- BiH Presidency adopts new draft Budget for 2002
- New BiH ID cards promoted
- BiH Association of Electronic Media expresses concern over possibility that HR imposes announced version of the Law on PBS
- HDZ sends letter to PIC Ambassadors over illegal mortar shells found in the Mostar region
- OHR considers sacking of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Prime Minister and his Deputy
- RS Government still silent about Dusan Knezevic’s transfer to The Hague
- RS DNS to file charges against Kalinic and Sarovic
- RS Interior Ministry issued passports to Iranians
- RS SNS calls for list of Mujahedin citizens to be made public
- A three-day conference on the Public Broadcasting Services in the Transition Countries opens in Sarajevo
- The High Representative addresses the 2nd BiH Anti-Corruption Conference on Tuesday
- Petritsch says situation in BiH much better than three years ago
- PDHR Hays requested the BiH Federation Government to correct the draft Law on Concessions
- Slobodna Dalmacija: Ante Jelavic – How the former Head of HDZ BiH almost turned BiH Croats into hostages of his ambitions
- Dnevni List: 13 BiH Croat parties to compete for 190.000 votes!
BiH State-related Issues
BiH Presidency adopts new draft Budget for 2002
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
All BiH media report that the BiH Presidency on Monday adopted the proposed budget for the BiH joint institutions for this year amounting to 492.8 million KM. However, the Presidency failed to agree on financing the BiH legal agent in a law suit that BiH filed against the FRY before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The papers report that despite the fact that teh Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic, had earlier vetoed the item on financing the BiH legal agent, according to the new proposal of the budget, the item was transferred to the current reserves. This means that the budget reserves have been increased by 436, 000 KM, which is the amount that has been foreseen for financing of the BiH legal agent. The papers report that the BiH Council of Ministers, not the BiH Presidency, is in charge of how the current reserves money will be spent. The Serb and Croat members of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic and Jozo Krizanovic respectively voted for this proposal while the Bosniak member of the Presidency, Beriz Belkic, voted against it. Glas Srpski quotes the RS President, Mirko Sarovic, as saying that the lawsuit that BiH filed against the FRY before the International Court of Justice in The Hague will be a test for the principle of the constitutionality of peoples in BiH. “If, apart from everything else, anybody from any side keeps insisting on this lawsuit, then the lawsuit can be initiated by the BiH Federation and not by BiH state institutions because not all constitutional peoples agree with it”, said Sarovic.
New BiH ID cards promoted
BiH launched its first common identity card on Monday in a further bid to bridge the ethnic divide left by the 1992-95 war and bring the country closer to Europe, Reuters and all BiH media report. “This is the central building block for a sovereign, modern and civic-minded state of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, said at a ceremony promoting the new document. Earlier this year, the reformist-dominated central parliament adopted a Western-sponsored project (CIPS) to introduce common documents, including driving licenses and birth certificates. Its cost should amount to up to 60 million KM. The BiH Council of Ministers signed a contract in April worth 16.9 million euros ($7.6 million) with German electronics and engineering group Siemens for the printing of the new identity documents. Svetozar Mihajlovic, the BiH Minister of Civil Affairs and Communications, said the printing of the new cards would start in September and be completed in two years. The Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, said the cards would serve as an important tool in the fight against organized crime and terrorism.
BiH Association of Electronic Media expresses concern over possibility that HR imposes announced version of the Law on PBS
According to Oslobodjenje, the BiH Association of Electronic Media on Monday issued a press release in which it expressed its concern about the possibility that the High Representative imposes, before the end of his mandate (on Monday, May 27), the drafted Law on the BiH Public Broadcasting Service. “Since the draft Law on PBS contains several provisions (on marketing space, parallel financing from several sources etc.), which might directly jeopardize the work of the commercial broadcasters, the Association believes that a public debate on the draft is necessary,” the release read.
Federation
HDZ sends letter to PIC Ambassadors over illegal mortar shells found in the Mostar region
Barisa Colak, the acting President of HDZ BiH, sent a letter to the Ambassadors of the countries belonging to Peace Implementation Council in BiH regarding the mortar shells found in east Mostar. Among other things, the letter says that HDZ welcomed SFOR’s efforts and actions, but they also demand from the countries belonging to Peace Implementation Council to take seriously such cases and inform the public about who is responsible for the secret arms caches and in which way the responsible individuals are sanctioned. (Fena, Croat Radio Mostar and Oslobodjenje reported on the issue)
OHR considers sacking Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Prime Minister and his Deputy
The Office of the High Representative is presently considering whether to sack the current Prime Minister of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Omer Macic, and his Deputy, Miroslav Coric, Onasa learned from sources close to the international organizations in Mostar. (Jutarnje Novine carried the ONASA report) OHR Spokesperson in Mostar Avis Benes told Onasa she could not comment on the information. “The OHR never gives any information in advance on eventual Decisions because in that case they would lose their effect,” she said. “The OHR is dissatisfied with the work of these two officials and we expect an urgent merging of the cantonal ministries,” she added. Head of the OHR Regional Office in Mostar Jean Pierre Bercot met on Friday with Macic, expressing deep disappointment with Macic’s and Coric’s work. “Their persistence in playing political games, instead of resolving vital issues for the Canton, shows the lack of their faithfulness as politicians. The question is whether they deserve to represent the citizens,” Bercot said after the meeting.
