BH-Central Institutions Police raids night clubs in BiH; Dobrinja arbitration process to be continued on March 14; Serb Civic Council (SGV) on the implementation of the BiH Constitutional Court's decision; Kurban Bayram today; HDZ-related News Croat National Assembly proclaims an interim inter-cantonal council; OHR and OSCE say Croat Assembly's decision "an illegal fiction"; Wolfgang Petritsch warns that radical elements would use the Assembly gathering for their advantage; US Embassy in Sarajevo says the US will not accept conclusions of the CAN; OSCE's Robert Barry calls Jelavic's behavior irresponsible; UN Jacques Paul Klein says no parallel structures in BiH will be tolerated; Croatian Parliament official says Croat National Assembly's decision absurd; Ante Jelavic: We expect sanctions, but there is no way back!; President of the newly formed Interim Croat Autonomy says Croatian President Mesic does not understand the situation in BiH: Croat National Assembly to call for a referendum next; Federation Alija Behmen of the SDP nominated for the Federation Prime Minister; Pensions situation in the Federation better then expected; BiH Elektroprivreda veterans express bitterness over Bicakcic's removal; Republika Srpska Agreement on special and parallel relations between the FRY and the RS to be signed today; SDS asks for a dismissal of Milan Ninkovic; International community: Richard Williams leaves the post of Zepce supervisor; Wolfgang Petritsch meets the Chairman of the Council of Ministers; The High Representative amends the Federation Law on Witness Protection; The High Representative creates a single Communications regulator for BiH; Editorials Republika: HDZ offers an empty nationalist rhetoric; Republika: The Croat National Assembly reestablishes Herzeg-Bosna; Slobodna Dalmacija: International Community disciplining Croats - To The Hague without a passport Slobodna Dalmacija: Croat National Assembly - Jelavic's response to Petritsch's protectorate; Vjesnik: HDZ offers a dialogue - Will they have an interlocutor?; Jutarnji List: BiH Croats- What is the name of our state?; Oslobodjenje: A Prelude to 1991; Oslobodjenje: HDZ dressed in the Croat National Assembly; Dnevni Avaz: Who remembers Poplasen anyway?; BiH Joint Institutions-related Issues: Police raids night clubs in BiH: In a raid launched simultaneously on 39 night clubs across BiH on Friday, local police and the IPTF arrested 48 suspects and put a significant number of others in custody. During a secret action, 177 women, mostly from the Baltic countries, who were allegedly forced into prostitution were freed. This was the single largest operation conducted by the joint police force from both entities in BiH. Dobrinja arbitration process to be continued on March 14: The international arbiter for the disputed inter-entity boundary line in the Sarajevo suburbs Dobrinja I and IV, Irish Justice Diarmuid P. Sheridan, postponed the presentation of BiH Federation and the Republika Srpska positions for March 14 due to private reasons, Oslobodjenje quoted a source close to negotiating teams involved in the process. This means, according to the daily, that the closings by the entity teams will also be postponed and given on March 16 instead of March 12. After that, more precisely on March 19, representatives of the citizens from the both sides of the inter-entity line will present their views. The BiH Federation witnesses, Zlatko Petrovic (Sarajevo Canton Minister for Urban Planning) and Besima Boric-Maric (Sarajevo Canton Labor Minister) gave their testimonies last Friday. The Oslobodjenje's source believes that these testimonies were also clear evidence that it was not possible to separate Dobrinja I and IV from rest of the town. In addition, Oslobodjenje reports that the Sarajevo Novi Grad Municipal Council adopted a platform to support re-integration of the disputed Dobrinja parts in the municipality and the town of Sarajevo at its special session held on Friday. Serb Civic Council (SGV) on the implementation of the BiH Constitutional Court's decision: BiH Serb Civic Council (SGV) - Movement for Equality reiterated its full support to the High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch's efforts in the implementation of the BiH Constitutional Court's decision on the constituency of all three peoples in the country at the session held on Saturday in Sarajevo. In a statement adopted at the session, the SGV particularly supported Petritsch's decision to establish Constitutional Commissions in the entity parliaments tasked to draft amendments to the entity constitutions that will make the Decision on the Constituency part of the entities' legislation. The SGV requested that the drafted amendments are made available to the citizens, political parties and NGOs for discussion in order that the best solutions are found. Kurban Bayram today: Today is the Muslim holiday of sacrifice, Kurban Bayram. The head of the BiH Islamic Community, Mustafa ef. Ceric, will conduct the main ceremony of celebration in Novi Pazar, southern FRY (Sandzak). Ceric will be the first of BiH Islamic community to visit Sandzak in the last 25 years. The ceremony will be broadcast live on Serbian national radio and television. HDZ-related News (see also editorials) Croat National Assembly proclaims an interim inter-cantonal council: At its session