- BiH Human Rights Ombudsman: Hand-over of Algerians questionable
- BiH reportedly searching for “Egyptian group” of suspected terrorists
- Anti-terrorist official calls on Serb entity to catch Karadzic, Mladic
- BiH Cro-parties meet the Croatian Prime Minister Racan in Zagreb
- Croatia Prime Minister to visit Sarajevo, discusses constitutional changes
- BiH non-Croat parties react to Saturday’s meeting in Zagreb
- Croatian government and BiH Council of Ministers working on project of constitutional changes in BiH
- Premier disputes joint concept with Croatia on constitutional changes
- Radisic says Bosnia reserves right to change constitution
- Kresimir Zubak hopes the High Representative will impose constitutional changes
- RS National Assembly speaker: I do not expect the High Representative to impose solutions to entity constitutions
- Nikola Spiric: House of Peoples on the state level could protect the interests of all constituent peoples in BiH
- President of the RS Constitutional Commission Says That Public Debate On Constitutional Changes Justified Its Purpose
- Mirko Banjac: Croats should get a third entity
- Croat Caucuses in the BiH and Federation Parliaments demand symmetrical solutions in entity constitutions
- Bosnian Patriotic Party still insists on Halilovic re-assuming a ministerial post in the Federation government
- Cantonal court Mostar receives a letter from the OHR about registration of the HDZ
- Dragan Covic, Edhem Bicakvic and 118 politicians from Federation under investigation
- Carla Del Ponte visits Banja Luka, asks authorities for better cooperation
- USA showed Bosnian Serb premier exact location of Karadzic’s hideout – daily
- RS Prime Minister says he has no knowledge of ICTY indictees’ whereabouts
- Justice minister denies knowledge of Karadzic whereabouts
- Wolfgang Petritsch meets the Dutch Foreign Minister, discusses constitutional changes and streamlining of the International Community
- Wolfgang Petritsch supports a plan of the Sarajevo municipality Stari Grad
BiH State-related Issues
BiH Human Rights Ombudsman: Hand-over of Algerians questionable
In an interview with Oslobodjenje, BiH Human Rights Ombudsman Frank Orton said that a number of irregularities were discovered in the disputed hand-over of the six Algerians suspected of planning attacks against US targets in BiH. “Although we did not have any official requests, we resumed the investigation in accordance with our professional duty and we will work on it until the end. We consider the wish of the US to have this group extradited, however at the same time, we believe that, in such cases, BIH state must act strictly adhering to the law. In this case, we believe that this was not so, and aside from violating the BiH Human Rights Chamber decision, we discovered in the investigation that there was a whole serious of irregularities made in the process. Thus, we very much respect the decision to join the global fight against terrorism, but we also believe that BiH must stay within the legal framework. I must say that I am surprised with statements of some of your politicians which demonstrated to me that they do not understand what implies the rule of law and compliance with the law.
BiH reportedly searching for “Egyptian group” of suspected terrorists
Beta news agency reported on Friday that the BiH authorities are searching for members of the so-called “Egyptian group”, whose members are suspected of terrorist activities. This is also what the Banja Luka-based Nezavisne novine reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the BiH Council of Ministers. The report maintains that seven out of nine members of this group have been identified. However, they have not been detained yet because their whereabouts are not known. “All nine have acquired BiH citizenship. The most dangerous of them was probably one of the commanders of a mujahidin unit in Bocinja, and the commander of El Mujahidin unit of the BiH Army during the war,” the paper reports. The report further mentions that the BiH passports of two members of this group were found in Kabul, following the retreat of the Taleban from the Afghan capital. Nezavisne Novine reports that the BiH Council of Ministers forwarded information about “the Egyptian Group” to the members of the BiH Presidency and deputies of the BiH Parliament. The paper emphasizes that this document highlighted that members of this group were sought by Egypt for involvement in international terrorism. “Egypt sent its extradition request to BiH through diplomatic channels. An official Egyptian note was delivered to the BiH authorities last December,” Nezavisne Novine reports. According to this Banja Luka paper, Egypt warned the authorities in BiH that members of this group belonged to some of the most extremist Islamic organizations. “The contents of Egypt’s official note revealed that this was a very dangerous group, much more dangerous than the so-called Algerian Group, whose members have recently been handed over to the Americans and transferred to the Guantanamo base in Cuba,” the text adds. The paper further reports that some of the members of this group have left BiH and moved to some West Europe countries with the help of Austrian visas. The paper also stressed that the authorities in BiH “for the time being would not reveal how the Egyptians managed to avoid BiH police controls, even though they had been under surveillance for months.”
