensioners may not receive their funds
before then, and that the Fund will be in arrears for an additional
amount.
Edhem Bicakcic appointed the General Manger of Elektroprivreda:
The "Elektroprivreda BiH" Steering Board appointed Edhem Bicakcic the
general manager of this utility company on Friday, this company reported.
Bicakcic was appointed for a four-year mandate, and the appointment
followed a public competition.
"The decisive criteria for the appointment were the references
of a distinguished expert, his organizational and management skills,
and especially the systematically prepared working plan", the BiH
Elektroprivreda statement read. The mentioned plan anticipates that
BiH Elektroprivreda becomes self-sustainable, that the future of all
employees will be more secured, and that the company will be able to
provide large assets of funds through sales in the next year.
Republika Srpska
Biljana Plavsic invited to testify in The Hague?:
Beta news agency reported on Saturday that one of the war-time leaders of
the Bosnian Serbs, Biljana Plavsic, was asked to show up before the ICTY
on January 3rd, however the report did not clarify whether Plavsic is
invited to The Hague as a witness or as one of the indictees. ICTY
Spokesman could not confirm this information, while Plavsic's party, the
SNS openly rejected the allegations as untrue.
Bratunac authorities announce the destruction of a hundred Bosniak houses:
Oslobodjenje writes that the RS authorities in the Bratunac area announced
the destruction of a hundred reconstructed Bosniak houses in
municipalities of Konjevic Polje and Glogovo, with the aim of obstructing
the return of 6000 Bosniaks to this area. All returnees associations from
the region recently appealed to the International Community to prevent
this illegal action of the RS government
International Community
Wolfgang Petritsch New Year's address to citizens of BiH: Now is the time
to build the state:
All Federation print media carried the full text of the High
Representative's New Year's address to the citizens of BiH on their front
pages. The OBN Television and the TV BiH also carried the message in their
prime time news.
Dnevni Avaz: Miller, Petritsch, Lagumdzija and Silajdizic - personalities
of the year:
According to a Dnevni Avaz poll conducted among its readers, Thomas Miller
and Wolfgang Petritsch received the most votes for the "international
person(s) of the year 2000". They are followed by the Croatian President
Stipe Mesic and the British Ambassador to BiH, Graham Hand. On the local
level, SDP's Zlatko Lagumdzija and the Party for BiH Haris Silajdzic were
the ultimate winners in the poll.
Wolfgang Petritsch: There is no threat of war in BiH; now is the time for
building the state:
Sunday's issue of Oslobodjenje carried an interview with the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch in which he evaluated the activities of
both the OHR and local politicians in the past year, and spelled out most
important priorities for 2001. Looking back at the work of the OHR in the
previous period, Petritsch said that he was disappointed that his office
and other international organizations did not succeed in persuading local
officials that it is necessary that they make important and difficult
decisions on the future of BiH. However, he said he is quite satisfied
with a significant progress in the sphere of the return of refugees and
the creation of a legal framework for a modern economy. Petritsch said
that despite the lukewarm progress in certain areas, a very difficult year
is ahead of BiH, in particulars in terms of the unemployment and
consequences of privatization process. He stressed that one of his
proprieties and goals for the next year will be the acceptance of BiH to
the Council of Europe.
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