| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| SFOR action in Pale | SFOR action in Pale | SFOR action in Pale | SFOR action in Pale |
| Posters of Karadzic | Karadzic’s posters | Karadzic’s posters | Karadzic’s posters |
| BiH’s European integration | Trial of Milosevic | Trial of Milosevic | OHR on RTV tax |
| Mostar invest. conference | PBS | Zenica Steel Company |
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| Oslobodjenje | Karadzic’s house in Krivace raided |
| Dnevni Avaz | FBiH Premier Hadzipasic: No one from SDA has requested me to resign |
| Dnevni List | “Ashdown: Croat vote is three times worth than Bosniak”; “Cardinal: Catholic Church is the only unrecognized community in BiH” |
| Vecernji List | “Advantages of investing”; “Barisa Colak: There will be no split in HDZ” |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | “Croat entity rescues Serb one”; “Leutar case returns at its beginning?” |
| Nezavisne Novine | Republika Srpska police in Visegrad arrested Bogdan Vasic: Synthetic heroin manufactured at “Terpentin”; SFOR action in Pale: Ljiljana Karadzic: I will not say where my husband is; Luka Karadzic: Kalinic and SDS gave up on Karadzic for their functions; Gordon Bacon: Commission has short deadline to complete a hard work; Dragan Solaja: Construction of highway to commence at the end of April |
War crimes | |
| SFOR completed raid into Karadzic’s family house in Krivace
| Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje front page, pgs. 4-5 ‘Karadzic’s house in Krivace raided’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 3, mentioned on the front page ‘SFOR again raided criminal Karadzic’s house’, FENA – Members of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR), who completed the raid into Radovan Karadzic’s family house in the Pale settlement of Krivace at approx. 16:00 hrs on Tuesday, confiscated a large number of documents and 15 smoke bombs. The bombs were discovered in the basement of the house, in which Karadzic was residing during the war and which has mainly been empty after the war. Dnevni List page 11, “Search of Radovan Karadzic’s family house completed”, Vecernji List page 18, “SFOR is searching Pale again”, by Hina also reported on the action. DL (page 11, “Support to SFOR actions in Pale”, not signed) carries that the OHR and EUPM supported the SFOR’s action in Pale. |
| Posters of Karadzic appeared in Bijeljina | Herceg Bosna radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 5, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 5, ‘Police in Bijeljina removed posters with the picture of former RS president’ – Fliers with the photo of Radovan Karadzic, who was charged by ICTY with the war crimes conducted at the territory of BiH, appeared during Monday/Tuesday night in the centre of Bijeljina. The black and white fliers had the following text: Is it war crime to defend own people? The fliers were removed Tuesday morning. Police undertook the investigation into this case. |
| Interview with Luka Karadzic | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 4, ‘Kalinic and SDS gave up on Karadzic for their functions’ – In an interview to NN, Luka Karadzic, brother of Radovan Karadzic, claims that SDS has disowned Radovan Karadzic. He also accuses Dragan Kalinic and politicians who, through Karadzic, assumed power, of being only eager to keep their functions and act in their own interests, instead of acting in the interest of Serb people and RS. He further claims that the current political officials would never leave positions voluntarily, as Radovan did, because it was in the interest of the people. Otherwise, sanctions would have been imposed against them. The brother of Radovan Karadzic also condemned the behaviour of SFOR soldiers towards Karadzic family, stressing that SFOR launched the operation upon a tip obtained from a mercenary, “who had to justify the reason why he obtained so much money for that task”. At the end, he also denies seeing his brother, stressing that he can hardly remember when was the last time he saw him. |
| Statement by Ljiljana Zelen Karadzic
| Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 5, ‘Ljiljana Karadzic: I will not say where my husband is’ – Ljiljana Zelen Karadzic, spouse of Radovan Karadzic, yesterday told SFOR soldiers that she would not tell them whereabouts of her husband. She told them this after SFOR barged into Karadzic family house in Krivace settlement near Pale. She also said that this time she would demand compensation from SFOR for all the property they destroyed during raids. Sarajevo media also carried the statement. Mathew Brook, SFOR Spokesperson, yesterday confirmed that SFOR is still holding Dusan Bata Tesic. According to NN inset, the High Representative to BiH, Paddy Ashdown, yesterday commended the involvement of Republika Srpska police in SFOR operation in Pale. According to Ashdown, this proves that Republika Srpska authorities have finally started to fulfil their duties related to co-operation with the ICTY. |