Anti-terrorist official calls on Serb entity to catch Karadzic, Mladic
The joint coordination team for monitoring the implementation of a plan of activities of Bosnia-Hercegovina institutions to prevent terrorist actions will ask the relevant bodies of the RS to intensify and put into practice their cooperation with The Hague tribunal, team leader Ivica Misic said on Thursday. Addressing journalists in Sarajevo, Misic said that the coordination team assessed as positive and encouraging a series of measures taken in the RS recently, from the exclusion of Radovan Karadzic from the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) to the RS government’s invitation to all Serb war crime suspects to surrender voluntarily within 30 days. “The anti-terrorist coordination team believes that, with the view to achieving this, further measures should be taken for Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Vinko Pandurevic and others to be taken to the Hague tribunal as soon as possible. To avoid or postpone meeting this obligation, irrespective of all pretexts, postpones the solution of other major problems in the whole of BiH,” Misic said. According to him, the coordination team has many reasons to believe that to prolong to avoid bringing to justice major Hague war crime suspects could seriously undermine the anti-terrorist campaign. Therefore, speaking on behalf of the coordination team, Misic called on the RS authorities to rely more on support from international organizations which are also involved in collecting operational data of importance for the arrest of Karadzic and Mladic.
Constitutional Reform
BiH Cro-parties meet the Croatian Prime Minister Racan in Zagreb
Representatives of the Croat parties in BiH visited Zagreb on Saturday and held talks with the Croatian Prime Minister, Ivica Racan. According to Oslobodjenje, the leaders of Croat parties asked for a direct help by the Croatian authorities in the process of constitutional changes in BiH. “Officials of the Republic of Croatia support symmetrical solutions, i.e., the equal protection of interests of all peoples and nationalities both in the Federation and in the RS. The official Croatian stance is that all citizens ought to be guaranteed equal rights in terms of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on constituent peoples and Croatian officials are ready to do whatever it takes on their part to ensure that this decision is consistently implemented. This, of course, does not mean that Croatia is interfering with the internal politics in BiH,” said one official who attended the meeting.
He also said that the Croat parties’ leaders agreed that the only way to consistently implement the CC Decision is to introduce the House of Peoples in the RS National Assembly and ensure equal representation of all peoples in the executive, legislative and judicial branch of authority. Secretary-General of the HDZ, Josip Merdzo, who also attended the meeting, said that the Croatian political leadership is aware of the gravity of the situation. “We were promised that Croatia would demand a consistent implementation of the CC ruling through its diplomatic representatives,” said Merdzo, adding that it is of prime importance that that Racan informs EU ambassadors about the suggestions put forth during the meeting.
Following the meeting, the Croatian Prime Minister, Ivica Racan, said that the purpose of this gathering was to “contribute maximally to the stability of the neighboring BiH.” “That is why the Croatian government is interested in the constituent status and equality of all three peoples in BiH,” said Racan, adding that the only guarantee of that are the same institutions and the equality of peoples in both entities of BiH. The meeting was also attended by the Croatian Foreign Minister, Tonino Picula, deputy Prime Minster, Goran Granic, and the president of the Foreign Policy Council, Zdravko Tomac on the Croatian side and leaders of the NHI (New Croat Initiative), HSS (Croat Peasant Party), HDZ, HNZ (Croat Peoples Union), Republicans, HSP (Croat Party of Right), HKDU (Croat Christian Democratic Union), and Working for Prosperity – on the side of BiH.
