- High Representative convenes fifth Consultative Partnership Forum
- BiH Presidency adopts annual report of BiH Central Bank for 2001
- Lagumdzija attends meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Vilnius
- Belkic, Krizanovic meet with Klein to discuss preparations for the Srebrenica donors conference
- BHTV 1 to start broadcasting its program with central news at 1900 on Tuesday
- The suspects in “Pogorelica” case remain in custody
- SDP BiH says restitution law must offer fair solutions both for owners and occupancy right holders
- Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz: Poll – SDP most popular in the Federation
- Sunday’s Oslobodjenje, CRO press: Ante Jelavic resigns
- SDA Presidency to decide political destiny of Bicakcic and other removed officials on Wednesday
- Silajdzic sends a letter to PDHR Hays over Mostar Aluminum case
- RS Interior Ministry sends to Federation authorities new evidence about AM Sped case
- Poplasen re-elected RS Radical Party President
- RS police to arrest any of The Hague indictees if they come in contact with them
- SRS official interrogated over reports of “terrorist attacks” – Blagojevic detained under Ivanic’s orders
- New political party founded in RS
- Mustafa Kovac denies statement made by Mirko Banjac that BiH Presidency Chairman forced Sarajevo Serbs to labour
- Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz: Interview with SDHR Matthias Sonn
- The PIC Steering Board to support Petritsch in making judicial reform-related decisions
- Ashdown ends his three-day visit to Washington
- Saturday’s Dnevni List: Interview with Croatian President Stipe Mesic
- Reuters: Rugova and Milosevic cross swords at UN court
- Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz
BiH State-related Issues
High Representative convenes fifth Consultative Partnership Forum
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, together with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Dragan Mikerevic, on Friday convened the fifth Consultative Partnership Forum in the OHR building in Sarajevo, all Sarajevo dailies and news agencies, as well as Banja Luka Nezavisne Novine and Split-based Slobodna Dalmacija prominently reported on Saturday. A main focus of the meeting was Judicial Reform. The High Representative stressed the core function of the Rule of Law, supported by a professional, independent and reliable judicial system, in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s democratisation and Europeanisation process. Efficient and impartial courts protect the rights of citizens; they are also indispensable in rooting out crime and corruption and creating the kind of transparent business environment that will attract the foreign investment that BiH needs in order to prosper. Dnevni Avaz quoted Petritsch as saying after the session that necessary decisions concerning the judicial reform would be made very soon. Click here to see OHR press release.
BiH Presidency adopts annual report of BiH Central Bank for 2001
The BiH Presidency at its Friday session adopted the annual report of the BiH Central Bank (CBBH) for 2001, ONASA and Sarajevo dailies reported on Saturday. Chairman Jozo Krizanovic told reporters after the session that the CBBH successfully operated last year, adding that it made a profit of up to 15 million KM only in the first three months of the year. According to Krizanovic, the Presidency has already drafted amendments to the law on the CBBH and forwarded it to the Parliament for consideration and adoption. At the session, the Presidency also reconsidered information on the “Algerian Group” case, which, as Krizanovic said, does not provide any additional data, so the Presidency might reopen the issue after it receives an adequate interpretation from the Human Rights Chamber. The Presidency also adopted a report on the work of the State Border Service (SBS) in the first three months of the year, and took over the obligation to ensure 35 million of budgetary funds for the needs of the Service.
Lagumdzija attends meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in Vilnius
BiH Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija on Friday delivered an introductory speech on the topic “Multi-Cultural and Multi-Religious Dialog,” organized in the scope of the 110th meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in Vilnius, ONASA and Sarajevo dailies reported on Saturday. According to a press release from the BiH Foreign Ministry, Lagumdzija spoke about terrorism, and its causes and consequences for the future of the world. Lagumdzija called on the Council of Europe, the European Union (EU) and the entire international community to do their best to solve the Middle East crisis. During his stay in Vilnius, Lagumdzija signed Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. After the meeting, he met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peters, President of the Council’s Parliamentary Assembly Peter Schieder, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Lydie Polfer, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mary Robinson, and Secretary-General of the Arab League Amre Moussa.
