| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Due to the breakdown of electrical supply system, Mostar’s Aluminij Company suffered damage of 1 million KM | Triple murder in Foca – Srbinje and car explosion in Sanski Most | Council for processing of war crimes at the BiH Court to begin to work next year | Milomir Visnjic murdered his wife and two children and later himself in Srbinje |
| Issuance of GSM licence to Eronet would employ new 500 persons | Carle Del Ponte says International Community is not ready to arrest Karadzic and Mladic | Eronet management claims non-issuance of GSM licence would mean destruction of that company | High Representative announces possible sanctions for RS |
| Chief ICTY prosecutor Carla Del Ponte attended second day of the Conference on Processing of War crimes in BiH | Eronet representatives claim it is legal for Eronet to became a third GSM operator | Una-Sana Cantonal Privatisation Agency terminates contracts with Slovenian Company Citrus | OHR and ICTY propose special Chamber for war crime trials in BiH |
| Croatia to apply for EU membership – Greece will support it |
|
| Donald Hays on single custom administration |
| Oslobodjenje | Milomir Visnjic from Foca killed his wife, son daughter and then himself; “Small Hague” – Trials to be carried out by domestic judges; Donald Hays – BiH borrows the money, and the criminals stealing it |
| Dnevni Avaz | Carla Del Ponte: The Hague will not raise new indictments; Donald Hays – BiH may lose foreign (financial) assistance |
| Dnevni List | Conference of OHR and The Hague on establishment of Council with BiH Court which would process war crimes: ‘Mini The Hague’ in BiH starts with its work next year |
| Vecernji List | Eronet affair: Leaders of Mostar company claim: Silajdzic launched attack against Eronet |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Eronet case: According to Federation Government Provisional Administrator of Hercegovacka Bank was illegally trading with shares: Toby Robinson damaged state for millions Marks |
| FRY Nacional | Ashdown: Either to arrest Karadzic or sanction to the RS; Family’s tragedy in Srbinje |
| Blic | A man killed wife and children then committed suicide; Ashdown: Sanction to the RS because of Karadzic; Mujahedeens leave Maoca; Ivanic: For entering the EU and regional connection; Solana: We want BiH in the EU |
| Vecernje Novosti | Prosper: Three for the Hague; Triple murder in Srbinje |
International community/OHR | |
| Hays: BiH might lose foreign financial assistance
| The Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, said at a press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday that, by the end of February, a plan for the customs reform had to be prepared in order for BiH to get a single customs administration in this year. Following his talks with the representatives of IMF, World Bank and USAID, Hays delivered a clear message that all the international financial institutions were prepared to stop assistance for BiH if its authorities do not carry out the customs reform. (Oslobodjenje, p 3, mentioned on the front page, Dnevni Avaz, p 3, mentioned on the front page) Dnevni List (front and page 5, by M.R) also carries the Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, as saying that the IMF, World Bank and US AID will condition their aid to BiH if the BiH authorities do not make resolute steps in order to establish a unified customs system by the end of the year which would be followed by VAT at the State level. PDHR Hays, speaking to journalists yesterday, also said that the European Commission already announced that it would withheld a 60 million KM worth of aid if BiH does not have a unified customs administration and that meeting of this condition was set forth by the World Trade Organization as a pre-requisite to join the organization. “Introduction of the unified customs in BiH is a too serious and burning issue for this country and needs solving now”, said Hays and announced that fundamental principles about the unified customs and deadlines will be set by end of February so the process is completed by end of this year. |
| Second day of the conference on war crimes processing in BiH | On the second day of the conference on war crimes processing in BiH, The ICTY Chief Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, told journalists in Sarajevo that the international community should not appoint foreign judges in the new Chamber of the BiH State Court that would be tasked for war crimes processing. “We should stand for finding qualified professionals in the region, who will be adequately supported by us,” Del Ponte emphasized. She added that the ICTY was likely to start as of the next year handing over war crime cases to the authorized BiH judicial bodies once when their capacities have been built up for the task. