TV news broadcast on April 21
RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA 18,00 hrs) | TV PINK (18,00 hrs) | BHT 1 (19,00 hrs) |
March invalid pensions to be paid | Regional News | Bomb planted under judge’s car |
FBiH collects 634.5 millions revenues | OHR on fate of Palic | Trial to Jankovic before |
Terzic meets Reinermann | Barosso on const. amendments | HR on Palic’s case |
Barosso on const. amendments | Kudic on ITA Steering Board meeting | Protests in front of |
NTV Hayat (19,00 hrs) | FTV (19,30 hrs) | RTRS (19,30 hrs) |
‘Women – War Victims’ in protest | OHR on fate of Palic | Burns regarding BiH Presidency |
Djogo was in contact with Mladic | Trial to Jankovic before | No consensus on alloc. coefficients |
FBiH Govt on electricity prices in BiH | Women – War Victims’ in protest | Pensioners on RS Gov. decision |
‘Electricity 4’ project | BIH vs. SiCG hearing continued | Increase in prices of oil |
Oslobodjenje | The reached agreement “obliges” all state delegates? |
Dnevni Avaz | McElhaney and Humphreys warned Dodik |
Dnevni List | Security Services have Abu Hamza under surveillance?! [Similar report to the one published in EuroBlic on Friday, see OHR BiH Media Round-up, April 21] |
Vecernji List | Proof of Croatian innocence |
Nezavisne Novine | New prices on bills |
Glas Srpske was not published today owing to Orthodox Easter
Economy/distribution of ITA funds | |
CoM Chair Terzic meets World Bank’s Reinermann, ‘Electricity 4’ project discussed
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ITA Governing Board member Kudic: agreement on distribution of ITA funds was not reached
| TV Pink – Member of ITA Governing Board from RS Miodrag Kudic said that consensus on coefficients for allocation of resources form single account was not reached at Thursday meeting of the Board in |
ITA Governing Board Chair
| Nezavisne Novine pg 4 ‘A meeting was agreed upon’ by D. Risojevic – Chairman of ITA Governing Board Joly Dixon denied the statement of ITA Spokesperson Ratko Kovacevic (who, following Thursday’s session of the Board, stated ITA funds should be unblocked in the course of the next week after entities’ PMs confirm the agreement reached between Ministers of Finances). |
F BiH PM Hadizpasic: I learned about next week’s meeting of entities’ PM from media only
| Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘I do not know why Dodik would give up from the agreement’ by M. Kukan – F BiH PM Ahmet Hadzipasic stated for DA that he learned only from media that the meeting of entities’ PMs would be held on Wednesday to discuss unblocking of ITA funds. He noted he is willing to negotiate an agreement and adds he does not know whether RS PM Milorad Dodik had violated the agreement on unblocking of the account they have reached in Mostar last week. |
“Elektroprivreda HZ HB” Director Maric: new, higher prices will be included in electricity bills
| Nezavisne Novine cover pg splash ‘New prices on bills’ and pg 3 ‘Elektroprivredas will send bills with new prices’ by R. Cengic – Director of “Elektroprivreda HZ HB” Vlado Maric has stated F BiH electric companies will include new, higher prices in their bills and added: ‘these are public companies and we must repect laws, therefore we will calculate electricity in accordance with laws, i.e. in accordance with valid price list’. |
Foreign trades deficit of BiH growing
| FTV – One of the burning problems in BIH, apart form the high rate of unemployment, is the BiH Foreign trades deficit that totalled 8 billion BAM in 2005. Governor of BiH Central Bank Kemal Kozaric stated that BIH would not be able to carry on with this deficit. Antonio de Lecea, Director of EC General Directorate for Trade Affairs with BiH, believes that the solution for decreasing the foreign trades deficit lies in the improvement of the production in BiH to meet the needs of BiH market first and then to meet the needs of export. The reporter noted that BiH has made the largest deficit with SiCG and |
BiH Minister of Traffic Dokic: Entities will construct the highway if the state does not find a concessionaire | Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘Entities will construct the highway if the state does not find a concessionaire’ by L. Sinanovic – BiH Minister of Traffic and Communications Branko Dokic stated for DA that, unless the state finds a concessionaire to construct the entire Vc corridor highway, then the entities will have to take the responsibility for the entire process and added that the corridor is currently being treated as a single project. However, if no concessionaire will be interested to construct the entire highway there is a possibility of defining separate priority parts of the highway. |
