25.06.2004

OHR BiH Media Round-up, 25/6/2004

RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA(18,00 hrs)

BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs)

FED TV (19,30 hrs)

RT RS (19,30)

PIC meeting

Lawsuit againstHolland

BIH products fair

Sanctions for RS

Sanctions against RS

Attacks in Iraq

Update to ERONET

Cavic about RS sanctions

Attacks on Croats in Tuzla

Elections in Serbia

Police search in Tuzla

Confirmed verdicts

New victims in Iraq

Sarajevo fair

PIC meeting

Attacks of Iraqi rebels

 

Oslobodjenje

RS Government illegal approved wood cutting

Dnevni Avaz

Karadzic borrowed money to SDS!; Njegus announced burning of Serb bodies?!; Nikolic: I will not extradite Ratko Mladic to the Hague

Dnevni List

HT gets offer for purchase of Eronet today

Glas Srpske

How was BiH lawsuit against SICG composed: Alija, send letter of authorisation!

Nezavisne Novine

What did international auditors discover during audit at SDS: Kalinic is responsible because SDS is financing Hague indictees; Tuzla : Njegus provided false information on burning of corpses

Blic

Former member of Al-Q’aida in BiH seeks for protection of authority: He revealed secrets, now he is afraid of his own people

Ljiljan

Miletic’s false alarm – Bosniak generals as terrorists

Slobodna Bosna

Stuttgart Group (of criminals)

Dani

Celo fired at Hajdarpasic

NOTE: Due to celebration of the Statehood Day of Republic of Croatia, Slobodna Dalmacija and Vecernji list were not published today.

War crimes issues

Cavic: Sanctions against RS would be discouraging

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BHTV 1, Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Cavic: We’ll be punished for all those who ruled from 1996 to date’, Nezavisne Novine pg 4 ‘Cavic: Possible sanctions against RS’ – Commenting media speculations about the possibility of introducing sanctions against RS, including dismissals of certain officials, if BiH fails to be admitted to PfP on 28 June, RS President Dragan Cavic said today that this was not the issue decided upon in BiH and that sanctions would not be good for the future of the country. He adds “if anybody is individually punished, then I believe that he/she would be punished for all those on power from 1996 to 2004, and I do not find it right. I do not think that future of this country can be build on the foundations of fear, but based upon encouragements to those who make decisions.

RTRS – “I think every sanction would act as a discouraging and create again an impression that all those who received the support of their voters have no strength and that they do everything they do in order to please the High Representative or somebody who has the power to dismiss them,” stated Dragan Cavic adding that “[RS] Interior Ministry uses all capacities to discover and fulfill cooperation with the ICTY”.

Mikerevic: There is no reason for sanctions against RS

 

RHB, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘There is no reason for sanctions against RS’, Nezavisne Novine pg 4 ‘Cavic: Possible sanctions against RS’ – RS Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic said he was not aware of a single reason that could be used as an argument for taking any measures against the RS, its institutions and officials in case BiH fails to be admitted to upcoming NATO summit. Mikerevic commented claims that appeared in Sarajevo based daily Dnevni Avaz that High Representative Paddy Ashdown would, if BiH’s bid to join the Partnership for Peace at summit in Istanbul , punish the RS and sack a dozen RS officials, beginning with RS Interior Minister.

RTRS – Mikerevic concluded that it was necessary to join forces and work together on elimination of obstacles to the European Union, stressing he was an optimist in that sense because he believed that the people ” on the political stage at the moment were aware of responsibility of their generation and that there were neither reasons nor chances that someone will impose sanctions on the RS.”

Djeric, Njegus on ‘dismissals’ speculations

 

BHTV 1 – At the opening ceremony of Banja Luka Police Academy, a journalist asked Zoran Djeric, RS Minister of Interior and Radomir Njegus, RS Police Director, whether they expect to be dismissed. “Do not ask me that, I think that this is not the right moment. We are celebrating now and this is not the right moment,” said Djeric. “Today is my birthday and today is specially about this ceremony, and we can talk business later”, said Njegus. RTRS comments that it seems that the International Community wants to give one more chance to RS authorities before Istanbul summit to try and improve their cooperation with ICTY.   

