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Federation
- Federation House of Peoples confirms Karlo Filipovic and Safet
Halilovic as President and Vice President of the Federation;
- Federation House of Representatives endorses the candidacy of Karlo
Filipovic and Safet Halilovic;
- Former Deputy PM and the Minister of Finance in the Federation
rejects OHR accusation;
- BiH Elektroprivreda names new General Manager;
- Vjesnik: Bicakcic was forced to make some of his decisions;
- Construction company workers prevented from holding demonstrations;
- HDZ-related Issues
- Croat National Assembly to discuss political divorce from the
Federation;
- Ante Jelavic sends letters of support to sentences Croat war
criminals;
- Ante Jelavic says the International Community turned to Federation
into a Bosniak entity;
- European Commission head Hans Joerg Kretschmer visits Mostar and
warns the HDZ
- Republika Srpska
- OHR wants explanations about the appointment of Milovan Ninkovic in
the RS Railway Co;
- Agreement on special and parallel relations between BiH and the RS
to be signed on Thursday;
- RS Prime Minister also confirms the signing of the agreement on
special and parallel relations between the FRY and the RS;
- RS demands Dobrinja I and IV;
- International community:
- NATO SG George Robertson says BiH closer to Partnership for Peace;
- Wolfgang Petritsch visits Germany for talks on situation in BiH
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Federation:
Federation House of Peoples confirms Karlo Filipovic and Safet Halilovic
as President and Vice President of the Federation:
The Federation Parliament's House of Peoples confirmed today the candidacy
of Karlo Filipovic (SDP) and Safet Halilovic (Party for BiH) as the
President and the Vice President of the Federation respectively. Their
candidacy was confirmed by 43 votes in favor, 11 abstentions, while no
deputy voted against. During this session, representatives of the HDZ
failed to come.
Federation House of Representatives endorses the candidacy of Karlo
Filipovic and Safet Halilovic:
The Federation Parliament's House of Representatives endorsed yesterday
the nomination of Karlo Filipovic (SDP) and Safet Halilovic (Party for
BiH) for posts of the entity President and the Vice President. Filipovic
and Halilovic received 74 votes in favor, none opposed, while
representatives of the SDA and the Bosnian Party (BOSS) abstained.
According to media reports, representatives of the HDZ, HSP (Croat Party
of Right) and the HKDU failed to appear at yesterday's session.
During yesterday's session, the former Prime Minister, Edhem Bicakcic,
presented his report on the work of government in 2000, however it has
been rejected since most deputies agreed that the report does not reflect
the actual situation on the ground.
Former Deputy PM and the Minister of Finance in the Federation rejects OHR
accusation:
The former deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance in the BiH
Federation, Dragan Covic, rejected the OHR accusations that he did not
perform his duties conscientiously and that he bears a part of
responsibility for illegal transfers of funds from the Federation budget.
At yesterday's press conference, Covic said that he was surprised by the
allegations put forth by the OHR, and stressed that he has not officially
been informed about the possible criminal charges against him. He said
that he has been assured by certain OHR officials that he is not involved
in the actual criminal case, but he stressed that he needs to have
something in a written form stating the same. Covic said that he is
looking forward talking with the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch,
about this issue, and expressed hope that this conversation will end in a
mutual agreement between the two.
Commenting on particular allegations of the OHR, Covic confirmed that he
knew about the transfer of funds from the Federation budget to the
Association of Families of Fallen Soldiers, however he denied having any
knowledge about the further use of the money. He also denied being
involved in any way in the affair of illegally imported cars, and said
that he had never interfered in the work of the Financial Police and
inspection.
BiH Elektroprivreda names new General Manager:
At yesterday's session, the Steering Board of Elektroprivreda BiH decided
to appoint a new General-Manager and officially relieve Edhem Bicakcic,
who was removed by the HR last week, of his duty. According to
Elektoprvreda's statement for the press, Ognjen Markovic, one of the
directors within the company, will be the future General-Manager.
