| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18:00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19:00 hrs) | FED TV (19:30 hrs) | RT RS (19:30) |
| Sa-Ze motorway’s launch | Ceasefire in Israel | Damages to agriculture | World Economic Forum |
| EU list | Education conference | World economic forum | Cease-fire in Middle East |
| SDA on attack on priests | Ajvatovica 2003 finished | Ceasefire in Israel | Losses in agriculture |
| Top manager contest | Highway opening ready |
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| Oslobodjenje | The first km of highway in use as of today; EU – the black list will be announced on Tuesday; Telecommunication – the war of telecom companies starts; Grahovac – a great robbery in preparation |
| Dnevni Avaz | Halilovic requesting an investigation for Cegar; Pajic – the increase in crime calling for the change in the law; Vracar – Dodik is trying to put me on the EU black list; John Shearer upon his departure from BiH signing orders |
| Dnevni List | Adnan Terzic – BiH’s orientation is Europe; 500 customs officials are waiting for re-allocation; A session of the Canton 10 Assembly was held – Governor post abolished |
| Vecernji List | 147 million KM evaded in FBiH; Racan offers motorway to Sarajevo |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Prime Minister Racan on (non)work of the Croatian Privatisation Fund – there is no privatisation at all; Wave of 300, 000 tourists |
| Glas Srpske | What is the destiny of the Hydro Power Plant ‘Buk Bijela’ – delays flow on Drina River |
| Nezavisne Novine | Vladan Batic, Serbian Justice Minister – patriotism is proved before The Hague Tribunal; Srebrenica Mayor received two salaries for six months – Abdurahman Malkic to face an election ban |
| Blic | Dragan Cavic – frustrations gone by the Pope’s arrival |
Political Affairs | |
| SDA condemns attack on Komarica and Puljic
| CRHB at 15:00 hrs – the SDA strongly condemns a verbal attack on Cardinal Vinko Puljic and Banja Luka Archbishop Franjo Komarica that occurred several days ago in Sarajevo. The SDA stress that such attacks are not in accordance with Bosniak tradition, which is based on tolerance and mutual respect. Dnevni list pg. 4 ‘The SDA condemned verbal attacks’ – the SDA BiH issues a press release in which it condemns in strongest terms the verbal attacks on Cardinal Puljic and Bishop Komarica which took place the other day in Sarajevo. |
| NN commentary | Nezavisne Novine editorial by Josip Blazevic pg. 7 ‘A threat’ – the author comments the statement by Franjo Komarica regarding the status of Croats and low level of Croat returns to Banjaluka. All in all, the article may be summarised in the following paragraph. “It cannot be expected from the Serb authorities to take care of the further existence of Croats (and Bosniaks), because neither Croat authorities (where they make majority) take a special care of Serb (and Bosniak) returns, nor the Bosniak authorities bother too much with the return of Croats and Serbs.” |
| DL commentary on position of Croats | Dnevni List pg. 2 ‘Who has ministers and who has assistants’ by Ivica Glibusic – an editorial dealing with the national representation in the ministries and the position of Croats in Sarajevo in general. The editorial says that statements by members of Bosniaks parties of the right orientation, especially the most important one – SDA, and above all, the statement of its Vice President, Seada Palavric, that Croats hold important posts in the Federation and the BiH Council of Ministers, can distort the real picture of national representation at all authority levels. “Croats gain all those ministerial posts as listed (by Palavric), but who are assistants of ministers, not even to mention who are the employees in those ministries?” asks the author, adding, “Croat representatives within authorities are also responsible for that situation since they called off their people because of the former self-rule. Now it is difficult to fix it and to raise the issue of the national representation. The statement of Seada Palavric that Sarajevo is the safest city for Croats is very dangerous, because it tries to hush -up problems. Does the representative see what happens to her Croat fellow citizens?” |
| SD comment | Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 14 by Antonela Vlaho ‘The RS does not want Croat returnees at all’ – President of the Croat Association of Refugees, Stefo Masatovic, stated that, so far, only 3% of Croats have returned on the territory of the Republika Srpska and this is the result of negligence and depriving of donors’ and budget funds for the purpose of return and reconstruction. “For this reason we publicly called on Croat, Serb and Bosniak representatives and especially representatives of the IC to present in public the information on the assistance that has been allocated for the return of Croats so far,” said Masatovic. |
