| RADIO HERCEG BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Chechnya president killed | Chechnya president killed | Protest in Banja Luka | Demonstrations in RS |
| New flood in Popovo Polje | Protest in Banja Luka | Chechnya president killed | Family in economic crisis |
| Celebration in Hrasno | Story on car accidents | History hour in Bihac | Flood in Popovo Polje |
| Arrested virus creator | Old timers in Sarajevo | Tuzla-Doboj railroad | Chechnya president killed |
| Oslobodjenje | Karadzic, Mladic and Gotovina to be processed by the Hague, others by the BiH courts |
| Dnevni Avaz | Sulejman Tihic on sending of BiH troops to Iraq – Aware of objections, consequences |
| Dnevni List | Mostar priest will request 24-hour protection |
| Vecernji List | Interview: Niko Lozancic: Herzegovinians do not rule HDZ any longer |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Features Croatia related headlines |
| Glas Srpske | Kotorsko update: Rolling up their sleeves |
| Nezavisne Novine | Banjaluka: Judge Mirjana Trbojevic murdered; Drama in front of RS NA building: Law adopted, protests announced; Stjepan Mesic: Entry of Balkans states into EU needs to be accelerated |
| Blic | Confession of Sasa Cvjetinovic: We must not argue about boundary lines and spill blood anymore; Cume threatens Legija; Rights of veterans by law: Humiliating treatment |
Defence/military affairs | |
| Tihic, Ivanic on BiH accession to PfP, sending of troops to Iraq
| Dnevni Avaz front page, pg. 5 ‘I am aware of objections and possible consequences’ – In an interview with the daily ahead of his trip to Iran, Chairman of the BiH Presidency Sulejman Tihic among other things addressed the objections to the decision on sending BiH soldiers to Iraq. “When making the decision we had in mind two goals: BiH’s interest to further improve and develop friendly relations with the US Government, which played a crucial role in ending the war and the second goal was our wish to assist the people of Iraq,” said Tihic. With regard to the BiH’s chances to join the NATO Partnership for Peace program in June, Tihic expressed hope that all the conditions related to the defence reform including full establishment of the BiH state defence/military structures would be fulfilled. “Of course the most important condition, more precisely the condition of all the conditions not only for PfP but also for general stability in BiH is yet to be fulfilled, which is the apprehension of the most wanted war criminals Karadzic and Mladic and RS cooperation with the Hague. I believe that the issue of apprehension is primarily matter for the RS authorities but also for the international forces, which have not done what they should,” said Tihic. Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘De-miners not warriors should go to Iraq’, FENA – BiH Foreign Affairs Minister Mladen Ivanic thinks that BiH has a chance to join the Partnership for Peace, but that it has still not received a positive response because BiH is requested to show greater cooperation with the Hague Tribunal. Ivanic said in Banja Luka Saturday that there should be no problems for BiH accession to the Partnership for Peace from the aspect of appointing of generals and other staff needed for the BiH Ministry of Defence, as well as from the aspect of political stability and good relations in the region. “All of this has been fulfilled and NATO member states are yet need to assess level of cooperation with the Hague Tribunal,” Ivanic said. He expressed hope that the final response would be positive despite the fact that the current situation is rather specific. “It is difficult to say either yes or no at this time, but I think that there is a good chance for the response to be a positive one in the end”, he said. About plans to send a BiH de-mining unit to Iraq, Ivanic said that the framework within which the entire matter would take place first needs to be considered. He stressed that a de-mining and not a combat unit should be sent to Iraq. “I think that such a decision should be received positively (both by the public and politicians) and that it would be positively accepted by all sides in Iraq”, Ivanic said and expressed confidence that the UN would play a stronger role in Iraq this year. |
| BOSS’ Ajanovic, SDA’s Jahic and Party for BiH’s Halilovic on sending of BiH troops to Iraq | Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘It is logical that the BiH Presidency review its decision’ – Commenting on the decision made by the BiH Presidency to send BiH’s troops to Iraq, Bosnian Party (BOSS) President Mirnes Ajanovic, SDA Vice-president Elmir Jahic and Party for BiH leader Safet Halilovic believe that the body should review/reconsider its initial decision in the contest of the fresh worsening of the situation in Iraq as well as possible consequences. |
| COMSFOR Packett on BiH joining PfP
| Dnevni List, Sunday, page 22 ‘Time to assume role of builder of own future’, not signed – carries an interview with the COMSFOR, Maj-Gen Virgil Packett, which was originally published in the Southeast European Times, in which COMSFOR Packett, responding to a question whether BiH will become a member of Partnership for Peace during the NATO Summit in Istanbul, notes that BiH will indeed become a member of the PfP, but perhaps not during the Istanbul Summit. In that context, Maj-Gen Packett commends legislation pertaining to the military, and underlines that BiH is lagging behind in political reforms, such as in the introduction of the VAT, unsatisfactory cooperation with the ICTY and failure to arrest war criminals suspects. |
