- Another hidden ammunition cache fund in factory in Mostar
- Main Bosniak party criticises “illegal” sale of arms to Israel; Federation defence ministry rejects allegations
- Eronet’s Bozo Knezevic: The Agreement between HPT and Eronet to be signed soon?
- S BiH’s Safet Halilovic: “Aluminij” has a political dimension
- Ante Jelavic and the Croat Intelligence Service helped destroy Air Commerce company
- NHI’s Kresimir Zubak to hold lecture on Constitutional Reform in the Entities
- Srebrenica Donors Conference in New York: Aid coming from all sides
- High Representative: RS cooperation with the ICTY is too slow
- Will Wolfgang Petritsch ask for the abolishment of visa regime for BiH citizens?
- Ashdown to address BiH Parliament on May 27
- Ivo Banac: Passivity of Zagreb towards BiH
Federation
Another hidden ammunition cache fund in factory in Mostar
Federation TV reported last night that another hidden ammunition cache has been found in Mostar on Monday. SFOR spokesman for the multinational Division Southeast Lt-Col Nicolas Rambaud said that a smaller, but as yet unknown quantity of gunpowder, anti-personnel mines, grenades and other ammunition was found in the Unis Telekom company compound directly adjacent to the Mostar Tobacco Factory. This raid came only two days after SFOR discovered a large quantity of explosive devices and ammunition in the eastern part of Mostar.
Main Bosniak party criticises “illegal” sale of arms to Israel; Federation defence ministry rejects allegations
The SDA has described as scandalous the alleged illegal sale of arms and ammunition to Israel which had been donated to the Federation Army by Islamic countries within the Train and Equip programme. Owing to this, the party said in a statement carried by nearly all media, the SDA deputies in the Federation Parliament will seek an investigation into this case to establish individual responsibility. According to the SDA, the current government has thus placed BiH on Israel’s side at a time when the European Union is introducing an arms embargo against that country.
In a statement for Dnevni Avaz, the Federation Defense Minister, Mijo Anic, rejected the allegations that his Ministry and Alliance parties sold donated weapons to Israel, saying that this is a pre-election prank by the SDA, which wants to draw attention away from the ammunition cache found earlier in Mostar. He also stressed that there was an agreement allowing the Federation to get rid of large quantities of arms and ammunition either by destroying them or by selling some of it. “We had the option to try to sell some of the weapons and get as much as money as possible in order to buy more modern and efficient one,” said Anic, adding that the entire case will be thoroughly investigated.
Eronet’s Bozo Knezevic: The Agreement between HPT and Eronet to be signed soon?
In an interview with Dnevni List, the president of the Eronet Management, Bozo Knezevic, said that he is confident that the Agreement between the HPR Mostar and Eronet will be signed in the near future, as this is in interest of the two companies, as well as of all Eronet users. He also said that he has information that Alpina Commerc and Croherc AG (both of whom are partial owners of Eronet) have already signed separate agreements with the HPT about returning their shares to the HPT.
S BiH’s Safet Halilovic: “Aluminij” has a political dimension
In a statement for Dnevni Avaz, the leader of the Party for BiH, Safet Halilovic, said that the problem of ownership in the Aluminij Mostar has a strategic and a political dimension. “This issue refers to the essential question of transition in BiH, especially the transition of ownership, which was in this case, changed through the war and by using illegal means,” said Halilovic.
Ante Jelavic and the Croat Intelligence Service helped destroy Air Commerce company
Oslobodjenje reports on its front page that the former president of the HDZ, Ante Jelavic, and the Croat Intelligence Service – SNS – have in 1999 worked jointly in order to wrack the “Bosniak-owned” air company Air Commerc. According to the daily, Jelavic and SNS secretly obstructed the attempts of this company to establish a base at the Mostar airport and fly international flights from there. Apparently, Jelavic and the HDZ perceived Air Commnerc as a great threat to another private company owned by several businesses from Croatia and Croat parts of the Federation. This company also sought to establish itself as the only provider of international flights to and out of Mostar.
NHI’s Kresimir Zubak to hold lecture on Constitutional Reform in the Entities
Jutarnje Novine reports that the leader of the NHI, Kresimir Zubak, will today (Tuesday) hold a lecture on the constitutional changes in the entities and talk about the Agreement reached in Sarajevo on March 27 – the so-called Mrakovica-Sarajevo Agreement. According to the daily, the lecture will target especially the Federation Ministry of Defence and members of the Croat component of the Federation Army. Zubak explained that the motive for such a lecture is the fact that the public is not adequately informed about this issue and that the media have presented incorrect or incomplete information about constitutional changes. “I will just explain what would be the consequences if the Agreement had not been reached, and what will be results of the signed Agreement and constitutional changes,” Zubak told Jutarnje Novine.
