BiH/Central institutions: Constitutive session of the BiH Parliament House of People scheduled for Tuesday Federation: Fifteen officers of Croat component of the Federation Army rejected the new deputy commander of the Army: Meeting held in front of Mostar cathedral: Jelavic's proposal for overcoming of crisis in BiH: The press release of the Croat National Assembly in BiH: The Federal government impudently violates the Constitution to the detriment of the Croat people The Youth of the HDZ BiH supports the decisions of the Croat National Assembly: The High Representative is obliged to protect the Dayton Agreement Republika Srpska: President and Vice President of Republika Srpska talked with the RS Prime Minister Miroslav Mikes, President of Constitutional Commission at the RS National Assembly talks about new development at the RS National Assembly International Community: High Representative's address to the European Union General Affairs Council: European officials to visit BiH: US might cancel the suspension of Equip and Train program for Croat component of the Federation Army: IPTF strengthens control of Livno Canton Interior Ministry: High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch comments situation with Jelavic, HDZ.. Monsignor Pero Sudar, a Sarajevo Auxiliary Bishop: Petritsch has to find a common ground for a dialog with the people that Croats elected Brcko District: Harmonization of educational curriculum in the District BiH State Institutions-related Issues Constitutive session of the BiH Parliament House of People scheduled for Tuesday. Sarajevo papers said that the constitutive session of the BiH Parliament House of People is scheduled for Tuesday. The agenda is to be determined at the beginning of the meeting and will surely include the election of the chairman and the deputy chairman of the House. The Tuesday session will be chaired by Ilija Simic who has the best chances to be elected the new head of the House, Dnevni Avaz said. Federation related issues: Fifteen officers of Croat component of the Federation Army rejected the new deputy commander of the Army: Sarajevo papers reported on the front pages on Tuesday that 15 officers of the Croat component of the Federation army rejected the naming of Ivo Lozancic as the Deputy Commander of the Federation Army deepening the crisis in the Federation. According to Oslobodjenje Lozancic did not seem disturbed with the news and said that after he was named Deputy Commander he will leave his political party and "will professionally dedicate himself to the army." Lozancic also announced sanctions against those who failed to fulfill their military duties, papers said. Meeting held in front of Mostar cathedral: Another Oslobodjenje's front page story reported on the meeting held in front of the Mostar Cathedral on Monday. Several thousand people gathered in Mostar to celebrate St. Joseph's day and according to the daily the main message Bishop Ratko Peric, who organized the meeting, sent out was that if "we fight there cannot be peace." Peric, however, reminded the crowd that BiH was divided into two entities despite the fact that there are three nations. According to Peric one of these entities is called by its national name, has its national insignia, constitution, army and police while in the other entity two nations live with one parliament and one constitution. Jelavic's proposal for overcoming of crisis in BiH: Ante Jelavic, dismissed HDZ President and member of BiH Presidency, told reporters on Monday the the most important issue for overcoming the constitutional and political crisis in BiH is the implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision on the constituency of all three nations in the entire BiH territory, Dnevni Avaz reported. Jelavic said that he will pass this initiative to the Croat National Assembly Council. According to Jelavic standardization of individual and collective right would be a foundation for the changes of the constitution and establishment of the permanent election law that would then enable the new free and democratic elections in BiH, Sarajevo papers said. The press release of the Croat National Assembly in BiH: The Federal Government impudently violates the Constitution to the detriment of the Croat people The Croat National Assembly believes that the appointment of the NHI party member, Ivo Lozancic, as the second in the command of the Federation BiH Army, is an unconstitutional and illegal act, Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija reported. It is pointed out that the appointment of the Deputy Commander of the Joint Command of the FBiH Army, under the Constitution and the Defense Law, lies in the competence of the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, and consequently, Mijo Anic, the Federation Defense Minister, whom the statement calls an illegitimate minister, has no authority to remove or appoint the Deputy Commander. "The appointments contrary to the Constitution and the Defense Law of the FBiH are nothing else but a classical attempt of NHI-izing, or rather politicizing of the Army and the Police, and of practicing revanchism among the Croats in BiH. The Croat National Assembly claims that the aforementioned appointment "confirms the hypocrisy of Alija Behmen's statement that the priorities of his self-appointed government are