| Smail Cekic on Srebrenica Commission work | Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘Planners of the crime must submit new data’ – “The essential question of RS Commission for Srebrenica’s work is whether it will operate on the basis of the known documents or on the basis of fresh data. I will personally advocate for the Commission to get to fresh sources, fresh data, which are not known either to the Hague Tribunal, or to my Institute for War Crimes, or to the International Institute on Missing Persons headed by Gordon Bacon,” said Smail Cekic, the member of the Srebrenica Commission. |
| Bacon on Srebrenica Commission task | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 8, ‘Commission has short deadline to complete a hard work’ – Gordon Bacon, member of Srebrenica Commission, stresses that Srebrenica Commission of the Republika Srpska Government, has a hard work to complete. He also stresses that by 14 April, the deadline set, the Commission will not be able to fully investigate into and establish the truth about Srebrenica tragedy. He says that: “All members of the Commission are aware of the fact that we have a hard work to complete. Commission needs to come up with new facts and the truth, which has not been revealed to the public so far. The main difficulty in our work will be to locate new mass graves and possibly the executor(s) of those crimes.” |
| 12 ICTY arrest warrants/requests for surrender | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘Arrest warrants issued for 12 Serbs from BiH’ – Liu Da Chun, ICTY judge, on Tuesday issued separate arrest warrants and surrender requests for 12 Serbs, previously charged by ICTY for war crimes committed in BiH. those charged include: Ljubomir Borovcanin, Sredoje Lukic, etc. |
Economic/social issues | |
| FBiH/OHR: Meeting on the process of privatisation
| BHTV, FTV, Dnevni Avaz pg. 8 ‘Privatisation process must be accelerated’, Dnevni List page 5 “Federation must improve privatisation process”, FENA – The Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, and FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic held a meeting on Tuesday with the prime ministers of ten cantons of Federation BiH on improving the process of privatisation in this entity. After the meeting Ambassador Hays said that with the 11 existing privatisation agencies in Federation BiH it is not possible to maximally take advantage of resources and improve the process of privatisation, due to which the cantons have been offered an agreement on uniting of cantonal agencies. The agreement on transferring the process of privatisation of 23 companies from cantonal onto the FBiH Privatisation Agency has already been signed by representatives of certain cantons, while the others are expected to do so by the end of the month. “Privatisation must be useful for all citizens”, emphasised Ambassador Hays, stating that the meeting also focused on promoting economic reforms, attracting investments, technological surplus, and the need for amending the FBiH Law on Bankruptcy. Hadzipasic declared it is necessary to take a single approach to privatisation in cantons and in Federation of BiH, and stressed that there is no Bosniak, Serb or Croat capital, instead there is only the capital that will launch production and create new jobs. Prime Minister Hadzipasic also announced amendments of the legislation in this domain, as well as designing of social programmes with the aim of resolving the workers’ social matters. Oslobodjenje pg. 3, mentioned on the front page ‘There is no honest/fair privatisation’ A. Omeragic – According to the newspaper, PDHR Hays on Tuesday tried but did not succeed to get signatures of all cantonal prime ministers for transferring the authorities for sale of strategic companies to the FBiH level. |
| Banjaluka-Gradiska highway construction | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 2, ‘Construction of highway to commence at the end of April’ – Dragan Solaja, Republika Srpska Minister of Traffic and Communication, announced that the construction of highway Banjaluka-Gradiska should commence by the end of April at latest. The first phase of construction should include the construction of highway part from Klasnice to Mahovljani airport. |