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said for his part that, “without justice, the lasting peace in this country cannot be established.” (Oslobodjenje, p 6, mentioned on the front page, Dnevni Avaz, front-page, p 2, Blic p 7 headline ‘Trials in Bosnia as well’, Vecernje Novosti p 9 headline ‘Judicial Council instead of the Hague’) Slobodna Dalmacija (front and page 15, “Carla del Ponte and Claude Jorda in Sarajevo about transferring of The Hague competence: Domestic Court for war crimes next year”), Vecernji List (page 14, “Processing of war crimes in BiH will start in 2004: Ashdown: I am willing to testify against Karadzic and Mladic”), Dnevni List (front and page 3, “Conference of OHR and ICTY on establishment of Council with BiH Court which would process war crimes: ‘Mini The Hague’ in BiH starts with its work next year”) and Vjesnik (page 2, “Trials for war crimes will start in BiH in 2004”) carry that during the conference of the OHR and ICTY experts dedicated to future processing of war crimes in BiH it was stated that ICTY might start with transferring of some cases to BiH domestic courts next year. |
| DL: “The Hague will not prosecute Izetbegovic” | Dnevni List (front and page 3) carries that RS Deputy Minister of Justice Mladen Mandic stated that Alija Iztebegovic will not be prosecuted before The Hague because it would spoil a picture about Bosniaks as war victims. Mandic said that the criminal proceedings will not be instituted exclusively because of higher political interests and not because of the fact that Alija Izetbegovic is not responsible for the crimes committed over Serbs but. |
| EUPM to be officially inaugurated in Sarajevo today | The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, arrived late on Tuesday in Sarajevo for a two- day visit. Solana will today attend the official inauguration of the EUPM. He, George Papandreu, the representative of the Greek EU Presidency, who also arrived in Sarajevo yesterday, High Representative Paddy Ashdown and EUPM Commissioner Sven Frederiksen are scheduled to meet on Wednesday with the members of the BiH Presidency, Council of Ministers, senior police officials in the Sarajevo Canton and with the heads of the BiH State Border Service. (Oslobodjenje, p 3: “Solana and Papandreu visiting BiH”, Dnevni Avaz, p 2, “EUPM to be inaugurated today”) |
| Amnesty International on EUPM responsibilities | On the day of Solana’s arrival in BiH, the Amnesty International called on the EU to put human rights violations in the focus of the EUPM’s interest in BiH (Oslobodjenje, p 8: “War crimes in BiH to be part of the job of EU policemen in BiH?” |
| Del Ponte: ICTY will not shut down until it has tried Karadzic, Mladic | The chief United Nations war crimes prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, said that the United Nations tribunal in The Hague would not shut down until it had tried Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb wartime leader, and his military commander, Ratko Mladic. The tribunal “cannot close its doors before bringing them to justice,” Del Ponte said in an interview with the Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger. She said she had told President Jacques Chirac of France in Paris last week that the failure of the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia to arrest Karadzic, who lives there, was “scandalous.” She also said General Mladic’s hiding places in Belgrade were well known. (Dnevni Avaz, p 2, the New York Times, Blic p 7 headline ‘Karadzic and Mladic are stuck in my throat’) |
| Ashdown on possible sanctions against RS | CRO press dedicated a lot of attention to an interview that the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, gave to Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz in which the HR announced that RS might face sanctions because of failure to extradite Radovan Karadzic to the ICTY. HR Ashdown stated that Karadzic arrest was not primarily a task for SFOR but for RS authorities, an exam the RS authorities have failed to pass. (Slobodna Dalmacija, front and page 15; Jutarnji List, page 11, “International sanctions for Republic of Srpska”; Vjesnik, page 11, “Sanctions to Bosnian Serbs over failure to extradite Karadzic”, Dnevni List, page 10, “Paddy Ashdown warns Republic of Srpska with sanctions”) “I do not think about classical sanctions like these of the UN, but some other measures such as political pressure or withhold of finances,” Ashdown said. He said that special responsibility in arresting Karadzic had the SDS, because that party had been formed by Karadzic and “if that party want that we believe it when speaking about its new face, then it should show that new face”. Ashdown said that Karadzic’s arrest would speed up the peace process and mark the end of war in BiH. Ashdown thinks that Karadzic is not anymore in position to block the peace process in BiH, but he can slow it down, due to which he must be arrested. (Blic p 7 headline ‘Sanctions because of Karadzic’, Nacional p 7 ‘Either to arrest of Karadzic or sanctions to the RS’) |