Economic/social/property issues | |
| RS NA adopted Law on veteran’s rights
| Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 3 ‘New protests over the Law’; Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Sparks in front of Parliament building’ – The Republika Srpska MP’s late last night adopted the Law on rights of soldiers, military invalids and families of the fallen soldiers, which was a pre-requisite for World Bank loan of US $ 51 million to BiH. The Law was passed with 44 votes pro, 14 votes contra and 2 abstained from voting. The SNSD MP’s left the Parliament session just before the voting took place, since only one out of 25 amendments this party filed to this Law was adopted. The representatives of the Republika Srpska Association of the families of the fallen soldiers and missing persons also opposed to adoption of this Law, since only one amendment they proposed was adopted. Djoko Pajic, President of the Association Assembly, said that: “The Law in this form is absolutely unacceptable.” Namely, the Association demands the change of the Articles 11 and 16 of the Law (referring to coefficient of disability allowance). However, RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, said that this is completely unacceptable for the Republika Srpska Government. He stressed: “Such demands cannot be embodied into our gross product, which is insufficient to satisfy all these requests.” According to NN inset, around several hundreds of the family members of fallen and missing soldiers and civilians yesterday protested in front of Republika Srpska National Assembly building. At one point, they even broke through the police cordon and reached Parliament building door. The protestors dispersed around 23:00 hrs after MP’s adopted the Law. Radojka Boric, President of RS Association of the families of the fallen soldiers and missing persons, announced that the Association Presidency would hold a special session and discuss the adoption of this Law and would most probably decide to resume protest on Wednesday in front of the Republika Srpska Government building. BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 also reported on the RSNA session and the following protests. Blic, pg. 15 ‘The Government is persistent too’ – The President of the Republic Organization of Families of Killed Soldiers, Radojka Boric, has stated that such a draft law on rights of veterans of war, invalids of war and families of killed soldiers was humiliating. ‘It is unacceptable that our pensions are reduced up to 30% in comparison to the current amounts’, Boric has stated. She claims they can do nothing else regarding this issue but ‘go out on streets and demand the removal of the Minister of Labour, Mico Micic, and his closest associates’. RS NA held a session yesterday in the evening to discuss amendments to the law. RS Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic said the Government was willing to take into consideration the remarks of families of killed soldiers yet the total amount earmarked for this population cannot exceed limitations foreseen by the budget. Blic pg. 15 ‘Veterans are restrained’ – The article carries the inset ‘Veterans are restrained’, which reads that the President of the RS Veterans’ Association, Savo Cvjetinovic, has stated that the representatives of this population would not attend protests in Banja Luka. He said they would wait for the results of RS NA session. Unless their amendments were accepted they would protest and demand for dismantling of the Government, Assembly and would request holding of early elections. |
| Kotorsko update | Glas Srpske cover pg story ‘Rolling up their sleeves’ – GS reports that the Serbs in the settlements of Trnovo 1 and 2 yesterday resumed works on construction of their houses in these two settlements of Kotorsko. They resumed works following decision of the Doboj Basic Court, according to which lawsuit filed by a group of Bosniaks against Kotorsko inhabitants was rejected. Sinisa Djordjevic, legal representative of the Serbs from Kotorsko, recommended them to resume works. According to GS Djordjevic received a confirmation from the OHR Regional Office in Tuzla that there is no longer temporary ban on construction works. |
