| NTV Hayat (18,55 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Kidnapping case | Kidnapping case | BIH Journalists association | Update on Pandurevic |
| Interview with Dodik | Journalists on Avaz | Kidnapping case | Mladic’s whereabouts |
| Interview with Mandic | Cavic on Pandurevic | Bank robbery in Breza | Cavic on RS MoI |
| Interview with Hemon | Book Cuvari Jugoslavije | Public forum on VAT | War crimes in |
| Oslobodjenje | Boy kidnapping was being planned for months |
| Dnevni Avaz | Is it known who is the boss of kidnappers? |
| Dnevni List | Return confiscated property to Church |
| Vecernji List | Exclusive: In Tito’s secret shelter |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Features |
| EuroBlic | Features Serbian related headlines |
| Vecernje novosti | Features Serbian related headlines |
| Nacional | Features Serbian related headlines |
Crime/security/legal proceedings | |
| Update to child kidnapping case in
| BHT – Sarajevo Canton Police confirmed that one of the arrested kidnappers has been kept in custody. Police investigation is still ongoing. FTV comments that this case is a proof that a new form of organized crime is occurring in BIH. FBIH MoI doesn’t have a special unit of kidnapping cases. According to Magbul Skoro, Spokesperson of Sarajevo Canton Police, two officers have been trained for negotiating with kidnappers. More training for police officers are announced for future. Citizens demand a more strict punishment for kidnappers. Izet Bazdarevic, former judge of TV Hayat, FTV, Oslobodjenje cover page, pgs 4-5 ‘Boy kidnapping was being planned for months’ also covered the issue. |
| Avaz, BiH Press Council representatives on media reporting about criminal cases
| TV Hayat – Guests of Central News were Fahrudin Djapo, Dnevni Avaz Editor-in-Chief,and Nermin Durmo, Director of BIH Press Council Secretariat. Since Avaz published the information about the recent kidnapping of a child in Dnevni Avaz cover page, pg 3 ‘Is it known who is the boss of kidnappers?’ – The daily’s editorial staff believes that there was too much talks on was Avaz right to publish the information on kidnapping of the child in |
| BiH Journalists Association condemns Avaz reporting on child kidnapping case
| BHT, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Unprofessional Avz reporting’ – In a press release issued on Saturday, the newly-established BIH Journalists Association condemned the reports on the child kidnapping case published in Dnevni Avaz. According to the Association, a, Avaz front-page article about the case is unacceptable and unprofessional, and it violates the rules of Journalist Codex signed by all BIH journalists. They demand Avaz to apologise to the family of the kidnapped boy. |
War crimes/cooperation with ICTY/police reform | |
| Contradictory reports/statements on Pandurevic
| RTRS – RS and Serbian Governments didn’t want to confirm weather former General Vinko Pandurevic, who has been indicted for war crimes in Srebrenica, had been arrested Information on this case are contradictory and it is not clear was he arrested, did he maybe voluntarily surrender or his surrender is still being negotiated. According to one source, members of Serbian MoI arrested Pandurevic three days ago and negotiations are underway on his handover to Serbian or RS Government. Advisor for Serbian President, Jovan Simic, has emphasised that whole case is being led by RS Government and that Serbian authorities aren’t participating, at least not directly. Simic said that this means that RS government and Minister Darko Matijasevic were the ones, who Pandurevic has contacted with. On the other side RS MoI has refused to comment any information on this case. Commenting this case, RS President Dragan Cavic said that speculations can’t help the work of RS MoI. “Unfortunately here, various balloons are being released from different addresses, whose only intention is to make lives of RS Institutions more difficult and not to help them; I observe speculations in that sense. Speculations have never helped the efficiency of Institutions, especially not the efficiency of Institutions as are MoI and other services which can’t operate publicly, but should work pretty secretly,” said Cavic. SNSD leader, Milorad Dodik considers that it is very important to reach political consensus on unconditional cooperation with ICTY in RS as well as in Belgrade B92 Radio – Vojislav Kostunica is taking his orders from a “quasi-intellectual group” headed by ultranationalist Serbian legal academic Kosta Cavoski and ultranationalist writer Brana Crncevic, says former RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. Dodik claimed that the Serbian prime minister pays more attention to what he describes as the sterile rhetoric of Cavoski and Crncevic than he does to the interests of the Serbian people. “It’s absolutely clear that nothing can be expected from this man. The fact that BHT, FTV also covered the issue. Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Speculations on surrender does not help MoI’ carried RS President Cavic’s statement on the issue. The daily also carried the statement by Serbian President’s Advisor Simic on the same page under title ‘Pandurevic contacted RS authorities about surrender. |
