| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18:00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19:00 hrs) | FED TV (19:30 hrs) | RT RS (19:30) |
| Losses caused by draught | BiH – US Agreement | RS officer on trial at ICTY | Paravac on BiH structure |
| Paravac on BiH | Srebrenica trial | Exhumations | Tuzla commemoration |
| FBiH on return process | Trafficking in women | Human trafficking | Srebrenica trial |
| EU – BiH – US |
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| HR Ashdown in Paris |
| Oslobodjenje | Zagrebacka, Hypo and Raiffeisen bank laundered 850 million KM; Opposition gathering – premature elections for existing BiH crisis; FBiH government – in 23 companies around 200 million KM losses; KS MoI on the hearing of Oslobodjenje leadership – We had to do it immediately! |
| Dnevni Avaz | Biber – theft is always popular; A police action in Kasindolska St. – one of the main drug dealers in Sarajevo arrested?; Nikolic – Mminister requested sanctions for Parliament president |
| Dnevni List | Interview with FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic – ‘Aluminij’ should get maximum support; Lagumdzija, Dodik, Zubak talks – creating of conditions for snap elections; The HDZ and SDA government takes side of the HT Mostar; Adnan Terzic – State Intelligence Service after OHR’s approval |
| Vecernji List | Ivica Rajic’s flat was searched; Poet Tadijanovic in Citluk and Medjugorje |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Interview with FBiH Minister of Defense Miroslav Nikolic – the BiH Army with three national guards; The World Bank is leaving Mostar |
| Glas Srpske | Borislav Paravac – only according to the Dayton; Serious car accident near Prnjavor – taking over takes you to death |
| Nezavisne Novine | Meeting of leaders of the SNSD, SDP and NHI in Sarajevo – Dodik, Lagumdzija and Zubak seek extraordinary elections; Cvijetin Nikic, President of the Bijeljina SDS Board – the PDP does not know how to run a policy; Protest in front of the FBiH government building – workers demand the right to work |
| Blic | 217 million KM laundered in four months; Dodik – the SNSD will request early elections in Srpska; The PDP prepares to expel Kunic |
| BH DANI | A powerful racket is as worthy as gold (with photo of Fahrudin Radoncic, owner of the Avaz daily) |
| Slobodna Bosna | Who are the owners of the most luxurious houses in BiH – Ashdown’s home order (with photo of a house on Jablanica Lake bought by Ashdown) |
Political Affairs | |
| HR Ashdown
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘BiH is a natural candidate for the EU’ – HR Paddy Ashdown yesterday met in Paris with French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominique de Villepin, French officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from the PM’s cabinet. They talked about a program of reform in BiH, the role of the EU in BiH and the forthcoming summit in Solun. Ashdown emphasized that BiH was a European country and a natural candidate for the membership in the EU. He also appealed that the financial help be continued as well as help for the reconstruction. Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘Three challenges for BiH’ – HR Ashdown informed the head of the French diplomacy of three challenges that BiH was facing. The first was the realization of reforms that would open a path for the EU, the second was the construction of a strong state structure and the third arresting war criminals. Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘BiH is a candidate for EU’ – also reported on HR meeting with French officials during which he lobbied for the accession of BiH to the EU. Blic pg. 7 ‘BiH natural candidate for EU’ – also reported on HR’s visit to Paris. |
| Tihic on Civil Service Law | Avaz pg. 2 ‘The SDA does not want to legalize party-oriented administration’ – following the adoption of the FBiH Civil Service Law, SDA President Sulejman Tihic told Avaz that differences in positions between the OHR and SDA regarding the Law were exaggerated. Tihic stated that the issue was brought up during a meeting of SDA, SBiH, HDZ and OHR reps. He added that hey were exaggerated by media and OHR reps. Explained the only difference in opinions on the subject between the SDA and OHR was that the SDA was against automatic legalization of the existing Service that they find unprofessional, and based on party suitability criteria. “I am convinced that professional administration will allow us to go faster and easier into the reform processes,” said Tihic. |
| Palavric on Civil Law Service | Avaz pg. 2 ‘Directors of the tax and customs administrations are not up for revision’ – SDA Vice President, Seada Palavric, told the daily that the Civil Service Law underlined that position of directors of the customs and tax administrations and well as those in the Financial Police was regulated by special laws and won’t be up for the revision of State Service Agency. Added that police directors and other members of the MoIs were not treated as civil servants and together with members of the FBiH Audit Office and defence forces were to be exempted from the coming revision. Palavric announced that the State Service Agency would be established in 30 days upon the enforcement of the new law. |
