- BiH Central Institutions-related Issues
- Dobrinja refugees associations expect the High representative to
impose decision on Dobrinja IEBL;
- RS and Federation Ministers for Refugees and DPs meet in Sarajevo;
- SDA's Halid Genjac will support SDP's candidate for the Chair of the
Council of Ministers;
- Martin Raguz claims he has the support of most RS parties;
- BiH Parliament House of Representatives to hold session today;
- BiH Constitutional Court to get a new President in February;
- Federation
- Restitution becomes a hot topic once again;
- SDP protests against decision of Richard Williams to remove SDP
members from the Interim Board in Zepce;
- Croatian Parliament delegation to visit BiH and investigate the
position of Croats in BiH;
- Republika Srpska
- RS Minister for Refugees and DPs, Mico Micic, says return will be
his priority;
- Association of refugees and DPs "Ostanak" on land allocation in
Banja Luka;
- Reactions of the RS politicians on Miller's statement that Ivanic
has not done enough to disassociate his Government from Karadzic;
- Kotorsko inhabitants warn against the "Serbification" of Doboj;
- International community:
-
-
OHR warns that any territorial divisions would cause a new war in
the region;
-
International organizations to start paying pension insurance for
local employees?;
-
Nezavisne Novine: Interview with the High Representative;
-
Wolfgang Petritsch replies to the RTV BiH Workers Union;
-
Zagreb Vjesnik: Interview with the High Representatives, Wolfgang
Petritsch:
-
Hrvatska Rijec: Interview with the Senior Deputy High
Representative, Matthias Sonn;
-
OSCE's Robert Barry starts a series of editorials in BiH print
media;
-
Wolfgang Petritsch and Robert Barry reply to Thomas Friedman who
suggested ethnic partition of BiH in The New York Times editorial;
|
BiH Central Institutions-related Issues:
Dobrinja refugees associations expect the High representative to impose
decision on Dobrinja IEBL:
The President of the Association of Relocated Dobrinja citizens, Fadil
Suljic, told the press on Saturday that his association expects the High
Representative to impose a decision on the issue of the inter-entity
boundary line (IEBL) between Dobrinja I and IV. "We believe that the HR is
a righteous man who will behave according to Dayton (Peace Agreement) and
will therefore order the implementation of the Dayton line (in Dobrinja).
Commenting on the OHR's concept of the arbitration in this case, the
President of the Steering Board on the implementation of Sarajevo
Declaration, Mirza Hajric, said that "there is no place for the
arbitration here, since the map of Dobrinja was agreed upon in Dayton."
Hajric also stressed that he proposed several solutions to the High
Representative, but did not further clarify. Meanwhile, OHR's Oleg Milisic
told Dnevni Avaz that the OHR's position on this issue remains the same,
and that there is an urgent need to resolve this problem since no
meaningful agreement on the IEBL was ever reached. "As the line is drawn
through the housing units, we can say that there was no viable agreement,"
said Milisic.
RS and Federation Ministers for Refugees and DPs meet in Sarajevo:
According to Federation media, the RS and the Federation Ministers for
Refugees and Displaced Persons, Mico Micic and Sulejman Garib, met on
Friday in Sarajevo and agreed to strengthen the cooperation between their
respective ministries. Garib and Micic stressed that, in order to speed up
the process of return and the implementation of property laws in both
entities, it is necessary to open offices of their respective ministries
in Sarajevo and Banja Luka . In addition, the two ministers agreed to
establish an inter-entity coordinating body, which would be responsible
for resolving controversial issues related to property legislation.
SDA's Halid Genjac will support SDP's candidate for the Chair of the
Council of Ministers:
In an interview with Oslobodjenje, the Bosniak member of the BiH
Presidency, SDA's Halid Genjac said that he would support the SDP's
candidate for the chair of the BiH Council of Ministers, regardless of the
final decision of his party on this issue. Genjac, risking his party
membership, told the daily that Bosniaks "have made several other parties
significant", and that, for the first time, the Alliance will have a
possibility to form the Council of Ministers without the SDS and the HDZ,
which is something that the SDA could not have done in the past.
