| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic assassinated today in Belgrade | Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic assassinated today in Belgrade | Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic murdered. State of emergency has been imposed in Serbia | Prime Minister of Serbia assassinated in Belgrade |
| Reaction on Djindjic’s assassination – Condemnations from the BiH Presidency, Council of Ministers, BiH Foreign Ministry, … | State of emergency have been imposed in Serbia | Samac: Two boys died in bomb explosion | High Representative extends condolences and condemns assassination of Djindjic |
| High Representative Paddy Ashdown is shocked by Djindjic’s assassination | Trial of Muamer Topalovic finished; sentencing to take place tomorrow | Mostar: Public prosecutor demands heaviest sentence for Muamer Topalovic | Two children killed by hand grenade in Slatina village near Samac |
| Regional and world reactions | Pope to visit Banja Luka end of June | Sarajevo: revision team on Elektroprivreda BiH operations | RS Parliament discusses commission for indirect taxation operation |
| Oslobodjenje | Djindjic killed, state of emergency declared in Serbia |
| Dnevni Avaz | Premier Zoran Djindjic assassinated: State of Emergency in Serbia |
| Dnevni List | Zoran Djindjic killed; Life imprisonment requested for Topalovic; Today report on business operations of Elektroprivreda BiH Sarajevo |
| Vecernji List | Sniper kills Djindjic; Cavic: We will wait for the Pope on Banja Luka in June; Most severe punishment requested for Topalovic |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Slezak sells his property and moves to Austria; Attacker on Slezak is his employee |
| Glas Srpski | Sniper shots in front of Serbian Government building: Zoran Djindjic murdered; Serbian Government proposed: State of emergency imposed |
| Nezavisne Novine | Assassination at Serbian Premier in Belgrade: Djindjic murdered; Explosion in front of family house of Jovica Jovicic in Samac/Bosanski Samac: Hand grenade murdered two kids; Report of special auditor on BiH Elektroprivreda: EP BIH lost KM 65 million in 2001 |
| Belgrade Nacional | Djindjic assassinated; Operation Vihor (hurricane); Natasa Micic declares state of emergency |
| Blic | Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic assassinated; Natasa Micic declares state of emergency; Three days of national mourning; Nebojsa Covic is acting PM; Army to have police’s authorities |
| Vecernje Novosti | Djindjic assassinated; State of emergency in Serbia |
International community/OHR | |
| Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic assasinated
| Oslobodjenje front page, pgs. 4-5 ‘Djindjic killed, state of emergency imposed in Serbia’, Dnevni Avaz front page, pgs. 16-18 ‘Premier Zoran Djindjic murdered: State of emergency in Serbia’ – The Serbian President Zoran Djindjic was assassinated in Belgrade on Wednesday while he was entering the building of the Serbian Government. The Governments accuses the so- called Zemun clan of the crime. At the Government’s proposal, the acting Serbian President Natasa Micic declared the sate of emergency in Serbia because the constitutional order and the state security were jeopardised. |
| High Representative Condemns Djindjic Murder | Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘He brought democracy’, Dnevni Avaz pg.17 ‘Thanks to Djindjic, Serbia has made a major progress’ – “I am shocked at the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, whom I knew personally, and extend my condolences to his family, and to the people of Serbia” said High Representative, Paddy Ashdown on Wednesday. Praising Zoran Djindjic’s role the High Representative said “Zoran Djindjic will go down in history as one of the leaders who removed Slobodan Milosevic and brought democracy to Serbia. He set his country firmly on the road of reform. Thanks to Zoran Djindjic’s leadership, Serbia has made huge progress in recent years, both as a democracy, and towards modern Europe. The best tribute to Zoran Djindjic’s memory will be for Serbia to continue with the work he began, and in so doing to prove that criminal attacks like this cannot defeat democracy.” |
| BiH, world officials condemn Djindjic assassination | Oslobodjenje, pgs. 4-5 ‘Reactions by BiH politicians: Djindjic has a vision of modern Serbia’, Reactions from the world: The man who send Slobodan Milosevic to The Hague’, and Dnevni Avaz pgs. 16-18 carry a large number of reactions by the BiH and world politicians who all condemned the assassination of the Serbian Prime Minister considering it an act of terrorism aimed at stopping further reforms and fight against organised crime. |