| New floods in Popovo polje | Slobodna Dalmacija, Sunday page 5 ‘Elektroprivreda of RS will expel citizens of Ravno’, by E. Karamatic, Vecernji List, Sunday, front page splash ‘Catastrophe: Hundreds of hectares of plantations destroyed’ and page 3 ‘Croat plantations in Popovo polje destroyed again’, by Frano Matic – plantations in Popovo polje in south Herzegovina (in FBiH) got flooded for the second time in span of one month by water coming from the Bileca and Gorica lakes in the Republika Srpska. Apparently the water has covered hundreds of hectares of plantations, orchards and vineyards, causing vast damages to the crops. The crisis HQ in Ravno (FBiH) believe that high levels of water in the said lakes are being kept on purpose, which requires sudden release of waters from the lakes in case of excessive rains. Vecernji List, page 6 ‘Embittered farmers will sue Elektroprivreda of RS’, by Frano Matic – carries an update to the situation. Apparently, the water has covered almost 250 hectares of orchards and vineyards. VL notes that citizens of Ravno hold the responsible people in Elektroprivreda of RS and Hydro power plants on Trebisnjica accountable, believing the floods are being caused on purpose to destroy the agricultural business in Popovo polje and cause even bigger incidents. According to VL, the agricultural producers from Ravno are planning to file a lawsuit against the Elektroprivreda of RS and Hydro power plants on Trebisnjica. RTRS, Herceg Bosna Radio reported on the issue on Sunday, Dnevni Avaz pg. 8, Blic pg. 14 ‘Vine plants endangered’ on Monday. |
| Toby Robinson on sale of Hercegovacka Bank | Vecernji List, Saturday, page 34 ‘Hercegovacka bank finally in good hands’, by Zoran Kresic – carries an interview with the Provisional Administrator for the Hercegovacka Bank (HB), Toby Robinson, in which she explains the current situation relating to the selling of the bank to a Croatian consortium led by Agrokor Company. Robinson notes that all the issues have not been wrapped up yet and that the consortium is sending its financial and legal experts on Monday (today) to look into details of numerous documents. Robinson expects the deal could be completed within 6 to 8 weeks, once all the negotiations have taken place. Asked whether the sale of HB was ‘blessed’ by the Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, and the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, during the recent meeting between the two in Zagreb, Robinson says she read newspapers articles about Sanader and Ashdown authorizing the sale. ‘I could not attend the meeting or know what Ashdown and Sanader talked about’, says Robinson. |
| FBIH PM Hadzipasic on application of Law on Bankruptcy | Dnevni List, Sunday, front and pages 6 and 7 ‘Law on bankruptcy will this year include up to 2500 workers’, by Miso Relota – carries an interview with the FBIH Prime Minister, Ahmet Hadzipasic, in which he, responding to question as to how many people this year will be affected by the Law on bankruptcy, says: ‘I believe that this year, the Law on bankruptcy will not cover a big number of workers that will stay jobless. Before that, there needs to be training of public receivers and judiciary. At the moment, 50 public receivers are being trained, who will be able to do the job. The number of companies that would be included this year is 50 the most, under condition that the public receivers, that are being trained, get the licence (…) The assumption is that the number will be between two and five thousand workers by the end of year. I expect the process related to the Law on bankruptcy to become more dynamic in second quarter of 2005, by then there could be corrections to the severance packages’. |
Security/crime/corruption/incidents | |
| Banjaluka Basic Court Judge murdered
| Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 2 ‘Judge Mirjana Trbojevic murdered’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 26 ‘Municipal Court Judge Mirjana Trbojevic killed (in explosion)‘ SRNA – Mirjana Trbojevic, Judge with Banjaluka Basic Court, died last night from the explosion which took place around 21:30 hrs last night in the Banjaluka settlement of Obilicevo. As NN learnt, police assumes somebody rang a doorbell at the door of Judge Trobojevic’s apartment and threw in a hand grenade. Trbojevic (around 50 years of age) was alone in the apartment at the time of explosion. Police sealed the crime scene and investigation is ongoing. Judge Mirjana Trobojevic was working as criminal law judge since 1996 at Banjaluka Basic Court. She was recently re-elected to this position. |
| Update to acetyl anhydride affair | Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Acetic acid anhydride barrels may explode’ – Owing to danger of seeing the acetic acid anhydride barrels explode, BiH State Prosecutor’s Office has ordered an urgent examination of the 22.8 tons of acetyl anhydride, which Bogdan Vasic imported in BiH at the end of last year. Jasmina Gafic, BiH State Prosecutor, yesterday confirmed that some changes had been observed on the barrels, which require urgent examination. |
| NN editorial on money squandering of BiH Presidency members | Nezavisne Novine op-ed by Aleksandar Sekulic pg 7 ‘Tuxedo’ – The author is critical of Borislav Paravac and his expenditures as Serb member to BiH Presidency. He refers to information that Paravac had spent BAM 2500 for a tuxedo and even covered the expenses for the wardrobe of his wife. Regarding the squandering of taxpayers’ money, he also refers to SulejmanTihic and Dragan Covic, wondering whether they would render an accounting with anybody for these enormous expenses. |
