- BiH/Central institu tions:
- Council of Ministers devises program to encourage foreign
investments
- HDZ-related News:
- Thomas Miller: Consensus of International Community on HDZ;
- Management of Hercegovacka Banka: Toby Robinson and the OHR are
responsible for Hercegovacka Banka:
- Jelavic, Covic, Raguz move to Croatia in order to avoid criminal
charges;
- Hercegovacka Banka in Sunday Telegraph;
- OHR staff returns to Ero Hotel in Mostar;
- Herzegovina diocese say OHR imposes religion classes;
- OSCE to Zdravko Tomac: BIH does not have the Election Law;
- Livno authorities say a war is waged against the Croats in BiH;
- NHS member parties condemn the "Media lynch" of the HNS
- HVIDRA condemns the evictions of soldiers:
- Federation
- Rijeka court dismisses charges against Fikret Abdic;
- Republika Srpska
- RS leaders leave for visit to the US
- International Community
- Taxes for local staff of international organizations
- Book Fair opens in Sarajevo
- Brcko District
- Chetnik leader memorial in Brcko destroyed
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BiH/Central institutions related issues:
Council of Ministers devises program to encourage foreign investments:
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Bozidar Matic, said yesterday
that the CoM devised a program which should make BiH more attractive for
direct foreign investments and is presently working on its realization.
Matic said that the attempts of the entity governments to harmonize their
customs systems and to fight the black market, have been very positive and
will contribute greatly to the establishment of a stable legal system and
institutions in BiH.
HDZ-related News
Thomas Miller: Consensus of International Community on HDZ:
In an interview for SRNA, BH Press, ONASA, REUTERS and AFP, the US
Ambassador to BiH, Thomas Miller, said that, for the first time since he
has been appointed to this function, there is a full consensus within the
International Community on a certain issue. In this case, this is the
resolving of the Croat issue in BiH. Miller said the HDZ, unable to find a
chink in the IC's political armor, is trying to provoke violence to
achieve its goals. He said that the HDZ will most likely soon run out of
money, and is now trying to raise the political temperature in order to
breath some life in its political movement. "They are using fear and
intimidation and bribery...and so far, neither the government nor the
International Community is going to take the bait. So my sense is, time is
working against them," Miller said.
Management of Hercegovacka Banka: Toby Robinson and the OHR are
responsible for Hercegovacka Banka:
Commenting on the recent statement of the Provisional Administrator, Toby
Robinson, and OHR spokespeople that the management of the Hercegovacka
Banka will be responsible for the reopening of the bank, the shareholders
and management of the bank said in a statement that only the Provisional
Administrator and the OHR will bear the responsibility for the bank. "It
is clear that they (Robinson and the OHR) will have to assume all the
responsibility for the fate of the Hercegovacka Banka, its shareholders
and customers, despite the fact that they are trying to run away from
this," said the management of the Hercegovakca Banka.
Jelavic, Covic, Raguz move to Croatia in order to avoid criminal charges:
According to Dnevni Avaz, the leaders (some of them dismissed) of the HDZ,
Ante Jelavic, Dragan Covic, and Martin Raguz, are moving into their houses
in Croatia in order to avoid criminal charges that may be pressed against
them by the International Community. An anonymous source in the Federation
government said that, since the three hold Croatian passports and the
Croatian law prohibits the extradition of its citizens, Covic, Jelavic,
and Raguz are relatively safe in the neighboring country.
Hercegovacka Banka in Sunday Telegraph:
Several Federation media carry the article about the Hercegovack Banka
which was published in Sunday Telegraph, and which was quite critical of
the OHR action.
OHR staff returns to Ero Hotel in Mostar:
OHR spokesperson Avis Benes told the press that the staff of the OHR South
has returned to their offices in the building of the Ero Hotel in Mostar
on Monday. "From today on we are working fully staffed and will resume
with our normal activities," said Benes. OHR staff was evacuated to the
SFOR base in Ortijes, near Mostar, on April 6 because of the physical
threats by demonstrators who protested the OHR and SFOR control of the
Hercegovacka Banka.
Herzegovina diocese say OHR imposes religion classes:
During a counseling for catechism instructors from the territory of
Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkanj Diocese held in Mostar, Dr Don Ante
Pavlovic said that the OHR is using various international and domestic
political, cultural and other institutions and "obedient" individuals to
forcibly impose the new subject of "culture of religions" as a form of a
multi-cultural "Federation religion" obligatory for all students.
He said that the Orthodox religious teaching is obligatory for all pupils
in primary schools in the Republika Srpska. There are 218,203
Muslim-Bosniak pupils in the Federation, and 94.44% of them attend Islamic
religious teaching with two classes per week, said Don Pavlovic.
OSCE to Zdravko Tomac: BIH does not have the Election Law:
The OSCE spokesman, Luke Zahner, said that the appeal to the
international community to change the Election Law in BiH could confuse
all the sides. The particular appeal was addressed by the Deputy President
of the Croatian Parliament, Zdravko Tomac, during his last week's visit to
Sweden. In the press release issued by the OSCE Mission, it is said that
the appeal was based "on the false assumption that Election Law exists in
BiH."