Croatia Prime Minister to visit Sarajevo, discusses constitutional changes
According to a Vecernji List source, the Croatian Prime Minister Racan expressed his readiness to come to Sarajevo soon and continue the talks on the constitutional changes in BiH, if political leaders invite him. In general, this meeting has already been agreed, however, a precise date of Racan’s coming to Sarajevo has not been determined yet.
According to A reliable information, Stjepan Kljujic, the leader of Republicans, has gone to Zagreb on Saturday, however, he changed his mind in front of the building of the Croatian Parliament. Kljujic confirmed that he was in Zagreb, but said that he was there for private reasons. He said: ‘Simply, I did not attend the meeting with Racan because of my principles.’
Allegedly, during the talks of Racan and Lagumdzija a misunderstanding regarding a joint stand of Croatia and BiH on the constitutional changes has been mentioned. Minister Tonino Picula mentioned the joint stand, while Lagumdzija’s Spokesperson denied it. The Vecernji List source claims: ‘Zlatko Dizdarevic, a BiH Ambassador in Zagreb, presented the proposal on the joint stand of Croatia and BiH with regard to the constitutional changes to the Croatian Minister. In Zagreb, this proposal was interpreted as an official message of the BiH Authorities. However, it turned out that Dizdarevic was presenting the proposals without prior consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.’
BiH non-Croat parties react to Saturday’s meeting in Zagreb
The Saturday meeting between Croat parties from BiH and the Croatian Prime Minister, Ivica Racan, provoked numerous reactions among the public and other political parties in BiH. Although there is a general agreement among the Alliance parties that there is nothing wrong in these consultations with the neighbouring country, there is a lingering scepticism and bad memories of the time when BiH neighbours did not want to let the country resolve its internal problems on its own.
Safet Halilovic of the Party for BiH does not generally object to the meeting, saying that nothing spectacular was agreed in Zagreb. Halilovic said that the Croatia’s concern for the wellbeing of the Croat people in the process of constitutional changes on BiH is understandable, but added that it reminds him of the time past, when this neighbouring country was making all decisions for BiH Croats. “There is this unnecessary association of paternalism, the need to go elsewhere to reach a consensus and to have someone else taking care of us,” said Halilovic.
SDP’s Miro Lazovic was of similar opinion. He said that his party does not have any objections to such meetings and consultations as long as they are not detrimental to BiH.
Sulejman Tihic, the president of the SDA, was more critical. He said that there is no need to go outside of BiH to find solutions for internal issues. “This practice reminds us to the time of Tudjman and all negative things, it reminds us of the deconstruction of BiH,” said Tihic, adding that the move of the Croat parties in BiH was not a good method of resolving problems.
Stjepan Kljujic, the leader of Republicans, explained his decision not to take part in the meeting with his belief that BiH internal questions should be resolved internally and not outside of the country. “Everything that is outside of BiH is not our political option, because we believe that we have to reach a consensus and fight for our rights from within BiH,” stressed Kljujic.
Croatian government and BiH Council of Ministers working on project of constitutional changes in BiH
Dnevni Avaz reports that on the last week’s meeting of the Croatian Parliament’s Board for Foreign policy, the Croatian Foreign Minister, Tonino Picula, said that his country, together with the BiH Council of Ministers, is working on a project which should determine constitutional changes in BiH. Although there was no official confirmation of this on the part of BiH authorities, the daily notes that their silence and the lack of reaction to such statements could indicate that such a project indeed exists. Deputy BiH Minister of Foreign Trade, Jadranko Prlic, said he did not have any information about this cooperation. “As far as I know, there is no one in the Council of Ministers who is engaged in drafting such a document.
Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Amer Kapetanovic told SRNA on Friday that representatives of the BiH government are not working on any joint project with representatives of the Croatian government about changes to the BiH Constitution. “We are satisfied with the meetings at which different viewpoints are aired and relations between our two states are furthered in order to find joint solutions to problems. But we did not have any discussions at these meetings which could be seen as a joint project of Croatia and BiH regarding constitutional changes in our country,” said Kapetanovic.
