Headlines in Print Media |
Oslobodjenje: Political agreement reached on the appointment of the heads of BiH Federation Intelligence Service: Alibabic – Director, Vuksic – Deputy Director
Dnevni Avaz: Announcements from Federation Pension-Disability Fund (PIO) – Pensions to be paid out by July 3; The High Representative’s conversation in a tram – Ashdown wants to build house at the Jablanica Lake
Jutarnje Novine: The Alliance splits on two parts; SFOR’s non-stop patrols in the Pale area – Hunt on Karadzic or Maksimovic
Dnevni List: Steven Mayer, former CIA Chief for the Balkans – the borders in the region should be changed
Vecernji List: 3,000 dismissed soldiers waiting severance pays threaten they will return to the barracks
Glas Srpski: Suspicious financial transactions in the RS – “Gama” laundered millions?
Nezavisne Novine: World Soccer Cup – Germany in the final; Who will be the SDS candidate for the BiH Presidency – Kalinic has given up the candidacy due to the role he played during the war?!
FRY Nacional: Djindjic prepares a total isolation of Kostunica; Pavkovic goes to the Hague; Radovan Karadzic celebrated his 56th birthday with friends in a shelter
Blic: High ranking military officers support Kostunica; Ivanic: The University awaits a serious reform; Kretschmer: No treats for the RS survival; Novica Simic: SFOR was tapped without authorisation
Vecernje Novosti: Pavkovic peacefully retreated
Parliamentary, political activities at the state, BiH Federation level |
Oslobodjenje (front-page, p 6) learns that on Friday the BiH Federation Government will appoint AID Head Munir Alibabic as the Director and SNS Chief Ivica Vuksic as the Deputy Director of the Federation Intelligence-Security Service. Although the BiH Federation President Safet Halilovic and Vice-president Karlo Filipovic have still not formally approved the Prime Minister Alija Behmen-proposed appointments, consensus on the issue had been reached at the recent meeting of the Entity leaders with the PDHR Donald Hays.
At its extraordinary session in Sarajevo on Tuesday, the BiH Federation House of Representatives adopted amendments to the Law on the Execution of the Entity Budget for this year. According to the Deputy Federation Finance Minister, Sefika Hafizovic, the adopted amendments will prevent further taking of the loans by cantons and municipalities in the commercial banks. “Internal debts amount up to $ 12 billion and if we do not intervene urgently, the entire system might be paralyzed,” Hafizovic said. (Oslobodjenje – p 3, Almir Terzic, Dnevni Avaz – p 4, Adi Hadziarapovic, Almina Pilav, Jutarnje Novine – p 3)
At its session in Sarajevo on Tuesday, the BiH Council of Ministers failed to agree on the draft amendment to the BiH Election Law. The discussion on the issue will continue on Thursday. (Oslobodjenje – p 3, Dnevni Avaz – p 2, Jutarnje Novine – p 4)
The BiH Parliament’s House of Peoples adopted in Sarajevo on Tuesday set of the laws imposed by the High representative, including the Law on Civil Service, Law on the BiH Ombudsman and the Law the Court of BiH. The deputies failed to adopt the Law on the PBS. (Oslobodjenje – p 7, Vedrana Zivak, Dnevni Avaz – p 4, Almasa Bajric, Jutarnje Novine – p 3)
The BiH delegation attending the third this year’s plenary session of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg requested that Slovenia directly paid out a Ljubljanska Bank debt towards the depositors in BiH amounting up to 250 million KM. (Dnevni Avaz – p 3)
Vecernji List (page 15) carries an article signed by Dejan Jazvic in which he says that the plan of the ICTY to transfer a number of its cases to the BiH judiciary will not happen until BiH has carried out a reform to its judiciary, as confirmed by the President of ICTY Claude Jorda. VLsays that the reform of BiH judiciary has been started by the former High Representative Wolfgang Petristch, who raised salaries of judges and prosecutors and introduced a new appointment procedure, the reform which the current HR Paddy Ashdown plans to take to another, higher level. The daily goes on to say that there is a lack of political consensus when it comes to processing or war criminals before the BiH Court foremost because of obstruction of the RS authorities who are of opinion that the establishment of the BiH Court has dis-empowered the entity in the area of judiciary. The article is concluded with a thought that not many people believe that the ICTY will transfer some of its cases to BiH judiciary.
Dnevni List(page 6, by Ilija Sagolj)carries an analysis of the latest International Crisis Group’s (ICG) report on BiH, which says that instead of having legal structures, BiH is flooded with ethnic policies, corrupt and incompetent courts, fragmented judiciary and with reforms implemented only half way. “According to announcements of new High Representative Paddy Ashdown, he will not have understanding for politicians and representatives of extremely bureaucratised state administration. One could guess that carriers of the reforms will be completely new people, which is quite logical. Dayton Peace Accord will remain the foundation, but its upgrading will definitely follow“, says the author. The article highlights that cantons will most likely lose their state-like status, whilst the municipalities will gain broader social jurisdictions.