| BHTV comment on the EU summit | BHTV at 19:00 hrs by Zekerijah Smajic – seven day feedbacks on another historic summit on the Balkans, held on 21 June in Greece, could be summed up by saying that in the usual style of such gathering many nice words were uttered, but the European perspective for countries of this region was not in the least more realistic. Only one week after the summit ended, no one seems to remember it took place. Nicely put promises about European perspective had been announced for weeks as a revolutionary change in the EU position towards Balkans, but were actually only the politics of continuity that had been in place since 2000, without any radical changes, since the strategy of stabilisation and joining was developed in the office of European Commissioner, Chris Pattern. |
| SNS | RTRS at 19:30 hrs by Rade Malesevic – Branislav Lolic on behalf of the SNS proposed a full de-militarising in BiH and the transfer of military properties to civilian control. They also criticized authorities in Brcko District for removing the statue of Draža Mihailović. Nezavisne Novine pg. 6 ‘Total abolishment of armies in BiH’ – Lolic is of the view that the demilitarisation of BiH is of much bigger importance for BiH than its admission to the Partnership for Peace. |
| Cegar case | Avaz pg. 1 and 2 – the most prominent front-page story in today’s issue in on the latest in a line of reactions following an incident initiated by FMoI official Zoran Cegar. The reaction this time came from Mevludin Halilovic, Federation MoI Head, who wrote to the Police Director, Zlatko Miletic, requesting an investigation against Cegar. Vecernji List pg. 4 by M.B. ‘Entering the Parliament with a gun is still mysterious’ – says that reasons for Cegar’s behaviour are still unknown. This kind of behaviour was harshly condemned by various caucuses, especially by SDA representatives, who are shocked by the fact that Cegar was insulting Bosniaks. VL says that caucuses will declare their position on this issue when they receive an official report from the Federation Parliament. |
| Malkic to face election ban
| Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 & 3 ‘Malkic to face an election ban’ – Head of Srebrenica Municipal Assembly, Abdurahman Malkic, admits that he has been receiving two salaries over the past six months – one as the Head of Municipal Assembly, and the second one as the unassigned BiH MP, who lost his mandate at the elections. Lidija Korac, a member of the BiH Election Commission, says that this is a conflict of interest, noting that he may be punished with a four-year election ban, which means he will not be able to be a candidate at any election level. |
| Interview with Cavic | Blic pg. 2&3 ‘There will be Srpska, because that is people’s will’ – Republika Srpska President, Dragan Cavic, told Blic there would be Republika Srpska because it is the expression of will of Serbs who are one of the constitutive peoples in BiH. “By entering the process of European integrations there will be more requests for unitarisation, but in any case we need to have the right answer to it – we need to secure survival of the entity that has its own authority. If we do not understand on time that the most capable people should be in the joint institutions then we will allow other to rule us, which means integration of BiH.” Commenting on Bishop Franjo Komarica’s statement, Cavic says it was politically motivated and out of context. As for joining the Partnership for Peace, Cavic says that he thinks it is possible to join the PfP and other European associations within the constitutional frames, and at the same time to keep the Republika Srpska Army as a part of the BiH defence structure. Speaking about the Republika Srpska government and Assembly, Cavic said the following. “I expect from the government to show initiative, will and desire to work, although I am aware of all limits the government faces. The problems could not be solved with a magic wand because it only exists in fairytales. The government needs to govern justly, to have initiative and to enter seriously into the process of reforms, which will create the basis for better living. This government must start with radical changes and reforms in the social sector, although I expected that would go much quicker. The national Assembly should deal with its tasks more seriously and adopt laws the government proposes, not to deal with marginal issues.” |
