Latest radio news broadcast at 12.00 on 18 November
BH Radio 1 (12,00 hrs) | RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (12,00 hrs) |
Events marking DPA anniversary | Vukovar, Skabrnja commemorations |
APEC session | Talks in |
6 killed in car bomb blast in Iraq | Snow on roads |
TV news broadcast on 17 November
RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | TV PINK (18,00 hrs) | BHT 1 (19,00 hrs) |
McElhaney on constitutional reforms | Three killed in fire | Pre-feasibility study on corridor 5c |
Covic on constitutional reforms | Barbaso visits BiH | |
Cavic on BIH | CoM appointed Chief Negotiator | International conference in |
| Conference on Corridor Vc | McElhaney on |
NTV Hayat (19,00 hrs) | FTV (19,30 hrs) | RTRS (19,30 hrs) |
EUFOR soldier died in traffic accident | McElhaney on | 3 women killed in fire |
CoM appointed Chief Negotiator | International conference in | Sentence to 3 war crime indictees |
RS citizens on CoM | Chief BiH negotiator appointed | 10 killed soldiers & civilians identified |
Conference on Corridor Vc | | Media conference in |
Oslobodjenje | |
Dnevni Avaz | World Bank warned BiH it cannot take more loans |
Dnevni List | They tumbled down in 150 metres deep abyss (on car accident of EUFOR soldiers) |
Vecernji List | Croatia related headline |
Slobodna Dalmacija | Saric: Pekija knocked me out (on incident at football match Zeljeznicar-Sarajevo) |
Nezavisne Novine | Negotiations at the end of the month |
Glas Srpske | Two days of mourning |
EuroBlic | Gradiska sunk in sorrow |
Vecernje novosti | Features Serbian related titles |
LATEST NEWS OF TODAY | |
Holbrooke awarded with Dayton Peace Prize | |
BiH Intellectuals discuss DPA legacy and possible changes
| BH Radio 1 – Conference marking the 10th DPA anniversary has started also in |
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CoM appoints Igor Davidovic as chief negotiator, forms state delegation
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Chief of EC Enlargement Directorate Barboso:
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McElhaney: US expects BiH leaders to reach agreement in US, Karadzic/Mladic must be apprehended; RS authorities to sign statement re ICTY
| Hayatby Semsudin Skejic– Addressing the journalists on the topic of the DPA anniversary events to occur in the |
BiH parliamentarians left for US; Raguz says BiH parliament ready to move towards
| BHT 1 by Laura Bosnjak – BHT1 says that the proposal of the constitutional changes in BiH should be completed over this weekend |
RS delegation departs for
| RTRS by Marina Marjanovic – RS delegation travelling to |
Covic: HDZ wants new Constitution
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SD: ‘Bishops will not go at
| Slobodna Dalmacija pg 4 ‘Bishops will not go at Dayton anniversary, Covic has not been even invited’ by V. Vegar carries that although invited Catholic Bishops will not attend marking of the 10th DPA anniversary and according to the author in this way they expressed their opinion on injustices that this agreement brought to the Croat people. SD says that at the same time HDZ President Dragan Covic has not been invited at this ceremony since the US Administration stick to the principle according to which they do not invite officials who are a subject to criminal charges. SD concludes that in this way President of the strongest Croat party will not participate in very important talks on constitutional changes that might result in signing of some sort of a document. Slobodna Bosna pg 10 ‘Dragan Covic, HDZ president, will not go to States’ by A.M. – SB carries the same information adding that the US has been trying to make Barisa Colak to go instead. |
Ivanic: const. changes not obligatory for
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Everyone maintains their stances’ by V. Popovic, inset ‘ |
Kunic:
| BN TV ‘Puls’ current affairs programme by Suzana Radjen-Todorovic – Petar Kunic, delegate in the BiH House of Representatives, does not consider the DPA as obstacle for further BiH development in BiH or process of the Euro-Atlantic integrations. “I do not see big reasons for constitutional changes. I think that BiH has far more important issues to deals with. I believe those are economic integrations, economic development and Euro-Atlantic integrations,” he said. Asked about upcoming meeting on constitutional changes in |
Ambassador Turkovic: No constitution has been signed or agreed upon as yet | Dnevni Avaz, pg 2 ‘There is no constitution that is already written or agreed upon’, by A. M. – The BiH Ambassador to US, Bisera Turkovic, claims it is premature to talk about any constitution that could be signed during the forthcoming talks in the US. “It must be stressed that there is no constitution that has been already made or agreed upon”, said Turkovic. |
| Dnevni List pg 7 ‘I will not sign anything that does not serve interest of Croat people’ by A. Beus – |