Media | |
| OHR regrets FBiH Government’s failure to agree on RTV subscription issue
| BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg. 10 ‘OHR’s disappointment’, FENA – OHR expressed regret on Tuesday over the Monday’s failure of the FBiH Government to reach an agreement based on which telecom companies would act as companies for collecting RTV subscription. OHR spokesperson Kevin Sullivan told a press conference in Sarajevo that an efficient system for collecting subscription is vital for ensuring an independent financial and editorial public broadcasting system for BiH. “This is a key conditions from the European Commission’s Feasibility Study and is therefore one of the priorities for European integrations. We are sure that the FBiH Government does not wish to become an obstacle on the road towards Europe and we encourage it to reach a solution as soon as possible in the interest of all BiH citizens”, Sullivan said. Dnevni List page 2 “OHR calls on Government to agreement on RTV subscription fee”, by Ivica Glibusic also carried the statement. DL also reports that the HT Mostar (Croat telecommunications Mostar) is unhappy with the proposed modality of collection of RTV subscription fees since many of its clients announced they would disconnect their phones if the RTV fees were to be collected through HT’s phone bills. |
| FBiH Government requests Ashdown’s assistance | Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘FBiH Government requested Ashdown’s assistance’ – According to FBiH Trade Minister Maid Ljubovic, the FBiH Government cannot make decision on collection of RTV subscription fees as lons as the article 46 of the sate law on protection of consumers is in force. He therefore proposes that the High Representative suspends the disputed article. |
| PBS on RTV tax collection | Dnevni Avaz pg. 10 ‘Definitive agreement to be reached on Thursday, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 8, ‘PBS seeks assistance from OHR over TV fees’, ONASA – The Executive Commission of the BiH PBS said on Tuesday that it is surprised with the decision of the BiH Federation Government, which, unlike the BiH Council of Ministers and Republika Srpska Government, rejected the agreement on collection of PBS subscription rates via the “BH Telekom” and “HT Mostar” telecommunications companies. The Commission said that the FBiH Government is directly responsible for compromising the existence of two public broadcasters, Federal Television and BiH Public Broadcasting Service, postponement of inauguration of the BHTV1 channel on the state level, as well as delays in broadcasting reforms processes and implementation of European standards in public broadcasting. The Commission warned that such a decision by the FBiH Government, resulting in failure to comply with a requirement set in the Feasibility Study, that is, regulation of collection of broadcasting subscriptions, is a step away from European integration. “It is unacceptable for the Government to cite incompatibility with the law on consumer protection as a reason behind the rejection of the agreement, while it completely neglects the fact that failure to pay broadcasting subscriptions is in contradiction to all legal regulations,” the Commission said, and requested an urgent meeting with the High Representative. |
| FTV’s Durakovic, Slobodna Bosna’s Avdic on RTV subscription fee | FTV – “We believe that OHR will continue with its demands for creation of sustainable public broadcasting system in BiH, and that OHR will find enough facts to convince domestic authorities on this issue,” said Jasmin Durakovic, director of FTV. According to Durakovic FTV will use all means in its fight to preserve its status. BiH public shares opinion that delay in finding agreement on TV fee collection political parties’ fight for media space. “FBiH Government, more correctly, parties such as SDA, HDZ and SBiH are trying to put FTV under their control, to appoint the FTV staff that suits them and only then we could have fast solution for his problem,” said Senad Avdic, Sarajevo weekly Slobodna Bosna editor. |
Political developments | |
| Ashdown’s letter to Merdzo, Coric
