| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | TV PINK (18,00 hrs) | BHT 1 (19,00 hrs) |
| Defence reform agreement | Tihic on defence reform | UNESCO puts Mostar in heritage list |
| BIH Presidency session | RS govt in session | Consensus on defence reform |
| BIH farmers protests | Zenica inmates case, update | Sentence in Sjeverin case |
| Regional news | Four ‘Avengers’ sentenced | “Welcome to BiH” campaign started |
| NTV Hayat (19,00 hrs) | FTV (19,30 hrs) | RTRS (19,30 hrs) |
| BiH Presidency in session | UNESCO puts Mostar in heritage list | Tihic on defence reform |
| Four ‘Avengers’ sentenced to 75 yrs | Privredna banka | RS officials on defence reform |
| Execution of 80 Muslims in CG | “Sugar affair” investigation extended | McKenzie on Srebrenica tragedy |
| Regional News | BiH Auditors removed | War crimes investigation in Brcko |
| Oslobodjenje | [Tihic:] CoM crisis should be solved by Terzic and RS Parties |
| Dnevni Avaz | Mostar, pearl of the world! |
| Dnevni List | Trial to Prlic, other five in 2006 |
| Vecernji List | Child prostitution: Girls on street for 1000 KM |
| Nezavisne Novine | As of 1 January, no entities armies and defence ministries |
| Glas Srpske | Power to Serbs, [finances] to Croats [feature on Serb returnees to Glamoc] |
Defence reform | |
| Tihic: only professional army, single command and MoD, state-level financing by end of 2007
| PINK Zeljko Mandic – Agreement on all important matters of defense reform has been reached and the members of the Defense Reform Commission are expected to sign the act on Monday, BiH Presidency member Sulejman Tihic told a press conference following the BiH Presidency session on Friday. Tihic explained that agreement stipulates abolishment of conscription and entities’ armed forces, establishment of the single command and state-level financing. The agreement, under which future BiH Army will consist of only professional troops, sets the deadline for gradual implementation of the defence reform by end of 2007. “In defence reforms, single army, single Ministry, single Command are to be established”, said Tihic stressing this is great victory of the domestic political forces. FTV – The proposal also includes the establishment of regiments without commanding authorities which would preserve its cultural and ethnic traditions. All print media report that the agreement regarding defence reform was actually reached between representatives of the SDA, SDS and HDZ. RHB, Hayat, BHT1, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Reached agreement on abolishment of conscription’ by M.K.S. , Vecernji list pgs 3-4 ‘Single army’, mentioned on cover ‘Single army, ethnic regiments’ by Eldina Medunjanin, Branka Stevandic, Dnevni list pg 3 ‘Single army as of Monday?’ by Erna Mackic, Nezavisne Novine cover splash, pg 3 ‘As of 1 January, no entities armies and defence ministries’ by M. Cubro – also report. |
| DA: Tihic says BiH Armed Forces to consist of 10.000 troops, 5000 active reserve soldiers | Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Great victory on a road to NATO and Europe’, mentioned on cover, by A .Malagic – In a statement to DA, Sulejman Tihic offers more details on the proposal talking about BiH Army consisting 10.000 troops and 5000 soldiers in active reserve units. He also adds that conscription would be abolished as of |
| DRC to official sing proposal on Monday | BHT 1 Zoran Sarenac – The BiH Defence Reform Commission will hold a signing ceremony of defence reform proposals in Sarajevo on Monday, the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo stated on Friday. |
| RS Government to take stance after receiving official DRC report
| RTRS by Biljana Knezevic – RS Defence Minister Milovan Stankovic confirmed that the Defence Reform Commission will reach decisions on its final report on Monday. In an telephone statement to RTRS, Stankovic confirmed Sulejman Tihic’s statements on abolishment of the conscription and reserve units. The RS Government, which was informed by Stankovic on the on-going activities, will define its stand on defense reform after receiving comprehensive reports from the DRC Co-Chairs, said Cvijeta Kovacevic, the Chief of the RS Government’s Public Relations Bureau on Friday. RTRS adds that the DRC report foresees a transfer of jurisdiction of the RS defence ministry and army to the state level structures by the end year. Stankovic has neither confirmed nor denied those claims. Stankovic stated that RS National Assembly will make a final stance on the report most probably before its summer break. Reporter concludes it is unknown how will RS members of DRC declare towards the report, while political consultations on the report are unofficially announced for this weekend. Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘[Government] to take stance after the DRC report’ by Fena, Glas Srpske pg 3 ‘Report awaited’ – also report. |
| VL: Serb, Croat parties ‘more careful’ in talking about DRC session Monday; BHT1 brings reactions by SDS, DNS
| Vecernji list pgs 3-4 ‘Single army’, mentioned on cover ‘Single army, ethnic regiments’ by Eldina Medunjanin, Branka Stevandic – VL carries that Serb and Croat representatives are much more careful in announcing the DRC commission on Monday. Serb representatives support the progress, however they say that the final text has to be defined on Monday. Inset ‘HVO elements to be recognizable’ reports that the HDZ President Dragan Covic confirmed that the party requested that the elements of the former HVO, BiH Army and RS Army are recognizable. [which lead to introduction of regiments]. BHT 1 by Zoran Sarenac – Borislav Bojic, Chair of SDS Caucus at the RS National Assembly, stated that the defence reform proposal seems to be good and suitable for all sides participating in the reform. However, he emphasized that it is still too early to comment specific details of the agreement. DNS representative in RS NA Drago Kalabic criticized the proposal: “It was all a game. They obviously have the same concept and in this case. SDS serves SDA in destruction of the RS in exchange for an existence of SDS in political life of BIH.” |
| GS: NATO changed DRC proposal under Bosniak pressure?
| Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Agreement breached?’ by M. Dz. – According to the GS source, NATO has prepared report which introduced the changes not agreed between SDA, HDZ and SDS leaders. This was, says GS, confirmed to |
| Dodik on defence reforms
| Nezavisne novine pg 4 ‘Everything is rotten in state of BiH when it comes to authorities’, mentioned on cover, by V. Popovic – Asked to comment to the defence reforms in an interview to NN, the leader of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, says the party supports abolishment of conscription, reserve units, and supports small professional army. “The fact is that if all this is to be adopted, than it would be useless to keep entities’ Defence Ministries,” said Dodik. |
| DL editorial on defence reforms says for RS, Cavic turned from patriot into traitor
| Dnevni list pg 2 ‘Patriot becomes traitor’ op-ed by Tanja Dragic – With regarding to the principles of the defence reform as announced by Sulejman Tihic, editorial says that the question is how will RS citizens react to abolishment of the entity MoD and Army, especially having in mind the RS President Dragan Cavic has been promising them to fight against change of the Dayton agreement. “It seems that patriot became traitor and that our politicians cannot solve anything without some secret meetings, they do not respect their elections promises,” reads the op-ed which also concludes that RS survival was never brought into question “like it has been now”. |
| US Government support DRC work | BHT 1, FTV, Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘Strong support to DRC’, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘ |
War crimes | |
| Four members of “Avengers” units sentenced to 75 yrs for war crimes against Bosniaks
| RHB, FTV, RTRS, Hayat, PINK, Oslobodjenje pg 8 ‘Four “Avengers” sentenced to 75 years of imprisonment’ by B. Boskov, Dnevni Avaz pg 20 ‘Accused peorsons sentenced to 75 years’, Nezavisne novine pg 2 ‘”Avengers” sentenced to total of 75 years of imprisonment’, mentioned on cover, by Beta – Four members of the Serbian paramilitary unit ‘Avengers’ were convicted by the District Court in Belgrade to total of 75 years of imprisonment for war crimes committed against Bosniaks. The court found that Milan Lukic and Oliver Osmanovic, both still at large, Dragutin Dragicevic and Djordje Sevic were guilty of murdering 16 Bosniaks from the village of Sjeverin [in Serbia] in Bosnian town of Visegrad in October in 1992. First three were sentenced to 20 years, and Sevic to 15 years of imprisonment. Victims were kidnapped in BHT 1 Sanita Lisica – |
| Tadic, Marovic urge Mladic to surrender
| BHT 1 – After Serbian President Boris Tadic has urged on Thursday the ICTY indictee Ratko Mladic to surrender, SCG President Svetozar Marovic stated that the case of Mladic must be solved either by Mladic’s surrender or his arrest if he hides in SCG territory. Nezavisne novine pg 4 ‘Mladic, surrender’ – NN carries Tadic’s statement on Mladic. |
| Trial to Prlic, others for war crimes in BiH starts on 1 Dec 05 | Dnevni list cover splash, pg 2 ‘Trial to Prlic and other five in 2006’ by Ivica Glibusic – The trial of the six former political and military officials of the so-called Croat republic Herzeg-Bosnia, headed by Prime Minister Jadranko Prlic, should commence on 1 December 2005, ICTY announced on Thursday following the status conference. Apart from Prlic, the joint indictment also refers to HR Herzeg-Bosnia defense minister Bruno Stojic, minister of interior Valentin Coric, president of commission for prisons and detention centres HR HB Berislav Pusic, and two HVO commanders, generals Milivoj Petkovic and Slobodan Praljak. It is estimated that the trial could take three years. Two years should be left for the appeal procedure. |
Political issues | |
| UNESCO puts
| Dnevni List pgs 12-13, mentioned on cover, ‘Old Bridge on the UNESCO’s list’, Nezavisne novine pg 3 ‘Mostar in the UNESCO world heritage’, mentioned on cover, by V. Coric, FTV by Indira Karic – Following the years of lobbying, UNESCO put Mostar’s Old Town and Old Bridge on its list of the world heritage. The UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee brought this decision at the session held in BHT 1 – Mostar Mayor Ljubo Beslic stated this project should bring prosperity not just to Mostar, but also to the entire country. “I expect that UNESCO is going to help us, and financially, to adopt legislation on this issue [of protection of monuments]”, commented Beslic. He explained now it will be necessary to determine a state budget and to adopt state laws on protection of historical monuments. Dnevni Avaz cover splash ‘Mostar, a pearl of the world!’, pg 2 ‘Old Bridge and downtown are pearls of the world’ by F. Vele – DA dedicated entire page to this issue, bringing reactions from people of Mostar, former Mayors, etc. |
