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| Kostelic wins | War against Iraq certain | Policeman Fetis case | Disagreements in NATO |
| US vs. Iraq | Admin. Reductions in BiH | War against Iraq | Arab League against war |
| New threats by Bin Laden | Carla Del Ponte | Arabian League | Carla Del Ponte |
| Del Ponte | Golden Bear award | The Hague | Brcko legal assist. Office |
| Oslobodjenje | Around 40 more leaders still under investigation; Protests of three million people in Rome; Minister Kebo promised help to Srebrenica people; A million dollars for destroying Air Bosna; A lot of money, patience and humiliation; |
| Dnevni Avaz | Defeated government still holding 2,000 posts; Dustin Hoffman coming to Sarajevo; Between five and 15 billion dollars went to BiH; Why Foundation Justice for BiH is late; |
| Dnevni List | The international community slows down the unification of Mostar |
| Vecernji List | First gold for Ivica |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Fairy tale about Ivica and Janica |
| Glas Srpski | Double standards of the international community – pistol with silencer; Disputes amongst the NATO members continue |
| Nezavisne Novine | Disputable cooperation between Elektroprivreda and the London EFT – power sold cheap; Zdravko Knezevic, BiH Federation Chief Prosecutor – Pogorelica is not a political issue; Jakob Finci, Director of the Agency for State Administration – BiH Council of Ministers violated the Law; New Balkan tour of Carla del Ponte – further 40 political and military leaders under the ICTY investigations |
| Blic | Murderers of Vijaprodukt’s night watchman arrested; Damir Miljevic, President of the RS Association of Employers: Dead firms are difficult to sell; Henry Clarke: District’s contribution to the state budget is 3.9 million |
Political Affairs | |
| Tihic
| Avaz pg. 1 and 5 – an interview with a Bosniak Presidency member Sulejman Tihic. He said the new government could not take over responsibility for the functioning of judiciary, internal and intelligence affairs because the overall personnel politics were in the hands of the IC. Commenting on the FOSS, Tihic said it was not in the service of people or the state, but political circles that were defeated at the last elections. He further talked about OHR’s double standards, which he illustrated with an example from the vetting procedure. He explained that anyone who knew Hasan Cengic was not able to get a job in eh are of internal affairs or intelligence, while in the RS it is no problem for former Karadzic’s associates to perform such jobs. He further stated that the OHR should take the responsibility too. “We can not take over the responsibility if in the Federation government we have 15 new ministers, but the rest 2,000 posts are in the hands of those who lost the elections.” As for the vetting process criteria, Tihic said the most important one was to be loyal and obey some official in the IC. “It’s a paradox that I, as a member of the Presidency, do not have the explanation why certain candidates fail to meet the criteria for a minister. Yet the explanation has some low-ranked clerk of the IC.” As for HR Ashdown’s role in the matter, Tihic said he appreciated his intentions, but that lower ranked officials take higher authorities and based on dossiers devised by Alibabic decide in the vetting procedures. |
| FBiH HoP | Avaz pg. 2 ‘An OHR representative to participate in the work of the Commission for the Election of Serb delegates’ – the FBiH HoP Commission tasked to suggest a solution for getting the necessary number of Serb delegates in the Serb caucus, is to meet today in Sarajevo. The meeting should be attended by an OHR representative (no name). Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘The HoP Commission will meet this week?’ – Mato Franjicevic, a member of the Croat caucus and the HoP Commission, said the first meeting of the HoP Commission should take place today. |
| Karadzic | Avaz pg. 3 ‘Radovan Karadzic was in Ozren two and a half months ago’ – another story in Karadzic’s whereabouts. This time, according to the daily, suspected that Karadzic was in the St. Nikola’s Monastery in Ozern two and a half months ago. None of the inhabitants from neighbouring settlements wanted to confirm whether Karadzic was there. One however told the daily that recently RS officials met in the village of Petrovo two and a half months ago. The daily then asks whether Karadzic was accidentally there at the same time. |
| Commentary in Avaz | Avaz pg. 3 Commentary of the Day by Husein Orahovac ‘Unconstitutional position’ – on the appointment of the new Federation government. He presents several suggestions by legal experts as to how to exist the current crisis. Some think the FBiH Constitutional Court should start an initiative for assessing the constitutionality appointment of the Fed. Gov. others claim that the Amendment 74 is perfectly clear and that everything was done in accordance with the Constitution. Some also suggest the examining of the constitutionality of Jaganjac’s appointment. “Legally, therefore, it is almost impossible to exit the unconstitutional situation. We are left to hope that one of already elected Bosniaks for leading positions will voluntarily step down so the new government would gain seriousness and strengthen the trust of the citizens.” |