"The OSCE explained to Tomac on several occasions as to how the things
stand, but it is clear that there is still some misunderstanding," said
Zahner.
Livno authorities say a war is waged against the Croats in BiH:
During a ceremony celebrating the liberation of Livno from "the Serb
aggression", the president of the Municipal Council, Stipo Pavic, said
that "it is obvious that a war is being waged in the entire territory of
BiH." He said that some people want the changes that would trample those
who gave their lives for the preservation of the Croat identity.
Pavic said that the international community, "with the help of some of our
political twits and turncoats denies all the good things that were done in
Livno when it comes to the reconstruction, construction, returns." He also
said that the will of the Croat people in BiH is not being respected.
"This is a hard time for us again, the time when the peace is secured by
force, and the implementation of laws is turned into violence," said the
Municipal Mayor Stipo Barun. Barun asked all those responsible to turn to
talks.
NHS member parties condemn the "Media lynch" of the HNS:
The HNS member-parties condemned yesterday the alleged orchestrated media
campaign, which they call a sort of a media lynch by Sarajevo media and
some of the Croatian media against the HNS parties, and their officials.
In this regard, they expressed understanding for some of the electronic
media that fear of being denied broadcasting licenses if they report
objectively about the work of the HNS and the events related to the
forcible actions conducted by the illegitimate Federal authorities with
the help of certain international forces.
"The representatives of the HNS parties strongly condemn and refute the
comparison drawn between the legitimate efforts of the Croat people in BiH
for a realistic equality and equity on the one side, and the rebel
creation of Republika Srpska Krajina in the Republic of Croatia on the
other. This serves as the evidence that Petritsch either does not know or
deliberately distorts the historic facts, because the Croat people in BiH
is a constituent people, whereas Serbs in the Republic of Croatia are a
minority. Also, the Croat people in BiH are seeking their rights by
political and democratic means, and not by terrorism and armed rebellion
as some of the Serbs in Croatia did.
Within that, Croats do not ask for anything more than the other two
peoples have, and pursuant to this, it is only logical to draw a
comparison between the Croat people's rights and position with those of
the Serb or Bosniak peoples in BiH. Therefore, it would only be logical if
Petritsch drew a comparison with the Republika Srpska."
It was concluded that "the talks that individual representatives of the
international organizations in BiH (OHR, OSCE and others) are leading with
the illegitimate representatives (the so-called Croat co-ordinations and
forums) about the essential political issues, such as constitutional
reforms and a permanent election law, cannot have any political
significance or be binding for the Croat people in BiH."
HVIDRA condemns the evictions of soldiers:
The Association of Homeland war veterans - HVIDRA - appealed to all
cantonal officials, and in particular municipal officials in the bodies of
authority, to stop carrying out the evictions of Homeland War victims in
"these times that are difficult for the Croat people."
"We cannot escape the impression that you are using the evictions to exert
an additional pressure on us, the victims, especially because you know
that our monthly allowances and other forms of assistance have been
withheld. Finally, let us tell you that you will be responsible if
undesirable events, such as murders and suicides happen, because by
evicting the people to the street, without a right to alternative
accommodation, you deny them of the basic human right, a roof over their
heads," said the statement.
Federation Ministry of Veterans Issues asks HVO victims to submit their
applications for allowances:
The Federation Ministry of Veterans Issues publicly appealed to all HVO
victims to submit their information so that they can finally receive their
allowances for January. Dobrica Jonjic, the Deputy Minister, stated that
the first payments of the allowances will start in 10 days, while the
victims belonging to the Bosniak component have already received their
money. The Croat victims have not received their allowances because five
Cantonal Ministries refused to hand over their lists of beneficiaries.
Jonjic thanked Ivica Pancic, the Minister of Veterans Issues, for his
offer to hand them the lists of beneficiaries from Zagreb. Jonjic said
that he would rather try to get the lists in a legal way. Jonjic stated:
'The only explanation for the fact that they turned down our appeal is
that they have on the lists the people who have no right to be there.
Those who are really invalids will not be cheated of their rights.
However, Susak's and Boban' s villages will not be built with this money,
ever again.'
After the information came from Posavina that 600,000 marks from the
Ministry of this area, whose purpose was the providing of the housing,
remained blocked in the Hercegovacka Bank, they asked all Cantonal
Ministries to hand them over the information s to how much of their money
remained blocked in the Hercegovacka Bank. Jonjic said: 'We suspect that
this is about the money from Croatia.'