| Tihic: CoM crisis should be solved btw Terzic and RS parties
| Hayat Semsudin Skejic – BiH Presidency member Sulejman Tihic on Friday said that he was not aware when the meeting of political parties on the crisis in the BiH Council of Ministers would take place. Tihic added that that the issue should be resolved by the CoM Chair, Adnan Terzic, and representatives of RS political parties. “RS political leaders are against removal of BiH Foreign Affairs Minister Mladen Ivanic, and they do not want to support any other candidate who could be proposed by the Chair of BiH CoM Adnan Terzic. They also don’t support Terzic’s proposals in terms of solution of the crisis”, said Tihic. RTRS, RHB, Oslobodjenje cover splash, pg 2 ‘CoM crisis should be solved by Terzic and RS Parties’ by M.K.S., – also report. |
| BiH Presidency agrees on markings of 10th DPA anniversary to be held in
| BHT1, FTV, Oslobodjenje cover splash, pg 2 ‘CoM crisis should be solved by Terzic and RS Parties’ by M.K.S.– At the session on Friday, the BiH Presidency agreed on the marking of the 10th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement. “Given that this is a matter that should be resolved with the other countries-signatories of the DPA, we have defined a framework plan of marking that should take place – first in Washington DC on November 21, than in Paris on December 14 and in Sarajevo on December 21”, BiH Presidency member Sulejman Tihic stated. The plan requires consent of the RHB – Presidency also adopted the proposal decision on ratification of the Agreement between the High Representative of BiH and BiH on establishing the Registrar Office of the Section I for war crimes and the Section II for organized, economic crime and corruption of the BiH Court Appelate Division, as well as a Special Department for War Crimes, and a Special Department for Organized, Economic Crime and Corruption of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office. |
| Presidency nominates two new deputies for BiH Chief Auditor; FTV slams Presidency for leaving Kulina, Musovic without jobs
| RHB, Oslobodjenje cover splash, pg 2 ‘CoM crisis should be solved by Terzic and RS Parties’ by M.K.S. – BiH Presidency agreed on candidates Munevera Bahtic and Dragoljub Koviljcic to the positions of new Deputies of the BiH Chief Auditor. Their appointment must be approved by BiH Parliament. FTV – BiH Deputy Chief Auditors to date, Dragan Kulina and Samir Musovic,will be automatically dismissed from their positions if Parliament adopts the Presidency candidacies. According to law, Kulina and Musovic will not be able to work in BIH Audit Office anymore. FTV comments that this means that the Auditors who discovered illegal spending of the state institutions in amount of BAM 20 million have been purposely left without jobs. As a proof, news presenter reminds that the legislation on the appointment of the state auditors still hasn’t been adopted. Under that proposal of the law, the would be employed following the open competition procedure and Presidency would not be able to propose candidates, while Kulina and Musovic wouldn’t lose their jobs. Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Auditors Kulina and Musovic stay without jobs’ not signed – DA also says that it is speculated that Kulina and Musovic has purposely moved. |
| VL: Two new Ministers in FBiH; if Parliament doesn’t support them, FBiH stays without Govt
| Vecernji list ‘Dr Vjekoslav Mandic new Health Minister’, mentioned on cover, by Valentina Rupcic – VL learns from a sources close to HDZ leadership that the new FBiH Health Minister will be doctor Vjekoslav Mandic from Mostar and that Zahid Crnkic will take over the position of the FBIH Minister for Veteran Issues. Apparently, at the closed meeting between FBiH leading politicians held in Mostar, resignations of Ministers Ibrahim Nadarevic and Tomo Lucic were anonymously adopted. The session also concluded for two new Ministers to be appointed on Tuesday. The sources also emphasized that if the FBiH Parliament doesn’t support the Ministers, than the Government will not be able to work, “i.e. it will not exist. If the ministers fail to pass the parliamentary procedure, the FBiH practically stays without the Government.” Dnevni list pg 4 ‘Federation without Health’ by N. Bise – DL also reports on Lucic, Nadarevic resignations. |
