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| Banja Luka Public Security Centre prepared report against Milorad Dodik over suspicion for misuse of authority | Another 100,000 workers could lose their jobs | Police arrests suspects for attack in Potocari near Srebrenica | Trade Unions from both Entities discuss anti-poverty strategy |
| No shortcuts towards Europe, Romano Prodi tells BiH, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania | Paddy Ashdown addressed Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE | Milan Martic, former Croatian Serb leader, pleaded on guiltiness before ICTY | RS War Veterans Association protests against location of BiH Court |
| World Economic Forum ends in Davos | In Mostar, a contract on donation of constructional material for 40 families has been signed | SFOR explained to the State Presidency the reasons for Sabahudin Fiuljanin’s arrest, but failed to extradite him to local authorities | High Representative addressed Council of Europe |
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| Parliamentary elections in Israel | World leaders get less optimistic that war in Iraq could be avoided |
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| Oslobodjenje | Fresh robbery of the BiH people: State will grab 14 million KM from the citizens; Eronet case – Illegal sale of the Bank |
| Dnevni Avaz | Background of a dispute shaking BiH – Dangerous battle for the television |
| Dnevni List | Criminal charges filed with regard to Eronet case: Criminal charges filed against Dragan Covic and others |
| Vecernji List | Cardinal Puljic personality of year |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Certain Amer Bahtijar and his sympathizers announce “students’ rebellion”: Victims are also possible if they do not take us seriously |
| Nezavisne Novine | Heating cut off to RS MUP; Zoran Dindic’s message to Stjepan Mesic – “Croatia should pay Serbia 150 billion Euros”; In the case of “Students movement for a normal BiH against Fed TV – Bahtijar threatened with liquidation – Alan Jensen replies to Taufik Kec – “CAFAO did not embezzle five million Euros”; Marinko Jurcevic – Chief Prosecutor of the BiH Court – Processing of war crimes by end of this year; Second criminal case brought against minister Savanovic; Barbarez & Bolic play against Wales |
| Glas Srpski | Croatian Pension Insurance: Pensions on hold; Archaeologist Boris Graljuk criticises OHR: The same treated differently; Great Britain: Pupils learn Kosovo language |
| Blic | Volas: Risk of dismissing 100,000 workers in the RS runs; Military apartments still disputable; Savo Cvijetinovic: We request removal of judge Miso Salem |
| FRY Nacional | Kostunica leaves presidential post by the end of March |
Affairs | |
| Oslobodjenje: Latest robbery of the BiH citizens
| Although the CIPS Directorate had said for several times the price of the new ID card would be 10 KM, the citizens who this week went to change their personal documents were unpleasantly surprised when they realized they had to pay 14.5KM instead of the initially announced sum. Thanks to the change of the ID cards, the state will grab form the citizens approximately 8.7 million KM. And if we add the postal costs to this amount, the total sum climbs to almost 14 million KM (Oslobodjenje, front page, pages 4-5, Vedrana Zivak). “I presume that the state will surprise us in a similar way when we go to get the other personal documents. When we put all amounts together, the new documents will cost us more than 100 KM per capita and much more nerves until we have come to them. But this people has used to the humiliations,” Daniel Omeragic wrote in Oslobodjenje’s In Focus column: “A mark more or less”. |
| “Students against FTV” case | After the active membership of the Association of the Students of the Sarajevo University’s School of Philosophy on Monday distanced themselves from the public statements made by their colleague Amer Bahtijar with regard to the FTV program’s orientation and petitions related to the Pogorelica case, yet three philosophy students did this on Tuesday. Faruk Barjaktarevic, Emin Muhovic and Snjezana Veljaca confirmed that their signatures had been forged and that the text of the petition was completely different from the one initially presented to them by Bahtijar (Oslobodjenje, p 3: “Amer Bahtijar forged signatures”). “The conflict between a group of students and the editor of the FTV 60 Minutes political magazine, Bakir Hadziomerovic, some media are attempting to show in a simplified way as a strike on media freedoms. The intention of students to organize peaceful demonstrations has bee seen at the very beginning as a physical threat to the editors and journalists of FTV, which is a public service of all citizens and which, at the end, belongs to these people as well,” Fadil Mandal wrote in Dnevni Avaz’s Commentary of the Day (front page, p 3). Avaz also addressed the issue on p 9: “Amer Bahtijar attacked yesterday in the Sarajevo downtown – We do not want to live in a police state that will be governed by Lagumdzija, Alibabic and company” |
