| RADIO HERCEG BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Lozancic on Hadzipasic | HR on Srebrenica | HR’s statement | Zoran Djeric on ICTY |
| FBiH Government’s crises | CoM session | FBiH Government crisis | Reforms of Defence |
| CoM session | Tihic on PfP | CoM in session | CoM session |
| EUPM on SBS | Minister of Defence check | ICTY convictions | RS Government session |
| Oslobodjenje | Devastating terrorist attacks in Madrid |
| Dnevni Avaz | Massacre in Madrid |
| Dnevni List | Protests: Protest rally of owners of old foreign currency savings; Lozancic requests Hadzipasic to resign |
| Vecernji List | Madrid: Hundreds of dead |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Markac and Cermak seen off by 300 fellow fighters |
| Glas Srpske | Terrorist attacks in Madrid: Massacre at Atocha; Zagreb angry with The Hague: Fist in the eye |
| Nezavisne Novine | Del Ponte signed five indictments against officials of former Herceg Bosna and HVO officers: Indictments against Prlic, Praljak, Petkovic, Coric and Stojic signed; Report of Parliament Commission on coup affair: Political confrontation through intelligence agencies; Investigation into the murder of Darko Bojanic: Police issues arrest warrant for suspected Kacavenda; The Hague Tribunal: Cermak and Markac in The Hague; Terrorist attack in Madrid: 190 persons killed |
| Blic | James Locher: Defense reform in BiH is late; Corruption: customs officers and doctors like bribe – SDA, SDS and HDZ are the most corrupted; Nine indictments from the Tribunal to arrive to the Federation of BiH |
| Vecernje Novosti | Massacre at the heart of Madrid; 18 years in prison for Ranko Cesic |
| Slobodna Bosna | SDA and HDZ agreed to destroy Federation of BiH |
| Dani | Shocking information on AIDS: HIV a high school memorabilia |
| Ljiljan | Senad Kobili claims: Assassination against McNare fabricated by Zlatko Miletic; Adnan Terzic: We will be admitted to PfP in Istanbul; What audit in FBIH Defence Ministry established: Ministers and Generals before the court |
Political developments/reforms | |
| CoM Chairman on the High Representative
| Ljiljan cover ‘Adnan Terzic: We will be admitted to PfP in Istanbul’; pgs 18-22 ‘Terzic: BiH will become a member state of Partnership for Peace in Istanbul!’ by Mirsad Sinanovic – In an interview to Ljiljan magazine, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic was asked “whether the High Representative Paddy Ashdown should have appointed those that obstruct the adoption of laws in Parliament” instead of blaming CoM for all delays. Terzic answered: “If I was a High Rep, I would appoint, and would not generalize, but, having in mind that I attended the meeting with UN Security Council whom HR submitted his six-months report, and since I heard what he said there of CoM, on Chair of CoM, I see that he has one story for forums like this, and other for BiH public.” [Terzic refers to ‘often’ criticism of BiH authorities by Ashdown, but rather positive attitude on authorities before UNSC]. Terzic denied he was not in conflict with the HR: “Two of us have both professionally and personally very good relations… I am sure that HR’s commitment is not questionable when it comes to BiH becoming in a future a self-sustainable country without interference of the IC. I demanded an establishment of sufficient number – a critical mass – of politicians ready to take over responsibilities and through that process to take over also authorities of the HR, and not to take have HR’s authorities reduced without a presence of that critical mass. In that case, we would be in a situation when nothing would happen.” |
| HDZ Ministers again boycotted FBiH Government session | FTV, Herceg Bosna Radio – On Thursday the session of Federation of BiH Government was held again without presence of HDZ Ministers. As it was announced from HDZ earlier in the day, Ministers boycotted work of Government because the wished results in talks with SDA had not been achieved. HDZ Ministers boycotted the previous session of the Government as well. On Thursday’s session Government made couple of decisions. Participants refused to give comments. |
| HDZ dissatisfied with their partnership relations with SDA | Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘HDZ dissatisfied with their partnership relations with SDA’ – The HDZ BiH Presidency late on Thursday analysed their partnership relations with partners in the Federation authorities. Pero Pavlovic, the party spokespersons, told the newspaper that the HDZ was not satisfied with the resultsd achieved in talks with SDA representatives aimed at to prevent outvoting the FBiH Government. |