| In int with NN, Dodik slams all levels of authorities, says HR powers must be reduced and role redefined
| Nezavisne novine pg 4 ‘Everything is rotten in state of BiH when it comes to authorities’, mentioned on cover, by V. Popovic – In an interview to NN, the leader of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, says that the responsibility for ‘debacle’ in reforms lies with nationalists parties in BiH. On police reforms, Dodik says that SNSD supports all that has been adopted at the negotiations in Vlasic believing that was a progress. “Everything else is a matter of authorities,” says Dodik. Asked to comment as to how the crisis in CoM could be overcome, SNSD leader says that the only solution is new elections and change of the authorities, as well as the personnel changes in the ruling structures. He is also very critical of current RS Government, saying it has not stabile parliamentary majority: “This is full fiasco of ruling politics which wanted to stay in authorities at any cost. Total depression rules in RS, it dominates because we have authorities that have no concept, and RS parliament discusses only laws pushed by OHR.” Dodik is also highly critical of Adnan Terzic, especially ‘for playing games’ with Mladen Ivanic’s resignation. “[Paddy] Ashdown’s support to failed characters, alike Terzic, indictes that the position of the High Representative must be urgently redefined and his powers reduced,” concludes Dodik. |
| Spiric: ‘SDS works secretly, and deceives openly’
| Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘SDS works secretly, and deceives publicly’, mentioned on cover, by O. Vukovic – Member of the SNSD’s main board, Nikola Spiric, told daily that “aim of publicising information that the SDS would sing for the abolishment of the RS Defence Ministry on 18 July was to point to the fact that SDS is a party which implements reforms, but is afraid to tell about it to its citizens.” Spiric, who told media on Thursday about this ‘secret’ agreement, was denied by the SDS. He commented stating that the SDS reaction only shows that the party is “nervous, and neurosis is not an ally of reforms.” He added that the party must openly talk about the problems. |
| GS int with Dragan Cavic: ‘Three peoples – three roads’ | Glas Srpske supplement ‘Glas Plus’ pg 2 ‘Three peoples – three roads’ by Boro Maric – In a page long interview to GS, RS President, Dragan Cavic, talks about a number of issues stressing that the essence of all problems in BiH is different perspectives of three peoples on its internal structure. Cavic elaborates that while Bosniaks support centralization BiH, Croats would be the happiest to have their own entity, but know this is unlikely. At the same time, Serbs stand to preserve the Dayton Peace Agreement. “Aside Serbs, all significant politicians in BiH has started saying long time ago that the DPA is outdated, dead and that it needs to be change. This strong pressure from |
Judicial issues | |
| Four Zenica inmates repeatedly urge transfer to Kula prison
| BHT 1, Hayat, PINK – In a letter to BiH Minster of Justice Slobodan Kovac, the families of four prisoners from Zenica Prison who were on hunger strike for 24 days, requested urgent transfer of their relatives to serve their sentences in Kula Prison in RS. [To remind, these four non-Bosniak prisoners found guilty of war crimes have complained of maltreatment in Zenica prison because of their ethnicity, and were attacked by two Bosniak inmates after news broadcast snapshots of the Srebrenica killings.] |
| Sulejman Tihic’s internal affairs advisor indicted for office misuse
| Hayat, FTV, Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘Cantonal Prosecution raised charges against Mehmed Zilic’ by L.S., Vecernji list of 7 ‘Indictment against Mehmed Zilic’- Sarajevo Cantonal Prosecution issue the indictment against former FBiH Minister of Interior Mehmed Zilic, accusing him of office abuse. Zilic allegedly illegally had been approving sale of state-owned apartments in 1998, 1999 and 2002. The court has to either confirm or reject indictment within eight days. Zilic, who currently perform duty of the Internal Affairs Advisor to Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, denied all acusations, stating that the indictment is unjustified. |
| | Vecernji list pg 3 ‘Judge Gahima under investigation’ – VL carries that the disciplinary Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the allegations against BiH Court’s justice Gerald Gahima from Rwanda which state he was involved in corruption in his native country. Even though the President of the |