| RADIO HERCEG BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Joska Fisher visited BiH | Mostar Conference | Joska Fisher visits BiH | RSNA Session |
| Sanader in Mostar | CoM session | CoM session | Mostar Conference |
| Mostar restructure | RSNA session | FBiH HoR session | HR’s decision on Mostar |
| Visit of CoE Delegation | FBiH HoR session | FBiH Government session | SFOR action in Bijeljina |
| Oslobodjenje | False sense of being endangered is intruded upon Bosniaks |
| Dnevni Avaz | Van den Bisen (BiH’s lawyer in proceedings before International Court of Justice) says Belgrade will requested to pay for war damages |
| Dnevni List | “Sanader: I did not come to break HDZ BiH!”; “Croatian President Stjepan Mesic: Mostar Conference crucial for BiH and neighboring countries” |
| Vecernji List | “Ivo Sanader arrived at Investment Conference: HDZ BiH should get rid of Pasalic’s supporters” |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | “Representatives of 60 countries in Mostar”; “BiH is only country without stat holiday” |
| Glas Srpske | OHR opposes to temporary suspension of evictions: Playing on wire |
| Nezavisne Novine | Joschka Fischer in Sarajevo: Co-operation with The Hague is pre-requisite for EU; Case of forged fiscal stamps: Police failed to identify forgers for two years; International Conference on investments in BiH: Representatives of 62 states to come to Mostar; Slavko Kukic: True reporting is normal thing for all media, except “Avaz”; Bijeljina: SFOR inspected Telekom Srpske premises |
| Blic | 621 employees of RS Ministry of Interior will lose their jobs: Severance pay for a police officer amounts 6,000 KM; SFOR at Telekom; Zeljko Jankovic: I am not protecting Radovan Karadzic; Dragan Mikerevic: Ready for foreign investors |
Judiciary/media | |
| International officials respond to Avaz accusations
| Oslobodjenje front page, pg. 3 ‘False sense of being endangered is intruded upon Bosniaks’ By Senka Kurtovic – An Avaz campaign has almost nothing to do with real concern about the situation inside judiciary. The international community believes it is about a cynic attempt to promote sense of being endangered among Bosniaks for the concrete political purposes and ahead of municipal elections scheduled for next autumn, a Western diplomat told the newspaper on Wednesday. According to the diplomat, the international officials are unified in commitment to defeat any attempt to politicise judiciary. Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘Attempted politicisation of judiciary in BiH would not pass’ – A highly-ranking European diplomat in Brussels confirmed to NN that some representatives of international community are united in commitment to defeat any attempt to politicise the reform of judiciary in BIH. The source also says that “Avaz” people called these IC officials demanding comment on the picture of HiRep “Avaz” published. However, IC officials acknowledged “Avaz” attempted to isolate HiRep in the moment when he is fighting for one of the basic principles. Note that Dnevni Avaz again dedicated three pages (8-10) to the issue with re-publishing their demands against alleged introduction of censorship and for introduction of equality in judiciary. The daily also carried statements by a number of popular sportsmen, singers, artists, intellectuals who support its campaign and who will apparently join Avaz journalists at their protest in front of the OHR building in Sarajevo scheduled for Friday. |
| Kukic on Radoncic | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 4, ‘True reporting is normal thing for all media, except “Avaz”’ – In an interview to NN, Slavko Kukuc, President of the Steering Board of the FTV, says that court must pass the ban on writing falsehood only against “Dnevni Avaz”, because all other media respect true reporting. He says: “People like owner of “Avaz” are dangerous for BiH in political regard. He is a classic example of misfortune in the past ten years. The latest interview Radoncic gave to NN discloses his political targets in “Lagumdzija” case.” He also says that what “Avaz” is currently doing corresponds to Sulejam Tihic campaign of the last months. As for unequal ethnic representation, Kukic says that rights of all peoples of BiH are jeopardised. He gives the example of FTV, which employs 420 people, out of whom around 50 are Croats and 25 are Serbs – the rest are Bosniaks. |