| Paravac on BiH structure | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The DPA offers enough’ – Chairman of the BiH President, Borislav Paravac, warned that BiH could only survive as a state with two equal entities and three constituent peoples as created by the DPA. “The DPA offers enough possibilities for BiH to be built as a modern, European, legal and democratic state where human rights would be respected, and with differences acknowledged. Where modern and democratic institutions could be developed.” Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘Some want Dayton revision’ – Paravc statement was a reply to Tihic’s calls for the revision of the BiH Constitution and the DPA. He thinks that renewed attempts of unitarianism were dangerous and unnecessary, and based on anti-Dayton and anti-constitutional behaviour. Glas Srpske pg. 1 – Paravac warned that since the DPA was signed, ‘there have been some forces attempting to change the DPA, including demands for the creation of the third entity or the creation of the new Constitution’. “And this is promoted by some intellectual circles in Sarajevo,” said Paravac. Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘Paravac against the constitutional changes’ – “Those, who want to return to the situation we had in 1992, when unitarianism and outvoting were the principle for the functioning of the state, should remember all those misfortunes that we went through and those who, unfortunately, did not survive them. It is quite certain that the DPA offers enough possibilities to build BiH as a modern, European state with the rule of law and a democratic one where human rights will be respected.” |
| Dodik | Avaz pg. 8 ‘Dodik requesting extraordinary election on October 5 this year’ – yesterday’s address by SNSD President, Milorad Dodik, during a round table on workers rights and the revision of privatisation organized by the SNSD and SDU. He stated that their coming activities would be geared towards the extraordinary elections, and they think the elections should be held on October 5 this year. He stated that the opposition group that was advocating the elections, they expected to receive support from the SBiH and groups and individuals from the PDP. As for the privatisation process, Dodik said they did not want to halt it, but return its dignity via revision process. Blic pg. 3 ‘Early elections needed’ – Dodik said that the initiative for holding early elections would be sent to the parliamentary procedure within a month. Added the IC should not interfere, and it the BiH institutions make such a decision then the IC should support it. |
| New gathering of opposition parties
| Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 6 – at a meeting amongst Zlatko Lagumdzija, Milorad Dodik and agreed to form a group that would prepare a platform for the program cooperation of the three parties. According tot hem, cooperation would be open for all parties acting in BiH and the platform would focus on finding ways out of the crisis. Lagumdzija stated that the current authorities had over 10 days and yet no visible changes had been made. Dodik said that the three parties had excellent cooperation in both Federation and RS, which was an important fact for the implementation of reforms. Zubak thinks that a call for extraordinary elections was not the halting of reforms, but more efficient implementation of the same. Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 and 3 – according to Lagumdzija, ‘one of the reasons for making the request for extraordinary elections is the slow implementation of economic reforms, of the Jobs and Justice program etc’. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 3, Slobodna Dalmacija back page ‘Anti-constitutional work of bodies of authority in BiH attacked’, Vecernji List pg. 5 ‘Announced early elections’ – asked whether one can expect co-operation with the PDP, Dodik said one could only count on certain people from the PDP since the PDP pinnacle, according to Dodik, supported nationalistic parties and nationalists. |
| FBiH govt. | Avaz pg. 8 ’31 million KM to help the return process’ – FBiH government reps, during yesterday’s session, discussed the return and repatriation program in the FBiH. The government also discussed the budget means to be used for the support of the return process. It is planned that 31 million KM from the federation budget would be allocated for the return process. Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘Around 200 million KM losses in 23 banks’ – the Federation government analysed the situation with the state capital in companies of a significance for the Federation, which was not practice in the past. Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘Losses of FBiH companies 200 million KM’ – the FBiH government yesterday held its 12th session in Mostar discussing the business operations of the companies in which the state holds the majority share. The discussion was based on the final balance sheets from 2002. According to data presented by Minister of Industry, Izet Zigic, and Minister of Traffic and Communications, Nedzad Brankovic, the total loss of companies from the portfolio of these two ministries have exceeded 200 million KM. Two biggest losers were the BiH Elektroprivreda (82,22 million KM) and the FBiH Steelworks (73,4 million KM). Overall, the losses are bigger than in the year 2001. On the same issue, Dnevni List pg. 1 and 4 – the government wants to prepare a strategy in order to protect the state capital and increase the control in the state owned companies. The first step is a conclusion by the government, which tasks the companies’ steering boards to present business reports every three months. |