| CRO press on Djindjic murder | All the CRO newspapers carry reports that the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, was killed by two shots in Belgrade yesterday (Vecernji List, front and pages 14 and 15, by Milovan Nedeljkov, “Sniper kills Djindjic”, Dnevni List, front and page 3, by Miso Relota, “Zoran Djindjic killed”, Slobodna Dalmacija, pages 2 and 3, by Tatjana Tagirov, “Zoran Djindjic murdered, state of emergency introduced”, Jutarnji List, front and pages 2, 3 and 15 by Branka Vujnovic, Davor Butkovic and Helena Puljiz, “Djindjic liquidated” and Vjesnik (front and pages 2 and 3, by Vesna Fabris Perunicic, “Zoran Djindjic murdered, state of emergency introduced in Serbia”). According to Jutarnji List, Djindjic was shot at whilst he was leaving his armoured car in front of the building of the Serbian Government at 1225 hrs. He was hit by two bullets. Djindjic was taken to the ER of the Belgrade City Hospital where he died at 1330. According to unconfirmed statements by the Belgrade Police, says JL, two snipers were arrested and in that context, the first reconstruction of the assassination shows the assassins were located on a roof of a nearby building, parallel to the building of the Government. Jutarnji List also notes that Djindjic was a pro-European Prime Minister with many enemies among Milosevic supporters and the first Prime Minister assassinated since the late Swedish PM, Olof Palme, got killed in 1986. |
| Assasination of Djindjic in RS press | Nezavisne Novine, page1, 2 &3, ‘Premier Zoran Djindjic murdered’; Glas Srpski, cover page story, ‘Zoran Djindjic murdered’ – Both dailies report on yesterday’s assassination at the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, in front of the Serbian Government building at 12:45 hrs. Djindjic died at Urgentni Centre of Belgrade at 13:30 hrs, after being subjected to reanimation and complex surgery intervention. Glas Srpski reports on the imposition of the state of emergency in a separate article, actually also cover page story entitled “State of emergency imposed”. Milo Djukanovic, Montenegrin PM, addressed a telegram to the Serbian Government, in which he said that “murder of PM Djindjic represents a severe blow to the democratic community of Serbia and Montenegro”. In the first reaction upon the assassination, representatives of Serbs from Kosovo assessed that his death “irreplaceable loss”, for Serbs in the province, who believed in Djindjic strategy, aimed at protecting Serb interests in Kosovo. According to NN and GS insets, the Serbian Government announced that the police is searching after the most organised group called “Zemun clan”, believed to be behind this assassination. The leaders of that group are: Dusan Spasojevic nicknamed Siptar, Milorad Ulemek nicknamed Legija, Mile Lukovic nicknamed Kum, and Dejan Milenkovic nicknamed Bagzi. According to NN, world leaders expressed astonishment upon the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, and also severely condemned this act against the man, who pledged for democracy and reforms in Serbia. US President, George Bush, conveyed condolences to the people of Serbia, stressing that “Premier Djindjic will be remembered for his role in establishment of democracy in Serbia and bringing Slobodan Milosevic before justice”. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, most harshly condemned the murder of the Serbian Premier. EU expressed astonishment over the murder of the Serbian PM, stressing that “EU has lost a friend, who decisively fought for democracy”. NATO condemned the murder of Zoran Djndjic. George Robertson, NATO Secretary General, said that he was “deeply shocked and saddened”. Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security, said that all his thoughts are currently with the family of Zoran Djindjic. According to 4th NN inset, entitled “Failure of BH Radio”, BH Radio 1 released a marry song called “Ej Zorane, Zorane” by Divlji Kesten only one hour after the assassination at Djindjic. The broadcast of this song resulted in numerous reactions and open protests amongst the listeners of the BH Radio 1. Emir Habul, Editor of BH Radio programme, apologised for this failure, stressing that editor in charge at that moment would be punished. |
