Latest radio news broadcast at 12.00 on 28 March
| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (12,00hrs) | BH Radio 1 (12,00 hrs) | RTRS (12,00 hrs) |
| Easter Monday | Water level of | SNSD Round Table in B. Luka |
| Jozo Leutar assassination unresolved | Situation in | Tihic: Lies presented at Pale conf. |
| New PDHR takes over | Weather | New incident at Kosovo |
TV news broadcast on 27 March
| RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00hrs) | TV PINK (18,00 hrs) | BHT 1 (19,00 hrs) |
| Easter celebrations | New PDHR to takeover | Reactions on Bukejlovic’s statement |
| Cardinal Puljic’s Easter message | Matijasevic on war crime indictees | Cardinal Puljic’s Easter message |
| Easter in Orasje | RS campaign on PIFWCs at large | Easter in BiH |
| Easter in Vitez | Employment of disabled persons | Decorating Easter eggs |
| NTV Hayat (19,00 hrs) | FTV (19,30 hrs) | RTRS (19,30 hrs) |
| Easter in | Cardinal Puljic’s Easter message | Floods in RS |
| Easter in Banjaluka | Easter in BiH | World News |
| World News | Easter customs | Cardinal Puljic’s Easter message |
| Easter celebrations | Easter mass in | Franjo Komarica on Easter |
| Oslobodjenje | Cardinal Puljic: Those who tried to fit us into the straight jacket called |
| Dnevni Avaz | Mirko Pejanovic: |
| Nezavisne Novine | Nikola Radovanovic: Military service will be abolished |
| Glas Srpske | Troubles of Serb returnees to the |
| EuroBlic | Features Serbian related topics |
| Vecernje novosti | Features Serbian related topics |
| Nacional | New thing in Herzegovina Canton: Croats must learnt Cyrillic alphabet |
Note: Due to Easter, Slobodna Dalmacija, Jutarnji list and Vecernji list were not issued today.
LATEST NEWS OF TODAY | |
| SNSD holds round table on police reform in BL
| RTRS – SNSD-organised round table on police reforms is being held today in |
| Canton 10 Court confirms two war crimes indictments
| RHB – Cantonal Court in |
| 6th anniversary of Leutar assassination | RHB – Delegation of the FBiH Interior Ministry will lay flowers and pay respect at the grave of the late FBiH Deputy Interior Minister, Jozo Leutar. RHB notes that perpetrators of the assassination have not been identified even 6 years after the assassination. |
War crimes | |
| Bukejlovic: FBiH tries to minimize Serb sufferings
| BHT1, Hayat, RTRS – RS Prime Minister Pero Bukejlovic said that reactions by some in FBiH on the suffering of Sarajevo Serbs indicated their insistence to minimize the suffering of Serbs, not only in Sarajevo but generally in Bosnia during the war. “I don’t know why certain structures in FBiH are against the truth to come out…I have no intention of minimising what happened in Srebrenica but I also think that accordingly the same principle should be applied for the suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo“, Bukejlovic told SRNA. |
| BHT 1 brings reactions on Bukejlovic’s statement
| BHT 1 by Enisa Skenderagic – The Chair of the BiH Presidency, Borislav Paravac, agrees with the statement by RS Prime Minister, Pero Bukejlovic that genocide against Serbs was carried out in |
| Pejanovic: ‘Sarajevo Serbs were killed by Karadzic and Mladic’
| Dnevni Avaz cover splash, pg 4 ‘Sarajevo Serbs were killed by Karadzic and Mladic’ by F. Cardzic – The Chair of the Sarajevo Serb Civic Council, Mirko Pejanovic, stated for DA that the statement by Pero Bukejlovic on genocide committed against Serbs in Sarajevo was a political provocation with an aim to draw the attention away from failure of RS authorities to extradite Karadzic and Mladic. Pejanovic added that the fact is that during 4-years long siege of |
| Tihic urges establishment of Commission examining suffering of civilians in entire BiH
| Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘One can only respond to lies from Pale with truth’, mentioned on cover ‘Truth is needed for future generations’ by M .Kukan – The member of BiH Presidency, Sulejman Tihic, says that recent statements of the suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo proves the need for establishing the Truth Commission which would examine the suffering of the civilians in entire BiH. Strongly denying the claims by Pero Bukejlovic, Tihic added that such Commission “would be necessary for long-lasting peace and reconciliation… I am afraid ICTY and our War Crimes Chamber will not be sufficient without establishing the truth. When establishment, the truth will create conditions to build trust.” |
| Terzic avoids forming of commission to investigate into suffering of Sarajevo Serbs?