| Interview with Tihic | Jutarnje Novine pg. 4 and 5 ‘I want BiH in its entirety, while Paravac would like to keep the status quo’ – an interview with Sulejman Tihic, Bosniak member of the BiH Presidency. He tackles the issue of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK) and reiterates his party’s position that the SDA has not betrayed Mostar. Tihic says governments in all the cantons and on all levels are formed according to the census: according to the latest one, Croats are most numerous in the HNK followed by Bosniaks. As for the election results, most posts won by the HDZ Coalition (15), SDA (7) and Party for BiH (5). Tihic says that despite the advantage that Croats have in terms of the national structure of the population, the SDA managed to ensure the equal number of ministerial positions in the HNK government for Bosniaks (4). As for the Serb Minister in the HNK, he says that they have tried to lobby and to exert pressure on the OHR to have the Serb MP elected by the Serb caucus and Serb institutions, but received no support. He adds that the HDZ proposed some 20 candidates for the Serb minister and the SDA eventually accepted the person that the SDA believed would not be biased in his work. As for the outcome of the OHR vetting of the three proposed ministers in the HNK government, Tihic said the first collisions with the OHR were caused by a non-democratic method of the OHR’s work. The OHR has the right to decline a candidacy without having to state the reason for that. “I think they do not have a right to do that, this is contrary to the BiH Constitution. As a Presidency member and the president of the strongest party in BiH, I cannot know the reasons for which Kemal Isakovic is not eligible to be a Minister, but the reasons are known to an OHR clerk who has not been elected, who reports to no one on his own work and who has a huge, huge salary. This is absurd and this represents one of the unjust things done to us. I think Kemal Isakovic was sacrificed in order to achieve some kind of a balance. This happens all the time in contacts with international organizations.” |
Economic Affairs | |
| Customs and Taxes Law
| CRHB at 15:00 hrs – the BiH House of Peoples to discuss the draft Law on Merging Customs and the establishment of the Indirect Taxation Administration. That Law was recommended by the Council of Ministers and adopted by the House of Representatives. High Representative Paddy Ashdown demanded urgent adoption of this Law. |
| RS govt. unsatisfied with foreign investments | BHTV at 19:00 hrs by Natalija Trivic – the RS government is unsatisfied with the level of foreign investments, which amounted to 4,23 million KM in the first three months of this year. Foreign investors say administration obstacles are the basic problem for investing in the RS. In the RS Economic Relations Ministry they believe there are two basic reasons why foreign investors are not putting more money in the RS – unfavourable business environment and a slow process of integrating BiH into European Union. |
| Drought damages to agriculture | On the FTV at 19:30 hrs the first two items were on draught causing great damage to agriculture in BiH. In a report by Salih Brkic it was reported that in the area of Tuzla, for example, the problem started with reduced spring planting and with the current situation in mind it is certain that the harvest will bring much less than what had been expected. Gordana Antonic reported that in some areas of BiH drought almost completely destroyed the crops. “Unless the authorities soon realise how serious the situation is this could have negative effects on the entire BiH economy. Situation in Posavina is disastrous, and in some parts of northeastern Bosnia there was no rain in almost two months.” RTRS at 19:30 hrs by Aleksandar Atic – the agricultural production in the RS this year is smaller for 30 to 50% due to drought. In addition, there are 30% less planted areas then previous year. Farmers are very disappointed with the crop, but also with the purchase prices. In some regions in Herzegovina farmers decided not to harvest since the cost are too high in comparison with income. |
| WHC – money laundering and tax evasions
| Vecernji List pg. 1, 4 and 5 – during the last year, large amounts of money were laundered and tax paying was evaded in the West Herzegovina Canton (WHC). VL says that due to this situation the budget of the WHC was damaged for over 71 million KM, while the total damage at the level of the Federation amounted to over 147 millions KM. The article says that 222 companies from the entire BiH territory participated in money laundering in various banks on the territory of the WHC. According to VL, the Financial Police of the Ljubuski Police Administration blocked all current accounts and filed criminal charges against all banks in this Canton. Also, they took proper measures against the fictitious companies. |
