- The BiH parliamentary delegation visits FRY
- Lagumdzija and Behmen visit Mostar, Capljina
- Presidency, The Hague Tribunal officials lay foundations for local tribunals
- Presidency sets up working group to speed up war crimes trials
- SDA will not support Mikerevic as the candidate for the BiH Council of Ministers Chairman
- The BiH Federation Government fails to adopt draft amendments to the Entity Constitution
- BPS freezes its participation in the Alliance
- Dnevni List:
Dragan Vrankic, Deputy Governor of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton – Our problem is that we have not our Sarajevo- Slobodna Dalmacija:
Interview with Dobrica Jonjic, Federation Deputy Minister for Defenders and Invalids of War- Vecernji List:
New Hague dossiers are being opened – Three Croats from Stolac charged with crimes are on the run
- RS government not familiar with the contents of 62 indictments against Serbs and Croats
- Session of the RS National Assembly Constitutional Commission scheduled for 27 February – Three disputable issues
- PDP: Mladen Ivanic will resign if constitutional changes are imposed
- RS delegation visiting Greece – Welcome to Hilandar monastery
- SNSD says that RS delegation is in a tourist visit to Greece
- Petritsch meets with Kostunica, Djindjic
- RS press: Petritsch meets with Kostnica and Djindjic – Serbia will not arrest Mladic;
- Reuters:
“Ill-treated” Milosevic’s trial hears of massacres- Vecernji List:
Another dispute on Latinica
- Nezavisne Novine:
BiH State-related Issues
The BiH parliamentary delegation visits FRY
“Political, economic and cultural relations between FRY and BiH are being improved in an accelerated way, and they can serve as an example of successful development of good neighboring relations in the region,” Oslobodjenje quoted Speaker of the FRY House of Citizens Dragoljub Micunovic as saying in Belgrade on Monday following a meeting with a BiH parliamentary delegation headed by Zeljko Mirjanic, the Chairman of the BiH House of Representatives, and Sejfudin Tokic, the Speaker of the BiH House of Peoples. This is the first official visit of the BiH parliamentarians to Yugoslavia. On Tuesday, the delegation members are scheduled to meet with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and FRY Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic.
Lagumdzija and Behmen visit Mostar, Capljina
Oslobodjenje reports that BiH Council of Ministers Chairman Zlatko Lagumdzija and BiH Federation Prime Minister Alija Behmen on Monday visited Mostar and Capljina. In Mostar, they met with the town’s Mayor Neven Tomic and his Deputy Hamdija Jahic to discuss the position of Mostar in the future arrangement of the electric power system in BiH and the BiH Federation. In a press release issued in the course of the day, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Governor Sefkija Dziho and his Deputy Dragan Vrankic said that they had been informed from media about Lagumdzija and Behmen’s visit to Mostar and Capljina. “Not a single cantonal official has been officially informed about the visit,” the release read.
Presidency, The Hague Tribunal officials lay foundations for local tribunals
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Nezavisne Novine reports that the BiH Presidency held a meeting on Monday with the officials of the Sarajevo office of the ICTY, representatives of the judiciary and the public prosecutor’s office and BiH officers for liaison with the international war crimes tribunal (ICTY). The meeting was devoted to an initiative launched by the Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte to set up courts in BiH to process war crimes. At the first preliminary meeting between the Presidency, the judiciary and the BiH officers for liaison with the international war crimes tribunal, foundations were laid for the future cooperation in the context of establishing courts in BiH to process war crimes. The BiH officer for liaison with the ICTY, Amir Ahmic, gave his consent to processing, before the Federation courts, 62 cases relating to different crimes during the war. Ahmic said that the crimes were committed against Bosniaks, suspects are persons of Serb and Croat nationality. Chairman of the BiH Presidency Beriz Belkic said that the relevant institutions, including the Presidency and the Council of Ministers, are obliged to lend support to the establishment of courts to process war crimes in our country. “The judicial bodies in BiH – in line with the Rome way rules are already working and processing some war crimes cases. This is a preliminary meeting where we wanted to get a reply as to how to implement the Presidency’s verbal support for Carla Del Ponte’s initiative, not only the Presidency’s support, but also that of a series of other bodies and institutions of BiH which have lent their support to the initiative to process some other cases of war crimes in our country up to a certain level of gravity”, said Belkic. The paper reports that in this process the Presidency will seek expert and financial support, and they also announced the launching of a parliamentary procedure in which the assemblies in the two entities should accept by consensus the setting up of courts in BiH to process war crimes.