| Herceg-Bosna Radio, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘I am surprised the HDZ in Mostar denies to other peoples the rights Croat have in BiH’, mentioned on the front page ‘No one will be able to achieve domination in Mostar’, FENA – In a letter sent to FBiH House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Josip Merdzo and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Prime Minister Miroslav Coric High Representative Paddy Ashdown thanked for their letter of 9 January 2004, in which they set out their thoughts on the question of the Mostar Statute. “Naturally I share your view that reforming the City of Mostar constitutes one of the most significant tasks facing us, and I welcome the fact that the HDZ has taken a constructive role in the Commission chaired by Mr Winterstein. You rightly state that the past was gloomy. It falls to all sides to make every effort to heal the wounds of the war and build a future for Mostar’s children. It is encouraging, therefore, that the Reform Commission, including your representative as well as those of other parties, has managed to reach such a substantial measure of agreement on issues which were previously divisive. These include strengthening the competencies of the City, abolishing parallel structures, not least by unifying the administration, ensuring greater transparency in the work of local government and the introduction of an effective vital interest protection mechanism. These are very welcome steps forward,” said Ashdown at the beginning of the letter. Dnevni List (front and page 5 “Ashdown: Croat vote three times more worth than Bosniak one”, by Miso Relota) – also carries excerpts of a letter that the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, sent to HDZ’s officials, namely Josip Merdzo and Miroslav Coric reminding them that the making of statute for Mostar cannot be delayed. Among other things, the letter says that the OHR does not share the HDZ’s opinion that the proposed electoral system for Mostar is illegal when compared to BiH and European practice. “The HDZ claims, in effect, that a Bosniak vote counts for more than a Croat Vote and your letter alleges that figures support this. But if you use this argument in Mostar, then surely you must use it in BiH as a whole? In which case, the same logic would arrive at the conclusion that, in BiH as a whole, a Croat vote is worth three times more than a Bosniak vote. In the 2002 elections, 516,610 votes were cast for the Bosniak member of the Presidency, and 186,291 votes for the Croat member”, reads the HR’s letter. The daily also carries a reaction by Mr. Merdzo in which he claims that HR Ashdown is comparing levels of authority which are not suitable for comparisons. “He (Ashdown) mentioned voting for members of BiH Presidency, from which he concludes that the Croat vote is three times more worth than the Bosniak vote at the state level, which is not an adequate comparison if you want to observe one unit of local self-government. House of Representatives in the FBiH and BiH are made on the similar principle in other words out of several constituencies. Even the cantonal assemblies are made on the principle of proportional representation, like all other municipalities in BiH, it is only Mostar that does not have it”, says Merdzo. (HR’s letter is also covered by Slobodna Dalmacija, back page “Talks will not go indefinitely”, by M. Landeka, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 3, ‘Ashdown insists on six constituencies’ also covered the issue. |
| Open letter to Sulejman Tihic regarding Mostar issue | Dnevni List (page 8, “Mr. Tihic, publicly admit wrong SDA policy in Mostar!”, by Ve. Lj.) carries an open letter that President of the Students’ Movement for BiH Amer Bahtijar from Mostar and professor Adnan Djlolota sent to SDA President Sulejman Tihic and in which they expressed their dissatisfaction and judged Tihic and SDA’s policy in Mostar as very weak. Among the other things the letter says: “By refusing to accept the proposal of Chairman of the Mostar Commission Norbert Winterstein, unconsciously you took a side of those who were dividing Mostar for the whole decade… Are you aware that your stands are completely different from the stands of Bosniaks from Mostar that you allegedly represent? We are calling on you to publicly admit a wrong SDA policy when Mostar is in question and to support the unification of the city.” |
| NN editorial on Mostar | Nezavisne Novine editorial by Josip Blazevic, pg. 7, ‘Double standards’ – The author is writing about Mostar re-structuring, stressing that it is high time it was re-structured. However, he stresses that the issue of Mostar should not be regarded separately and in isolation from other cities and the state. The solution for Mostar should be found through federal or state context. Author further emphasises that: “HiRep cannot impose some criteria for Mostar, by neglecting the same criteria in other units pof local self-governance. The ethnic reality and distrust is present in all multi-ethnic environments in BiH.” He also warns that Mostar could be turned into an isolated island, if the same standard is not applied to other cities, for example if vital national interests of Bosniaks are not protected in the same manner in Banjaluka, Croats in Zenica or Serbs in Drvar. |