Jutarnje Novine (p 7) reports that the BiH Republican Party, which chairs the Coordination of the Alliance for Change, assesses further hiding of a split inside the coalition immoral particularly following the appointment of the Federation Finance Minister and minister of Social Welfare, Refugees and Displaced Persons by the Entity President and the Government without any prior consultations.
According to Dnevni List (front and page 7, by Anes Hindic), Stjepan Kljujic, the leader of BiH Republicans, explains it by saying that the SDP, SBiH and LDS did not declare themselves whether they would remain within the Co-ordination. DL carries the Deputy President of LDS Strajo Krsmanovic as saying that his party consider all other political parties that will run in the elections as their opponents. “Any type of negotiation is pointless to us”, says Krsmanovic adding that the Governments formed after the last elections “will work technically until the expiration of the mandate i.e. until new authority has been formed after the elections”. The daily also carries Safet Halilovic, the President of SBiH, who denied that the authority would work technically because in that case it would not be able to take important decisions. Halilovic says that SBiH will continue to work within the Co-ordination explaining that the party did not submit anything in writing because of technical reason. Sead Avdic of SDP offers a similar explanation when he confirmed that the SDP will also participate in the work of the Co-ordination. DL concludes the article saying that the post-election period might have some surprises in store and that facts hint that there might be national coalitions and not coalitions of parties with the same provenance.
Dnevni list (page 4) carries HINA agency report, based on statements of anonymous officials of these two parties, which says that leaderships of HDZ and NHI have negotiated several times in the last days about possible joint proposing candidates in government bodies in BiH after elections in October. The article says that the beginnings of the negotiations started after decision of the High Representative Paddy Ashdown to remove Federation Finance Minister Nikola Grabovac, which was recognised by both parties as unjust because Grabovac was standing up for the interests of Croats in BiH .
Vecernji List (front and page 3, by Zdenko Jurilj)carries an article in relation to the situation in the Federation Ministry of Defence (MoD). Jurilj says that if the Croat component of the Federation Army is to be abolished, there could be a wave of resignations by Croat representatives at all levels of BiH authorities. Furthermore Jurilj says that some 3000 soldiers who have voluntarily signed off (from both the Bosniak and Croat component) might return to the barracks by July 1 unless they do not receive the severance pays (10.000 KM each). Some of them, as the author learns, are even ready to return to the barracks as early as next week. VL goes on to say that there is conflict within the Federation Government with the Federation Deputy Minister of Finance Sefika Hafizovic who accused the Federation Defence Minister Mijo Anic of not paying out the severance pays on one side, and Minister Anic who said that his task was to prepare the list of 10.000 soldiers who are to be discharged, the list that should be dealt with by the Federation Finance Ministry, on the other. The daily also quotes the Federation MoD spokesman Antun Mrkonjic: “We got guarantees that the outstanding sums will be paid out by July 1 this year the latest. The IMF has got involved into the whole process”.
Dnevni List (front and page 6, signed by Investigative team of DL)goes on to render the issue of unpaid contributions to the Federation Pesnion and Disability Fund, this time focusing on the West-Herzegovina Canton. The daily says that many people wonder how the canton blossomed in the post-war period offering its answer by saying that the wealth has been accumulated through fictitious companies that laundered money and that the local tycoons made a fortune at the expense of the poor by not paying social and other contributions for them. DL says that the canton owed some 9,95 million KMs on December 31, 2001. The rest of the article lists some debtors (companies) municipality by municipality.
Ashdown went by tram to meet Klein; reactions to the removals of Terzic, Grabovac |
The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, met the UN SRSG, Jacques Paul this morning. During a two-hour meeting also attended by all the senior staff of the UN & IPTF, the High Representative and the UN SRSG had detailed discussions on various rule of law issues. The High Representative congratulated the UNMiBH on the success of its mission and the work they have done to improve the lives of ordinary citizens across BiH by professionalising the domestic police forces. The High Representative paid a personal tribute to Jacques Paul Klein, describing him as a champion of the people of this region over many years, and also one of the most successful senior officials in the history of the International Community’s engagement in BiH. (Jutarnje Novine – p 7, Nezavisne Novine – p 5, Blic – p11, Dnevni List – p 3 also report on the meeting)
International media report that the UN Peacekeeping mission in BiH is in jeopardy because of the dispute over the new International Criminal Court and the explicit US demand that its peacekeepers be exempted from prosecution by the Tribunal. British ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock said that at the moment there is no common ground between the two sides. “It is just a question of how hard the parties to this issue want to play it, but it is not to be entirely dismissed that an individual peacekeeping operation may be held hostage to a much wider and deeper question.” Greenstock was quoted by the BBC, The New York Times, as well as The Independent.
In a press release issued with regard to the removal of Donji Vakuf Mayor Kemal Terzic (Oslobodjenje p 6, Dnevni Avaz p 8), the SDA said it saw the move as an attempt to make an ethnic balance following recent removal/resignation of the Entities’ Finance Ministers. “OHR did not take decisive measures and sanction those responsible for the illegal allocation of 80,000 plots intended for changing ethnic picture of the RS, although it possesses necessary evidence…We call on the High Representative to apply the same standards on all parties in BiH,” the release read.