HR Ashdown:
| Hayat report by VoA– In interview given to Voice of America, the HR Paddy Ashdown commented to the situation in BiH by stating that the important thing is to realize the country is at the end of the first phase of its road to the EU. “Thanks to the reforms that we carried out, especially in the last year, BiH is now prepared to join NATO, when Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are finally apprehended and to join the EU,” said HR adding this will lead to the second phase of transition. “In order for BiH to be functional and efficient state, decentralized, which will serve citizens not politicians – BiH now spends 70% from taxes on administration and only 30% on health, education, pensions – so we have to change Dayton. How can we do that? First of all, we are not rejecting Dayton…but it is time to think about how to move fr4om Dayton State toward modern European State”- said HR, adding that this process has already started in Brussels and will continue in Washington. Dnevni Avaz, pg 3 ‘USA’s engagement still has key importance’, by Srna, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Crucial role of America’ by Srna, Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Engagement of USA in BiH is of a crucial importance’ by V. P. – Ashdown is holding a series of the meetings in |
NN op-ed: situation different from citizens’ point of view than HR presents | Nezavisne Novine op-ed pg 7 ‘Between Brussels and Washington’ by Slavo Kukic – the author wonders if HR Paddy Ashdown believes in what he is saying and notes that, from BiH citizens’ point of view, the topics on which he is talking look quite different. |
Holbrooke: DPA saved Balkans from Al-Qaeda
| Hayat, Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘The Dayton stopped Al-Q’Aida’ by Srna, Dnevni List pg 6 ‘Dayton Accord saved Balkan’ not signed– The Creator of the Dayton Peace Agreement Richard Holbrooke addressed the US Senate and stated that the November 1995’s event and signing of the document prevented Balkan to become another Afghanistan. “We didn’t know about Al-Qaeda back then, but now we know that only DPA and later action on Kosovo have stopped Osama Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda from making new |
Hays: ‘Talks on Constitution for eight months already’
| Oslobodjenje, pg 3 ‘Talks on Constitution for eight months already’, by Fena – Fena news agency reports that while leaders of BiH political parties deny participation in the development of proposals of constitutional changes, Donald Hays, one of the key players in this process, in a letter to the Balkan Research Networks unveiled that parties from BiH have been involved in these talks for eight months no and that their representatives have proposed the “contentious” changes. “In March, eight political parties with representatives in both houses of the BiH Parliament selected their delegates to work on behalf of the parties in the Working Group for dealing with constitutional changes. The aim of the Working Group was to find solutions to the contentious issues from the Venetian Report. The Working Group first met in March and has since met once a month in |
Puljic: IC hasn’t done much, DPA was most damaging for Croats
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Feral op-ed on
| Feral pgs 28 and 29 ‘Frame for empty heads’ by I. Lovrenovic carries that it is well known that a new BiH Constitution would be adopted in Washington on the ground of the US pressure and the purpose of this pressure is to avoid instability in BiH during the negotiations on the Kosovo status and to secure a minimum of the state functionality necessary for the negotiations with the EU. The author says that for this reason the USA would be satisfied with slight changes while they resolutely reject all deeper changes, especially administrative-territorial ones and the author concludes that the real and long-term battle for generally acceptable BiH starts after Washington. The author also says that BiH would be less and less the country of Croats if they were represented by Croat political representatives that we could see at the |
SB op-ed on SDA’s request for abolishment of RS: Amateurish request
| Slobodna Bosna op-ed ‘Abolishment of RS is amateurish request’ op-ed by Senad Avdic – Author comments to the SDA’s participation in the talks on constitutional changes reminding it leader Sulejman Tihic has been requesting the abolishment of the RS. “RS is a part of BiH – equal, for time being constitutionally verified, practically functional; privately I very skeptical about patriots who love BiH without RS, more disgusting are only those who love RS outside of BiH!,” reads the editorial. Author, while pointing out that RS was created by war criminals, deems that SDA’s requests are amateurish and irresponsible. “SDA and Sulejman Tihic’s project should not be abolishment of the RS, but active and continuous work on its democratization and modernization,” concludes SB. |