| Oslobodjenje, pg 2, mentioned on front ‘Terzic avoiding taking of decision to form Commission on investigation of crimes?’, by V. Zivak – Oslobodjenje notes that the Chairman of BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, has been avoiding putting on the agenda the issue of establishment of a commission that would investigate into crimes that had been committed against peoples of BiH in Sarajevo between 1992 and 1995. The daily learns that during one of recent sessions of the CoM, Terzic recommended establishment of a commission that would, instead of crimes in |
| DA: RS Missing Persons Office has no evidences on suffering of Serbs in
| Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘RS Missing Persons Office has no evidences’ by Aj. Delic – Answering the question whether they possess evidences on killings of Sarajevo Serbs, the Head of RS Office for Missing Persons, Milan Bogdanovic, stated for DA “he thinks they were victims.” He adds that this Office so far received 223 requests from families of missing Serbs from |
| Tokaca denies Bukejlovic’s statement
| Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘About 6000 civilians killed in |
| Circle 99 condemns Bukejlovic’ statement
| Hayat, Oslobodjenje pg 6 ‘Spreading ethnic hatred’, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Bukejlovic spreads ethnic hatred’, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Auctioning off with numbers’ – The Association of the independent intellectuals “Circle 99” commented to the RS PM Pero Bukejlovic’s statement that genocide was committed against Serbs in Sarajevo by stating it was expending ethnic hatred and homogenisation. |
| NN op-ed on Pale conference
| Nezavisne Novine op-ed pg 7 ‘Counting’ by Natasa Krsman – The author notes the situation in BiH has not been more unpleasant for such a long time, referring to numerous political affairs (Dragan Covic affair, Sarajevo City Council, Borislav Paravac’sdemand on constitutionality of peoples), noting that the counting of Serbs in Sarajevo has made the situation in Sarajevo so tense as in 1992. Referring to Pero Bukejlovic’ statement at Pale conference, which she views as tactless, the author stresses the statement does not prove the crime and genocide – instead, those issues are proved through indictments, verdicts and prison sentences. She adds this is the reason why SDA is now waving with Hague verdicts for genocide committed by Serb Generals, while on the other side Serbs are still listed as “others” in the Statute of the |
| Transfer of ICTY cases before | Vecernje Novosti pg 7 ‘Justice in three languages’ by Slobodan Pesevic – Milijana Bojic, President of the RS Association of families of fallen and missing persons, has warned the newly established state judicial institutions in BiH to hurry up in process of taking over the role of the Hague Tribunal. As Vecernje Novosti learnt, the first cases have already been forwarded to |
| Matijasevic: Karadzic is not in RS!
| PINK, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Karadzic is not in RS!’ by Onasa, Dnevni Avaz pg 8 ‘If Karadzic was in RS, he would be arrested’, Glas Srpske pg 3 ‘I do not know where Karadzic is’– RS Interior Minister, Darko Matijasevic,stated for Banja Luka based BIG radio thatRS MoI does not have the information on Radovan Karadzic’s whereabouts. He explained that the RS police has been in contact with Ratko Mladic’s friends and family in order to find out where he hides. Matijasevic also denied the statement of the former SCG Justice minister, Vladan Batic, given to NN that voluntary surrenders are paid 100.000 € saying that RS has no “secret” funds to fund ICTY indictees and their surrender. |
| BiH, SiCG and
| Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Extradition of war crime suspects would be regulated’, announced on cover ‘BiH, SiCG and Croatia will soon extradite war crime suspects’ by M. Cubro – The Ministries of Justice and Security of BiH have prepared a tri-lateral agreement, which should be signed by BiH, SiCG and Croatia. The agreement would bind these three states to extradite war crime suspects to each other. Dragan Mektic, BiH Security Minister, says: “The Agreement has been prepared and will be most likely adopted at the next session of BiH COM. It would later on be offered to officials of SiCG and |
Political issues | |
| Larry Butler takes over as PDHR
| RHB, PINK, BHT 1, NTV Hayat, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Larry Butler – PDHR’, Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Larry Butler takes over today’ by Fena, Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Butler to take over duty of first Ashdown’s deputy’ by SRNA, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Butler to take over duties’ by N.Z., EuroBlic RSpg 3 ‘Larry Butler to replace |