Belkic, Krizanovic meet with Klein to discuss preparations for the Srebrenica donors conference
According to Saturday’s Oslobodjenje, the members of the BiH Presidency, Beriz Belkic and Jozo Krizanovic, met in Sarajevo on Friday with the Head of the UN Mission to BiH, Jacques Paul Klein, to discuss preparations for the international donors conference dedicated to the region of Srebrenica. The conference is scheduled to take place on May 13 in New York. The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Beriz Belkic, is expected to attend the event.
BHTV 1 to start broadcasting its program with central news at 1900 on Tuesday
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), or BHTV 1, as of Tuesday, will start broadcasting evening news at 1900 at the frequencies of both entity televisions – Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) and Federation Television (FTV), ONASA reported on Saturday, Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz on Sunday. General Director of the media house Drago Maric said on Saturday in Banja Luka that in the first phase, BHTV 1 would cover 90% of BiH until it gets its own frequencies. “PBS will provide the entity televisions licenses for broadcasting world events, such as the soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and in return will use the infrastructure of the two TVs,” he told reporters. Maric described as unjustified the claims that PBS will “ruin” the entity televisions. “BHTV 1 is to secure full equality of the three nations in BiH, their language and letters. Nine persons from all the three constituent nations will run the news. They will each speak in his or her own language, while the use of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets will rotate each night,” he underlined. In the scope of preparations for broadcasting the first BHTV 1 news, two PBS centers have been set up in Mostar and Banja Luka.
Federation
The suspects in “Pogorelica” case remain in custody
Saturday’s Oslobodjenje reports that an authorized three-member BiH Federation Supreme Court council on Friday rejected the appeals lodged by the lawyers of the suspects in the “Pogorelica” case against the ruling made by the investigating judge, Jasminka Putica. This means that former heads of the Agency for Investigation and Documentation (AID), Bakir Alispahic, Irfan Ljevakovic and Enver Mujezinovic as well as former senior police officers involved in the case, Edhem Veladzic and Ejub Ikic, will remain in custody for a month. With regard to the case, the SDA BiH issued a press release on Friday to protest against putting the aforementioned “defenders of BiH” in custody while certain war crime indictees are allowed to defend themselves at liberty.
SDP BiH says restitution law must offer fair solutions both for owners and occupancy right holders
According to ONASA and Saturday’s Oslobodjenje, the SDP BiH Vice-president, Ivo Komsic, General Secretary Miro Lazovic and the Vice-president of the party’s Main Board, Sejfudin Tokic, met in Sarajevo on Friday with representatives of small businesses to present the SDP positions regarding the process of restitution. The officials emphasized that a fair solution had to be found both for the former owners of the apartments and business spaces, which would be subject to the process. The party believes that these apartments and businesses should not be returned to the owners in kind, but that they should receive adequate financial compensation.
Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz: Poll – SDP most popular in the Federation
According to an Avaz poll (results published in Saturday’s edition of the newspaper), the SDP BiH is the most popular party in the BiH Federation. It is followed by SDA, Party for BiH and HDZ. The Bosnian Party (BOSS) has stable support of five percent of the polled citizens. Concerning the politicians, Zlatko Lagumdzija (SDP) is the most popular in the Federation and is followed by Haris Siljadzic, Safet Halilovic and Beriz Belkic (Party for BiH), Mirnes Ajanovic (BOSS) and Ante Jelavic (HDZ). In the Republika Srpska, SNSD is the most popular in Banja Luka, PDP in Bijeljina and SDS in Brcko. Concerning the politicians, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik is the most popular one in Brcko and Banja Luka, as Mladen Ivanic has major support in Bijeljina.
