| Oslobodjenje | Police invited editor and director of Oslobodjenje for an official interview; Hearing of FOSS Acting Director Ivan Vuksic; Al Qaida attacking hard |
| Dnevni Avaz | The horror of terrorism in Saud Arabia; Djeric – preparations for Pope’s visit running late; Mehmedagic – Bjelasnica and Igman will become national parks; |
| Dnevni List | BiH to Europe without High Representative?; The FBiH MoI suspects that Z.A.Z. from the Central Bosnia Canton was threatening Rebac |
| Vecernji List | Police is getting more aggressive; Ivo Vincetic – nobody cares about Posavina |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | All pensions should go through an audit; Stones worth 450,000 KM go to waste; Smugglers will be paying taxes too |
| Glas Srpske | Republika Srpska Ministry of Education warns – Law done underhandedly |
| Nezavisne Novine | Cantonal Court in Sarajevo – FOSS Director questioned; Bijeljina – Dragan Vasiljevic released |
| Blic | Shameful response of citizens to humanitarian action; Henry Clarke – Brcko’s status is not to the detriment of entities; Mikerevic – we will keep inflation at 3%; Half a million people occupying someone else’s houses |
Political Affairs | |
| Irish FM in Sarajevo
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘Direct foreign investments could get BiH out of crisis’ – Irish Foreign Minister, Brian Cowan, yesterday in Sarajevo met with members of the BiH Presidency. The Irish FM stated his country would contribute to issues relevant for the sustainable political path of BiH and its joining to the EU. An insert ‘Meeting with Ashdown’ – the Irish FM met with HR Paddy Ashdown. The two assessed that BiH, on its way towards the European integrations, had to accelerate the tempo of reforms, as ‘the process had no alternative’. Nezavisne Novine pg. 7 ‘Relations between Ireland and BiH to improve’ – on yesterday’s meeting between Presidency members and Irish FM. Dnevni List pg. 4 and Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘Ireland will help BiH entering to EU’ – reported on a meeting of Cowen with Presidency members. |
| Ashdown ravelling to France | Avaz pg. 4 ‘Ashdown meeting Head of French diplomacy on Thursday’ – OHR Spokesperson, Vedran Persic, yesterday stated that HR Paddy Ashdown would be travelling today to France where he would meet with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villpin. Dnevni List pg. 2 ‘Ashdown goes to France today’ – also reports that HR Ashdown is to meet with French FM today. |
| BiH HoR session | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The Education Law for an urgent procedure’ – during yesterday’s session of the BiH HoR the biggest discussion was a request by the BiH CoM to adopt the draft Law on Primary and Secondary Education in an urgent procedure. Instead of discussing the procedure, reps discussed contents of the Law. HDZ reps requested that the Law be adopted in a regular procedure and Ivo Mijo Jovic assessed the contents of the same as damaging for the Croat interests. Several reps warned that the adoption of the Law was one of the obligations BiH took on when it joined the Council of Europe. Finally, a proposal by Deputy Speaker, Nikola Spiric, to organize a topical session of the HoR before the Law is to be discussed on June 10, was adopted. HoR reps also adopted the Changes and Amendments to the Law on BiH Citizenship. Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘The Education law beginning of June’ – the House gave its approval for the appointment of BiH lawyers Zoran Pajic, Ahmed Zilic and Ljiljana Mijovic in the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘Changes to the Law on BiH Citizenship adopted’ and Vjesnik pg. 2 ‘Changes to the Law on BiH Citizenship adopted’ – the BiH Parliament adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on BiH Citizenship. |
| FBiH HoR | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The privatisation of ten strategic companies can start’ – FBiH HoR adopted a decision yesterday to approve an agreement between the Federation government and International Development Agency (IDA) that ensures help in the course of privatisation of 10 strategic state companies, and also finance the arbitration of the Mostar ‘Aluminij’ and the revision of the ‘Agrokomerc’. Also, reps adopted the Statute of the Federation PIO/MIO Institute that has been in the parliamentary procedure for almost a year. Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Federation indebted for another $11,5 million’ – the approval of the mentioned agreement, which has been in the parliamentary procedure for two years, means the FBiH would indebt itself for another $11,5 million with the World Bank. |
| Lagumdzija case | Avaz pg. 8 ‘Palavric, Ajanovic and Lozancic refuting Lagumdzija’s explanation’ – following yesterday’s publishing of a letter by Lagumdzija where he called on the IC and relevant local authorities to conduct investigation in state companies that had business dealings with the ‘Ars Creativa’, Avaz carries reactions by some politicians. SDA Vice-President, Seada Palavric, pointed out that Laggumdzija’s request was illogical because it was not right to request investigation of companies that dealt with ‘Ars Creativa’, but first investigate the business dealings of the ‘Ars Creativa’ itself. BOSS President, Mirnes Ajanovic, expressed the same position. Niko Lozancic, HDZ Vice-President, said he would always advocate for the work of the state institutions according to the legal criteria regardless of whether it was a case about Lagumdzija or himself. |