Constitutional reform | |
Barosso supports proposed constitutional amendments to BiH
| TV Pink – In the letter to BiH Presidency Chair Sulejman Tihic, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed the agreement of BiH political parties on amendments to the BiH Constitution. Barosso said: “It is of great importance that the agreement respects rights of all citizens and constitutive peoples in BiH, and that is in accordance with European Convention on Human Right. Strengthening of power of governmental institutions, especially broadening power of BiH Council of Ministers and BiH Parliament would additionally help functioning of democracy. Now, it is very important that BiH Parliamentary Assembly adopts the agreed changes as soon as possible in order to implement them during October elections”. |
HDZ 1990 Vice President Raguz: party will support 1st phase of const. changes if their amendments are adopted
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BiH HDZ Presidency session held in Mostar, const. reform and HDZ preparations for elections discussed
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HKDU President Ivan Musa: proposed const. amendments detrimental for Croats in BiH
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HoR Co-Chairman Dzaferovic: stances on agreement on Const. changes will not be presented at HoR session on Tuesday | Oslobodjenje cover pg splash and pgs 4-5 ‘Agreement “obliges” delegates?’ byA. Omeragic – Co-Chairman of BiH HoR Sefik Dzaferovic has stated it had not been foreseen stances on the agreement on constitutional changes would be presented at the HoR session scheduled for Tuesday. He added neither he nor his party [SDA] see anything disputable in this: ‘We have nothing against Parliament to adopt the Agreement…but we have concluded we need to wait for the amendments’. |
DA: stances of delegates Avdic, Djedovic and Komsic on const. changes still unknown
| Dnevni Avaz pg 3 ‘Votes of Avdic, Djedovic and Vlatka Komsic will be the ones to decide’ by H. Orahovac – DA reads, judging by current ration of powers at BiH HoR, 25 delegates would certainly support the suggested changes to BiH Constitution at the session scheduled for April 25, while 14 delegates are currently against the changes. Stances of DNZ’s Ibrahim Djedovic, member of Croat delegates’ Club Vlatka Komsic and independent delegate Sead Avdic are still unknown. |
PforBiH’s Halilovic: SDA’s Tihic and
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Tihic and Lagumdzija once again succumbed before blackmails coming from RS’ by E. Sarac – Safet Halilovic, the President of the Presidency of Party for BiH, has stated that the session of the Constitutional-Legal Commission of BiH HoR and the adoption of the constitutional amendments that are detrimental for the survival of the state brought yet another disappointment to BiH citizens. Halilovic noted that RS officials have successfully tested the willingness of SDA and |
| RTRS – US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns asked from BiH to introduce Presidential system instead of current three-member Presidency. “We believe that BiH should become normal democratic society and big step in that direction would be change of the Constitution in order to introduce position of President instead of current position of Chair of Presidency, which rotates among representatives of three main ethnic groups in BiH”, said Burns during the meeting with the High Representative to BiH Christian Schwarz Schilling. Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘ |
HSS and Independent Croat Intellectuals: entity voting means Croats will always be outvoted
| Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Croats will always be outvoted’ not signed – HSS and members of the Independent Croat Intellectuals held a debate on the proposed amendments to the BiH Constitution on Thursday evening and concluded that the political agreement of the leaders of 6 parties is nothing more than a way of insuring their survival in power. HSS thinks the mentioned leaders had failed to take into account the essential changes of the BIH Constitution, since entity voting in the BiH Parliament has nothing to do with parliamentary democracy, which is the first condition for the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement. The participants of the debate think the entity voting means that the Croats will always be outvoted, will stop being a political factor in BiH and will forfeit their right to constitutionality. |