| FBiH President asks for premier’s resignation | Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, Oslobodjenje ‘Lozancic requests for Hadipasic’s resignation’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Niko Lozancic withdraws confidence in Hadzipasic’, Vecernji List front and page 3 “Niko Lozancic withheld confidence in Hadzipasic”, by Zoran Kresic, Dnevni List, front and page 5 “Niko Lozancic requests Hadzipasic to resign”, by M. R., page 5 “Boycott of Croat ministers continues”, by Miso Relota, Slobodna Dalmacija, page 10 “Croat ministers absent again”, by D. Pasic, and page 10 “I expect irrevocable resignation of prime minister”, by Z. Zekic,Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 4, ‘Lozancic demands irrevocable resignation of Hadzipasic’, SRNA – Federation of BiH President Niko Lozancic on Thursday sent an official letter to Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic informing him of the withdrawal of confidence and that he expects his irrevocable resignation, the Federation president’s office said in a statement. Lozancic sent the letter after the vice-presidents of the Federation, Sahbaz Dzihanovic and Desnica Radivojevic, withheld their consent for reaching a decision on the removal of Hadzipasic, even though they agreed on the poor results of the work of the Federation government. The Federation vice-presidents did not support a decision to be reached on removing the prime minister, saying he was not the only person responsible for the mistakes and difficulties in government. |
| SDA will not accept Lozancic’s request for removal of Hadzipasic | Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘SDA will not accept removal of the premier’, FENA – The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) will not accept the request of FBiH President Niko Lozancic for the removal or resignation of FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic, because the Government is working in line with the Constitution and the law. The Secretary General of SDA, Sefik Dzaferovic, on Thursday made this statement for Fena when asked to comment on Lozancic’s report in which he informs Hadzipasic that he denies him trust and expects his irrevocable resignation. “We are calling on ministers from HDZ to continue working in the FBiH Government because only the participation in work will create preconditions for resolving all disputed issues”, Dzaferovic said. |
| Party for BiH’s Halilovic: HDZ applying pressures to reach political objectives | Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘This is one of the instruments of HDZ’s pressures’, FENA – The FBiH President Niko Lozancic’s request for the dismissal of FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic is a form of pressure by the HDZ aimed at ensuring special and favourable position in the FBiH Government and in a way to compromise the functioning of FBiH structures and institutions for reaching specific political objectives, Party for BiH Presidency Chair Safet Halilovic told FENA on Thursday. “I think that talks to follow in the coming days will clearly show what are those objectives, besides the practical ones (control of profitable institutions)”, Halilovic said. |
| Sarajevo magazines on crisis in FBIH Govt, and relations btw SDA and HDZ
| Slobodna Bosna cover ‘SDA and HDZ agreed to destroy Federation of BiH’, pgs 26&27 ‘SDA and HDZ promised to create ‘systematic preconditions’ for establishment of the third entitity!!!’ by Asim Metiljevic – Slobodna Bosna claims that obtained the agreement singed between SDA and HDZ after the elections, in which FBiH Coalition partners committed to budget financing of mono-ethnic scientific and cultural institutions of the constituent people. Author notes the document, titled ‘Principles of parliamentary majority for BiH democratic reforms’, cannot be sees as only inter-party agreement [as SDA claims] since it defines executive and legal authorities. Allegedly, article 15 of the document obligates parties “to create systematic preconditions for undisturbed functioning of national, cultural and scientific institutions for all three constituent peoples in BiH”, which, as SB claims, HDZ sees as SDA’s approval of legalizing the third entity. “Translated into practice language, this obligation foresees budgetary financing of Croat universities, Croat Science Academy, in one word – all those institutions that create separate national entity!’ Dani pg 17 ‘Bosnian Barometer’ column – Dani marked HDZ’s withdrawal from the work of FBiH Government as ‘terrible move’, claiming that all HDZ was interested in was to protect their part of ‘financial cake.’ Ljiljan cover ‘Adnan Terzic: We will be admitted to PfP in Istanbul’; pgs 18-22 ‘Terzic: BiH will become a member state of Partnership for Peace in Istanbul!’ by Mirsad Sinanovic – In an interview to Ljiljan, Chair CoM Adnan Terzic estimates that HDZ’s trials to reshuffle the FBiH Govt has a goal to create their own state and cantons. |
