Latest radio news broadcast at 12.00 on 20 December
| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (12,00 hrs) | BH Radio 1 (12,00 hrs) | RTRS (12,00 hrs) |
| Sanader, Kosor visit Mostar today | Oli Rehn meets BiH Presidency | HR int. to Dnevni Avaz |
| Cavic’s meeting with RS parties | Kovac to resign if others do | Rehn visiting BiH |
| Reactions on RS crisis | Iraqi update | Lozancic on HoP |
TV news broadcast on 19 December
| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Komarica’s Xmas message | EC’s Olli Rehn in BiH | Ahmed Iftikar released | Cavic’s warnings |
| Paravac’s resignation | Cavic’s warnings | SDS asks Kovac to resign | HR’s statement |
| SDS asks Kovac to resign | Pasalic on Croats in BiH | HR on resignations | SDS asks Kovac to resign |
| Cavic’s warnings | Croatian presidential elect. | FBiH Ombudsmen on laws | Student’s letter to Cavic |
| Oslobodjenje | [Ashdown]: I am not punishing RS, but criminal individuals |
| Dnevni Avaz | [Dodik] The Government of national unity is not possible’; [Ashdown]: Resignations would not resolve a single problem in BiH |
| Dnevni List | Only Sanader rescues RS |
| Vecernji List | Serbs block whole state |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Features |
| Nezavisne Novine | SDS requests for Minister Kovac’s resignation; Terzic: a new composition of CoM is possible; Leaders of parties from RS to meet Cavic today; Paddy Ashdown: Resignations will slow down reforms; |
| Glas Srpske | To remove Ashdown; Srpska is not a gift |
| EuroBlic | Resignations are multiplying, Ashdown claims he would not abolish RS |
| Vecernje novosti | Do not touch the |
| Nacional | |
LATEST NEWS OF TODAY | |
| Olli Rehn meets BiH presidency
| BH Radio 1 at 12.00 by Jelena Kisic – EC Enlargement Commission, Olli Rehn, met with the members of BiH Presidency today. On this occasion, he stressed out that BiH did achieve some progress on its path to EU, though slowly. He described the talks with the Presidency as intensive and assuring that when it comes to key issues, such as Euro-Atlantic integrations, there is a census in BiH. Rehn stressed he hopes the current crisis in the country will be overcome soon, and added that BiH still has to ensure the full cooperation with the ICTY and implementation of the police reform. During the day, Rehn will meet with Chair of the BiH Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic. |
| FT: EU supports Ashdown
| BH Radio 1 at 12.00 – The Financial Times article published today reads that the EU supports the HR Paddy Ashdown in the current crisis. FT carries that EU officials showed no sign of backing down, and that Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, yesterday gave his support to Ashdown. EU also stressed that when Ashdown agreed this package of decisions, he did so on behalf of the European Union. |
| Mihajlica: New Govt should be elected ASAP
| SRNA – In an interview to |
| Lozancic: HR responsible of unequal representation of Serbs in BiH HoP
| RTRS radio news at 12.00 – Niko Lozancic, F BiH President, stated that the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, was responsible for an evident unequal representation of the Serb representatives at the BiH House of Peoples for two years now. Lozancic said in an interview to SRNA that: “We have constitutional decisions imposed by HiRep to BiH, that have never been verified at parliament procedure. Hence, not a single institution in FBiH can change individual provisions prior to imposition of the all previous decrees.” |
| Dodik: Police reform to be HR’s first political failure | SRNA – Milanko Mihajlica, President of RS Serb Radical Party, today stated that the RS NA should hold the session as soon as possible and elect the new RS Government that should have strong parliamentary support. |
| Sanader and Kosor visit Mostar today
| RHB at 12.00 – Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and HDZ Croatia candidate for the position of the Croatian President Jadranka Kosor have met with the HDZ BiH leadership in Mostar this morning. Kosor will also visit the |
Political situation following HR/US Govt measures | |