Sunday’s Oslobodjenje, CRO press: Ante Jelavic resigns
Unrecognised President of the HDZ BiH Ante Jelavic together with Vice Presidents of the party, Marko Tokic, Ivo Andric Luzanski and Zdravko Batinic, and senior party officials Petar Madzar and Slavko Bago resigned during an eight-hour session of the HDZ BiH Presidency on Friday in order to pave the path for the party re-registration for the October 5 general elections. The party Vice-president, Niko Lozancic, confirmed in a statement for Sunday’s Oslobodjenje that the aforementioned officials had decided to leave their posts. However, according to Vecernji List, more than 100 HDZ BiH officials will have to withdraw from the posts inside the party if HDZ wants to register for the elections by May 19. Regarding possible candidates to succeed Jelavic at the top post in the party, Vecernji Lists reads that nobody is eager to take over the office saying that Lozancic refused to become the acting President of HDZ BiH because he was of the opinion that the High Representative’s decision on the removal of Jelavic should be ignored. Barisa Colak did the same. The newspaper announces that a session of the HDZ BiH Central Board, which is scheduled for next Friday, will provide answers with regard to the election of a new party leader and registration of the party. A source close to the HDZ BiH leadership told Monday’s Oslobodjenje that the election of “Barisa Colak as the acting party’s president would be a compromising solution.”
SDA Presidency to decide political destiny of Bicakcic and other removed officials on Wednesday
The SDA BiH President, Sulejman Tihic, told Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz that the status of former BiH Federation Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic and other SDA officials removed from their offices by the High Representative would probably be decided at a session of the SDA Presidency scheduled for Wednesday, May 8. “Due to certain unclear details related to Wolfgang Petritsch’s Decision, I have requested in written form from the BiH Election Commission President, Lidija Korac, to send me a list with SDA officials whom Petritsch’s decision refers to,” Tihic said.
Silajdzic sends a letter to PDHR Hays over Mostar Aluminum case
According to Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz front-page story, Haris Silajdzic, the Party for BiH founder, handed late on Thursday a letter to the Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, in which he requested from the OHR and the World Bank certain answers related to the case of the Aluminum Factory in Mostar. Among other things, Silajdzic asks why OHR and World Bank were treating only Aluminum in a special way putting it under the international arbitration although there were many similar disputed situations. (Please note: No such letter has been received by the PDHR or any other OHR official)
RS Interior Ministry sends to Federation authorities new evidence about AM Sped case
Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz reports that the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry and the RS Tax Administration on Friday sent to the BiH Federation authorities fresh evidence related to the case of the Orasje-based AM Sped Company. According to these evidence, the BiH Federation Budget did not lose only 1.7 million KM (the amount of the deposit illegally paid out to the company in March this year) but more than eight million KM in unpaid contributions for imported coffee.
Republika Srpska
Poplasen re-elected RS Radical Party President
Saturday’s Oslobodjenje reports that Nikola Poplasen, former RS President removed from the office by the High Representative, was on Thursday re-elected president of the RS Serb Radical Party (SRS), although the BiH Election Commission had earlier conditioned the SRS participation in the next elections with his replacement. “According to the relevant High Representative’s Decisions, SRS will not be able to register for the elections neither it will be able to re-register in the authorized court,” the Head of the OHR Press Office, Alexandra Stiglmayer, told Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz, commenting on the announcements from the SRS that the party will lodge a complaint to the BiH Election Commission if it is banned from participation in the elections.
RS police to arrest any of The Hague indictees if they come in contact with them
Republika Srpska Interior Minister Dragomir Jovicic has said the RS police, if they come in contact with anyone from the public indictment list of The Hague Tribunal, will arrest the person and hand him to the Tribunal, ONASA and Sunday’s Oslobodjenje report. In an interview with the Banja Luka Nezavisne Novine on Saturday, Jovicic repeated that the RS police did not know the whereabouts of ex-RS president and war crimes indictee Radovan Karadzic. Asked if he would arrest Karadzic or ex-commander of RS Army Ratko Mladic if he came across them, Jovicic said the interior minister did not make arrest anywhere in the world. But, he added, someone from the RS Interior Ministry would do so. He said the Ministry had an obligation to cooperate with the Tribunal and fulfill its obligations from the Law on cooperation with tribunal, including the arrest of all suspects.
