- BiH/Central institutions:
- BiH Presidency says Croat self-rule seriously destabilizing the
security in BiH
- Representatives of BiH state and entity parliaments meet for the
first time
- BiH Foreign Ministry says all BiH diplomats who do not fulfill the
new criteria have to return home
- New Passports Will Be Late, Says the RS Interior Ministry
- Federation:
- Federation Parliament House of People adopts budget for 2001
- Federation Defense Minister asks his predecessor to hand over all
the documents
- HDZ official in Central Bosnia Canton has there will be no Croat
self-rule there
- Situation with education in BiH alarming
- Republika Srpska
- RS Democratic Socialist Party asks RS officials to disclose the
details of agreement on cooperation with The Hague
- Party of Independent Social-democrats wants Banja Luka to be the RS
capital
- PIWC Dragan Obrenovic Pleaded Not Guilty Before the Hague Tribunal
- Cooperation of the RS and the Hague Tribunal
- Law on Privatization of Apartments in the RS Before the National
Assembly Soon
- International Community
- SFOR and OHR action in Herzegovacka Bank
- Sarajevo: Communication Regulatory Agency (CRA) - Pressures on media
do exist!
- Press release from the Hercegovacka Bank administration - SFOR and
OHR's action - brutal armed attack
- Editorials:
- Oslobodjenje - Petritsch stays on?
- Slobodna Dalmacija - Priority fog
- Vjesnik - Petritsch and the self-rule tied Zagreb's hands
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BiH/Central institutions related issues:
BiH Presidency says Croat self-rule seriously destabilizing the security
in BiH
BiH Presidency met in Sarajevo on Wednesday and discussed the current
situation in BiH. It was concluded that the crisis initiated by the
establishment of the so-called Croat self-rule is seriously destabilizing
the security in BiH. The Presidency called upon all institutions to
responsibly continue to carry out their duties and invited the members of
the Croat component of the Federation Army to return to their barracks.
"We feel that this is the easiest and safest way for the soldiers to
resolve their status," Jozo Krizanovic, member of the Presidency told
reporters after the meeting.
Beriz Belkic, another member of the Presidency said that the troika is
prepared for a dialog with all those officials who have not been engaged
in unconstitutional activities and who are prepared to act within the
frames of the established system.
Representatives of BiH state and entity parliaments meet for the first
time
Top officials of the BiH State Parliament and the RS and Federation
Parliaments held a joint meeting on Wednesday for the first time,
Oslobodjenje reported. The main conclusions of the meeting were
strengthening of refugee return process, solving of economy issues and a
message was sent to the BiH Council of Ministers to focus on the social
security of citizens and the return process.
The representatives of the three parliaments also invited the HDZ
representatives to return to work in legal institutions saying that they
are still open for dialog, Oslobodjenje said.
BiH Foreign Ministry says all BiH diplomats who do not fulfill the new
criteria have to return home
BiH Foreign Ministry officials said that all members of BiH diplomatic
corps who have been at their posts for over four years will have to return
to Bosnia. Amer Kapetanovic, Ministry spokesman told a news conference
that in addition to the diplomats whose mandate has been extended all
those who do not fulfill the new criteria set by the ministry will also
have to return to BiH.
"Current ambassadors were named exclusively according to party criteria.
This practice will be cut short and a new single criteria will be
implemented," Kapetanovic told the press.
New Passports Will Be Late, Says the RS Interior Ministry
Glas srpski and Nezavisne novine carry a statement of the RS Interior
Ministry which announced that they would not be able to start issuing new
BiH Passports from April 20.
The press release from the RS Ministry reads that they haven't received
the official document from BiH Ministry for Civil Affairs and
Communications which identifies accurate data of issuance of new
passports.
Federation related issues:
Federation Parliament House of People adopts budget for 2001
Federation Parliament House of People at its session held on Wednesday has
adopted the budget for the year 2001, Sarajevo papers reported. In
addition to adopting the 997 million KM budget the House also has
confirmed the amendments to the Law on Taxes, decreased the taxes on
salaries some 7.2 percent, papers said.
Federation Defense Minister asks his predecessor to hand over all the
documents
Mijo Anic, Federation Defense Minister send a written invitation to his
predecessor, Miroslav Prce to hand over all the documents Prce had. Prce
did not hand over all the documents to Anic when he took over, especially
the documents concerning the Croat component of the Federation Army.
Anic now invites him to do so and warns that is Prce fails to do so an
official procedure will be initiated to sanction this action, the
statement said.
HDZ official in Central Bosnia Canton has there will be no Croat self-rule
there
Rudo Vidovic, the President of the Central Bosnian Canton and a member of
the HDZ party told Dnevni Avaz that there will be no Croat self-rule in
this canton. Vidovic also told the daily that there is no decision or
institution that can disturb the participation of HDZ representatives in
legal and executive authority in this canton.