Oslobodjenje op-ed: politicians made futile efforts – citizens not interested in constitutional changes
| Oslobodjenje op-ed pg 9 ‘Futile effort’ by Daniel Omeragic – Referring to the process of the adoption of constitutional changes, the author mentions UNDP survey, which showed 33,5 % of surveyed citizens are indifferent towards the constitutional changes, while 16,4% refused to answer the questions they had been asked. The author concludes by saying that it seems as if politicians have made futile efforts to write the Constitution, since the survey shows citizens are not interested in Constitutional changes. |
War crimes/security/judicial issues | |
OHR: RS close to implement BiH Human Rights Chamber’s decision in Palic case, warns F BiH to establish Commission for truth on sufferings of Serbs in
| RTRS, TV Pink, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘No extension of deadline for investigation on Avdo Palic’ not signed, Dnevni List pg 7 ‘Report was forwarded’ by Nina, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Search after Palic as soon as snow melts down’ by E. Kamenica, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Schilling reminds on “Sarajevo Serbs”’ by E. K., Nezavisne Novine pg 6 ‘OHR demands for exhumation of the body’ by D. Risojevic and A. Sisic Inset ‘F BiH Government is ignoring decisions of Human Rights Commission’ – OHR stated it had received a report of RS Commission in charge of investigating the fate of Avdo Palic, a Colonel of the BiH Army. According to OHR, RS is close to fully implement the decision of BiH House of Human Rights if the Commission’s report on location of Palic’s body is correct. High Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling will not prolong mandate of the Commission. The HR also said that exhumation of Palic’s body has to be done as soon as conditions permit that. OHR also warned FBiH that it is not acceptable that the Commission for truth on suffering of Serbs in |
Wife of Colonel Palic, Esma Palic, satisfied with HR’s decision
| BHT 1 – Esma Palic, wife of missing Colonel Palic, expressed satisfaction with HR’s decision hoping that “the mortal remains will be found and that responsible individuals will be brought to justice. The deadline for the exhumation is 10 days”. Jasmin Odobasic, member of the Palic’s Commission deems that the deadline for the exhumation is adequate blaming employees of former RS Ministry of Defence, now BIH Ministry of Defence, because the case hasn’t been solved yet. “Person that escorted Palic from the prison, and most likely executed him, is at the moment hiding in |
Women – victims of War protested in front of
| BHT1 – The Association “Women – Victims of War” organised protest in front of |
Bomb planted under car of
| BHT1, Dnevni List pg 18 ‘Chairman of Court as target of bombing attack’ by Rusmir Karat, Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘A bomb was thrown on garage of Reuf Kapic’ by M. K. – An exploding device has been planted under the car of Chair of Cantonal Court in Bihac Reuf Kapic on Friday in Cazin. BHT1, RTRS, FTV, Vecernji List pg 2 ‘Judges and prosecutors as targets of terrorists’ by Eldina Medunjanin, Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Condemnation of attacks on and threat to judges’ not signed – Chair of BiH HJPC Branko Peric warned that the attacks and frequent threats to judges and prosecutors are attempts of individuals and groups to frighten representatives of judiciary to deter them in their fight against crime. |
Hague indictee Praljak developed six-hours long multi-media presentation in defence of Croats
| Vecernji List cover pg splash ‘Proof of Croatian innocence’ and pg 11 ‘Six hours that will defend Croatia’ by Davor Ivankovic – Hague indictee Slobodan Praljak, accused of ethnic cleansing and murdering Bosniaks, had gathered a team of 19 people to collect documents and tapes that would prove the innocence of Croats. Praljak had got an approval of judge Antonetti to hold six-hours long multi-media presentation in approximately 10 days before the Court and Praljak expects he would manage to prove Croats and |
Police reform | |
DA: Ambassador McElhaney and EC Delegation Head Humphreys warned RS PM Dodik to stop politically interfering in police reform