on Saturday, the Croat National Assembly unanimously decided on an interim Croat autonomy in BiH, i.e., on the establishment of an Inter-Cantonal Council, which is to protect the interests of Croats in the country "until the full constitutional and real equality of Croat people in BiH can be ensured". The Assembly also adopted a platform for a democratic and self-sustainable BiH, which will be offered to political parties of the other two peoples in the country , as well as to the International Community. According to press statements of high officials within the Croat National Assembly, this body will be willing to withdraw the decision on the interim Croat autonomy if conditions which would guarantee the full constitutional status of Croats in the country are met. In particular, the Assembly asked for the full respect for the electoral will of Croat people, for compliance with principles of parity, rotation and consensus in the joint institutions of government, as well as for the annulment of the PEC rules and regulations for the election of deputies for the Federation House of Peoples. At a session which started by the intonation of the BiH national anthem, members of the Assembly elected Marko Tokic, the vice-president of the HDZ, for the post of the president of the Interim Croat Autonomy, while his party colleague, Zdravko Batinic, was elected his deputy. Ivo Andric Luzanski, also of the HDZ, was appointed the president of the Legislative Council within the Interim Autonomy. The Assemblies final decision stressed that the areas which are under the Interim autonomy will not recognize the authority of BiH or the Federation. The Croat Autonomy will consist of the Legislative Council, and entity and cantonal parliaments, all of which will be financially self-sustainable, and will have their own national insignia and a cot of arms. At the end of the session, the Assembly decided that if the International Community and other political partners in BiH fail to adopt the offered platform within fifteen days, all decision made during the session will take effect. The session of the Croat National Assembly was by far the top story in the Federation media, however despite the invitation for a live broadcast, no large radio or television station, save the smaller Croat stations in Herzegovina, had a live coverage. Most media provided substantial updated every hour, but avoided more comprehensive reporting. OHR and OSCE say Croat Assembly's decision "an illegal fiction": All Federation media quoted OHR spokesman, Chris Bird, as saying that the self-proclaimed autonomy of Croats in BiH is nothing more then illegal fiction propagated by an extreme wing of one political party, the HDZ. Bird also said that the International Community will hold the HDZ leader, Ante Jelavic, personally accountable for his provocative actions. Foreign news agencies such as the AFP and Reuters also speculated that the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, will most likely penalize Jelavic for his recent moves. Bird told Oslobodjenje that the OHR is looking into the CNA document, but that it is clear at a first sight that the interim autonomy is illegal, unconstitutional and that it presents a clear violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. OSCE spokesman, Luke Zahner, also labeled the Assembly decision as illegal, and said that the HDZ is leading Croat people in BiH into an isolation. Wolfgang Petritsch warns that radical elements would use the Assembly gathering for their advantage: In a personal message addressed to BiH citizens, the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, said, referring to the session of the Croat National Assembly, that the gathering in Mostar would be used by certain radical elements to establish parallel institutions for their own advantage. Petritsch stressed that illegal or anti-Dayton actions will not be tolerated by the International Community. All Federation media carried HR's message in full. US Embassy in Sarajevo says the US will not accept conclusions of the CNA: The US Embassy in Sarajevo warned on Sunday that the official Washington will not allow any blocking of the peace process in BiH, and will not tolerate the attempts to implement the conclusions of the Croat National Assembly adopted on Saturday in Mostar. In the press release issued on Sunday, the US Administration said that the International Community rejects the conclusions of the Croat Assembly and will reject any cooperation with such a self-appointed body. "We are not going just going to sit and wait while one group is trying to preserve political and economic privileges, which do not belong to them thereby blocking any progress in BiH, " reads the press release. OSCE's Robert Barry calls Jelavic's behavior irresponsible: The head of the OSCE mission to BiH, Robert Barry, condemned the decisions of the Croat National Assembly and called the behavior of the HDZ leader, Ante Jelavic, 'irresponsible and anti-democratic'. He stressed that the Mostar gathering, despite the warnings of the OSCE and the International Community, resulted in the passing of one-sided decisions, which are against the Dayton Peace Agreements, as well as the Constitution of the BiH Federation. 