| Cropress on FTV | Dnevni List (page 5, “Islamic fundamentalists in BiH are preparing students’ revolution”) and Slobodna Dalmacija (front and page 15, “Victims are also possible if they do not take us seriously”) carry that after a group of students from the Sarajevo Faculty of Arts demanded a removal of leading FTV people, on Tuesday they presented to the public a new lists of demands. Among the other things, they call to account Jadranko Prlic, who is qualified as “the first Prime Minister of fascist, parallel state of Herceg Bosnia”, the suspension of the Pogorelica case, resolving of the issue of dismissed Aluminij workers, investigation against the ones responsible for apartheid etc. SD carries that the students also said that in case that Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative, and the highest, state authorities in BiH, as well as the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo do not respond to their demands within 5 days they will organize demonstrations in front of the FTV building and they sent a message saying: “The sooner they take us seriously there will be less victims”. DL says that the HR paid a visit to FTV on Monday and said that pressures against media cannot be tolerated, however, at the same time he added that people cannot be deprived of a right to organize public protests. |
| Editorial in Nezavisne Novine by Bakir Hadziomerovic | Commenting on the initiative of students of Sarajevo Faculty of Philosophy led by a person whose name Hadziomerovic does not want to mention (even though he knows it) and who want to take his show off the air, he says the following: ‘We can only guess what would be the consequences of the last weeks call on demonstrations. This guy who was manipulated and who seems to enjoy media attention, wants to warn the public in BiH that something has to be done urgently in order to make this country ‘a normal BiH in which Bosniaks would not be humiliated’. For a moment, the idea of our newest shooting star of the media seems to be correct and well grounded. Bosniaks, as well as Serbs and Croats really have a good reason to feel humiliated in a country which (with only few exceptions) is run by criminals and possible war criminals. Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats really have a reason to feel humiliated as they live in a country which is colonized by international bureaucrats, retired soldiers and overused diplomats. Well, didn’t the most important foreign governor and the only real president of this country humiliated enough the citizens of BiH by calling them fools, only because they read Slobodna Bosna? Encouraged by such attitude of a British Lord, who secure livelihood for himself in Sarajevo, those from SDA who give orders to the small group of students have launched a media offensive for final battle with ’60 minutes’… The only political party that supports students is SDA. It is only realistic to expect reformers from SDS and HDZ to join their partners. And then of course, Lord Ashdown, respecting the new reality of Bosnia, will say that students have a legitimate right to protest against the magazine which impudently accused him for the robbery of BiH property in Eronet case and criticized his statement for BBC related to the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. And that is how the circle will be closed. There will no longer be ’60 minutes’, SDA will keep advocating the independence of the media, there will be no one on TV to mention Lord’s name, professors aware of their nationality will keep stultifying their students and BiH will be flooded with milk and honey.’ |
| VL on case of Mostar mortar rounds | Vecernji List (front and page 3, by Zoran Kresic, “Top of BiH Army did not know about 120 tons of Mostar mortar rounds?”) carries that Mostar Prosecutor’s Office issued bills of indictment against 7 persons, who were involved in the case of Mostar mortar rounds. VL says that in his first testimony principal defendant Mehmed Bajgoric admitted that the warehouses were built according to a plan and with a support of the Mostar City Administration (Safet Orucevic was a Mostar Mayor at that time) and Bajgoric also said that he was threatened with death. However, after the psychiatric evaluation in Sarajevo, Bajgoric changed his opinion and said that he stored the mortar rounds at his own risk. VL also says that Prosecutor Sead Temin did not find evidence about the involvement of the Bosniak authorities from Mostar, intelligence agents of the Ministry of Defense, Hasan Cengic, who was the Minister of Defense at that time, and his father Halid Cengic, who was a war Head of the BiH Army Logistics. Also, during the hearing in September the court did not allow lawyer Faruk Balijagic to question Hasan Cengic. Balijagic said: “At that time I knew that the bill of indictment will be such that it suits certain circles of the political power, and when I say this, first of all I refer to three ruling, nationalistic parties SDS, SDA and HDZ.” Balijagic also accused the International Community that it almost has a protecting attitude towards real masterminds of the affair. He announced a continuation of a harsh legal struggle. |
| Eronet
