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| Prosecutors have been appointed today for Federal and RS Prosecution | Riot of 200 prisoners at the Zenica Prison | Suspicion in legality of import of anhydride of vinegar acid into BiH | High Representative designated Commission for VAT and custom |
| Prisoners of the Zenica Prison demand through protest, not improvement of conditions but reduction of sentences | Ashdown established the Commission for Indirect Tax Policy | Two more persons have been detained through investigation of murder of Blasko Knezovic | RS Vice President Tomljenovic met with British diplomat Evan |
| HN and WH Canton ministries of interior hold newspapers responsible for inaccurate data, related to murder of Blasko Knezovic | Movie “Atorzija” gets Golden Bear in competition of short movies | High Representative brought decision on establishment of the Commission for Indirect Tax Policy | Serb Radical Party against privatisation of energy sector and VAT |
| OHR concerned over disconnection of users by two federal electricity companies | End of drama at NATO has been announced for tonight | In the prosess against Milosevic, Aleksandar Vasiljevic, former head of KOS continues with testimony | RS Minister of Interior Djeric is not satisfied with security in Bijeljina |
| Oslobodjenje | Prisoners set the Zenica Prison on fire; Who will be the Defence Minister – Generals loosing battle with OHR |
| Dnevni Avaz | Fresh unrest in Zenica – Large-scale rebellion in the prison; Commission for Tax Policy – Ashdown announced turning-point |
| Dnevni List | Rebellion in Zenica put down: Rebels want amnesties; Introduction of customs and VAT at State level in BiH unquestionable |
| Vecernji List | Zenica: Rebellion by 300 prisoners; Senad Avdic: Criminals, war criminals and terrorists “put a paw” on journalists |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Rebel prisoners take roof off the prison; Blasko Knezovic murder: Sanja dares not to reveal killer’s name |
| Glas Srpski | In Milici’s ‘6 August’: Director dismissed himself; Prijedor’s cafés: Night of shooting and fires |
| Nezavisne Novine | Zenica Jail Rebellion Ends – Inmates Want Amnesty;RS Prime Minister Mikerevic – “Ministers must take responsibility for their actions”; Deal Between RS Elektorprivreda & EFT-London – Electricity Twice as Inexpensive for the Dealer than for Citizens; RS & Federation Prosecutors Named – Zdravko Knezevic & Amor Bukic Head the Prosecution; Fire in the Banja Luka Municipal Building – Election Commission’s Office Destroyed |
| Blic | OHR denies it has requested Minister of Finance’s resignation; Affair in Refinery; 7,000 refugees from BiH awaits deportation from Sweden |
Incidents/affairs | |
| Protests of inmates in Zenica Prison
| Dnevni Avaz front page, pg. 3 ‘A large-scale riot in the Zenica Prison’, Oslobodjenje front page, pgs. 4-5 ‘Rioting inmates set the Zenica Prison on fire’ – Some 350 inmates in the Zenica Prison ended on Wednesday afternoon a 17-hour riot started in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday following talks with the BiH Federation Justice Minister, Zvonko Mijan. This was the largest rebellion of the prisoners so far in the biggest correction home in the country during which a significant material damage was made. Vecernji List (front and page 2 and 3, by Faruk Vele, “Rebellion by 300 prisoners”), Dnevni List (front and page 3, by Valentina Rupcic, “Rebellion in Zenica put down: Rebels want amnesty”) and Slobodna Dalmacija (front and page 15, by Ivica Milesic, “Rebel prisoners take roof off the prison” and back page, by HINA, ”Peace returns to cells” ) report that between 220 and 300 prisoners of the Zenica Correctional facility started rebellion on Tuesday night wanting amnesty and reducing of sentences. Apparently, the prisoners damaged the inventory within the prison and removed slates from the roof. The Federation Justice Minister, Zvonko Mijan, speaking at a press conference in Zenica, said that every single case would be reviewed in order to ascertain whether there’s ground to reduce the sentences. The rebellion ended in the late afternoon hours yesterday when the prisoners decided to cease it. Apparently, there was no need for police to intervene.