Presidency sets up working group to speed up war crimes trials
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
The BiH Presidency on Monday set up a three-member team of experts tasked with speeding up the hand-over of the processing of war crimes cases from the Hague tribunal in line with the initiative by ICTY chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.The team consisting of Slobodan Radulj, Kasim Trnka and Davor Bogdanic is to consider the organizational and judicial structure of BiH, relevant legislation which can be applied to war crimes and the judicial system’s processing conditions, following which several procedures would be set in motion in the parliaments of both entities and the BiH Parliament. The experts are charged with organizing within 15 days a meeting with representatives of the ICTY office in BiH and with contacting the OHR and the UN in order to secure expert and financial support for future activities. Following this, the BiH Presidency will organize a coordination meeting of representatives of judicial bodies from the two entities and at the level of BiH, i.e. representatives of BiH courts and the Human Rights Chamber.
SDA will not support Mikerevic as the candidate for the BiH Council of Ministers Chairman
According to Dnevni Avaz, the BiH Presidency in Sarajevo on Monday met with SDA President Sulejman Tihic and Vice-president Adnan Terzic thereby starting consultations for the nomination of the new Council of Ministers Chairman. The SDA representatives said that, as the opposition, the party deputies to the BiH Parliament would not support the appointment of the PDP-nominated Dragan Mikerevic. In their opinion, the Chairman, as well as all other Council of Ministers members should gain a more stable majority than the current 22 votes.
Federation
The BiH Federation Government fails to adopt draft amendments to the Entity Constitution
According to Oslobodjenje, at its session on Monday, the BiH Federation Government failed to adopt the draft amendments to the Entity Constitution. BiH Federation Justice Minister Zvonko Mijan explained that, as the authorized body, the Government intended to draft the amendments in the best possible way and than, as such, deliver them into the parliamentary procedure.
BPS freezes its participation in the Alliance
The representatives of the B-H Patriotic Party (BPS) late on Monday walked out from a regular meeting of the Alliance for Change Coordination dissatisfied with the position of the other Alliance members related to the dispute over the filling of the vacated office of the BiH Federation Minister for Social Welfare, Refugees and Displaced Persons. Sources close to the party told Oslobodjenje that the BPS would not participate in the work of the Alliance all until its demands concerning the ministerial position as well as several positions in the Steering Boards of certain companies are resolved.
Dnevni List: Dragan Vrankic, Deputy Governor of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton – Our problem is that we have not our Sarajevo
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
With regards to the troublesome funding of the University of Mostar (West), Dnevni List tried to contact political leaders of Cantons with Croat majority but only managed to get in touch with the Deputy Governor of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Dragan Vrankic. Other officials were, according to the papers, as skillful as bin Laden when it came to dodging phone calls and other means of contacts. Deputy Governor Vrankic said that the HNC allocates 5% from the Cantonal budget for the University reminding that the Canton is suffering from bad collection of public revenues, something like 70%. “The University is our first item in the budget i.e. money goes to the University before it goes to the Police and elementary and secondary schools”, says Vrankic. When asked whether the HNC has submitted a projection/plan to the University on the amount of money it is planning to allocate in 2002, Vrankic said that since the HNC budget for 2002 has not been adopted, the projection has not been submitted adding that the University still gets money from the Canton in accordance to the decision on temporary funding. Vrankic also hopes that the amount would equal the amount allocated last year. When asked whether the politics is involved in the non-funding of the University, meaning Public Companies, Vrankic said that it was hard to talk about other people adding that such assumption could not be ruled out. The biggest problem, in Vrankic’s opinion, is that “we have not our Sarajevo” because the Law on Higher Education in the Sarajevo, Tuzla and Una-Sana Cantons was adopted three years ago, whilst the HNC does not have a law in the matter. “The partner side in the HNC obviously does not have an interest to adopt this type of law, because there is “a Croat intellectual mass” here, therefore they do not allow advancements”, said Vrankic. Finally, adds the paper, the final decision on the destiny of the University will be made at a session of the University’s Steering Board, Senate and Presidency of Students’ Association scheduled for March 7, 2002.