| Nikic critical of PDP | Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 & 6 ‘The PDP does not know how to run the politics’ – Cvjetin Nikic, President of the Bijeljina SDS Board, claims that the majority of SDS officials is dissatisfied with ‘the SDS affection towards visionary Ivanic’. Nikic is also firm in saying that ‘some people from the PDP have established a kind of interest balance with some SDS officials’. According to him, the SNSD betrayed the interests of the citizens because this party did not want to, at any cost, enter the coalition with the SDS. However, the PDP, as a party of experts, took advantage of this SNSD non-readiness. |
| Law on Construction Land | Nezavisne Novine pg. 6 ‘Ashdown declares the Law on Construction Land’ – OHR Spokesperson, Vedran Persic, yesterday confirmed that the High Representative to BiH, Paddy Ashdown, yesterday declared the Law on Construction Land, as well as the package of technical amendments, which regulate the Law on Property Re-Possession in both entities. |
| Humphreys on BiH – US Agreement | Dnevni List pg. 6 ‘Contents of agreement to be harmonized with EU directions’ – Head of the EC Mission to BiH, Michael Humphreys, says that he believes BiH is doing everything to make sure that the agreement between BiH and US on the exemption of the US citizens from the ICC jurisdiction is in harmony with the EU directives. Understanding that BiH is in a delicate situation, Humphreys reminds that no EU country nor EU candidate has struck such an agreement with the US. “BiH’s future is in Europe and I believe the BiH authorities will act in harmony with the EU directives,” says Humphreys. |
| VL on Mostar restructuring | Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘The SDP and Party for BiH losing opportunity’ – the OHR Mostar ascertains that the withdrawal of a representative of the SBiH from the work of the Mostar Commission will not affect the Commission’s work and that the SBiH is going public with untrue information regarding the organization of the city. According to Spokesperson of the OHR Mostar, Avis Benes, the SBiH and SDP in fact do not want to use the possibility and take part in restructuring of Mostar. |
| Interview with Hadzipasic | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 7 – an interview with Federation of BiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic. With regard to the issue of the ‘Aluminj’ company, Hadzipasic says the following. “When the concept of development of the current business operations of Aluminij is in question, this company should get maximum support, conditions for its further expansion and the increase in export should be offered to it.” With regard to the issue of disputable privatization of the Mostar Hotel ‘Ero’, Hadizpasic says that they will have talks with the current owner of the hotel, whose right on the hotel has been disputed. With regard to the media writings about his dispute with SDA President Sulejman Tihic, Hadzipasic says that this information is not true and that he and Tihic have very correct relationship. |
| Mikes | Blic pg. 3 ‘People should request the change of authority’ – “The current Republika Srpska government is incompetent to carry out tasks given to it. It is not impossible that people through their representatives ask for changing of the authority,” Vice-President of the SPRS, Miroslav Mikes, told a press conference. He said that the SDS and SDA in co-operation with the PDP could not bring an upturn to the Republika Srpska and that the government only brought damage to the RS. Speaking about failure to elect judges to the BiH and RS Constitutional Courts, Mikes said that RS was being slowly deprived of all competencies. “It is possible that the High Representative will appoint judges because we are incapable to do it alone,” Mikes said. |
| Kunic to be expelled? | Blic pg. 3 ‘Possible expulsion’ – the PDP Main Board, at its session this weekend in Teslic, will most probably expel its member and Deputy in the BiH House of Representative, Petar Kunic, because he voted for Nikola Spiric of the SNSD during the vote for co-chairman of the BiH HoR. |
| SB on Ashdown’s Lake house | Slobodna Bosna pgs. 5-7 ‘Ashdown paid 150,000 KM to Jusic and the house will cost him a total of half a million’ by Emir Hodzic – “A few months ago, High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, bought unfinished house on the Jablanica Lake from BiH Army General, Kadir Jusic, for 150,000 KM. He thereby joined the Bosniak political, military and police elite that had invaded banks of the lake following the war with the assistance of corrupted municipal authorities in Konjic,” the article read. |
Economic Affairs | |
| IC tolerating money laundering