| OHR checking on Radovanovic | BHTV – Biography of appointed BiH Minister of Defence, Nikola Radovanovic, is being checked by OHR. According to BHTV1 sources, Radovanovic still didn’t got a “green light” from this institution because, as it was told by source, some points of his past are controversial. The same source said his biography is taken into consideration, but it doesn’t mean Radovanovic is not going to pass OHR check. Minister of Defence candidate, Nikola Radovanovic, confirmed he is not a member of any party and that he also does not see anything controversial about his biography that would influence his inacceptance for Minister of Defence. “Since the Dayton Peace Agreement I’ve been working on his implementation and I guess there should be no problems about my biography”, said Nikola Radovanovic. In Nikola Radovanovic’s naming is pointer his respectable military education and training, including Military Academy, General staff school and Royal College of Defence studies in London. Education in Yugoslavia army, claims OHR source, could present a problem for his appointment. In fourth attempt of candidature it is expected what will OHR say about ethic and morale qualities of Nikola Radovanovic. After that Parliamentary Assembly would confirm appointment. |
| DRC’s Locher warns of delays in defence reforms | Vecernji List (page 2 “Delay puts distance between BiH and NATO”, by Dejan Jazvic) – carries the Chairman of Defence Reform Commission (DRC), James Locher, as warning that the pace of defence reforms needs to be accelerated if BiH wants to meet the pre-requisites and join the Partnership for Peace programme during the NATO Istanbul Summit. Saying that BiH has not lost all its chances, Locher notes there are three key tasks BiH has to fulfill, namely to make appointments of senior officials to the BiH MoD and senior military officers, to ensure budget funds for defence structure and finally, according to Locher the most important issue, to recruit professional staff in defence institutions. (Dnevni List, page 2 “NATO will evaluate defence reform in BiH in mid May”, by Renata Radic, Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘Deadlines for dismissals prolonged’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Demobilisation to be complted by the end of April’, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 8, ‘BiH proceeds slowly towards PfP’; Glas Srpske, pg. 3, ‘To proceed rapidly until June’, Blic front page and p 13 ‘There are chances’) |
| NATO: EUFOR and PfP are two different things | Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘EUFOR and PfP are two different things’ – The BiH accession to PfP and an eventual hand over of SFOR mandate to EU are two different things and they cannot be linked, said a NATO spokesperson in a statement for the newspaper. He commented on BiH Presidency Chairman Sulejman Tihic’s request for simultaneous BiH’s accession to PfP and making of a decision of SFOR mandate hand over. |
| Ljiljan: Terzic on BiH admission to PfP | Ljiljan cover ‘Adnan Terzic: We will be admitted to PfP in Istanbul’; pgs 18-22 ‘Terzic: BiH will become a member state of Partnership for Peace in Istanbul!’ by Mirsad Sinanovic – Asked about possible BiH’s admission to Partnership for Peace programme in June, Chair CoM Adnan Terzic said: “I don’t want to think about it, as what is up to us, we will – surely – do. The problems would be if, God forbids, there is a package deal that would include BiH and Serbia and Montenegro… I know that would be catastrophe for BiH. Not because we are not interested in SCH, but because authorities in Serbia do not even think about cooperating with ICTY, which is one of the basic conditions for PfP… I hope that both Presidency and diplomacy will make sure that this doesn’t happen.” |
| SDHR Wnendt meets members of BiH HoP | Dnevni List (page 5 “Local elections must not be put into question”, not signed) – reports that members of the Collegium of BiH Parliament’s House of Peoples, Goran Milojevic and Velimir Jukic, met with Senior Deputy High Representative, Werner Wnendt, yesterday. According to Jukic, SDHR Wnendt was interested in the reform processes and strengthening of BiH institutions, noting that the special focus was on BiH joining the PfP. Jukic notes that SDHR Wnendt was not optimistic when it comes to BiH fulfilling the pre-requisites to join the PfP at the NATO Istanbul Summit. Apparently, the other issue which was discussed yesterday was the issue of October local elections, and the conclusion was that municipalities in BiH start honouring their obligations towards the BiH Election Commission, foremost the financial obligations, in order not to jeopardize the organization of the local elections. |
| Ivanic in UK | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 5, ‘Ivanic spoke with Blair’s special advisor’ – Mladen Ivanic, BiH Foreign Minister, yesterday met Geoffrey Hoon, British Secretary of State for Defence. Ivanic informed Hoon that BiH local institutions would like to take part in creation of the mandate of the troops that would replace SFOR in BiH. Hoon expressed intention of The Untied Kingdom to propose its General and Chief Officer and Commander of the troops. Dnevni Avaz front page ‘BiH will have British support in Istanbul’, pg. 2 ‘Britain offers its general to be commander of EU forces’ also covered the issue. |