| Reactions to Avaz campaign in NN | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘Media should follow the Code’ – BiH Press Council is of the view that full respect pf a single Press Code could avoid many reasons for lawsuits before the courts. Mehmed Halilovic, Deputy Media Ombudsmen in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at yesterdays’ session of this Council, said that Court has so far passed the ruling on only one out of 200 lawsuit cases filed. Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘I ask Pecanin to stop healing his complexes on me’ – Fahrudin Radoncic reacted on yesterday’s comment given to NN by Senad Pecanin, “Dani” magazine director, saying that: “I publicly ask Mister Pecanin , whose mother, for example, did her time in prison for robbery and was sentenced to years-long imprisonment by Court in Bijelo Polje, to stop healing his complexes of genetic nature on me. I also regret for NN, but you will have a chance of proving you claims of me as a criminal before the Court.” |
| RSNA: Support to BiH judicial and prosecutorial council | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 2, ‘Support to BiH judicial and prosecutorial council’; Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘Seat still waiting’, Blic p 13 ‘Transfer of authorization’ – Republika Srpska National Assembly yesterday recommended Republika Srpska Government to sign the agreement on transfer of some entity authorities regarding the establishment of the BiH High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. Republika Srpska National Assembly also obligated Republika Srpska delegates at BiH Parliamentary Assembly to advocate for inclusion of some solutions into the Law on BiH HJPC, which would preserve the influence of entities in institutional and essential terms. The Republika Srpska Government and Republika Srpska delegates were also obligated to advocate that the seat of HJPC of BiH is in Serb Sarajevo. Zoran Pavic, HiRep’s special representative, said that the information was acceptable, stressing that language discussing the placement of HJHPC seat should be softer. On this, the RS Parliament Speaker, Dragan Kalinic , said that Republika Srpska cannot show such sort of flexibility. |
Political developments | |
| German Foreign Minister visits BiH
| Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 4 ‘German support to reforms in BiH’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 3 ‘Fischer: Full BiH’s cooperation with the Hague is key for entering European integration’ – German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is paying an official visit to BiH. During his meetings with the members of the BiH Presidency, Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic and CoM Chair Adnan Terzic in Sarajevo on Wednesday, Fischer pointed out the importance of friendly relations between the two countries and expressed the support for our country’s effort to join the European integration. Fischer said that his country always saw its involvement in BiH as very important, and it intended to continue to do so. Fischer also said that the implementation of the Dayton Agreement was the basis of all political processes in our country, adding that the handover between SFOR and the EU force, which should take place at the end of the year, was a big opportunity for BiH. Fischer said that full cooperation with the Hague tribunal was extremely important so that Europe could truly open its door to BiH According to Ivanic, Fischer was briefed on the effort of the local authorities to meet 16 conditions set by the EU. Ivanic said that the talks also focused on the defence reform and our country’s membership in the Partnership for Peace. The German Foreign Minister also said after meeting the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, that Germany supports BiH’s accession to NATO and the European Union. “We support BiH and its accession to the Partnership for Peace and closer cooperation with the EU, and this process must be built on the basic principles of democracy, where I particularly refer to the independence of judiciary as one of the fundamental principles,” said Minister Fischer. The High Representative informed Minister Fischer that BiH was making great progress in implementing reform during the last year, but that the tempo has been slackened in 2004. “If we do not accelerate the pace of implementing reform, important tasks such as the admission into the Partnership for Peace and opening of the Stabilisation and Association Process with the EU will be brought into question,” warned Ashdown. Slobodna Dalmacija last page, “Cooperation with The Hague condition for European integration”, by Fena, Dnevni List page 4, “EU and NATO follow BiH’s way with sympathy”, by R. Radic, Vecernji List page 4, “Fischer: Reforms are chance that you have to use”, by D. Jazvic, Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3, ‘Co-operation with The Hague is pre-requisite for EU’; Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘Playing at Dayton tunes’ also covered this visit. |