| SBiH on Mostar | Avaz pg. 9 ‘The SBiH does not want Mostar divided in three municipalities’ – Sahbaz Dzihanovic, SBiH Vice-President, said their party did not want to partake in any project that includes the division of Mostar. Added they did not want to see Mostar divided in three municipalities, and that they would support any concept that envisages Mostar as untied city. |
| Potocari battery factory | Nezavisne Novine pg. 2 ‘Personnel announces lawsuit against OHR’ – owners and personnel at the Potocari battery factory near Srebrenica will lodge a lawsuit at the Human Rights Chamber against the High Representative to BiH, Paddy Ashdown, following his decision to allocate the Factory to the Srebrenica Memorial. According to Radomir Zekic, Director of the Factory Syndicate, the HR’s decision has deprived the personnel of the battery factory of their basic human rights, including the right to work. OHR Spokesperson, Oleg Milisic, stated ‘everybody can use legal possibilities ‘. |
| BiH to Europe without HR | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5 – while announcing a meeting of the Political Board of Council of Europe, that is to take place in Sarajevo next week, Head of the BiH delegation with the Council of Europe, Hasan Muratovic, stated that he personally believes that it was a high time that BiH decides until when the European Union will be a protector, that is, quasi-protector in BiH. Muratovic added that the current relation between international representatives and domestic authorities damages BiH because the High Representative passes all crucial laws ignoring domestic institutions. Muratovic believes that if the HR was not here it was certain that the BiH authorities would be passing these laws. Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, Martin Raguz, stated that the EU would be the goal that BiH would not be able to reach if the HR continues to have the biggest authorities in this country. Raguz and Muratovic said that the coming meeting of the Council of Europe Political Board would be historical. |
| DL on OHR Mostar Head | Speaking of the crises in Mostar and the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK), Dnevni List pg. 6 ‘Bercot – the most concerned man in BiH’ by Zvonimir Jukic says these are, apart from political parties’ impotence, an unambiguous proof of unconvincing quality of the Head of OHR Mostar, Jean-Pierre Bercot. Jukic comments that the OHR has probably never had a less convincing man in Mostar who, by the way, avoids giving any statement to the press. And during those rare opportunities when Bercot addressed media, he would deliver his statement without opportunity for journalists to ask questions, which Jukic finds to be irresponsible towards journalists. Jukic adds this Bercot’s media silence takes place at the time when the HNK does not have a government, while the destiny of Mostar’s future is in the hands of a phantom-like Commission, which is every now and then abandoned by someone and which has such a high degree of accordance that, during the first session, its members had a fight over the OHR’s guidelines for the reorganization of the city. His media silence, means that Bercot is ignoring the principle of responsibility which the High Representative Ashdown insists on and sets before the local politicians. As for the IC press conferences in Mostar, Jukic comments that they have become utterly predictable: the OHR statements always depict Bercot in public as the most concerned man in BiH. Jukic also reproaches Bercot for not having removed local officials, although he had the opportunity to do so and alleges that, reportedly, Bercot does not even inform Ashdown on significant issues. Saying that Bercot has proven incapable in forming the Commission tasked with the reorganization of Mostar, the author claims the Commission has turned into a debate club of the SDA and HDZ, the parties that divided Mostar and have preserved it that way for years now. Jukic ironically adds that Bercot will in this respect also probably ‘get concerned’ and this is where the story ends. The author concludes by saying that, if he wants to keep credibility, Bercot should urgently take things in Mostar and the HNK into his own hands and not be concerned on behalf of the citizens. To sum up – Bercot should act or leave, go somewhere where he could worry in peace without doing harm to others. |
