OBN News Review, 25 August 2000 - Office of the High Representative

Headlines

The Croatian Postal Bank was robbed in Mostar
Pensioners in the Federation are against proposed changes in the Law on retirement and social insurance
The RS Assembly continued their discussion on budget deficits
Fires are still breaking out in B&H

Mostar

The Croatian Postal Bank was robbed today. The police arrested one of the suspects. According to the police, one of the attackers was injured during the robbery. Reported by Maja Dzelilovic from Mostar.

Sarajevo

The Pensioners’ Party in the Federation organised the first Assembly session today. Conclusion after the session was that all pensioners should be treated equally, regardless of the Canton where they live, Svjetlana Celic reported.

Banja Luka

About 100 RS pensioners gathered in front of the building of the RS Army, where the RS Assembly session was taking place. They received pensions for July, which were reduced by 33%. They did not receive pensions for April and May. The RS Pensioners’ Party feel that health insurance for pensioners should be regulated as soon as possible. They announced their participation in the forthcoming elections. Suzana Vukcevic produced the report.

Banja Luka

The RS Assembly session took place today. Ministers of the RS Government tried to explain budget realisation in the first six months of 2000. “There are many mistakes in the report on budget realisation, and it cannot be accepted”, said the SPRS member, Dragutin Ilic. Reported by Dragan Stanimirovic.

Travnik

The OHR, OSCE, IPTF and the Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs organised a joint press conference today. “5 years after signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, further devastation and robbery of returnees’ property cannot be tolerated”, was pointed out at the conference. Representatives of the above mentioned organisations decided to pay more attention to the problem, Ana Drmac confirmed.

Bijeljina

New eviction measures have been in force since the 21st August in Bijeljina. Two eviction orders have been delivered daily. The police are obliged to insist on evictions, if necessary. The Ministry Office for refugees should be re-opened in Janja soon. Reported by Jelena Lazic.

Mostar

The Canton Court in Mostar issued arrest warrants for 5 Croats, indicted war criminals in April. However, they are still free. “The basic problem is that politics and police are interconnected here”, said the UN Spokesman in Mostar, Stefo Lehmann. The Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs has not reacted on these critics so far. Mirsad Behram produced the report.

World

Hundreds of fires are raging around the South-East Europe. At least 7 people died in a fire in Greece.

The state of emergency was proclaimed in Bulgaria.

The Russian Prime Minister said that two nuclear reactors on the submarine “Kursk” had been secured. Families of the dead received the first compensation instalments.

Bodies of dead passengers after the plane crash in Bahrain have been recovered from the water.

Foreign experts are investigating causes of the accident. Adis Saranovic reported on current world events.

Glamoc

Training of entity armies continues. Units of the Second Corpus of the B&H Army organised a military exercise in Glamoc today. OBN crew, led by Vedran Persic attended the exercise.

Mostar

The whole infrastructure of the Mostar suburb Cim was devastated. Houses have not been reconstructed, there is no water supply system or street illumination. Local authorities have not done anything to improve the situation so far, Ivan Pavkovic reported.

Sarajevo

Foreign citizens in B&H can get working licences only through their employers. About 1000 licences were issued last year, mainly to Yugoslav citizens. However, considering the number of Chinese who arrived in B&H, it is obvious that the number of foreign citizens who work here without licences is far larger. Reported by Mirna Sadikovic.

Sarajevo

The US Actor, Willem Defoe presented the film “Shadow of the Vampires”, which was shown at the Festival this evening. Reported by Gordana Frimel.

Sarajevo

The first B&H Youth Fair was opened today in Sarajevo. Working tables and debates are organised every day. Slobodan Maksimovic produced the report.

Sport

Reports on international football, NBA League and WTA Tennis Tournament in B&H were presented.

Sarajevo

Amna Hrvat is a blind girl who has fought her whole life in order to have a normal life. Currently, she is a student at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. Reported by Meliha Hasanbegovic.