OHR BiH Media Round-up, 19/9/2002

Headlines in Print Media

Oslobodjenje:  Investigation into murdering nine BiH Army members (in 1992)

Dnevni Avaz: Tokic responds to Lagumdzija – Both SDP and the Alliance are more important than Zlatko’s vanity; Ashdown delivers a speech to lawyers – Politics must not protect crime; Incidents at Arizona – Fierce clashes between police and landowners

Dnevni List: Fresh unrest at Arizona – Police used force; BiH might face an explosion of infective diseases

Vecernji List: Infective diseases to destroy cattle in BiH

Glas Srpski: Clashed between Police and Croats near Brcko – Arizona as the Wild West

Nezavisne Novine: RS National Assembly adopts Chief Auditor’s report determining illegal budget spending – It is now up to Ministry of Interior and Prosecution Office; Paddy Ashdown – BiH need a politics cleaned from crime 

Euro Blic: Four persons injured in a fight between the police and citizens at Arizona market; Tuzla’s salt with metal; Vaccine for hepatitis B in the RS is not dangerous

Four injured, ten arrested in clashes with police in Brcko District

Police in Brcko District have confirmed that four persons were slightly injured and 10 arrested following an attempt this morning by Brcko District inspectors, with the help of the police, to seal off an illegal car park at Arizona market. The police issued a public statement which says that the incident flared when a group of around thirty Croat citizens tried to prevent market inspectors in their attempt to seal off a car park whose owner is Ruza Blekic.

According to the statement, the gathered group of people then put up an active attempt to resist the police. The police pushed the group back without using batons. Four people received slight injuries, the statement says, “most probably when they fell on the barricades which the citizens had erected themselves”. After a three-hour interrogation, the arrested people were released, but the police said that criminal charges would be filed against them at the Brcko District Main Court. Toma Tomcic, one of the people injured in the police intervention and one of the arrested, told SRNA that “these events are very sad”. “I am 70 and I was beaten up and dragged along the ground for 50 meters as an animal. I have a medical certificate (about the received injuries). I was sitting in the area between the two car parks when the police squad arrived, stormed at all of us and the things just happened,” Tomcic said on leaving the police station. He said that the police had not shown any official warrant for sealing off the car park. The legal representative of the Arizona market land owners, Jozo Andjic, said that the owners, who had already sued the Brcko District authorities, would seek justice for this incident, too, through the relevant judicial bodies. During the last session of the district government, which dealt with the expropriation of land at Arizona market, Brcko Deputy Mayor Ivan Krndelj said that he would resign if force were used again against the land owners.

The vice-president of the BiH House of Peoples (who is also the chairman of the Croat Peasant Party, HSS), Ilija Simic, has condemned Wednesday morning’ s action by the Brcko District police at Arizona market place saying that the district’s administration was behaving as a state within a state. Simic issued a written statement in which he says that there are indications that all Croats who are part of the executive and legal authorities in Brcko District will resign if the complex issue of the private ownership of the land at Arizona market place were not approached in a more responsible and thoughtful manner. “Beating up and arresting citizens – the owners of the market place land – is utterly unacceptable seen from the angle of the civic and possession of property rights. Beating up and arresting elderly people because they are against the expropriation of their own land, and all because of some shady private company, is an unacceptable act,” Simic said.

Croat parties in Brcko District will thoroughly reconsider their further participation in the work of the legislative and executive authorities in the district until the problem of private property on Arizona market has been resolved without the use of force, said Wednesday’s statement signed by the Republican Party of BiH, the Croatian Peasant Party, the New Croat Initiative, the Croatian Party of Rights and the Croat Democratic Union. “The public is familiar with our request for a resolution of the problem over the right to private property and work permits, which has been ignored so far and at our astonishment, force was used and all human and civil rights of us Croats in Brcko District were violated,” the joint statement said. “We call on the district police to immediately release all arrested, who are mainly Croats, and ensure that when implementing laws the same measures are applied towards the citizens of other nationalities. We call on High Representative Paddy Ashdown and the public to help us in our efforts to survive as people in this district, the statement concluded,” it adds.