| EC in BiH on reforms of customs and tax admin. | Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5 – the EC Mission in BiH says that as of tomorrow two entity customs administrations in BiH will be merged into one and instead of customs offices, between four and seven customs administrations will be established. The EC in BiH also says that the unified BiH customs administration is being established in this way. Head of the RS Customs Administration, Djuro Bulic, stated that the RS customs would be a part of the new Administration for Indirect Taxation. Head of the Federation of BiH Tax Administration, Zelimir Rebac, stated that through the reform of the customs administrations this institution could fight crime more successfully. DL says that according to unofficial information, 2,000 persons employed in the customs administrations will be reduced by quarter. |
| First BiH motorway | Vecernji List pg. 1 and 15 – Croatian Prime Minister, Ivica Racan, and Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Traffic and Communications, Ronald Zuvanic, will pay visit to Sarajevo on July 14 this year. According to VL, Racan is supposed to bring an offer for the construction of the first motorway in BiH. VL says that although BiH Minister of Traffic and Communications, Branko Dokic, stated that Croatia would not build the motorway in BiH, Croatian Minister Zuvanic said that nevertheless this issue would be discussed in Sarajevo. According to the article, the Croatian side will demand to be allowed to build a nine-km long passage of the Zagreb-Dubrovnik motorway through BiH territory near Neum and in return it would offer more favorable agreement on the use of the Ploce Port. |
| Grahovac on ‘the final robbery by BiH authorities and IC’ | Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 6 – SDP Vice-President, Mladen Grahovac, stated during the ‘Situation and perspectives of the economy in Bosanska Dubica in the light of privatisation and employment’ rostrum that the current BiH authorities have no knowledge or desire to start resolving country’s problems. Further added that in cooperation with the IC they are preparing the final robbery of BiH with the final goal of ravaging Telecom, Elektroprivreda and water resources. |
Fighting Crime | |
| EU black list
| CRHB at 15:00 hrs – the European Union has completed the list of citizens who have been violating the Dayton Agreement or politically and financially helping war crime suspects. The list will include mostly Bosnian Sebs and will be released on Tuesday in both Sarajevo and Brussels. High Representative Paddy Ashdown is going to announce the list in Sarajevo. BHTV at 19:00 hrs by Ratko Kovacevic – according to the SENSE agency, the names of individuals on the EU black list will be announced next week and majority of them, or perhaps all of them, will be Bosnian Serbs. The report also in Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 3. |
| Vracar | Avaz pg. 1 and 9 – a short interview with President of the Nova Banjalucka Bank management, Milenko Vracar. Following frequent media stories that his name migh be included on the EU black list, Vracar stated that he had no connections with any war criminals and that such stories were planted by certain media, but also certain politicians in contact with IC reps. He singled out Milorad Dodik as one of those politicians. |
Education Affairs | |
| Int. conference on BiH education reform | BHTV at 19:00 hrs by Zorica Lolic – an international conference on education reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina ended in Banja Vrucica near Teslic on Sunday. Conference participants from BiH and abroad considered in the past three days the current situation, perspectives and progress of the education reform, as well as the role of the unions. Reminding that the implementation of reforms is one of obligations of BiH as a member of the Council of Europe, Civil Affairs Minister, Safet Halilovic, stated that education was an area leading the way in terms of reforms. “ I think that the state and unions have to be the most serious partners for this process to have any chances of succeeding,” said Halilovic. RTRS at 19:30 hrs – the seminar organized by trade unions and Finnish donors. Halilović presented the Law on Education and said all problems should be resolved before September. Representatives of trade unions underlined a need for appropriate financing of current deficiencies in the system, namely salaries for teachers, and costs for the implementation of reforms. |
Judiciary Affairs | |
| Interview with Pajic
