OBN News Review, 27 January 2000 - Office of the High Representative

Headlines

SFOR blocked a military barracks in Kiseljak and the Headquarters of the Second Military Police
The BiH Federation inspectors announced that the BiH and Herceg-Bosna “Elektroprivreda” were to blame for the recent floods in Mostar
The High Representative in BiH warned Mirko Sarovic that his taking over of presidential authority in the RS was illegal – the selection of the new candidate made the political crisis in the RS worse
At least ten people were killed and forty wounded in a car explosion in the North of Sri Lanka
European leaders marked 55 years of the Auschwitz concentration camp liberation and invited all to fight against genocide

Kiseljak

Last night at midnight, SFOR vehicles blocked the military barracks “Mato Lucic Maturica” in Kiseljak and the Headquarters of the Second Military Police. The blockade was ordered by the SFOR Commander in BiH, Ronald Adams in order to prohibit movement or training of the Croat segment of the BiH Federation Army. General Ronald Adams made the decision because the HVO did not submit information SFOR required. The report was produced by OBN reporter from the area, Ana Drmac.

Mostar

The BiH Federation inspectors announced that the BiH “Elektroprivreda” company and the Herceg-Bosna “Elektroprivreda” were to blame for the recent floods in Mostar and that the main cause was a human element, that is, neglecting of coordination of three power plants on the river Neretva, OBN reporter, Anes Alic, confirmed. At the beginning of February, the final version of the Federal inspectors report will be complete and afterwards, charges may be raised against guilty parties.

The RS President

The High Representative in BiH, Wolfgang Petritsch, announced that the attempts of the RS Vice President, Mirko Sarovic, to take over presidential authority in the RS were illegal and against the Constitution. Last year in March, the OHR asked Mirko Sarovic to take presidential responsibility but he refused. The US Embassy in BiH also expressed their dissatisfaction with Sarovic’s attempts. An anonymous source said to OBN that the representatives of the International Community were considering various options, including the early presidential elections in the RS and the dismissal of the current Vice President, Mirko Sarovic. The report was produced by OBN reporter, Vedran Persic.

The RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, said that Mirko Sarovic was aware of the High Representative’s position and that he regretted that the decision, which they knew in advance would not be accepted, was made.

This was followed by a report on the reaction of the RS political parties regarding Mirko Sarovic’s decision to take over presidential authority in the RS. The Socialist Party supported the decision of Mirko Sarovic while the Party of Independent Social-Democrats supported the High Representative’s position. The report was produced by OBN reporter from Banja Luka, Milorad Milojevic.

The RS Prime Minister

The Vice President of the RS Socialist Party, Dragutin Ilic, called the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, a dictator and claimed that Milorad Dodik could not be dismissed from the position because of the High Representative’s support. The Co-Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Svetozar Mihajlovic, said that if the current authorities in the RS were to dismiss him, this should be done in a democratic way. However, he did not say he was supporting the Prime Minister.

Banja Luka

An item on the meeting of the opposition parties from Serbia and the Prince Karadjordjevic in Banja Luka today. The SDS, Radical and Socialist parties from the RS did not attend the meeting, while the Prime Minister Dodik supported it. The participants agreed that the most important goal were to democratise Serbia and the dismissal of Milosevic’s regime. The report was produced by OBN reporter from Banja Luka, Dragan Stanimorovic.

Sarajevo (Kosovo)

Today in Sarajevo, a lecture about Kosovo was held. The topic was the use and the misuse of history and Noel Malcolm, author of “Kosovo Short History”, discussed the topic. He said that people in Kosovo should focus on the legality of their rights within International Law although the policy of Western countries in the area was to avoid any changes, OBN reporter, Mirna Sadikovic, confirmed.

World

At least ten people were killed and forty wounded in a car explosion in the North of Sri Lanka. The UN Secretary General, Kofi Anann, came to a three day visit to Moscow. The main topic of his talks with the local leaders will be the war in Chechenia. This was followed by reports on the events in Iraq and Germany. The report on current events in the world was produced by OBN reporter, Zeljka Lekic.

This was followed by a report on the international seminar on the experiences and efforts of the countries transition to economic recovery. The seminar was organised by OSCE in the Gruzian capital. The importance of the seminar was that donors and recipients were present. The report was produced by OBN reporter, Duska Jurisic.

Sarajevo

A piece on the constituency of peoples in BiH from the point of view of the religious leaders of four main religious groups in BiH was produced by OBN reporter, Sevko Bajic.

Tuzla

The Hub of the BiH Federation Tax Office started up an action for controlling tax payments in the BiH Federation, especially payments of security tax on salaries. The first activities have been made in the Tuzla Canton and it will be implemented in other parts of the Federation as well, OBN reporter from Tuzla, Muhamed Berbic, confirmed.

Sarajevo

A piece on the plans of McDonald’s to open the first of two restaurants in Sarajevo at the end of this summer was produced by OBN reporter, Adis Saranovic.

This was followed by a report on the reception organised by the Orthodox Church Head, Mitropolit Dabrobosanski Nikolaj, because of the Saint Sava religious holiday. The report was produced by OBN reporter, Sevko Bajic.

Sport

A report on the international tennis matches was followed by a report on European handball.