Republika Srpska
RS Government still silent about Dusan Knezevic’s transfer to The Hague
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Glas Srpski reports on its front page that even 2 days after Dusko Knezevic, indicted by the ICTY for war crimes committed against non-Serb population in the Keraterm detention camp near Prijedor, was transferred to the ICTY, it still remains unknown how he got there. A press release, issued by the RS Government’s Bureau for Cooperation with the ICTY, states that the RS Government participated in negotiations on Knezevic’s surrender. The paper also says that the ICTY Spokeswoman, Florence Hartman, denied the RS Government’s involvement in negotiations on Knezevic’s surrender, but, as Glas srpski claims, Hartman did not provide more detailed information on how the transfer was conducted. The paper states that instead clarifying this whole situation about Knezevic’s surrender, the RS Government is still keeping silent about this case. The paper also notes that the representatives of the RS Government’s Bureau for cooperation with the ICTY are constantly not available to the press.
RS DNS to file charges against Kalinic and Sarovic
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Nezavisne novine quotes DNS vice-chairman (Democratic People’s Alliance), Jovan Mitrovic, as saying that the DNS will file criminal charges against the RS National Assembly Speaker, Dragan Kalinic, because Kalinic misused the office and forwarded fake amendments to the RS Constitution to the High Representative. “Kalinic is responsible for misuse of the fficial seal and providing false information, which basically undermines the RS system as foreseen by the Dayton Peace Agreement. By doing this, Kalinic violated the RS Constitution. It is also unacceptable that amendments to the RS Constitution are passed without the RS National Assembly. We request that Kalinic be held accountable for this precedent which has never happened in any country”, said Mitrovic. He also told Nezavisne novine that criminal charges would also be filed against the RS President, Mirko Sarovic, if Sarovic signs the decree pertaining to the constitutional amendments. “The decree on constitutional amendments has not been published in the RS Official Gazette yet, but if that happens charges will be filed against Sarovic “, said Mitrovic.
RS Interior Ministry issued passports to Iranians
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Nezavisne novine quotes a source close to the RS Interior Ministry as saying that during the past few years the RS Interior Ministry issued a large number of false IDs and passports to persons who are not entitled to BiH personal documents, including persons of Asian background and members of foreign intelligence organizations. The source claims that the Brcko Police Station issued BiH IDs to two Iranians who are not entitled to BiH personal documents. According to him, these two persons acquired false IDs under names of Dalibor Savic and Danijela Savic. They also obtained the unique registration numbers (JMBG) of persons who died during the war. The person who acquired the ID under name of Danijela Savic, has the unique registration number of a person from the village of Desetnik near the Kakanj, while the person who obtained the ID under the name of Dalibor Savic has the unique registration number of a person who was born in the village of Svice near Zenica. The source also said that issuing of false IDs and passports is a common practice in many police stations (Public Security Centers) throughout the RS.
RS SNS calls for list of Mujahedin citizens to be made public
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Both Banja Luka dailies quote a member of the Serb People’s Union (SNS) main committee, Jezdimir Spasojevic, as saying yesterday in Bijeljina that his party, in cooperation with the Minister of Civil Affairs and Communications in the BiH Council of Ministers, Svetozar Mihajlovic, will demand that the list of persons from Islamic countries who obtained BiH citizenship during the war be made public. Spasojevic said that the SNS would demand information from the BiH authorities regarding the current whereabouts of Mujahedin who obtained BiH citizenship and who used to live in Bocinja, as well as an explanation of who gave them large amounts of money for buying up Serb property when it is common knowledge that they were not employed. He expressed the SNS’s expectation that BiH Presidency member Zivko Radisic would veto the decision on financing an agent in BiH’s law suit against Yugoslavia in The Hague, adding that it was the Bosniak side which had caused the war by not accepting the Lisbon Agreement.