Vjesnik: Bicakcic was forced to make some of his decisions:
According to Vjesnik, although he made both the International Community
and the Alliance parties angry, it is quite clear that some of actions of
Edhem Bicakcic were necessitated by the general situation in the country
or the inefficient administration.
Construction company workers prevented from holding demonstrations:
At 10 am this morning a strong police force prevented workers with the
Hercegovina construction company to hold demonstrations on the road
between Sarajevo and Mostar. According to media, the workers were trying
to pressure the Cantonal government to finally pay their salaries and to
return their building, which is presently occupied by the Ministry of
Interior. The protester say they will ask for support from the OHR and the
International Association of Trade Unions.
HDZ-related Issues
Croat National Assembly to discuss political divorce from the Federation:
According to Oslobodjenje, the Croat National Assembly will discuss the
political divorce of Croat majority territories from the BiH Federation at
its session scheduled for Saturday. "Parties which are led by the HDZ and
are gathered in the Croat National Assembly will decide about the
separation of the legislative, judiciary and the executive authority in
the Federation, as well as the separation of tax and duty systems in the
entity," an unidentified HDZ source told the daily. He also said that the
Assembly parties are diligently working on the document which is to be
presented following the session, and which is to reflect the attitudes of
Croats towards their future within BiH. The same source conceded that the
document does not mention the possibility of the separation, but that that
this decision will be made at the end. He explained that the HDZ's
strategy is to use a moderate rhetoric and shy away from radicalism, all
towards the aim of the final political divorce from the Federation.
Meanwhile, more moderate Croat parties, such as the NHI, called Croat
politicians and their parties to boycott the work of the Assembly, since
this institution works directly against the interests of Croat people in
BiH.
Ante Jelavic sends letters of support to sentences Croat war criminals:
The Croat member of the BiH Presidency and the leader of the HDZ, Ante
Jelavic, sent an open letter of support to the sentenced Croat war
criminals, Dario Kordic and Mario Cerkez, in which he claims that the
verdict of the ICTY was unfair. "According to The Hague, you and other
Croats in Lasva Valley are guilty only because you managed to defend
yourselves from the attacks of aggressors and remain put on your ancient
homeland," said Jelavic in the letter, and added that the verdict was used
to place the collective guilt upon the Croat people in BiH. Jelavic also
said that Croats will gather today in Busovaca to protest against the
verdict and to express their pain caused by the injustice and the lack of
understanding on the part of the International Community. "Yours and the
Croat cross in BiH is heavy, but we are big for we are ready to carry that
cross standing straight on the way to our full freedom and equality with
other peoples in BiH," said Jelavic addressing the two highest Croat
officials sentenced for committing crimes against humanity.
Also commenting on The Hague verdict, Cantonal associations of Croat
Veterans of the Homeland War said that the International Community would
have been happiest if Croats allowed Muslims to kill them gradually and
finally exterminate them. They also said that The Hague with this verdict
became a "modern Bleiburg for Croat people."
Ante Jelavic says the International Community turned to Federation into a
Bosniak entity:
Speaking at a public forum in Vitez, Ante Jelavic said that the OSCE and
the International Community turned the Federation into a Bosniak entity.
He also said that from March 3 on, when the Croat National Assembly
convenes, the cantons with Croat majority will no longer finance such an
entity and such institutions of authority. Jelavic also noted with
cynicism that the Alliance appointed Jadranko Prlic, a war time political
superior to the two sentenced Croats - Kordic and Cerkez- to the post of
one of the deputy ministers, and all with the blessing of the
International Community.
European Commission head Hans Joerg Kretschmer visits Mostar and warns the
HDZ:
During his visit to Mostar, the head of the European Commission, Hans
Joerg Kretschmer warned the HDZ that if it decides to establish the
Inter-Cantonal Council, it could be severely penalized by the High
Representative. "The formation of such a body would further represent a
serious violation of the Constitution and the Law," said Kretschmer.