| Spiric and Pamuk in USA | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 5, ‘Spiric: USA conditions assistance to BiH’ – Nikola Spiric, Chairperson of the BiH House of Representatives, yesterday said that the USA will maintain its attention on BIH and is ready to assist in the building of state institutions, especially defence ministry. Spiric is paying a visit to the USA together with Mustafa Pamuk, Chairperson of BiH House of Peoples. Spiric also underlined that American assistance is conditioned with the fulfilment of pre-requisites for admission into NATO programme of PfP and association with the European institutions. Sarajevo media also covered the visist. |
| Croat Councilors from Drvar sent open letter to HR regarding decision on renaming of streets | Slobodna Dalmacija (page 8, “Annul decision on renaming of streets”, by F. Mioc) carries that during the last session of the Drvar Municipal Council, a decision on renaming of streets in Drvar was passed without participation of Croat Councilors, who left the session when the discussion of this item started since they were not satisfied with the approach to this issue. SD says that due to this problem, the Croat Councilors sent an open letter to High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, which says that they (the Croat Councilors) believe that a special, unbiased Commission should be established in order to deal with this issue. They also demand from the HR to annul this decision and pass a decision that will serve interests of all citizens of Drvar and not only members of one people. |
| HDZ of Central Bosnia to HR Ashdown: “Bosniaks take all the authority” | Slobodna Dalmacija (page 19 “Bosniak take all the authority”, by Z. Cilic) – triggered by the crisis in the FBiH Government and in the authority of the Central Bosnia Canton (CBC), the Cantonal Board of the HDZ of Central Bosnia sent the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, a letter complaining of the Bosniak domination both in the FBiH and the CBC. The letter argues that the constitutional amendments, which were imposed by the High Representative and which, among other issues, abolished the special regime cantons, enabled the Bosniak domination in the FBiH. According to CBC HDZ, the office of Prime Minister of CBC (Salko Selman) is purely Bosniak, noting that the Croats have been outvoted in the CBC Assembly on numerous occasions. The letter concludes: “We hope that you will, pursuant to your mandate, react and take decision to the benefit of equality of all three constituent peoples”. |
| NN editorial on reforms in BiH | Nezavisne Novine editorial, pg. 7 by Almedin Sisic, ‘Reformists’ – The author begins the editorial with reference to Wednesday’s press conference of the High Representative to BiH, Paddy Ashdown, when he warned SDS and Dragan Kalinic. According to the author, High Representative once more showed his astonishment resulting from “a sudden turn of relations with reformistic parties”. The author is further sceptical of SDS, SDA and HDZ and their “reformistic views”. |
| Ljiljan: Terzic on reforms in BiH | Ljiljan cover ‘Adnan Terzic: We will be admitted to PfP in Istanbul’; pgs 18-22 ‘Terzic: BiH will become a member state of Partnership for Peace in Istanbul!’ by Mirsad Sinanovic – On the issue of implementing 16 conditions requested by the European Commission, Chair CoM Adnan Terzic said: “We are working on that, and we have to work on it. We keep forgetting that CoM seat down and agreed on a package of 45 measures leading to implementation of those conditions. Therefore, every single minister in CoM agreed to that… Paddy Ashdown should talk with each party separately, and if they have some problems, they would try to reach an agreement with arguments, so we don’t face problems in this.” Asked whether obstruction in this regard comes from opposition, Terzic stressed: “I don’t think you can say that… I regret that opposition looks on everything that comes from ruling parties in ‘black and white’ principle. But, the problem is not only with the opposition and their obstruction… Ruling authorities have issues especially with the parties coming from RS, as their commitment to European integrations is still questionable.” However, Terzic concluded at the end of the interview that while implementation of reforms is slow, one could not deny that they are taking place and that BiH is a positive example of the international intervention of the international community. |