| Terzic says relations with Croatia very good, still improving | Herceg Bosna Radio, FTV, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Readiness to resolve disputes’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘BiH and Croatia see their future in Europe’, Slobodna Dalmacija last page, “Croatian experience welcome for BiH”, by Z. Zekic, FENA – Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic in Mostar on Wednesday held talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. The meeting was held on the eve of the international conference on the investment in BiH, which will be held in Mostar on 26 and 27 February. This is the first official meeting of the two prime ministers after the election of the new Croatian government. According to Adnan Terzic, the meeting focused on the current state of relations between the two countries and on resolving open issues. “We believe that the relations between BiH and the Republic of Croatia are very good and still improving,” Terzic said, adding that a delegation of the Council of Ministers would visit Zagreb at Ivo Sanader’s invitation at the end of March. The chairman of the Council of Ministers pointed out that BiH supported strongly Croatia’s effort to join the EU as soon as possible. “The introduction of the European standards in BiH will be much speedier and easier if Europe is on our border,” Terzic said. He added that it had been agreed at the meeting that Croatia would convey to BiH its experience on the path to the European integration. “Croatia is focused on the EU, but this is not to say that its interest in the neighbouring countries, particularly BiH, is weaker for it,” Prime Minister Ivo Sanader said after the talks. He described the talks with Terzic as very useful, and pointed out that BiH would enjoy Croatia’s full support on the path of stabilization and association with the EU. “We shared the past in the common state with BiH, and I am certain that we shall share the future in the united Europe,” the Croatian prime minister said. He added that these were two friendly countries and that this friendship was stronger than any open issues, such as the foreign trade deficit of BiH in trade with Croatia, the free-trade agreement, the Vc corridor, the cooperation related to the port of Ploce and the passage through Neum. In this context Ivo Sanader singled out the issue of equality of the Croat people in BiH, and recalled that his government had the support of the Bosniak MP in the Croatian parliament, that is the SDA in Croatia. He said that Croatia was interested in resolving open issues between the two countries, and in improving the economic cooperation. Sanader said that in this context the interlocutors had discussed the possibility of setting up a joint council to deal with the economic cooperation between the two countries. |
| Croatian premier promises only limited support for Bosnian Croats in 2004 | FTV, Herceg Bosna Radio, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Sanader says will not allow split in HDZ’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Ivic Pasalic must not be allowed to break apart BiH HDZ’ – Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader will take part in the international conference on the investment in BiH. He arrived in Mostar on Wednesday and met BiH Prime Minister Adnan Terzic. Before this meeting he visited the University of Mostar and the BiH Croat Democratic Union (HDZ). He discussed inter-party relations with the leader of the HDZ in BiH, Barisa Colak. He called on the HDZ members in BiH not to follow the path which would not lead them to anything better. He specifically mentioned Ivic Pasalic’s bloc. This, Sanader says, is not meddling into another country’s affairs, but a well-intentioned piece of advice. He promised the support of the HDZ in Croatia so that the HDZ in BiH can join the European People’s Party as soon as possible. Vecernji List (front page splash “HDZ BiH should get rid of Pasalic’s people” and pages 2 and 3 “Sanader calls on HDZ BiH to get rid of ‘Pasalic’s people’”, by oc, tk) also reports on the meeting. Dnevni List (front page splash and page 3 “Sanader: I did not come to break HDZ BiH”, by Miso Relota) – apart from reporting on the meeting between Sanader and leaders of HDZ BiH, which included Dragan Covic and Niko Lozancic, DL reports that Sanader met with the Chancellor of the University of Mostar (west, Croat pre-dominant), Dr. Frano Ljubic, to discuss the issue of funding of the University. Sanader said: “In our (Croatian) budget for 2004, through the Ministry of science, education and sport, we have secured 20 million kunas (around 5 million KMs) to the University of Mostar. We are restricted by problems pertaining to the Croatian state budget, but we will, if there is a possibility, increase the sum. Next year we will financially support the work of the University in Mostar even more”. (the two meeting were also reported on in Slobodna Dalmacija, back page “Do not follow Ivic Pasalic”, by Darko Juka) |