Economic and judicial issues | |
Int conference on Vc corridor commences in
| Oslobodjenje, front pg splash and pgs 4-5 ‘World Bank warned BiH it cannot take more loans’, by A. Kalamujic, M. Kavaz-Sirucic, Dnevni Avaz, pg 4, mentioned on front ‘Prime Minister Terzic rejects policy of World Bank’, by L. Sinanovic, – BiH Council of Ministers Chair Adnan Terzic on Thursday opened the International Financial and Expert Conference (INFECO) for the corridor 5C, attended by over 250 participants from significant financial institutions and companies. Terzic stressed this is one of BiH’s most significant projects. “The results of the freeway pre-feasibility study, which was designed in line with the World Bank methodology, indicated the conclusion that those who invest into corridor 5C can expect substantial profits”, stressed Terzic addressing the participants. The project’s feasibility, as he added, is enhanced by the fact that BiH is to open |
FBiH Govt doesn’t change stance on Enegroptrol co-capitalization
| – The FBiH Government on Thursday analyzed the assessment issued by the FBiH House of Representatives after debate on co-capitalization of “Energopetrol” and declared that the HoR’s conclusions do not contain any new elements that could affect the Government’s previous decision. Additionally, there are no new elements that could guarantee another model for recovering “Energopetrol”, apart from the one offered earlier. The FBiH Government deems that the contract on recovery of “Energopetrol” should also encompass the modalities for protecting the domestic market in line with international standards and BiH laws. FTVby Zlata Behram – FBiH Government decided that the Croatian-Hungarian consortium INA-MOL would remain the strategic partner in the privatisation of Energopetrol. Only FBiH Minister of Culture and Sport Gavrilo Grahovac voted against this decision, while Federal Minister of Trade Maid Ljubovic abstained from voting. |
RS Govt sent letter to OHR re distribution of ITA funds: RS budget damaged for 28 mil; solution must be find otherwise RS will cease coop. with ITA
| FTV, RTRS, BHT, Dnevni Avaz, pg 12 ‘UIO damaged RS by 28 million marks?’, not signed, EuroBlic pg RS2 ‘They seek for justice from OHR’ by M. Soja, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Dixon proclaimed – lawfulness’ by G. Dakic, Nezavisne Novine pg 5 ‘To investigate distribution of money from ITA account’ by R. S. – RS Minister of Finance Svetlana Cenic on Thursday said she addressed a letter to the HR, Paddy Ashdown, asking for his assistance in resolving the problem on accounting the coefficients for distribution of revenue from the single account of the BiH Indirect Tax Authority (ITA), because the RS Budget was damaged for approx. 28 million KM in 10 months of this year. She told a press conference that the Entity Budget was damaged for the mentioned amount, “which was directed to the FBiH Budget” due to disrespecting of the Decision on manner of accounting the distribution of coefficient. The Government requests from Ashdown to take measures to ensure that the “ITA Steering Board and ITA Director respect the regulations they issued themselves” and that the RS Budget is provided with its original funds, as well as to help issue the Decision on accounting the distribution coefficient following the introduction of VAT in BiH. Cenic said that if the current practice is continued the Government could request from the RSNA to recall the decision on forming a single account of indirect taxes in BiH. PINKBy Milka Mrdja – Cenic said that during one of the meetings, PDHR Lawrence Butler has stressed that RS representatives are right and that he will do everything for this problem to be solved, but nothing happened and Cenic stressed that this kind of behaviour is questioning the participation of RS members in work of BiH National- Fiscal Council. |
Update to Peljesac bridge: Ivanic hopes there will be no need for diplomacy solution for the issue
| Dnevni Avaz, pg 5 ‘Rules of international law are on our side’, mentioned on front ‘Croatia wants to prevent our access to sea’, by Husein Orahovac – With regard to the construction of Peljesac bridge, BiH Minister of Civil Affairs Safet Halilovic says the construction of the bridge is in violence of principles of the international laws. Dnevni Avaz, pg 5 ‘Ivanic hopes there will be no diplomatic dispute’, by N. D. – BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Mladen Ivanic stated for DA that he hopes there would be no need for a diplomatic resolving of Peljesac bridge issue. However ‘should this not be the case, we will reach for an international arbitrage in order to protect BiH interests’, as Ivanic said. Dnevni Avaz, pg 5 ‘It will be the way we agree upon’, by L. S. – Deputy Croatian Minister of maritime affairs, tourism, traffic and development, Mato Jurisic, expressed readiness to accept any solution on which an agreement is reached and he added there is no doubt Croatia would respect all international standards. He noted |