| RS govt. session | Glas Srpske pg. 3 ‘Trade opens the region’ – at yesterday’s session in Banjaluka, the RS government discussed and adopted information related to the bilateral co-operation, the implementation of the Agreement on Free Trade and Exchange of goods between BiH and Republika Srpska with Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia. The RS government was also updated on the ongoing preparations for the Pope’s visit to Banja Luka. Regarding this, it was decided that the RS government should ensure 30% of necessary resources for the visit preparations. Republika Srpska Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, informed the RS government that he appointed Branko Krsmanovic as the new RS Minister of Finance. Blic pg. 3 ‘Finance to Krsmanovic’, Vecernje Novosti pg. 19 – reported that the above-mentioned Agreement was adopted, that Krsmanovic’s appointment was officially announced that preparations for Pope’s visit were discussed. |
| Miletic case | Blic pg. 5 ‘Denial from the Presidency’ – cabinet of the BiH Presidency Chairman says that the appointment of Dragica Miletic, as BiH Public Attorney, is neither connected in any way with the BiH Presidency institution nor it had been an initiative of then-chairman Mirko Sarovic. Advisor to the BiH Presidency Chairman, Dragomir Vukovic, says that Council of Minister appointed Miletic on Personnel Commission’s proposal. |
| Interview with Clarke | Dnevni List pg. 9 ‘Although it has authorities of an entity, the District is not an entity’ – an interview with Supervisor for the Brcko District Henry Lee Clark. Asked whether the Brcko District is another entity as some media carried, Clark sais the following. “It is a district with a local self-rule under the sovereignty of BiH…A few important qualities of the entity were not given to the District – it is de-militarised, while the entities have armed forces. There is no District citizenship and BiH citizens in the Brcko District are the citizens of the entity and they vote at the entity elections. The reforms that came to life in the Brcko District with regard to the strengthening of the market economy or improving of services that the government secures, are the reforms that can come to life in the rest of the country.” |
| Terzic says BiH will implement reforms | Dnevni List pg. 5 ‘Terzic: BiH will implement necessary reforms’ – Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, addressed participants of the Summit of heads of governments and ministers of foreign affairs of the member countries of the Adriatic-Ionic Initiative. Terzic stressed the strategic orientation of BiH towards the European institutions, the improving of relations with neighbouring countries, regional cooperation in the struggle against organized crime, building of democratic institutions, the protection of environment and cultural heritage, the development of tourism and small and medium-size businesses. |
Police Affairs | |
| Vuksic’s hearing
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘An investigation on the role of Ivan Vuksic in the Hercegovacka Bank events started’ – on yesterday’s hearing of the current FOSS Acting Director, Ivan Vuksic, at the Sarajevo cantonal Court. Judge Ibrahim Hadzic issued a request after the hearing to open an investigation against Vuksic. He is being charged with taking hostages in Grude during the SFOR raid of the Hercegovacka Bank. Oslobodjenje pg. 29 ‘FOSS Acting Director Vuksic on hearing’ – Vuksic gave a statement in the presence of his lawyer Dragan Barbaric. Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 & 3 – also reported that Vuksic was questioned yesterday. |
| Rebac case
| Avaz pg. 3 ‘police investigating threats against Rebac’ – the Federation MoI and departments of crime police are investigating threats against FBiH Customs Administration Director Zelimir Rebac. According to Federation Minister of Interior, Mevludin Halilovic, necessary measures have also been taken to protect Rebac and his family. As for claims that Rebac was receiving threats from Russian or local mafia, Halilovic said the investigation results would be announced when they get concrete info. Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘’Police on trail of Mafia’ – NN learnt from its source close to the Interior Ministry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that there was no threat made to Zelimir Rebac over the past 24 hours. The source further claims that ‘they know we know who they are and that we are on their trail’. With regard to threats against Head of the Federation of BiH Customs Administration Zelimir Rebac. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 3 – according to their source at the Federation of BiH Ministry of Interior, they tracked down ‘Mafia’ that was threatening Rebac and his family based on phone calls that were registered with the BiH Telecom. DL says that through the method of elimination, the circle was closed around the business-political lobby led by Z.A.Z. from the Central Bosnia Canton and an arrest warrant and criminal charges should be issued against him soon. The article says that there is no official comment of the FBiH MoI and FBiH Customs Administration on this information. DL speculates that it can be expected that Mafia will try to form new channels for smuggling of goods and people, which were cut through an action of the FBiH Customs Administration, and that they will try to intimidate people who lead this action. |