(Oslobodjenje, p 8, Dnevni Avaz, p 12, mentioned on the front page, Glas Srpski, front page, Nezavisne Novine, p 3)

RS-related news

The RS National Assembly on Wednesday adopted the Government’s report on the implementation of the budget for the first six months of this year. The report says that the implementation of the budget for that period has been 8 per cent higher than planned.

The assembly also adopted a report on the completed revision of the financial reports on the budget and its users for 2001 with a conclusion that a significant progress has been made in comparison with the previous year. RS Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic emphasized that all those involved in any violations of the valid laws and financial regulations had to be sanctioned. “I have already insisted that the Auditor’s report is delivered to all authorized local and international bodies including the Ministry of Interior, Prosecution Offices and the Office of the High Representative for further action,” Ivanic told BHTV 1. Wednesday’s, 19th, session is probably the last session of the People’s Assembly in its current composition. Ending the session, Speaker Dragan Kalinic said that the assembly was in the past period a pillar of support to the political and constitutional stability of the RS. He thanked the deputies for tolerance and mutual respect that they had demonstrated as well as their positive attitude during the session. Kalinic said that the assembly was very efficacious and that it had adopted 134 laws, 79 conclusions and 192 resolutions in its current composition. (Dnevni Avaz, p 4, Glas Srpski, p 3, Nezavisne Novine, p 3, Blic p 7, Nacional p 11)

Glas Srpski reports (p 3) that the Serb members of the RS NA Constitutional Commission (RSNA CoCo), which held a session in Banja Luka on Wednesday, are of the opinion that the decision, made by the Bosniak members of the RS NA CoCo, to refer to national interest clause (VNI) when it comes to the appointment of judges Simovic and Lukic to the BiH Constitutional Court (BiH CoCo), endangers the Serb national interest. According to the paper, the Serb members of the RSNA CoCo informed the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, about this. The paper quotes the RSNA CoCo Chairman, Miroslav Mikes, as saying that the High Representative has to prevent Bosniaks from abusing the VNI mechanism. Mikes said that the objection by the Bosniak members of the Commission is absurd, noting that the positions for judges in the BiH CoCo were advertised, but that no Bosniak representative applied and that only Simovic and Lukic applied for these positions. According to him, after the IJC insistence, the vacancy was re-advertised and the only candidates who applied were Simovic, Lukic and Slavica Slavnic. “The HJPC forwarded the names of candidates to the President Sarovic and he proposed candidates to the RS NA. The question that crops up is how the Bosniak VNI is endangered if no Bosniak candidate applied”, said Mikes. (Nezavisne Novine, front page, p 3, Oslobodjenje, p 4, Blic p 2, Nacional p 11)

“At the session of the RSNA CoCo, we did not reach a compromise. The Bosniak members reiterated their initial position that the appointment of Radomir Lukic as a BiH Constitutional Court member was damaging the Bosniak vital national interest. Since the Serb members and a representative of the others, Branko Morait, disagreed with such the position, a final resolution for the issue (of appointment of BiH Constitutional Court judges) will have to be made by the High Representative,” Dnevni Avaz (p 3) quoted a Bosniak member of the RSNA CoCo Remzija Kadricas saying.

Glas Srpski reports (p 2) that the HRH Yugoslav Prince, Aleksandar Karadjordjevic II and his wife, Princess Katarina Karadjordjevic, on Wednesday visited Banja Luka where they met with theRS President, Mirko Sarovic, the RS vice-president, Dragan Cavic, the RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic, the RS NA Speaker, Dragan Kalinic, the Serb Orthodox Metropolitan Nikolaj, the Banja Luka Mufti, Edhem Camdzic and the Banja Luka Bishop, Franjo Komarica. The Yugoslav Prince, Cavic, Sarovic and the Metropolitan discussed marking the anniversary of the first Serbian rising and construction of the Karadjordjevic’s quarters in the Dobrun Monastery near Visegrad. The Yugoslav Prince also met with the representatives of the religious communities in Banja Luka (Serb Orthodox Bishop Jefrem, Banja Luka Mufti Edhem Camdzic and Bishop Franjo Komarica) and stressed that the democracy and respect of human rights is the only way to better future.