| Dnevni List (front and page 3, ONASA) carries Assistant Director of Federation Privatization Agency (FPA), Bakir Celosmanovic, as saying that the Federation Privatization Agency will suspend all the activities related to privatization of HPT Mostar and ERONET until the issue of ownership structures (within the companies) has been solved. Celosmanovic also said that the FPA supports efforts of the competent bodies exerted in order to annul the transfer of HPT ‘s stocks in Hercegovacka bank and ERONET of Mostar. With regards to the transfer of ERONET shares to the Municipality of Grude, Celosmanovic says: “The transfer of stocks to Municipality of Grude, considering it was preceded by illegal disposal of HPT’s shares, is illegal”. Vecernji List, front and page 3, by Eldina Medunjanin, “Federation Privatization Agency: ERONET cannot go on sale”). (Oslobodjenje, p 7, mentioned on the front page: “HPT illegally sold shares of Hercegovacka Bank as well”, Dnevni Avaz, p 10: “Sale of Eronet shares legally invalid”)Dnevni List (front and page 7, S. Kuzman) learns from sources in the Federation Prosecution that the Federation Police have submitted a criminal report to the Federation Prosecution against the Croat member of BiH Presidency, Dragan Covic, over abuse of authority. Beside Covic, the Police also filed reports against a senior HDZ official Vladimir Soljic, former manager of HPT Mostar, Marinko Gilja, manager of Hercegovina Osiguranje, Miroslav Rupcic, and Marinko Planinic and Veselko Vukoja. The report states the above mentioned persons are suspected of abusing office or authority whilst officiating positions in public institutions or bodies of authority between December 1998 and September 1999 with an aim to achieve material gain for companies Hercegovina Osiguranje, Alpina Comerc and Croherc AG thus damaging HPT Mostar. According to DL, the report also charges Covic of criminal deeds committed during times he was the Federation Finance Minister and Chair of HPT Mostar Steering Board. Allegedly, the criminal report is based on a report prepared by the Federation Financial Police. Dnevni List wonders what a reaction of the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, is going to be like and goes on to say that Covic, given the OHR’s “usual behaviour in the past few years”, deserves to be removes from all offices. “If there are no reactions to this, then it is clear that OHR is not principled and probably, let us be malicious, with this OHR’s policy, the ‘Jobs and Justice’ project would be implemented by Al Capone if he were alive”, says DL and wonders how the President of the BiH Election Commission, Lidija Korac, is going to react. The daily also carries a facsimile of the report. |
| Criminal charges against Minister Savanovic | “Nezavisne Novine” page 2 – RS Parents’ Forum filed criminal case against those responsible for the death of pupils (on a school excursion) in Budva, in 2001. The case was filed at the Banja Luka Basic Court against RS Minister of Education Gojko Savanovic, the RS Ministries of Education, Trade & Tourism, as well as the principals of the “Petar Petrovic Njegos” elementary school in Banja Luka, the technical high school in Banja Luka and the Gradiska high school. The charges says the defendants did not act in accordance with the Rule Book on conducting school excursions and are “responsible for carrying out an excursion for pupils to Budva on September 16, 2001 which led to the deaths of four pupils and one teacher and the poisoning of 88 students at the technical high school one day later. |
| Heating Plant has no Mercy for Police Minister | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 4 – The RS Ministry of the Interior and the highest level police officials have been shivering in their offices for six days already, because the Banja Luka heating plant cut off their heat due to an unpaid heating bill in the amount of 36,000 KM. Heating was cut off to the RS MUP Administration building last Thursday. “Eventhough we warned them on time to pay their debt, they turned a deaf ear on our request” said Drago Popovic, the director of the town heating plant. Popovic also says that the heating plant and the police are on the brink of coming to a successful agreement on paying off the debt in three payments. RS MUP spokesperson Zoran Glusac said that the problem would most likely be solved today with a signed agreement. |
| Jensen – “CAFAO did not embezzle funds”. | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 5 – Alan Jensen responds to accusations of Taufik Kec, high-level official in the BiH Ministry for Foreign Trade – the only money that CAFAO has are very small funds to pay telephone bills, postage stamps and the such. All money decisions are made by the EC in Brussels, says Jensen. “CAFAO is not involved with any money and never has been. So no money transfers are made for our program nor to me personally” says Alan Jensen in response to the harsh accusations made by Taufik Kec. Kec accused Jensen of laundering five million Euros intended for BiH through the ASYCUDA program, intended to modernizethe Customs Service in BiH. “ASYCUDA is a system that was developed and paid for by the European Union, which means they bought the software. I don’t know the price of the software, but I am sure they know in the European delegation. There is also hardware that was purchased for the ASYCUDA program but CAFAO did not pay for it because the entire ASYCUDA program is not CAFAO’s” said Jensen, repeating that this was a program that the EC dealt with. Jensen says that there was a tender for the project, but that CAFAO did not participate in it. Jensen denies all of Kec’s accusations that he organized courses for people who had nothing to do with Customs nor ever worked in Customs. “Mr. Kec has himself been involved in the program, even before the arrival of the project team. Courses were organized for Customs workers only last year, before the system even began to function”, says Jensen. Jensen showed a pile of documents filed under “Kec” as proof that Kec has been chasing him for years. |