| RS President threatens Ashdown with independence referendum | RHB, BHT 1, FTV, RTRS – RS President Dragan Cavic has warned that any attempt to abolish the RS could lead to a referendum in which the RS would choose its path on its own. Cavic warned on Sunday that if the statement by the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, that the RS could be abolished was reported correctly that would amount to an anti-Dayton statement and it could just further lead to crisis. In the statement released by his cabinet, Cavic reminded the High Representative that the RS is a result of a “four-year fight of the Serb people and that it is not a gift of the international community, and that the Serb side was an equal participant in the peace talks in Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘How will parties from RS react upon Ashdown’s measures’ by J. Stojanovic, Dnevni List pg 2, mentioned on front, ‘Extraordinary parliamentary elections – way out of crisis’ by N. Bise, Vecernji List pg 3 ‘Abolishment of RS will cause referendum’ by bs, Vecernje Novosti, cover and pg. 5 ‘Do not touch the Dayton’ by M. L., Nezavisne Novine, pg. 3 ‘Leaders of parties to meet Cavic today’ mentioned on cover by D. R., inset ‘Referendum in RS is possible’, Glas Srpske, cover page ‘Srpska is not a gift’ by G. K. – also covers Cavic’s statement. |
| SDS urges Kovac to submit his irrevocable resignation today
| RHB, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘SDS called on Kovac to resign’ by R.I, Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3 ‘SDS requests for Minister Kovac’s resignation’ by D. Risojevic, Glas Srpske, pg. 5 ‘Crisis at the authority’ by N. D. – On Sunday, the presidency of the SDS urged Slobodan Kovac, BiH Justice Minister, to submit his irrevocable resignation today. The SDS presidency called on Kovac to resign together with BiH Transport Minister Branko Dokic (PDP) and Civilian Affairs Deputy Minister Zoran Tesanovic (PDP), SDS deputy chairman Bosko Sijlegovic said. FTV – SDS supported Kovac’s appointment to his position, despite the fact he is not officially party’s member. RTRS, BHT 1, Dnevni Avaz pg 2 inset ‘SDS called on Kovac to tender resignation’– In a statement to BHT 1, Kovac stated that he would act as other representatives of the Serb peoples in the state authorities. |
| HR Ashdown denies he said he would abolish RS
| Dnevni List pg 2 ‘Ashdown did not say he would abolish RS’ not signed, Vecernji List pg 3 ‘I am here to protect RS’ by bs, Glas Srpske, cover page ‘To remove Ashdown’ by E. G. S. inset ‘Whom to believe?’, EuroBlic, pgs. 2-3 ‘I will not abolish Republika Srpska’ by Tijana Veselinovic, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 2 ‘Slowing down of reforms’ by R. Cengic inset ‘Paddy Ashdown on the interview given to Nezavisne Novine’ – On Sunday, the High Representative Paddy Ashdown denied that he had said he would abolish the RS. Ashdown told the BBC that existence of the RS was guaranteed under the Dayton Agreement. However, Ashdown noted that if the Republika Srpska wanted to be protected by the agreement, it had to respect and implement it. He has also denied accusations that he acted unconstitutionally by sacking nine Bosnian Serb officials. He said the officials had obstructed attempts to bring war crimes suspects to justice – a cornerstone of BHT 1 – also reports. |
| Ashdown says BiH’s task to cooperate with ICTY will not be changed by resignations
| RTRS – The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, commented on situation with resignations on Sunday, after meeting with the European Commission Commissioner for EU Enlargement, Olli Rehn. Ashdown says that there are people in RS who are trying to convince the citizens that his goal is to abolish the RS. “There is one task for BIH, which is not changed by resignations and it would be only further delayed by elections, and that’s to cooperate with ICTY and to continue with the EU reforms. I understand that these latest developments… are serious and are meant to be taken seriously and I am taking them seriously. But they do not change the challenge ahead. Cooperate with the ICTY, fulfil the EU conditions and we will have the future. The longer we fail to do that, the future is more distant from us. That was the situation on Thursday and its still the situation today”, says Ashdown. FTV – also covered this statement. |
| Ashdown: ‘The measures I announced last week are not designed to punish the citizens of the RS.’