| Reactions to Djindjic murder in RS press | Nezavisne Novine, page 3, ‘Murder, shot at changes’ – Nezavisne Novine carries reactions of domestic officials on the assassination of Zoran Djindjic in one article, while Glas Srpski carries those reactions as small separate articles, which are as follows: Glas Srpski, cover page story, ‘Astonishing news’ – Mirko Sarovic, Chairperson to BiH Presidency, yesterday expressed astonishment upon the assassination of Zoran Djindjic, stressing that this murder reflects a strong presence of organised crime in Serbia and Montenegro, and probably in the entire region. Glas Srpski, cover page story, ‘Srpska in shock’ – Dragan Cavic, RS President, stated that: “The murder of Zoran Djindjic is a grand blow to democratic processes not only being established in Serbia, but also in the entire region.” Glas Srpski, cover page story, ‘Jeopardy for region’ – Mladen Ivanic, BiH Foreign Minister, said that “this act shows how big jeopardy organise crime and terrorism represent for the entire region”.. Glas Srpski, page 3, ‘Reactions’ – GS further releases reactions to the assassination of Serbian PM, Zoran Djindjic. The reactions published include statements by: RS Government, RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, PDP, SNSD, Javier Solana, George Bush. Paddy Ashdown, HiRep to BiH, expressed his shock over the news on assassination of Serbian PM, Zoran Djindjic. HiRep stressed that Djindjic will become a part of history and be memorised as a man, who introduced democracy to Serbia and started implementing reforms. Ashdown is of the view that the best way, in which Serbia could pay honour to Djindjic, is to continue following the path of changes, by which it would prove that the crime cannot defeat democracy. |
| Serbian media on Djindjic assassination | Vecernje Novosti pg. 1-4, Blic pg. 1-4, Nacional pg. 1-5 also extensively report on Djindjic murder. RTS 1 (first channel of Serbian TV) today reports that at yesterday’s session of the Serbia and Montenegro Supreme Defence Council decided to declare a state of combat readiness. |
| Reaction to Djindjic’s assassination in Serbian press | Serbian and Montenegrin Army Chief of the General Staff, Branko Krga; “Following the tragic death of Prime Minister Dr Zoran Djindjic, I would first like to extend my deepest regret on behalf the army staff and my own, that a terrorist act has been committed. I would like to extend my condolences to he family and convey the willingness of army staff to engage in finding the murderers to any degree necessary and in stabilising the situation in the country.” (Blic pg. 3) “The first word that comes to mind is: terrible. The fact that political violence is happening, not for the first time, is a terrible warning about how little headway we have made on the path of real democratization of our society. I am afraid that this is unfortunately another cruel warning that we must face up to the truth and see to what extent crime has infiltrated all aspects of our society”, chairman of the Democratic Party of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica, said. (Nacional pg. 6, Blic pg. 5, Vecernje Novosti pg. 5) Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) leader Vuk Draskovic said in a written statement that Djindjic’s assassination was “a terrorist act”, and that “it is almost certain that this is not the crime of an individual, but an organization, with strong support in the police and the state security”. (Nacional pg. 6, Vecernje Novosti pg. 5, Blic pg. 5) Slobodan Vuksanovic, chairman of the National Democratic Party and a one-time top official in the Democratic Party, has described Djindjic’s assassination as “a tragic event for the entire state.” (Blic pg. 5, Nacional pg. 6) Vuk Obradovic’s Social Democracy (SD) said in a statement that this was a “senseless terrorist act which could seriously threaten the constitutional order and the functioning of the entire state system”. The SD has called on citizens to “remain calm, and on politicians to behave in a manner that will contribute to maintaining public law and order,” and the security of all citizens and Serbia as a whole. (Blic pg. 5, Nacional pg. 6) Officials of the Serbian Return Coalition have said that assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was a “tragic” event which will “dearly cost” the Kosovo Serbs. Nenad Radosavljevic, UNMIK [UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo] chief Michael Steiner’s adviser for return, described Djindjic’s murder as a “real disaster”. “This will cost us dearly,” Radosavljevic said. (Blic pg. 5, Nacional pg. 6) Following the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic issued the following statement: “I am astonished, what else can I say? Whoever decided to commit such an act of vandalism and terrorism knew that he was shooting at someone who epitomized the new reformist and democratic image of Serbia, at someone who raised European hopes for Serbia.” The Montenegrin prime minister added that the assassination of Zoran Djindjic was a serious blow not only to the reformist forces in Serbia, but also to the wider democratic movement, to the union of Serbia and Montenegro at its very beginning. (Blic pg. 5, Vecernje Novosti pg. 5) Serbian press also carries reactions by foreign officials including the RS President Dragan Cavic, US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair etc. |