| Interview with Dragan Covic
| Vecernji List (page 5, “Some HDZ representatives do not implement things that we agree upon”, by Z. Kresic) carries an interview with Chairman of the BiH Presidency Dragan Covic who, among the other things, talks about the Mostar Investment Conference. Asked whether he is satisfied with the work of the Federation of BiH Government and the work of HDZ Ministers, Covic says that the current authority, especially the one at the FBiH level has fallen short and for this reason he places emphasis on changes. Covic added: “At the same time it is better for all those who hesitate since they believe that someone will criticize them in media, that they do not do this job. Now there are many HDZ representatives who do on implement things that we agree upon.” Asked whether he has an impression that the International Community is getting nervous sending messages that it is dissatisfied in with the current authority, Covic says that the reports about the things done in BiH sent at the end of the last year were too positive and that the report of High Representative Paddy Ashdown was in that spirit. Covic added: “At the same time we have to be aware that calculations as to how to arrange a political scene in BiH still exist within the IC.” Covic also says that as we are approaching the October elections messages will be sent to the current authority which is in Covic’s opinion slow and which might be passing numerous decisions much faster. |
| High Representative acts to end abuse of street names in Mostar | FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 7 ‘Moratorium stopped Mate Boban’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Ashdown banned re-naming streets, squares and bridges in Mostar’, Slobodna Dalmacija last page, by Fena – The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, on Wednesday issued a Decision imposing a moratorium on changing the names of streets, squares, bridges and all such public places by any City-Municipality in the City of Mostar and specifically banning any related activity that could be viewed as a provocation likely to undermine the reorganization of Mostar. “It’s time we took the politics out of this issue,” the High Representative said when issuing the Decision. “The mechanisms exist under the Mostar Statute, to ensure that place names will not be used as a provocation, and the issue of names cannot be exploited as a means of upsetting the best efforts of the people of Mostar to leave behind a fractious past and move forward to a positive future,” he added. |
| Bosniak member of BiH Presidency takes over chairmanship | Oslobodjenje pg. 3, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2, Blic p 13 ‘Tihic will be the chairman as of Saturday’ – The Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, Sulejman Tihic, will take over the post of chairman of the body from Dragan Covic on Saturday in Sarajevo. The BiH Presidency has reported that the ceremonial hand-over session has been arranged for the occasion. |
| Statement of Day: Sahbaz Dzihanovic | Dnevni List (page 2) carries in its “Statement of Day”, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vice President, Sahbaz Dzihanovic, as saying: “Dayton constitution halts BiH, but it must be observed”. |
Economic/social issues | |
| Covic on the Mostar Investment Conference
| BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘BiH will offer some 300 projects to foreign investors’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Representatives from 63 countries take part at the conference’, FENA – Chairman of the BiH Presidency Dragan Covic opened on Wednesday the Press Centre of the International Investment Conference in BiH which will be held in Mostar February 26/27. On the occasion Covic presented the program of the conference as well. “Conference will start on Thursday at 10 :00 hrs with a plenary part of the session, and in that part we expect representatives of about 60 countries to be present. In the second part of Friday’s work about 40 bilateral meetings will be held at the highest state level” Covic said, announcing several hundreds meetings between businessmen, too. He added that on Friday, 27 February, the Conference will start with 5 round tables at which banking, agriculture, industry and power, transport