de-politization of the judiciary, Police and the Army". The statement regrets that this appointment was supported by the SFOR and other international organizations. The Youth of the HDZ BiH supports the decisions of the Croat National Assembly: The High Rpresentative is obliged to protect the Dayton Agreement Zagreb daily Vecernji List reported that the Presidency of the Youth of the HDZ BiH believe the High Representative was obliged to prevent the violation of the Dyton Peace Agreement when the unconstitutional rules were passed, as well as to protect the principle of consensus in the BiH Presidency, prevent the establishing of illegal and illegitimate authority, stop the proponents of non-constitutional activities and avert the misuse of the alleged civic majority to the detriment of equality of the constituent peoples in BiH. Republika Srpska: President and Vice President of Republika Srpska talked with the RS Prime Minister Glas srpski reports on a meeting between the RS President and Vice President Mirko Sarovic and Dragan Cavic and the RS prime Minister Mladen Ivanic. Topic discussed at the meeting: activities of the Government, refugees and displaced persons, the latest developments in the region and in Federation BiH, Dobrinja arbitration. "We strongly support all activities that are undertaken by the RS Government and Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic. This especially goes for measures related to stabilization of financial situation, budget beneficiaries, fight against corruption and organized crime. We support all positive developments noted in the RS", said Mirko Sarovic, the RS President. According to Sarovic, it was agreed that the RS Government would pay special attention to closure of collective centers for refugees and ask for the extraordinary session of the RS National Assembly to deal with this matter. Prime Minister Ivanic stated the President and Vice President agreed with his position that the RS National Assembly should relatively quickly analyze the work of judiciary and that the judiciary should be more actively involved in a fight for raising of economic discipline. Miroslav Mikes, President of Constitutional Commission at the RS National Assembly talks about new development at the RS National Assembly Glas srpski published an extensive (2/3rds of 5th page) interview with Mr. Miroslav Mikes, President of Constitutional Commission at the RS National Assembly. Mikes explains changes made in the work of the RS National Assembly after this commission was appointed by the HR and regards them as positive steps. "It was a big challenge for me to start working in such commission but also a great pleasure. The RS Assembly also by having this commission made a qualitative move in its work. In the most of modern parliaments, majority of delicate and expert matters are dealt with by commissions." International Community: High Representative's address to the European Union General Affairs Council: All BiH media, both electronic and print reported prominently on High Representative, Wolfgang Petrisch's address to the European Union General Affairs Council in Brussels. While for the electronic media it was the first report of their Monday evening main news, daily papers on Tuesday allocated room on second and third pages and carried extracts of the address. According to Oslobodjenje Petritsch expressed his concern about the recent developments in region especially in Macedonia because it is impossible to eliminate the effects of ethnic conflicts on the rest of the region. The High Representative said that he has received the support of EU ministers for his work and the process of democratization in BiH. Petritsch also said that currently in BiH the most important issue is the establishment of a non-nationalistic new government, papers said. The High Representative in Brussels also addressed the Euroatlantic Partnership Council and called upon NATO, its partners and other members of SFOR to continue their vital peace role in BiH, media reported. European officials to visit BiH: Delegations of the European Parliament for Southeastern Europe and of European Council's Ministerial Committee will visit BiH on Wednesday and Thursday, Dnevni Avaz reported. This will once again bring the attention of the world to BiH, the daily said in an editorial. The visit is also important as it comes in the time when BiH is going through changes and support of European institutions is more than welcome and will help local officials stop the attempts of hardliners to preserve the ethnic division of the country, Dnevni Avaz said. US might cancel the suspension of Equip and Train program for Croat component of the Federation Army: US Embassy officials on Monday announced the possibility of canceling the suspension of the Equip and Train program for the Croat component of the Federation Army. The lifting of the suspension will enable the joint transformation of the Federation Army according to NATO standards, papers said. IPTF strengthens control of Livno Canton Interior Ministry: IPTF has on Monday strengthened its control of the Livno Canton Interior Ministry building. The measure followed the rumors that Ministry officials recently removed from their posts by the OHR and IPTF might attempt to return to work. Ten members of the IPTF control the entrance to the building. Livno Canton Interior Ministry is currently without the Police Minister and other top officials, Sarajevo papers said. Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija reporting on the same issue said that the building was under IPTF siege. High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch comments situation with Jelavic, HDZ and Croat self-rule Both RS dailies carry excerpts from HR's into Slobodna Dalmacija (Glas srpski on page 3 with HR's photo, Nezavisne novine page 3). "High representative to BiH Wolfgang Petritcsh stated that those who are active in illegal institutions will not be partners to the International Community since there is an agreement that he would no be contacting those who violate law and constitution", Glas srpski quotes Slobodna Dalmacija. Furthermore, RS dailies carry the following: "I can only say that Jelavic and the persons I have dismissed are out of the game now. They brought their own people to an impossible situation and disqualified themselves both as interlocutors and as the representatives of the Croat people. The Croat people needs better leaders than those who violate the law. If the HDZ had tried to enter the House of Peoples, they would have had 16 or 17 representatives out of the total of 30, and that is the absolute majority. That would be on the basis of the new rules. In that way, they could control all the decisions related to the destiny of this country." Monsignor Pero Sudar, a Sarajevo Auxiliary Bishop: Petritsch has to find a common ground for a dialog with the people that Croats elected Slobodna Dalamacija on Tuesday published an interview with Bishop Pero Sudar. "All over the world and also in BiH problems are being solved through a dialogue, taking into account basic principles of democracy. This concretely means that that the OHR, led by Mr. Petritsch, has to find a collocutor among those people that the Croats elected for their Representatives. If he is not ready to do that, it means that he and those that he represents have decided to try to organize BiH without the Croats," Sudar told the daily. "I will be completely concrete, if Mr. Jelavic were not ready to let the other HDZ members to negotiate with the OHR, without bargaining over the basic interests of the Croat people, it might be a sign that he sacrifices the people for himself and not himself for the benefit of the people. Each Croat and a BiH citizen, who rejoices and stirs up the flame, on which, according to the proposed plan, the Croat people should burn out, is working against this country regardless of the fact that he might have thought that he was saving it," Sudar said. There is no hatred in the Peric's speech Q: The HR in his interview given to one Croatian weekly stated that he is surprised over the intensity of hatred that the Bishop Peric feels for the IC, and which, allegedly, he expressed at the rally in Mostar when they announced the Croat self-rule? A: I have to admit that such a statement of Mr. Petritsch surprised me. I did not read the speech of Mr. Petritsch, but I studied it. I did not find a shred of hatred. He expressed a lot of disagreement with the moves of some IC Representatives, and Mr. Petritsch is among them. However, I do not understand that someone can classify founded objections into a category of hatred. Mr. Petritcsh and his aids might have minded the fact that his arguments were deeply, logically founded and true. It has become a practice in BiH that when one does not have counter-arguments for something, then one classifies it as hatred, or when the Croats are at issue as nationalism and then they believe that they solved the problem. It is confusing that also strangers learn this technique so fast. However, if and when they prove some claims on the way and means of 'diplomatic persuasion', that the people from the IC are applying, the shine of the American-European democracy might fade away and its glory could vanish. And it would be of life importance for this country and its people that this does not happen because we believed them so much! Brcko District related issues: Harmonization of educational curriculum in the District: Glas Srpski reported that expert groups of Brcko District have started today working on harmonizing the three national educational curricula into an unified one, which should be applied in primary and secondary schools in the District with next school year. "In the common part of the curriculum, regarding exact sciences, there will be no problems, but in the group of national subjects, such as language, history and music there will be probably some difficulties but not misunderstanding", said a member of the Primary Education Quality Board and a director of Croat School in Bijela, Ivo Misovic. According to him, these days the draft of the unified educational curricula will be presented to the students of all Brcko District schools, as well as to the teaching boards from whom some suggestions and proposals are expected. With several such cycles and revisions, the curriculum, acceptable for all three national groups, should be achieved. Unofficially news agency Srna reported quoting unnamed sources that regarding studying history, an unified program means studying the history until the year of 1918, meaning the establishment of the first Yugoslavia.

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