| Ashdown visits Banja Luka | Dnevni Avaz pg. 3 ‘The life would be better if billions of KM do not go to criminals’ -The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, met with the RS leaders in Banja Luka on Wednesday. In the course of the day, Ashdown also visit a public kitchen in the Borik I local community where daily meals are being provided for approximately 140 beneficiaries. Vecernji List (page 2, bs, “Orao affair is an international affair”) and Dnevni List (page 5, not signed, “Ashdown: My moves with regard to Orao affair will depend on final report”) carry that High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, paid visit to a Red Cross soup kitchen in Banja Luka. Also, the HR announced in the CIPS center in Banja Luka that his future moves with regard to the “Orao” affair will depend on the final report that the RS authorities should hand over by March 17. The HR said that the Orao affair and violation of the UN Security Council resolution caused the biggest international crises that BiH faced with after the end of the war. DL carries that with regard to the CIPS project the HR stated that now this project is the strongest weapon in his hands because it makes possible that rule of law comes to life and it also makes possible control of borders. |
| DL and VL on High Representative Paddy Ashdown’s visit to Banja Luka | Nezavisne Novine pg. 7, Blic pg. 9 headline ‘I am angry because of poverty’; Belgrade Nacional pg. 11 ‘Ashdown in soap kitchen spoke about corruption’; Vecernje Novosti pg. 17 headline ‘Angry because of the poor people’ also report on the visit. |
| OHR unpleasantly surprised with the public language of hatred displayed by Milan Jovicic | Slobodna Dalmacija (page 17, by Miroslav Landeka, “OHR: Mostar has to get Deputy Mayor as soon as possible”) and Dnevni List (page 14, by D.K., “Dissatisfied with use of language of hatred in media”) carry that during yesterday’s press conference of international organizations seated in Mostar OHR and OSCE expressed their dissatisfaction over the security situation in Mostar and stressed a need to resolve crimes that have been taking place in the Mostar region lately as soon as possible. The dailies carry that OHR South Spokesperson Avis Benes stated that Deputy High Representative Ambassador Jean-Pierre Bercot was unpleasantly surprised by the public language of hatred displayed by Vice President of the Mostar City Council Milan Jovicic in Dnevni List edition of 11 March 2003 and he finds it unacceptable. SD carries that Avis Benes denied media speculations that OHR supported candidacy of HDZ candidate Ljubo Beslic for the position of the Mostar Deputy Mayor. She said: “The election of the Deputy Mayor is the issue of the agreement of political parties and the Election Commission and not OHR, and thus we did not either give or deny support to Beslic or any other candidate for these functions.” (Oslobodjenje and Dnevni Avaz also carried OH Avis Benes’ statement) |
Affairs | |
| Oslobodjenje: Will Mirko Sarovic ‘fly’ (be forced to leve the office) over Orao
| Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Will Mirko Sarovic fly over Orao’ – An article on the international community demands and political responsibility related to the affair written by Alda Omeragic. “A few days before expiration of the deadline within which the RS authorities should submit the final version of the report on the Orao affair to the international community, there are more and more talks even in the international circles about possible removal of Mirko Sarovic. The international officials, as usual, do not want to comment on possible removal of anyone including Sarovic but their message is clear: following March 17, someone will have to be held responsible for violation of the UN resolutions and the Dayton agreement,” the article read. |