| VL says BiH CoM squanders money on expensive cars | Vecernji List, page 3 ‘Council of Ministers buys its secretary Volkswagen Passat worth 60 thousand KMs’, by Dejan Jazvic – according to information available to the daily, the BiH Council of Ministers has apparently authorized the purchase of a VW Passat for the needs of the BiH CoM Secretary, Ivan Cosic. Apparently, the vehicle in question is to be paid between 55 and 60 thousand KMs. VL wonders whether Cosic really needs such expensive a car, noting that BiH has other priorities such as establishment of an operational SIPA, whose delay is justified because of lack of money. |
| Orthodox cemetery in Mostar desecrated | Dnevni List, front page splash and page 5 ‘Mostar priest will request 24-hour protection’, by Sanja Bjelica – reports that the entry gate to the Orthodox cemetery at Jelusine, Mostar got desecrated since the local Orthodox priest, Strahija Janjic, and Orthodox believers saw the gate on Sunday morning painted in Islamic symbols, with words such as ‘Allah’ and ‘Muslim’. Apparently, the priest and the believers are embittered with the incident. According to priest Janjic, this is not the first incident which shows intolerance towards the Orthodox, since crosses in the cemetery got broken on few occasions. Priest Janjic does not want to speculate who might be behind the incidents, suspecting it is probably about adolescents showing intolerance towards the Orthodox believers. ‘I am sure that majority of honest people, our Bosniak neighbours, are terrified with this’, says Janjic, noting that the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Ministry of Interior has been asked to provide around the clock protection of the Orthodox facilities. |
| VL on latest BiH Transparency International research on corruption | Vecernji list, p 2, ‘Customs officers most corrupted in BiH’, by M. Ba., carries that the latest BiH Transparency International (TI) research shows that corruption is most present in areas of customs, police and prosecution and that bribe is mostly demanded by customs officers and doctors. Aleksandra Martinovic, TI Executive Director, says that corruption as a social problem takes the second place. Out 1200 interviewed persons, 43.8% are ready to bribe someone in order to get employment, while 39% of them are ready to bribe a doctor in order to get better medical service. It has been noted that, apart from overall poverty, immorality and lawlessness, the political system is apt to daily bribery. |
| VL pessimistic BiH will counter terrorism threat | Vecernji List, page 2 ‘Terrorists in BiH – same old situation’, by Ana Drmac – the author is very pessimistic when it comes to latest announcements by the BiH Security Minister, Barisa Colak, that investigations will be launched into connections between several ‘humanitarian’ organizations in BiH and the infamous Al-Qaeda. The author suspects there will be no proper action since the media have warned about the situation on numerous occasions, believing that even the Police structures are unlikely to support such operation, the structures that installed Asim Fazlic into the BiH Interpol. (NB: Fazlic was former senior official of BiH Interpol, charged with corruption, currently in detention) |
War crimes | |
| ICTY’s prosecutor: National oligarchies still not want to cooperate with the Tribunal
| Oslobodjenje front page ‘Karadzic, Mladic and Gotovina to be processed by the Hague, others by the BiH courts’, pg. 6 ‘National leaders protect criminals’ – “The national oligarchies in BiH do still not want to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal,” said Jeffrey Nice, the chief prosecution representative in ICTY cases against the Balkan criminals, during his weekend visit to Brcko. “The oligarchies do still not want to cooperate with the Tribunal. Maybe they want to save some persons, but maybe they are afraid of revealing unknown facts to the public including their possible responsibility,” said Nice. Blic pg. 12 ‘The Hague runs out of time’ – ICTY and RS Helsinki Committee for Human Rights organized a conference in Brcko on Saturday, during which they presented facts determined during trials in cases of Goran Jelisic and Ranko Cesic, who were accused of war crimes committed in Brcko. The Deputy Secretary of ICTY, David Tolbert, stated that ‘the Tribunal was running out of time’ because UN Security Council has ordered that all investigations must be completed by the end of 2004. The President of the Helsinki Committee, Branko Todorovic, announced that similar conferences would be held in Srbinje – Foca, Konjic, Prijedor and Vitez by the end of the year. Representatives of the Municipal Office of the RS Veterans’ Association delivered a folder to the Tribunal officials, which contained, as they said, substantial evidence materials on war crimes against Serbs in the region of Brcko. |
| DL: US Ambassador Bond on RS non-cooperation with ICTY | Dnevni list, p 5, ‘Republika Srpska does not cooperate with ICTY’, not signed, quotes US Ambassador to BiH, Clifford Bond, as expressing dissatisfaction with the RS cooperation with The Hague Tribunal to date. In a statement for RT RS, he said that, apart from Visegrad operation, there had been no specific token of cooperation, adding the RS attitude towards the Tribunal would have to change. |