“Nezavisne Novine”, page 3 – Yesterday afternoon, about 220 inmates at the Zenica prison stopped their uprising which culminated at noon with their climbing onto the roofs of two prison buildings. This was the third such riot in six months at this prison. It began at 23:00 Tuesday night, and this time the prisoners climbed on top of the buildings, asking for amnesty. There were no physical altercations but there was much damage done to the roofs and interior of the first and third pavilions. During the time the team from “Nezavisne” was present at the site, about 220 inmates were lighting fires on the rooftops chanting “We want amnesty”, “We are Tito’s, Tito is ours” and “Allah Ekber”. Prison management did not allow reporters into the compound. Zvonko Mijan, Minister of Justice and Hidajet Jabandzic, director of the jail, spoke with riot leaders and then held a press conference. Jabandzic informed reporters that the inmates were asking for amnesty and not for better living conditions. Minister of Justice Mijan said their main request was for a reduction of sentences. Mijan said that in talks with the inmates, he told them that he wanted to settle things peacefully, but that he would not make any promises he couldn’t keep. After they ended their protests, the inmates cleaned up the damage together with the prison guards and staff. |
| BiH Photographers Announce Blockade of CIPS Centres | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 6 – Journalists in Banja Luka were told yesterday that photographers from RS and BiH Federation will block the CIPS centres where new ID cards are to be issued if the BiH authorities do not meet their demands that photos for the new documents be taken in photographers’ studios. President of the Trade and Entrepeneur’s Association, Lazo Kusic said that the CHIPS project is a clear example of a state monopoly which does not exist anywhere else in Europe. He added that the task of his Association which has 25,800 registered members, is to prevent loss of work for several thousand photographers who make their living from taking photos. (Glas Srpski pg. 3 headline ‘Photographers announce blockade’; Blic pg. 7 headline ‘Photographers still accuse the state’; Belgrade Nacional pg. 11) |
| Electricity Twice as Inexpensive for the Dealer as it is for citizens | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 3 – RS Elektroprivreda sells electricity to RS citizens for double the price it sells it for on foreign markets through EFT which has an exclusive contract to do so. In the first two months of this year EFT has realized an agreement with RS Elektroprivreda worth 3,753,600 KM. As the Director of EFT, James Nigh, told “Nezavisne” yesterday, RS Elektroprivreda signed a deal with him last year to sell electricity for .043 KM per kilowatt hour in January (22 Euro per Megawatt hour) and for .045 KM (23 Euro per Megawatt hour) for February. The price per kilowatt hour for RS citizens is .09 KM. “EFT’s job is to buy electricity but RS Elektroprivreda is not obligated to see it. That is why the price for that type of electricity is always less than regular electrical energy in a country” said Nigh, explaining why the price of electricity in the RS is twice as expensive as what EFT is paying for it. Nigh claims that EFT did not buy electricity for export from RS Elektroprivreda for March, saying that it was bought instead by the Swiss company “Entrade” who paid 21 Euro per Megawatt hour. A tender for the sale of RS Elektroprivreda electricity appeared in the “Financial Times”, “Glas Srpski” and on the internet. Four companies responded: EFT, Croatian Elektroprivreda dd Zagreb, Montmontaza PLC (Croatia), and Entrade AG from Switzerland. At the time there were reports in the media that the offer from Croatian Elektroprivreda was bought in order to make the tender appear legitimate by having the required number of offers under RS law. When asked if he knew that investigations were being conducted in BiH on the deals between RS Elektroprivreda and EFT, Nigh said he doubted those reports. As reported in “Nezavisne” earlier, OHR has paid special interest to the dealings between the two companies and a report on this should be available in ten days time at the latest. A copy of the agreement between RS Elektriprivreda and EFT is impossible to get due to secrecy clauses in the agreement. |