| Dodik on Karadzic
| TV Hayat – Guest of Central News was Chairman of SNSD Milorad Dodik. The cause for the interview is recent attacks of Dodik on Radovan Karadzic. Dodik reminds that he was against Karadzic and SDS’ policy even during the war. He says that it is unacceptable for him that RS and Karadzic are being put in correlation. “There are still a number of people in MoI and other institutions who are creating a myth of Karadzic’s elusiveness/untouchability”, says Dodik. Dodik concludes that Karadzic should be arrested or he should surrender. Dodik also says that it is not possible at the moment to have BIH as a centralised state and adds that maybe in a few decades that might happen. When asked by the reporter whether he is afraid for his own life due to his statements Dodik says that it is his political/moral obligation to act. |
| HR Ashdown for BBC:
| Vecernje Novosti pg 5 ‘Belgrade and Banja Luka are to be blamed’ – Tanjug re-reports on the interview Paddy Ashdown, High Representative to BiH, gave to BBC, when he said that the responsibility for the hiding of war crime suspects rested with Belgrade and Banja Luka, since “Mladic and Karadzic often cross from one state to another”. Commenting on latest information that Ratko Mladic is on the military payroll since 2002, Ashdown assessed that “Milosevic’s elements in |
| Momcilo Mandic on his testimony before ICTY, Ashdown
| TV Hayat – The second guest of Central News was Momcilo Mandic. He was a witness in ICTY case against Momcilo Krajisnik and he returned to |
| RS Minister of Interior Matijasevic on war crimes against Serbs in
| Vecernje Novosti pg 6 ‘Sarajevo is Serb Srebrenica’ by S. Kraljevic – The lead of the half-a-page interview to Vecernje Novosti ofDarko Matijasevic, RS Interior Minister, is crimes committed against Serbs in Sarajevo during the war, on which he says: “We have sent letters to addresses of all institutions and bodies of RS and F BiH, NGO’s, associations of fallen soldiers, missing persons and PoW, but also to The Hague, EU and Lord Ashdown…We demand Commission to investigate crimes against Serbs in Sarajevo is established resembling the one established for Srebrenica. RS police cannot get hold of information and people from F BiH. This Commission is necessary for this purpose. It is well-known that RS MoI has greatly contributed to the work of Srebrenica Commission. We detected and filed 16 mass graves and had information talks with 600 persons.” He admits there is a fear amongst Serb population about secret indictments filed against them in F BiH for the crimes committed against Bosniaks and Croats, “since the false image of one side being a victim, and other being a criminal, has been created. The crime does not fall under the statute of limitations. We must address this problem in a formally legal instead of political manner.” He reiterates his claim RS institutions are doing all they can to raise the cooperation with the ICTY to an appropriate level. |
| BiH ex-camp inmates condemns RS decision to fund Hague suspects
| FTV, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Victims are paying compensation for torture’, Dnevni Avaz pg 2, mentioned on cover ‘Bitterness over the RS Government’s decision to help criminals’, FENA – The association of camp inmates of BiH on Saturday sent an open letter to High Representative Paddy Ashdown, expressing its outrage and protest against the RS government’s decision to provide financial aid for war crimes suspects from tax revenues. “We are aware of the fact that the latest decision by the RS government is not aimed at extraditing war crimes suspects, but misleading the domestic and world public into believing that the RS authorities are allegedly ready to cooperate with the Hague tribunal,” the letter said. The former camp inmates stressed that they could not accept such a decision because it was profoundly offensive to them as victims of torture in the camps of Omarska, Keraterm, Manjaca, Drmaljevo, Kula etc, as these funds are to be allocated from the RS budget, which is funded by the taxpayer. As some former camp inmates have returned to the RS, the RS government’s decision implies that the victims of torture should be paying damages for the torture they were subjected to. The former camp inmates appealed to the High Representative to prevent all such decisions by any institutions in BiH that try to provide aid for war crimes suspects and to prevent the implementation of the RS government decision, as well as to abide by the deadlines set for the arrest of war crimes suspects. |
| Avaz on Gojko Jankovic’s whereabouts
| Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Gojko Jankovic hides in a house close to the Medical Faculty’ E. Sarac – Gojko Jankovic, an ICTY indictee, is hiding in a house close to the Medical Faculty building in Foca during the past seven days, the daily learns from the sources close to the domestic police-intelligence structures. |
| EUPM Commissioner Carty on police reform in BiH
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5, mentioned on cover ‘It is necessary that BiH has a single police structure (at the state level)’ – “In BiH we have almost 20 police structures, which are acting almost independently. There is no exchange of intelligence data between them. There is no exchange of operative data. Criminal disappears on the entity borders. The question is only from which to which entity criminals are fleeing. And what else needs to be added here to realise the necessity for the existence of a single police structure at the state level?,” said EUPM Commissioner Kevin Carty in an interview with the daily. |
| RS President Cavic on police reform
| RTRS – High Representative Paddy Ashdown said the measures that he will take against RS, will be published on December 16, after he receives the report of the Chairman of the Police Restructuring Commission.On the other side RS President Dragan Cavic said that intentions to abolish RS MoI would not succeed, because all the political leaders in RS are unanimous to support the Ministry’s survival. Cavic said that his stand on reform of the police has remained the same: reform of police is acceptable, but it must understand preservation of RS MoI. “If the intention exists outside that frame that intention will not succeed, it can’t succeed in a normal procedure and trough a dialogue. During these days, we have tried to establish contacts with key people in FBiH to try to find a joint compromise solution, so we will see,” said Cavic. Cavic repeated that he had talked about this issue with PDP leader Mladen Ivanic and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik as well with other political leaders in RS, who had undivided stand on this issue. |
| RS PM Mikerevic in
| Dnevni List, pg 4 ‘Restructure Police like defence’, not signed – The RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, who is visiting London, pointed out to the need for signing of a tripartite agreement between the governments of the RS, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia, the aim of which would be to show there is determination to arrest war crimes suspects. During a meeting with Karen Pierce, the Head of South-Adriatic affairs in the British Foreign Office, Mikerevic stressed the determination of the RS Government to achieve concrete results in cooperation with the ICTY. When it comes to Police restructuring in BiH, PM Mikerevic says the Police should be restructured according to the same model that was used during the restructuring of defence sector in BiH. |
| DL on possible sanctions against RS
| Dnevni List, pg 2 ‘Unnecessary sanctions’, by Ivica Glibusic – Commenting to possible sanctions that could be imposed against the RS by the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, the author argues that they would not be creating any effect apart from calming some restless people down. In that context, the author reckons that even if sanctions are imposed, the only effect will be that several officials will be removed, however when it comes to the future of BiH, everything stays the same or even worse, meaning BiH is losing contact with better future. As a conclusion, the author says the High Representative should admit to whatever institution that has sent him to BiH that he is powerless, after which issues would be solved through a more intense international pressure, because it means nothing to BiH citizens whether Cavic, Ivanic or someone else gets removed – people want to see BiH in Partnership for Peace and EU. |
Political developments | |
| Tihic on political situation in Mostar
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Agreement with HDZ was reached by Mostarians and they should respect it’, mentioned on cover ‘Agreement on Mostar should be respected/fulfilled/implemented’ – “Yes we did in the capacity of presidents of the parties (me and Barisa Colak) sign the agreement on the establishment of the City Administration in Mostar. However, the most important thing is that, before that, the people from Mostar SDA and HDZ branches agreed on the text of the agreement and they have to respect it. This means that we only supported what the people from Mostar agreed upon,” said SDA leader Sulejman Tihic in a statement for the daily. He added that it is about a good agreement fully ensuring equality of Bosniaks and Croats and adequate representation of Serbs. |
| HSS announces coalition of 4 Croat parties, advocates enactment of new Constitution