Slobodna Dalmacija: Interview with Dobrica Jonjic, Federation Deputy Minister for Defenders and Invalids of War
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Slobodna Dalmacija carries an interview with the Federation Deputy Minister for Defenders and Invalids of War, Dobrica Jonjic, in which he says that the Federation Government has appointed a Working Group that would prepare a Draft Law on rights of military invalids and families of fallen soldiers and deceased military invalids. He says that that is a realization of an agreement reached between the Associations (of war invalids and families of fallen soldiers) and President and Deputy President of the Federation BiH. It was agreed back then that a Working Group of the Federation Government be appointed and that each Association appoints one member to the Group, the Group’s task being to jointly analyze the proposed draft and try and incorporate some requests submitted by the Associations. Jonjic said that the previous material, which was discarded by various associations of invalids and families of fallen soldiers, will be used as a basis for talks and be upgraded to suit the requests of both Bosniak and Croat associations. Minister Jonjic says that the competent Ministry is “restricted” by these associations which have set a deadline for completion of the draft for March 1, otherwise they would organize mass demonstration throughout the Federation. The Minister said that both the Bosniak and Croat Associations have reached a consensus to organize protests. “It was probably a mistake not to involve representatives of the Associations in the work on completion of the Law”, says Jonjic. When asked as to why the representatives of defenders and families of deceased have been left out of the process of completion of the draft, Jonjic says that there were no special reasons for the move. “During the last Government, that group consisted of 30 people and it was impossible to do anything good. We assessed that too big a group was unnecessary because of one reason only, we did not want that the adoption of this law be stalled. I think that requests of the Associations ought to be considered and that their representatives should be included in the Government’s Working Group in order to try and fix the proposed draft law”, says Jonjic, reads Slobodna Dalmacija.
Vecernji List: New Hague dossiers are being opened – Three Croats from Stolac charged with crimes are on the run
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
An anonymous source from the Mostar Cantonal Court stated that The Hague has approved that the Cantonal Court in Mostar launch a process against three Croats from Stolac (Petar Matic, Ante Kresic and Dragan Kresic), who are still at large, although the arrest warrants were issued after them, in autumn last year. They were charged with maltreating and beating of several Bosniak prisoners in the prison camp located in the Stolac’s hospital, during the Bosniak-Croat conflict in 1993. The three of them are charged with the murder of five Bosniak prisoners.
A Judge of the Mostar Cantonal Court confirmed yesterday that they have not received the bills of indictment, that had arrived to Sarajevo last week. A Judge, who wanted to stay anonymous, stated that 12 bills of indictment will arrive before the Cantonal Prosecution in Mostar. However, he stressed that the number of defendants can be considerably bigger.
Republika Srpska
RS government not familiar with the contents of 62 indictments against Serbs and Croats
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
SRNA news agency quotes RS Prime Minister’s Advisor for cooperation with the ICTY, Sinisa Djordjevic, as saying that the RS Government is not aware of the contents of the 62 indictments against Serbs and Croats in BiH, which ICTY allowed to be processed before Federation courts by the Federation Justice Ministry. He said that the Federation Justice Ministry is not obliged to inform the RS Government of these indictments, just like the RS Government did not inform this Ministry of the contents of the 7 indictments related to war crimes against Serbs, which ICTY allowed to be processed by us.” Djordjevic said that the RS would most probably inform the Federation Interior Ministry of these 7 indictments. If there should not be any answer as to whether these persons are in the Federation, the RS would inform the Interpol.