Meanwhile, the Presidency of the SDA reached a decision on Saturday that
it will not support any SDP candidate for the position. The SDA also said
that, if Raguz fails to form a representative government, this party will
suggest to its deputies in the BiH Parliament to refrain from supporting
both the possible Alliance formed government or the one dominated by the
HDZ and the SDS.
Martin Raguz claims he has the support of most RS parties:
In an interview with Zagreb's Republika, the present Chair of the BiH
Council of Ministers stressed that he will remain on this post, since his
program has not been opposed by anyone and since most political parties in
the RS also promised their support to his candidacy. Republika commented
at the end of the interview that the present stalemate will likely have to
be resolved by the High Representative, who has, as it writes, already
announced the possibility of arbitration.
BiH Parliament House of Representatives to hold session today:
The BiH Parliament's House of Representatives will hold a session today
(Monday), however, the issue of the new Chair of the Council of Ministers
will not be on the agenda. According to the Chairman of the House, Senad
Avdic, the HoR will schedule a new session in seven days, during which the
issue will be discussed.
BiH Constitutional Court to get a new President in February:
According to Dnevni Avaz, the BiH Constitutional Court is to get a new
President at the beginning of February, as the twenty-month mandate
expires for its present chair, Kasim Begic. Avaz writes that, for the next
two years, the President will be a Serb, however, it is still not certain
whether the post will be given to Vitomir Popovic or Snjezana Savic.
Federation
Restitution becomes a hot topic once again:
After a two-month long pause, the heated discussion over the law on
restitution became, once again, the focus of media attention. After the
recent petition for the natural restitution initiated by the Vakuf
Management of the Islamic Community, the Association of Independent
Merchants from Sarajevo (Municipality of Stari Grad) and the Association
"Dom" (numbering 18,000 persons who hold occupancy rights on nationalized
apartments) voiced their criticism over the weekend, arguing that the
natural return of property would destroy numerous families and small
businessmen. The Association of Merchants issued a statement on Saturday
in which its members stressed that they have invested enormous funds into
their stores and the Bascarsija, which were nearly completely destroyed
following the war, while the Vakuf Direction never bothered to subsidize
any reconstruction projects in this Sarajevo municipality. The Merchants
emphasized at the end of their statement that they would never give up on
their property.
Meanwhile, the Association "Dom" sent their official request to the
Federation Parliament to urgently pass legislation which would enable the
occupancy rights holders who live in nationalized apartments to finally
purchase the same. "Dom" members also expressed their support to the OHR,
which, as they say, is also against the idea of natural restitution. "We
support the view of the OHR and the head of its legal department, Garry
Collins, (SIC! - Collins is the Head of the OHR's Human Rights Property
Team) who showed to both local politicians and religious organizations
that they truly care about BiH citizens," read the statement.
Reacting to these pleas, the Association of owners of nationalized
apartments also issued a statement on their own in which it warns both the
OHR's Collins and present occupancy rights holders that they have to
respect the right to private property.
SDP protests against decision of Richard Williams to remove SDP members from the Interim Board in Zepce:
Dnevni Avaz reports that the SDP Zepce protested against the decision of
Zepce supervisor, Richard Williams, to remove SDP members from the Interim
Board in the municipality. According to the party's statement, after
Williams decided to reduce the size of the Board from seven to three
members, four SDP representatives were eliminated, and replaced by SDA
officials.
Croatian Parliament delegation to visit BiH and investigate the position of Croats in BiH:
According to Split's Slobodna Dalmacija, a delegation of the Croatian
Parliament should visit BiH this week in the attempt to investigate the
position of Croats in this state. The daily claims that the situation of
BiH Croats is indeed difficult, and the conclusions of the delegation will
be of the crucial importance for both Croatia and Croat people in BiH.
Dalmacija's commentator further argues that the decision of the
Constitutional Court, which is presently trying to decide whether the PEC
rules about the election of deputies for the Federation's House of Peoples
are constitutional or not, will have long term-effects. "In the case they
declare that the rules are unconstitutional, we would have a proof that
the OSCE and the High representative are not above and outside of the
Constitution," wrote the journalist.
