- BH-Central Institutions
- Arbitration process for Dobrinja begins;
- Current Issues: HDZ-related news
- HDZ enters into an open conflict with International Community?;
- Radisic and Genjac vote for Bozidar Matic, Jelavic leaves the
session;
- Wolfgang Petritsch says decision on Matic's candidacy strengthens
the BiH Presidency;
- Federation House of Peoples Chair says International Community will
abolish this House;
- Croatian war crime suspect in hiding in Bosnia?;
- Federation
- Federation Ministry takes away exemption rights to PIO
contributions;
- Serb pensioners returning to the Federation receive late pensions;
- Republika Srpska
- Vojislav Kostunica says special parallel relations between the Fry
and the RS to be signed this week;
- Eastern BiH returnees protests against the RS Labor Law;
- International community:
- European Commission: Exclusion of BiH from the aid package a good
news for the country;
- New border crossings against the illegal smuggling of people;
- Dodik - Petritsch meeting: Necessary to speed up the formation of
the BiH common institutions;
- OHR says that someone's property could not be used as an alternative
accommodation;
- Editorials
- Dnevni Avaz: Democratic Decision;
- Slobodna Dalmacija: Dubrovnik puzzle - what was Petritsch's visit to
Dubrovnik all about?;
|
Central Institutions related Issues:
Arbitration process for Dobrinja began yesterday:
According to media reports, the arbitration process for Dobrinja I and IV
had officially started on Tuesday. At yesterday's meeting, the Arbiter
Judge Diarmuid Sheridan said that he is entering this process without a
bias, and that the final decision on the case will be legitimate and fair.
The Judge Sheridan informed all the interested parties that he will hold a
consultations meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and invited them
to express their views on the issue.
Current issues: HDZ-related news
HDZ enters into an open conflict with International Community?:
Oslobodjenje reports that, at a session which is scheduled for later
today, the Central Board of the HDZ will discuss its separation from the
BiH Federation. According to an unidentified source of the daily, HDZ
representatives from all layers of authority will gather today in Mostar
and suggest to the Croat National Assembly to make a final decision. "Now,
we are in the situation when the International Community could do
something to us, or things will definitively change," said the same
source, and explained that in the case the IC bans the work of the HDZ,
the Assembly will take over its role. He also said that deputies at the
session will discuss the creation of the Inter-Cantonal Council, which
would have both legislative and executive powers, and which would cover
the territory of three cantons and few municipalities with Croat
majority. "No, we are not talking here about the third entity," said the
source and added that this would simply be an interim solution which would
lead to the long-awaited revision of the Dayton structure in BiH.
According to Oslobodjenje, the HDZ decided not to participate in the
process of formation of the BiH or the Federation House of Peoples. The
same reports indicates that HDZ officials are fully aware that a serious
political crisis is ahead of BiH.
Yesterday's statements of various HDZ officials who confirmed that the
party will ask for a political divorce from the Federation provoked strong
reactions of nearly all other political parties in BiH.
Commenting on the possible formation of the Inter-Cantonal Council, OHR
Spokesperson Alexandra Stiglmayer said that the HDZ will not be allowed to
establish parallel institutions of any kind, for that would be contrary to
the constitutional organization and laws of BiH. "We are concerned that
the HDZ is trying to drive Croats underground," said Stiglmayer.
Radisic and Genjac vote for Bozidar Matic, Jelavic leaves the session:
At yesterday's session of the BiH Presidency, the Bosniak and the Serb
members, Halid Genjac and Zivko Radisic, endorsed the nomination of the
SDP candidate for the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Bozidar Matic.
According to media reports, the Croat member, Ante Jelavic, left the
session immediately prior to the discussion, and subsequently filed a
complaints about the lack of protection of Croat national interests.
Sarajevo media report that the decision in the Presidency was preceded by
vigorous diplomatic activity in the cabinet of Zivko Radisic, and which
was attended by both the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, and the
Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Robert Barry.
