- BH-Central Institutions
- BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends verbal note to the FRY
Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Zagreb's Republika speculates on the future composition of the
Council of Ministers;
- Current Issues: HDZ-related news
- Federation House of Peoples to hold a constituting session within
two week period;
- SDA deputies in the House of representatives will abstain from
voting on the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers;
- OHR and OSCE say HDZ and Jelavic are acting irresponsibly;
- HDZ Inter-Cantonal Council already exists?;
- Federation
- Sale contract for the Holiday Inn hotel annulled;
- Herzegovina-Neretva Canton governor against financial auditor for
the Federation;
- Republika Srpska
- RS Government refuses OHR's proposal : Privatization of
socially-owed apartments with old currency savings remains limited;
- RS Association of Refugees asks Petritsch to impose law on purchase
of apartments;
- BiH Workers Union appeals for extending the deadline for
compensation claims (RS Labor Law);
- International community:
- US Ambassador says US funding still goes to the RS;
- SDHR Matthias Sonn visits Travnik, talks with Canton authorities;
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Central Institutions related Issues:
BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends verbal note to the FRY Ministry of
Foreign Affairs:
The BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note verbale to its FRY
counterpart stressing that not a single state body has been informed about
the signing of the Agreement on special and parallel relations between the
RS and the FRY. "If this is true (i.e., if the signing is really to take
place) then a usual diplomatic procedure has not been respected," read the
note. The BiH Ministry also asked the FRY Foreign Ministry to provide
further explanations about this matter, which should have been discussed
within the framework of bilateral relations of two countries.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister of the RS, Petar Kunic, said that the
approval of BiH state institutions is not necessary for the process of the
establishment of special and parallel relations between the FRY and the
RS. The Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic, dismissed
yesterday the comments of his Bosniak colleague from the Presidency, Halid
Genjac, who said that this such non-transparent procedure is interfering
in the internal affairs of BiH. Radisic said that special relations are
fully in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement and cannot be against
the interest of the other entity, other people or the state per se.
Zagreb's Republika speculates on the future composition of the Council of
Ministers:
Zagreb's Republika reported that, if the House of Representatives confirms
the candidacy of Bozidar Matic for the Chairman of the Council of
Ministers, this body will be formed very quickly. According to Republika,
Matic has already held consultations with political parties about the
composition of the future Council of Ministers. Some speculation shave it
that Matic will be the Minister of Treasury, Zlatko Lagumdzija - Foreign
Minister, while Kresimir Zubak is the most serious candidate for the
Ministry of Refugees and Human Rights.
Current issues: HDZ-related news
Federation House of Peoples to hold a constituting session within two week
period:
The Chairman of the present Federation House of Peoples, Niko Lozancic,
and his deputy, Alija Behmen, will meet next week to discuss the formation
of the new House and set a date for its constituting session. The
secretary of the House, Hilmo Pasic, said that the final list of delegates
should be received today (on Friday), which would open the door of the
actual formation of the House of Peoples. The OSCE warned that the
constituting session has to be held before February 23.
SDA deputies in the House of representatives will abstain from voting on
the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers:
At yesterday's press conference, the SDA spokesman, Sefik Dzaferovic, said
that the SDA deputies in the BiH Parliament's House of representatives
will be abstained in the process of voting for the new nominee for the
Chair of the Council of Ministers. "SDA deputies will be abstained because
it is our view that we could support only a candidate which would create a
representative government," said Dzaferovic, and added that the SDA is
equally distanced from the nationalist parties and the Alliance block.
OHR and OSCE say HDZ and Jelavic are acting irresponsibly:
Commenting on the conclusions of the Central Board of the HDZ held in
Mostar on Wednesday, OHR spokesman Oleg Milisic said that the OHR
considers the recent actions of the HDZ as irresponsible and potentially
dangerous. He said that, by boycotting the legal institutions of the
Federation and the state, the HDZ is excluding itself from authority and
leading its voters into an isolation. OSCE's spokesman Luke Zahner told
the press that if the HDZ chooses to take part in the important
institutions, its voice will not be heard. "And all this goes at the
expense of those who voted for the HDZ in November," concluded Zahner.
Federation and Croatian media (most extensively Slobodna Dalmacija)
carried the OHR and OSCE reactions to HDZ actions.
HDZ Inter-Cantonal Council already exists?:
According to Dnevni Avaz, the HDZ Inter-Cantonal Council, whose creation
Ante Jelavic uses as a threat, already exists and it has been operation
for the past two years. According to the same source, the Council has been
operating under a different name - The Coordination of Presidents and
Deputy Presidents of Cantonal Government - and its secretary has been
Zoran Perkovic. The Coordination Board has been discussing important
issues of both legislative and financial nature.