Republika Srpska
RS Minister for Refugees and DPs, Mico Micic, says return will be his
priority:
In a short interview with Dnevni Avaz, the new RS Minister for Refugees
and DP's and former active member of the SDS, Mico Micic stressed that
return of refugees and the implementation of property laws will be his top
priorities. However, he added that certain aspects of the implementation,
such as evictions, which are so insisted upon by the International
Community, are truly inhumane. Micic also said that the return has its
alternative, since the Annex 7 offers individuals to choose where they
want to live, and some may choose to remain where they are.
Association of refugees and DPs "Ostanak" on land allocation in Banja
Luka:
The Association of refugees and DPs "Ostanak" held a press conference in
Banja Luka on Friday when Bosko Bajic, its president, said that more than
96 percent of refugees and DPs want to stay in the RS. He also said that
Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic and the RS Ministry of Refugees and DPs
promised that this problem will be one of the priorities and announced the
possibility of credits for individual construction. According to Bajic,
about 1000 plots will be allocated in the middle of February in Banja Luka
settlement of Ada.
Reactions of the RS politicians on Miller's statement that Ivanic has not
done enough on disassociation of the RS Government from Karadzic:
Commenting on the recent statement of the US Ambassador, Thomas Miller,
that the new RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic, has not done enough to
disassociate his Government from Radovan Karadzic, Zoran Djeric, the PDP
Vice President, said that the RS Government cannot work without the
support of the International Community and especially without the support
of the US Government. "When it comes to the participation of the SDS in
the RS Government, Ivanic reached the best possible compromise when
nominating the RS ministers, taking into account the interests of all
citizens. Moreover, Djeric said he hopes that the support of the IC will
depend on results of the RS Government.
Branislav Lolic, the SNS President said that Ivanic is a serious
politician and that he will not ignore the US whose warnings have to be
taken very seriously, because it is very difficult to move forward without
the IC's support.
Igor Radojicic, the DSP Secretary-General said that it is obvious that
there is a significant difference between the approaches of the US and of
the great number of the EU countries. "This is not only the question of
their relations toward the RS Government, but also a struggle for their
political influence in this region", said Radojicic.
Kotorsko inhabitants warn against the "Serbification" of Doboj:
"The High Representative makes decisions, while winds take them away,"
this is how an Oslobodjenje journalist begins his article about Kotorsko
Bosniaks. The daily writes that no one pays any attention to the threats
of Kotorsko Bosniaks who say that they will never return to their homes if
the construction of Serb Doboj continues. According to the article, Serb
authorities in the area generously award land to Serb families who choose
to stay. "All this has for its aim to accomplish the projects of the SDS
and the Serbification of Doboj," writes Oslobodjenje. Kotorsko Bosniaks
called the High Representative to employ more energetic attitude and to
penalise those who try to accomplish Momcilo Krajisnik's project of
creating the ethnically clean Doboj area.
International community related issues:
OHR warns that any territorial divisions would cause a new war in the
region:
At a round table discussion held in Mostar, OHR Spokesperson, Alexandra
Stiglmayer, warned that problems in the Balkans could not be resolved by
territorial division of BiH since this would cause new instability in the
whole region. Clearly alluding to the recent article in The New York
Times, which suggested the ethnic partition of BiH, Stiglmayer said that
any division would likely have a domino effect, i.e., it would provoke
divisions in the FRY and in Macedonia, which in turn, could lead to a new
war. "I believe that the world will realize what consequences would come
out of the partition in BiH, and it will therefore, work on the
strengthening of the BiH statehood," concluded Stiglmayer.
International organizations to start paying pension insurance for local
employees?:
The SDA party, at its latest press conference, once again repeated its
position that international organizations in BiH are obliged to pay
contributions for their local employees. According to the SDA spokesman,
Sefik Dzaferovic, international organizations employ more than 20,000 BiH
citizens and do not pay for them even the minimum rate of contributions,
although this would significantly help more vulnerable categories of the
population, especially pensioners.
The OSCE continues to call upon the 1996 Memorandum on Understanding which
treats this organization as a diplomatic mission.
"This memorandum was signed with the BiH Foreign Ministry and with this
the problem was solved for us," OSCE deputy spokesperson, Sanela Tunovic
told Dnevni Avaz. According to her, there are no indications that the
situation might change in the future.