International Community
Srebrenica Donors Conference in New York: Aid coming from all sides
The First Donors Conference on Srebrenica started last night at the United Nations building in New York. The chairman of the BiH Presidency, Beriz Belkic, who is one of the participants, told Dnevni Avaz that the conference should secure some 12 million USD which would be distributed among the municipalities of Srebrenica, Bratunac and Milici. Belkic also said that he would ask the International Community and potential donors to invest additional funds into a project which would help foster multiethnicity in this region. According to him, some donors are already coming forward, including the US media mogul, Ted Turner, and one Japanese foundation, which expressed interest of providing the initial funds.
High Representative: RS cooperation with the ICTY is too slow
Nezavisne Novine and Jutarnje Novine carry excerpts from an interview by the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, with the Viennese daily “Die Presse”. In the interview, Petritsch said that there are enormous differences between the RS and Serbia in their approach to the issue of cooperation with the ICTY. In his words, the RS is all too slow in this respect. The High Representative also spoke about his three-year long mandate in BiH and enumerated BiH’s admission to the Council of Europe and the entity constitutional changes as two great successes for the country.
Will Wolfgang Petritsch ask for the abolishment of visa regime for BiH citizens?
Vecernji List writes about the request by some intellectuals and political parties in BiH who asked the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, to request the abolishment of visa regime for BiH citizens traveling abroad. Civic Democratic Union (GDS)’s Nusret Causevic said that Petritsch himself should call for the abolishment of visa regime, or recommend to his successor Paddy Ashdown to do that, which would show that both of them have genuine understanding for the needs of BiH citizens. Vecernji List notes that BiH citizens can travel only to a few European countries without a visa, including Croatia and Yugoslavia. The daily quotes Petritsch as saying that the abolishment of visa regime depends primarily on internal changes in BiH and the stabilization of political situation, including the implementation of the CIPS project and concludes that BiH citizens need more papers in order to obtain a visa to any Western country than privatize an apartment!?
Ashdown to address BiH Parliament on May 27
The future High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, will on May 27 address the deputies in the BiH Parliament and inform them about his plans and mandate in BiH. According to Dnevni Avaz, it is expected that Ashdown delivers a lengthy speech in which he will outline what is necessary in order to undertake a successful reform in BiH and further elaborate on his thesis that crime and corruption are greater threats to BiH than nationalism. “The risk of a conflict between different ethnic groups is no longer that great. The true danger for the Bosnian state is not coming from the violent nationalist extremists, but from crime and corruption at all levels. It (crime) is so widespread because there is no adequate legal and judicial system in place here,” said Julian Braithwaite, Ashdown’s spokesman, adding that the corruption is rooted in the system which allows for it. “Naturally, only a few people are actually involved in it, however, the consequences are great for all people,” he said. Braithwaite also explained that in BiH one can find three economies: the black, the grey and the white one.
Ivo Banac: Passivity of Zagreb towards BiH
Slobodna Dalmacija carries an interview with Ivo Banac, a reputable Yale professor and a columnist for a number of progressive Croat weeklies, in which he argues that Croatian government has a passive attitude towards its BiH neighbor. Banac writes that Croatia should intervene positively in BiH, which also means correcting the destructive Tudjman’s policy in the past. He stresses that extremists from the HDZ, helped with one part of religious structures, are preventing the normalization of life in the Neretva valley and the Eastern Herzegovina, while official Zagreb does nothing to isolate them. Banac added that the return of Croat refugees in BiH is very important and a pragmatic issue, which will contribute to the stability of BiH and the entire region, including Croatia.
Headlines
Glas Srpski
- Dr. Dusanka Andjelkovic confirms Q fever in Prijedor
- Serb Sarajevo: Nova Banka robbed of 300,000 KM yesterday by armed gunman
Nezavisne novine
- For the first time in 70 years 12,000 years German workers protest
- RS: Interior Ministry preparing new criminal charges against Dodik
- Munir Alibabic AID Director: I had no meetings with Mossad agents
Dnevni List
- Because of reporting about fixing of football results in BiH Premier League: Dnevni List journalist threatened with death
- Interview with Bozo Knezevic, President of Eronet Management: We are convinced that there will soon be agreement between HPT and Eronet
- Goran Bilic, HNC Minister of Interior on “shells affair”: Six persons under investigation because of 9000 shells
Vecernji List
- Police investigation on secret arms caches in east Mostar: First arrests beginning
Oslobodjenje
- Jelavic and SNS worked on wrecking Air Commerce
Dnevni Avaz
- Minister Mijo Anic: We did not sell the weapons to Israel
Jutarnje Novine
· Succession Funds: Federation to get 71.5 and RS 38.5 million KM