| Oslobodjenje pg. 1, 4 and 5 – the biggest front-page story in today’s Avaz that reveals that the Federation office for the Prevention of Money Laundering registered six banks (four of which were established with a foreign capital) enabled fictitious companies to launder around 1,300,000,000 KM. The daily points out that banks with foreign capital mainly participated in criminal actions, the information which was forwarded last year to certain influential international institutions in BiH. |
| Dodik on privatisation | Oslobodjenje pg. 4 ’12 persons privatised everything in the RS’ – Milorad Dodik, SNSD President, stated that citizens in both entities lost trust in the implemented privatisation process because it gave no expected results in either entity. Added that misuses were conducted in the RS with the help of the authorities. |
| Third GSM license
| Dnevni List pg. 4 ‘The HDZ and SDA’s government sides with HT Mostar’ – is of an opinion that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) government has sided with the HT Mostar (Croat Telecommunications Mostar) regarding the issue of the third GSM license. Namely, at a press conference organized yesterday in Mostar, FBiH Minister of Traffic and Communications, Nedzad Brankovic, stated that the HT Mostar could have bigger profits if it were to be awarded the third GSM license. |
| Interview with Dixon | Vecernji List pg. 1 and 5 – an interview with Head of the Indirect Tax Policy Commission Joly Dixon. Asked whether the unified Customs Administration in BiH will start to function on July 1 this year, Dixon replied the following. “This is the deadline that High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, has set. We shall try to respect this deadline. However, the old structures will not disappear from July 1 when the new customs system starts to function. This cannot happen over night because this is about a process.” He was asked whether it is true that the Republika Srpska tacitly approves illegal activities in order to collect as much money as possible in its budget before July 1. “The Commission is more focused on the questions that will refer to the structure of the new system in the future. However, we are aware that certain shortcomings exist in the current systems and all of us are working in order to establish the new system and remove these shortcomings as soon as possible.” On the same issue, Dnevni List pg. 3 ‘Implementation of reforms in area of customs is necessary’ – Dixon met yesterday with Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic. During the talks, Terzic stressed that it was important to determine elements on the ground of which transfer and distribution of tax incomes will be carried out. |
| Fictitious firms | Blic pg. 7 ‘257 fictitious firms discovered’ – despite the Law on Preventing Money Laundering, 326 million KM was laundered last year in the RS, while in the first four months this year that sum amounted to 217 million KM. Courts do not have experience with such criminal activities and the law foresees 1-10 years of imprisonment for these activities. The practice shows that ‘businessmen’ from the RS register fictitious firms in the FBiH and vice versa, and the reason is double legal regulative in the entities and three economic spaces in BiH, including the Brcko District. When the Finance Ministry discovers suspicious money transactions, it orders banks to block the accounts. However, there are cases when banks do not obey the order, due to which criminal charges have been filled against two banks. On the other side, the police are unable to do anything because those who launder money register firms with false documents and therefore cannot be found. |
| DANI on Eronet | DANI pg. 6 ‘Bosnian Barometer’ – three black dots (disastrous move) to the Communication Regulatory Agency (CRA) over intention to issue the third GSM license to Eronet. “Only thanks to protection provided by High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, the autistic public in BiH and scared state officials like Adnan Terzic, who do not even dare to prevent attempts by the most arrogant robbery of BiH through the licensing of the criminal Eronet, international criminals serving in BiH, such as CRA Director David Bets, can calmly face TV cameras and ignore the evidence on their own criminal activities,” the magazine claims. |
Social Affairs | |
| Biber | Avaz pg. 1 and 3 – yesterday’s speech by BiH Union President, Edhem Biber, at a meeting of union boards in Gorazde Canton where the key-topic were problems of workers of the ‘Azot’ chemical industry. “Something has to change. What is happening with privatisation in BiH is a robbery that has not been recorded in history,” said Biber. He added that workers were fighting to survive the hard times, and that they were the best example of what was happening in BiH and where it was heading. |
Police Affairs | |
| Combating trafficking
| Avaz pg. 5 The trafficking in women problem increasing’ – Kadrija Haracic-Sabic, President of the State Commission for Preventing Human Trafficking, said the problem of trafficking in women was more dominant in BiH in the last year. She also said that significant results have been registered in combating trafficking. The Commission defined as a main pre-condition for fighting trafficking the outlining of a legal frame, meaning the adoption of the state law on the Residence and Movement of Foreigners. |