Federation:
Rijeka court dismisses charges against Fikret Abdic:
The Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Rijeka, Croatia, has received
investigative documentation against the former BiH politician Fikret
Abdic, sent by the Una-Sana Cantonal Court and the Higher Public
Prosecutor's Office in Bihac, Bosnia. The documentation on the indictment
of Abdic has been forwarded to the Croatian prosecutors since Abdic is
a Croatian citizen residing on the territory of the Croatian town of
Rijeka. Rijeka Cantonal Attorney Drago Marincel said Abdic was
charged with war crimes against the civilian population and prisoners of
war, which is under the Croatian law punishable by up to 20 years of
imprisonment. According to Marincel, the investigative case file
contains testimonies of some 60 witnesses and other documentation, the
Croatian TV reported. On April 20, Fikret Hodzic, President of the
Cantonal Court in Bihac, said that the file sent to the Croatian
administration of justice, contains evidence that Fikret Abdic, during
1994 and 1995, committed war crimes against prisoners of war and
civilians. "The Cantonal Court has gathered evidence on about hundred
pages that Abdic, after the Autonomous District of West Bosnia was
declared, opened detention camps for those who did not think like him
and for the POW " Hodzic said. This file was sent to the Croatian
administration of justice after Croatia refused to extradite Abdic, who is
a Croatian citizen, Hodzic said. He also added that the documents of
evidence had been sent to the ICTY, so that they can evaluate if there is
foundation to start court proceedings against Abdic, but ICTY answered
that Abdic should be tried in Croatia.
The first request to extradite Abdic to BiH was sent in April 1999, but
the
Croatian Supreme Court refused to do it due to the fact that Abdic is a
Croatian
citizen. Fikret Abdic, was manger of the nutritional company
"Agrokomerc" from
Velika Kladusa and politician, who after leaving SDA, the leading
Bosniak
political party after a disagreement, proclaimed autonomy in West
Bosnia, is
living in Croatia since the end of the war.
Republika Srpska:
RS leaders leave for visit to the US
RS President Mirko Sarovic and Vice-President Dragan Cavic left Tuesday
for a visit to the United States. The RS leaders are to hold talks over
several days with representatives of the US administration on developing
ties and stability in the RS and BiH, the statement of the RS government
said, without specifying who they would meet.
International Community:
Taxes for local staff of international organizations:
Most of local employees of the international organizations in BiH do not
have to pay the taxes thanks to an agreement, based on the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the organizations signed with BiH
authorities, Sarajevo's Jutarnje Novine reported on Tuesday. Thus, the
answer to the question as to when will they start paying taxes is simple -
most probably never. Former Federation government and its Prime Minister,
Edhem Bicakcic, have in the past frequently criticized the international
organizations for this but they neglected one "minor fact," - the
agreement and the fact that most of these organizations and their
employees do not have to pay these taxes according to the Convention. The
first such agreement was signed on May 15, 1993 by Alija Izetbegovic with
the UNPROFOR. Later, a similar agreement was signed with the UNICEF, then
the UNHCR, UNESCO, NATO, OSCE etc. The agreement was not signed with the
OHR because this international organization works under the auspices of
the European Commission. It is obvious that previous government was
deliberately fooling the public regarding this issue.
Book Fair opens in Sarajevo:
The Sixth International Book Fair opened last night in Sarajevo.
Publishers from the US, Great Britain, Netherlands, Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, BiH and other countries will exhibit over
14,000 titles during the next six days. The fair was opened by the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, Canton Sarajevo Minister of Culture,
Gradimir Gojer and the Federation Minister of culture and Sports, Mujo
Demirovic.
International Community:
Taxes for local staff of international organizations:
Most of local employees of the international organizations in BiH do not
have to pay the taxes thanks to an agreement, based on the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the organizations signed with BiH
authorities, Sarajevo's Jutarnje Novine reported on Tuesday. Thus, the
answer to the question as to when will they start paying taxes is simple -
most probably never. Former Federation government and its Prime Minister,
Edhem Bicakcic, have in the past frequently criticized the international
organizations for this but they neglected one "minor fact," - the
agreement and the fact that most of these organizations and their
employees do not have to pay these taxes according to the Convention. The
first such agreement was signed on May 15, 1993 by Alija Izetbegovic with
the UNPROFOR. Later, a similar agreement was signed with the UNICEF, then
the UNHCR, UNESCO, NATO, OSCE etc. The agreement was not signed with the
OHR because this international organization works under the auspices of
the European Commission. It is obvious that previous government was
deliberately fooling the public regarding this issue.
Book Fair opens in Sarajevo:
The Sixth International Book Fair opened last night in Sarajevo.
Publishers from the US, Great Britain, Netherlands, Austria, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, BiH and other countries will exhibit over
14,000 titles during the next six days. The fair was opened by the High
Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, Canton Sarajevo Minister of Culture,
Gradimir Gojer and the Federation Minister of culture and Sports, Mujo
Demirovic.
Brcko District:
Chetnik leader memorial in Brcko destroyed:
Both Federation and RS media reported yesterday that the controversial
memorial to the Chetnik leader, Draza Mihajlovic, in Brcko was destroyed
early Monday by unknown persons. This monument was brought from Slavonia
following its peaceful re-integration into the system of the Republic of
Croatia and has been a subject of constant debate and controversy among
the Brcko District residents. Despite the fact that most Federation media
conceded that his memorial should never have been erected in Brcko, they
agree that the situation in the country is too politically sensitive to
handle any such incidents.
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