In the Oslobodjenje (p 2) In Focus editorial, Resad Dautefendic writes that Ashdown surely made a right decision when he removed Terzic from the office because the Donji Vakuf Mayor was on several occasions warned he was obstructing the process of return. However, “the fact is that the High Representative should have before Terzic removed the RS Leaders, Mirko Sarovic and Mladen Ivanic,” due to the illegal allocation of 80,000 plots and other obstructions to the process of return of non-Serbs to the entity.
The dismissed Mayor of Donji Vakuf, Kemal Terzic, is one of the most controversial political figures in BiH political scene, Nezavisne Novine reports (page 5).On Monday, the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, dismissed Terzic from his post. Commenting on the High Representative’s decision to dismiss him, Terzic said: “This decision of the High Representative is absurd and he is definitely the victim of an organized hunt against me. I will not challenge the decision as he will not withdraw it.” Terzic denied that he obstructed the return process and said that he would definitely try to find a country in which he can freely say that he is a Bosniak.
Vecernje Novosti (p12) carries an article on Terzic’s removal. Article reads that Kemal Terzic, Mayor of Donji Vakuf, has been removed by High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, because of the obstruction of the return process. Terzic was Alija Izetbegovic’s favourite, and although there were several attempts to remove him from the post, he managed to keep it. Serbs who fled from Donji Vakuf know very well how Terzic obstructed their return, adopting his own “additional” laws with the aim to prevent the return.
Vecernji List (page 4), Vjesnik (page 10) also carry reports on the removal of Terzic, Vjesnik with the reactions by Terzic himself. Terzic says that the High Representative Paddy Ashdown is a victim of an organised hunt for him which got its final shape during the “60 minutes” show on the Federation TV. Terzic says that he will not appeal because the HR will not withdraw the decision saying that the decision was based on untruths which were served by the Head of RRTF for the Central Bosnia Canton (CBC) Christine Zandviet. Terzic goes on to say that since Zandviet has taken over the office in CBC some 6000 houses have been reconstructed in the canton but not a single one in Donji Vakuf and goes one better saying that she tried to stop a donation for the reconstruction of 30 Serb and 15 Bosniak houses, the donation that he personally secured.
“We are aware of a fact we cannot put Nikola Grabovac on our candidacy lists. However, Grabovac intends to lodge a complaint on Ashdown’s decision to the BiH Human Rights Chamber. Of course, if the High Representative insists that Grabovac is removed from the office of the NHI Vice-president, we will have to do so, otherwise we will not be allowed to participate in the October elections,” the NHI President Kresimir Zubak told Dnevni Avaz (p 3).
Kretschmer requests establishment of a BiH coalition for accession to the EU |
According to Oslobodjenje, Kretschmer urged establishment of a coalition of political parties at the level of BiH for the accession of BiH to the EU.
Dnevni list: Borders in Balkans should be changed |
Pre-election activities in the RS |
Nezavisne Novine (page 5)carries an interview with the President of the SRS (Serb Radical Party), Radislav Kanjeric, who is also the SRS candidate for RS President. Speaking about the RS Customs Affair, Kanjeric stated that the RS Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic, is most responsible for everything that happened, since the Director of the RS Customs Administration answers to him directly. Kanjeric also said that the SRS did not abandon its former President, Nikola Poplasen and that he is still member of the party.
Editorial: Dnevni List – Do we need Republika Srpska? |
Headlines in Electronic Media |
BHTV 1 (Tuesday, 1900)
- BiH, as a full-fledged member, is attending its first session with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Council. BiH demands protection of property of BIH citizens held on accounts of Ljubljanska bank. (1)
- The BiH Council of Ministers on Tuesday failed to define the draft law on changes and addenda to the election law, postponing this decision until the next session due on Thursday, Minister for Civil Affairs and Communications Svetozar Mihajlovic said. (1.5)
- The BiH Parliamentary House of peoples adopted on Tuesday a set of laws proclaimed by High Representative. (1.5)
FTV 1 (1930)
- Ministry of interior of Una-Sana Canton stops smuggling of weapons. One Prijedor citizen arrested in Sanski Most. (2)
- BiH is a high-risk country regarding animal diseases. (2)
- Control of medicine donations to BIH. Over 100,000 KM must be allocated for disposal of old medicine in Prijedor. (1)
- The BiH Council of Ministers on Tuesday failed to define the draft law on changes and addenda to the election law, postponing this decision until the next session due on Thursday, Minister for Civil Affairs and Communications Svetozar Mihajlovic said.
RTRS (1930)
- The BiH Parliamentary House of peoples adopted on Tuesday a set of laws proclaimed by High Representative to BiH, Wolfgang Petritsch. RS representatives did not accept adoption of Law on basis of public broadcasting service. (2)
- BiH Council of minister reaches consent on changes to BIH Electoral law from constitutional changes in FBiH and RS. Changes relate to election of FBiH president and vice-president, and delegates to Houses of Peoples in entity parliaments. (2)
- SNS calls on RS parties to give support to one or two candidates for RS president, so not candidate from another people can be elected to the post. (1)
- Former secretary of SPRS D. Vucic moves to SNSD. (1)