| Brcko District | Avaz pg. 4 ‘Representatives requesting the introduction of protection of national interests in Brcko too’ – Ivica Ageljic, a member of the Brcko parliament, is one the reps who has been advocating in the favour of the necessity to harmonize the Brcko Statute with the rules of the changed BiH Constitutions. She thinks that would contribute to the national de-balance in the authority institutions, customs systems etc. Mirsad Djapo, President of the Brcko Assembly, however think otherwise. According to him all three peoples in Brcko are currently equal. |
| Unification of Mostar | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 3 by S. Kuzman – a negative article about the situation in Mostar and the OHR’s role in the light of resignation of Mostar Deputy Mayor, Neven Tomic, reminding that Tomic stated that the OHR, besides the Federation and cantonal institutions, also bore the responsibility for the situation in the city. “The former OHR administrations supported by the US embassy in BiH had put Mostar on top of its priorities. But that is not the case with the current High Representative Paddy Ashdown”. DL goes on to say that Deputy Mayor of Mostar in resignation, met twice with HR Ashdown when he was told that the issue of Mostar would have to wait until the economic reforms at the state level had been carried out. In that context, the author says that Mostar cannot wait and that the OHR is discouraging political forces in Mostar by not declaring itself about an SBiH proposal of the restructuring of the city, not even 15 days after the reception of the document. The author speculates that the reason behind the ‘OHR’s nonchalance’ allegedly lays in a fact that Mostar is no longer a priority to the US, and to substantiate the claim the author says the OSCE office in Mostar will not be run by an American any more. The daily also criticizes the Head of OHR South, Deputy High Representative Jean-Pierre Bercot, saying that whilst the nationalism is being awoken and the City Administration in Mostar is collapsing. Ambassador Bercot ‘does not feel necessary to address the citizens or at least takes some decisions’. The article concludes by saying that the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and Mostar are again blocked, and that the OHR bears the biggest responsibility for not reacting ‘given the previous years’. |
| DL and VL on the Federation and RS govt’s. | Dnevni List pg. 7 by Ivica Glibusic ‘Who appointed national representatives in the RS and Federation of BiH’ – a negative article on the appointment of officials to the RS and Federation executive authorities saying that Croat and Bosniak ministers in the government have been appointed only to serve the RS policy. The author does not spare the Federation either and says that the appointment of the Vice President of the Federation from the line of the Serb people was a farce because it was the Bosniaks and Croats who appointed the Vice President, a procedure in which the Serbs had no influence. “Although the constitutional changes announced equality on the whole territory, only a good wish remained, and on the ground the situation remained the way it was before the constitutional changes,” says the author. Vecernji List pg. 5 by Gorden Knezovic ‘Despite the constituent status – all top RS officials are Serbs’ – also criticizes the implementation of the constitutional changes in BiH saying that appointments in the RS illustrate the picture the best. “In that entity only Serbs have been elected or appointed the President of RS, the Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly and President of the RS Supreme Court”. The author also says that Bosniaks and Croats cannot get jobs in public institutions even at junior levels. |
| OHR on canton 10 govt. | Vecernji List pg. 3 ‘Three positions’ – the OHR sent a strict request demanding to receive the names of candidates for ministerial positions of the Canton 10 government during the day. VL says that the OHR request will be met only partially and thus apart from Stipe Pelivan, who is a candidate for the position of the President of the government, there will be another three candidates for three ministerial positions, that is, for the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice. VL says that many people believe that the government will not be formed before March 31, 2003, which is set as the latest deadline for the forming of the government. |
| Interview with Hadzipasic | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5 – an interview with FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic. Asked whether he is satisfied with proposed ministers, Hadzipasic saaid that he could not say that he was dissatisfied. “The parties which were electing these ministers certainly took into the consideration a criterion, which were agreed upon during mutual contacts between me and leaders of those parties… If they were elected in this way I can only express satisfaction with the quality of ministers who make the Federation government.” Asked whether they would change the decisions that former Federation government passed, he said the following. ” This government will annul all those decisions that are irregular and illegal in some way… Some projects will be reduced, some will be completely eliminated while some of them will be supported.” |