| US’ Prosper on Karadzic | American Ambassador for war crimes Pierre Richard Prosper in his interview to Vecernje Novosti (p 8 headline ‘Last trio for the Hague’) among other things said that the Yugoslav authority knew what must to do – to arrest Ratko Mladic and other two of ‘Vukovar’s trio’. “In BiH, especially in the RS, it is time that the government becomes active and work with us, the EU and other members of the international community in order to apprehend Radovan Karadzic”, Prosper said. “Mladic and Karadzic must go to the Hague. People in Yugoslavia need to know that if Mladic and Karadzic do not go to the Hague, the Tribunal will not be closed by 2008 as we proposed. It will continue to work”, Prosper said. |
| ICG’s White on Mladic | Nicholas White, director of the ICG for Balkans, said that Mladic was protected by the RS Army that was still closely tied with Yugoslav Army. “The IC knows that Mladic is in Blegrade. They also know that Karadzic is for sure in Celebici, but they only do not know in which house,” White said. (Nedeljni Telegraf p 5) |
| Djindjic on Milutinovic | Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic will go to the Hague to face charges over the Kosovo conflict but the exact timing of the move is not yet clear, Reuters quoted Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic as saying on Tuesday. “Milutinovic will face the tribunal. He is in contact with the court in The Hague,” Djindjic told reporters after a meeting with visiting Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou. “It will happen in a week, maybe a few days.” (Blic p 2, Vecernje Novosti p 3) |
| One seat to fill in the Brcko District Interim Assembly | In order to restore the Brcko District Interim Assembly to its full composition of 29 councillors, and to ensure that the diversity of people in the District is adequately represented, the Supervisor of Brcko Henry L. Clarke invites political parties to submit for consideration suitably qualified candidates who will serve the Brcko District and its residents according to the highest standards of performance and commitment. These lists should contain no more than two candidates. Suitably qualified individuals who can demonstrate concretely that they represent the interests of significant groups of Brcko residents as independent candidates are also invited to apply for the position of councillor. To be considered, candidates must be residents of the Brcko District and must meet the requirements of the Statute of the Brcko District and the Code of Conflict of Interest for Councillors of the Brcko District Assembly. Persons who are illegally occupying property will not be considered. The application should include personal and professional details of the candidates (one page), a statement of whom they represent and why they want to be in the Assembly (one page), and information on the candidate’s housing situation. Applications should be received by OHR Brcko no later than Monday 21 January, at 17.00. (FENA, SRNA, ONASA, Vecernje Novosti, p 13, Dnevni List, p 6, Oslobodjenje, p 2) |
| New Dayton – possibility? | Nedeljni Telegraf (p 5 headline ‘For four years new borders in the Balkans’) quotes Charles Ingrao, professor at an Indiana’s University, as saying that a conference at which a new Balkans’ borders will be drawn will most probably be held very soon. “My guessing is that will happen within next four years”, Ingrao said. According to him, the IC will allow borders’ changing if such a revision may improve stability in the Balkans. Ingrao said that right now the West was not in mood to allow separation of the RS from BiH, but in few years time that would be possible, especially if return process was stopped. Statement of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic announces possible Serb strategy: Kosovo independence for RS independence – thinks professor at Belgrade’s Geography Faculty Milomir Stepic. “If that happens, RS has to be divided prior to that. Serbia might instead of Kosovo get eastern RS, all the way to Brcko, where basically the RS is divided on two parts. Western part of the RS, with its centre in Banja Luka, would become a canton, which most probably will become a part of Muslim-Croat Federation. Boundary would be the valley of Bosna River – that is the area very important to Bosniaks and they have started construction of highway there. In this exchange the RS might get Gorazde, and instead to offer areas around Sarajevo, Lukavica and other municipalities, because Sarajevo right now is narrowed”, Stepic said. |
Establishment of new authorities | |
| FBiH House of People may be inaugurated regardless of the lesser number of Serb delegates | The BiH Federation House of peoples may be inaugurated on Friday as scheduled regardless of a fact the Serb caucus has nine in place of foreseen 17 deputies, according to Hilmo Pasic, a member of the BiH Election Commission. “Even in such a House having 49 and not foreseen 58 delegates, each constituent people will have its caucus regardless of how many members it has,” Pasic explained. (Oslobodjenje, p 6) |
| OHR on SGV letter | “Before considering any action by the High Representative, there is a number of options that the FBiH Parliament may exploit to solve the problem,” OHR Spokesman Mario Brkic told FENA commenting on a letter sent to Paddy Ashdown by the Serb Civic Council (SGV) with regard to filling the rest of eight Serb seats in the Entity’s House of Peoples (Oslobodjenje, p 6, Dnevnbi Avaz, p 8) |