Without clarifying what the HR might do, he alluded to the possibility of
abolishing the HDZ BiH. Kretschmer stressed that, despite all this, he
regrets that the HDZ decided not to participate in legally established
institutions in the Federation and BiH.
Republika Srpska
OHR wants explanations about the appointment of Milovan Ninkovic in the RS
Railway Co:
Banja Luka's Nezavisne Novine quotes OHR spokesman, Oleg Milisic, as
saying that the OHR will ask the RS government to explain why Milovan
Ninkovic was appointed to the post of the General Manager of the RS
Railway Company. Ninkovic is a former RS Defense Minister and an alleged
SDS hard-liner.
Agreement on special and parallel relations between BiH and the RS to be
signed on Thursday:
Banja Luka dailies report that the agreement on the special and parallel
relations between the RS and the FRY is to be signed on Thursday. This was
confirmed by the FRY Prime Minister, Zoran Zizic, following the meeting
with his RS counterpart, Mladen Ivanic. Zizic said that the agreement
would ensure that certain aspects of mutual cooperation between the two
develop more quickly and efficiently.
RS Prime Minister also confirms the signing of the agreement on special
and parallel relations between the FRY and the RS:
At today's press conference in Banja Luka, the RS Prime Minister, Mladen
Ivanic, said that, during his visit to Belgrade, he discussed the issue of
the economic cooperation between the RS and the FRY, as well as their
mutual debt. Ivanic also confirmed that the agreement on special and
parallel relations is to be put for an adoption before the FRY Parliament
on Thursday. He also said that the text of the agreement is satisfactory
and should be perceived as a framework for the creation of better
atmosphere in the whole region. Commenting on the controversial issue of
defense, Ivanic said that this military cooperation between the FRY and
the RS must exist and should not be problematic, since Croatia is helping
the Federation army. "However, this cooperation must be transparent,"
Ivanic said.
RS demands Dobrinja I and IV:
The first hearing of the witnesses from the RS and the BiH Federation in
the arbitration procedure for setting the inter-entity demarcation line in
Sarajevo's suburbs of Dobrinja I and Dobrinja IV was held in Sarajevo
yesterday. The RS position is that the Irish Judge Diarmuid Sheridan
should be asked to adopt a decision according to which Sarajevo's Dobrinja
I and Dobrinja IV are part of the RS, said Radomir Lukic, RS
representative in the arbitration procedure, adding that the demand was
reasonable, justified and argumented. " We believe that it is fair - after
all, it is a legal obligation - to observe what was agreed upon in Dayton.
To our knowledge, what was agreed in Dayton was that the factual situation
on the ground be observed in that area, that is, that the demarcation line
should remain where the line that separated the two armies during the
armed conflict used to be." Lukic also said that the principle according
to which the territory of Bosnia-Hercegovina was divided in a ratio of 49
to 51 was not observed because the RS had been short-changed by about 260
square kilometres.
International community related issues:
NATO SG George Robertson says BiH closer to Partnership for Peace:
In an interview with Dnevni Avaz, the NATO Secretary-General, George
Robertson, said that with the new Council of Ministers, BiH is closer to
its membership in the Partnership for Peace. "BiH must have strong central
institutions which will have effective control over military potentials
whose integration is inevitable," said Robertson, and added that this also
implies a common command and control. He said that the NATO will stay in
the Balkans and in BiH, however in somewhat changed form. "I think the
peace in BiH could be achieved with less troops on the ground," said
Robertson, and added that BiH citizens must take their faith into their
own hands.
Wolfgang Petritsch visits Germany for talks on situation in BiH:
Federation news agencies report that the High Representative, Wolfgang
Petritsch, is visiting Berlin for talks with Germany's Deputy Foreign
Minister and the Councilor to the country's Foreign Policy Chancellor.
According to OHR spokesman, Oleg Milisic, Petritsch is to discuss the
formation of authority in BiH, the implementation of the economic reforms
and property laws.
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