and communications, as well as development of tourism and trade will be discussed. According to Covic, upon completion of the round tables, the second part of the plenary session will be held, when those present will be addressed by the presidents of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia. On behalf of the Organizing Committee Covic will give closing address. “About 60 countries will be presented at the Conference, while most of the delegations of the countries are headed by chairmen of economic associations”, Covic said. He pointed out that great number of foreign investors showed their interests in agricultural and food production. Over 2, 000 representatives of foreign companies, embassies, business associations and other institutions promoting economic growth and development are expected to be present at the Conference. In addition to the economic, the Conference will have a political importance because arrival of presidents of Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Macedonia is announced. Prime ministers of Croatia, Bulgaria. Romania, Slovenia and Albania will arrive on the occasion, as well as representatives of all EU member countries, USA, Canada, Japan, China, Russia and Arabian countries. Dnevni List (front page and page 5 “Conference brings declaration on economy”, by Katarina Pehar), Vecernji List (pages 2 and 3 “Investment conference begins”, by Oliver Cvitkovic), Slobodna Dalmacija, front page splash and page 17 “Representatives of 60 states in Mostar”, by M. Landeka, Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 5, ‘Representatives of 62 states to come to Mostar’, Blic front page and p 13 ‘Mikerevic: Srpska offers important projects’ also covered the issue. |
| DL: Interview with Croatian President Mesic | Dnevni List (front and page 7 “Mesic: Mostar Conference crucial for BiH and neighboring countries”, by Ivica Glibusic) – questioned as to what he expected from the Mostar Investment Conference, the Croatian President, Stipe Mesic, in an interview for Dnevni List says: “These conferences are a chance, apart from having talks and contacts with state officials, to hear what economists think about economic chances and opportunities. I have been convinced on many occasions that economists find a common path sooner and easier, and I hope it will be the case this time too. When I say that, I think it is important that the conference gets the support from international banking institutions, foremost the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and European Investment Bank”. |
| VL and DL on Mostar Investment Conference | Vec ernji List (page 2 “Europe in Mostar, BiH in Europe”, by Ilko Barbaric) – carries a positive editorial about prospects of the Mostar Investment Conference, noting the Conference is a clear signal to both BiH and whole region which path needs to be taken on the road towards Euro-Atlantic integration. The author however says that we must not be fooled with all this, because a lot of issues, especially pertaining to infrastructure in BiH, must be solved. Dnevni List (page 2 “Welcome to Mostar”, by M. Skoko) – also carries a positive article about the Conference, noting that only time will tell whether it will be a success or not. Skoko believes it is down on people in BiH whether people from abroad invest money in BiH, believing that the ongoing reforms in BiH will help the cause. |
| BiH CoM adopts draft budget for 2004 | BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Draft state budget of 480.5 million KM adopted’, Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘212 million KM to the state institutions’, Dnevni List page 4 “State budget without three crucial institutions”, by Erna Mackic, Vecernji List, page 2 “Council of Ministers determines budget”, by eme – The Council of Ministers of BiH on Wednesday adopted the draft budget of the BiH institutions and our country’s international obligations in 2004, to the amount of 480.5m KM. The budget for the state institutions is 212m marks, and the rest is earmarked for servicing the foreign debt. The draft budget will now be forwarded to the BIH Presidency. This is a consolidated budget between Brcko District, the entities and the state, which means that there must not be any fiscal deficit in relation to the GDP, Treasury Minister Ljerka Maric said. The obligations to the state remain the same as in 2003, Maric added. “The entities ought to pay 90.4m marks this year, Brcko District 4.1m, and the rest is the state revenue from various contributions and taxes. The European Commission has helped with 24m, and we think that we shall have to borrow 5.6m to continue with the CIPS,” Maric said. In addition to the budget, Ljerka