| Ashdown on Orao | Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Paddy Ashdown on Orao affair: the biggest crisis in BiH’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 3 ‘Orao affair has an international significance’ – The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said in Banja Luka on Wednesday that his future moves related to the Orao affair would depend on the final report, which had to be submitted by RS authorities to SFOR by March 17. “I shall be consistent in my actions both towards the RS and the Federation because the problem of violating the UN arms embargo against Iraq is spreading to the Federation”, Ashdown told journalists. (Nacional pg. 7 headline ‘Political responsibility for Orao’) |
| BiH Elektroprivreda | Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘Struggle for control over BiH Elektroprivreda’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘BiH Elektroprivreda Steering Board Chairman Hamdija Hadzihasanovic: We id not request removal of Direktor Enver Kreso’ – Following a dramatic session of the BiH Elektroprivreda Steering Board, which was dedicated to the OHR special auditor’s report on the enterprise’s operations, the Board representatives claim that no one has yet requested resignations or the responsibility of the current management team members. The Elektroprivreda officials including Director Enver Kreso consider the rumours on the removals as an attempt by individuals to misuse the OHR audit and gain better positions for them and their people in the company. |
| VL on audit in Elektroprivreda BiH | Regarding today’s presentation of an audit of business operations of Elektroprivreda BiH that is going to be presented by the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, in Sarajevo today, Vecernji List (page 3, by Zoran Kresic, “OHR is not removing Kreso?!”) learns from an anonymous source close to the OHR that the audit will be “moderate and lacking in political qualifications”. According to the source’s claims, the accusations will focus on former Federation Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic. The daily goes on to say the OHR the audit report be amended so one should not expect removal of the company’s CEO, Enver Kreso. |
| Interview with PDHR Hays on special audits | Dnevni List (front and page 7, conducted by Pejo Gasparevic, “Today report on business operations of Elektroprivreda BiH Sarajevo”) carries an interview with the Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, in which he talks about situation regarding the three Elektroprivredas in BiH. Questioned to offer his view what the power sector in BiH, currently divided in three companies in BiH, should be organized like so the supervision is made easier, PDHR Hays says: “Reason why big amounts of money were lost is lack of healthy economic management. What the citizens deserve is a public corporation which is administered in a way that its services are optimized and its prices are made competitive on the world market. Every profit should be used to improve the services and benefit the public. This will benefit the consumers and improve the business surrounding in BiH and attract investment”, says PDHR Hays. PDHR Hays adds that two audits are being carried out in other public companies. |
| Nezavisne Novine on special audits
| Nezavisne Novine, page 7, ‘EP is just a pre-text for conflict with PDP’ – Dusan Stojicic, SDS Spokesperson, stated that SDS and PDP would try to resolve all mutual misunderstandings at negotiations, which will most likely take place some time next week. According to him, the main goal of the SDS is that the RS Government performs its work in a better manner, he further stressed that RS EP affair was a pre-text for disclosure of confrontation between SDS and PDP. Nezavisne Novine, page 4, ‘Police waiting for investigation request’ – Zlatko Miletic, BiH Federation Interior Ministry Management Director, stressed that the BiH Federation is still awaiting for the report of the special auditor into Elektroprivreda of Herceg Bosna, in order to launch investigation on eventual criminal responsibility of individuals. NN allegedly learnt at the OHR that the report on HB EP was forwarded to BIH Federation Government and Parliament. Nezavisne Novine, page 4, ‘Serbian EP delivers report on co-operation with EFT’ – NN carry a report, according to which Serbian EP (EPS) confirmed that in the near future, it would deliver a report on co-operation with the EFT to the Serbia Ministry of Energy. Ljubomir Geric, EPS Director General, told Beta news agency that the report would contain “all information regarding the import of power into Serbia through EPS and would also contain the names of all bidders”. |