Upon leaving the session, Jelavic told the press that this is the first
time that a very important decision in the Presidency was made without a
consensus. "If this decision was not of the vital interest, then I do not
know which other are," said Jelavic, and noted with irony that the Croat
nominee for the Chair was endorsed by the Bosniak and Serb members.
Jelavic also said that, perhaps, he would have support the candidacy of
Matic, had the Presidency also discussed the structure of the future
Council of Ministers.
News agencies reported yesterday that Jelavic addressed a letter to the UN
SG Kofi Annan and to the Chairman of the UN Security Council, Said bin
Mustaphi, in which he criticized the recently imposed (PEC) rules and
regulations for the election of deputies to the Federation House of
Peoples. (see also the first item in the editorials section)
Wolfgang Petritsch says decision on Matic's candidacy strengthens the BiH
Presidency:
Meanwhile, the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, told Dnevni Avaz
that the decision on Matic is of historic importance, and is a sign of the
growing strength of the BiH Presidency. "It was not that easy to make this
decision, but this is a part of the democratic process. The decision
cannot be unanimous, although it will be important that both the
Presidency and the candidate make extra efforts to persuade Croats to
accept the decision," said Petritsch, and added that Bozidar Matic, being
a Croat, may have an easier task of persuading Croats that this was indeed
a right decision.
Petritsch also said that he does not understand the latest politics of
Ante Jelavic, and stressed that it could have a catastrophic consequences
for him. "In a different country, such politicians would have resigned."
Petritsch said that it is important that Croats now understand that, as
one of the three constituent peoples, have full rights and that the
International Community will do its best to ensure that these rights are
fulfilled. He concluded that Jelavic's politics of obstruction and boycott
leads nowhere.
Federation House of Peoples Chair says International Community will
abolish this House:
The Chairman of the Federation Parliament's House of Peoples, Niko
Lozancic, told Onasa news agency that the International Community is
planning to abolish this House, and transfer its powers to the newly
formed Constitutional Commission. Lozancic said that the House of Peoples
were there to protect the vital interests of individual people in the
entity, while now it will be replaced by the, as he said, a
para-constitutional body (i.e., Constitutional Commission). He further
added that this decision of the International Community was made without a
prior comprehensive analysis of the situation, and consequently, it may
have negative consequences.
OHR's Spokesman, Oleg Milisic, told Onasa that the IC has no intention of
abolishing the House of Peoples, which was envisaged as a second option
for the protection of the vital interest of peoples in the Federation.
Croatian war crime suspect in hiding in Bosnia?:
According to some media reports, a Croatian war crimes suspect, Mirko
Norac, may be hiding near Tomislavgrad in BiH, in a building which was
constructed during the war and used for negotiations between the Croatian
leadership and representatives of BiH Croats. An unidentified source of
Dnevni Avaz said that that the HDZ BiH is providing a refuge to Norac,
since he is has been of substantial use to both Croatian and Bosnian HDZ.
"The HDZ BiH must help the Zagreb one, for the fall of the Croatian HDZ
would provoke the fall of the BiH one," said the same source.
Meanwhile, the Croatian HRT reported late last night that General Norac
may meet later today with the Croatian President Stipe Mesic, after which
he will show up before the Court in Rjeka. Mirko Norac is suspected to
have committed war crimes against Serb civilians in Gospic in 1991.
Federation
Federation Ministry takes away exemption rights to PIO contributions:
The Federation Minister, Sulejman Garib, said yesterday that not a single
category of people in the Federation is exempted from paying contributions
to pensions insurance, after the Federation Government abolished the
existing exemptions to members of the Ministry of Defence and workers in
coal mines. The Ministry also stressed that the government has to find
ways for local individuals employed in international organisations and
diplomatic institutions to pay the contributions.
Serb pensioners returning to the Federation receive late pensions:
Zagreb's Vecernji List reports that Serb pensioners returning to the
Federation are in a very difficult position since their monthly pensions
are paid from the RS and not the Federation PIO Funds. While pensioners
living in the parts of the Federation which are covered by the Mostar MIO
Fund (Croat version of the pension fund) receive their income regularly,
pensions of those returning from the RS come with delays of several
months. All the returnee pensioners, after returning to their original
places of residence, continued to receive pensions from the fund which
paid them in May 2000. Although the agreement reached in May was supposed
to resolve all the problems related to the payment of pensions, many of
the returnee pensioners now have even more serious problem. They are
receiving pensions in their place of return in one entity, but from the
Fund of the other.