| VL: “Croats like female politicians the most” | Vecernji List (front and page 2, by Robert Bubalo) reads had the ruling parties followed HDZ, the new BiH Council of Ministers would have been dominated by females. VL notes that out of three ministerial positions that have been given to HDZ, two positions were awarded to women, namely Minister of Foreign Trade, Mila Gadzic, and Minister of Finances, Ljerka Maric. Moreover, Lidija Topic has been appointed BiH Deputy Foreign Minister. Slobodna Dalmacija (front and page 16, by Blanka Magas, “Croats give advantage to female ministers”) carries a similar article about the issue noting that the situation represents a turning point in political behavior of the Croats in the last ten-odd years. Magas says that the Gadzic, Maric and Topic are relatively new names which is, in the author’s opinion, an advantage when compared to people whose names are often mentioned in the media. The article also features brief CVs of the troika. The same author (page 16) signs an article about formation of the BiH Council of Minister entitled “Government on turning point”, which reads: “Although the new composition of Council of Ministers, now extended with three ministries (Security, Justice and Communication and Transport) will face many difficulties from day one, there are indications that the current BiH Government, although it is not officially called like that, could be functioning simpler and easier that the previous one”. |
| Mladen Ivanic on his ministry’s priorities | Newly elected BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Mladen Ivanic said that the priorities of his ministry would be quicker integration of BiH into the EU and strengthening of regional cooperation. Ivanic said that the Council of Minister would have to put in its agenda the BiH lawsuit against FRY, because there were a lot of controversies about it, and good neighboring relations with FRY as well as with Croatia were priorities for BiH. According to Ivanic’s words, he, as a Minister of Foreign Affairs, does not have intention to deal with this lawsuit. (Blic p 7 headline ‘Admittance to the EU priority’) |
| Nezavisne Novine on formation of RS Government | SDS has received three ministries in the RS government; Economy and Industry, Education, and the Ministry of Veterans, War Victims, and Labour. As Nezavisne Novine (p 7: “Part of Ivanic’s government in Mikerevic’s cabinet”, by V. Popovic) has unofficially learned, Mico Micic will be proposed as Minister of Veterans, War Victims and Labour, Bosko Lemez for Economy and Industry, and the new Minister of Education will be either Rajko Gnjato, a university professor from Banja Luka or the current minister, Gojko Savanovic. PDP has proposed Zoran Djeric for Minister of the Internal Affairs, Simeun Vilendecic (the current Minister of Finance) for Minister of Finance, and Rodoljub Trkulja as Minister of Agriculture, also the current minister of Agriculture in the government of Mladen Ivanic. According to unofficial sources, the candidates for Minster of Defence are Milovan Stankovic from Teslic, Novak Radojcic from Doboj and Vlado Simeunovic. One of the candidates of PDP for one of the Ministerial posts which belong to this party is also Vojislov Radiskovic, who is a member of the DPS. As Minister of Local Self-Governance the candidate is Zoran Lipovac, a non-party personality. For ministry of Communications and Transportation PDP has put forward Dzemal Kolonic, a professor at the Electro-technical Faculty from Banja Luka, and for minister of Health Marin Kvaternik, a doctor from Doboj. Fuad Turalic is proposed as Minister for Foreign Economic Relations. Adil Osmanovic, a high official of SDA (also a RS Vice President), confirmed that this party had sought three ministerial posts, Justice for which they propose Sead Filipovic, Urbanism, for which SDA propose Mensur Sehagic, and Trade and Tourism, for which Omer Brankovic is proposed. SDA is also proposing that it should have one candidate for Deputy PM. |
Eronet case | |
| Eronet press conference
| Vecernji List (front and page 2, by Zoran Kresic, “Attack on Eronet launched by Silajdzic”) carries a report from yesterday’s press conference by management of “Eronet” Company at which the Eronet CEO, Bozo Knezevic, said that Eronet “was always abiding by decisions of legal and regulatory institutions in BiH” and added that the only news regarding the process of issuance of licence to Eronet is that the company “is being re-positioned from a regional to national provider”. “Blocking of the issuance of the licence would in fact represent a destruction of Eronet which would not have conditions for fair market game with other providers”, reads a press release provided to the journalists. The author of the article says that the affair regarding the blockade of issuance of the licence was most probably started by S BiH. To substantiate the claim, the author says that its founder, Haris Silajdzic, on