'Although the IC is ready to continue a dialogue with the legally formed bodies in BiH, including the members of the Presidency, they will not cooperate with illegal and unconstitutional bodies established at the session of the Croat National Assembly. The HDZ has decided to see this country and the Croats in the past, which is full of divisions, ethnic hatred and conflicts'. Barry also added that that the HDZ activities are no more then an attempt to preserve a control over the economic potentials, which have been in the hands of the officials of this party during the last ten years, at every cost. UN Jacques Paul Klein says no parallel structures in BiH will be tolerated: The head of the UN Mission to BiH, Jacques Paul Klein, said that there will be no changes of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and that the International Community will reject any attempts to create parallel structures in BiH. "From the recent past of this region it is quite clear that the rights of the citizens are protected by the universal rule of law, and not by the selfish and corrupt rule of those who claim to be the only representatives of one ethnic group," said Klein commenting on the decision of the Croat National Assembly. Croatian Parliament official says Croat National Assembly's decision absurd: In an interview with Zagreb's Vecernji List, Vesna Pusic, a deputy in the Croatian Parliament, said that the decisions of the Croat National Assembly made in Mostar are utterly absurd and contrary to the interests of Croat people in BiH. "Should their plan be realized, Croats in BiH will have no formal institutions to address," said Pusic, and added that this decision leaves Croats living in other cantons in the Federation in a difficult position. Ante Jelavic: We expect sanctions, but there is no way back!: In an interview with Zagreb's Jutarnji List, the president of the HDZ and the Croat National Assembly, and the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Ante Jelavic, said that the proclaimed Croat autonomy has nothing in common with the illegal war-time Herzeg-Bosna, and it is not a form of a para-state. "After all, the Federation Constitution foresees the possibility of establishment of Cantonal and Municipal Councils, " said Jelavic, and added that the Assembly tried not to violate the Connotations. Asked if a new war is an option here, Jelavic said that violent conflict is out of question, and that the Assembly believes that a dialogue with the International Community is absolutely necessary. Asked if he is afraid of the possible sanctions, Jelavic said that he does not think about threats because he and the Assembly are not guilty. "We are aware of our responsibility, but there is no pull back," said Jelavic, and added that he would even accept the close down of the HDZ if guarantees to Croats about their full equality are given. President of the newly formed Interim Croat Autonomy says Croatian President Mesic does not understand the situation in BiH: In an interview with Zagreb's Vecernji List, the newly appointed president of the Interim Croat Autonomy, Marko Tokic, said that the proclamation of the Croat self-governance is in no way a violation of the BiH or the Federation Constitution. He added that too much time has been wasted on a dialogue with the International Community and the other two peoples. Commenting on the statement of the Croatian President Stipe Mesic that decisions of the Assembly are detrimental to Croat interests in BiH, Tokic said that Mesic does not really understand the situation in BiH. Tokic also stressed that Croats have not left voluntarily the BiH institutions, but have been forced out of them. Commenting on the possible sanction by the International Community, Tokic said that if the IC decides to penalize on people in BiH, the other two would feel it as well. Croat National Assembly to call for a referendum next: According to a high official within the Croat National Assembly, this body could call for a referendum in the near future, asking Croats to declare themselves on the future reorganization of BiH. The same source told Slobodna Dalmacija that more radical elements within the HDZ and the Assembly were disappointed when members of the Assembly said that they would be ready to withdraw their decision if the International Community and local political factors adopt its platform within fifteen days. According to the same official, a number of Assembly members will demand the unconditional establishment of the third entity, i.e., the Croat Republic in BiH, with a clearly defined territory. These radicals are opposed by a more moderate wing, which advocates the reorganization of BiH in a number of multi-ethnic cantons. In this light, a possible referendum question would be "Are you for the third entity or the canonization of BiH?" Federation Alija Behmen of the SDP nominated for the Federation Prime Minister: The Federation President, Alija Behmen, nominated on Friday Alija Behmen of the SDP for the post of the Federation Prime Minister. Behmen's nomination must be approved by both Houses in the Federation Parliament. Pensions situation in the Federation better then expected: According to Oslobodjenje, February pensions in the Federation should be fully paid in all cantons by March 9. Enver Sarajlic, the president of the Association of Pensioners in the Federation, said that the situation this month is better then expected, since the highest