| SB: Nobody wants to admit that process of Mostar unification is slow | Slobodna Bosna pgs 28-30 ‘Nobody wants to admit that process of Mostar unification is slow with resistance of both Croats and Bosniaks’ by Danka Savic – The author examines the obstacles towards implementation of the Mostar Statute, claiming that “essentially, Mostar’s key issue stays the same: as there was no political will to adopt the new Statute through consensus between political parties…, now there is no political will to implement decision imposed by HR [Paddy Ashdown].” She further refers to the recent meeting between Senior Deputy HR, Werner Wnendt, and Mostar Mayor and his deputy, Hamdija Jahic and Ljubo Beslic respectively, and says that, while Wnendt expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved, several days before his arrival there was “a real drama around the appointments at the key positions during the transitional period, especially in Office for Urbanism… [That office] and finances are actually the most important in the city’s administration, and two strongest parties in Mostar are fighting about it – HDZ and SDA – as practically the real holder of the power in this city is the one holding those positions.” Further writing that OHR wants to leave impression that everything is going well in Mostar, but that there is a real confusion in the city. “Even international officials in Unit for Decision Implementation, see that, and in informal talks, admit that this will be much harder work than it was previously thought,’” says author, noting that four working groups tasked to complete everything necessary before 15 March’s unification encounter problems as Mayor and his Deputy kept delaying to sing a number of decisions, and therefore lead to the subsequent delays in decision implementation. SB claims it learned that OHR, in this regard, banned Beslic to sign prepared decisions, and also banned both Beslic and Jahic to travel in the period of implementing new Statute. Author concludes that upcoming period will certainly bring new obstructions in process of implementing HR’s decision: “Both SDA and HDZ hope that there were will some changes to the Ashdown decision. Meanwhile, they will seek channels to avoid implementation of the imposed decision.” |
War crimes | |
| Ashdown dissatisfied with work of Srebrenica Commission
| Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 5, mentioned on the front page ‘Obstruction in work of the Commission’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 3 ‘Ashdown: I posses clear evidence on obstructions in providing information’, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 6, ‘Republika Srpska should investigate into destiny of victims’; Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘Commission in dead-end street’, Blic p 13 ‘Mortgage of Srebrenica’, FENA – High Representative Paddy Ashdown on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the RS Government’s Srebrenica Commission and warned that it was heading towards failure. “The work of the Commission has so far been characterised by delays and obstructions, and deliberate attempts to distance the Commission from its basic purpose, which is to ensure information on the faith of missing persons”, the High Representative said at a meeting with Commission members in Sarajevo. He told them, especially Commission Chair Marko Arsovic, that should the Commission fail in fulfilling its task he would hold responsible individuals that contributed to such a situation, as well as RS authorities, and that the consequences would be severe. Ashdown explained that the RS’s Srebrenica Commission represents a legal commitment in accordance with the BiH Human Rights Chamber decision requesting RS authorities to provide information about the fate and whereabouts of those who went missing in Srebrenica. He also said that he has clear proof of obstruction in providing information and that he wishes to know exactly who is preventing the delivery of information to the Commission. He also said that the Commission spent a lot of time on documents from the Hague Tribunal and those taken by SFOR, in stead of focussing on information not present in the public. The High Representative also expressed dissatisfaction with the financial assets provided by the RS Government for the Commission and requested the two international observers to inform him what are the funds the Commission needs to function properly. Commission Chair Marko Arsovic said that the Commission understood its mandate well and that it interpreted the Human Rights Chamber’s decision correctly. Citing the first decision of the BiH Human Rights Chamber from March last year he said that the Commission’s task does not end with providing information on missing persons, but that it was also ordered to carry out a detailed investigation into the events in Srebrenica. The High Representative responded that there should be no misunderstandings on this and stressed that the second decision of the Human Rights Chamber from