BH-Central Institutions BiH Presidency nominates Martin Raguz for the post of Chairman of Council of Ministers; The Alliance fills its cadre crossword: Kresimir Zubak nominated for the Chair of the Council of Ministers?; Spasoje Tusevljak denies allegations of the CoM suspension of co-operation with Volkswagen; Zivko Radisic meets Jacques Paul Klein; Croat delegation to visit BiH; Federation Problems with pensions continue: Not enough money for the minimal pensions?; Vecernji List: Interview with the HDZ Spokesman, Zoran Tomic; Kresimir Zubak: HDZ will provoke radical measures; Republika Srpska Controversial SDS minister-to-be, Goran Popovic, withdrawn from his duty; International community: FRY Kostunica visits Sarajevo; Colin Munro - the new OHR Mostar head; Editorials: Jutarnje Novine: Pensioners are guinea pigs; Central Institutions related Issues: BiH Presidency nominates Martin Raguz for the post of Chairman of Council of Ministers: The BiH Presidency nominated on Thursday Martin Raguz for the post of the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers. According to Presidency Spokesman, Boris Kujundzic, the three members decided to nominate the present Chair and an HDZ member to this post following the recent consultations with political parties and after taking into consideration the November elections results. Having approved the working program of Raguz, the Presidency made its decision unanimously. The Alliance fills its cadre crossword: Kresimir Zubak nominated for the Chair of the Council of Ministers?: According to Oslobodjenje's source, the Alliance parties decided to nominate NHI's Kresimir Zubak for the post of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. The same source told the daily that SDP's Zlatko Lagumdzija would assume the position of the Minister for the European Integration or the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Alliance parties are also discussing the succession of the Bosniak member of the Presidency, whose post is temporarily being filled by Halid Genjac. This post is to be taken over by the present Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton and an S BiH member, Beriz Belkic. The Oslobodjenje source also said that the President of the Republican party, Stjepan Kljujic, would be nominated for the Federation President, while Haris Silajdzic expressed desire not to hold any operational function in the new government. Spasoje Tusevljak denies allegations of the CoM suspension of co-operation with Volkswagen: The former chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Spasoje Tusevljak, told Dnevni Avaz that the Council of Ministers did not make any decision which suspended the co-operation with the Volkswagen by stripping it of substantial tax benefits. Tusevljak said that he and other ministers discussed several issues with the German company and made best efforts to encourage the further co-operation. Zivko Radisic meets Jacques Paul Klein: BiH Presidency Chairman Zivko Radisic met with the Head of the UN Mission in BiH Jacques Paul Klein in Sarajevo on Thursday. Main discussion topics were citizens' rights in BiH and the BiH State Border Service work, Radisic's Office announced. The two officials emphasized the need to provide financial means for functioning of the Border Service in the following period. Klein praised the participation of the BiH policemen in the peace mission in East Timor, and the BiH Presidency's decision to send military observers to Eritrea, contributing UN peace missions in the world. Cooperation between the UN Mission in BiH and the BiH Presidency will continue, aiming at full implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and stability of BiH in its path to European and world integration, Radisic and Klein concluded. Radisic also met with State Border Service Director Muhamed Besic and his deputies Tomislav Mihalj and Slavisa Vukovic on Thursday. They discussed the development of the Service in the following period, and its future financing and work. Security of BiH borders will be one of the priority issues in the following period, they concluded at the meeting. Croat delegation to visit BiH: A multi-party delegation from the Republic of Croatia will soon visit Sarajevo and Mostar and hold talks with international representatives and Croat officials in order to get a complete insight into the problems, which the BiH Croats are faced with. This was confirmed by Zdravko Tomac, the President of the Board for Foreign Policy of the Croatian Parliament, in his statement to the Croat Radio Herceg Bosna yesterday. Federation Problems with pensions continue: Not enough money for the minimal pensions?; The Federation Minister for Social Affairs, Sulejman Garib, said yesterday that January pensions will most certainly be paid on February 15, despite the fact that the PIO Fund has, thus far, managed to collect only 6 out of the necessary 45 million KM. However, Garib warned that there is a possibility of the PIO not being able to cover even the minimal pensions next month. He also said that the Federation Government will, during the next week, ask directors of utility companies to postpone the process of billing the pensioners and demand that cantonal governments provide subsidies thereby protecting this most vulnerable segment of the population. Commenting the OHR's accusations, Garib denied that the Federation Government is responsible for the present situation in the PIO Funds. "I want you to know that we never had any talks with the OHR, and we never made any agreements with them," said Garib, and stressed that the F Government was forced to accept what the OHR asked for. According to unofficial information, the Federation Government ordered that all state companies and institutions reduce the salaries of their employees by 30 percent. The difference is to be promptly deposited into the PIO Fund. Vecernji List: Interview with the HDZ Spokesman, Zoran Tomic: The turmoil over the establishment of the Federal Parliament without the HDZ, the party that received a plebiscite-like support of the Croat people, is not abating. The support from the Croatian Parliament was welcomed with exhilaration by the HDZ B&H Spokesperson. HDZ B&H Spokesperson Zoran Tomic said: "We are happy to have received support from the Republic of Croatia. I would not say it is the support to the HDZ and their participation in the authorities, but the Croat people in general, because they gave the party plebiscite-like support. We are also happy about the fact that there are the political forces in Croatia which are able to recognise that the future concept of B&H is being devised without the legitimate will of the Croat people. After all, the support emanates from the Croatian Constitution. If we keep getting support, it will mean a lot to us. Excerpts: Q: Have you received support from anyone else? A: Discussions at different levels are being led currently. I can say that