| Persons to be banned from entering EU | Extra Magazin pg. 6 ‘The list’ by Bojan Todic – a list of 25 names that the OHR has sent to Brussels, in order to ban those people from entering the EU countries, has never been in a strict form. As Extra Magazin learns from a source close to the OHR Sarajevo, several different lists with 20 -50 names are in circulation. A final list is being made at the US embassy in Sarajevo, although several similar lists have been sent to Brussels through the OHR. The list is being prepared by James Lyon, Head of Belgrade’s ICG, who is former Head of the Sarajevo ICG and very well informed about the Republika Srpska underground. Although there are some disagreements on who should be on the list, the OHR source claims that some names are not disputable at all and they are on all lists made so far. Members of Radovan Karadzic’s family are on the list: his wife Ljiljana Zelen Karadzic, his son Aleksandar, his daughter Sonja and his brother Luka. Apart from them, the list contains names of so-called Kardzic’s circle from Pale: Momcilo Mandic, Milovan Bjelica, Veljko Borovina, owner of a private firm from Sokolac, Stjepan Koroman, businessman from Pale, Radomir Kojic, owner of a hotel and a de-mining firm, Milan Tupajic, deputy from Sokolac, and Ratomir Spaic, owner of the RMG Serb Sarajevo. Furthermore, Milan Ninkovic, politician from Doboj, Zvonko Bajagic, businessman from Vlasenica and Dragan Spasojevic, businessman from Zvornik. Other names that fall under ‘police structures’ are: Ljuban Ecim, Dragisa Mihic, Dragan Kijac and Milenko Karisik – members of secret police, and Bato Tesic and Zeljko Jankovic – members of Karadzic’s protection unit. Special interest caused the mentioning of Milenko Vracar’s as a person that might be banned from entering the EU. As the OHR source claims, the US embassy insists on putting Vracar on the list, although the OHR hesitates, saying there is no clear proof about his criminal activities and connection with Karadzic’s network. |
| Persic on EU ban | Blic pg. 6 ‘The OHR: a list is being completed’ – “The OHR, together with other international organisations, is preparing a list of people from BiH who will be banned from entering EU’s countries,” OHR Spokesman, Vedran Persic, told a press conference. He reiterated that Momcilo Mandic and Milovan Bjelica would be on the list, without specifying other names. |
Military Affairs | |
| Commentary in Avaz
| Avaz pg. 3 ‘BiH Army is a matter of time’ by Edina Sarac – tackling the issue of the establishment of joint BiH Army. The author says that it comes as no surprise that the most resistance is coming from the SDS. “Anyway, like always, they are sticking strictly by the DPA and entity constitutions, referring to these ‘sacred documents’ whenever things go towards the establishment of state institutions.” The author however believes the resistance will be quelled by the end of the year, which is the deadline for the establishment of a single army command. She also adds that the IC, mainly the SFOR, managed with political pressing to push against the wall Serb politicians who understand the current situation has to change. |
| SBiH on single army | Avaz pg. 4 ‘We do not need three national armies’ – yesterday’s press conf of the SBiH. Presidency Vice-President, Sahbaz Dzihanovic, stated again the party’s position on the issue of the military forces was the existence of the BiH Army and not armies in BiH by using the 1991 census. “It is necessary to undertake changes of the BiH Constitution that would define the purpose of the army, and then adopt the Defence Law, change and amend the Law on BiH CoM, and finally abolish the entity defence ministries.” Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘BiH does not need three armies’ – said they strongly supported efforts by the IC, mostly the US, SFOR, OHR and OSCE, to conduct the reform of the armed forces ASAP. |
| Johnson and Ward with Pocrnja | Avaz pg. 10 ‘Reform of the defence system obligation of the BiH institutions’ – yesterday’s meeting amongst SFOR General, William Ward, NATO Commander, Admiral Gregory Johnson, and SG of the BiH permanent Committee for Military Issues Stjepan Pocrnja. They agreed it was necessary to continue the defence reforms that had been started in order to complete them by the end of this year. |
| Cavic/Savic on single army | Glas Srpske pg. 3 ‘Guardians of peace and freedom’ – The Republika Srpska President, Dragan Cavic, stated at the Monday ceremony of the Republika Srpska Army Day that armies of BiH should be regarded as guarantee of peace, instead as potential cause of conflicts in the state. He reminded that each army in BiH has originated from the need of each nation to protect their compatriots. Accordingly, armies exist in order to protect borders of the state, but also the internal constitutional order of BiH. President of the RS stressed that the constitutional order of BiH is based on the existence of two entities, meaning the RS and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and equality of the BiH constitutive nations. Cvetko Savic, Head of the RS Army General Staff, stated that the task of the RS Army was to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the RS and BiH, in accordance with the international law, constitutions of BiH and RS. |