| RS Minister of the Interior, Zoran Deric, criticizes prosecutors – Prosecutors Hide Reports in their Drawers | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 2 – RS Minister of the Interior Zoran Deric, announced yesterday that the police would have very quickly the first results of preliminary work done on the Auditor’s report on the work of the RS government and its institutions in 2001. During his visit to the Public Security Centre in Bijeljina, Deric said that the report from the Head Office for the audit of the RS public sector would have the same treatment as it has in past years. “That is how it has to be if we are to be objective towards those carrying out those functions”. Asked if he spoke about the report with Banja Luka prosecutor Marinko Kovacevic, Deric said: “I didn’t speak with him but I instructed my colleagues to contact him and to ask him what has happened with the reports the MUP sent long ago and which are now sitting in drawers. Last year the MUP laid 39 criminal charges against many well known people in the RS, none of which have seen the light of day and are still sitting in drawers” said Deric. Deric held a meeting with the management of the public security centre in Bijeljina to speak about the deteriorated security situation in Bijeljina. During yesterday’s visit, Deric spoke of the difficult financial situation of the MUP, pointing out that on telephone bills alone, the MUP spends 1.4 million KM annually, which, when compared to the overall MUP budget of 90 million KM, is too high. |
| Doboj Privredna Banka issue | “Nezavisne Novine” page 2 – Privredna Banka Doboj affair continues. The sale of the Privredna Banka Doboj is a very serious matter, and if the Finance Minister resigns because of it, it is enough to show he is to blame said Julian Braithwaite, chief OHR spokesperson said yesterday. According to him, OHR did not ask the RS Prime Minister to remove Simeun Vilendecic, saying OHR had nothing to do with it. Prime Minister Mikerevic said he did not speak with Minister Vilendecic about resigning. “However, every minister, including the first minister, that is the president of the government, must take responsibility for his actions. This is a government of responsible people and only experts and capable people will work in my cabinet – those who understand that their work has to be in line with the law and with the interests of RS citizens”, said Mikerevic. The response from the RS Minister of Finance when asked if he would resign was short. “Certainly not for that reason” said Vilendecic, who did not wish to discuss it any further. RS Public Prosecutor Jovan Spajic, last week asked the RS MUP to speak with all those involved in the sale of the Privredna Banka Doboj. He also asked the RS Supreme Auditor to do a special audit of the sale of the bank. Nezavisne Novine, page 2 – Milan Ninkovic yesterday accused former RS Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic of not taking any measures to stop the suspicious dealings in regard to the sale of the Doboj bank, although he was informed of everything. “I spoke with Ivanic personally before the privatization of the bank. I told him that the former Finance Minister, Milenko Vracar, was trying to destroy the deal for the sale of the Privredna Banka Doboj to the Pavlovic Banka, but he did nothing on the matter. The building of the Privredna Banka Doboj was sold for one Euro by the person who had not yet bought it, and that is a criminal offence. The child cannot be older than the father, and in the same way you cannot sell what you have not bought” said Ninkovic. |
Economic reforms | |
| Ashdown established the Indirect Tax Policy Commission
| Dnevni Avaz pg. 2, mentioned on the front page ‘The seven-member Commission will draft legal documents for VAT and customs by July 31’, Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘BiH tax administration as of July 1’ – The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, on Wednesday issued a Decision establishing an Indirect Tax Policy Commission tasked with introducing a single customs administration and a single State-wide VAT system in BiH, within the framework of an Indirect Taxation Administration which will operate at State level. The decision was supported by the heads of the European Commission and the US Ambassador to BiH Clifford Bond. “By the rationalisation of the tax system, the citizens will even be released from the current burden (they will no0t be burdened additionally). The VAT is not a new tax but a replacement for the sales tax,” Bond said at a press conference in Sarajevo. The Commission will consist of seven members – two from each Entity and two from the state, chaired by a senior international official to be appointed by the European Commission. Until a permanent appointment is made, Principal Deputy High Representative Donald Hays will serve as acting Chair. The Commission will be responsible for proposing the draft laws and regulatory framework necessary for the introduction of a single customs administration and state-level VAT. “The principles of the reform has been set up and there are no compromise about them any more. The rest of the job will be done within the Commission,” Ashdown said for his party. Vecernji List (page 3, by Dejan Jazvic, “VAT will not reduce entities’ revenues”) and Dnevni List (front and page 9, by ONASA, “Introduction of customs and VAT at State level in BiH unquestionable”) also report that the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, yesterday issued a decision establishing an Indirect Tax Policy Commission tasked with introducing a single customs administration and a single State-wide VAT system in BiH. “The decision further opens BiH the road to Europe and creation of new jobs”, said HR Ashdown. Nezavisne Novine pg. 5, Blic pg. 3 headline ‘Curtain-raiser for VAT and single customs’ and Glas Srpski pg. 3 headline ‘Ashdown merges customs’ also report on the issue. |
| Terzic welcomes the establishment of the Indirect Tax Policy Commission | Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘More authorities should have been given to the state’ – In a statement for the newspaper, the BiH Council of Ministers Chairman, Adnan Terzic, welcomed a decision by the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, to establish the Indirect Tax Policy Commission. “The decision surely represents a progress in comparison to the current situation. However, I believe that more authorities should have been given to the state in terms of the usage of the collected funds,” Terzic emphasized. |
| Tomljenovic on VAT and single customs | RS Vice-president Ivan Tomljenovic said it was necessary to introduce VAT and a single customs as soon as possible, but that due to bad experiences from previous period collected revenues should be returned to the entities, i.e. place of their origin. “There is a fear that the introduction of VAT and a single customs will cause cash drain from the RS budget,” Tomljenovic said. He said that experts and economists should work on finding solutions that would enable keeping revenues in the entities’ budgets. He added that VAT and a single customs would reduce grey economy and improve economic relations in the RS. (Belgrade Nacional pg .11 headline ‘Money collected through taxation and customs to the entities’) |
| RS Prime Minister Mikerevic on VAT | Dnevni List (page 10, unsigned) carries the RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, as saying that the RS Government has a positive orientation towards VAT and customs policy adding that the Government however insists that the technical solutions be found within Constitutions of BiH and RS and within European standards. “One should not prejudice the final solutions and nobody has the individual brain to find a complete creation of VAT”, says Mikerevic. According to the PM, RS experts believe that between 60 to 70% of the model of VAT are made of constants that cannot be changed whilst 30 to 40% of the model can be adjusted to the constitutional organization of BiH. He also does not believe that the whole model of VAT can be imposed because the imposition would represent “losing of trust in institutions of the IC”. “I am afraid that an imposed model would not work”, says Mikerevic. |
Political affairs | |
| SDA on Serbian’s Djelic visit to RS
| Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Interference into internal BiH matters’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Inappropriate behaviour of Serbian and RS ministers’ – The BiH Democratic Action Party (SDA) maintains that the recent visit by the Serbian Finance Minister, Bozidar Djelic, to RS instead of to the BiH state institutions does not contribute to building good neighbouring relations between the two countries nor to the regional stabilisation, according to a SDA press release. The party demanded RS Government to immediately send all cooperation agreements signed during the visit to the BiH Parliamentary Assembly for conside |
| Simeun Vilendicic did not resign | Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Simeun Vilendicic did not resign’, FENA – The spokesperson for the RS Finance Ministry, Radmila Mihic, confirmed on Wednesday in a statement for Banja Luka NES Radio that Finance Minister Simeun Vilendicic had not offered his resignation to the RS Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic saying that this had not been even a subject of discussion. Glas Srpski pg. 3 headline ‘Reckon without one’s host’, Blic pg. 7 headline ‘OHR: We have not requested resignations’, and Belgrade Nacional pg. 11 headline ‘Resignation of Minister Vilendencic in 7 days?’ also report on the controversies about the alleged Vilendicic’s resignation. |