SRS official interrogated over reports of “terrorist attacks” – Blagojevic detained under Ivanic’s orders
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Weekend edition of Nezavisne Novine reports that inspectors of the Bijeljina police on Friday questioned the president of the Serb Radical Party (SRS) executive board, Mirko Blagojevic. The reason for the hearing was a text published in the Sarajevo daily Dnevni avaz on 29 April, according to which Blagojevic has organized a meeting of a group of people in Bijeljina to talk about the “realization of terrorist attacks aiming to intimidate Bosniak returnees to Zvornik, Koraj, Lopare, Dzemat and Ugljevik”. Dnevni avaz also claims that the details of this alleged plan were worked out at the meeting which allegedly took place a week ago in Bijeljina. The daily also claims that 10 people attended the meting among whom were members of the SRS leadership, Momcilo Mandic, members of Milosevic’s National Security Service and members of the group called “Pauk”. (Pauk is a Serbo-Croat word for spider.) After the hearing Blagojevic told Nezavisne novine that the hearing was correct and that he denied all the allegations. “The made-up story, published in Dnevni avaz”, could have only been created by the Party of Democratic Progress of Mladen Ivanic and RS Interior Minister, Dragomir Jovicic, who want to discredit all possible political rivals prior to the October general elections”, said Blagojevic. He said the PDP has many members who have served in the military and secret services, and who can make up stories and “discredit persons who prevent them from realizing their dirty political goals”. “I am very surprised that Dnevni avaz editors bought such information”, Blagojevic said, adding that he expected an apology. “It was Mladen Ivanic who ordered the article which appeared in Dnevni avaz, because I accused him and his minister Jovicic of doing nothing to find murderers of Srdjan Knazevic, Ljubisa Savic Mauzer and the assassins of Zeljko Kopanja”, said Blagojevic. As for Momcilo Mandic, Blagojevic said he would never meet with a war profiteer such as Mandic. As for the “Pauk” group, Blagojevic said that he had nothing to talk about with the Spider group and its leader Ljubisa Beara, because the SRS stated a long time ago that Beara is the most responsible for the Srebrenica massacre.
New political party founded in RS
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
SRNA news agency reports that the People’s Party of Socialists (NPS) held its founding session in Banja Luka on Saturday at which it elected Jagoda Lecetic as its chairwoman, while Fuad Turalic, the current minister of foreign economic relations in the RS Government, and Biljana Obradovic were elected deputy chairpersons. The presidency of the newly formed party includes Lejla Vasic, Slobodan Bilic, Milovan Milutinovic, Vesna Jovic-Vukadin, Vaso Bojanic, Djura Davidovic and Rajko Vranjes, while Goran Bobar was elected secretary general. The founding session also elected its main committee consisting of 38 members, as wll as supervisory and statutory committees. The program principles of the NPS are national equality, full respect for human rights and freedoms, building of a law-governed states and speedier solution of numerous social problems. The election assembly, the statement said, “confirmed the determination of this party to formulate its activities in accordance with democratic and civilized trends of the modern world”. The reason for setting up the party was said to be “the unwillingness of the existing political parties to secure stability, prosperity and social justice”.