OHR on media report that Ashdown will dismiss some RS officials

 

RTRS – According to media, Paddy Ashdown will replace at least ten RS officials after the NATO summit in Istanbul. “HR never announces his intentions in advance. It is clear that RS failure to uphold BiH’s obligations towards ICTY has been the major stumbling block in BiH’s efforts to join PfP. Naturally there will be consequences for this.  Future of BiH cannot be held hostage by the failures of the RS,” commented Vedran Persic, OHR spokesman.

DL op-ed on possible sanctions

 

Dnevni List pg 2 ‘International disgrace and threatening with sanctions’ by I. Glibusic – DL carries an editorial about possible sanctions against the RS due to non-extradition of war crime suspects and the author says that as far as the arrests of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are concerned the two of them will be arrested when the world powers want it. The author says that ordinary RS citizens only will suffer consequences of the sanctions that might be imposed against this entity and he wonders whether Karadzic and Mladic will be arrested even if the sanctions against the RS were introduced. 

VN int with Ivanic on sanctions, BiH lawsuit, Srebrenica

 

Vecernje novosti, pg. 2 ‘Club against Serbs is nonsense’ by Dusan Stojakovic – BiH minister of Foreign Affairs and PDP representative Mladen Ivanic thinks that punishing of RS over failure of BiH to enter PFP would stop positive ongoing processes. Regarding the letter sent to HR Paddy Ashdown in relation to lawsuit of BiH against SCG, Ivanic said that the undersigned asked from the HR to have all parties to discuss and try to find a joint agreement, instead to resolve the dispute at the court. Ivanic said: ‘By this letter, we wanted to send out a message that Serb politicians and Serb people in BiH are not supporting the lawsuit and all who are saying the opposite are not telling the truth’.  Regarding the Cavic’s statement on crimes in Srebrenica, Ivanic said he thinks that the RS President has made a historical and important step that is politically very important for Serb people because it makes one possible to ask: “What about crimes against Serb people?” He points out that he expected representatives of other peoples in BiH to give similar statements on crimes their people had committed, but this did not happen. Regarding the admission of BiH to PfP, he said that there are countries that had become members of PfP although they had not arrested their Hague indictees, which confirms that the international community sometimes applies double standards in same cases.

DA int with Nikolic: I would not extradite Mladic

 

Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘I would not extradite Mladic’, mentioned on cover ‘Nikolic: I will not extradite Ratko Mladic to the Hague’, by Fadil Mandal – In an interview to DA, Serbian presidential candidate of the Serb Radical Party, Tomislav Nikolic, says that Dayton-like BiH is artificial creation. Stressing that Serbian is not interfering with BiH internal issues, Nikolic adds that he is not “sure why do you want a joint state with joint institutions.” Commenting the Srebrenica crimes: “My attitude is that there is no justified or unjustified crime. Srebrenica crime currently serves to absolutely punish Serb people, both RS and Serbia. Serbia is being punished for Srebrenica. If there are really evidences that many people were killed in Srebrenica and not during the [military] attacks, than those would be crimes that no normal man in the world can accept, and I consider myself a normal man.” Nikolic also adds that the work of ITCY is very insufficient and that “it leads war against Serbs” concluding he would never extradite war crimes indictee, including Ratko Mladic.

Today BiH, SCG reps meeting International  Court of Justice on lawsuit

 

Vecernje novosti, pg. 4 ‘There will be no out-of-court settlement’ by I. L. – Legal representatives of SCG and BiH will today meet International Court of Justice in The Hague President to discuss scheduling of final hearing on BiH lawsuit against SCG today. Former legal representative of BiH, Francis Boyle, has stated that SCG will ask for a stoppage of the lawsuit process and offer an out-of-court settlement. BiH legal representative in this court dispute Sakib Softic has stated that there will be no out-of-court settlement with SCG before a verdict is reached and compensation request is defined. SCG representative Tibor Varadi says he does not know whether it is possible to have an out-of-court settlement but he emphasized readiness of SCG to discuss the possibility of resolving the dispute in this way.

Dnevni Avaz pg 9 ‘Softic: Only court verdict will crash illusion of ideologists of Great Serbia’ by M. Drinjakovic – Softic repeats there will be no out-of-court settlement.

Tihic on BiH lawsuit against SCG: There will be no out-of-court settlement

 

Nezavisne Novine pg 6 ‘Tihic: We will not accept any bargain’ – In an interview to Radio Free Europe, Sulejman Tihic, Chairperson of the BiH Presidency, stated that BiH would not accept any out-of-court settlement regarding its lawsuit against SiCG. He explained: “At this phase of procedure, Court should state whether Convention on prevention of genocide was violated. After Court passes ruling on this lawsuit, the issue on war reparation can be raised.”

Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Nobody has a right to negotiate on 200.000 victims’, Oslobodjenje pg 6 ‘No settlement to withdraw lawsuit against SCG’ – In a letter to Mothers of Srebrenica, Tihic assured them that the BiH lawsuit will not be solved in out-of-court procedure.

GS on BiH lawsuit against SCG

 

Glas Srpske cover page story ‘Alija, send a letter of authorisation’; Nezavisne Novine pg 6 ‘BiH planned to sue Russia, Great Britain and France’ – Both dailies report on the letter, which Francis Boyle, legal representative in BiH lawsuit against SiCG, sent to Alija Izetbegovic and Ejup Ganic on 27 May 1993, in which he asked from them to “send him a letter of authorisation to file a lawsuit against Russia, Great Britain and France for the violation of the Convention on Genocide, and also to file a request for imposition of temporary measure against FRY.” Both dailies claim that by filing such a lawsuit against Russia, France and Great Britain, Boyle attempted to bring about lifting of arms import embargo against Muslims in BiH.  

NN op-ed on lawsuit by former Serb Presidency member

Nezavisne Novine op-ed on pg 7 ‘Spiting at the state level’ by Zivko Radisic – In the op-ed, the author, former member of BiH Presidency, is writing about the BiH lawsuit against SiCG. He brings some background information related to this issue, stressing once more there are many issues unresolved regarding this lawsuit.

Mothers of Srebrenica to sue Holland

BHTV 1 – Association Mothers from Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves will organize protests in the Hague and Amsterdam, and on 1 July will bring request for lawsuit against Dutch UNPROFOR battalion over their responsibility in Srebrenica events. “We can confirm that the Commander of Holland Battalion acted passively. He brought Bosniak refugees in completely uncertain situation, and he left them in hands of RS Army Commander” said Nesib Mandzic, representative of Srebrenica citizens.

DA says SDS owes money to Karadzic

Dnevni Avaz cover page, pg 3 ‘Karadzic was borrowing money to SDS!’ by S. Numanovic – According to documents obtained by DA from reliable Western intelligence source, Radovan Karadzic has borrowed the money several times to SDS which we later spent to election campaigns. In a letter Karadzic at some time sent to his wife Ljiljana Zelen he asked her to go and visit Mirko Sarovic, and to ask him to return 52.000 KM Karadzic borrowed to SDS for elections. According to DA, Karadzic also writes in the letter that financing of his protection “is being solved through the state”. Article also indicates maintaining close contact between Sarovic and Karadzic. 

Mostar Prosecution soon to process war crimes cases

Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘The first cases form the Hague arrive after holidays’ by F.V. – Chief of War Crimes Department operating within Mostar Cantonal Prosecution, Ibro Bulic, confirms for DA that the Hague Tribunal will, after holidays, submit to them several dozens of cases related to war crimes committed in Herzegovina. The role of Cantonal prosecutor’s office would be to complete investigations, and raise indictments if such request justified. Bulic added that the investigations will also include crimes committed in RS part of Herzegovina .

 

Political issues

Meeting of PIC political directors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RHB, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 6 ‘Sanctions on the horizon?’ by A. Prlenda, Dnevni List pg 11 ‘Indirect Taxation Agency is causing concern’ by D. Polovina-Mandic – OHR Spokesperson Mario Brkic confirmed that the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council on Thursday have started two days meeting in Sarajevo. They will discuss the reunification of Mostar, progress in education reform, the status of BiH’s efforts to fulfill the European Commission’s Feasibility Study requirements and the steps that must now be taken, and the status of BiH’s efforts to fulfil the conditions for participation in NATO’s Partnership for Peace. On Friday, BiH Prime Minister Adnan Terzic, Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic, Security Minister Barisa Colak, European Integration Director Osman Topcagic and Director of the BiH Intelligence and Security Agency Almir Djuvo will take part in the PIC meeting. The PIC Political Directors will also discuss Defence and Police Reform, new measures to combat organised crime, and the work of the Srebrenica Commission.

Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Sanctions against RS authorities announced following NATO Summit’ by A.S. – An official of the international community yesterday confirmed to NN that the Political Directors of the PIC in BiH would propose to Paddy Ashdown, High Representative to BiH, to enact a package of measures, which should include removals of some RS officials, if BiH – over RS failure to cooperate with the ICTY – were not admitted into PfP. NN source confirmed: “I can ascertain there will be removals and some sorts of sanctions against individuals in RS for sure.” NN source did not want to give names of those potentially-to-be-removed officials from RS, noting that RS police chief will be the first one under attack.

Priebe, Humphreys meet RS officials

 

Glas Srpske pg 3 ’16 locks on the road to Europe – On the path to Europe, it is necessary to find solutions, which would see the establishment of appropriate relations between entity and state authorities, stressed Dragan Cavic, RS President, after the meeting in Banja Luka he had with Reinhardt Priebe, EC delegation official, and Michael Humphreys, Head of EC delegation to BiH. Cavic stated that RS is not an obstacle on the BiH path towards Europe – instead, its existence is a crucial stimulus on the path of BiH admission into EU.  Priebe stressed economic revival of BiH proceeds too slowly. Adil Osmanovic, RS Vice President, also attended the meeting. Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, yesterday also received EC delegation. Mikerevic stated after the meeting that the collocutors agreed a progress has been achieved in almost all sectors. He said: “We still need to resolve several important issues, such as definition of new Law on refugees.” Priebe assessed that a significant progress has been achieved in fulfillment of 16 pre-requisites from Feasibility Study, noting that a single provision from Study has not still been fully implemented.

Dnevni Avaz pg 9 ‘Failure in PfP will not slow down path to Europe’, Vecernje novosti, pg. 4 ‘There is no reason for sanctions’ by M. Labus – also report on the EC officials meetings in Banja Luka .

VN int with Ivanic on HR, RS

 

Vecernje novosti pg 2 ‘Club against Serbs is nonsense’ by Dusan Stojakovic – BiH minister of Foreign Affairs Mladen Ivanic stated that the end of 2005 should be time when the current mandate of the HR Paddy Ashdown with the Bonn authorization should end. ‘I think that such a high level of the authorization will make no sense anymore. Ten years later, the High Representative should have no authorization to impose laws and remove politicians. I support the idea of having a high representative, but this should be a representative of EU that would have the task to help us and to ensure a faster admission to Euro-Atlantic integrations’, Ivanic said. He adds that the IC must lose the current stereotypes saying that only the Serb side is hindering reforms. He says that RS has implemented the most of entity reforms before the Federation of BiH did. ‘There is a positive environment, a positive approach to reforms in RS and to impose punishments in this moment would be a common nonsense!’ , Ivanic said. He thinks no normal person would be able to perform a work of the same quality after he was punished, therefore it was up to the international community to decide whether it wants to be a ruler that only punishes and treat citizens in an unjust manner, or it will start implementing European criteria in what they do here. Asked whether there is a will among local politicians to resolve problems of BiH through a dialogue between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, without any influence from a side, Ivanic said: ‘Not yet, because there is still a number of politicians in BiH who think they would accomplish their goals easier by persuading international institutions than by talking to their partners and colleagues from other peoples’.

NN: Kalinic responsible for SDS financing of ICTY indictees

 

Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 3 ‘Kalinic is responsible because SDS is financing Hague indictees’ – BiH official, who has gone through Draft report of the international auditor on SDS dealings (which should be completed in few days time) yesterday confirmed to NN that Dragan Kalinic, SDS President, is responsible because the assets from this party are re-directed to Hague indictees. NN collocutor confirmed that: “International auditors established that the largest financial malversations are taking part via private and public companies controlled by SDS. There is no system control of where the money goes from these SDS firms, and Party President, Dragan Kalinic, is responsible for this.” According to this Draft report, the link between municipal authorities and SDS in Doboj and some firms is one of the most evident evidence on corruption and suspicious money spending. Auditors observed a large number of irregularities at the dealings of the SDS-run firm “Duga”, whose Director is Milan Ninkovic, President of SDS Doboj,as of February 2003.

Avdic demands EU visa regime for BiH citizens diminished

 

Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘CoE recommends EU state to ease visa regime for BiH citizens’, mentioned on cover, by E. H. – Member of the parliamentary BiH delegation in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Sead Avdic, has proposed an amendment to the resolutions adopted on BiH, which will ease visa regimes of EU members states for BiH citizens. Avidc adds that following EU expansion, BiH rests a country with one of the strictest regimes in Europe . There have not yet been indications whether CoE would endorse this amendment, however Avdic says that this is the first time this issue has been talked about at CoE parliament.   