Nezavisne Novine, p 8 and Nacional, p 11 carried similar reports.

BiH, international legal experts discuss immunity, judicial reforms

BiH and international legal experts concluded at Wednesday’s round table in Sarajevo that immunity in BiH is a wide concept in terms of the persons it concerns and the acts for which the persons in question invoke immunity. In his opening remarks, the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said that “the politics must be an area which there is no crime in, and not a place where the crime is protected..” “We need to create a better system of ethical codex for politicians, as it has been the practice in the western democracies, and use more efficiently the existing laws and regulations when it comes to the conflict of interests”, said Ashdown. The head of the OHR department for judicial reform, Zoran Pajic, told journalists following the discussion that the majority of the participants in the round table on judicial reform and regulation of immunity believe that a revision of the legal and constitutional provisions on immunity could contribute towards the affirmation of institutions. “The participants believe that this matter should be regulated by law at the level of BiH, by setting the founding principles on this matter for all levels in the state,” he said. Explaining this issue Pajic said that immunity has the primary aim of protecting the integrity and dignity of the institutions and ensuring the functioning of certain institutions. “People in these posts enjoy certain protection, but only as much as it is necessary for them to carry out their functions,” he said. Pajic added that it was too early to speak about any draft bill on immunity, but added that the founding principles could be drafted by the elections. (Dnevni Avaz, p 2, mentioned on the front page: Politics must not protect Crime, Oslobodjenje, p 7, Glas Srpski, p 2, Nezavisne Novine, front page, p 2, Dnevni List, p 4, Blic, p 2)

EU-BiH relations

A 26-member delegation of the Political and Security Committee of the European Union arrived in Sarajevo for an official, two-day visit to BiH. This visit is part of the EU’s preparations for the European Union Police Mission which is taking over from the IPTF on 1 January 2003. The PSC is based in Brussels and represents all the 15 Member States of the EU on common foreign and security policy issues, including the EUPM. The PSC met with the BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdzija. There are also scheduled to meet with High Representative and EU Special Representative Paddy Ashdown, and the leaders of the leading international organisations in BiH including UN SRSG Jacques Klein. The President of the PSC, Ambassador Marie-Louise Overvad told journalist that “the decision to take on the Police Mission as of next year is a sign of the EU’s long-term commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina.” “The EU is determined to ensure a smooth transition from the IPTF to the EUPM and build on what has been achieved. The EUPM’s role will be to complete the process of developing impartial and effective police forces capable of providing security to all the citizens of BiH,” she added. (Oslobodjenje, p 3, Dnevni Avaz, p 2)

Dnevni List (page 3) carries that Christopher Patten, European Union Commissioner for External Relations, will pay a visit to BiH. Patten will visit Sarajevo and Banja Luka and meet with Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative, Dragan Mikerevic, a Chairman of the BiH Presidency, and Zlatko Lagumdzija, the BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs. DL carries that it was announced that during his visit Patten might confirm that the BiH authorities have finally met their obligations from the Road Map. The article says that if Patten confirms that these obligations were met it would mean that a drafting of a Feasibility Study as a step towards negotiations on stabilization and joining of BiH to European Union would start at the beginning of the next year. DL says that EU could not confirm the optimistic expectations of the BiH media. Mirjana Micevska, a Spokesperson of the BiH Council of Ministers, stated: ‘All 18 conditions set by EU were met and Dragan Mikerevic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, stressed that the implementation of obligations that BiH received after it was admitted to Council of Europe has already started.’    Dnevni List (p 2) and Dnevni Avaz (p 2) carry an OHR media advisory saying that Patten and the HR will meet in Banja Luka tomorrow.