| Salem Miso tried camp victims | “Nezavisne Novine” – page 5 – Branislav Dukic, president of the RS Camp Prisoners of the Sarajevo camp “Viktor Bubanj”, said it is absurd that the BiH Court is located in what was a notorious camp during the war. “Even more absurd is the fact that despite the check done of judges by the international community, Salem Miso was recommended as a judge for the court as he spent five years trying victims of the camp” says Dukic. At a press conference yesterday in Banja Luka, Dukic showed documents from the Military Court in Sarajevo signed by Miso with sentences of ten years as well as death sentences. Dukic appealed to the international community to investigate the naming of judge Salem Miso adding that the former prisoners of the camp would likely ask the Hague Tribunal to conduct an investigation against him. He reminded those present that 1,730 prisoners passed through the “Viktor Bubanj” camp, of which 43 died or were killed. (Blic pg. 7 headline ‘He was watching torturing of prisoners in army barracks’ FRY Nacional pg. 11 headline ‘Miso Salem watched Serbs’ torturing’) Vecernje Novosti pg. 12 (headline ‘Court located in torture chamber of Serbs’) reports that the Association of Bratunac’s and Srebrenica’s Camp Prisoners harshly condemned opening of BiH Court in former army barracks ‘Viktor Bubanj’. The Association also blames the RS authorities for that, because “noone of them reacted”. About crimes committed over Serbs in ‘Viktor Bubanj’ two book have been written by two camp prisoners: ‘I Live to testify’ by Strahinja Zivak and ‘Echoes of Sarajevo’s Bubanj’ by Jovan Savic. The RS has forwarded to the Hague Tribunal Office in Banjaluka criminal cases against seven persons suspected of having committed war crimes against Serb civilians in Sarajevo’s ‘Viktor Bubanj’ barracks, where the BiH Court sits now. (Vecernje Novosti pg. 10 headline ‘Guards torturers’; Glas Srpski pg. 3 headline ‘They tortured and killed in Viktor Bubanj’) |
| Press conference of RS Veterans’ Associations and Organisations | Representatives of Coordination Board of Veterans’ Associations and Organisations asked on Tuesday the RS authorities to stop further undermining of RS and to take seriously the current situation. President of the RS Veterans’ Organisation, Savo Cvjetinovic, told journalists that the veterans’ categories’ impression is that the Serb representatives in the authorities act irresponsibly. He said that people who do not deserve it are elected to the posts important to the Serbs. “For example, Desnica Radivojevic is elected for the Federation Vice-president, while a candidate for the Brcko District Police Chief in Milenko Milicevic”, Cvjetinovic said. President of the RS Organisation of Families of Captured and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, Radojka Boric, thinks the IC does not treat equally all BiH people. She says that could be seen in the Hague Tribunal’s work, where only crimes committed by Serb are being processed, but not the crimes committed over Serbs. (Glas Srpski pg. 2 headline ‘Stop undermining Srpska’, Blic pg. 7, FRY Nacional pg. 11) |
| Criminal charges against Dodik | According to Banja Luka’s magazine ‘Patriot’ the Banja Luka Public Security Centre prepared two more criminal charges against former RS Prime Minister and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik over suspicion that he abused office and created damage to the entity budget of 6 million KM through oil deliveries. Banja Luka police have still not forwarded the new charges to the relevant prosecutor’s office. (Blic pg. 3, Vecernje Novosti pg. 4, Nacional pg. 6) Blic quotes Dodik as saying he does not want to comment on that, because that is “the continuation of campaign against me”. (Vecernji List, page 2, by bc) |