| People’s Party Working for Prosperity on Mostar issue | Slobodna Dalmacija (page 14, “Mostar – unified city with one election unit”, by M. Landeka) carries that People’s Party Working for Prosperity held a press conference during which the Mostar re-structuring issue was discussed. Talking about the referendums in Mostar’s Municipalities, representatives of this party believe they are ridiculous since they will not resolve anything but help some people to raise tensions. Also, a lot of money that might be used for better purposes will be spent. The party also appeals on the International Community and OHR that they do not pass an Interim Statute for Mostar again, but to find the best solution and the final Statute that will be in force even after 50 years. |
| HSS on behaviour of SDA, SDS and HDZ | Dnevni List (page 8, “Make impossible apartheid and discrimination of minority peoples“, by Nina) carries that HSS (Croat Peasants’ Party) issued a press release in which the party reacted against “the media stressing and exploiting of the Mostar issue, the issue of appointment of the BiH Defense Minister and appointment of judges and prosecutors’. The press release notes: “Behavior of ruling parties with regard to these burning issues, important for the whole of BiH and their inability to reach an agreement causes frustration and big concern of the public.” According to the press release, the ruling coalition of SDA-HDZ-SDS creates a feeling of endangered position among BiH peoples and this is one of their important goals since this enables them to stay in power. |
| Hadzipasic: No one from SDA has requested me to resign | Dnevni Avaz front page, pg. 5 ‘No one from SDA has requested me to resign’ – “I did not resign,” said FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic in a statement for the newspaper commenting on a series of rumours on his alleged resignation. “In direct contacts, no one from SDA leadership has expressed dissatisfaction with my performance,” he added. |
| Nikolic says taking care about dismissed soldiers Defence Ministry’s priority | Herceg-Bosna Radio, FTV, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Taking care about the soldiers to be dismissed is the Defence Ministry’s priority’, Dnevni List page 3 “Of 13.200 members of FBiH Army, 8.000 will remain”, by Fena, Vecernji List, page 2 “Discharge on criteria, not on voluntary basis”, by Dejan Jazvic, FENA – FBiH Defence Minister Miroslav Nikolic said on Tuesday that implementation of reforms aimed at bringing BiH into the Partnership for Peace program remain in the focus of activities of this Ministry. Speaking at a traditional New Year’s reception organised for representatives of the BiH media Nikolic expressed confidence that BiH would meet all necessary conditions for accession to the Partnership for Peace and that the final decision on this would be reached at a NATO Summit in Istanbul in June. He described as a priority the taking care of surplus members of the FBiH Army and Ministry of Defence, which will be done through retirements, co-financing employment programs and training. At the same time activities are underway on ensuring severance pay for dismissed soldiers. Summing up results achieved during the past year Minister Nikolic reminded of successful participation in peacekeeping operations in Eritrea and Congo. He also said that approximately 2,000 members of the FBiH Army and MoD were covered by various training programs in accordance with NATO standards during the past year. Asked how many soldiers would be dismissed, when would they receive their severance pay and in what amount Nikolic said that based on set criteria the number of 13,2000 members of the FBiH Army needs to be reduced to 8,000 and that the initial proposal was to provide severance pay in the amount of 10,000 KM. |