| Oslobodjenje cover splash, pgs 4-5 ‘I don’t punish RS, but criminal individuals’ by Paddy Ashdown – The article by the HR Paddy Ashdown on the measures he announced last week comments on the resignations submitted by the number of RS politicians: “No amount of resignations will change the facts on what must be done next. It is very important that the nature of my original measures is understood, and it is important that the nature of these resignations is also understood. We are entering a period of political manouvering – the outcome must not jeopardise the real chance, which the citizens of this country now have.” Ashdown also underlined that RS must honour its Dnevni Avaz cover ‘Resignations would not resolve a single problem in BiH’ and pg 3 ‘RS can survive only through respect of Dayton’ by S. Numanovic – In a statement to DA, Paddy Ashdown says that resignations field after 16 December were senseless however that he treats them seriously. He added he would miss RS Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic, calling him as one of the rare decent people in BiH politics. He also says extraordinary elections are not needed in this moment, denying he will abolish RS. |
| Meeting of RS parties being held today
| BHT 1 by Zorica Lolic – Following the measures announced by the High 0epresentative, RS President Dragan Cavic will on Monday ask from representatives of all RS political parties to take a joint position on minimum of Serb vital national interest. Glas srpske, pg. 4 ‘Pressures overstepped limits’ by N. Z. – Serb delegates at HoR of BiH Parliament think Ashdown has overstepped all limits and is more and more frequently violating constitutions of RS and BiH. Both Momicilo Novakovic (SDS) and Tihomir Gligoric (SPRS) think all Serb parties must define a minimum of national interests and undertake joint measures to preserve institutions established in RS as in accordance with the Dayton Agreement. Dnevni List pg 2, mentioned on front, ‘Extraordinary parliamentary elections – way out of crisis’ by N. Bise – With regard to the meeting, spokesperson of the RS President Jelena Davidovic did not want to comment on the announcements that SDS representatives will launch the initiative for establishment of the Government of National Unity during this meeting. She added that attendants of the meeting will try to find the joint solution and, according to her, at the moment nobody knows what the solution would be like. DL carries on the same issue that the RS opposition believes that the right moment for extraordinary parliamentary elections in BiH has come, while parties in power believe that the crisis will deepen at the state level. Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Cavic and parties looking for common answer’ – announcement of the meeting. |
| DA in with Dodik: “Govt of national unity not possible”
| Dnevni Avaz cover ‘The Government of national unity is not possible’ and pg 5 ‘The establishment of the Government of national unity in RS is not possible’ by Faruk Cardzic – In an interview to DA, Milorad Dodik, SNSD President, says: “The filed and announced resignations could have been expected, although it seems like some international community officials were caught in by these acts.” He finds the HR’s measures to be inappropriate since they encroached the institutional order of RS, stressing: “One way or the other, we nowadays have a crisis in RS and also in BiH. Whether Adnan Terzic wants to admit it or not, he is already the ex-Chair of BiH COM, since there is no parliament capacity to support the functioning of BiH COM. In this regard, a serious talk on possible way-puts from the crisis must be conducted. We from SNSD and I personally will not be filling in the positions of Ministers, who will be leaving their seats.” On Monday’s meeting with RS President Dragan Cavic, Dodik says that SNSD will present a proposal regarding settlement of the existing crisis, including scheduling of early parliamentary elections for the first few months of next year at latest. He concludes the interview by saying that: “The definition of Government of national unity is completely incomprehensible, hence I find it to be serving for daily political purposes. I am convinced we should be realistic and composed. The constitutional concept of authority in RS stipulates five Bosniaks and three Croats should be ministers at Government, which excludes the possibility of national unity. It is only possible to compose the Government of national unities.” He expresses his view that PDP and SDS officials would remain faithful to their announcements on resignations. |
| RTRS on resignations
| RTRS by Aida Halilovic– SDS Vice Chair, Bosko Siljegovic, stated that all SDS members have their resignations sealed and handed over, adding they can be activated by the party whenever necessary. When it comes to BiH Defence Minister, Nikola Radovanovic, Siljegovic says that SDS has no position regarding his possible resignation adding that is a personal issue for Radovanovic. BIH Minister of Transport and Communications Branko Dokic stated he already held the talk with CoM Chairman Adnan Terzic announcing his resignation. SDA Vice President Seada Palavric stated that decisions on resignations of PDP members were brought in haste. Gavrilo Antonic, PDP spokesman, says that it remains unclear whether SDA is OHR’s spokesman or vice versa. He adds that resignations of PDP members were very well considered. Siljegovic says that those who thought that HR measures will cause a crisis in one part of BIH had to feel that this is a crisis in entire BIH. RTRS reporter concludes that everything is possible after the meeting of RS parties organized by the RS President Dragan Cavic. |