| Vilendecic to resign | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 – according to an NN source close to the Cabinet of the RS Ministry of Finance, Minister Vilendecic will today submit his resignation, the reason being the OHR approved his nomination on the position for the period of only 30 days. As NN learnt however from the sources close to Vilendecic, he would actually resign from his position due to his connection with the disputable sale of the Privredna Banka Doboj. |
| Finci | Nezavisne Novine pg. 7 – following the appointments of Fuad Sabet as the Acting Secretary at the BiH Foreign Ministry and Bakir Dautbasic as the Acting Secretary at Ministry of Security, Jakob Finci, the Director of the Agency for State Administration, warned that the appointments were in violation of the BiH Law on State Administration. Namely, Finci refers to a provision of this Law, which obliges all state bodies to seek opinion from the Agency in regard to any eventual appointments. “The Agency must give an assent to any of such actions.” In Finci’s view, all state servants should be apolitical, meaning that the sole criterion for their appointment should be based on professionalism, rather than political or ethnic background. |
| VL on Svilanovic’s visit | Vecernji List pg. 1 and 2 by Eldina Medunjanin – reports that Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro, Goran Svilanovic, will probably pay a visit to BiH on Wednesday. VL reads that although official sources say that Svilanovic is coming to Sarajevo within the preparations for a Belgrade meeting on the cooperation of Southeast Europe countries, Svilanovic’s visit gets completely new connotations due to the latest statements given by Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on the nature of war in BiH. “Although Svilanovic denied an existence of any Serbian aspirations towards BiH many times, the newly emerged situation will be certainly discussed during the visit to Sarajevo,” says VL. The daily also says one could expect that Svilanovic would talk to BiH representatives about the BiH lawsuit against Yugoslavia. According to VL, many international attempts to harmonize the inter-state relations in Southeast Europe fail exactly due to unresolved issues between BiH and Serbia and Montenegro. |
| VL on consequences of the Iraqi crisis
| Vecernji List pg. 5 by Ilko Barbaric ‘Collapse threatens Bosnia’ – an article dealing with the possible consequences that BiH might suffer due to a possible US attack against Iraq. VL says that some people believe that the US attack might cause tensions and even conflicts in BiH, while businessmen and oil distributors warn that a crisis in energy sector threatens BiH. VL carries a statement by President of the Federation Association of Oil Distributors Muhidin Alic.” I do not believe that in case of the attack on Iraq the price of oil will reach 40 dollars per barrel. If it however happens, the economic collapse can be expected in BiH.” Croat member of the BiH Presidency Dragan Covic says that in case of the American attack against Iraq economic consequences for BiH are inevitable and that everything depends on how long the possible crisis lasts. On the other hand, President of the Office of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Mostar, Zulfo Robovic, says Croatian and BiH economy should take an advantage from the expected development of the Iraqi crises through joint investments and joint presentation on the markets of the third world countries, especially the countries of the Islamic world. |
| DL on chetnik movement | Dnevni List pg. 3 by Ivica Glibusic ‘Chetnik movement under protection of international forces’ – says that frequent attacks on returnees to the RS are often linked to members of the Chetnik movement in BiH. In that context, Glibusic says there are fears because nobody reacts to the existence of such organizations in BiH, which, according to Glibusic, raises suspicion that some international political circles have ties with Chetnik organizations and their lobbies around the world. “Considering that Paddy Ashdown comes from Great Britain in which the Yugoslav government in exile was located and where heirs to the Karadjordjevic dynasty still live and glorify the Chetnik movement, it is clear why initiators of the movement are not sanctioned (…) There is a fear that BiH officials as well as international representatives do not or wish not to know that the movement killed thousands of people. Allowing the work of this fascist movement gives strength to other terrorist groups to work under cover and eventually publicly in BiH,” says Glibusic. |
Economic Affairs | |
| New York Times
| Avaz pg. 1 and 2 – yesterday’s issue of the New York Times carried an article on the investments made in BiH so far. The daily says that it started with Carl Bildt who took $210,000 before leaving for Bosnia. The paper speculates that since then between five and 15 million dollars have been ‘pumped into’ BiH, but no one can tell an exact figure. The daily notes that if the money was well spent it could have given a great boost to the BiH economy. Finally, Times sys that Ashdown is aware that he cannot leave before the BiH economy is reconstructed. They go on to quote Ashdown as saying that he is afraid it might be too late for the implementation of a program the IC is currently advocating. “We have three years to turn the economy dependent on the IC’s help into the export economy,” said Ashdown. The daily further quotes Joseph Ingram, Director of the WB in BiH, as saying that unless the BiH authorities manage to ensure between 350 and 300 million dollars in foreign investments annually then they are in trouble. Finally, a statement by Zarko Papic, well-known economist and a critic of the foreign investments, that a lot of time and money has been wasted on projects that were badly led and had no influence on the situation in the country. |