Maric said the Council of Ministers had adopted an annexe earmarking additional funds amounting to 5m marks for the initial funding of the indirect taxation administration, the Defence Ministry, SIPA (the State Information and Protection Agency) and OSA (the Intelligence Security Agency). “These are the institutions the state is taking over from the entity level, and, in addition to the personnel and powers, it expects their funding from the entities as well,” Maric said. Oslobodjenje pgs. 4-5 ‘A scandalous CoM decision: Yet 250,000KM allocated to BiH Presidency’ – At a session in Sarajevo on Wednesday, The BiH CoM decided to allocate additional 250,000 KM from the current reserves for the needs of the BiH Presidency. The newspaper (journalist Vedrana Zivak) assessed the decision as scandalous referring to the already enormous body’s expenditures. |
| Forgery of fiscal stamps | Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3, ‘Police failed to identify forgers for two years’ – In its investigations, Republika Srpska police failed to identify the forgers of administrative fiscal stamps. Namely, Republika Srpska Customs Administration in 2001 detected some stamps were forged. According to NN interlocutor close to investigative bodies, police did not file denunciation, because it did not compile sufficient evidence and data proving criminal act was committed. NN source also claims that police searched the premises of “Grafokomerc” printing company from Trebinje, the only company in charge of printing these stamps. Company officials claim those stamps in question were not printing in their premises. NN source also claims that officials from OHR ACCU team visited “Grafokomerc” officials several times. OHR Spokesperson, Ljiljana Radetic, did not want to give any comment on this. She briefly said: “OHR does not comment private correspondence.” |
| OHR on property exchange | Glas Srpske, cover page story, ‘Playing on wire’ – The OHR harshly opposes to the implementation of the Republika Srpska National Assembly conclusions, regarding temporary suspension of evictions of people, who exchanged property. The OHR is of the view that: “Exchanges of property carried out during the war are regulated by the the Law on Cessation of the Application of the RS Law on abandoned property and the Law on implementation of CRPC decisions. The fact is that the RS authorities offered no legal grounds to suspend the implementation of the law, nor they explained the grounds to recommend such drastic measures. Any imposition of a general suspension of evictions in such cases would be seen as an attempted delay in property repossession process.” Petar Dzodan, President of the Association of Serbs from Croatia, said the Association is not surprised with this stance taken by the High Representative to BiH, Paddy Ashdown. According to him, Ashdown, just like his predecessors, have not showed any interest in the troubles worrying Serbs from Croatia, although Croatia is the signatory of the Dayton Peace Agreement. |
| DL: “VAT in BiH in 2006” | Dnevni List (page 2, by De. L.) – reports that the VAT will be introduced at the state level in BiH in early 2006. The information was published after the first meeting of the VAT Development Team, which was held in Banja Luka. The team, consisting of 10 experts from tax administrations of the RS, FBiH and Brcko District, discussed priorities pertaining to VAT related legislation, technical requirements, preparations of necessary procedure, public campaigns and training of staff. DL reports that the VAT Development Team will be closely cooperating with representatives of the EU and CAFAO in the development of the VAT system. |
Defence/security | |
| Cavic says the issue of BiH Defence Minister appointment to be resolved by the end of the week
| BHTV, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4, Oslobodjenje pg. 4, FENA – RS President Dragan Cavic said on Wednesday that the matter of appointing the first BiH defence minister would be resolved by the end of the week. He did not state the name of the candidate for this function, but expressed hope that there will be no reasons for qualifications to which the previous candidate for defence minister, Branko Stevic, had been exposed. As a guest of RS Radio Cavic emphasised that there will obviously be many problems in the process of appointing personnel in the Ministry of Defence, Joint Command and the Operational Command. He added that this is a delicate matter because of the fact that these institutions, as he said, represent a system of armies, which had been engaged in conflicts. |