| On war crimes against Serb people | Blic pg. 12 ‘Bureaucracy hinders the truth’ – RS authority has collected and delivered documentation and evidence on crimes committed against Serb people before and during the war, yet only several Bosniaks and Croats have been indicted. The RS Secretariat for Relations with ICTY and Investigation of War Crimes has stated that they ‘do not have enough money to work and prove the truth’. A representative of the Secretariat, Janko Velimirovic, has stated that the RS authority, although it is known it does not have enough funds in the budget, has not showed a will to prove the truth on sufferings of Serb people. Blic pg. 12 ‘Protest in Brcko’ – The article carries the inset ‘Protest in Brcko’, which reads that approximately 100 members of families of killed, missing and captured RS Army soldiers held a peaceful protest in Brcko on Saturday, pointing out the fact that there were victims on the Serb side too during the war in BiH and these victims also deserve attention of domestic and international public. |
Political developments | |
| Conference of centre and right centre political parties in Banja Luka
| Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘The government of conservatives does not mean isolation’, Blic pg. 15 ‘Ready for even better cooperation’, FENA – Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) President Mladen Ivanic opened a two-day conference of centre and right centre parties from the region and Europe in Banja Luka Saturday. The objective of the conference is to establish cooperation and exchange experiences. PDP, together with British and Swedish conservatives, organised the conference titled the Balkan Winston House. Representatives of a dozen parties from seven countries will discuss the situation in the Balkans, economic issues, Euro-Atlantic integration, regional cooperation and transparent work of the authorities. Representatives of PDP, the British Conservative Party, Swedish Moderaterna, Croatian Democratic Union and the Croatian Democratic Centre, the Serbian Democratic Party and G-17 Plus, the Bulgarian United Democratic Forces and VMRO-DMPMNE from Macedonia are participating in the conference. Ivanic described the conference as a “historic event” and a new start of joint cooperation on reviewing key issued in creating a better position for countries from this part of Europe. He said that countries in the region are facing similar problems, including the necessity of economic development, implementing necessary reforms, promoting man and changing the image of centre and right centre parties. The conference ended on Sunday. Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Europe as one house’ – The message sent out from a two-day international conference of the centre parties of the south-east European states (which completed in Banjaluka yesterday) was that the parties of centre and right orientation have been and will remain on the path of reforms, which should ensure a trade economy, freedom of individuals and a complete affirmation of the legal state and personal initiative. Mladen Ivanic, PDP President, said that: “These are fundamental values of the centre parties. Regardless of the challenges ahead of us we will keep working on their affirmation.” Michael Trend, Head of the International Office of Conservative Party from United Kingdom, stressed that only reforms could lead towards democratic civic society and European integration. He also expressed conviction that the southeast European states are on the right path to achieve this. |
| Interview with Croatian President Mesic | Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 5 ‘The entry of Balkans’ states in EU needs to be accelerated’ – “I am convinced that the united Europe would be a guarantee there would be no further destruction and wars in our continent”, said Stjepan Mesic, Croatian President, at the opening of the European Youth Peace Summit in Sarajevo. In an interview to Nezavisne Novine, he stresses that the process of EU expansion has not been completed. He is of the view that the regional states have gone tired of transition, and Europe has gone tired of further admissions. Accordingly, this process needs to be considerably accelerated. |
| BiH HoP fails to adopt Framework law on higher education, reaction by World Bank | Dnevni List, Saturday front and page 4 ‘Croats request protection of vital national interests’, by Danka Polovina-Mandic – all five Croat MPs in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly declared the proposed Framework law on higher education as detrimental to the Croat vital national interests. The MPs note that the proposed law does not offer guarantees that the Croats will in the future, like other two constituent peoples in BiH, have a university in the Croatian language. According to the President of the Croat Caucus in the House of Peoples, Anto Spajic, there is a suspicion that the Croats will be outvoted at the FBiH level, which endangers Croat vital national interests. According to the Head of World Bank office in Sarajevo, Dirk Reinermann, if the Framework law on higher education is not on the World Bank’s table by Monday, BiH will be losing the 42 million US$ worth of loans. ‘In any case, we will issue our decision on Monday’, says Reinermann. |