| Dnevni Avaz cover pg splash ‘McElhaney and Humphreys warned Dodik’ and pg 2 ‘McElhaney and Humphreys warned Dodik to stop political interferences in police reform’ by E. Sarac – According to Dnevni Avaz, US Ambassador to BiH Douglas McElhaney and Head of EC Delegation to BiH Michael Humphreys met with RS PM Milorad Dodik in Sarajevo on April 19 and warned him to stop political interferences in police reform and to “forget about stories on preservation of RS MoI as a special part of BiH security system”. He was also warned to stop with political statements with regard to non-crossing of inter-entity boundary lines by police, because BiH must have a single security space and the police must have competences in the territory of the entire state in order for its efficiency to be improved. |
OHR, EUPM: three EC principles in police reform must be respected
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘RS Assembly had accepted the three European principles’ by E. S. – According to OHR, RS NA Committee for Defence and Security can discuss police reform if they choose to do so, but the fact is they have accepted the three European principles on police reform, adopted the agreement that set up the current technical negotiation process ongoing in the Police Directorate and agreed that the role of the Parliaments would come after the Directorate completed its work. The Directorate is due to submit its report on the first three months to the CoM shortly, after which the CoM is responsible for distributing this report to the parties to the agreement including the appropriate institutions in the RS, as according to OHR. Spokesperson of EUPM Zinaida Ilaria shares a similar view and also says the stance of IC is crystal clear – there can be no deviations from EC principles. |
Other political issues | |
Stolac citizens protest against segregation and discrimination
| TV Hayat – On Friday, peaceful protests, organized by Renewal of citizens’ reconciliation Association and Youth Forum, were held in Stolac. The gathered ones asked for abolishment of segregation and discrimination, war crimes and economy crime to be sentenced as well as for schooling and health sectors to be united, as Nerin Dizdar, the Chair of the Youth Forum said. “The protest announces what we are planning to do unless our requests do not be met”, said Dizdar. The Chair of the Renewal of citizens’ reconciliation Association Suad Prndelj said that Stolac citizens were not going to reconcile with situation they were faced due to current authorities. Dnevni Avaz pg 11 ‘They announced they would block the town’ by F. V., Vecernji List pg 3 ‘Bosniaks are threatening with boycott and blockade of Stolac’ announced on cover ‘Radical Bosniaks are provoking conflicts’ by Frano Matic, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘300 attacks on Bosniaks’ by A. B. – also reported. |
HDZ 1990’s Ljubic: entire HDZ Capljina joined our party
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Ljubic: entire HDZ from Capljina joined our party’ by F. V., Vecernji List pg 4 ‘Ljubic registered, Covic is dismissing Capljina’ by Zoran Kresic, Dnevni List pg 3 ‘HDZ 1990 took over Capljina’ by Dario Pusic – President of HDZ 1990 Bozo Ljubic stated at a press conference in Mostar that the entire HDZ from Capljina had joined HDZ 1990 and he added that HDZ 1990 is currently the leading Croat party at BiH Parliament. |
BiH HDZ’s Covic: BiH HDZ dismissed Capljina Board of HDZ
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Covic: we will see who is successful at the elections’ by F. V., Vecernji List pg 4 ‘Ljubic registered, Covic is dismissing Capljina’ by Zoran Kresic – President of BiH HDZ Dragan Covic stated the party would dispute the registration of new political party under the name “HDZ 1990” and will use all legal means to prevent this party from using acronym “HDZ” in its name. As a reply to the statement of Bozo Ljubic who said entire HDZ Capljina joined their party, Covic partially confirmed this and explained BiH HDZ dismissed its Board in Capljina and appointed a temporary party committee with Smiljan Vidic at the head, adding: ‘we will see at the elections who was successful’. |
HR Schwarz-Schilling: BiH will be ready for | Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘BiH will be ready for Europe in a year’ by VOA – HR Christian Schwarz-Schilling has stated BiH would be ready for Europe in a year time and added: ‘If everything goes as I hope it would, we will be ready in a year time. In the second quarter of the next year, we will realise the transition from HR onto Special Representative of EU and this will be the definite end of OHR competences, so called |