pensions were reduced only by 12,5 percent, and all others by only one KM. Sarajlic expressed hope that the situation in March will be even better, while in April, pensions could reach the levels they had before the Pension Law was imposed. BiH Elektroprivreda veterans express bitterness over Bicakcic's removal: Regarding the removal of Edhem Bicakcic form the office of the BiH Elektroprivreda general manager, veterans working in the enterprise sent an open letter to the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, expressing their surprise and bitterness over the decision. According to the letter, not even OHR legal experts can explain Bicakcic's removal. "The International Community does not penalize politicians who are obstructing the return of refugees to their pre-war homes in the Republika Srpska, but it punishes those who deserve tributes for improvements made in BiH," the veterans said in the letter. Republika Srpska Agreement on special and parallel relations between the FRY and the RS to be signed today: Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica signed an accord on Monday in Banja Luka with the RS president aimed at boosting economic and social ties. Under the agreement both sides pledged to "respect Bosnia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence." They also pledged to "contribute to the social, democratic and economic development" of Yugoslavia, RS, the whole of Bosnia and the Balkans. The agreement at present contains only general outlines. Details will be negotiated in annexes once the accord has been ratified by the respective parliaments. It said Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska wanted to cooperate on economic issues, science and technology, privatization, health care and social policy, tourism, education, ecology, information, culture, sport, the fight against crime, and the protection of freedom and human rights. It also provides for cooperation in "defense, in a completely transparent way". A three-member cooperation council and six-member board to oversee the implementation of the accord has been formed. The accord notes that the Office of the High Representative overseeing civil aspects of the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement "will be consulted in drafting the annexes to the agreement, and will oversee its implementation". Under the Dayton peace accord which ended Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, both Bosnia's entities -- the Republika Srpska and the Federation -- have the right to form ties with neighboring countries. The Federation established special ties with Croatia in December 1998. Although he has been officially invited to attend the signing ceremony, the BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zlatko Lagumdzija, said he could not participate, since the ceremony coincided with the Muslim holiday - Kurban Bayram - and he has certain personal business to attend to. SDS asks for a dismissal of Milan Ninkovic: The SDS president, Dragan Cavic, said on Friday that the SDS leadership sent a letter to the RS Minister of Transport and Communications, Branko Dokic, asking him to dismiss the General Manager of the RS Railway Company, Milan Ninkovic. Cavic said that the party conducted talks with Mr. Ninkovic and concluded that his dismissal would be the best move due to tremendous pressure certain media and representatives of the International Community. International community related issues: Richard Williams leaves the post of Zepce supervisor: According to media reports, the international supervisor for Zepce municipality, Richard Williams, will leave his post in the near future. Williams told the press that, despite numerous complications and disagreements, the process of integration of Zepce witnessed a tremendous progress during his time, and informed media that the Interim Board in the municipality has been finally completed. Wolfgang Petritsch meets the Chairman of the Council of Ministers: All Federation media reported on Saturday that the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, met with the new Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Bozidar Matic, and discussed the future work and priorities of new Council. The High Representative amends the Federation Law on Witness Protection: All media in the Federation reported that the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, issued a decision amending the Law on Witness Protection in the F BiH. The High Representative creates a single Communications regulator for BiH: The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, issued on Friday a decision creating a single regulator for the communications sector in BiH, combining regulatory responsibilities for telecommunications, currently under the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (TRA), with those for broadcasting, currently under the Independent Media Commission (IMC). All BiH media carried the OHR press release. Editorials: Republika: HDZ offers an empty nationalist rhetoric: The policy of the HDZ BiH is very much like a clichÈ and is deprived of any imaginativeness. Instead of skillful and serious policy, the HDZ used an old and worn-out nationalist rhetoric and empty stories on the apparent endangered position of Croats in BiH. Ante Jelavic himself is slaloming in that policy. It was