Session of the RS National Assembly Constitutional Commission scheduled for 27 February – Three disputable issues
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Nezavisne Novine reports that the session of the RS NA Constitutional Commission will take place on 27 February when the members of the Commission will discuss the material pertaining to the constitutional changes, discussed during the public debate in the RS. President of the RS NA Constitutional Commission, Miroslav Mikes told Nezavisne Novine that he scheduled the session because the session of the RS National Assembly is taking place this week and that he would not be surprised if the deputies raised the issue of vital national interest. He also said that it is very important that the members of the Commission say whether they are satisfied with the material from the debate though he does not know why they should not be given that all objections have been included in the material. Mikes said that the next session of the RS NA Constitutional Commission will probably take place on 10 March unless the members of the Commission come up with additional proposals and objections. He also expects to see the results of the meeting that the representatives of the BiH leading parties will have with the High Representative for BiH. “If the RS NA Constitutional Commission agrees on proposed constitutional amendments and no-one vetoes them, then the proposed constitutional amendments will be forwarded to the RS NA session which is to take place on 15 March”, said Mikes. He also said that there are three disputable issues: mechanism for protection of vital national interest, language and fair representation. The paper also quotes RS NA Speaker, Dragan Kalinic, as saying that the proposed amendments to the RS Constitution might be discussed at the session of the RS National Assembly which will probably take place between March 15th and 20th. Kalinic said that the representatives of the leading political parties from BiH will have another two meetings with the High Representative to discuss the amendments to the RS Constitution.
PDP: Mladen Ivanic will resign if constitutional changes are imposed
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Glas Srpski reports that the PDP Main Board decided on Sunday that the second congress of PDP takes place on 17 March in Banja Luka. PDP Main Board decided that the president of PDP, Mladen Ivanic resigns in case the constitutional changes are imposed without following the parliamentary procedure. The PDP refuses the idea of introduction of house of peoples in the RS National Assembly. PDP also sends the last warning to the Alliance for changes, which very often does not comply the DPA, because next such step will cease PDP’s support to the Alliance.
RS delegation visiting Greece – Welcome to Hilandar monastery
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Both Banja Luka dailies report that the RS delegation, headed by RS President, Mirko Sarovic and RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic, are in a two-day visit to the Hilandar Monastery in Greece where they were received by Superior of the convent, father Moses. Glas Srpski reports that Sarovic and Ivanic also met with the representatives of the Greek Chamber of Commerce with whom they discussed possibilities for investing in the RS. The RS Prime Minister told representatives of the Greek Chamber of Commerce that the IC representatives see the RS as a less complicated and more progressive of the two BiH entities because it has more liberal and open policy. RS President Sarovic thanked the Greek people for the help and support they gave to Serbs during the recent war and added that the RS is a stable area that is adjusting to European standards.
SNSD says that RS delegation is in a tourist visit to Greece
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Both Banja Luka dailies carried press release, issued by the Party of Independent Social Democrats, which states that the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) are using the visit to the Hilandar monastery to present themselves as politicians who enjoy support of the international community. The press release further reads that “with the untrue press release, issued by cabinets of the RS president and the RS prime minister, and the alleged contacts that the RS delegation had with Greek officials, the RS authorities are trying to present themselves as politicians who enjoy support of the international community and attach themselves the importance they really do not have. “RS public should know the truth – just like many other visits and tours that the representatives of the SDS and the PDP previously had, this visit is strictly a tourist visit”, states the press release.