Situation with education in BiH alarming
Dubravko Lovrenovic, Federation Deputy Education Minister told Dnevni Avaz
in an interview that education in entire BiH is still under strong
ideological influence.
"Through education various party interests and concepts are being
implemented. It is clear that such a situation is not good, that it
prevent BiH in its transition to modern, meaning functional political and
social structure," Lovrenovic said.
"This is why," he added, " we will have to make a serious turn and
introduce a reformed concept of education and the state will have to
invest long-term in this area. This is a precondition if we want to become
part of the modern world."
He said that the current situation in education is "alarming," and that
his ministry is already working on a long-term strategy but are aware of
the fact that they cannot solve the problem during their two-year mandate.
All they can do is set up criteria, prepare standards etc.
Republika Srpska:
RS Democratic Socialist Party asks RS officials to disclose the details of
agreement on cooperation with The Hague
RS Democratic Socialist Party officials have called upon RS President,
Mirko Sarovic, Vice-president, Dragan Cavic and RS National Assembly
President Dragan Kalinic to present to the public the document they have
signed with the OHR on the cooperation with The Hague War Crimes Tribunal.
DSP officials said that the OHR has on several occasions reminded Sarovic,
Kalinic and Cavic that they have signed this document and they should now
publicly disclose what did they oblige themselves to do by signing the
document, Dnevni Avaz said.
Party of Independent Social-democrats wants Banja Luka to be the RS
capital
Glas srpski, on its cover page reports on the initiative of Party of
Independent Social-Democrats (SNSD) to change Article 9 of the RS
Constitution, which is proclaiming BL instead of Srpsko Sarajevo RS's
capital.
Mr. Dalibor Racic, member of the SNSD's Executive Board thinks that along
with harmonization of the RS Constitution with the Decision of BiH
Constitutional Court, all other changes to the RS Constitution should be
done.
PIWC Dragan Obrenovic Pleaded Not Guilty before the Hague Tribunal
Both RS dailies report on the plea of Dragan Obrenovic, officer of the RS
Army, who appeared before the Hague Tribunal yesterday. Obrenovic pleaded
not guilty. Obrenovic is charged with collaboration in genocide, crimes
against humanity, violation of laws and customs of war n the area of
Zvornik, Srebrenica and Bratunac.
Cooperation of the RS and the Hague Tribunal
Glas srpski writes that Draft RS Law on Cooperation with the Hague
Tribunal was returned from the Hague, with technical and legal remarks, to
the RS Government.
RS Government's Bureau for Public Relations announced that the RS Prime
Minister's advisor for relations wit the Tribunal Sinisa Djordjevic would
hold a press conference at which he would talk about cooperation of the RS
with the Hague.
Law on Privatization of Apartments in the RS before the National Assembly
Soon
"High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch will not arbitrate over objection
of Bosniak members of the RS Constitutional Commission regarding the
article 33 of the RS Law on Privatization of apartments", said Miroslav
Mikes, President of the RS Constitutional Commission.
Mikes added that the HR called upon Commission to harmonized their
position on the disputable provision of the Law on Privatization of
Apartments and to jointly make a decision which would represent interests
of all peoples of the RS. He also said that this law, after being
discussed by the Commission, should be on the agenda for the 5th session
of the RS National Assembly.
International Community
SFOR and OHR action in Herzegovacka Bank
Front-page news of all Sarajevo and Banja Luka dailies on Thursday is the
second SFOR and OHR action in Herzegovacka Bank in Mostar. Papers report
that early morning Wednesday OHR officials and SFOR troops entered the
bank to secure the documents needed for the work of the provisional
administrator, Toby Robinson.
"This is a continuation of the April 6th action and its goal was to
protect this bank, its money and clients," Colin Munro, head of OHR
regional office in Mostar told a news conference.
A large number of SFOR troops backed up by APCs and tanks were engaged in
the action, Oslobodjenje said.
Munro said that the action was successful and that he is sorry that
plastic explosives had to be used during the action.
Dragan Mandic, HN Canton Interior Minister told Oslobodjenje that about a
thousand SFOR soldiers and 180 armored vehicles were involved in the
action and that two safes were blown up with plastic explosives.
After SFOR departed suspended employees of the bank gathered in front of
the building saying that this was "real bank robbery," and a "terrorist
act," Oslobodjenje said.
Papers mainly carry OHR and SFOR official statements and do not have
reactions of local officials to the action.
Sarajevo: Communication Regulatory Agency (CRA) - Pressures on media do
exist!
Split daily Slobodna Dalmacija reported that the CRA is intensively
monitoring the work of the media in BiH with regards to the difficult
situation in some parts of the country caused by the recent activities of
the HDZ, the Agency released.