not long ago when a Spanish politician, Carlos Westendorp, who was at that time leaving his post of the High Representative, whispered in passing: " How could I make Bosnia start functioning when 70% of my economy is illegal!?" The HDZ BiH is playing dangerously with actions of its brotherly party in Croatia: it proclaimed war crimes suspects, who were later convicted murderers, rapists and robbers, the national heroes and saints. The HDZ BiH found itself in the position to seek its political partners in equally nationalistic parties such as the SDS and the SDA, who were until yesterday considered as mortal enemies of the Croats. Republika: The Croat National Assembly reestablishes Herzeg-Bosna: The official and unofficial BiH public mainly reacted to the conclusions of the HNS on the day when the session was on. In the Bosniak part of the BiH Federation, the Croat self-rule is considered as a euphemism for a third entity, or, in other words, the old or new Herceg Bosna. In the HDZ-ruled areas, the decision on the establishing of the Croat self-rule was received with certain satisfaction but also with a bit of caution and even fear from possible moves of the international community. The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, condemned the decision of the HNS on the establishing of the Croat self-government and considers it 'a mere political act of the HDZ BiH'. The SDP BiH holds that the concept of the parallel and unconstitutional institutions, by which a full control of the Party over a part of the BiH Federation is realized, is publicly shaped by the decisions of the illegitimate and illegal Assembly. All of that is done with the aim of protection not of the national but personal interests and privileges. The BiH public also waits for the Head of the Catholic Church in BiH, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, to declare himself. He did not attend the session of the HNS, however, he declared himself, several times before, against the establishing of the parallel institutions of authority. Slobodna Dalmacija: International Community disciplining Croats - To The Hague without a passport By Petar Milos 'Jelavic is to be blamed for everything' the IC representatives shouted unanimously after the decision on the establishment of the Croat self-government was passed at the Croat National Assembly. Judging the speed of the reaction, the IC had named a culprit and prepared a sanction even before the session. Thus they announced the lists of the persons who are not eligible to get passports and to travel abroad. The organizers of the Assembly will be at the top of the list, but it is completely realistic to expect that it will be filled with the names of those who dare to begin to speak about national interests. This is how it used to be in the period from 1945 until 1990, when the passports were used to discipline the Croats. The Croat people in BiH wonder what kind of sanctions the IC will impose. Will they block the assistance from the abroad? No, because this famous assistance to the amount of 5 billion dollars, the amount that they allegedly invested in BiH, has never arrived to the Croats in a considerable amount. It seems that they will deploy multi-ethnic, customs and police teams on the border crossings. Thus, on the Croat-Croatian border they will erect some sort of the Berlin wall. Of course, they will do it in the cooperation with Zagreb, from where the condemnations of the Assembly and its decisions are also coming. Thus, for instance, the President Mesic judged the session as fatal for the Croats in BiH, recommending that all problems be solved within the institutions. It is OK. However, he forgot the fact that legally elected Croat representatives were kicked out from the Authority institutions, and the eligible persons were installed on their positions. All the conclusions can be boiled down to one: make possible equality and sovereignty of the Croat people in BiH. What is evil about it? Couldn't the Croats from the Alliance, and even Serbs and Muslims sign the same kind of the request? And only ill intentioned people or those who know nothing about this problem can claim that the Croats in BiH are equal now. According to the first reactions, the IC will take severe measures and thus it will prove its power. The Croats in BiH will certainly lose this fight, and the IC will not win because thus they will not solve obvious problems. And if there was a bit less haughtiness and a bit more of a common sense, the problem of the Croats might be considered seriously and they might admit at least a part of the blame, and doing it the IC would not lose its authority. On the contrary, they would win sympathy. Slobodna Dalmacija: Croat National Assembly - Jelavic's response to Petritsch's protectorate: Everything that the Croat politicians, gathered in the Croat People's Assembly (who according to the results of the last elections represent more then 90% of the Croat electorate) are talking and working, according to the HR and OSCE Mission in BiH, is a speech of one party in order to preserve its positions. Furthermore, their Spokespersons have been repeating lately that this is the politics of the HDZ extremists. However, the leading HDZ people are actually under the pressure of much more radical electorate. If the participants of the Croat People's