| Ekstra magazine speculates on new HR
| Ekstra magazine pg 4 ‘New Ashdown coming from |
| Cardinal Puljic: ‘Those who tried to fit us into the straight jacket called DPA are now mocking us’
| Oslobodjenje cover splash, pgs 4-5 ‘Those who tried to fit us into the straight jacket called Dayton are now mocking us’ by Fena, Dnevni Avaz pg 3 ‘We want to have all in Bosnia praying to God according to their own laws’, inset ‘They fit us into the straight jacket called Dayton’ by Fena, Nezavisne Novine pg 9 ‘Victory of life over death’ by N.N. – On the occasion of Easter, the Cardinal Vinko Puljic led Holly Mass on Sunday inviting Catholics in BiH to “awake responsibility within them so to realize that life needs to be lived in dignity”. Stressing Catholics want to live with others, Cardinal mentioned people who lived here and earned a lot of money “and at the same time tried to fit us into the straightjacket called BHT 1, FTV – also reported. |
| CoE recommends one BiH President, reactions by Tihic, Paravac’s advisor
| Oslobodjenje, pg 7, mentioned on front ‘Tihic for one, Paravac for three-headed president;, by Alda Omeragic – Following a recommendation of the Council of Europe, which last Wednesday recommended that the three-member BiH Presidency should be abolished and that there should be only one (BiH) President, the daily notes that the recommendation was wholeheartedly supported by the Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency, Sulejman Tihic. On top of this, Tihic also supports a recommendation of the Venice Commission, which foresees the abolishment of the House of Peoples in the BiH Parliament. On the other hand, the daily notes that the Serb member of Presidency, Borislav Paravac, is in favour of having a three-member BiH Presidency. Paravac’s advisor, Drago Vukovic, explains: “It is symbolic that shows that the three peoples can decide together. If there are problems that we cannot agree upon, then the people and options that prevent the agreement should be removed, not the symbolic”. |
| Blic: Comments on other Venice Comm’s recommendations
| EuroBlic, pg RS4 ‘Opposite stances of SDA and others’ by Nedeljka Breberina and Rajna Radosavljevic – SDA believes BiH should get a new constitution, in which stances of the Venice Commission on necessity of change of internal structure and strengthening of state institutions would be incorporated. According to SDA member Sefket Dzaferovic,SDA supports transferring of the authority from BiH Presidency to CoM and it expects the institution of the state president to be introduced by next elections. HDZ member Martin Raguz thinks the Commission’s recommendations were only ‘an introduction to radical changes of the internal organisation necessary for BiH future.’ HE comments that SDA’s initiative to abolish BiH Presidency was only a partial demand not resolving core problem. SNSD member Nikola Spiric says he supports the idea of the constitutional changes but he thinks ‘abolishing of the entities and BiH Presidency is not a good ally for such initiatives’. SDS delegate Momcilo Novakovic thinks a solution should be sought for in the existing legislation and added: ‘Internal organization of the FBiH is a greater problem, because of which the Venice Commission has recommended the abolishment of Cantons, although they are aware of the fact there is no political will to do such a thing’. Inset ‘Everyone interprets it as they will’ carries Drago Vukovic as saying it was obvious BiH was not functioning well but, in his opinion, this was not a result of the state organization but it was a result of ‘politics projected from abroad and partially from within BiH’. |
| Daily on Jelavic case: Foreign judges break the laws they imposed | Oslobodjenje, pg 3, mentioned on front ‘Foreigners break laws they imposed’, by A. Nezirevic – The daily learns from Prosecutor John McNair that the BiH Prosecution has recommended to the BiH Court that Ante Jelavic be put in custody on the account of the ‘Croat self-rule’ case despite the fact that Jelavic has been in custody for the past 17 months because of the ‘Hercegovacka bank’ case. Oslobodjenje notes that several BiH lawyers believe that domestic judges would never accept such a recommendation, since the law does not foresee anything like that. One of Sarajevo-based lawyers also notes that foreign prosecutors are acting against the law, citing that witnesses are forced to answer to questions that could incriminate them. |
Property issue | |
| BiH Deputy Defense Minister Becirbasic: Review of military property will not be conducted soon