Movement for Changes in BiH to be founded tomorrow

 

Dnevni List, pg 9 ‘Movement for changes is not political party’, by Nermin Bise – carries an interview with professor Slavo Kukic, who announces the founding assembly of the ‘Movement for Changes in BiH’ that’s scheduled for Saturday at Holiday Inn hotel in Sarajevo. Kukic explains that the Movement gathers people from whole of BiH and that the aim of the Movement is to change BiH gradually without radical demands, as was the case with some previous ideas. Kukic also notes that the Movement is open to everyone, unless he/she was “an advocator of political philosophies that had left the blood behind in the past 15 years.

Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Support to neither position nor opposition’, Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘Dzihanovic: Nobody from power centres demanded from us to do this’ by Aj.D. – DA also carries announcement of the inaugural session of the Movement. Member of the Initiative Board, Sahbaz Dzihanovic stressed at the press conference held on Thursday that the Movement for Changes in BiH is non-political organization of all BiH citizens, regardless to their ethnicity. He added that movement will not support by political party.

Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘I will never leave SDA’ by A. Hadziarapovic – FBiH Prime Minister Ahmet Hadzipasic rejects that his engagement with the Movement is in any way some sort of new political involvement, adding he would never leave SDA. 

Slobodna Bosna: Europe is coming, US is not leaving

 

Slobodna Bosna pgs 30-33 ‘Europe is coming, US is not leaving’ by Adnan Buturovic – According to the author, Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and the US Ambassador at NATO, Nicholas Burns, have early this year agreed on the future international military strategy for BiH. The magazine claims that since the British general will be commander of the future EUFOR (to replace SFOR at the beginning of next year), the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, will have to be replaced as well because the top international political and military posts in BiH cannot be held by the officials from the same country.    

BHTV 1 on changes to ethnic prefixes in names of RS cities

 

BHTV 1 – Heads of 12 RS municipalities and towns with prefix “Srpski” in their names should submit proposals for the new names by 10 July, in accordance with the decision of BiH Constitutional Court. However, BHTV 1 says that the prefix has stayed contained in majority of the proposals, Authorized institution – RS Ministry of Administration and Local Self-Governance – said that it has transferred responsibilities in this issue to the municipalities. “Will they carry out these through surveys, or through discussions in local assemblies, it is up to them to decide,” said Slaven Pekic RS Minister of Administration and Local Self-Governance. RS National Assembly is also expected to discuss this issue soon.

OSCE announced completion of part of its mission

 

Dnevni List pg 3 ‘OSCE is leaving, BiH safe for joining EU!?’ by M. Batarello – The OSCE Chairman’s personal envoy, Claudio Zappulla, stated that the Agreement on Building of Trust and Security in BiH will end up in September this year at the meeting that will take place in Sarajevo. This decision was passed last week in Vienna where it was decided that this Agreement could end up as a result of extensive reforms in BiH. DL says that these reforms involve establishment of the BiH defence Ministry and appointment of the BiH Defence Minister, adoption of a new law on defence, a high degree of security etc. DL also says that according to such OSCE decision an increased number of extreme Islamic radicals does not represent any threat to trust and security in BiH. The author concludes the article by saying that time will show whether this OSCE’s decision was the right one.

HDZ Presidency session to take place today

 

Dnevni List pg 5 ‘Process of drafting of HDZ election lists almost finished’ by M. Relota – DL carries that HDZ Secretary General Vlatko Medjugorac stated that the session of the HDZ Presidency will take place in Mostar this afternoon and the main topic of this session will be preparations for municipal elections. Medjugorac also confirmed that drafting of the HDZ election lists is almost finished and that this issue will be also discussed today.