| Head of Mostar University replies to HR with regard to EP CC HB audit report | Vecernji List (page 4, “I did not participate in any criminal activities”) carries that Head of Mostar University Dr. Franjo Ljubic sent a letter to High Representative Paddy Ashdown with regard to the claims from the Elektroprivreda of Croat Community of Herceg Bosna audit report in which Ljubic’s name was also mentioned. Ljubic says in his letter that he understands the HR’s stands and efforts for the building of the democratic society and market economy. Ljubic supports the efforts exerted in order to build a modern, democratic state in which none individual or people will feel endangered or will be discriminated in any way. The letter also says that at any function that Ljubic has been performing so far, he did not commit any criminal or illegal activity. For this reason he is surprised that he was mentioned as a possible participator of criminal activities and transactions only due to the fact that he was performing the function of the President of the Elektroprivreda Steering Board and President of Hercegovacka Bank Supervisory Board but not at the same time. |
| VL and DL on CIPS project | Vecernji List (page 4, by M. Stankovic, “Blame fell on old composition of BiH Council of Ministers”) and Dnevni List (page 4, DL, “First phase of CIPS project envisages issuing of documents on 23 locations”) carry that the CIPS Agency informed that the first phase of the implementation of this project envisages issuing of identity documents at 23 biggest locations in BiH. On the same issue, VL carries that many people blame the old composition of the BiH Council of Ministers for the problems that emerged with regard to the CIPS project. On the other side, people from CIPS stress that the problems emerged because the budget of the BiH institutions for the last year was passed too late and they also believe that the political obstructions are present as well. VL says that citizens especially mind the game regarding the price of a new identity card. |
Political developments/statements | |
| SDP on new authorities
| Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘They want power but not the responsibility’ – The Vice-president of the BiH SDP, Zeljko Komsic, told journalists in Sarajevo on Wednesday that the current authorities did not want to take over the responsibility for the current situation in the country, and that they were accusing the High Representative of every failure. |
| BiH Foreign Ministry recommends establishment of diplomatic relations with Iraq but after fall of Sadam’s regime | Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘BiH Foreign Ministry recommends establishment of diplomatic relations with Iraq but after fall of Sadam’s regime’ – The BiH Foreign Ministry has suggested the BiH state leadership to establish the diplomatic-economic relations with Iraq but only after the fall of the regime of Sadam Husein. The recommendation representing an indirect support to the US military intervention in the country is part of an internal document prepared by the Ministry’s Department for Planning and Analysis on the basis of the BiH economic interests in Iraq. |
| NN interview with Mikerevic on variety of issues | Nezavisne Novine, page 6, ‘I am not interested in party interests at RS EP’ – NN carries a page-long interview with Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, who expressed his conviction that all the affairs shaking RS will be resolved. Responding to press question regarding relations between SDS and PDP, Mikerevic said that he is mainly and solely interested in resolving the situation at RS EP, mainly those aspects underlined in special audit report. That is how he perceives Government and Prime Minister. “No party membership will be included in priorities. If such an approach provokes inter-party relations, the question is raised who is doing what and who is responsible for what.”, stresses he. As for SFOR searches last Friday, he said that the indisputable fact is that SFOR performed controls at certain places. Regarding this, he said that: “The findings of those searches remain to be seen. As for allegations on destruction of local institutions credibility, those routine inspections themselves cannot harm the RS credibility. What can ruin credibility if the findings are negative for our side.” He also denied any knowledge on allegations that RS Army is involved in activities of providing a hide out to Radovan Karadzic. On Orao affair, Mikerevic said that “the affair has indisputably caused a great damage to the RS. However, the estimate into realistic responsibility of the RS cannot result in anything negative for the RS. Why should the citizens of the RS suffer the consequences if established that individuals were involved in that? Those individuals would be punished then.” |