| Dnevni List, pg 5, mentioned on front ‘Tadic announces coalition of 4 Croat parties’, by Ivica Glibusic – The HSS of BiH (Croat Peasants’ Party) celebrated its 100th anniversary yesterday (Saturday). The President of HSS BiH, Marko Tadic, speaking about the future plans of the party, noted that the HSS BiH would be going together with the NHI in the next parliamentary elections. Tadic also noted that negotiations with other two parties with the Croat prefix were ongoing and that it was likely that the two would join the HSS and NHI in the parliamentary elections. Vecernji List, pg 2 ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina needs new constitution’, by Eldina Medunjanin – Tadic also noted that the HSS was in favour of enactment of a new constitution of BiH, which would be enacted with consent of all three constituent peoples in BiH and which would ensure the equality of peoples, BiH joining the EU, strengthening of State institutions, economic development etc. |
| PDHR Hays with Croats MPs in FBiH HoR on local self-government law
| Vecernji List, pg 3 ‘Strengthen units of local self-government’, by Miso Relota – reports that the Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, met with the Croat MPs in the FBiH Parliament’s House of Representatives to talk about the continuation of process of enactment of law on principles of local self-government. The fundamental issue is how much intervention into the FBiH Constitution the law in question requires. The position of the Croat MPs is that the current constitutional arrangements should not be interfered into, and in case there needs to be an intervention, it must not make inroads into the competences of cantons. One of acceptable interventions that were mentioned during the meeting was an intervention into the FBiH Constitution that would regulate the division of competences between the FBiH and cantons, which would also devise competences of municipalities as units of local self-government. |
Miscellaneous | |
| Bishop Komarica on return of nationalized property, return of Croats to RS
| Dnevni List, front pg splash and pg 2 ‘Return confiscated property to Church’, by NINA – The Banja Luka (Catholic) Bishop, monsignor Franjo Komarica, held a press conference at Banja Luka yesterday (Saturday) during which he, among other issues, addressed the issue of new Law on freedom of religion. Bishop Komarica expressed hope that the new law would be implemented soon and that the Catholic Church would be given back its nationalized property. BHT, FTV, Oslobodjenje pg 6, mentioned on cover ‘Where are more than 200,000 Croats’, ONASA, FENA – Only three percent of 70.000 pre-war Catholic inhabitants have returned to the Banja Luka Diocese, Director of Caritas of the Banja Luka Diocese Miljenko Anicic said on Saturday. Banja Luka Bishop and President of the Bishops’ Conference of BiH, Franjo Komarica,emphasized that only 12.000 of 220.000 pre-war Catholic inhabitants have returned so far to the Republika Srpska (RS). At a press conference organized on the occasion of the Week of Caritas, Komarica said that there had been no political will at the level of the RS, the BiH Federation, |
| BiH journalists established a new association at state level
| BHT, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 5, mentioned on cover “B-H Journalists Association established’, ONASA – The inaugural session of the association BiH Journalists, which was created by merger of the Independent Union of BiH Professional Journalists in Sarajevo, the Association of Journalists Apel in Mostar, and the Independent Association of the Republika Srpska Journalists in Banja Luka, took place in Sarajevo on Saturday. Amela Rebac of the Mostar-based Studio 88 was elected chairwoman of the newly-formed association. Ahmed Buric, Marko Divkovic, Zvonimir Jukic, Boro Kontic, Dragan Jerinic, Josip Blazevic, Emir Habul, Suzana Mijatovic, Tanja Topic and Antonio Prlenda were appointed members of the Governing Board of the BiH Journalists association. A five-member Council of Honour, tasked to preserve and protect dignity, honour, ethics and responsibility of the journalist profession, was also set up within the association, and it is comprised of Pejo Gasparevic, Suzana Djozo, Fuad Kovacevic, Zekerijah Smajic and Novica Mitrovic. The key documents of the association, the statute, working program, standing orders and financial plan, were also adopted at the session. The long-term objective of establishment of the association is creation of a self-sustainable association that will protect media freedoms, professional and social interests of journalists and other media employees. The BiH Journalists will have regional centres in |
| VL visits former Tito’s shelter
| Vecernji List, front pg splash ‘Exclusive: In Tito’s secret shelter’ and pgs 16-17 ‘Underground town for Tito and 150 people’, by Darko Juka – VL’s reporters took a tour of an underground facilities that was built by the former Yugoslav Army (JNA) near Konjic, which was apparently built for former Yugoslav President, Josip Broz Tito, which would serve as a shelter and command centre in case of war. Apparently, the underground facilities, which were being built between 1953 and 1979 and which cost 4,6 billion US$, can accommodate 150 people for period of six months. |