 

Defence and security

Njegus provided false information on burning of corpses in Tuzla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BHTV 1, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Search for bags of bones’ by S. Smajlovic, Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 2 ‘Njegus provided false information on burning of corpses in Tuzla’ – Radomir Njegus, RS Police Director, on Wednesday delivered some false information to EUPM and representatives of the F BiH Interior Ministry regarding burning of 100 skeletons of Serb war-crimes’ victims at the Factory producing at Tuzla and Lukavac. Members of F BiH MoI, Tuzla Canton MoI Support Unit, in the presence of a large number of SFOR, EUPM and Tuzla Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, on Wednesday carried out an extensive inspection at these facilities. Njegus initially informed SFOR that F BiH authorities intended to “burn skeletons of Serb victims” in order to hush up war crimes. According to official investigation findings of the Tuzla Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office, no skeleton has been found. Robert Cvrtak, Spokesperson of the F BiH MOI Administration, confirmed that MoI members had taken part in some inspection. According to NN inset 1, Marc Hope, SFOR Spokesperson, yesterday confirmed that during the inspection of facilities, the members of the SFOR were just observers. According to NN inset 2, Radomir Njegus yesterday stated that “we received an operational information, with some reserve off course, but we were obligated to investigate into it. Unfortunately, police source did not act properly.”

Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Njegus announced that bodies of Serbs will be burned?!’, mentioned on cover, by E. Huremovic –  Police Commissioner of Tuzla Canton Ivica Divkovic says that IC and local police have searched the premises of both factories for hours and have not found anything. 

Party for BiH’s Halilovic on international community, PfP

 

Ljiljan pgs 18-22 ‘Halilovic: International community in BiH applies double standards’ – Interview with Safet Halilovic, the BiH Minister of Civil Affairs and Party for BiH leader. “All conditions for BiH’s accession to PfP set by the international community have been fulfilled. The only what has not been fulfilled is the full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal of RS, which in that sense shares policy of Serbia and Montenegro (SCG). The SCG government believes that the entire thing with the ICTY has been imposed on them and the RS officials are behaving in accordance to such the stand although they are not publicly expressing such the opinion. Moreover, not a single person has been processed in RS for the crimes committed from 1992 to 1995 including murder of 200,000 civilians occurred thanks to RS paramilitary and police structures, as the Federation of BiH on the other side regularly fulfills its obligations (towards the ICTY). And now the entire BiH is being punished due to failures of one of its parts, the entity of RS, which is behaving/acting as a state within the state. I think that the international community is inconsistent in this case, and it is result of a lack of adequate political will within the Peace Implementation Council as a whole and some of the countries, which practically maintain such an ambivalent situation in BiH,” said Halilovic.  

SFOR releases Petar Milosevic

RTSR, Oslobodjenje pg 7 ‘SFOR released Petar Milosevic’, Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Petar Milosevic released from detention’ by H.C.  – SFOR representatives released Petar Milosevic who was detained on 3 June because of an investigation related to his alleged involvement in activities posing a threat to the secure environment. SFOR says it is satisfied with the outcome of this investigation, which resulted in the decision to release Petar Milosevic from detention.

EUPM welcomes SIPA laws

 

Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘SIPA, institution at the level of entire state’, Nezavisne Novine pg 5 ‘EUPM welcomed putting into effect of Law on SIPA’, Dnevni List pg 5 ‘SIPA will become powerful police institution’ by D.P.M. – DL says that EUPM spokesperson Killian Wahl welcomed coming into force of Law on State Agency for Investigations and Protection and the Law on Police Officials. DL says that both laws are crucial elements of the set of laws about SIPA that will make possible for this Agency to fight against the most serious forms of crime.

Another Mandic’s family blocked

 

Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Work of another firm owned by Mandic family blocked’ – Aleksandar Mandic, son of Momcilo Mandic and brother of Vlado Mandic, owner of “MVS Impex” from Bijeljina, yesterday confirmed that the upon the order of Toby Robinson, Temporary Administrator of the Serb Sarajevo Privredna Banka, RS Banking Agency blocked the accounts of the firm “MVS Impex” from Bijeljina ten days ago. According to NN, OHR yesterday did not want to give any comment on this.

Slobodna Bosna on organized crime

Slobodna Bosna pgs 16-19, cover page ‘Stuttgart Group Germany was powerless to face with came to BiH after the war’ by SB investigating team – According to the magazine’s both domestic and international sources, one of the best organized criminal groups moved immediately after the end of the war from the western Europe to BiH. Wherever they operated, the magazine claims, they left terror, robberies, blackmails, hijacks behind. The BiH police-prosecutorial bodies named the group as the Stuttgart Group and it includes/included Ismet Celo Bajramovic, Zijad Turkovic, Dalibor Jelic, Emir Hodzic, Senad Kobilic, Antun Grladinovic, Bakir Ibrahimovic, Rahman Hajdarpasic, Toni Kasalo…

 

Economic issues

BiH CoM in session

 

 

 

 

 

RHB, RTRS, Dnevni List pg 6 ‘Inspection control of products at domestic market intensified’ by I. Tabucic – The BiH Council of Ministers defined yesterday proposals of 3 laws that regulate security of products and food, as well as, technical demands for products and inspection over the BiH market. Also, the BiH CoM defined the proposal of law on defining and a way of meeting an internal BiH debt.