Republika Srpska
Vojislav Kostunica says special parallel relations between the Fry and the
RS to be signed this week:
Banja Luka dailies report that the FRY President Vojislav Kostunica said
that the special and parallel relations between the FRY and the RS will be
signed this week in Banja Luka. "This agreement is very similar to the
agreements that were signed between the RS and the FRY, and Croatia and
the Federation", says Kostunica and added that the agreement signed
between the FRY and the RS has not been ratified by the BiH Parliament.
According to him, the new agreement neither questions Dayton BiH, nor
will detrimental to BiH. Kostunica also said that the High Representative
to BiH Wolfgang Petritsch, who was the first to assess the situation,
should respect the will of people expressed at the elections.
Eastern BiH returnees protests against the RS Labor Law:
The Association for resolving the status of displaced persons in eastern
BiH criticized yesterday "the discriminatory provisions" of the new RS
Labor Law, in particular the Article 152, which provides for the modest
financial compensation for the illegally dismissed workers in the RS.
Bosniak members of the association say the Article is discriminatory
because it does not give a chance to those dismissed to return to work.
Thus, the association sent a requests to the RS Government and the
National Assembly, BiH Workers Union, the OHR and to the member-parties of
the Alliance to change the disputed provisions and build in the articles
which would allow the return to work for those who wish so. "We expect
Petritsch to, in accordance with his powers, undertake measures for the
change of this law," said the association's president, Nurdin
Muhamedbegovic, and added that if their requests are not met, they will
ask the Constitutional Court to evaluate the decision. A petition with
association's requests has been signed by over 2000 former workers.
International community related issues:
European Commission: Exclusion of BiH from the aid package a good news for
the country:
Oslobodjenje carries a Sense agency article which reports that BiH has
indeed been excluded from the aid package secured by the European
Commission few days ago. Although EC officials have not officially made
any connections between this exclusion and the present political crisis in
BiH, Sense reports that the message of the donors is more then clear - it
is a serious warning that the attention for this country is rapidly
declining. Despite the speculations, some diplomats say that this
exclusion from the aid package is a "good news" for BiH, which indicates
that this country has stepped beyond the humanitarian crisis and entered
the phase of economic development.
New border crossings against the illegal smuggling of people:
The international officials in BiH, who are resolved to oppose the
developing trade of the asylum seekers from Eastern European and Eastern
Asian countries, will most likely assist in the construction and
modernization of border crossings between the Republic of Croatia and BiH
by providing a "financial injection". This project, although it is still
developing, has been practically supported by the High Representative,
Wolfgang Petritsch, during his meeting with the leading officials of the
Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The project of construction, broadening and
modernization of border crossings would, in the opinion of international
officials, contribute to the improvement of traffic infrastructure,
circulation of people and commodities and the suppression of illegal
crossings by emigrants who cause much trouble to EU countries.
Dodik - Petritsch meeting: Necessary to speed up the formation of the BiH
common institutions:
Nezavisne Novine report that the president of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, met
with Wolfgang Petritsch in Sarajevo yesterday. According to a press
release issued by the SNSD, the two officials agreed that the process of
formation of the BiH common institutions and particularly the Council of
Ministers has to be accelerated. The press release further reads that
issues pertaining to the RS current political situation, privatisation and
the implementation of reforms were discussed at the meeting.
OHR says that someone's property could not be used as an alternative
accommodation:
Nezavisne Novine quoted OHR Spokesperson, Alexandra Stiglmayer, as saying
that the unclaimed private property could not be used as an alternative
accommodation. "That is illegal because private property has to be sealed
and should await the return of owner. At the same time, refugees and DPs
who accept to use this property are becoming illegal occupants and lose
the right on alternative accommodation", said Stiglmayer. She called on
all temporary occupants who have to vacate other people's apartments and
houses not to allow the housing offices to accommodate them in the
unclaimed private property.