| Reactions to Kalinic statement regarding third entity in BiH | Slobodna Dalmacija (front and page 15 “Croat entity saves the third one”, by Marin Erceg) – regarding the President of SDS, Dragan Kalinic’s, statement in which he “proposes or allows” establishment of the third, Croat entity in BiH, SD says that the real intention of the Serb politicians from the Republika Srpska is not to give Croats the third entity because they are entitled to it, but because of pressures aimed at abolishment of entities, including the RS. Saying that the story about the third entity is just another cause for quarrel between the Croats and Bosniaks, the author argues that a reorganization of BiH is inevitable, because the current set-up is untenable. SD (page 15 “Dragan Covic: Kalinic is ten years late”, by Z. Tulic, B. Kristo) – statement from the office of the Chairman of BiH Presidency, Dragan Covic, says that the Kalinic statement could have been reality in the year 1995, but not at this moment, calling it outdated and counterproductive. “The future of BiH is in regional associations, the time of ethnic divisions is past”, says the statement from Covic’s office. Dnevni List (page 2 “Kalinic’s keeping fingers crossed in his pocket”, by Miso Relota) – notes that the Republika Srpska is losing features of statehood and that Kalinic is trying to divert the focus of IC from the Republika Srpska onto the Croat-Bosniak relations in FBiH since the issue of third entity among some Croat political representative in BiH, according to Relota, is still a “painful issue”. Vecernji List (page 2 “All the entity people”, by Milan Sutalo) – argues that the Serbs, who have a state within a state, would rather have the FBiH divided into the Croat and Bosniak entity, than have the Republika Srpska being stripped down to the level of a canton, as suggested by the European Stability Initiative. In the same time, the author wonders whether the Serbs are ready to give up some of their territory for the sake of preservation of the RS. Furthermore, the author says the Croats, beware of what happened to them during the third entity project, advocate the cantonization of BiH, but still the Kalinic proposal makes them smile. Finally, when it comes to the Bosniaks, the author reckons that they are declaratively against the third entity, because they allegedly see a possibility of division of BiH. In that context, Sutalo says the Bosniaks advocate a state of multi-ethnic regions, whilst in the same time they conduct referendums in Mostar aimed at secessions of municipalities. “On example of the city on Neretva River, the Bosniak policy shows that not only is it advocating, it is creating the third entity”, concludes Sutalo. Dnevni Avaz pg. 8 ‘Karadzic and Boban together spoke out from Kalinic’ – SDA Vice-president Bakir Izetbegovic said the Kalinic’s initiative was obviously going contra the existing trend, which was the further integration and disintegration of the country. “Establishment of BiH as a state with three entities would be nothing else but euphemism for partition of the country,” said Safet Halilovic, the Party for BiH leader. Sejfudin Tokic, the SDU Vice-president said that Karadzic and Boban (wartime BiH Croats leader) obviously spoken out together from Kalinic. |
| Barisa Colak on coming sessions of HDZ Main Board and HDZ Presidency
| Vecernji List (front page, “Barisa Colak: There will be no split in HDZ”, and page 5, “There will be no split in Neum”, by Z. Kresic) carries that HDZ President Barisa Colak did not completely reject the possibility that the split within the party might take place during the session of the HDZ Main Board, that is to take place in Neum on Saturday, due to announced removals in some Municipal and Cantonal HDZ Boards and dissatisfaction over the authority functioning. Colak said: “In theory everything is possible, however, I do not expect at all such discussion and especially not such outcome of the HDZ Central Board session.” Colak also did not exclude the possibility of personnel combinations of HDZ Ministers in the Federation of BiH Government and he admitted that partners in the authority are not satisfied with functioning of the FBiH authority institutions. VL says that before the session of the HDZ Main Board the session of the HDZ Presidency will take place on Friday. During this session a new Secretary General will be elected, reports on the situation in the HDZ Cantonal and Municipal Boards will be discussed and the decision on organizing of inter-party elections in Canton 10 and in some HDZ Municipal Boards in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton will be passed. Colak rejected speculations that current Secretary General Rade Bosnjak was removed and Colak expressed satisfaction over Bosnjak’s work in the party. Colak announced that many persons will be engaged in the future Secretariat of the party. |