| Fight against crime
| Nezavisne Novine pg. 5 ‘Science to assist in battle against organised crime’ – the conclusion of the international scientific conference ‘Organised crime and regional security’, which yesterday commenced in Sarajevo, was that after the security agencies in BiH entities and regional states strengthened their cooperation in the battle against organised crime, the educational and judicial institutions, should follow their example. |
| Threats against Rebac, Miletic and Cegar
| Slobodna Bosna pg. 14 ‘Rebac, Miletic and Cegar have been receiving threats from Central Bosnian Mafia of Zarko Zuti Andric’ – “Federation of BiH Customs Administration Director, Zelimir Rebac, Director of the Federation Police Administration, Zlatko Miletic, and Commander of the Federation Interior Ministry’s Special Police Unit, Zoran Cegar, have not been receiving threats from any Russian Mafia as claimed recently by Paddy Ashdown. The organized mafia in Central Bosnia, headed by Zarko Zuti Andric from Travnik, is actually standing behind these threats delivered to the three senior state officers,” reads the article (unsigned). It adds that Ferald Ferdo Gazibaric, Milko Meka Gazibaric, Oliver Sivonjic Olic, Ivica Cico Anicic and Drago Djano Dzandara are also members of this criminal group. |
Military Affairs | |
| FBIH Defence Ministry
| Dnevni List pg. 1 and 3 – Defense Minister of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Miroslav Nikolic, has submitted a Proposal for launching of procedure against 12 officials of the FBiH Ministry of Defense over the abuse of office because they participated in the pre-elections campaign thus breaking the law. Among 12 persons is the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament Muhamed Ibrahimovic. The Proposal sent to the Disciplinary Commission reads that the 12 officials of the MoD were included in the election lists during the last elections, which led Minister Nikolic to start the procedure. |
| Interview with Nikolic | Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 17 – an interview with FBiH Minister of Defense Miroslav Nikolic. Asked as to how he sees the future BiH Army, Nikolic said the following. “I believe that we need joint structures at the level of BiH, that is, the Ministry of Defense and joint HQ. As far as the structure of the Army is concerned, we believe that we should have a few joint, special units that would not serve to one component only. In my opinion, there should be three national components of the future Army, that is, three national guards…Constituency of all three peoples in BiH should be reflected through them…” |
ICTY Affairs | |
| Terzic – Hecke
| Avaz pg. 4 ‘The Hague interested in state intelligence service’ – CoM Chair, Adnan Terzic, yesterday met in Sarajevo with a rep of the ICTY and Mission Head in Sarajevo Jan van Hecke, They discussed the work of the ICTY and the coming visit of the Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte. Heke was also interested in the establishment of the state intelligence service so Terzic informed him that during the talks with the HR they agreed to form a commission that would devise the Law on State Intelligence Service after which the joint service in BiH should commence with the work. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 4 – also reported on the meeting where they discussed Del Ponte’s visit and the establishment of the state intelligence service. |
| Vjersnik on Gotovina, Karadzic and Mladic | Vjesnik pg. 1 and 2 – ICTY fugitives, namely Ante Gotovina, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, cannot count on the expiration of deadlines regarding the work of the ICTY. According to Vjesnik, if the troika is not available to the ICTY by the end of 2004, their cases will be transferred to the competence of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The daily also reports that Chief ICTY Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, offered another idea – that a case of another Croatian General that is to be tried by the ICTY, Rahim Ademi, be transferred to the Croatian judiciary. In that context, Vjesnik says Del Ponte made it clear to the Croatian delegation to the UN that she was closely following the establishment of war crimes department with county courts in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek. |
Media Affairs | |
| DANI on media war | DANI pgs. 18-19 ‘Dictatorship of lie’ by Ivan Lovrenovic – the first in a series of articles on ‘the war amongst Sarajevo newspapers’, published in this week’s edition of the magazine on pages 18-27. “There is no doubt: in all eight post-Dayton years, there has been no such fierce verbal war amongst certain Sarajevo print media like the one being carried out nowadays, and which has been announced in summer 2002 during the pre-election period. The visible line of front in this war is being marked by Sarajevo magazine Slobodna Bosna on one side and Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz on the other. And the main confronting motive are linked to Lagumdzija and his Alliance on one side and the Pogorelica group on the other,” claims Lovrenovic. He adds that vulgarities, insults and lies represent, unfortunately, the main characteristics of this so-called dialogue. |