"It is possible, however, that a solution will be found, in the near
future, that would be satisfactory for both sides," Tunovic said.
In the OHR, it seems that already different winds blow. Oleg Milisic tells
us that in this institutions "the legal situation created after the
changes of the situation with Pension Funds is being discussed."
"It is known that the OHR is not obliged to pay the contributions. But,
it is clear to us how important collecting taxes is for a state. It is
also clear that the amendments of the High Representative have changed the
situation in pension funds and we are considering further moves," Milisic
said.
Milisic refused to respond to the question that "the considering of the
situation might last," and could the final outcome of it be paying of the
contributions for the "locals."
Nezavisne Novine: Interview with the High Representative:
Weekend edition of Nezavisne Novine carries an interview with the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, in which he explains his views about
the new RS Government, work of the BiH Presidency, HDZ demands for
establishment of the third entity, future perspectives of the CoM and
integration of BiH in Europe.
Wolfgang Petritsch replies to the RTV BiH Workers Union:
Dnevni Avaz and Oslobodjenje carried the letter of the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, addressed to the Workers' Union of the
RTV BiH.
Zagreb Vjesnik: Interview with the High Representatives, Wolfgang
Petritsch:
For the interview of the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, with
Zagreb Vjesnik, which appeared in its Saturday's edition.
Hrvatska Rijec: Interview with the Senior Deputy High Representative,
Matthias Sonn:
OSCE's Robert Barry starts a series of editorials in BiH print media:
The Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Robert Barry, started on Sunday the
series of editorials in which he will expresses his personal (i.e., not
the OSCE's) views and observations on the peace process and on the overall
situation in BiH. In his first column, which was published in Sunday's
Dnevni Avaz, Barry commented on the implementation of the elections
results in BiH and pointed out the difficulti acing political parties
in the country. He noted that there are two main problems which complicate
the implementation: firstly, political parties are not ready to take over
the responsibilities for leading the country, and secondly, the lack of
efficient governmental institutions which provide a framework for the
efficient work of competent parties. However, Barry concluded that the
citizens themselves must insist that those elected finally take over
responsibility and start governing.
Fir the next several months, Barry will write a column every two weeks,
which will be published in Dnevni Avaz, Nezavisne Novine and Hrvatska
Rijec.
Wolfgang Petritsch and Robert Barry reply to Thomas Friedman who suggested
the ethnic partition of BiH in The New York Times editorial:
To the Editor:
In "Not Happening" (column, Jan. 23), Thomas L. Friedman suggests a soft
partition of Bosnia: the Serbian sector under Serbia, the Croatian sector
under Croatia, and the Muslim sector as an independent mini-state. This
would only allow the nationalists who threw the Balkans into a brutal war
to wave the banner of victory.
"Ethnic cleansing" has taken its toll, but the three groups live
intermingled. Who would draw the partition lines? Where would the 30,000
Serbs and 20,000 Croats who live in Sarajevo go? The Muslims would live
squeezed in a mini-state, a Gaza Strip in the middle of Europe.
The international community committed itself to securing the rights of the
victims of ethnic cleansing, including the right to regain stolen
property, to return to their homes and to see the war's perpetrators
prosecuted.
A multiethnic Bosnia is not an illusion designed by ambitious do- gooders.
It is the very answer to the war itself.
WOLFGANG PETRITSCH
To the Editor:
Thomas L. Friedman (column, Jan. 23) writes that "extreme
nationalist/ separatist" parties triumphed in the national
elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina last November, and draws
sweeping conclusions about the need to change course in Bosnia.
In fact, the multiethnic Social Democrats, in an alliance with
several former opposition parties, are forming governments at the
national level and in the Muslim-Croat entity that exclude the
three nationalist parties. These new alliances have political
programs that mirror the goals of the international community.
In the Bosnian Serb entity, the leading extremist party won just a
third of parliamentary seats, and a prime minister from a new,
middle- of-the-road party has been elected to head a government of
"technocrats." This is no time to declare that moderates lost the
election or that we need to abandon the Dayton accords.
ROBERT L. BARRY
|