| Federation PM Behmen answers charges on behaviour during technical mandate | Vecernji List (page 2, by Eldina Medunjanin, “Appointments could not wait”) carries the Federation Prime Minister, Alija Behmen, as answering to charges that his Government, whilst being in the so-called technical mandate, took too many suspicious decisions. Behmen dismisses the charges calling them “nebulous” and stresses that a Government does not have a technical mandate. “Technical mandate begins as soon as a Prime Minister designate has been appointed. Until then, a Government is obliged to pay out pensions, take decisions it deems cannot wait. As for the apartments, they are a pure lie. Official apartments in ‘Lipa’ await new Prime Minister. Limov and Becirevic have been evicted from two-room apartments and were issued decisions to use studios on Kosevo”, said Behmen adding that all the appointments were made because appointments could not wait. |
| Dragan Vrankic for Minister of Finance in BiH Federation Government | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 5 – From sources close to the government structures of the BiH Federation, “Nezavisne” learned that HDZ candidate for Minister of Finance, Dragan Vrankic, received OHR approval to take up this position. The new HDZ candidate for Minister of Defence also received OHR approval but no one wanted to disclose the name of the candidate for this position. “All the names will be known tomorrow morning” said Niko Lozancic, president of the BiH Federation. |
| Who will be the FBiH Defence Minister? | Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘Generals faithful to the Croat self-rule are losing the battle’ – The disputes within HDZ over the nominations for the new Federation Defence Minister have been created on the grounds of demands by the former BiH Croat generals, who had left the Federation Army committing themselves to the project of the Croat self-rule, that a candidate is selected who will return them to the military service upon his appointment. |
| Sarovic dissatisfied with work of BiH Ambassador to the Council of Europe | Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘Igor Gaon accused of anti-Serb lobbying’ – The Chairman of the BiH Presidency Mirko Sarovic is, according to the Banja Luka Patriot magazine, dissatisfied with the work of the BiH Ambassador to the Council of Europe, Igor Gaon, who is by unnamed magazine’s sources accused of anti-Serb lobbying. |
| Law on Railways in BiH | If the draft law on railways in BiH is imposed, or by miracle, adopted, then hardly sleepers will remain of the RS Railways’ property. The draft law created by OHR, according to experts, is an attempt to centralise railways in BiH and leave RS Railways without 90% of its property. General Director of the RS Railways, Sreten Telebak, says that the draft law denies the existence of RS and Federation Railways. “The fact is that rail traffic is under RS’s and Federation’s competence according to the Dayton. The RS and Federation have agreed to form BiH Joint Public Corporation, and that no body responsible for rail traffic exists on BiH level,” Telebek says. No regulation, law or constitution gives a right to any body on BiH level to impose the organisation of rail traffic: especially because the RS Railways and the Federation Railways are full members of international associations, and they fulfil all obligation toward them. “The whole Europe is trying to decentralise rail traffic, only we are going into opposite, central, direction,” Telebek says. OHR spokesperson Mario Brkic, denies Zdravko Krsmanovic, advisor of the RS Ministry of Traffic and Communications, saying that Krsmanovic was participating in drafting the law on railways. “We do not want to speculate why he denies it,” Brkic says. (Glas Srpski pg. 5 headline ‘Not even sleepers to Srpska’) |
| DL says Mostar SDA celebrated Tomic’s resignation | Dnevni List (front and page 4, by M. Malic, “We got rid of most dangerous Vlah”) (NB: bad name for a non-Bosniak) learns from its sources in SDA that leaders of Mostar SDA, led by Mayor of Mostar, Hamdija Jahic, celebrated the resignation of the Deputy Mayor of Mostar, Neven Tomic, at Blagaj near Mostar. According to the papers, radical forces within SDA celebrated “getting rid of most dangerous Vlah” and triumph over unified Mostar. Moreover, DL says SDA gave Tomic a code name “most dangerous Vlah” in all its operations against Tomic. The gathering also announced a fight against Safet Orucevic who is according to DL, “a thorn in side of radical leaders of SDA”. Dnevni List also reports that the Vice President of Mostar City Council (MCC), Milan Jovicic, also participated in the gathering/celebrations. The tone of the article on Jovicic says Jovicic sold his soul to SDA because SDA made possible that his engagement in the MCC is rewarded with salary (NB: the decision was enacted at last session of MCC). Furthermore, DL claims that Jahic and Head of Mostar’s Municipality Stari Grad, Zijad Hadziomerovic, hold Jovicic in hand over an alleged illegal sale of a penthouse in Central Zone in Mostar. DL sources say Jovicic will soon forward a proposal on restructuring of Mostar prepared by radical Mostar SDA, which will be nothing but keeping of the status quo in the city. |