Education Affairs | |
| Law on Education
| Glas Srpske cover page story ‘The Law done underhandedly’ – somebody is pushing the framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education at the BiH underhandedly. This is proved by the fact that the RS Ministry of Education got in possession of the proposed disputable Law through some ‘private channels’. Bosko Stojkovic, Assistant to RS Minister of Education, stated the following. “The Ministry has not officially obtained a copy of the proposed framework Law, which was adopted by the BiH Council of Ministers. The Ministry did not even obtain a copy of the draft, which is to be discussed by the Parliamentary Assembly.” According to him, the Framework Law includes the curriculum and a number of classes. However, activities on this Law later on moved in another direction, when the OSCE, with the assistance of other international organisation and in consultations with some people from the FBiH, worked out the proposal of the Law. However, no OSCE official ever responded to the remarks, which the RS Ministry made on the draft Law. According to Stojkovic, the draft Law, as such and without any amendment or remark by Serb or Croat side embodied, was passed on to the COM for an adoption. |
| Education reform | Blic pg. 7 ‘A lesson for politicians’ – “The system of education in BiH could not be imposed by the High Representative, but local politicians must agree on it,” Head of the EC delegation, Michael Humphreys, claims. After the Tuesday presentation in Sarajevo of document the Reform of Elementary and Secondary Education in BiH, which is also called the ‘Green Paper’, Humphreys said that the paper was basis for the continuation of a discussion on the education reform that would last until October, when a final white paper should be made. According to Deputy Republika Srpska Minister of Education. Bosko Stojkovic, the ‘Green Paper’ represents a bunch of significant ideas and proposals, which should be a basis for the future education system in BiH. The Paper contains information related to curriculum and its development, education of teachers and their training and the institutional development of education. Stojkovic warned that ‘it should not be forgotten that according to the DPA the education was in competence of entities and cantons’. |
Economic Affairs | |
| RS NA
| Avaz pg. 8 ‘Revenues from the Foreign Trade Chamber return to entities’ – yesterday’s session of the RS NA. The Assembly tasked reps in the HoR and BiH HoP to start changes and amendments on the Law on BiH Foreign Trade Chamber, a part that refers to the distribution of the revenues. This is to make sure that revenues go back to entities where they originally come from. Further discusses the proposal on the Law on Changes and Amendments of the Law on Privatisation of State Capital in Enterprises. Glas Srpske pg. 2 ‘Direction towards economic development’, Nezavisne Novine pg. 6 ‘Law on Strategic Privatisation adopted’ – according to an NN inset, PDHR Donald Hays, addressed a letter to the Speaker of the Republika Srpska Parliament, Dragan Kalinic, in which he noted that the version of the Law on Privatisation of State Capital could not be accepted, because it did not follow the recommendations of the Bulldozer Commission. Blic pg. 3 ‘Mikerevic: inflation may be lower than 3 %’, Vecernje Novosti pg. 19 ‘Laws adopted’ – Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, informed reps about the work of the RS government in the first 100 days and the basis of economic policy. He said that it had been planed to secure social stability and reduce poverty by two thirds. According to Mikerevic, the government’s strategic goal is to achieve presumptions for fully membership in the EU by 2006. Reps of the RS National Assembly adopted the amendments of three laws on basis of recommendations of the Bulldozer Commission. Speaker of the RS NA, Dragan Kalinic, yesterday said it was agreed with the OHR that strategic enterprises would be privatised in accordance with special programmes and with consent of RS NA reps. |
| Ingram | Oslobodjenje pg. 2 What Bosnians really want?’ by Joseph Ingram – the editorial rally comes down to the question that the article was entitled by ‘what Bosnians really want’. Ingram asks whether they want to build a modern country ready for 21 century. He basically repeats the well-known facts that rhetorically, local governments, politicians and unions are saying they are for the creation of trade-oriented country, but in reality many politicians are still obstructing the process. |