Commenting on the fact that the Main Board of the HDZ did not make any
radical decisions at its Wednesday session, Dnevni Avaz commentator said
that party officials are actually aware that they can create even a
separate state on the paper, but that they do not posses any concrete
mechanisms, such as army or police force, which could provide backing for
any of the radical solutions. "The very moment we announce the separation
or the Inter-Cantonal Council, all HVO barracks will be occupied; they are
already under the full control of the International Community," Avaz
quoted one participant of the session as saying, and concluded that the
estimates of some commentators that the HDZ is really not sure as to what
to do next are most likely true.
Federation
Sale contract for the Holiday Inn hotel annulled:
The Sarajevo Agency for Privatization and buyers of the Holiday Inn hotel
in Sarajevo bilaterally annulled late Wednesday their sale contract.
According to Federation media, the Agency returned over 5 million KM in
cash, 10.000 KM in vouchers, and paid 190 thousand KM in compensation to
Nedim Causevic, while other buyers will be compensated in the near future.
This annulment marked the end of the year long privatization saga which
was even presented before the Federation Constitutional Court.
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton governor against financial auditor for the
Federation:
The governor of the Herzegovina-Neretva canton, Rade Bosnjak, criticized
the decision of the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, to establish
the function of the Special Financial Auditor for the BiH Federation, and
which would control the cantonal budgets. Bosnjak stressed that the
distrust of the International Community in cantonal authorities is
unfounded, since they act in full accordance with established laws. "I
take the liberty to note that it would have been more appropriate if the
HR ...asked the Auditor to request from the Federation institutions which
control the budgets to enforce a strict control over the collection and
fixed expenditure of money, in particular in the filed of education,
since the entire system is being transformed according to international
criteria," stressed, at the end Bosnjak.
Republika Srpska
RS Government refuses OHR's proposal : Privatization of socially-owed
apartments with old currency savings remains limited:
According to Nezavisne Novine, the RS Ministry of urban Planning and
Housing rejected the OHR's proposal to use old currency savings without
limitation for the privatization socially-owned apartments. "If we accept
the OHR proposal, there will be no Housing Fund or the cash, which
virtually means that it will be impossible to approve any long-term
loans," red the press release. Representatives of the OHR and the RS
Ministry agreed that all contracts about the exchange of apartments, and
which were concluded before the privatization, should be annulled.
RS Association of Refugees asks Petritsch to impose law on purchase of
apartments:
The Association of Refugees and DPs from the RS asked the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, to urgently impose the law on purchase
of apartments in this entity. The Association's president, Mirhunisa
Zukic, said that the position of returnees to the RS is already difficult,
while discriminatory provisions which do not allow returnees to purchase
their homes simply further discourage returns.
BiH Workers Union appeals for extending the deadline for compensation
claims (RS Labor Law:
The president of the BiH Workers Union, Sulejman Hrle, issued a statement
yesterday in which he asked the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch,
to urgently amend the RS Labor Law, and to extend the deadline for
submission of compensations claims by illegally dismissed workers in the
RS. Hrle also criticized OHR spokesman Oleg Milisic for saying that the
Labor Laws in the RS and the Federation provide similar benefits to
workers. He called Milisic's statement incorrect and hypocritical and
asked the HR to take out "discriminatory provisions", i.e., the Article
152 from the RS Labor Law.
International community related issues:
US Ambassador says US funding still goes to the RS:
The US Ambassador to BiH, Thomas Miller, said that the US will vehemently
oppose the formation of a third entity or any similar moves to change the
borders within BiH. He said, in an interview with Banja Luka's Alternative
TV, that, thus far, no US financial projects have been suspended, as had
been anticipated after the victory of nationalist forces at November
elections. However, Miller stressed that this possibility is not fully
ruled out.
SDHR Matthias Sonn visits Travnik, talks with Canton authorities:
Split Slobodna Dalmacija reported that the Senior Deputy High
Representative, Matthias Sonn, visited Travnik on Wednesday and held
informative meetings with leading canton officials. Following the meeting,
Sonn told the press that he is satisfied with the situation in the Central
Bosnia Canton, and was pleased to see a high level of awareness and
responsibility on behalf of the officials. "I am very happy to see that
the issue of possible coexistence of various national and religious groups
is not being raised in this Canton," said Sonn.
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