| Terzic: new composition of CoM possible
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Terzic: New composition of BiH CoM possible’ – Adnan Terzic, BIH CoM Chair, is of the view that possible authority crisis can be resolved through re-composition of parliament majority or through the new composition of the BiH CoM, adding: “Each of these two options is slowing down the reforms and course of BiH towards European integration and Partnership for Peace, which we have already put at halt over the non-cooperation with the ICTY. And this is all in the interest of opposition parties, that claims this authority is incapable of running the state.” |
| Nacional: Kopley says HR wants to destroy RS
| Nacional, cover ‘Serbia in stranglehold: Paddy Ashdown threatens with abolishing RS, which is a direct help to Shiptari to initiate the final countdown’ and pg. 13 ‘Paddy is protecting Islamic terrorists’ by P. T. N. – The President of the Association for International Strategic Studies Gregory Kopley (often writes for Washington paper “Defense and Foreign Affairs”) accuses HR Paddy Ashdown of open protection of Islamic terrorists in BiH who supply “anti-terrorist coalitions” in Iraq with soldiers and weapons. He claims terrorists from BiH have managed to deliver weapons to Persian Gulf through Ploce port, which indicates Croatian authority and intelligence service had knew about this. Kopley also claims a Turkish battalion, which is seated in |
| GS: ‘Remove Ashdown’
| Glas Srpske, cover page story ‘To remove Ashdown’ by E. G. S. – Zare Radic, the President of RS Association of Families of Missing and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, claims international representatives are working on abolishing RS, therefore one should not believe to denial of HR Paddy Ashdown that he had never threatened RS with abolishing. The President of RS Board of War Invalids, Djordje Rogic, says they should start collecting signatures for removal of Paddy Ashdown. The President of the Union of Associations of Families of Killed and Missing Persons, Milijana Bojic, says HR Paddy Ashdown will, through his behavior, produce a situation similar to the situation from 1992. The article also carries an announcement that the Coordination Board of NGOs will file charges against Ashdown next week to the Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg and to UN SC. GS inset ‘Jovicic’ carries a statement of Deputy President of RS Association of Former Camp Inmates Slavko Jovicic who claims that this is a synchronized acting of the international community made with an aim to provide Albanians with an independent Kosovo by mid next year. |
| GS brings reactions to HR measures
| Glas Srpske, pg. 4 ‘He has showed whose side he is on’ by J. N. – Chair of the Coordination Board of RS Associations of Refugees and DPs Veljko Stevanovic claims Paddy Ashdown has proved he had supported a side of only one people in BiH – Bosniak people, and he proved he was developing plans on faith of RS in cooperation with SDA. Glas Srpske, pg. 4 ‘May the past not repeat itself’ by S. H. – Member of the Presidency of RS PoWs Strahinja Zivak says the IC with help of some Serb representatives at the authority have been, for quite some time now, working on destroying RS and introducing a unitary BiH. Glas Srpske, pg. 4 ‘No bargaining on Srpska’ by M. Ms., Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4 ‘They are defending institutions, not individuals’ by Srna – RS Students’ Union has sent an open letter to RS President Dragan Cavic asking from him to mobilize all relevant political elements to defend RS and to preserve its institutions. Glas Srpske carries reactions of several other Serb representatives, all condemning HR’s measures: GS4 ‘Where did he get courage from?’ by D. Majstorovic (Advisor to Serb member of BiH Presidency for Legal Issues Slobodan Radulj), GS5 ‘Acts of violence’ By Sl. P. (Dr. Milan Blagojevic), GS5 ‘Attack on constitutions’ by Sl. D. (SPRS delegate at Mrkonjic Grad Assembly Simo Rudic), GS5 ‘Pro-Islam lobby’ by S. S. (Director of Youth Organization “Zvornicka omladina” Slavisa Pejic), GS5 ‘Bad intentions’ by S. A. (DNS delegate at Bileca Assembly Milorad Vujovic) |
| GS says Ivanic not banned from entering
| Glas Srpske, pg. 5 ‘Paddy’s Hague mask’ by |
| Serbian politicians criticise HR measures
| Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Ashdown exceeded authority’ by FENA – Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said on Saturday that the High Representative acted outside his authority when he removed RS officials over non-cooperation with the ICTY. “The reaction of the Serbian Government to Ashdown’s action is negative”, Labus said and added that the decision is destabilizing not only for BiH but the entire region. Labus said that consequences of such a decision would be negative even though Ashdown’s intentions might have been good. Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4 ‘Attack on the Dayton Peace Agreement’ by Agencies, Glas Srpske, pg. 4 ‘Dangerous for the entire region’ not signed – The articles read that the latest measures brought by HR were in Serbia interpreted as an announcement of abolishing of RS and as an obvious violation of the Dayton Agreement. Serbian Assembly Speaker Predrag Markovic assessed that measures present an attack on DPA and that situation in BiH destabilizes entire region. Deputy President of SRS Tomislav Nikolic said that he has already warned that the IC was preparing to abolish RS and to make up BiH again, “preparing it for some new wars.” “RS leadership did not listen, they thought that by flattering the occupier it can achieve something, thus we are in this situation,” stated Nikolic. He also called on urgent session of the UN Security Council on this matter. NN also carry reaction by Branko Radujko, advisor to Serbian President, who stated that measures lead to discouragement of RS politicians and destabilisation in BiH, and possibly entire region. |
Op-eds on resignations and HR/US Govt measures | |
| VL on possible consequences of the measures
| Vecernji List cover pg splash ‘Serbs block whole state’ and pg 3 ‘Serbs endanger state institutions and BiH budget’ by D. Jazvic – VL speculates about consequences of the current political crisis in the RS. The article says that this crisis happened at the time when reform processes have been underway, when the state Parliament is supposed to adopt the budget for the next year etc. According to the author, the most painless solution would be the SDS decision to stay in the state authority and the worst solution from the aspect of pro-European reforms would be the boycott of the state institutions by all Serb parties and early elections. |
| VL op-ed on resignations in RS: “RS before abolishment?” | Vecernji List pg 2 ‘RS before abolishment? by M. Vasilj carries an editorial on the resignations in the RS and, among the other things, the author says: ‘In any case, politicians in the RS will be changing by the will of voters at the elections or due to the HR’s decisions, however, the project of a Serb state western from Drina river will remain untouched due to the will of the International Community that Ashdown exactly represents in BiH.’ |
| Oslobodjenje op-ed on current situation: Solution could be elections and SNSD
| Oslobodjenje op-ed pg 9 ‘A turning-point’ by Ibrahim Prohic – The author notes that the RS top leadership is faithful to its political philosophy to avoid the responsibility and reject possible compromises in reaction to relatively slack OHR and US measures. On possible solutions to the current situation, the author notes that early elections is not a solution either, since BiH has no time left. Namely, by April 2005, BiH must have fulfilled duties towards its integration to EU. The author concludes: “It seems the solution to enigma is SNSD and Milorad Dodik. However, OHR must not make a wrong move either. An end must be put to selective interpretation of |
| DL says HDZ-SDS-SDA coalition falls apart
| Dnevni List pg 2 ‘House of cards is collapsing’ by F. Hebibovic carries an editorial which says that ‘an unnatural alliance among HDZ, SDA and SDS’ is being faced with its biggest crisis and according to the author the state which HDZ, SDA and SDS tailored for BiH citizens with the strong support of the International Community is collapsing as a house of cards. |
| NN op-ed says resignations of PDP official will not lead to mayor crisis
| Nezavisne Novine op-ed pg 7 ‘No major crisis’ by Josip Blazevic – The author notes that the resignations of the PDP officials from the state and entity institutions’ position would not lead to major authority crisis in BiH, but instead resignations of SDS officials might. He notes SDS would not withdraw from authority, since it is aware of the fact it would no longer be in a position to preserve the RS, adding that IC must have proper response to such activities (referring to activities related to Croat self-rule and withdrawal of HDZ officials from state bodies). The author stresses Cavic had to be harsh in his statements because of the electorate, but his words have no weight. The author also highlights that High Representative has not encroached into RS authorities to the extent he could have. |
| Vjesnik editorial on RS crisis | Vjesnik pg 11 ‘Masks have fallen down’ by A. Zornija carries an editorial on the RS crisis and the author says: ‘Rhetoric of Serb politicians is something that we have already heard. It is being said that Ashdown has exceeded his powers and abolished RS institutions. The thing that causes concern is that there is no a single serious political factor with a Serb prefix in the RS who has considerably different stand from SDS or PDP when the preservation of the RS is in question. For this reason extraordinary elections are not a solution at all. Masks in BiH have fallen down.’ |
Other political issues | |
| Oli Rehn visits BiH