International Community
Petritsch meets with Kostunica, Djindjic
BiH media reported that the High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, on Monday, which is the second day of his two-day visit to Yugoslavia, met with FRY President Vojislav Kostunica and Serbia’s Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Their discussions focused on implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the increasingly positive state-to-state relations between BiH and the FRY. OHR Spokesman Oleg Milisic told Dnevni Avaz that Petritsch had emphasized at the meeting with Kostunica that the constitutional reforms in BiH would enhance the process of return to the both entities. Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic, according to Milisic, informed the High Representative he was intending to launch a pilot-project to concretely support the reconstruction of houses and the return of Serbs to Herzegovina. OHR Press Release
Note: Below is the RS press coverage of the HR’s visit to Belgrade
Petritsch meets with Kostnica and Djindjic – Serbia will not arrest Mladic
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Both Banja Luka dailies report on separate meetings that the High Representative for BiH, Wolfgang Petritsch had with the FRY President, Vojislav Kostunica and Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic in Belgrade yesterday. Kostunica pointed out that it is necessary to respect the Dayton Peace Accords when it comes to the constitutional changes in BiH. He also said that it is necessary to create conditions that would ensure faster return of a large number of refugees, which would ensure that problems of refugees and DPs would be resolved in the region with participation of the FRY, Croatia and BiH. The press released, issued by the Cabinet of the FRY President, reads that both politicians are satisfied with many-sided development of the relations between the FRY and BiH and the RS. Both papers report that the High Representative and the Serbian Prime Minister agreed that the Office of the High Representative drafts a pilot-project for return of 40,000 refugees. According to this plan, the Serbian Government would finance reconstruction of houses and the BiH Government would finance construction of infrastructure. Serbian Prime Minister, Djindjic emphasized that relations between the FRY and BiH are getting better and that he and BiH Foreign Minister, Zlatko Lagumdzija agreed on the Free trade treaty which is to be ratified very soon. Djindjic also said that when it comes to arrest of former RS Army commander Ratko Mladic, it is unnecessary to shift the responsibility for his arrest to Serbia given that the IC did not want to take a risk and take responsibility for Mladic’s arrest.
Reuters: “Ill-treated” Milosevic’s trial hears of massacres
A pregnant woman and children massacred in a pizzeria, a disabled woman burnt alive — grim allegations of Serb “ethnic cleansing” piled up on Monday as Slobodan Milosevic complained of ill treatment at his trial. Gory tales of shooting, looting, torching and deportation filled the courtroom as survivors of the 1999 Serb crackdown on Kosovo Albanians, which prompted NATO air strikes, testified against the ex-Yugoslav leader at the Hague war crimes tribunal. Reuters article
Vecernji List: Another dispute on Latinica
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
“Who needs the RS” edition of Latinica show, shown last night, was subject to shortening of reports and editing prior to the broadcast. This time, the cause was not disputable reports of HTV journalists, but quotes by one of the participants in the debate in the studio that were subsequently omitted.
To be more specific, after Ante Obuljen, the Head of the HRT’s Working Unit for Legal and Personnel Affairs, after having seen the mentioned edition of Latinica, as early as on Saturday, warned Jasna Ulaga-Valic, the HTV Editor-in-Chief, about two details in the show that could cause unnecessary comments or even accusations, an intervention followed by which two statements uttered in the studio by Desanka Radjevic, a member of the SDS Executive Board, were omitted from the programme that had been prepared to be broadcast.
Namely, following the broadcast of the story by Ljubica Letinic titled “Slobo?da”, which depicted the suffering of Muslims and rape of their women during the recent war, Desanka Radjevic asserted that the report was tendentious emphasising that, at the same time, crimes were also committed against Serbs. She substantiated the claim by mentioning a case of rape of a 9 year old girl, for which she accused a Croat, giving his full name. It is exactly this sentence, by which she publicly named the rapist, as well as further listing of a number of other examples of Serb women that were raped by Muslims, that was omitted from the show. The same thing happened with her other claims in which she mentioned the names of the people who, in her opinion, falsely testified in the case of a Lepoglava prisoner of Serb nationality who was convicted to a 20 year prison sentence on the grounds of participation in the events related to Manjaca.
Editorials
Nezavisne Novine: Constitutional compromise
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
In Nezavisne Novine, Radomir Neskovic comments on the amendments to the RS Constitution. He says that the point of the constitutional changes is to find an optimal balance between a civic and national element (concept) so that one element does not jeopardize the other which would further enable a higher degree of human rights compared to the previous period.