| DL: “Part of SDA want one municipality in Mostar” | Dnevni List (front and page 4, by Zvonimir Jukic) reports that Ibrahim Rahimic, one of the first returnees to Mostar Municipality South, President of SDA caucus in that Municipality and a member of the SDA HNC Main Board, has delivered the document called “The Basis for the New Organization of Mostar” to the High Representative, the US Ambassador to BiH, Sulejman Tihic, SDA BiH President and member of BiH Presidency, and Adnan Terzic, Chair of the BiH Council of Ministers. Dnevni List reports that in this document, Rahimic advocates full integration of Mostar, establishment of legislative and executive authority on the basis of 1991 census, which exclude any form of majorization of any of the peoples in Mostar. According to Rahimic, the Interim Statute of Mostar has fulfilled its purpose and is now at a stage when it becomes an obstacle to further integration of Mostar. Reportedly, the document has a strong backing among Bosniaks returnees to west, predominantly Croat, Mostar, Stolac and Capljina. The daily also says that the document confirms discontent among some members of SDA with policy of Zijad Hadziomerovic, one of leaders of Mostar SDA. |
| Editorial: “Remove Mostar radicals” | Vecernji List (page 4, by Zvonimir Jukic) carries an editorial in which the author warns of a deteriorating security situation in Mostar and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton noting that the majority of the crimes committed in the area remain unsolved. The author also says that the increase in criminality rate coincide with war-mongering statements of local officials and in that perspective, the author singles out the Head of Mostar’s Municipality Stari Grad, Zijad Hadziomerovic, whose alleged statement said that the unification of Mostar would open doors to the Croat infiltration to the Bosniak territory. In that context, Jukic says the IC did not react to the Hadziomerovic statement and says that many analysts believe that passive position of the IC regarding the terrorist attacks gave wings to possible perpetrators to get on with what they are doing. Jukic goes on to say that without a concrete action by the OHR and repressive measures against the cause of instability in Mostar and HNC, the area could again become “the black hole like in the second half of the nineties”. ”The first step, of course, should be removals of politicians who, through their activities, make the situation radical because it is known that fish smells from head”. |
Legal reforms | |
| FBiH, RS Prosecution Offices established | Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘FBiH, RS prosecutors appointed’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘FBiH, RS Prosecution Offices established’ – The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Federation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina today established the Prosecutor’s Office of the Federation on Bosnia and Herzegovina and appointed nine prosecutors to this office. The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Republika Srpska today established the Prosecutor’s Office of Republika Srpska and appointed four prosecutors to this office. The following individuals were appointed prosecutors to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Prosecutors’ Office: Zdravko Knezevic, Alma Tiric, Ivo Bradvica, Vlado Miskovic, Dragan Stupar, Sead Temim, Nermina Mutevelic, Hajrija Hadziomerovic-Muftic and Miroslav Markovic. Zdravko Knezevic was appointed Chief Federation Prosecutor and Alma Tiric and Ivo Bradvica were appointed to the positions of Deputy Chief Federation Prosecutors. The following individuals were appointed prosecutors to the Republika Srpska Prosecutors’ Office: Amor Bukic, Branka Milosevic, Nebojsa Pantic and Svetlana Brkovic. Amor Bukic was appointed Chief Republic Prosecutor and Branka Milosevic was appointed Deputy Chief Republic Prosecutor. All appointments are to become effective on April 1, 2003. Nezavisne Novine pg. 5, Glas Srpski pg. 2 also report on the issue. |
Other developments | |