OHR supports request for exemption of property in Kasindol from HR’s ban in order to allow construction of
| RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg 10 ‘Allocate land for detention unit’, Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Land for detention unit of BiH Court is needed’ by N. N.Slobodna Dalmacija pg 22 ‘OHR: Support to work of Commission for State Property’ by F, mb– At the latest meeting of the BIH commission for state property, OHR supported the Justice Ministry’s request to exempt certain property in East Ilijas (formerly Kasindol) from HR Paddy Ashdown’s decision on temporary ban of state property disposal. This property would be used for construction of |
Hearing in Croat self-rule case started
| Dnevni List pg 3 ‘Decision on disbanding of soldiers illegal’ by E. Mackic – The hearing in the Croat self-rule case started on Thursday and according to the prosecution witness Mijo Anic the decision on disbanding the Croat component of the FBiH Army passed by then member of the BiH Presidency Ante Jelavic, former FBiH Defence Minister Miroslav Prce and General Dragan Curcic had negative consequences for functioning of the FBiH Army at that time. Anic also said at the hearing that when he was appointed to the Prce’s position he put out of force the Prce’s decision on disbanding of soldiers since, in his (Anic’s) opinion, it was illegal and damaging for FBiH Defence Ministry officials. Also reported by Vecernji List pg 4 ‘Anic on commanding in HVO’ by E. Medunjanin, Slobodna Dalmacija pg 19 ‘They sent home 6500 soldiers’ by Z. Tulic. Also reported by |
DL: There is possibility to annul bill of indictment agst M. Tadic | Dnevni List pg 5, mentioned on cover ‘Bill of indictment against Mate Tadic is being annulled?’ by D. Polovina-Mandic – Lawyer Zarko Bulic who represents President of the BiH Constitutional Court (BiH CC), Mate Tadic, in the Covic and others case lodged an objection to the Panel of Judges in which he claims that it is necessary to get an approval of the BiH CC in order to issue a bill of indictment and detain his client. DL explains that according to the BiH CC rules a judge of this court cannot be detained and a bill of indictment cannot be issued against him without the BiH CC approval. DL says that prosecutor Johnatan Rattel considers these rules (DL officially learns that Tadic himself initiated them) as an internal act and he believes that the |
War crimes / defence issues | |
RS PM’s advisor denies Karadzic was hiding near Trebinje, Mladic hidden by RS army
| RTRS, BHT1, Hayat, EuroBlic pg RS2, announced on cover ‘Karadzic was not in Trebinje’ by R. Radosavljevic, Vecernje Novosti pg 13 ’30 fellow fighters were interrogated’ by Sl. Pesevic, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Neither Ratko nor Radovan’ by V. Janjic, Nezavisne Novine pg 8 ‘Information not correct, check up ongoing’ by A. Sekulic– The Security Advisor to the RS Prime Minister, Cvjetko Savic, on Thursday told Fena that “only indices existed” that ICTY indictee Ratko Mladic in his hiding was still using the services of current members of the RS Army, but that they have proved to be “incorrect”. “These were only indices and after the controls by the relevant ministries they were proved to be incorrect”, claims Savic. |
Details of RS MoI report on Mladic, Karadzic, Zupljanin: RS/EUFOR/NATO tried to arrest Karadzic in Trebinje in June
| Hayatreport by ATV – On June 28th, RS Police, EUFOR and NATO have searched for Radovan Karadzic in Trebinje and this action failed, reads the report the RS Ministry of Interior submitted to the RSNA. The report also mentions hideouts of Stojan Zupljanin and details on interrogation of Han Pijesak dwellers brought into connection with Ratko Mladic. Report mentions that arrest of Milan Lukic as being a result of the surveillance of his wife, being that RS MoI and Serbian agencies have followed the line of their divorce. RS Government confirmed the validity of this report, sent to RSNA representatives. Head of RS Government’s PR Bureau Cvijeta Kovacevic said: “Because this report was discussed by the Government on its 32nd session, it accepted it and submitted it to the RSNA and as far as I know that will be the subject of discussion of next session”. Oslobodjenje, pg 2, mentioned on front ‘Karadzic was near Trebinje last summer’, by Onasa – also carries details of the report. Slobodna Dalmacija pgs 16 and 17, mentioned on cover ‘They were catching Karadzic in Trebinje, former officers protect Mladic’ by A. Macanovic – SD claims that the failed action was carried by on the ground of the information coming from OSA, which said that Karadzic was seen in this area. |
Labus: I have not received information of RS Govt on Karadzic and Mladic
| Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘I am not informed on whereabouts of Karadzic and Mladic’ by Onasa, Vecernje Novosti pg 13 ‘No trace of Mladic’ by M. Vuksanovic – No official wanted to officially comment claims of RS Government that Ratko Mladic is being helped by RS Army, but also by SiCG Army, however SiCG Defense Ministry expressed its surprise over these claims and reiterated SiCG Army is not protecting Mladic. Inset ‘Labus: I have no information’ – Deputy President of Serbian Government Miroljub Labus stated he had not received the information of RS Government with regard to alleged locations at which Hague indictees Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are hiding. Hayat – Serbian authorities claim not to have information on Mladic and Chair of |
Scheffer: No PfP membership without Karadzic/Mladic in ICTY
| BHT 1by Elvir Bucalo – NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer reiterated that BiH must adopt changes to the constitution if it wants to become the member state of the NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme. Scheffer stressed that there is mutual desire for BiH to join the PfP as soon as possible, but: “They should realize that, as long as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are not in the Hague, there is an obstacle to BiH admission to PfP. Whether they like it or not, that’s the way things are, and it is not going to change before they are delivered to |
| RTRS by Biljana Knezevic – |
NN op-ed ridicules RS parties’ invitation to Karadzic to surrender
| Nezavisne Novine op-ed pg 7 ‘Surrender’ by Natasa Krsman – referring to the invitation of RS parties to Karadzic to surrender, the author notes there is a graffiti that reads: ‘My wife too appeals to you to surrender’ and the author notes that the invitation of RS parties will be taken as seriously as this funny graffiti. |
Media on Halilovic’s acquittal
| Slobodna Dalmacija pg 19 ‘They ‘pardoned’ BiH Army crimes’ by V. Vegar comments on Sefer Hlailovic’s acquittal and the author says: ‘The ICTY did not try the BiH Army, but a General (referring to S. Halilovic) who was disowned by the BiH Army and the Bosniak political top tried to kill him.’ The author says that in case that the court was trying the BiH Army the sentence would be big since crimes of the BiH Army were proved, however, Halilovic is not responsible for them. BHT 1 ‘Javna tajna’ current affairs programme comments that the entire process only proved that Halilovic was the victim of regime. Dani cover splash, pg 3 ‘Justice for |
Defence Ministry warns on insufficient budgetary means to implement reform | Oslobodjenje, pg 7, mentioned on front ‘Insufficient budget for military in BiH would jeopardize reform’, by Antonio Prlenda – Carries an interview with the Co-Chairman of the Defence Reform Commission, Raffi Gregorian, in which he warns that anything less than 300 million KMs for the military in BiH in 2006 would slow down the country’s road to the Partnership for Peace and endanger the defence reform process. He argues that the amount of 300 million KMs is a mere 2% of the country’s |
Other political issues | |
Sanader: ‘There is no BiH without Croat people’
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CoE criticizes BiH’s failure to adopt resolutions, education situation; OSCE Head Davidson: BiH education is disuniting the state
| FTVby Zinaida Hamidovic – Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 46 Council of Europe’s member states concluded their meeting in |
DL interview with French Minister for European Affairs C. Colonna
| Nezavisne Novine pg 4, announced on cover ‘BiH needs stronger institutions’ by D. Risojevic, Dnevni List pg 9 ‘To intensify interest of French companies for BiH’ by A. Beus both carry an interview with French Minister for European Affairs Catherine Colonna who comes to visit BiH. Among the other things, Colonna stated: ‘I hope that we shall be able to play a role in strengthening of the rule of law and reconciliation in BiH.’ She added that she would also like that more French companies are interested in BiH. |
Lozancic: Its is still possible to have one or more Croat TV channels
| Dnevni List pg 9 ‘Lozancic dissatisfied with presence of Croats from BiH at |
Oslobodjenje op-ed on SDHR Ney’s warning re: culture institutions | Oslobodjenje, pg 9 ‘Anti-culture’, by Zija Dizdarevic – Carries an op-ed in which he comments on the warning by the SDHR, Martin Ney, regarding the state’s responsibility for financing of cultural institutions of BiH i.e. the lack of it. Dizdarevic sees two reasons why the state has failed to honour its obligations, firstly there are political forces with the political system of BiH that are denying BiH’s statehood, and secondly, Dizdarevic argues that no coalition in BiH has ever been ‘an alliance for BiH’ – instead they were ‘partnerships for power’. |