| Mirko Sarovic on Prosper’s request, VAT, single customs and BiH lawsuit against FRY | Blic pg. 3 (headline ‘Prosper requested Karadzic’s extradition’) quotes BiH Presidency Chairman Mirko Sarovic as saying that US Ambassador for War Crimes Issues Pierre Richard Prosper asked for BiH authorities’ engagement in extraditing of Radovan Karadzic. He says that during the meeting with Prosper they also talked about the IC intention to punish all individuals who help war criminals. On the other side, as Sarovic says, he has never received official OHR stand that a part of customs revenues has been used for financing the war criminals and that OHR intends to introduce sanctions against those who help war criminals. Sarovic says he does not believe the sanctions will be imposed to the RS “because that would be a step back in the peace process”. He also rejects the speculations that story on allegedly use of customs revenues for financing war criminals has been used as a proof that VAT and a single customs should be introduced on the state level. Speaking about the BiH lawsuit against Yugoslavia, BiH Presidency Chairman says that the lawsuit burdens the relations between two countries, as well as relations within BiH, and therefore a solution must be find in order to “remove this issue from the agenda”. Sarovic adds that the Serb side in BIH will never allow that the lawsuit is financed as a matter of general interest for BiH. (Nacional pg. 6 headline ‘I do not believe the West will impose sanctions on Srpska’) |
| Plavsic to be released? | According to Novi Sad’s daily ‘Dnevnik’, Yugoslav lawyer Svetozar Vujacic claims that former RS president Biljana Plavsic made a deal with the Hague Tribunal to be sent to a Swedish prison because Sweden releases inmates when they turn 72 years of age. Plavsic is already 72, and therefore she will be released as soon as she is transferred to Sweden. (Blic pg. 16, Nacional pg. 4, Vecernje Novosti pg. 10, Glas Srpski pg. 3) |
| VL on arrest of ICTY indictees | Vecernji List (front and page 3, by Dejan Jazvic, “Serb against hunters of criminals”) notes that an MP in the Federation Parliament and President of BOSS, Mirnes Ajanovic, proposed formation of a special, domestic military unit whose task would be to apprehend war criminals. The proposal has been allegedly sent to the US, Russian and embassies of EU member countries in BiH. Ajanovic believes this unit would be more successful than SFOR special troops which failed to arrest Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic citing bigger motivation, courage and wartime experience as reasons behind the unit’s possible success. VL notes the motion is unlikely to get a green light from the RS politicians who are, according to VL, only ready to give verbal support to arrest of Karadzic and other indictees. |
| Jutarnji List on Trebinje incident | With regard to the incident that took place in two villages near Trebinje (about 50 meters from the Croatian border) last Saturday, when some ten Serb houses were vandalized, Jutarnji List (page 6, “People from Trebinje accuse people from Konavli of vandalizing houses”) carries that people from Trebinje believe that a group of people from Konavli, Croatia, did it. Simana Prelevic, President of the Trebinje Municipal Assembly, stated: “We assume it is a group of people from Konavli that did it. The police also assume the same. According to my information, this is not the first time that people from Konavli raided this area, however, they have never done so big a damage.” JL also says that some people believe that Herzegovinian Serbs caused the damage because they are dissatisfied with the fact that these two villages were not placed in the OSCE reconstruction program for this year. |
| Archaeologist Boris Graljuk on excavation at the site of Bijeljina’s Atik Mosque | Archaeologist Boris Graljuk, who before the war was director of Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments in Banja Luka, condemned different approach of the IC when it comes to giving permissions for archaeological excavations in the RS. The reason for Graljuk’s dissatisfaction is that OHR has given permission for excavation of foundation of Bijeljina’s Atik Mosque, while the permission was not given for Ferhadija in Banja Luka. “Different approach of the IC to the same things is equal to impudence. They threat people of former Yugoslavia as savages”, Graljuk said. He also criticised the RS authority, saying that when it comes to things like this one, they should put more pressure on the IC (Glas Srpski, front-page story: ‘The same treated differently’) |
International community/OHR | |
| Ashdown addressed CoE Parliamentary Assembly
| Faster implementation of Council of Europe post-accession requirements will deliver tangible benefits to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said at the Council of Europe on Tuesday. “For all BiH’s progress, much remains to be done to achieve European standards in the areas monitored by the Council of Europe,” the High Representative told the Monitoring Committee of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg. “Failure to speed up progress will deprive BiH citizens of essential rights, and would mean stalled progress for BiH on the way towards European integration. What has been lacking so far is a convincing, sustained effort by the new governments and parliaments in pushing for the adoption, ratification and implementation of key conventions and legislation as identified by the CoE. We must now ensure that the BiH authorities speed up significantly their compliance.” (Dnevni Avaz, p 3: “Ashdown invited experts from Hungary and Poland”, Nezavisne Novine, p 3, Glas Srpski pg. 2 headline ‘Jobs and justice’, Dnevni List front and page 7, “Faster implementation of Council of Europe requirements is necessary”) |