Monday called for unification of the three postal services and mobile phones providers (NB: Silajdzic said this of “60 minutes” talk show of Federation TV). Slobodna Dalmacija (page 15, “Eronet: We will pay the licence”) carries Knezevic as saying that it is not true Eronet will get the licence for free because, allegedly, the company will pay for the licence. Knezevic added if the company were to receive the licence it would mean new investment worth 300 million KM and opening of 600 new jobs. (Dnevni List, page 3, “Awarding of licence would open road to new investment”, Oslobodjenje, p 6: “Eronet has always respected decisions made by the BiH institutions”, Dnevni avaz, p 4: “Eronet management – Conditions fulfilled for getting the third GSM license without tender”) |
| Dnevni Avaz: Outgoing FBiH Government has no legal grounds to sue anyone with regard to Eronet case | The outgoing Federation Government has no grounds to sue anyone for possible issuance of the third GSM license to Eronet, Dnevni Avaz (p 4: “The outgoing government has no chances in the court”) learns from legal experts involved in this case in the past two years. They claim that the outgoing Government of Prime Minister Alija Behmen just wants to burden the new Federation executive authorities with a trial, which they will unavoidably lose. Behmen and the company would,, according to the newspaper, then criticise the Government for the failure. |
| Editorial: “Intensified robbery and occupation of BiH” | Dnevni List (page 2, by Slobodan Kuzman) carries an editorial dealing with the Eronet case. The editorial says: “The information that it is possible to finish job regarding the re-registration of a company within 24 hours and during the holidays, while the others are waiting for months, that is, receiving of the license for the third GSM operator, shows that Toby Robinson is in a hurry to finish the job just as her former boss Petritsch was when he raided Hercegovacka Bank with tanks at the end of his mandate, took money and fulfilled promise given to the Austrian banking lobby in Split at the end of February 2001, when Petritsch promised them that he will sell Hercegovacka Bank for one KM, because the Austrian banking lobby has already spent about 20 million KM for purchase of two banks in BiH, that had a few untidy offices, that is, they were not so prominent banks.” At the end of the editorial the author calls on Toby Robinson to pay out 16 million KM out of 50 million KM that she keeps on the Hercegovacka Bank account in Zagrebacka Bank, to pensioners and the companies that were not related to politics in any way. |
Incidents; trials | |
| Incident at Bosanski Samac border crossing: “Serb side crossed on Federation territory” | Vecernji List (page 4, by N. Koturic) reports that the situation at Bosanski Samac border crossing is on the verge of an incident because, according to municipal authorities of Domaljevac-Samac, the Serb side made a fence around a building of the Customs Administration thus usurping the Federation territory and property of the Municipality Domaljevac-Samac. According to the press release by Municipality Domaljevac-Samac, the said building is on the Federation territory. |
| Kostajnica case | Vecernji List (page 3) carries that according to a source from the Ministry of Interior of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Muamer Topalovic, who killed three members of the Andjelic family in Kostajnica, was transferred to Psychiatric Clinic in Sarajevo for a psychiatric evaluation. In addition VL carries that 10 members of the MoI of the HNC were awarded because they resolved the Kostajnica case in a very short period of time. Slobodna Dalmacija also covered this information on page 6. |
| Mirko Sarovic on BiH lawsuit against FRY | In his interview to Vecernje Novosti (p 3 headline ‘Lawsuit- matter of Bosniaks not of state BiH’) Chairman of the BiH Presidency Mirko Sarovic said that Serbs in the Parliament and BiH bodies had not voted for financing the BiH lawsuit against Yugoslavia and they used every opportunity to challenge it. “Answer to question whether the war in BiH was a civil war, aggression or ethnical conflict is given by the DPA which says that was “an unhappy conflict in the region””, Sarovic said. “I have to say that the lawsuit was launched during the war, without consent of Serbs and that is one of reasons why Serbs challenge it. Besides, the amended lawsuit reads that “BiH was under aggression helped by domestic paramilitary forces, and that the RS, created by aggression and genocide, does not have a right to exist””. “Therefore, the lawsuit is unacceptable for Serbs”, Sarovic said. He added that it was not true that the lawsuit was financed by the BiH institutions’ budget. “The BiH lawsuit against Yugoslavia is not a state issue. In November 1995, when the DPA was signed, we agreed that all important issues in the country must be solved by consensus of three constitutive people. Serbs are against this lawsuit, and if we are equal in this country, then the lawsuit cannot be submitted on behalf of BiH.” |