Also commenting on Picula’s statement, the RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic said that the Croats “signed the Washington Agreement themselves and thereby determined their position in the BiH Federation. “Now that problems have begun to appear, they would like to completely change the way in which BiH is organised. The RS has its position and its constitutional powers and will not allow this to happen,” Ivanic said. He added that the statement was yet another failed attempt at changing the way in which BiH is organised at the detriment of the RS.
The RS President, Mirko Sarovic, was equally critical of the alleged agreement. “An investigation has to be conducted on possible unconstitutional actions directed towards changes of our highest legal document”, said Sarovic
The Croatian ambassador to BiH, Josip Vrbosic, was not explicit, however he said that one should not exclude the possibility of adoption of a joint document about constitutional changes. “Croatia, as one of the countries-signatories of the Dayton Agreement and as a country which has a responsibility to care about Croats in BiH, has indubitable interest for the position of Croats in the process of ongoing constitutional changes,” said Vrbosic.
Premier disputes joint concept with Croatia on constitutional changes
The BiH Council of Ministers chairman, Zlatko Lagumdzija, told SRNA on Thursday evening that Croatia and BiH did not have a joint concept for constitutional changes based on the decision by the BiH Constitutional Court on the constituent status of all three peoples. “The Council of Ministers and the Croatian government are neither officially nor unofficially holding talks on the issue,” Ladumdzija said. Lagumdzija pointed out that the BiH Council of Ministers “does not have its own vision on the constitutional changes in BiH, because the matter should be resolved, more or less, at the level of the entities.
Radisic says Bosnia reserves right to change constitution
Commenting on a statement made by Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula that “the Croatian and BiH governments are drafting a joint concept of constitutional changes in BiH”, the member of the BiH Presidency from the RS, Zivko Radisic told SRNA news agency on Thursday evening that “no-one outside BiH has the right to deal with such a matter”. “I doubt that this is the case. However, should this be correct, then it is illegal and would be completely one-sided. The BiH institutions reserve the absolute right to change the constitution as much as they are responsible for it,” Radisic told SRNA. He remarked that only “the international community with its rights and responsibilities that is deeply involved in BiH” could participate in the constitutional changes. “We have to find comprehensive solutions which will truly strengthen the position of BiH, which could not and cannot exist without the Serbs, the Bosniaks and the Croats, without complete tolerance and equality,” Radisic said. He expressed his conviction that BiH would come up with its own proposal on the constitutional changes that have been initiated. “Recommendations and experience of the others can be very useful to us, but let me reiterate that the issue can only be resolved by the institutions, the peoples and the citizens of BiH,” he concluded.
Kresimir Zubak hopes the High Representative will impose constitutional changes
Commenting on the recent talks between leaders of all political parties in BiH on constitutional changes, the president of the NHI (New Croat Initiative), Kresimir Zubak, said that the discussion has not moved from a standstill, in particular on the issue of introducing the House of Peoples in the RS. Zubak said he hopes that the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, will impose amendments to the entity constitutions.
RS National Assembly speaker: I do not expect the High Representative to impose solutions to entity constitutions
Commenting on the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the constituent peoples and the formation of government in the RS, RS National Assembly speaker, Dragan Kalinic, said that the prevailing opinion was that the election results would be a good criteria for setting up a government. “I do not think that the idea that the census of 1991 should be the basis for that is acceptable, since it prompts questions such as, why not consider another year?,” Kalinic said. He added that it was unrealistic to expect High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch to impose constitutional solutions if no consensus was reached on the key issues, adding that some intervention was possible. “It is also possible to expect an idea or correction which would be directed towards the BiH Constitutional Court. In any case, I expect the changes to the RS Constitution to reflect the European standards for protection of civic rights and freedoms, ensuring non-discriminatory policies, and the rest would reflect the specifics of the entities,” Kalinic said.