September last year defines the work of the Commission, and not the first one. “In accordance with the second decision the RS’s Srebrenica Commission is specifically charged with investigating the fate and whereabouts of those who went missing in Srebrenica”, the High Representative said. Dnevni List (page 11, “Cavic and Mikerevic responsible for Srebrenica Commission”, by Nina) carries that the OHR stated (in a press release) that during the talks with the Republika Srpska President, Dragan Cavic, and the RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, stressed that he would consider the two of them personally responsible so that the Commission in charge of investigation of the events in Srebrenica would not be just another attempt to cover up the facts, but that the Commission implements its mandate defined by the Human Rights Chamber. With regard to the statement given by the Chairman of the aforementioned Commission, Marko Arsovic, the HR is concerned about the possibility that the Chairman himself, perhaps, interpreted the mandate of the Srebrenica Commission in a wrong way. Slobodna Dalmacija (page 17, “Civilians were armed?!”, by Z. Rerig) |
| Ranko Cesic sentenced to 18 years in prison | Herceg Bosna radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 7, Dnevni Avaz pg. 8, Vecernje Novosti front page and p 15 ‘18 years to Ranko Cesic’, Blic p 11 ‘18 years to Ranko Cesic’, FENA/AFP – The Hague Tribunal on Thursday sentenced the former member of the Serb police forces in BiH, Ranko Cesic, to 18 years of prison for war crimes and the crimes against humanity committed against Bosniaks. Cesic (40), the former member of Serb police in Brcko in 1992, pleaded guilty before ICTY on October 8 2003 on all 12 counts of the indictment for the crimes against humanity and violating the law and customs of war. The indictment was holding him responsible for murdering at least ten detainees at detention camp Luka and for sexual harassing of two detainees who were brothers, and Cesic had forced them to beat each other up and engage in sexual intercourse. In this case the Prosecution recommended a prison sentence from 13 to 18 years, while Defence was requesting 13 years. He was apprehended in Serbia on May 25 2002, and on his first appearance before the court on June 20 2002, he pleaded not guilty. |
| Statement of Day: RS Interior Minister Djeric | Dnevni List (page 2) carries in its “Statement of Day”, the Republika Srpska Minister of Interior, Zoran Djeric, as saying: “I am not afraid of Karadzic and Mladic”. |
| Indictment against Croat politicians and officers | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3, ‘Indictments against Prlic, Praljak, Petkovic, Coric and Stojic signed’ – NN source from the Hague Tribunal yesterday confirmed that Carla del Ponte, ICTY Chief Prosecutor, has signed bills of indictment against five senior political and military officials of the Croat Republic of Herceg Bosna. The source claims del Ponte signed bills of indictment against Jadranko Prlic, Slobodan Praljak, Valentin Coric, Milivoje Petkovic and Bruno Stojic. Florence Hartmann, Spokesperson of ICTY Prosecutor’s Office, yesterday did not confirm nor deny these allegations. Slobodna Dalmacija (page 5, “Names of Croat indictees from BiH to be published during May”, by Z. Tulic) reports that the Croat liaison officer with the ICTY, Goran Mihaljevic, confirmed that 9 bills of indictment for crimes committed on the BiH territory have indeed been prepared, noting that the indictments could be made public sometime in May. Praljak says that indictment is of no surprise to him. He said he would respond to the summons, if he received it. Oslobodjenje pg. 3, mentioned on the front page ‘Indictments are coming to Sarajevo’, Blic front page and p 12 ‘Nine indictments from the Hague for the Federation of BiH’ also covered the issue. |
| Kalinic on reconciliation process in BiH | Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘Through truth to reconciliation’; Nezavisne Novine, pg. 6, ‘Reconciliation hard to achieve without truth on suffering of Sarajevo Serbs’, Blic p 13 ‘To reveal truth on sufferings of Serbs’ – The RS Parliament Speaker, Dragan Kalinic, on Thursday in Banjaluka assessed that reconciliation and justice in BiH can hardly be achieved, unless the entire truth about events during the war in BiH is disclosed. And this also includes the disclosure of truth about the suffering of Serbs during the war in Sarajevo. Kalinic met with “Istina (The Truth)” Association representatives. |
| Head of RS Office for Cooperation with ICTY Dejan Miletic on cooperation with ICTY | Blic p 12 ‘The Hague too is not cooperative’ – ‘RS is constantly blamed for not cooperating with the Hague Tribunal, while in fact it is completely the opposite. The Tribunal does not cooperate with us at all because of which it is logical that few of our cases are being processed’, the Head of the RS Office for Cooperation with ICTY, Dejan Miletic, has stated. He has said 85 criminal cases in relation to crimes against Serb people have been forwarded to the Hague Tribunal so far, yet they have received a response to only 35 of the cases. |