| Glas Srpski on IC’s double standards | Glas Srpski cover page – an article by D.V.M. is actually a comment on the latest activities of the international community, aimed at stressing a need for the establishment of BiH custom administrations and VAT. The author is rather critical of double standards of the international community, alleging that not much fuss was made upon the tax evasion of Lijanovici firm (in details giving the background information into this affair). The article also contains an inset on Orao affair, saying that in spite of public indications that the BiH Federation Aviation Centres were also involved in arm sales to Iraq (via some other firms, to which they were selling their products), no investigation into allegations was conducted, neither did anyone demand those to be conducted. |
| Elektroprivreda – London EFT | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 – updates on the ongoing affair concerning Elektroprivreda. The daily claims that the annual loss in power dealings amounts to 85 million-KM. According to an NN source, familiarised with business dealings of Elektroprivreda, two men were in full control of these dealings – Bosko Lemez, former RS Minister of Energy, and Drago Sekulic, a member of the RS Elektroprivreda Steering Board. The source further claims that the problem is not in the very sale of power to EFT, but in the fact that it is sold for twice as low prices than the production price actually is. |
| RS Customs Admin. | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 – a statement released by the RS Customs Administration that in the past two years, 11 staff at the RS CA had been fired. Namely, nine customs’ clearance officers were removed from the CA Office in Banja Luka, while two were removed from offices in Bijeljina and Novi Grad (one from each). Djuro Bulic, the RS CA Director, reveals that criminal reports have been filed against 29 customs clearance officers in the course of last year, one of which has reached the phase of processing. According to Bulic, the RS Customs Administration is currently involved in the reviewing of all certificates on education, qualification, etc. |
| Privatisation in the RS | Blic pg. 7 ‘Dead firms are difficult to sell’ – the privatisation process in the RS has been criticised since the very beginning, but according to the last criticisms, the problem is so big that the Law has to be changed. According to local and foreign experts, the current concept of the privatisation is not in line with the current conditions. In order to continue with the privatisation, it is necessary to further the economy, bring firms in better conditions and make them attractive for possible buyers, and then offer them for sale. The RS Agency for Privatisation recommended as necessary to secure the social welfare for workers in the transitional process and to form a fund for social care of workers. President of the RS Association of Employers, Damir Miljevic, says that when the implementation of Law on Liquidation starts the contradictories will appear, because there is an omission in the Law – a firm could be at the same time under the liquidation and privatisation. Miljevic thinks that the solution to that problem would be the removal of firms under the liquidation from a privatisation list, or not to start with the liquidation as long as the privatisation is underway. Miljevic says that the RS is not interesting for investors because the last version of the Law on Enterprises stipulates that an owner needs to have at least 70% of capital in his hands if he/she wishes to make important decisions – the appointment of a steering board or a decision on investments, for example. “We have the Law on Foreign Investments, which favours foreign investors, but in practice they are not stimulated. We do not sell 75% of capital, which is the legal threshold for managing a firm,” Miljevic says. |
| VL on VAT | Vecernji List pg. 4 ‘With the introduction of VAT citizens except the prices increase’ by G. K. – an article on VAT. While politicians are negotiating about the ways how to introduce the VAT, BiH citizens are thinking as to how the introduction of the European tax practice will increase prices. VL also says that since this would also mean reduction of the tax evasion it is clear to citizens that the state will have a great advantage from the VAT, however, they suspect that a great part of that money will be aimed for the huge administration and not development. |
