Headlines
- The Supreme Court session – the discussion about the constituency of BiH peoples postponed to the next session
- Disrespect for human rights will prevent Bosnia and Herzegovina from becoming a part of European organisations – this is one of the conclusions of the meeting of the independent intellectuals association “Circle 99”
- What are the relations between ethnic groups in the Brcko District?
- The World Economic Forum in Davos discussed the situation in the Middle East and Russia today
- Topic of TV INFO: Privatisation of companies in the BiH Federation
Sarajevo
During the third day of the Supreme Court session, the Court continued discussions about whether some provisions of the entities’ constitutions were in accordance with the BiH Constitution. The discussion included issues such as: property provisions and authority, issue of defence and appointment of military officers and civil command over military forces. The discussion about the constituency of BiH peoples was postponed for the next session, scheduled for February 18th and 19th. The report was produced by OBN reporter, Vedran Persic.
A report on the Independent Intellectuals Association Meeting held in Sarajevo today. Four years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, an appropriate legal framework is still not established in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This includes the lack of efficient protection of human rights and freedoms. The BiH Constitution and constitutions of the entities have not been balanced with the European Convention on Human Rights yet. This was a conclusion of today’s meeting of the independent intellectuals association “Circle 99”, OBN reporter, Anes Alic, confirmed.
This was followed by an item on the lecture of Professor David Kamhi about Sefardi Jews in BiH. The first part of the lecture was completed today. The organizer of the lecture was the National Association of BiH Intellectuals, Bosnians. OBN reporter, Sefko Bajic, produced a report on the history of Sefardi Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Livno
An explosion occurred in a cafe bar, owned by Mujo Sudar, in Livno today. Great damage was caused by a violent explosion. The investigation is going on, and the local police and IPTF have been conducting the investigation.
Brcko
A piece on inter-ethnic relations in the Brcko District and the religious tolerance in the District was produced by OBN reporter from the area, Sanela Zivkovic. The Brcko Mayor, Sinisa Kisic, said that the tendency towards creating good relations between the inhabitants of the District was obvious in several fields, including an intensive process of return in 1997 and 1998, perspectives provided by the legal framework of the District and the support of the International Community. A joint position of all three peoples’ representatives is that the District is a place opened for all citizens regardless of their ethnic background.
World
Heavy fights continued during the day in and around the capital of Chechenia. Russian forces intensified their air attacks in the last 24 hours. The Spokesperson of Chechen soldiers denied allegations announced by Moscow that 75 Chechen troops surrendered to Russian troops. A report on the World Economic Forum in Davos followed. The participants of the Forum discussed the situation in the Middle East and Russia today. In the Republic of Croatia, presidential candidates, Stipe Mesic and Drazen Budisa, continue their presidential campaign. The report on these and other current events in the world was produced by OBN journalist, Mladen Maric.
Sarajevo
According to the BiH Federation Law on the Privatisation of Companies, the deadline for submitting opening balance sheets and programmes for privatisation was March 28th last year. The Federal Agency for Privatisation has warned that if the applications were not submitted by February 10th, they would raise charges of economic offence against companies in the BiH Federation, OBN reporter, Amarildo Gutic, confirmed. Out of 1,700 companies in the BiH Federation which will be privatised, the opening balance sheets have been approved for only 7 % of them, and for 6% of them privatisation programmes.
Banja Luka
According to an agreement reached between the RS Government, Syndicate and the Chamber of Commerce, the minimum salary in the RS from February 1st will be 80DEM. The President of the RS Syndicate said that he believed that employers would respect the decision and announced a fight for increase of salaries. The report was produced by OBN reporter from Banja Luka, Biljana Arsic.
Prijedor
Although eviction orders have been executed in Prijedor on a daily basis, the entire process is slow, having in mind that 9,134 applications for return have been submitted, OBN reporter from the area, Milena Letic-Joves, confirmed.
Sport
A piece on European handball was followed by reports on the Australian Open tennis tournament and boxing.