| SDS proposes three new candidates for state defence minister | FBiH Radio, BHTV, Dnevni List page 11 “SDS finally decides”, Vecernje Novosti p 6 ‘All from Bijeljina’ – The advisor to the Serb member of the state Presidency, Drago Vukovic, has said that the SDS proposed three candidates for the defence minister of BiH, but that Borislav Paravac has still not seen the names of the candidates. According to the information from their unnamed sources in the top circles of the SDS, BN Radio-Television reported that the party would propose verified people from Bijeljina – lawyer Dragisa Dumic, Dr Ljubisa Trifkovic and economist Mico Vukovic – for the post of the first defence minister of BiH. According to Vukovic, Paravac will see the names of the candidates in the afternoon and decide on sending a proposal to the premier of BiH, Adnan Terzic. |
| DL: “NATO is skeptical with regard to BiH joining Partnership for Peace” | Dnevni List (page 7, by E. Mackic) – reports that an SFOR spokesperson, Dave Sullivan, stated that the BiH authorities failed to meet the first and basic condition for joining Partnership for Peace, which endangered the security of every citizens of BiH. He added that the BiH authorities have been invited to submit to NATO a report on the achieved progress, however, judging by the current pace of the implementation of reforms, there would be nothing to report. Sullivan also said that NATO was sceptical with regard to BiH joining Partnership for Peace. |
| SFOR troops take documents during search of RS Telecom premises in Bijeljina | Herceg Bosna Radio, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘SFOR raided RS Telecom’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2, Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 2, ‘SFOR inspected Telekom Srpske premises’, Vecernje Novosti p 21 ‘Control of Telekom’, Blic front page and p 16 ‘A part of documentation was taken away’, SRNA – SFOR members have taken a certain number of documents from the Telekom Republike Srpske premises in Bijeljina during Wednesday’s unannounced inspection, which will be examined during the next few days, SFOR spokesman Dave Sullivan told SRNA. He confirmed that the operation to find out whether the Dayton Agreement was being observed had ended in the afternoon. “SFOR has gathered material which will be examined in detail and conclusions based on this will be drawn later,” Sullivan said. The SFOR spokesman pointed out that cooperation with the Telekom workers and the RS police was exceptionally professional. |
War crimes-related affairs | |
| ‘Belgrade will be requested to pay for war damages’
| Dnevni Avaz front page, pg. 5 ‘We will request Belgrade to pay for war damages’ – Interview with Von Van den Bisen, the BiH lawyer in case ‘BiH versus Serbia and Montenegro’ before the Hague-based International Court of Justice. He claims there are firm evidences that Serbia and Montenegro committed aggression and genocide against BiH and that the team of BiH lawyers will therefore requests Belgrade to pay compensation for war damages. |
Education | |
| Croat Cantonal Education Ministers to HR Ashdown
| Dnevni List (page 9 “Education in Croatian language a pre-requisite for survival”, by Meri Musa0 – reports that the Coordination of Croat cantonal ministers of education adopted seven positions relating to planning, enactment and implementation of reform to elementary, secondary and higher education in BiH, which were forwarded to the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown. In a nutshell, the education ministers, namely Jozo Maric, Jago Musa, Nikola Lovrinovic, Marin Ivic and Stipo Ivankovic signed conclusions which argue that the Croats in BiH are entitled to their own education at all levels of education, and to their own curricula, textbooks and classes in Croatian language, which is, according to the ministers, a guarantee for survival and progress of cultural identity of the Croat people in BiH, which does not endanger equal rights of other peoples. Vecernji List (page 7, “Croats have right on language”, by Fena) and Slobodna Dalmacija (page 9, “Croat national identity should be preserved”, by Z. Cilic) also covered this issue. |
| Ambassador Robert Beecroft visits Mostar | Dnevni List (page 9, “Law on Higher Education will not shut down Mostar University”, by V. Kljajic) – the Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Robert Beecroft, who visited Mostar on Wednesday stated that BiH would lose 42 million US$ if the Law on Higher Education in BiH were not adopted. Beecroft also said that this law did not threaten the Mostar University (Croat) with shutting down of it and that this law would connect BiH with the rest of Europe. Slobodna Dalmacija (page 9, University is not endangered”, by Z. Zekic) also covered this visit. |