Vecernji List on issue on dual citizenship

Vecernji List (front and page 2) reads that the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications finds the stories about thousands of BiH citizens losing their BiH citizenship due to the fact that they are also holders of some other country’s citizenship ungrounded. According to the current Law on BiH Citizenship, persons that hold another citizenship will be erased from the BiH Citizenship list unless changes and amendments to Law on Citizenship are adopted by 31 Dec, 2002. The said changes and amendments that have already been adopted by the BiH Council of Ministers stipulate that the deadline for striking of bilateral agreements with other states be prolonged by 5 years which would give more time for negotiations.  However, Miodrag Pandurevic, Assistant Minister of Civil Affairs and Communications of BiH, claims that there are no fears that some citizens are to be deprived of BiH citizenship. Pandurevic says that BiH does not have data how many BiH citizens hold other citizenship because BiH never got such information from other countries because other countries wanted to protect privacy of their citizens. Pandurevic adds that an agreement on dual citizenship with FRY is completely prepared and could be signed during this month. Regarding this issue with Croatia, Pandurevic denies a stalemate in talks with Zagreb saying that the uncertainty regarding the right to vote has been eliminated in the recent talks. Pandurevic notes that BiH waits for a signal from Zagreb to go into signing of an agreement on dual citizenship with Croatia. (Glas Srpski, p 5, carries an article on the same issue)

Federation affairs

Under the above title, Vecernji List (front and page 3, by Dejan Jazvic) carries an interview with Goran Mihaljevic, the Croat Liaison Officer with the ICTY, in which he talks about the Bugojno case i.e. the decision of the Cantonal Court in Travnik (CCT) to stop the investigation against Dzevad Mlaco, wartime Mayor of Bugojno, and 428 other persons who had been charged with war crimes against Bugojno Croats. Mihaljevic says that the decision of the CCT is a result of insufficient preparations and protection of witness. As a reminder, the ICTY Prosecution sent its opinion to the TCC in April this year under a code ‘B’, according to which there were no elements in the submitted documentation to criminally prosecute Mlaco and the rest. ”This situation confirms that there is need to establish a special court in BiH which would work on processing of war crimes. Like in previous cases, the main problem is witnesses who are not ready to talk before local courts in BiH because they are not properly protected (…) Bugojno case will for sure be processed. With new evidence and witnesses it is possible to activate the case very soon. Cantonal Prosecutor should have reacted after the interview with Enes Sijamija in ‘Slobodna Bosna’ who openly confirms Mlaco’s responsibility for crimes against Bugojno Croats”, says Mihaljevic.

Dnevni List (page 3 and front page) and Vecernji List (page 5 and front page) carry that representatives of the Sarajevo College of Veterinary Medicine warned that ‘there is a threat of an explosion of infectious diseases by which people’s health is being endangered and it is a high time that competent institutions get serious and take urgent steps in order to bring the situation under control. Spreading of the infectious diseases among animals threaten to totally destroy livestock in BiH.’ According to the College, the main culprit for this situation is a competent Department with the Federation Ministry of Agriculture, Water Supply and Forestry.

Reactions to Kostunica statement

President of FRY Vojislav Kostunica told BN TV that his statement about relation between Yugoslavia and RS had been wrongly interpreted among politicians in Bosnia and the world. “When it comes to Yugoslavia and BiH I say that the border should be more transparent. It is in our interest to have stable relation with BiH, i.e. with the RS within BiH. That is our interest. I have never mentioned this, but it is an interesting example: more that a half a year ago, believe or not, I received an request from the BiH Constitutional court to declare myself about the constituency of the Agreement of Special Relations between Yugoslavia and the RS. The president of other country was asked to declare himself about that agreement. I have never wanted to speak about that publicly, simply not wishing to jeopardize those relations.  But obviously there are people who want to jeopardise them, and one of them is Haris Silajdzic and several people around him. Whoever asks for an apology does not want either that or a normalisation of relations between Yugoslavia and the RS. I have to say I have a special affinity and love toward the RS, but the Dayton Peace Accord gives me a right for that love. Maybe that is because I am from Herzegovina and that my love is in accordance with the DPA and noone can dispute that,” Kostunica said. (Vecernje Novosti, p 2)