Economic/social issues | |
| Ljubljanska Bank savers protest outside Slovene embassy in Sarajevo, OHR, BiH Presidency
| RTRS, Oslobodjenje pgs. 4-5, mentioned on the front page ‘Start paying debts this year’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 11 ‘The next step is blockage of BiH state institutions’, Dnevni List front page splash and p 3 “Protests: Protocol with Council of Ministers react”, by Ivica Glibusic, Slobodna Dalmacija, p 10 “Protest in front of Slovenian Embassy”, by Z. Rerig, STA – A group of some 200 to 300 Bosnian citizens gathered for a protest rally in front of the Slovene embassy in Sarajevo on Thursday, demanding that they be returned their foreign currency savings deposited before former socialist Yugoslavia’s breakup in various banks of the common state, among them the defunct Slovene bank Ljubljanska Bank. The protest was organized by the Association for Protection of Bosnian Savers. The savers demand their money back from some Serbian banks as well as domestic, BiH banks, in addition to those deposited with the Sarajevo branch of the Slovene bank. Carrying placards “Gentlemen in the cabinet, find a solution with Slovenia now” and “We have waited long enough”, the demonstrators continued their rally in front of the headquarters of the BiH Presidency and the High Representative of the International Community. This is the latest in a series of protests that the savers have staged to claim their money back. Last September, they urged the BiH CoM to file a lawsuit against Slovenia with the European Court of Human Rights as soon as possible. Should the council fail to answer their demand, the association plans to stage massive protests and call for a boycott of Slovenia’s business offices in BiH. The association claims that the defunct Ljubljanska Bank owes over 90m euros to some 165,000 Bosnian savers. Agreeing that the issue should be tackled as soon as possible, Slovenia meanwhile insists that a solution should be found in the frame of the succession agreement, namely that each country would vouch for the money deposited on its territory. |
| Banja Luka pensioners threaten with fresh protests | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 2, ‘Pensioners threat they would climb to Government roof’ – The Association of Banjaluka Pensioners addressed a letter to RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, Ministers Zoran Djeric, Saud Filipovic and Mico Micic, in which they demanded the payment of outstanding pensions from 2000. They also warn that if March checks maintain the value of February checks, they would hold protest “on the roof of the Republika Srpska Government building”. |
Crime/security/investigations | |
| CoM adopts draft bill on money laundering, law on state level judiciary, prosecution
| Herceg Bosna radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Law as a means against money laundering’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 9 ‘HJPC to have 15 members’, Dnevni List page 3 “Pre-requisites for complete functioning of SIAP created”, by E. Mackic, Slobodna Dalmacija, page 9 “High judicial and prosecutorial council being formed”, by Zdenko Rerig,Nezavisne Novine, pg. 3, ‘Draft law on anti-money laundering adopted’, FENA – At a session in Sarajevo on Thursday, the BiH Council of Ministers adopted a draft bill on money laundering which is to be referred to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly for adoption in an urgent procedure. According to what BiH Justice Minister Slobodan Kovac told journalists following the session, the draft bill regulates measures and responsibilities with regard to curbing and investigation into money laundering as well as recommends measures and responsibilities within the scope of international cooperation in the field of curbing money laundering and activities of terrorist organizations. With this in mind, he said, a special department has been formed within SIPA in order to simplify for the police bodies in this department the procedure of offering help and in that way enable them to control criminal activities in this field more efficiently. “The adoption of the law has created conditions for a fully functioning SIPA. The law will significantly contribute to the fight against organized crime as a whole and especially to curbing the financing of terrorist organizations,” Minister Kovac said. At the session, CoM also adopted a draft bill on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH and sent it for adoption in an urgent summary procedure in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. The establishment of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH will enable the reorganization of the judiciary and prosecution system in the country. |