Vecernji List: A critical mass
Written by Radoslav Dodig (Provided by OHR Mostar)
This year it will be 12 years after the first elections were held in BiH, when the first democratic authority, as veterans from HDZ, SDA and SDS like to babble themselves, was elected. I am not intending to make a historical inventory of political merits and sins of those, who participate in the Authority, however, I believe that I should warn of one negative quality of the BiH corpus, especially in Herzegovina, since I am better familiar with their mentality and character. It is about a lack of critical mass. During the 1990s, at the eve of breaking up of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, many political emissaries and various messiahs, from Zagreb, Split, Chicago or Sydney were bringing and spreading ideas among naďve Herzegovina people. The situation was similar fifty years earlier after the break up of Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
I remember well two disastrous Croat years: 1992 and 1993. I wrote a few comments and I let fly a few satirical arrows at political dilettantes, adventurers and careerists in power. I was expecting that some of my colleagues would write something critical as well. However, there did not write critical articles but only dull ones, in which the authors went with the grain. During the elections in 1996, 1998 and 2000, I was watching the voters crossing passively and humbly the lists with the names of former dilettantes, arrogant careerists, supporters of Perinovcic, Kljujic, Boban, Kordic, Rajic and Ante’s squad. The critical mass that would stir new changes has not appeared yet. Perhaps, the only heralds of the week critical mass, although the weak one, are Trade Unions of Teachers.
Dnevni List: On Tuesdays from the right – Ante Jelavic Osama (by Marko Tokic; N.B. “osama” means “loneliness, solitude, isolation”)
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
These days, the most wanted man in the world is Osama bin Laden and, if he has not gone to the other world, he is looking for a shade where he can devise new evils for the United States of America.
At the same time, Ante Jelavic intends to go to America in order to present to Croatian emigrants, many of whom are American citizens, all that is happening to the Croat people under the rule of the American Administration.
Now, naturally, the most powerful American influence on the positions and activities of the International Administration in BiH should not be forgotten.
What America?
During the elections in America, I was the only public person in BiH who did not refrain from advocating Bush’s victory.
For two reasons.
I believed that, as a Republican, he would support European Christian democrats, populist and conservative forces. And that, by doing so, the perspective of understanding things happening in this region, would change for the better. And what may be more important that anything else is the truth, which I was aware of, that we stood no chances with Clinton’s Administration and its understanding of BiH problems.
I believed that Republicans would recognize an American beginning in us.
Ante Jelavic, (unrecognized) HDZ President, has been denied an entrance visa for the USA these days. What has Jelavic done to endanger the most powerful country in the world? In which way has he jeopardized its security?
During the times when 8000 soldiers were in the streets absolutely supporting his stands, he believed that not a single human life could be jeopardized and he especially stressed that the Croat people must not jeopardize themselves.
I think that it is clear to everyone that Ante Jelavic cannot jeopardize the USA. The question arises then, as to whom he might endanger with his visit to the USA?
Obviously, he could shake the things that those, who are still able to prevent talking about Croat issues, want to preserve at every cost.
It seems that some people would like to postpone their retirement and for this reason Ante should be retired.
These days it has been disgracefully speculated with the name of his successor. One might almost believe that he should have shut his eyes and accept humiliation of his own people and preserve the position of a Croat member of the Presidency.
If he has not deserved credit he has not deserved isolation either.
For this reason let’s support Ante’s visit to the USA. Ante is not Osama. He is not Halilovic or Mladic. Ante need America- America might understand Ante for our benefit.
Feral Tribune: A silent war between Zagreb and Sarajevo
Why has Racan received representatives from BiH with a Croat prefix: Welcome to Boban’s Dvori (referring to Mate Boban, the President of the Croat Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, and Banski Dvori, a seat of the Croatian Government)
Written by Ivan Lovrenovic (Provided by OHR Mostar)
In the present political constellation among Banja Luka, Sarajevo and the International Community, each direct interfering of Zagreb in the issues of a political re-organization of the RS can only cause a direct damage to the process itself and to the Bosnian Croats as one of those, who will be the last ones, who will suffer consequences of that process.
If Racan truly burns with desire to help in some way, the only way, in which he would not cause damage while doing it, would be – a principled, clear and open dialogue with official representatives of legal BiH institutions and the institutions of the International Community. It is better not to mention scandalous and stupid escapades of Zdravko Tomac, whose lack of his own political identity was manifested, long time ago, as a serious disorder.