Oslobodjenje pg 8 ‘Basic instead of Kasumovic’, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Haris Basic a temporary member of ITA Governing Board’ by Aj. D. – The CoM appointed BiH Deputy Traffic and Communications Minister Haris Basic as the temporary member of the BiH Indirect Taxation Administration Steering Board to replace Fuad Kasumovic.  

Eronet update

 

FTV, Dnevni List, front and pg 3 ‘HT Zagreb today getting offer to buy Eronet’, by Jurislav Petrovic – According to the CEO of ‘Hercegovina osiguranje’, Robert Gavranovic, the offer that was recently given by ‘Mobilkom Austria’ to buy 50,5% of ‘Eronet’ shares has been sent to ‘HT Zagreb’ in accordance to the right to pre-emption. As a reminder, ‘Mobilkom Austria’ offered 24 million Euros plus further investment into the company’s infrastructure. According to Gavranovic, the main reason why ‘Hercegovina osiguranje’, ‘Alpina Komerc’ and Municipality of Grude are selling their shares in ‘Eronet’ is because they cannot afford to fund further expansion of ‘Eronet’, which will be required in the future, because in order to cover 80% of BiH territory from the present 55%, there has to be an investment worth between 100 to 150 million Euros, which the three aforementioned subjects cannot afford. An inset into the article carries the CEO of ‘HT Mostar’, Stipe Prlic, who says ‘HT Mostar’ is against the sale of ‘Eronet’ shares pending the outcome of appeal that ‘HT Mostar’ has filed with the Cantonal Court in Mostar to the verdict of Municipal Court in Mostar which ruled that 51% of Eronet shares belonging to ‘Hercegovina osiguranje’, ‘Alpina Komerc’ and Municipality of Grude indeed belong to the three companies.

FBiH Govt in session

 

RHB, Oslobodjenje pg 6 ‘Obligations from the last years met’, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Business plan for sanitation of Air Bosnia supported’ by A. Hadziarapovic, Dnevni List pg 4 ‘FBiH Government restores debts in Air Bosna’ by M. Relota – At its session held yesterday the Federation of BiH Government adopted the information of the FBiH Ministry of Traffic and Communications about the measures taken for restoring of public company ‘Air Bosna’ and gave support to the business plan for recovery of this company.

Srpske sume audit report

 

Oslobodjenje cover page, pgs 4-5 ‘RS Government approved illegal wood cutting’ by Aldijana Omeragic – Audit report of Srpske sume company reads that the former RS Government headed by Mladen Ivanic approved illegal wood cutting in to company Trigokomerc, and RS National Assembly has not done anything to prevent the forests in the area of Ribnik, although the Law on Forestry foresees no special sawing of woods.

Slobodna Bosna on the audit into the BiH state institutions’ operations

 

Slobodna Bosna pgs 5-7 ‘BiH state institutions spent almost two million KM to purchase new vehicles’ by Asim Metiljevic – The magazine has come into possession of a still non-publicized report on the audit into the BiH state institutions’ financial operations. It shows that among other things BiH bureaucracy’s vehicles purchase and maintenance cost up to 20 million KM, that half of the BiH GDP is being spent in funding state administration and that suits were being bought not only for the senior state officials but also for the drivers and bodyguards. “With 180 ministries, 15 presidents and 720 parliamentarians, BiH is indisputably the most bureaucratic state in Europe and it hardly has competition throughout the world,” wrote Metiljevic.

FBiH budget to be re-balanced

Dnevni List, pg 5 ‘Re-balance of Federation budget in beginning of July’, by Miso Relota – The FBiH Finance Ministry is confirming announcements that the FBiH Finance Minister and Deputy PM, Dragan Vrankic, will recommend to go ahead with re-balancing of the FBiH budget for 2004 in order to restore balance between the incomes and expenditures. Apparently, Minister Vrankic is in favour of preparing a proposal of changes and amendments to the FBiH Budget for 2004, since the collected revenues are not matching the amounts planned.