Editorials:
Dnevni Avaz: Democratic Decision
By Almasa Bajric:
By naming the mandatary that has the majority in the Parliament, Radisic
and Genjac returned the seriously shaken trust to the BiH Presidency and
prevented an entire blockade of BiH institutions.
BiH Presidency, that is, two of its members, Zivko Radisic and Halid
Genjac with their yesterday's decision to name Bozidar Matic as the
candidate for the Chairman of BiH Council of Minister have finally obeyed
their constitutional obligation. They accepted the request of the majority
of representatives of the BiH Parliament House of Representatives enabling
the implementation of the electoral will of voters.
With this historical and democratic decision Radisic and Genjac have
returned the seriously shaken trust to the BiH Presidency. This way they
have strengthened the Presidency as an institution and prevented a
complete blockade of BiH institutions in critical times for BiH citizens.
ON the other hand, Ante Jelavic, member of BiH Presidency is trying to
justify his rejection of Bozidar Matic's candidacy by saying that
consultations were not carried out and that it is too early to determine
the name of the new candidate. Neither reason is real.
Jelavic is aware that with Matic's nomination HDZ is losing important
support in state authority. Complaining that vital national interests
should be protected is a mere attempt to buy time. However, Jelavic does
not have who to buy this time from. OHR has clearly said that the issue of
the mandatary is not an issues where a national consensus is necessary.
The House of Representatives consists of representatives of political
parties elected through direct and democratic elections. They are the ones
which according to BiH Constitution confirm the naming of the Chair and
the Council of Ministers. Radisic and Genjac have just obeyed the will of
democratically elected parliamentary majority while Jelavic's encounter
with essential democracy has ended as a fiasco.
Slobodna Dalmacija: Dubrovnik puzzle - what was Petritsch's visit to
Dubrovnik all about?:
Provided by Mostar OHR
The meeting of Ivan Sprlje, the Governor of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County,
the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, and their aides was held
secretly and without the presence of journalists. A press release issued
afterwards said that the visit was 'private and unofficial'. This is, to
put it mildly, a bit too much for the allegedly, unofficial meeting.
Journalists were informed that Mr. Petritsch did not want their presence
at the meeting. Obviously, the Governor Sprlje and his closest aides, as
good hosts, met his request.
Mr. Petritsch is not just anybody and he did not pay a private visit to
Dubrovnik. On the contrary, as it was officially published later on, he
discussed with the Governor Sprlje serious issues which concern all the
citizens of the South Croatia, but also the relations of our country with
neighboring countries, that is, with BiH, and Yugoslavia(Montenegro).
Also, the Governor of Dubrovnik-Neretva County is not an ordinary citizen
and private person in this concrete situation, but he is a state official
from the South Croatia.
When we take into consideration all this, as well as the text of the
official press release, which was published later, the question arises
which interlocutors of the secret meeting did not want that the public
learns straight from the horse's mouth what was discussed. For instance,
they discussed the need of the regional cooperation among border-areas of
the three neighboring countries, the arranging of non-frequent and
inadequate border crossings at the South of Croatia, and the possible
projects of the common interest which can be put forward to the Stability
Pact...
During the meeting, the HR and Sprlje also discussed the aggression
against the South of Croatia and its consequences. Apparently, the
Petritsch said that he would talk personally with The Hague Prosecutor
Carla del Ponte.
Petritsch 'believes that the cooperation in this area will be difficult
until the individual responsibility is determined and until perpetrators
are brought to justice, because this serves the interest of the whole
region and all three neighboring countries'. This was officially published
together with the part of the conversation about many The Hague related
issues that are still open.
Thus, they discussed extremely important issues. We do not know why it was
different with the meeting Sprlje-Petritsch and why they decided to send
an inarticulate press release, and not some other form that is more
natural and more appropriate for this kind of topic. We know that it is a
rule that after the meetings behind the closed door the questions arise as
to who, when, how and with whose authorization talked to someone about
something.
|