From the standpoint of BiH Croats, their real life and political interests and needs, the Zagreb meeting is completely counter-productive. Even if the information, that all these parties have agreed regarding the principles of the constitutional changes, as Brkic says, calling it ‘a historical event’, then it would be a good reason that with such clear stands they go to all those places, where they can truly influence decisions and changes. These places are everywhere but in Zagreb: in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, in Parliaments, Parliament Commissions, in OHR at Petritsch, in various institutions of a civic society and, in general, in a relevant, BiH public.
There is no any direct use from such visit to Zagreb and it can only cause additional damage, due to a specific irritation of the public in BiH and distrust can be actualized again. That distrust is double: the international but also political one- within the Alliance for Changes, since some of the parties, that visited Racan, are the Alliance members.
When we take all things into consideration, a relentless political mathematics has shown that only two addresses benefited from the last Saturday visit of the guests with a prefix, paid to Banski Dvori. It is not people, or its so-called constitutional-legal position in Bosnia, but Ivica Racan in his daily political Darwinism, and HDZ BiH in a desperate attempt of its own reanimation.
Also, the Stup meeting of the parties with a prefix gave a hint that, as far as Croat politicians are concerned, at the next elections, mixing of the positions, giving up of ‘civic illusions’ and the return to the national lining-up, are at sight. For the time being, we still cannot see what it will look like, however, a so-called National Block is being mentioned quite frequently. Since political resources (in ideas and people) in BiH, in general, and especially among the Croats have been completely exhausted, one does not have to be especially clairvoyant to realize that it is just one of the new names for the old policy. From a different angle, the information, that these days in Sarajevo the idea to draft a so-called Croat National Program has appeared, proves this tendency.
The Heads of the project are Reverend Franjo Topic and veterinarian Marko Tadic, who in his invitation letter says that ‘ the idea to write National Program of the Croats in BiH as a strategic document for the survival of the Croats in BiH, emerged among independent Croat intellectuals in BiH and it has received as considerable support of some Croat institutions in BiH’. There is no more obvious indication of a sad backwardness of ‘the independent Croat intellectuals’ and ‘some Croat institutions’ than the fact that now, after everything that happened, the possibility that ‘writing of National Program’ might seem meaningful and purposeful to someone.
Zlatko Dizdarevic, a BiH Ambassador in Croatia, stated that he does not believe that this is about the intention to interfere in internal BiH affairs in an improper way, but it is, simply, about a difficulty to get rid of some old habits and old understanding of the situation. It seems that the biggest problem is to realize that BiH is also becoming a state and that it has its own institutions. According to well known SDP stands, Mister Ante Jelavic, an unrecognized HDZ President, who is very much involved in the whole story regarding the meetings in Zagreb and Sarajevo, cannot be a negotiating partner after the High Representative, who has a right to pass such decisions no matter if we agree with them or not, passed some decisions concerning Jelavic. (Note that the editorial was carried by Oslobodjenje on February 24)
Headlines
Oslobodjenje
- Green light for 62 The Hague indictments
Dnevni Avaz
- Payment of pensions on March 4?
Jutarnje Novine
- Sixty two sealed indictments arrived in Sarajevo
Dnevni List
- Exclusive: Arrests of persons suspected of war crimes started: 3 Croats from Stolac are at large due to The Hague bills of indictment
- Dr. Frano Ljubic, a Head of the Mostar University: The University is live and it will be living!
Vecernji List
- Celebration in Zagreb: Janica was given a warm welcome in Croatia
- Due to dissatisfaction with the Federation Law on Defenders and Invalids, HVIDRA members announced: Blockade!
Glas Srpski
- RS Directorate for Privatization – Money/Yes, Tax/No;
- BiH Human Rights Chamber decides to stop construction of the orthodox church in Doboj
Nezavisne Novine
- Delegation of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly visits Yugoslavia – Joint future in Europe;
- BiH Presidency on war crime trials