| EUPM says new BiH SBS Head fails to meet all requirements
| Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, Dnevni Avaz pg. 8 ‘EUPM claims Kovac does not meet requirements but that they will cooperate with him’, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 2, ‘Relja Kovac does not have necessary experience’, Vecernji List p 3 “EUPM: Kovac does not satisfy”, Dnevni List, p 8 “Extend mandate to previous director of SBS”, FENA – The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) was on Wednesday informed that the BiH Presidency has appointed Relja Kovac as the new director of the State Border Service (SBS). The EUPM spokesman, Kilian Wahl, told a news conference in Sarajevo on Thursday that the post of the SBS’s director at present was not subject to a vetting procedure, and therefore that the appointment was strictly in the hands of the BiH Presidency. Kovac was appointed in line with the Law on the State Border Service and according to the decision of the Presidency on the election and appointment of the SBS’s director. The EUPM, however, is of the view that certain important criteria had not been taken into account, such as that Kovac did not have the necessary police experience (minimum of 16 years), to be appointed as the DGS’s chief general inspector, and that this was a credential that the DGS director should have, Wahl said. He went on to say that the appointment was a subject of intensive correspondence between the EUPM, the OHR and the BiH Presidency, in which the Presidency was informed about the specifications for the post and the expected adoption of the bill on the BiH police, which would call for changes in the management and procedures for appointments in agencies for implementing laws at state level. Wahl stressed that the EUMP would cooperate professionally with Kovac despite the fact that he did not meet the requirements and that it expected the new director to uphold the SBS’s high standards. |
| Transparency International on corruption in BiH | Vecernji List (front and page 2, “Corruption is biggest among customs officials and doctors”, not signed) carries that according to a research conducted by Transparency International, customs officials and doctors are the most corrupt people in BiH, while teachers and journalists are the least corrupt. According to a member of the BiH’s Transparency International Board of Directors, Emir Djikic, corruption in BiH marks a slight decrease compared with the last year, however, it is still the biggest problem. The research also showed that when corruption of political parties is in question, the SDA is the most corrupt, followed by the SDS. Dnevni List (page 7, “SDA and SDS most corrupt parties in BiH”, by E. Mackic), Oslobodjenje pg. 9 ‘Politicians, customs officers, policemen most corrupted’, Blic front page and p 12, ‘SDA, SDS and HDZ are the most corrupted’ also covered the issue. Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘SDA, SDS and HDZ are the most corrupt parties’; Glas Srpske, pg. 3, ‘Customs officers in lead’ – The latest study on corruption, carried out by Transparency International of BiH, shows that the citizens of BiH believe SDA, SDS and HDZ are the most corrupt parties in BiH. The study reads: “The highest level of corruption is observed within political parties, at customs, police, prosecutor’s office, judiciary and state enterprises. The level of corruption has increased within political parties and customs in comparison with 2002 study.“ The Agency “Prizma” carried out this research for TI on the sample of 1500 citizens. |
| BiH Parliament Commission recommendation on so called state coup affair | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 5, ‘Political confrontation through intelligence agencies’ –The BiH Parliament Commission investigating into coup d’etat affair established that the old practise of attempted political confrontation with the opposed side through intelligence services has not been abandoned in BiH as yet. The Commission has also recommended that the persons, who abused office and are responsible for the violation of human rights, should be banned from assuming any duty at the future state intelligence agency. |
| Update to Milakovic case | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 3, ‘Admission of guilt of four suspects from Milakovic case accepted’ – Myron Greenberg, BiH Court Judge, yesterday accepted the agreement on admission of guilt, which Prosecutor’s Office has reached with Milorad Milakovic, his daughter Sanja, Ilija Gavranovic and Darko Gnjatic. In accordance with the agreement, Milorad Milakovic will be sentenced to 9 years imprisonment, Gnjatic to 3.5 years imprisonment and Gavranovic to 3 years imprisonment. Milakovic daughter Sanja will be sentenced to 2 years on probation. |