| Mostar Pension Insurance Fund | Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 17 – attacks against the Mostar Pension Insurance Fund through Sarajevo based media, led by acting Head of the Federation of BiH Pension Insurance Fund Marko Matic, have reached its culmination. SD says that due to this situation, Croat employees of the FBiH Pension Insurance Fund sent an open letter to the OHR, HDZ BiH, MMF, World Bank etc. Among other things, the letter says that accusations about falsified decisions on issuing of pensions are an attempt to create a situation where the seat of the FBiH Pension Insurance Fund will move from Mostar to Sarajevo. The article says that this is the wish of certain circles from former Pension Insurance Fund (Bosniak) and some political circles. Croat employees also demand the audit of both, former Croat and former Bosniak Pension Insurance Funds. They also claim that according to the order of the OHR Anti-Corruption Team, the Sarajevo Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation on the work of Matic and his Deputy Bakir Mujic and there is another investigation on Matic’s abuse of office at the time when he was working in the Energopetrol. |
| Political Mafia | Dnevni List pg. 3 ‘Finances in BiH controlled by political Mafia’ – an assessment by Branko Todorovic, President of the Helsinki Committee of Human Rights of the Republika Srpska (HORS), that finances in the RS and the entire BiH are, for the major part, controlled by political mafia and that neither the domestic authorities nor the OHR have a genuine will to fight crime and corruption. “Following his arrival to BiH, Paddy Ashdown said the judicial reform and fight against crime and corruption were priorities,” Todorovic reminds adding judicial reform has gone quite a way while struggle against crime and corruption has not even started. “The OHR is probably using it to ‘buy’ domestic politicians’ loyalty, ” Todorovic concluded. |
| Second phase of the Bulldozer Commission | Dnevni List pg. 7 ‘Promoting of interests of business community and civic society’ – the OHR announced that the Bulldozer Commission would start the second phase with a stress on the local participation in that process. The OHR also says that on the day when all first 50 recommendations are adopted, the second phase will be launched. In order to improve the understanding, ownership and better chances for the implementation in the future, relevant government and parliament officials and commissions should be involved in the second phase. |
| Hadzipasic and Vrankic meet with Kalantzopoulous | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 4 – Head of the World Bank and World Bank Regional Coordinator for Southeast Europe, Orsalia Kalantzopoulous, yesterday talked with Federation of BiH Prime Minister, Ahmet Hadzipasic, and his Deputy and FBiH Minister of Finances Dragan Vrankic. After the meeting Hadzipasic said the following. “We have concluded that the way out is in an intensified privatisation, adopting of business models of the developed world. In this way only we can achieve prerequisites for the future cooperation and intensify transition from the reconstruction to development at both Federation and state level.“ |
Media Affairs | |
| Oslobodjenje vs. Radoncic
| Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 3 – labelled as a ‘scandalous’ story, Oslobodjenje informed that their Editor-In-Chief, Senka Kurtovic, and Oslobodjenje Director, Enes Terzic, on Tuesday refused to attend an official interview at the Novi Grad police station. A request fro the interview was issued by Deputy Municipality Prosecutor in Sarajevo II, Dijana Kajmakovic, and based on criminal charges filed by Avaz owner Fahrudin Radoncic. Avaz owner submitted charges against Kurtovic and Terzic claiming they were accomplice in a crime of false reporting. The charges were raised following an article in Oslobodjenje on April 15 this year where Commercial Director of the Sarajevo Brewery, Goran Konforte, stated the Brewery refused to pay 150,000 KM to Avaz for permanent advertising. |
| Commentary in Oslobodjenje | Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘To shut up Oslobodjenje’ by Daneil Omeragic – comment on the above story about two Oslobodjenje employees being called for an official interview at a police station. The author thinks that the fact that the Judge acted so fast (nine days after the charges were filed) was because Oslobodjenje was thorn in the side of many. “The aim of the charges are clear – to shut up Oslobodjenje and totally take over the monopoly on the BiH media scene. However, they will not get by with that.” |
Popularity survey | |
| ‘Partner’ survey | Avaz pg. 3 ‘Ashdown and Bond favourite, Lagumdzija least popular and Dnevni Avaz the most read daily’ – the daily printed results of a popularity survey conducted by the ‘Partner’ agency in mid-February this year. The results show that Zlatko Lagumdzija, leader of incomplete SDP, is the least popular, while HR Paddy Ashdown is the most popular politician in BiH. The second on the list, after Ashdown, is the US Ambassador in BiH Clifford Bond. The survey further showed that none of the local politicians is much popular, so, for example, the difference in point percentage between Lagumdzija and Sarovic is 0,34 %. In the Federation, Avaz is by far the most read paper. On the BiH level, Dnevni Avaz is read by 22,8% citizens, and only 3,8% reads DANI magazine. After Avaz, the most read papers are Belgrade based Blic (11,1%), Vecernje Novosti (10,1%), Zagreb based Vecernji List (9,6%), and Banja Luka based Nezavisne Novine (6,5%). |