| VL: “Founder of Party for BiH will be its President again?” | Vecernji List (page 2, by Ivica Pjanic) carries that Party for BiH has been in power since it was established thanks to skillful political maneuvering of its founder Haris Silajdzic. VL says that the Convention of this party will take place in April during which a new leadership will be elected. President of the Party for BiH Presidency Safet Halilovic stated: “We still do not know whether we shall have a collective Head of the party or the function of the President will be activated again. This second option would be taken into consideration if Silajdzic shows willingness to return to this position.” High-ranked official of Party for BiH Beriz Belkic stated that Silajdzic said that, first of all, he should have talks with the people from the party with regard to this issue. Unlike Halilovic, Belkic believes that it is possible that the Party for BiH decides that somebody else becomes its President. |
Reforms/appointments | |
| Joint strategy against poverty, Bulldozer initiatives
| Oslobodjenje pg. 9 ‘Joint strategy against poverty’ Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Bulldozer Committee hands over the report: Change of fifty laws recommended’ – The Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, and the Prime Minister of the RS and FBiH, Dragan Mikerevic and Ahmet Hadzipasic, on Wednesday supported preparing of the BiH Development Strategy. They signed a joint letter under the slogan: Let us support reforms, reforms are profitable after they had met with the Bulldozer Committee representatives, who present to them 50 recommendations for making a more favourable business environment in the country. |
| Judges of the Republika Srpska Supreme Court Appointed | Oslobodjenje pg. 9, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 – The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Republika Srpska on Wednesday appointed 13 judges to the Republika Srpska Supreme Court, according to a press release from the HJPCs. The following individuals are appointed judges of the Republika Srpska Supreme Court: Bajagic Zdravko, Bajic Petar, Baric Zelimir, Buzanin Obren, Gojkovic Staka, Ikanovic Veljko, Krzlakovic Fikret, Mikes Gorana, Ninic Janko, Osmic Darko, Savic Stevan, Tomic Biljana, Visnjic Drago. Judge Baric Zelimir is appointed as the President of the Republika Srpska Supreme Court. |
| FOSS Director appointment | Dnevni Avaz pg. 2, mentioned on the front page ‘Hadzipasic: Kikic is no more the candidate (for FOSS Director)’ – The FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic confirmed in a statement for the newspaper that Sead Kikic was no more the candidate for the FOSS Director. |
| VL: “Tihic and SDA do not give up Kikic’s nomination” | Vecernji List (page 2, eme) carries that SDA and its President Sulejman Tihic do not want to withdraw a candidacy of Sead Kikic for the position of the Head of FOSS although international officials in BiH are against it. People from SDA still believe that compromising information about Kikic were created in the cabinet of former FOSS Head Munir Alibabic Munja and for this reason they are not intending to withdraw their candidacy. |
Other issues | |
| Cropress on Pope’s visit to Banja Luka | Vecernji List (front and page 3, by B. Stevandic, “Cavic: We are waiting for Pope in Banja Luka”), Dnevni List (page 2, Fena, “Pope visits Banja Luka at the end of June”) and Slobodna Dalmacija (page 17, by M. Labus, “Pope arrives to Banja Luka at the end of June”) carry that a Vatican delegation paid visit to Banja Luka yesterday. They met with the RS President Dragan Cavic, who confirmed after the meeting that Pope would visit Banja Luka at the end of June this year. The exact date has net been determined yet. Also, it has been planned that Pope receives members of the BiH Presidency and President and Vice President of the RS during his visit to Banja Luka. Blic pg. 7, Nacional pg. 11, Vecernji List (front and page 3, by B. Stevandic, “Cavic: We are waiting for Pope in Banja Luka”), Dnevni List (page 2, Fena, “Pope visits Banja Luka at the end of June”), and Slobodna Dalmacija (page 17, by M. Labus, “Pope arrives to Banja Luka at the end of June”) also covers the Vatican delegation visit to Banja Luka yesterday.) |