| Head of EC Delegation to BiH Humphreys on BiH’s road to Europe | Dnevni list, front page 7 p 5, ‘Humphreys: BiH on the road to become full member of EU’, by Nebojsa Kolak reports that, during the 3-day celebration of the Day of Europe in Trebinje during the last weekend, the Head of the European Commission Delegation to BiH, Michael Humphreys, said that European Union was not just a dream and that it functioned for all its members by respecting the human rights, market economy, rule of law and democracy. “BiH is on the road to become a full member of the EU and everyone should know to appreciate it once this goal is realized”, he said. |
| VL interview with Niko Lozancic, FBiH President & HDZBiH Vice-president | In his interview to Vecernji list, cover page ‘Herzegovinians do not rule HDZ any longer’ & p 5, ‘Herzegovinians actually do not rule HDZ any longer’, by Ana Drmac, Niko Lozancic, the FBiH President & HDZ BiH Vice-president, assesses the situation within the party as good adding the party tries to work in the full capacity and seriously and to be in the function of citizens and the people who voted for it so HDZ members do not react to unserious statements. Speaking of possible influence of Croatian HDZ, Lozancic says he has not felt any Ivo Sanader’s interference. As to the question of domination of Herzegovinians in the party, Lozancic denies it adding that the HDZ BiH Statute defines the way Presidency members are elected and it includes regional approach. Being asked as to how come the HDZ is passively observing the latest events surrounding Ante Jelavic, the former HDZ BiH President, Lozancic does not find it wise for parties to comment the procedures of judicial bodies, although he does express his dissatisfaction with the judicial system structure and its reform. He adds BiH institutions will have to work hard in order to harmonize its judicial system with European standards. Speaking of initiatives to abolish FBiH, Lozancic re-iterates the current state organization is untenable adding HDZ alone cannot change anything and that is why the party encourages others to finally start seriously talking about BiH internal structure. |
| DL says unification of Mostar slow, lacking transparency | Dnevni List, Saturday, page 11 ‘Mostar thieves are in Mostar hands’, by Zvonimir Jukic – the author notes, unlike the international officials visiting Mostar, that the implementation of the new Statute of Mostar is going slow and that the HDZ and SDA are only trying to get their hands on as many senior positions in the City administration of Mostar, which will help them hush up the irregularities committed in former municipalities and City administration. The author claims that the whole process of unification of Mostar is lacking transparency and that the City authorities are not informing the public about staff changes in the City administration. On top of that, Jukic claims there is no word about the financial audits in former municipalities and City administration. In this context, Jukic claims the OHR is behaving strangely to say the least, because it supports this lack of transparency in the City administration. Jukic believes the High Representative for BiH is repeating the same mistake from higher levels of authority by letting the lobbies close to ruling parties to establish a full control in all areas, and in return all he gets is ‘waving of a joint flag, which the gentlemen in Brussels carry more about, more than about salaries, pensions and better life of citizens of Mostar’. |
| Milorad Dodik on RS | Vecernje Novosti, Saturday, pg. 2 ‘In wrong direction’ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has stated that the RS was going through a crisis of institutions. He also said that the future of RS was endangered more than ever, primarily because of non-fulfillment of international obligations taken by the Dayton Agreement. As a comment on initiatives for changing the Dayton Agreement, Dodik said there is and there would not be any revision. The SNSD leader also believes it is not likely to have an international conference at which the current status of RS would be changed, as well as that its survival depended only on its leadership and fulfillment of international obligations. |
| VL on FBiH officials initiative to have Srebrenica as a District | Vecernji list, front page splash ‘ Srebrenica becoming a District?’ & p 19, ‘FBiH Vice-presidents demand that Srebrenica be a District’, by Dejan Jazvic, reports that there have been no official reactions by the RS authorities to the demand of the FBiH Vice-presidents Sahbaz Dzihanovic and Desnica Radivojevic, and FBiH Prime Minister, Ahmed Hadzipasic, that the status of Srebrenica municipality be regulated by a special state law and that the municipality become “a state project”. The daily adds that the local Bosniak leaders say that Srebrenica already has a special treatment by the IC and FBiH authorities and that, by passing a state law, the status would be legally regulated. VL reminds that some years ago, when a similar initiative was launched, the Serb side did not want to hear about it. Unofficially, the political and media offensive on proclaiming Srebrenica a District could escalate at the end of June, when the release of the final report on war crimes committed against Bosniak civilians in Srebrenica back in 1995, is due. |