| Ashdown to meet British Foreign Secretary | The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, will meet late on Thursday with the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, reports Dnevni Avaz (p 3: “EU plans to take over the mandate from SFOR”). “The topic at the meeting will be an EU initiative to take over from NATO the mandate for the peacekeeping in the Balkans, but they will also discuss the British policy towards BiH,” Chief OHR Spokesman Julian Braithwaite told the newspaper. |
| PIC Session – BiH needs yet 900 million KM for the return of refugees | “Nezavisne Novine”, page 3 – OHR spokesman Kevin Sullivan told journalists in Sarajevo yesterday that the PIC Steering Board would discuss a single Customs service and BiH level VAT in Brussels on Thursday. “At this meeting they will discuss the returns process in BiH and the establishment of a special unit in the BiH Court which will deal with criminal cases against war criminals in this country.” He said that the PIC Steering Board will discuss the OHR Mission Implementation Plan on Thursday. “This is not an exit strategy for the international community, however that would be the next logical step once BiH is integrated into Europe, which means the local authorities will take over more responsibility”, said Sullivan. He said that European integration depends a lot on political agreement on single Customs and VAT across BiH. The meeting will be attended by the High Rep, Paddy Ashdown and his deputies Bernard Fassier and Gerhard Enver Schroembgens. Newly-appointed BiH Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Mirsad Kebo, told Dnevni Avaz (p 5, mentioned on the front page: “BiH needs yet 900 million KM for the return of a half a million refugees”) that at the PIC Steering Board session he would present the strategy of BiH and OHR’s RRTF for the implementation of the Dayton Agreement’s Annex 7. |
| Oslobodjenje’s Amra Kebo on Ashdown, international community | “When the most of the independent media in a country write in the same way about a man, in our cases against the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, as he and his office absolutely ignore this and such writing, than something is wrong in that country. But, everything is possible in BiH. Under the good, old rule, journalists are again the main culprits here,” Amra Kebo wrote in a Oslobodjenje’s second-page editorial. |
| DL: “Ashdown: SDS- they are not nationalists at all” | Dnevni List (page 3, by S. Kuzman, “Ashdown: SDS – they are not nationalists at all”) carries that some media from the RS published a statement that Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative, gave to Moscow’s daily “Izvestija”. Allegedly, the HR stated: “Support to nationalistic parties has dropped. Also, it is not about radical nationalists but moderate ones. SDS – they are not nationalists at all. For this reason, those who talk about a victory of nationalists are not right at all.” (In addition the article carries a copy of the interview with the HR that some RS daily took from “Izvestija”) |
| Dindic replies to Croat President Stjepan Mesic – “Croatia should pay Serbia 150 billion Euros” | Nezavisne Novine, page 3 – Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Dindic says “In the future we could have many shared interests and benefits than we would have if we dissected the past. But is he insists, I think he will be surprised when he sees the arguments the Serb side has.” Commenting on President Mesic’s statements to “Nezavisne Novine”, Dindic said “I think that Croatia should pay war damages to Serbia, perhaps even 150 billion Euros, because 200,000 innocent people from eastern and western Slavonia were forced from their homes by MiGs and machine guns because they were from Serbia who honourably built their houses on the Croatian coast and were then left without their property in a vandalistic way.” In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Dindic said that he doubted that Croatia would be able to charge Yugoslavia for war damages and that first Yugoslavia would have to be found guilty of genocide. “The International Court of Justice only has jurisdiction in cases of genocide. Horrible things did occur in Croatia but I don’t think it is a case of genocide and in that case, the International Court could not bring such a decision.” He added that if the court is not found to have jurisdiction, then Croatia had the choice of either bringing a case in front of Serbian courts or to begin political talks on the payment of war damages. (Vecernje Novosti pg. 3) |
| Vojislav Kostunica: “It is damaging to impose solution for BiH from outside” | Dnevni List (last page, “It is damaging to impose solution for BiH from outside”) carries that during yesterday’s meeting between FRY president Vojislav Kostunica and Jacques Paul Klein, who was the Head of the UN Mission to BiH until recently, Kostunica stated that it is important that the International Community realizes how damaging it is to impose any kind of solution for BiH from outside. DL says that the two of them agreed about the importance of the role that citizens, political parties and legitimate representatives of the citizens and peoples have in the resolving of the problems and a complete development of BiH. |