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Review of military property will not be conducted soon’, mentioned on Cover ‘Becirbasic does not expect review of property to be conducted soon’ M. Kukan – Review of former JNA (Yugoslav People’s Army) property in BiH will not be conducted soon, according to Deputy BiH Defense Minister Enes Becirbasic. Becirbasic says that there is no legal ground to review the property, sale of which was recently banned by High Representative Paddy Ashdown. He ds that reaching political consensus on the issue is also disputable. The BiH Defense Ministry could do such a revision only after transfer of relevant powers from the entity to the state level as well as adoption of a state law to make the Ministry owner of the military property in BiH. |
| Why it took so long to adopt law on military property in FBiH: SDA’s Mehmedovic blames Minister Nikolic for delay
| Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Mehmedovic blames Minister Nikolic’ M.K. – The (disputed) FBiH Law on Military Property that allows sale of so called non-perspective military facilities was adopted with certain amendments including those proposed by Head of SDA caucus in the FBiH House of Representatives Semsudin Mehmedovic. Mehmedovic believes that this law should have been adopted much earlier and he blames FBiH Defense Minister Miroslav Nikolic for delay. “Minister Nikolic did not launch the proper procedure on time and while RS was selling former JNA property our officials in FBiH did not take care about it at all. Unfortunately when we finaly made a progress everything was frozen by an unjustified HR’s decision,” said Mehmedovic. |
| RS already sold out two thirds of former JNA property in its territory | Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘RS already sold out two thirds of former JNA property in its territory’ E. Sarac – RS Defense Ministry officials do not want to comment on HR decision related to military property in BiH until they have analyzed and seen which property the decision exactly refers to, according to Branko Trkulja, the spokesman for the Ministry. |
| Ex FBiH MoD Anic: Nothing really was done (to resolve issue of military property) | Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘Nothing really was done (to resolve issue of military property)’ – Former FBiH Defense Minister Mijo Anic said that the previous FBiH Government had attempted to at least make a list of former JNA property in the entity but that actually nothing had been done in resolution of this issue. |
Military and police issues | |
| Radovanovic: Military service will be abolished | Nezavisne Novine pg 3, announced on cover ‘Military service will be abolished’ by D. Risojevic – In an interview to NN, Nikola Radovanovic, BiH Defence Minister, says that the abolishment of military service and introduction of professional army have been supported by all sides involved in talks on defence reform, adding there is still no agreement on future appearance of the reserve army composition. He adds this issue is the most disputable of all. On RS NA conclusions regarding defence reform, he says that the most important thing now is that all RS officials, following RS NA session, sat at the table and resumed talks on defence reforms. He believes these talks would see identification of compromise solution, which is necessary on three key issues: professionalization, fiscal sustainability and NATO demands for a single armed force in BiH. |
| Reactions on veto of RS HoP on RS NA conclusions on defence reforms
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Bosniaks obstruct work of RS institutions’ by S. Gojkovic – Commenting on the latest veto Bosniaks at RS HoP have placed on RS NA conclusions on defence reform, Krstan Simic, Head of SNSD Caucus at RS NA, Slavko Pivasevic, SDS Spokesperson, and Slobodan Popovic, Vice President of the SDP of BiH Main Board, share the view this veto is ungrounded and it obstructs reform processes. |
| Update to appointment of SIPA Director: Novic and Lukac closest to positions
| Nezavisne Novine pg 2 ‘Novic and Lukac are the closest to functions’ by M. C. – BiH Ministry for Security has stated Minister Barisa Colak will one of these days suggest to CoM to appoint Sredoje Novic Director of SIPA and Dragan Lukac Deputy Director of SIPA. Orhan Pasalic, the Advisor of CoM Chairman and a member of the Commission for selection of SIPA Director, claims Novic won the highest number of points in selection for SIPA Director but it was not certain he would be appointed to this position, explaining that the Minister for Security may select any of the three candidates (Sredoje Novic, Dragan Lukac and Sead Lisak) who have the highest number of points. A collocutor of NN claims Lukac will not be appointed Director because he is not politically suitable person and HDZ does not favor him. Lukac did not want to comment on this claim. |