International Community
A three-day conference on the Public Broadcasting Services in the Transition Countries opens in Sarajevo
Organized by the Wilton Park British International Conference Center and the BiH Communication Regulatory Agency (CRA), a three-day conference on Public Broadcasting Services in Transition States opened in Sarajevo on Monday. “Establishing a free and fair public broadcasting service is an essential component of BiH’s efforts to integrate further with the rest of Europe; in turn, such a service will help promote the kind of civic values that will make BiH compatible with the democratic ethos that prevails in the rest of the continent,” said the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch in his address to the participants at the conference. (Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz reported on the event carrying excerpts from the HR’s speech)
Petritsch says situation in BiH much better than three years ago
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, said in an interview for Monday’s edition of the Ljubljana daily Delo that the situation in BiH was much better than at the beginning of his mandate almost three years ago. “The goal of Europe is Europeanisation of the entire region,” Petritsch emphasized. (Excerpts from the interview carried by ONASA and Oslobodjenje)
PDHR Hays requested the BiH Federation Government to correct the draft Law on Concessions
According to Dnevni Avaz, the Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, has requested the BiH Federation Government to make certain corrections in the draft Law on Concessions, which is soon to be considered by the Entity Parliament. The corrections refers to the treatment of the issues that are in teh exclusive authority of the State of BiH, including the concessions for radio, TV, phone postal and telecommunication services. The Government has immediately after receiving Hays’ letter sent amendments to the draft Law to the Parliament..
Editorial
Slobodna Dalmacija: Ante Jelavic – How the former Head of HDZ BiH almost turned BiH Croats into hostages of his ambitions
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Slobodna Dalmacija carries a highly critical article about Ante Jelavic in which the author Tomislav Zoric gives his view on the career of the former President of HDZ BiH. Zoric outlines Jelavic’s career from its modest beginnings when he was a JNA lieutenant until the present days when he is said to be well off. The author says that Jelavic’s decision to leave the office of the HDZ BiH President was the greatest favour he did to the party and the Croat people because the consequences of his tenure will be felt in the years to come.
When it comes to the constituent status and equality of peoples, says Zoric, Jelavic’s policy was odd to say the least. First he opposed that Croats be constituent in the RS thus giving the Serbs an exclusive right to the entity, then when the IC decided to introduce equality of Bosniaks and Croats in that entity, Jelavic again opposed the proposed solutions under an excuse that they do not efficiently protect interests of Croats. In both cases Jelavic went against solutions which enable Croats to enter structures of authorities in the RS.
Zoric also criticizes Jelavic for compromising the standard of living of BiH Croats when the HDZ BiH ordered the establishment of the Hercegovacka Banka which Jelavic and his loyal people used for giving loans to each other and for suspicious transactions of money from Croatia for the HVO. The author says that SFOR and OHR closed down the bank because of grounded suspicion of criminal activities which in turn weakened the standard of living in Herzegovina.
Ante Jelavic’s most dangerous action, in view of the author, was nearly provoking an internal Croat armed conflict during the times of the Croat self-rule when soldiers loyal to Jelavic almost collided with troops loyal to the Federation Minister of Defence Mijo Anic. It was only because of general Jelic who opposed Jelavic’s policy that an armed conflict was avoided in Kiseljak.
Finally, Zoric says that Jelavic was successful in one field. He made the HDZ BiH the ultra-successful company whose stock holders amassed huge fortunes in a very short period of time, with the HDZ BiH leaders driving expensive cars, having flats in Mostar, weekend houses on the seaside and bank accounts abroad, not in the Hercegovacka Banka.
Dnevni List: 13 BiH Croat parties to compete for 190.000 votes!
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Dnevni List carries an article on Croat parties in BiH and their chances in the October 5 elections. The article written by Marko Markovic reads that 13 political parties and 2 independent lists will be fighting for a possible 280.000 Croat votes. DL says that international and domestic surveys show that only the HDZ BiH will be able to pass the threshold set at 3 % whilst other Croat political parties will have troubles achieving it with the NHI looking second strongest behind, but still with only 1,6 % of votes won in last elections. The article predicts that there will three coalitions because of the aforementioned predicament, namely the Croat block consisting of Croat People’s Union (HNZ) and HKDU (Croat Christian Democratic Union); parties gathered around the HNS (led by HDZ BiH) and a coalition that is to be headed by the NHI.
Headlines
Oslobodjenje
- Lawsuit against FRY will not be financed from the BiH Budget
Dnevni Avaz
- Arms, however, went to Israel
Jutarnje Novine
- BiH might lose 700,000 of its citizens
Dnevni List
- Open letter of Headquarters for protection of identity and survival of Croats of Municipality Stolac: Planned scenario of intimidation of Stolac Croats
- Open letter of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Prime Minister Omer Macic to his Deputy Miroslav Coric: Your insinuations will not prevent me from merging Cantonal Ministries
Vecernji List
- Joint identity cards for whole BiH were presented: New identity cards
- BiH Presidency has new requests from RS: New budget without suit against SRJ
- Explosion of cannon shell near Mostar: Cannon shell almost hit Tihomir Drinovac
Glas Srpski
- RS Government still remains silent about Dusan Knezevic’s transfer to The Hague – A volunteer without time-table
- Elementary education in RS will last nine years
Nezavisne Novine
- Implementation of the CIPS project started – New single BiH IDs as of November
- RS Interior Ministry issued passports to Iranians