Mustafa Kovac denies statement made by Mirko Banjac that BiH Presidency Chairman forced Sarajevo Serbs to labour
(Provided by OHR Banja Luka)
Nezavisne Novine quotes the head of the Sarajevo Canton civil protection HQ, Mustafa Kovac, as saying that he and the heads of the other civil protection HQ in the Sarajevo Canton are ready to testify for BiH Presidency Chairman, Beriz Belkic regarding the accusations made by deputy in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Mirko Banjac. He said that Beriz Belkic forced Sarajevo Serbs to labour during the war. Banjac claims he has a decision, signed by Beriz Belkic, dated on December 3rd 1993, which states that the Sarajevo Serbs were forcefully deployed into the war zone in order to dig trenches for the Army BiH. Many Serb civilians were either killed or seriously injured during the digging. At the time when the decision was issued, Belkic worked as a Secretary of the Ilidza Defense Secreatriat. “It was the war and state of war was declared, so all citizens of Sarajevo had a legal obligation, if not moral and patriot obligation, to participate in the defence of Sarajevo thus contributing to the preservation of the city as a core of multi-ethnicity in BiH. The civil protection units were multi-ethnic, and, unfortunately, people of various ethnic backgrounds were killed. As far as the civil protection is concerned, people were not forced to dig tranches. Municipalities were legal institutions of the authority and there was no ethnic discrimination. The case of Musan Topalovic Caco is another problem”, said Kovac.
International Community
Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz: Interview with SDHR Matthias Sonn
In an interview with the Saturday’s Dnevni Avaz, the Senior Deputy High Representative, Matthias Sonn, who has been chairing a newly-established Rule of Law task force since the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board session held on February 28 this year, said that the BiH politicians had to confirm their commitment and support to the judicial reforms, including the establishment of the BiH High Judicial Council. Sonn added that he expected the High Representative to, in the course of the month, establish the Council and give it certain instruments for work. Once when it has been established, the council will as an independent body take care of the appointment process for judges and prosecutors, acting as a foundation of judicial independence.
The PIC Steering Board to support Petritsch in making judicial reform-related decisions
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, will meet with the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board at the level of political directors in Sarajevo on Monday to discuss the judicial reform in BiH. “At the meeting, further steps which must be taken in this sector will be discussed,” the Head of the OHR Press Office, Alexandra Stiglmayer, told Monday’s Dnevni Avaz. The newspaper learned from the well-informed sources that the High Representative would gain support for making crucial decisions related to the judicial reform in BiH. (Monday’s Jutarnje Novine also announces that the PIC Steering Board at the level of political directors will meet on Monday and Tuesday in Sarajevo)
Ashdown ends his three-day visit to Washington
The future High Representative of the International Community and the EU special Envoy in BiH, Paddy Ashdown, believes that the international community will not allow today’s BiH to become tomorrow’s Afghanistan. ”Dealing with terrorism in Afghanistan is vital for all of us. But, in a different way, so is dealing with instability in Bosnia. We cannot afford to let today’s weak states become tomorrow’s havens for organized crime and terrorism; to let today’s Bosnias become tomorrow’s Afghanistans. I am confident that this will not happen in Bosnia – but only because I remain confident that the international community is determined not to let it happen. Otherwise I would not have accepted the job,” Sunday’s Dnevni Avaz quoted on its front-page Ashdown as saying in a commentary for the US edition of Financial Times published on May 3. According to Dnevni Avaz, Ashdown also delivered such a message to senior US officials during his three-day visit to Washington, which ended on Saturday. On Friday, Ashdown met with the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. “Secretary of State Powell reiterated the United States’ commitment to continue its mission in BiH and emphasized our strong support to Lord Ashdown, who is assuming these new duties of the High Representative in BiH with extraordinary experience and capabilities,” the US State Department spokesman, Frederick Jones, told Dnevni Avaz. Ashdown’s spokesman, Julian Braithwaite, told the newspaper that the future High Representative counted on the NATO presence in BiH and a robust mandate of its troops there. “The number of soldiers may be 18,000 or less, depending on the security risks, but the presence of NATO will be necessary because of the future High Representative’s intentions to accelerate reforms in BiH,” Braithwaite said. In the course of the visit, Ashdown also met with the US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld and the White House National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice. (Monday’s Jutarnje Novine also carried excerpts from Ashdown’s article published in FT)