Miroljub Labus, a candidate for the Yugoslav president, said that Kostunica’s statement made in Mali Zvornik had caused political scandal in Washington and New York. According to Labus the statement was a marketing move for collecting more votes, but it was absolutely harmful for the state.  (Nacional p 3)   

FRYugoslavia Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic held talks in Washington with US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. The main topic of the talks was a law attaching conditions to the aid to Yugoslavia. This law is currently going through the US Congress and involves full observance of the Dayton Agreement and guarantees for BiH’s integrity. These issues are not controversial for Yugoslavia, and there is no need for the US Congress to be passing this law, Svilanovic told Radio-TV Serbia. “Yugoslavia has a clearly defined policy on BiH, which it observes. It has demonstrated this so far, and it will also do so in the future. Each official of our country is now acting in compliance with this state policy, and there will be no changes here. I, thus, hope that we will succeed in removing any obstacles in our country and in BiH, that influence to such an extent our relations with the United States,” Svilanovic said. (RS Radio, Oslobodjenje, p 3)

Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Foundation Executive Board adopts conceptual design for the Memorial and Cemetery

The Executive Board of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery Foundation on Wednesday in Sarajevo accepted a conceptual design for the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery which will be subject to further consideration and modification. The Executive Board endorsed the preferred option agreed by the jury panel three days ago. The successful conceptual design tender will now enter into final negotiations with the Foundation’s implementing partner. During these talks the details of the design can be modified to take into account suggestions of the jury, and the final costs can be considered. The Executive Board expects that the winner of the conceptual design and the final overall design will be announced in the next ten days. (Dnevni Avaz, p 11)

Pre-election commentaries/statements

Globus (page 18) carries that all relevant public opinion polls show that Croats in BiH are the BiH people, who are the least interested in the coming elections in BiH. The reason for this situation is that Croats are disappointed in Croat political parties but also in moves of International Community, that removed 170 Croat politicians during the last two years. Globus says that Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative, has visited territories with the Croat majority for four times already and each time he called on Croats ‘to chose participation in all aspects of a social life, because only in that case they can expect prosperity for themselves.’

Dnevni List (page 2, by Vera Soldo) carries an editorial on the coming elections. The editorial says that various BiH politicians are presenting their programs, which are in their opinion ‘the only acceptable political programs’. Soldo also says that ‘many public opinion polls show that many voters will abstain from the coming elections.’ The editorial carries that, nevertheless, people should vote because some ‘small’ changes might take place and concludes: ‘Changes are good because the situation cannot be worse.’  

Dnevni List (pages 6-7) carries interview with Jadranko Prlic, president of ProENS party, who stated that his party will strengthen identity of Herzegovina as region, that is neglected from the Federation and the RS. “We were the ones to appear first with our regional centres in Trebinje, Siroki Brijeg and Mostar, people who same with common attitude, regardless of being Serbs, Bosniaks or Croats, regardless of the fact that they were in war with each other. Therefore, they stood to defend something-called Herzegovina, what does not exist anywhere else except in the word. There is no single economic or any other institution, that connects it, there is no communication between people, except among some individuals”, Prlic stated.

Headlines in Electronic Media

BHTV 1 (Wednesday, 1900)

• Conflict between police and landowners at the Arizona market resulted in 4 injured and 210 apprehended persons
• The RS Ministry of health instructed destroy of 2000 kilos of salt
• The USA still trying to maintain a lead role in Iraq crisis
• Foreign investments in the world decreased for 10 percent.

FTV 1 (1930)

• The conflict at the Arizona market resulted in 4 injured landowners and 1o of them apprehended   
• Reprint of the ballots costs 300 000 KM
• BIH is facing spreading of animal diseases
• Maglaj “Natron” expects its strategic partner

RTRS (1930)

• RS National Assembly adopted report on budget revision
• Opposition claims that today’s assembly session is farce
• Donald Hays – Military apartments in the Federation BiH must be returned to their owners
• Indictments against Albanians, announced Carla Del Ponte
• Bush send letter of gratitude to Djindjic for fighting terrorism