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ’BiH has not still fulfilled a key requirement’ by F. Cardzic – The newly appointed Commissioner for EU expansion, Oil Rehn, stated after the meeting in Sarajevo with Paddy Ashdown, High Representative to BiH, on Sunday that the fact that his first visit to BiH took place just few weeks after he had assumed his position represented a clear sign of the European Commission’s commitment to seriously cooperate with BiH and ensure its admission into this organisation. On BiH, he stressed: “Evident problems still do exist. The key requirement which still needs to be fulfilled is a full cooperation with the ICTY. I would like to mention the structural reform within police force, which is also an important goal. On the other hand, I would like to stress that the new European Commission will be a friend of BiH, who will be commending and pointing at necessary political, economic and other reforms on one hand, but also a friend, who will be pointing at all the obstacles, mistakes and anything still necessary to be done.”Commissioner Rehn resumes his visit today (Monday) at meetings with BiH Presidency members, BiH CoM Chair, and Director of the Directorate for European Integration. BHT 1, FTV, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Cooperation with the Hague the only obstacle’, Vecernji List pg 2 ‘Ashdown met with Oli Rehn’ by kd, Nezavisne Novine, cover ‘Paddy Ashdown: Resignations will slow down reforms’ and pg. 2 ‘Slowing down of reforms’ by R. Cengic – Also carried reported on the Rehn’s visit. |
| Ivic Pasalic in Mostar lobbies for third entity
| RHB, BHT 1, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Do not vote for Mesic’ by Fena, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Ivic Pasalic to be declared persona non-grata ’, Dnevni List pg 7 ‘There is wish to turn Croats into Bosniaks Catholics’ by I. Rozic, Vecernji List pg 4 ‘Pasalic promised entity to Croats’ by vbe – Within his pre-election campaign for the presidential elections in Croatia, Ivic Pasalic held a pre-election rally in Mostar on Saturday. On this occasion he stated that the Bosniak media and politicians opposed his statement that he will stand for the Croat Federal unit, however, none explained as to why this unit is not possible. Pasalic added that this means that there is a wish to assimilate the Croats and turn them into Bosniaks Catholics. SDA Vice President Seada Palavric protested against Pasalic’s statement and said that due to such statements she expects from the BiH authorities to proclaim Pasalic persona non grata in BiH. |
| DL: “Only Sanader rescues RS”
| Dnevni List cover pg splash and pg 3 ‘Only Sanader rescues RS’ by Dnevni List investigative team –DL intelligence sources claim that in accordance with their proclaimed policy whose goal is preservation of the RS, the British intelligence agents are working on the Croatian Government and its Prime Minister Ivo Sander. Allegedly, Sander was told that |
Judicial issues | |
| Iftikar released by | FTV – Pakistani Ahmed Iftikar, arrested and detained a month ago upon the order of the BiH Court, was released on Saturday after it was determined that there are no grounds for charges. Iftikar was arrested as a suspect for forging documents, illegal transport of foreign citizens and threatening persons under international protection. However, nly few days before Iftikar was released, Zenica-Doboj Ministry of Interior issued decision on expelling Iftikar from BiH because he represents danger for security in BiH. Iftikar’s lawyer announced appeal to this decision. Oslobodjenje cover and pg 2 ‘Ahmet Iftikar released from prison’, Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘State Prosecutor gave up on prosecuting Iftikar’ by A. Dzonlic – also covered. |
| VL update to Jelavic trial
| Vecernji List pg 2 ‘Jelavic will stay in prison next month although there will be no trial against him’ by Z. Kresic carries that due to ‘holidays’ there will be one-month long break in the process against former HDZ President Ante Jelavic for the Hercegovacka Banka case. VL says that Prosecutor John McNair needs this time to change the bill of indictment since it was met with fiasco after few witnesses gave their testimonies. VL also says that Jelavic’s defense believes that there is no any reason to keep Jelavic in detention and it is possible that they would call McNair to account because of this situation. VL also says that this can be done due to the changes in the Law on judiciary. |
| DA int with Chair of BiH Court, justice Kreso | Dnevni Avaz pg 9 ‘Registry Office will educate justices before they took over duties’ by H. Orahovac – In an interview to DA, the Chair of the BiH Court, justice Meddzida Kreso, says she is certain that the Registry Office, which is a novelty in BiH judiciary, will be of great assistance to justices providing logistic and administrative support, preparing the witnesses, and offering education to justices before they take over their duties. She adds that the education will also include the foreign justices. Asked whether foreign lawyers will be able to act as defence for the war crimes suspects in procedures before the Court, Kreso said most probably foreigners will be allowed to participate in the team but will not be able to lead it. |