Saturday’s Dnevni List: Interview with Croatian President Stipe Mesic
Conducted by Marko Markovic (Provided by OHR Mostar)
Talking about the constitutional changes in BiH, President Mesic says that the Sarajevo Agreement and amendments to Constitutions are another step forward in having BiH functioning as a state and that the whole process is not complete yet. Mesic is of opinion that the overall situation in BiH has improved since the time of the DPA because one can travel through and make businesses in BiH but regrets that war criminals such as Mladic and Karadzic are still at large. Commenting on recent statements made by the Deputy Speaker of Croatian Parliament Zdravko Tomac that serious diplomatic circles say that “solution for BiH will be put on hold until problems in the region are solved”, President Mesic says that he does not know which diplomatic circles Tomac is referring to adding that as far he is aware new national states cannot be created. “Maybe Tomac has other sources”, says President Mesic. Speaking about the overall BiH-Croatia relations, President Mesic says that he is unhappy with what has been achieved so far and adds that the co-operation must reach its maximum foremost in economic fields. Answering to a question that Banja Luka, although economically co-operating with Croatia, still does not rule out a possibility of creation of Association of Serb countries, Croatian President says if the RS were to join Serbia and the Croat part were to join Croatia, the result would be a small state of Bosnia where the most radical Islamic fundamentalists would gather without whom BiH would not survive, the scenario which, is Mesic’s opinion, is unacceptable for Europe. Therefore, says Mesic, BiH must survive and within BiH Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks. Markovic goes on to criticise the High Representative saying that the HR removes people who win in elections, bans political activities, deprives of fundamental human rights to which President Mesic responds saying that everything that Markovic said was true adding that one must ask himself/herself why it took place. President Mesic says that two HDZ members in the Constitutional Court voted against the constituent status of peoples in BiH and now the HDZ BiH says that it is for implementation of the CoCo’s Decision. President Mesic says that from his contacts with the IC he learned that negotiations with the HDZ BiH were impossible because of their stubborn attitude and believes that the HDZ BiH thought that they would wear the IC down which would later on concede to the ultimatums imposed by the party. “You cannot wear the IC down”, says Mesic. Answering to a remark that there are no Croats at leading positions in BiH, Mesic recalls that the late Mate Boban said that Croats who do not leave Sarajevo are traitors and says that Croats, who before the war had a Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Finance Minister in the then unified BiH Government and people in senior offices, left Sarajevo and other centres because they believed that a part of BiH would join Croatia. When asked as to why he does not come to Mostar when he had already visited Sarajevo and Gradacac, President Stipe Mesic says that he would come if he were to be invited by the Economic Chamber or the “Aluminij” Company or somebody serious adding that there is no chance that he would go to meet Ante Jelavic, Jelavic who lied that that Mesic told Wolfgang Petritsch to crush the BiH Croats.
Reuters: Rugova and Milosevic cross swords at UN court
Slobodan Milosevic and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova traded verbal bullets across a tense courtroom on Friday in a bitter confrontation over the former Serb leader’s role in repression of the renegade province. Testifying at Milosevic’s trial for war crimes before the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Rugova accused his erstwhile foe of unleashing a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1999 in a bid to snuff out its independence movement. Rugova, a mild-mannered academic who led a campaign of passive resistance by Kosovo’s Albanian majority against Milosevic’s rule in the 1990s, laid the blame for alleged Serb massacres of ethnic Albanians firmly at Milosevic’s door. The former Yugoslav president, defending himself against charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, fired a volley of questions back at the balding writer during fierce cross-examination.
“Mr Rugova, do you think that you personally and the Kosovo Albanians were used as a means of implementing the will of the Great Powers. Yes or No?” asked Milosevic, who has repeatedly accused the West of seeking to destroy Yugoslavia.
“We were not used. The international community came out in our defense and the human rights of our people and the massacres being perpetrated by Belgrade and you. That is the truth,” Rugova replied. “Well history gives many examples to the contrary,” Milosevic shot back.