| Avaz pg. 1 and 5 – an interview with OHR Head of the Legal Reform Unit Zoran Pajic. Asked why the OHR requested the dropping of all amendments to criminal laws, Pajic stated the aim of the reform in FBiH was, amongst other things, to harmonize the laws with the state laws. Added that amendments that violate the principle of harmonization could not be adopted. As for reasons why the OHR Legal Department thinks the role of a defender should not be equalized with the prosecution’s side, but almost, exclude him from an investigation, Pajic said that such ‘free interpretations were the result of either lack of knowledge of the material or deliberate false interpretation’. |
| Interview with Batic | Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 & 4 ‘Patriotism is proved before The Hague Tribunal’ – an interview with Vladan Batic, Serbian Justice Minister. “For the sake of future and good-neighbourly relations, it would be good for BiH to withdraw its lawsuit against Yugoslavia. If it fails to do so, we should defend ourselves and prove the truth. As for this case, the Serbian Justice Ministry has prepared such evidence, which will greatly surprise the local and international public.” He also announced that the trial against Serb war criminals would commence in Serbia in the near future, as well as against those persons, who committed war crimes against Serb population. He also said that nobody, including Ratko Mladic, has the right to gamble with the destiny of his own people. Accordingly, the sole place where he and the rest of war crime suspects can defend their ideas and prove patriotism is The Hague. |
| Bjelasnica seminar | Nezavisne Novine pg. 2 ‘There is no political will for processing of war crimes in BiH’ – following days long training and a seminar for judges and prosecutors at Bjelasnica, the assessment was made that there was no political will for the processing of war crimes in BiH, although the local judiciary was capable of running such cases. According to Branko Todorovic, President of Helsinki Human Rights Committee, such difficulties before the courts are caused by ‘criminal structures that represent themselves as legal political forces’. Also added that the political forces are still led by a large number of individuals, who devised, took part, and ordered ethnic cleansing during the war. |
Media Affairs | |
| PBS
| Avaz pg. 1 and 4 – an anonymous senior official from the PBS told the daily that unless a thorough reform took place in the PBS the same might be ruined. He further stated that many international donors, headed by the EU, have already been alarmed and requested from the PBS Steering Board to act fast. Therefore, the departing Broadcasting Agent, John Shearer, will have to make certain changes in order to authorize the Steering Board with greater powers and allow them to undertake radical measures. The OHR will get involved in the process of reconstruction of public TV houses. They are apparently already considering actions to undertake in order to create a system of regulations, but also a legal frame that would allow the PBS to become truly independent in its editorial policy. |
| DL on Shearer | Dnevni List pg. 7 ‘BiH TV gray building will be replaced by BiH BBC’ – the departure of Broadcasting Agent, John Shearer, from BiH is followed by harsh criticism of the public and the persons employed in the RTV saying that he used three years of his mandate to introduce chaos in the broadcast system and to get rich on the transformation of the RTV BiH. Shearer characterized all these attacks as politically motivated and added that ‘politicians want to re-gain control over things that are being broadcast from the RTV’. Former Head of closed down TV BiH, Senad Hadzifejzovic, stated that during one talk with Shearer, he told him that the BiH TV should be transformed and that it would be great if the RTV of the Republika Srpska was a part of that transformation as well. Hadzifejzovic says that Shearer asked him whether he was insane and added that ‘those people’ were dangerous. Hadzifejzovic says that this statement by Shearer’s is a reflection of the IC’s policy in BiH. |
The Hague Affairs | |
| Del Ponte editorial in NYT | BHTV at 19:00 hrs by Ratko Kovacevic – ICTY Chief Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, stated in an article written for Saturday edition of New York Times that Ratko Mladic was still hiding in Serbia. She also said Radovan Karadzic was hiding in eastern Bosnia, occasionally crossing to Serbia and Montenegro. Del Ponte claims that NATO and Serbian government are not fulfilling their obligation regarding the arrest of persons indicted by the ICTY. According to Del Ponte, the US decision to continue with financial aid to Serbia additionally complicates the arrest of Karadzic, Mladic and 16 other indictees. Dnevni list pg. 2 ‘Mladic in Serbia, Karadzic in eastern Bosnia’ – also reported on Del Ponte’s article. Glas Srpske pg. 3 ‘Karadzic is in the Republika Srpska’ – also carried excerpts from the article. Vecernje Novosti pg. 5 ‘Mladic right under their nose’. |