Assembly had the possibility to declare themselves on the third entity or 'the reincarnation' of HB, there is no any doubt that a large number of people would have supported these solutions. And if the IC does not want the radicalization of the situation in BiH then they should support such HDZ and they should not threaten them that they will forbid their work. Don't the IC Representatives in BiH know how the Croats in BiH feel like? It cannot be possible that they trust more the leaders of the Croat political parties who won less votes then they have friends and acquaintances. When they say that the Croats have to fight for their rights through institutions that is the biggest hypocrisy. Only someone who is totally uninformed can trust such statements or someone who is not well intentioned and the Croatian President Stjepan Mesic is among these people. The big hypocrisy are the statements that the Croat People's Assembly is doing something that is against the DPA and that there will be no the DPA revision. The DPA has been changing from its very beginning and its very essence was changed last year when they deprived one people (the Croat) from their constituency. And this is being done by the IC, which has a mandate to interpret and not to make the revision of the DPA. Namely, if it had been that perfect then, certainly, the IC would not have changed it, and political factors in BiH would have implemented it and they would not have expressed their displeasure over its many regulations. Are the Croats as the people allowed to propose its revision in order to standardize the rights for all the peoples and citizens. Is this the experience of the democratic countries that Petritsch, Barry, Klein and the others are coming from and do they hold that democratic standards do not apply in BiH? Vjesnik: HDZ offers a dialogue - Will they have an interlocutor? By Goranka Juresko The most recent developments in B&H best testify that an international conference on B&H is a necessity. It should be aimed at solving the evidently accumulated problems which cannot be solved only by unilateral decisions, be it decisions of the High Representative, or those of the Assembly in Mostar. It is obvious that palliative measures only pull the strings harder and add oil to the fire under the "Bosnian pot." Croatia, i.e. Croatian politicians - from both the ruling parties and the opposition - must contribute in the resolving of problems, regardless of the fact that some of them keep claiming that the problems of B&H are problems of that state alone. One should not forget - this is about the neighbouring country and peace and stability in that country is in the interest of all those that the country borders with. Besides, a part of the Croat(ian) people live there and Croatia, according to the Constitution, should take a better care of them in order to avoid getting the B&H issue back as a boomerang. Jutarnji List: BiH Croats- What is the name of our state? "What, it is already finished? They have made a state in four hours! And what is the name of our state now," asks Marin from Kiseljak. He says that he, as the other HVO officers, received an order that he has to be at the gathering in front of the Herceg Stjepan Kosaca Centre, in which the Croat People's Assembly proclaimed the self-government on Saturday. "What am I supposed to do there? You know, we got tired of making those states. Whenever they have difficult times, they start making a state. Now, they have difficult times with the customs and immediately they make a state. What have they done so far," says Marin who came with his friends to visit other friends who moved from Kiseljak to Buna, around 15 kilometres from Mostar. " How can it be that we got a state when Petritsch does not allow it," asks 34-year old Pero Krstic, a demobilised defender from Kakanj. He says that he was in war for four years for Herceg Bosna and wants more than anything the establishing of a third entity today. Anto, a soldier from Zenica, is asking how it can be that the Serbs can have their entity and the Croats can not. "We want the plan on the establioshing of the self-government to succeed," says Anto. Pero adds that all the Croast want the third entity. "We are Bosnians, but our heart is Croat(ian). I do not even want to wear the Federal insignia on the uniform. I am ashamed of it. I keep it in the pocket, but my commander asks me in the morning where the emblem is and orders me to put it on. I do what he says as the lining is on," Anto says. One of the new settlements, like Suskovo and Bobanovo settlements, was built in Buna. One tried to move the Croats from the Central Bosnia and improve the national structure along the Neretva River. " We used to have Herceg Bosna, why didn't we go with that to the end? We had one war, you said it was over. What do you want now, again," asks Zoran from Kiseljak who came to visit his friends who moved from Kiseljak to Buna. He adds: "I do not believe them anything. They are just making noise, and you will see: On Monday, Jelavic will go to Sarajevo to work. As long as we are up there, nothing can be done," Zoran says alluding to the Croats from the Central Bosnia. Oslobodjenje: A Prelude to 1991 By Emir Habul There are two undergoing processes nowadays in BiH. On one side, the reintegration of the state has been becoming more and