Editorials
Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz
In a Saturday’s Oslobodjenje editorial, Mirko Sagolj wrote that the idea about the formation of the third entity in BiH was becoming a real nightmare since “we are not able to establish a normal state nor with the existing two ones.” Concluding that BiH as a multicultural state cannot mechanically be divided in two or three entities, Sagolj quotes Miljenko Jergovic, a writer who was born in Sarajevo and who lived in the town until 1993, as saying in the latest HRT Latinica talk show that each Bosniak in BiH has a bit of a Serb and a Croat, that each Croat has a bit of a Bosniak and a Serb and that each Serb has a bit of as Bosniak and a Croat. Sead Numanovic commented in the Monday’s Dnevni Avaz Commentary of the Day on the Paddy Ashdown’s article published on May 3 in the Financial Times and said that all the incoming High Representative was intending to do in BiH could be put in one sentence: “BiH must become a self-sustained European state.”
Headlines
Saturday
Oslobodjenje
- Suspects in Pogorelica case remain in custody
Dnevni Avaz
- The Party for BiH founder sends letter to Hays over Aluminum: Silajdzic requests answer from OHR
Jutarnje Novine (weekend edition)
- Pentagon made a plan to reduce number of US SFOR troops: A third of American soldiers leave
- OHR’s pressures on BiH judiciary: The time of democratic Stalinism backs
- In a visit to patients who underwent surgical treatment in the Sarajevo Cardio-surgery: Open heart in safe hands
Dnevni List
- Exclusive: Interview with Stipe Mesic, President of Republic of Croatia: If Pasalic were to take over authority tomorrow, he would extradite Gotovina in two days!
- Federation Pension and Disability Fund collapsing: One hundred thousand marks embezzled
Vecernji List
- Office of Federation Ombudsman reveals shocking datum: 5000 children in Federation do not have names
- Syrian with Bosnian passport connected to purchase of nuclear weapons for Al-Qa’ida
- From session of HDZ BiH Presidency: Madzar and Bago must leave too
Nezavisne Novine (weekend edition)
- Serb Orthodox Church celebrates Easter – Holiday of joy and forgiveness;
- Kopanja received award for free journalism;
Sunday
Oslobodjenje
- Cardinal’s mass in Haljinici attended by approximately hundred believers: Parishioners express loyalty to Franciscans
Dnevni Avaz
- Paddy Ashdown ends three-day visit to Washington: Bosnia will not be a new Afghanistan
Dnevni List
- Dnevni List’s reporters on Dubravska plateau where SFOR destroys ordnance: New ecology disaster in store
- Continuation of mortar rounds affair: Deputy Governor Sefkija Dziho and Bosniak pinnacle held keys to ammunition cache
Vecernji List
- Crisis in strongest party of BiH Croats about to be resolved: Additional 100 members of HDZ BiH must leave
- Organization Muslim brotherhood prints 40.000 leaflets: BiH citizens called to boycott foreign products
Monday
Oslobodjenje
- Lobbies inside HDZ select Jelavic’s successor: Colak in place of Jelavic?
Dnevni Avaz
- BiH Federation Government on Sarajevo Tobacco Factory: Behmen will not accept advices of Grabovac’s assistants
Jutarnje Novine
- The upcoming donors conference for Srebrenica: one third of all the financial assistance to be spent on the administration
Dnevni List
- Exclusive: Dnevni List finds out: University of Sarajevo legalizes introduction of Islamic law in BiH
- Wolfgang Petritsch, personally and professionally: Officially I am against, but privately I support third entity
Vecernji List
- Latest report by International Crisis Group: BiH and Albania poorest is Europe
- Conflicts within Church are not calming: Cardinal Puljic serves mass under protection of Police
- Herzegovina-Neretva Police takes over documentation from SFOR today: Police officials suspects in “Vrapcici Affair”