| DL speculates that Nevenko Herceg might be new HDZ Secretary General | Dnevni List (front and page 7, “Nevenko Herceg new Secretary?”, by M. Relota) carries that according to DL information, Advisor of a Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Nevenko Herceg, and Head of Office of the HDZ President, Vlatko Medjugorac, are also among the candidates who might become a new HDZ Secretary General since the current one, Rade Bosnjak, is leaving this position. DL says that Medjugorac has a lot of experience in this kind of job since he was a Secretary General of the HDZ Youth for a long time. On the other hand, Herceg stands the best chances since he has a support of Chairman of the BiH Presidency Dragan Covic. DL also says that it has been speculated that Bosnjak is going to assume a new position in Croat Post Mostar (HP Mostar) or in the Cantonal Health Fund. |
| Ashdown’s new military advisor | Vecernji List (page 5, by Fena) carries that OSCE spokesperson Zinaida Delic stated yesterday that Mayor General John Drewienkiewicz took over duty of a new military advisor High Representative Paddy Ashdown and Head of the OSCE Department for Security and Cooperation. She added that his basic task will be to offer help to BiH in the implementation of the reform in the area of security in a way that will make possible for BiH to become a realistic candidate for admission to NATO’s Program Partnership for Peace. Dnevni List (page 6, “Mayor General John Drewienkiewicz at new duties”, by Nina), Oslobodjenje pg. 4 also covered this information. |
| Tihic proposes election of a president of BiH | Dnevni Avaz pg. 4, mentioned on the front page ‘Tihic proposes election of a president of the state’ – According to the newspaper, Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency Sulejman Tihic proposed at the body’s session on Monday introduction of the BiH President in place of the three-member Presidency through announced changes of the election law and necessary changes of the Constitution. Dragan Covic and Borislav Paravac were not delighted with the idea. |
Security/organised crime | |
| Update to arrest of Vasic – alleged drug manufacturer
| Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3, ‘Synthetic heroin manufactured at “Terpentin’ – At the end of last week, the owner of the firm “Intersped” was arrested in Brcko, Bogdan Vasic, the citizen of Serbia and Montenegro suspected of having manufactured the heroin at the Visegrad firm of “Terpentin”. Acting Director of Terpentin, Dragan Djeric Cerovic (a relative of Republika Srpska Interior Minister, Zoran Djeric) claims that heroin has never been manufactured at this factory. NN source close to international organisations in BiH claims that Vasic was arrested upon their request after it was established that a cistern with suspicious content was stored at “Terpentin”. PSC Serb Sarajevo told NN that acetic acid was stored at this cistern. Zoran Glusac, Spokesperson of Republika Srpska Interior Ministry, on Monday told NN that Vasic was indeed arrested in Brcko upon arrest warrant issued by Brcko District. He could not say more details about this. |
| Nikola Spiric on necessity of security sector reforms | Vecernji List (page 2, “Spiric: Terrorists-sleepers are in BiH”, by gk) carries that the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, Nikola Spiric, has warned that the security situation in BiH might considerably aggravate if the reform of the security system is not implemented urgently. Spiric added that the reform of the security system is necessary since there are grounded suspicions that training camps for terrorists exist in BiH. He also said that the Federation of BiH Ministry of Interior has reliable information that so-called terrorists-sleepers exist in BiH, however, no action is being taken in order to prevent them. |
| VL says FOSS wiretapped journalists | Vecernji List (front and page 3 “Intelligence wiretaps and secretly follows journalists”, by Zdenko Jurilj) – the daily learns from an anonymous employee of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Intelligence Service (FOSS) that the information that the FOSS has been wiretapping and secretly following a number of politicians and journalists amid the “coup d’etat affair” is completely true. VL goes on to say that the number of journalists is below 30 and that whatever journalist was dealing with the intelligence issues, he/she was under a watchful eye of the FOSS. Apparently, journalists of “Slobodna Bosna” and “FTV” were the most interesting targets. The daily also carries a statement by the Chairman of the parliamentary board in charge of the “coup d’etat affair”, Tihomir Gligoric, who says: “We got documentation and listened to a few persons, from which one can conclude that more than one person had been wiretapped within the ‘coup d’etat affair’. I cannot say how many persons this is all about and whether there has been violation of the law by the FOSS”. |