As a result of that, the CRA has so far opened 43 cases that are being
processed in accordance with the ordinary procedure.
Press release from the Hercegovacka Bank administration - SFOR and OHR's
action - brutal armed attack
According to Slobodna Dalmacija the Hercegovacka Bank's suspended
administration said the "brutal armed attack is yet another in a string of
proofs that the High Representative and his personnel are supplying us
with on a daily basis for instituting legal proceedings before
international judicial institutions."
The suspended shareholders, administration and employees of the HB claim
that "one who illegally uses the force must lie to account for that, and
one who lies is ready to do anything except to face the truth, and then
that person desperately tries to cover it up with a hyper-production of
new lies," obviously referring to the High Representative, who is also
called a "tyrant" who deceived the world public.
Editorials:
Oslobodjenje editorial: Petritsch stays on?
By Zija Dizdarevic
Wolfgang Petritsch announced the possibility of accepting yet another
mandate of the High Representative of the International Community in BiH.
Such an option appears to be fully reasonable. Although they had worked
under different circumstances, Petritsch left much more convincing
impression then his predecessors - Carlos Westendorp and Carl Bildt.
Citizens dedicated to the idea of a democratic state BiH see Petritsch as
a genuine enthusiast of the cause. The current High Representative has a
clear attitudes towards the necessity of prosecuting indicted war
criminals, the return of refugees and property, the fight against
corruption, the establishment of a modern and efficient political and
legal system, the economic reform, transformation, and the important role
of media in the process of democratization.
All those key issues are still open, and the International mission to BiH
has not managed to achieve the necessary consistency and efficiency in
resolving these issues. The next phase should bring a better and more
effective work on the peace process. Recently, Petritsch received the full
support from international authorities for the establishment of more
rational and more efficient coordination of international institutions in
BiH.
Petritsch did not come to BiH as an already affirmed diplomat, nor he came
from a country which is a global power. This could be an advantage, since
it can prevent one of the big powers from pushing forth its own interests.
However, it is obvious that the interests of great powers are clashing
over the activities of the High Representative. This dispute has been
particularly obvious in the rivalry between the HR and the US Ambassador
to BiH, Thomas Miller, in evaluating certain situations and behavior. The
recent Washington support to Petritsch and the stabilization of the US
engagement in the Balkans are of great importance for the future work of
the High Representative.
The High Representative has an excellent cooperation with the Democratic
Alliance for Changes which is a key internal factor for the change of the
BiH political structure. In all important actions, Petritsch is only a
half way there. That is why it is important to give him one more chance.
Slobodna Dalmacija editorial by Petar Milos - Priority fog
"What is the priority that Croat politicians in BiH so gladly talk about,
starting from the rural and municipal activists to the delegates and
leaders of the Croat self-rule?
Do the politicians find the garbage that simply covered the landscapes in
Herzegovina to be a priority? Obviously not. They are simply waiting for
an even larger accumulation of garbage to collect it and dispose of it
when it becomes a priority.
What is the priority for Croat politicians in BiH? One gets the impression
that their most important job is to listen to the news about the reactions
to the Croat self-rule coming from the big ones, and then comment on those
reactions with concern. No, gentlemen, one cannot get much too far with
such a concern. You must change your priorities. Croat self-rule will be
brighter with public lighting in the villages, purer if we collect the
garbage, more educated if we reconstruct the schools, healthier if we
arrange the hospitals, more serviceable if we repair the holes in the
road... Neither Petritsch nor Miller nor NATO can prevent the
aforementioned."
Vjesnik editorial by Ivan Sabic - Petritsch and the self-rule tied
Zagreb's hands
"Defining of the policy to BiH and meeting the obligations emanating from
the Dayton Agreement and the RC Constitution would undoubtedly be much
easier had the situation in BiH not become so much complicated. The
proclaiming of the Croat self-rule, HVO's walking out of the Federation
Army and its (self)disbanding, in addition to the conflicts with the
international forces after Wolfgang Petritsch appointed the Provisional
Administration of the Hercegovacka Bank, significantly narrowed down the
space for the official Zagreb. Any intervention that would be aimed at
co-ordinating the election rules with the Federation Constitution would
now only bring the Croatian authorities in danger of being declared the
extremists' allies. On the other hand, their unreserved support to the
cadres that now formally represent Croats in the BiH and Federation
institutions, some of which build their legitimacy on less than 200 votes,
could by no means be considered a contribution to the protection of
Croats' interests in BiH.
However, before the crisis even started going in that direction and when
it was developing on a strictly political ground, the results were not
excellent, either. Zagreb made some attempts of intervening (the non-paper
asking for an explanation of the change of the election rules, for
instance), but they had no effect, probably for the reason that even those
who stood behind the interventions forgot about them in a very short
time."
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