Nikola Spiric: House of Peoples on the state level could protect the interests of all constituent peoples in BiH
In an interview with Saturday’s issue of Oslobodjenje (Pogledi supplement), the deputy chairman of the BiH Parliament’s House of Peoples, Nikola Spiric, said that the strengthening the position of the House of Peoples on the state level could adequately protect the vital national interest of all constituent peoples in BiH. Spiric said that the idea of introducing a House of Peoples in the RS National Assembly is well and alive, but he stressed that such a move would simply add more elements of statehood to the RS. He added that the constitutional changes, whatever they may be, should reflect the will of the people in BiH. “I am afraid that after the harmonization of the entity and state constitutions, we will experience a fierce revision of the BiH Constitution. What kind of political changes and restructuring will we experience then?” asked Spiric at the end of his interview with the Sarajevo daily.
President of the RS Constitutional Commission Says That Public Debate On Constitutional Changes Justified Its Purpose
Both RS dailies carry statement of President of the RS Constitutional Commission Miroslav Mikes who said that public debated on constitutional changes in the RS has justified its purpose and that it was conducted on a highly democratic and civilizational level. “Representatives of all peoples had the opportunity to present their positions an reasons against certain solutions”, said Mikes. He added that the majority of remarks from the public debates referred to the three issues: Bosian language, the establishment of the House of Peoples in the RS Parliament and the application of ’91 population census as a base of the distribution of power in the executive branch in the RS.
Mirko Banjac: Croats should get a third entity
In an interview with Vecernji List, Mirko Banjac, a senior SDS member and a deputy in the BiH Parliament’s House of Representatives said that he supports the idea that the Croats in BiH get the third entity, if such solution suits them. “And…I am aware that it does,” Banjac said. He added that the relations within the Federation have been organized in a such a way that it does not suit the BiH Croats.
Croat Caucuses in the BiH and Federation Parliaments demand symmetrical solutions in entity constitutions
Croat caucuses in the BiH Parliament’s and Federation Parliament’s House of Peoples said on Friday that they will insist on the symmetrical constitutional solutions in both entities in BiH. The two caucuses also welcomed the announced election of additional deputies to the Croat caucus in the Federation House of Peoples and the Croat proposal that all members – Croat, Serb and Bosniak – of this chamber should be represented in equal numbers and elected on the basis of proportional representation from cantonal assemblies. (Oslobodjenje carries the article)
Bosnian Patriotic Party still insists on Halilovic re-assuming a ministerial post in the Federation government
Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz report that the Bosnian Patriotic Party (BPS) asked on Friday the Alliance to resolve the so-called Halilovic issue. According to the dailies, the BPS will keep insisting on its president and an indicted war criminal, Sefer Halilovic, re-assuming his ministerial post in the Federation government. Although other member-parties in the Alliance strongly object to Halilovic’s return to the post, they will attempt to resolve this disputed issue on a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Federation
Cantonal court Mostar receives a letter from the OHR about registration of the HDZ
The president of the Cantonal court in Mostar, Castimir Mandaric, told Dnevni Avaz that he received a letter from the OHR Mostar which, among other things, addresses the registration of the HDZ before the upcoming elections. The daily claims that this party may not be able to re-register because its president, Ante Jelavic, had been removed by the High Representative in March 2001. OHR spokesman Mario Brkic refused to comment on weather this letter was indeed sent, but stressed that one thing is clear – the High Representative wants the HDZ to take part in the elections. “However, in order to run in the elections, a party needs to be properly registered and to comply with decisions by the High Representative. (Vecernji list and Jutarnji list also reports on this)
In an interview with Vecernji List, the dismissed HDZ president, Ante Jelavic, said that the HDZ was re-registered with the Cantonal Court in Mostar in accordance with the Law on Political Organizations. Jelavic stressed that issue was raised again with intention to harm the HDZ leaders. Commenting on the alleged letter the OHR sent to the Court, asking it to review the registration, Jelavic said that he expects that the Court will pass a political decision following the orders by the International Community. He also said that, if he is the only obstacle preventing the HDZ from running, he will withdraw from the politics for good.