| Protest rally against the war in Iraq to be held in Sarajevo
| Dnevni list (p 6, “Protests against war in Iraq to be held in Sarajevo tomorrow”, Hina) and Slobodna Dalmacija (front page & p 15, “Street protests against war in Iraq”, by N. Dimitrijevic) report that film and theater artists from BiH have called upon protests against the announced US military intervention in Iraq. At the gathering, due February 14 in Sarajevo, several hundreds of artists (SD says thousands of people will gather and will come in organised groups from Banja Luka, Mostar and Tuzla) and SUBNOR (Union of national liberation war fighters – WW II) are expected to gather on Tito Street and then to proceed towards the US Embassy building. DL says that Sarajevo media report that the initiator of the protest is Fedja Stukan, a young actor, who has stated that the gathering does not mean support to any of the political leaders but is simply aimed at protesting over the fact that the war would mean suffering of the innocent. SD quotes Stukan as saying that they do not want anyone to interpret the protest as being pro-Saddam Hussein, who is a dictator. The local police are notified of the rally and it has been announced that security companies will also be engaged in securing the gathering. Foreign TV stations have shown interest for the protest and the first one which announced its presence is Al-Jazzeera. |
| Interview with Senad Avdic, editor-in-chief of Slobodna Bosna | Vecernji List (front “Criminals, war criminals and terrorists “put a paw” on journalists” , conducted by Zeljka Mihaljevic, and page 5 “Journalists between truth and blackmails”) carries an interview with the editor-in-chief of “Slobodna Bosna”, Senad Avdic. “Us and other few media are accused of writing indictments, judging people and similar, which is true to an extent. It is true to an extent that nobody else does it so we are some sort of supplement to functioning of the rule of law. Everywhere else in the world, after articles that speak of embezzlement worth 5, 10, 100 million KMs, the prosecution reacts and it is no longer a matter for the media but for judiciary. It is only here that all the stories on criminal, crimes, terrorism are kept within the sheets of a papers or TV show. Therefore, it is no wonder that war criminals sue us for slander”, says Avdic. |
| Samardzic meet Swedish Ambassador | RS Refugees and DPs Minister Jasmin Samardzic and Swedish Ambassador to BiH Anders Mollander discussed in Banja Luka on Wednesday the problem of BiH asylum seekers in Sweden and the 25 million Euro in aid Sweden plans to provide for financing sustainable return in this region. “There are some 7,000 asylum seekers in Sweden who arrived from BiH after the war”, said Samardzic and added that the Swedish Ambassador informed him that requests by the majority of them for receiving citizenship were rejected. “The deportation of these people from Sweden is a problem for the entire BiH”, said Samardzic. (Glas Srpski pg. 3, Blic pg. 7, Vecernje Novosti pg. 13) |
| VL: “RS against Institute for missing persons in BiH” | Vecernji List (page 4, by Branka Stevandic) carries the President of the RS Commission for Missing Persons, Nedeljko Mitrovic, as saying that a Draft agreement on Institute for missing persons in BiH, which is to unify two entities’ commissions and take over the competence in the matter, is unacceptable to the RS. “International Commission for missing persons forwarded the RS a final Draft agreement on Institute for missing persons in which there’s a questionable proposal to disband the entities’ commission and that the funds the RS Government allocates for exhumations and identification are re-routed to the Institute which would decide on everything, with a decisive vote of a representative of the IC (…) I see it as a blackmail because there are indications that formation of the Institute is conditioned with continuation of donations by the International Commission for missing persons”. |
| Globus: “Croatian and FRY Flight Controls collected 31.5 Million US$ in BiH” | Globus (p 16, by N.V.) reports that BiH Flight Control protests over the fact that Croatia and FRY have made 31.5 million US$ profit (44.5% of the revenues goes to Belgrade, 33.5% to Zagreb and only 22% remains in Sarajevo) by having charged the use of BiH air-space over the last 6 years. Yves Lambert, the International Coordinator for Development of Civil Aviation in BiH, is quoted as saying that, back in 1997, BiH did not buy an US radar, thanks to which the entire revenue would go to BiH only, since the purchase of the radar would considerably increase the price of flights over BiH. |