more applicable project, while on the other side, the HDZ BiH's separatist intentions have never been louder than these days, particularly before the All-Croat National Assembly in Mostar. These processes are mutually conditioned and opposite at the same time: the first one leads to the state and its institutions strengthening, as the second one leads to the BiH partition, Emir Habul wrote. The Contact-Group's Steering Board (he probably means the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board) decided in favor of the strengthening BiH state institutions at its last month's session in Brussels. This process has been, according to Habul, supported by a continued tie-up of the state border service, ongoing process of single military force formation, upcoming implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision on the constituent status of all peoples in the entire BiH territory, decision on the BiH State Court establishment, an idea on the formation of the state interior ministry etc. Moreover, the political parties gathered in the Alliance for Changes could be faster in passing some 30 laws that would help the reintegration of the economy and further strengthening of the common Dayton state. A more radical HDZ policy is not just a response to the loss of power, but it also represents an opposition to the reintegration processes. There are interpretations that demagogic phrases on defending jeopardized national interests actually represent an undercover protection for approximately one hundred privileged families that have gained a fortune during past ten years through illegal arms and oil trade in the war period, and at least disputed privatization processes and illegal trade activities in the post-Dayton period. Only a monopoly on the authority can secure these peoples from an eventual prosecution. The normalization of the situation would not be in favor of Ante Jelavic (HDZ BiH President and Croat member of the BiH Presidency) and his closest associates. Differently from the times of Mate Boban (war-time leader of BiH Croats) when there was a public and a secret policy (Grude, November 1991), Jelavic and his companions are playing as in a poker game on "all or nothing" led by an idea about the creation of a separate "Croat Republic." Verbally, this is a repetition of 1991, but both political and international context is completely different now. Now, BiH is at stake, and, finally, "the string" will be pulled by Jelavic from one side and Petritsch from the other, Habul wrote. Oslobodjenje: HDZ dressed in the Croat National Assembly By Senka Kurtovic Senka Kurtovic wrote that the HDZ BiH dressed up as the Croat National Assembly (HNS) invited Croats from all over the BiH to attend the Assembly's session in Mostar, where "a historic document of former BiH Croat Republic of Herceg-Bosna" will be adopted. According to Kurtovic, re-cantonization of BiH as proposed by this document is a mask for a final partition of the country. The Oslobodjenje journalist concluded that the HDZ, which had no possibility to step back given that it had gone too far in developing ethnically-based political illusions among Croats, was prepared to use the worst possible methods in its attempt to survive, regardless of a fact it was facing possibly rigid International Community's punishment. Dnevni Avaz: Who remembers Poplasen anyway? by Faruk Chardzic Nine years after results of the referendum on BiH independence were proclaimed, Ante Jelavic, leader of the HDZ, the political party which then called on BiH Croats to vote for the independence, is openly working to break the country's Constitution, Faruk Chardzic wrote. Ahead of all elections carried out in these areas during the past years, as well as the last November ones, leaders of all political parties had to sign a statement on their political commitment to the Dayton peace agreement. Devaluating his own initials, the current HDZ president is nowadays behaving as he has never heard about Dayton. Exercising experience of some other political and military leaders, who are residing in the Hague or who are expected to be there soon, and whose political views regarding the BiH's future and survival he shares, Jelavic is testing the patience of the international community on a daily basis. To be clear, the HDZ leader is, in such manner, silently or even loudly supported by his colleagues from the other two national political parties, which would rather divide BiH on ethnic zones of interest. Such radicalism of Jelavic, of course, should not be tolerated any more. The High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch has all the powers to remove Ante Jelavic from the public offices and stop further anti-constitutional actions of the Croat member of the BiH Presidency and the HDZ leader. The former High Representative to BiH once used his authorities in a very efficient way and dismissed Republika Srpska President Nikola Poplasen. Moreover, the OHR has also banned work of the Poplasen's Serb Radical Party, despite all the voters' support it had gained, which was much higher than the current HDZ's one. Both Poplasen and his party were then threatening in all possible ways. However, not a single threat has been implemented. And, does anyone still remember Nikola Poplasen anyway?

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