Dragan Covic, Edhem Bicakvic and 118 politicians from Federation under investigation
The Sarajevo Cantonal Court has confirmed that it has received criminal charges against former Federation Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic and his Deputy Dragan Covic who are charged with the abuse of office, reads Dnevni List. The confirmation arrives after the session of the Federation Government held in Mostar on Thursday when the Government discussed the issue of prevention of state corruption and money laundry announcing that the Federation Financial Inspection has submitted criminal reports against 118 individuals. Investigative Judges of the Sarajevo Cantonal Court, who wanted to stay anonymous, told HINA news agency that three investigation are being conducted against Bicakcic and two against Covic Other persons included in the investigations are former Deputy Federation Finance Minister Mehmed Alijagic, former Federation Minister for Social Welfare and Refugees Sulejman Garib, former Head of Federation Office for Invalids of war Fuad Purisevic and former acting Head of Federation Employment Agency Fikret Hadzic. According to the Judges, the investigations will be completed soon after which the Prosecution would decide whether to press charges against some of them or not. The Sarajevo Court also confirmed that an investigation is being conducted against Alija Delimustafic over alleged financial crimes, concludes Dnevni List.
Republika Srpska
Carla Del Ponte visits Banja Luka, asks authorities for better cooperation
The chief prosecutor of the ICTY, Carla Del Ponte, visited Banja Luka on Friday and, in talks with RS authorities, expressed her dissatisfaction with the level of entity’s cooperation with The Hague. “I am very frustrated with this and I came to see why there is no full cooperation with the Tribunal, especially in the sphere of arrest of those who are at large,” Del Ponte said after talks with the RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic. “The RS cannot become a safe heaven for the indictees from the FRY,” she stressed. Del Ponte informed the press that the ICTY has submitted to the RS Ministry of Justice warrants for arrest of 16 indicted war criminals who are still at large, and expressed hope that entity authorities will take a more active part in their arrests. She also said that the ICTY is certain that the most famous indicted war criminal, Radovan Karadzic, is in the RS and urged the entity authorities to determine his exact location.
Prime Minister Ivanic stressed that the entity has demonstrated that it takes the cooperation with The Hague more seriously and added that the RS has done a good deal in this respect. He also explained that the entity authorities will indeed have to “increase their efforts to arrest the indicted war criminals”, but only after they fail to turn themselves in within the 30 day period granted to them by the RS government.
RS President Mirko Sarovic refused to give any statement for the press after the meeting with Del Ponte. (All Federation and RS media, both print and electronic carried prominent reports about Del Ponte’s visit to Banja Luka)
USA showed Bosnian Serb premier exact location of Karadzic’s hideout – daily
During his visit to Washington, RS Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic was shown the exact location in the RS where Radovan Karadzic was. Quoting sources close to the international community, the Banja Luka-based Nezavisne novine daily reports that the Americans located Karadzic’s shelter and encircled him in such a way that – according to estimates – he would not be able to get through. Contrary to current belief, Radovan Karadzic will most likely be arrested by the RS police and not by NATO, the daily said. If the RS police fail to arrest Karadzic next month, severe sanctions against the smaller BiH entity are very likely. On the other hand, estimates indicate that there is a possibility that Karadzic will surrender. The source of Nezavisne novine says that Karadzic is very close to reaching such a decision, since he is increasingly sceptical about chances to continue to hide. In addition, his self confidence has been shaken seriously after the RS government publicly announced it was setting a 30-day deadline for war crimes suspects to surrender, after which the arrests would follow, Nezavisne novine concluded.