| Brcko District | Blic pg. 8 ‘Brcko District is small, but it is doing more than its share to support the State budget’ – Supervisor Henry Clarke said while explaining his statement given after the talks with representatives of the BiH joint institutions in Sarajevo when he stated that ‘the District was giving more to the state than it received from it’. He reminded that the CoM and Brcko District signed an agreement regulating mutual obligations last year, and said ‘Brcko agreed to pay the State Budget for 2003 almost twice as much per capita as the Entities agreed to pay’. “In accordance with the current calculations, Brcko will pay almost twice as much than the entities, per capita, because the agreed total contribution from Brcko to the State budget is 3.9 million KM for 2003,” Supervisor Clarke pointed out. The Interim government also thinks that Brcko was damaged in a way, since the District fulfilled its obligations taken by the Agreement, while the same could not be said for the CoM. The Brcko border crossing point is still not open for petroleum transports. Because of this, Mayor Sinisa Kisic had recently brought into question the payment of the second annuity for the State budget. The District government believes that the CoM should insist on solving this issue through bilateral contacts with the neighbouring state. |
The Hague Affairs | |
| Jorda
| Avaz pg. 3 ‘Seven war crime cases could be processed in Sarajevo’ – a statement by Director of The Hague Tribunal, Clode Jorda, that seven war crime cases, which could be processed in Sarajevo, had been identified. The seven cases include 13 indictees – some of them are already in The Tribunal and some are still at large. Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Seven cases for Sarajevo’ – Jorda expressing a hope that as of next year the Special Council for War crimes at the BiH Court will start working. |
| Del Ponte | Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 3 – Carla del Ponte revealed before her forthcoming tour of Balkans that investigations were on the way against another 35 to 40 suspects who were in the leading military, police or political positions during the war in ex-Yugoslavia. She added the investigations had to be concluded by the end of 2004. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 6 – carried the identical statement by Del Ponte. |
| DL on war crimes in BiH | Dnevni List pg. 2 by Valentina Rupcic ‘The Hague chronicle has no ending’ – is unhappy with the whole process of the apprehension of war criminals and trials conducted against them saying whilst the trials against Slobodan Milosevic look like everything but trials, Croat general Tihomir Blaskic is one of the rare who has been convicted and suffering because of the war BiH. “I again ask myself where the people, who are in the true meaning of the word responsible for war in BiH, are. Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and many like them are free citizens and are enjoying the fruit of their destruction in this country. Alija Izetbegovic and other Bosniak leaders who were leading BiH at the time of Bosniak-Croat conflicts stayed in the shadow of all events and are remembered only as people who governed BiH at the time. Of course, without consequences. Who is then responsible for the sufferings and atrocities of war in the said conflicts, who is going to suffer for all those lives and wrong politics, we will probably ask ourselves for a long time,” says Rupcic. |
Military Affairs | |
| Army reductions | Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 6 – the daily asks the question of whether further army reductions would be made. It first refers to a letter sent by former FBiH President Safet Halilovic and his Deputy Karlo Filipovic to FBiH Defence Minister Mijo Anic and his Deputy Ferid Buljubasic, which said they should start with a concept of active reserve. The concept means that a certain number of professional soldiers would be withdrawn into reserves, and would be paid only when occasionally attending military exercises. The letter apparently says that SFOR General William Ward requested such move. The daily contacted Halilovic who could not remember whether he signed such paper, and Anic also could not remember whether he received such letter. Anic however confirmed they held several seminars and workshops on the issue. The daily finally concludes that the entire story is in opposition with the recent statement by Sulejman Tihic that no further reductions of the FBIH army would take place until joint BiH army was formed and until the reduction were conducted in both Croatia and FRY. |
Social Issues | |
| Kebo in Srebrenica
| Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 5 – BiH Minister for Refugees and Human Rights, Mirsad Kebo, stated that Srebrenica became a state problem and the local and entity authorities had to engage more in solving the return problem. He further called on the RS authorities to ensure policemen, doctors and teachers equal salaries as in the federation. He said the CoM and his Ministry would immediately start activities on solving problems in Srebrenica. “Everything I promised will be done,” said Kebo. |
| Srebrenica Mayor | Glas srpski pg. 3 – Srebrenica Mayor, Radomir Pavlovic, has called on the RS government to become more actively involved in the resolving of piled problems in this municipality, thus contribute to the concept of the accelerated development of this region. He further expressed expectation that ‘the new government composition would pay much more attention to this municipality than the previous governments did’. He further warned that no minimal living conditions had been provided in Srebrenica, which is why the returns and existence in the region were jeopardised. |