we have received support from a few diplomatic circles for our party to persist. It has been said that Croats must have constituency, sovereignty and equality assured in B&H. Q: Whom are your leaders negotiating with? A: We said at the Presidency session that the leadership of our political party should resume the dialogue with everyone. That includes the international representatives and all other political factors. We also agreed that the relevant institutions in Croatia should be informed about everything and that it should be explained that the Constitution was violated and that the concept of the Dayton Agreement was derogated by those decisions. In such a position, we have convened the HDZ Central Board, which will make a decision about further activities. Q: What conclusions could the Board make? A: The Board is the highest authority between two Assembly sessions. The Board will consider the Presidency's conclusions and make decisions primarily about the participation of the HDZ representatives in the Federation Parliament. The Central Board must consider as to what the HR's Decision means. Does it mean annulment of the houses of peoples and, consequently, annulment of the only mechanism for protection of vital national interests? We do not think that the constitutional commissions he proposed can substitute the houses of peoples. Kresimir Zubak: HDZ will provoke radical measures: Regarding the support to the HDZ's positions from the Republic of Croatia, Kresimir Zubak, whose party NHI is one of the chief partners of the SDP in the Alliance for Changes which is gradually taking over the power in the larger B&H entity, says: "I know that Ante Jelavic and Martin Raguz went to Zagreb and had some discussions there, but I do not know anything about the outcome or possible support. Q: What is your comment on the temporary withdrawal of the HDZ from the Federation Parliament and can it cause a crisis of the legislative authorities in the Federation? A: I think it is yet another in the series of mistakes that the HDZ leadership has made recently. They must accept the rules of parliamentary democracy and realise that the elections for the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the House of Representatives were conducted in accordance with the procedure. In this case, the Croat interests have not been disputed by the fact that Croats outside of the HDZ have been elected to some of those positions. Republika Srpska Controversial SDS minister-to-be, Goran Popovic, withdrawn from his duty: At Thursday's session, the RS Government decided to release Goran Popovic, an SDS member and the former RS Minister of Trade and Tourism, from his duty, and appoint him as the new general-manager of the RS Customs Administration. The Government appointed Zeljko Tadic as the new RS Minister of Trade and Tourism. According to Nezavisne Novine, Tadic is a prominent economist from Banja Luka and enjoys the reputation of an expert in banking. The daily also reports that the RS PM Ivanic decided to do so after the consultations he had had with the OHR and other representatives of the International Community. According to Novine, Ivanic realised that the RS Government would not get the support of the IC if it includes any SDS members. International community related issues: FRY Kostunica visits Sarajevo: Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica arrived in Sarajevo on Friday on his first official visit to Bosnia's capital; a trip he says will help improve stability in the Balkans. Kostunica said he would demonstrate his commitment to the Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, which was co-signed by Belgrade and Zagreb. "My trip to Sarajevo constitutes a commitment to the Dayton accords as they were drawn up, and not as some would like to see them today," Kostunica told journalists in Belgrade on Thursday. The Dayton peace agreement left the country divided into two entities -- the Serb-run Republika Srpska (RS) and the Muslim-Croat Federation. Upon his arrival at Sarajevo airport, Kostunica was to meet members of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, its Serb chairman Zivko Radisic, Ante Jelavic, a Croat, and Halid Genjac, a Muslim. He was also scheduled to meet the international community's top envoy Wolfgang Petritsch. Kostunica held talks at Sarajevo airport during a brief unofficial visit to the city on October 22, the first by a Yugoslav head of state since the Bosnian war. Colin Munro - the new OHR Mostar head: Presenting himself at a press conference, the new head of the Mostar OHR, Colin A. Munro, sad he was born in Great Britain in 1946 and has had a rich diplomatic career. He emphasized he would completely commit himself to the realization of the aims, which have been set, and continue the actions of his predecessors. Editorials: Jutarnje Novine: Pensioners are guinea pigs By Dzavid Husic I do not think that Alexandra Stiglmayer ever contemplates about her retirement, and it is easy for her to make public statements about the greatest misconception of her boss and our protector, Wolfgang Petritsch. The Austrian sought to bring some order into our affairs, and he ended up causing a chaos among the local pensioners. This does not concern only 280,000 pensioners, but also their families, which make over a half million people. It leaks on all sides. Now the pensioners are taken away their fifth pension. In order to switch to the Petritsch's system, they have to wait for their income for more then two months. This income is also questionable: it is possible that pensioners, all of them, will receive the minimal guaranteed pension in February. Podrinje refugee blocked the traffic between Sarajevo and Zenica. Who knows what else can be expected. As in all other aspects, there are three pension funds with different capacities in the "single" BiH. Instead of ordering the consolidation, Petritsch is being lost in the papers. No wonder contributions are low - international organizations are not paying anything for their local employees. In Sarajevo, there are about seven thousand of them: They have no medical insurance, while their companies and the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs are playing a Ping-Pong match. I read yesterday that the OHR gave three million KM into the pension fund, while monthly costs are 42 million. In order to pay back the stolen pensions, the Fund needs 245 million KM. Only Edhem Bicakcic sneaked away without taking any responsibility...he just took the seat of the Elektroprivreda General-Manager. He left his prime minister post without a final report, which is a move without a precedent in the normal world.

The BiH Media Round-up is being compiled primarily for the OHR's internal purposes under time pressure. Please disregard grammar and typing mistakes. The mentioned media reports do not reflect OHR views, and the OHR does not take responsibility for them.

OHR BiH Media Round-up