RS Prime Minister says he has no knowledge of ICTY indictees’ whereabouts
RS Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic told Tanjug news agency on Thursday, on the eve of the arrival of the Hague tribunal chief prosecutor in Banja Luka, that he had no information about the whereabouts of persons indicted by the tribunal for war crimes, including the former RS president Radovan Karadzic and war commander of the RS Army Gen Ratko Mladic. “I am going to repeat this to the Hague tribunal’s chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who is arriving in Banja Luka tomorrow. If they (the ICTY officials) have information about the whereabouts of persons indicted by the Hague, it would be only fair if they passed it on to us and then checked whether the RS’s institutions are ready to do their job,” Ivanic stated for a Banja Luka-based alternative television station. He pointed out that the RS institutions were obliged to cooperate with the ICTY under the law on cooperation between the RS and the ICTY. “The government will meet the obligations specified in the law on the RS’s cooperation with the Hague tribunal, but we demand that the Hague tribunal have a far more active approach towards requests that we have conveyed to them, including those that refer to some persons who we believe committed war crimes,” Ivanic said.
Justice minister denies knowledge of Karadzic whereabouts
RS Justice Minister, Biljana Maric, confirmed on Saturday that the RS authorities did not have any knowledge that former RS leader Radovan Karadzic, who is wanted by the Hague tribunal for crimes committed in BiH, was on RS territory. Speaking in the Alter Media programme on Banja Luka’s Alternative TV, Maric said Ratko Mladic was also mentioned yesterday in the talks between Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic and Hague tribunal’s chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, but that the emphasis was on the arrest of Radovan Karadzic and on preparations for the trial of Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic in The Hague. Commenting on a possibility of sanctions against the RS over failure to cooperate with the Hague tribunal, Maric said there was no mention of sanctions in the talks with chief prosecutor Del Ponte, adding that such measures could be anticipated, since the UN Security Council had powerful instruments in its hands.
International Community
Wolfgang Petritsch meets the Dutch Foreign Minister, discusses constitutional changes and streamlining of the International Community
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, met on Friday with the Dutch Foreign Minister, Jozias van Artsen, who is in an official visit to BiH capital. According to ONASA news agency, the two discussed the ongoing constitutional changes and the general elections scheduled for October. In addition, Petritsch informed Van Artsen about the streamlining of civil structures of the International Community in BiH and explained to him the model framework within which local authorities in the country could assume more responsibility for political processes. Dnevni Avaz also carried this item
Wolfgang Petritsch supports a plan of the Sarajevo municipality Stari Grad
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, and his wife Nora expressed their support on Saturday to one of the projects initiated by the head of the Sarajevo municipality Stari Grad, Fehim Skaljic. Among other things, the plan would include the re-construction of a music pavilion in one of the parks in this municipality, and which was originally built during the Austro-Hungarian rule in BiH and destroyed in 1941. (Petritsch’s visit to At mejdan park was the front page story in Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz)
Headlines
Saturday
Oslobodjenje:
- Dismissal of Slavo Kukic prepared;
- Carla Del Ponte dissatisfied with the RS cooperation with the ICTY;
Dnevni Avaz:
- Del Ponte: Karadzic is in the RS
Vecernji List:
- Kresimir Zubak: At the eve of the elections. We shall be negotiating with the HDZ
- Leaders of Croat parties from BiH meet Racan
Nezavisne novine
- Chief Prosecutor of The Hague Tribunal Meets With the RS Authorities: Del Ponte: Arrest Karadzic; Ivanic: Tell Me His Address
Glas srpski
- Brcko – Prosecutor Withdrew Indictment
- Ivanic and Sarovic: Conduct An Investigation (into statement of Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula re Constitutional Changes)
Sunday
Oslobodjenje
- Croat parties ask Croatia for more active help
- Petritsch supports reconstruction of music pavilion in At mejdan park
Dnevni Avaz
- Who laudered 19,2 million KM?
Vecernji List
- Racan receives leaders of Croat parties in BiH: Jelavic, Komsic and Kljujic fail to appear
Monday
Oslobodjenje
- One PM gets four workers’ salaries
Dnevni Avaz
- Where did millions earmarked for employment go?
Jutarnje Novine
- New measure in curbing illegal trade and import of oil of questionable quality
Vecernji List
- Because of the position of Croats, Racan will soon come to Sarajevo
- Travnik: Croat seriously injured by a planted mine
Glas Srpski
- Will the Serbs from Croatia get their property back by the end of the year
Nezavisne Novine
- Unique football league by the end of the year