| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| FBiH HoP on defence | CoM – ITA director | CoM – ITA director | Arrest of Karadzic |
| Special session of RS NA | Disputes over flags | HR/EC on ITA director | Special session of RS NA |
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| Prosper in BL | Prosper in BL | CoM on action plan for EU |
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| Taxi drivers protest |
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| Oslobodjenje | New wave of smuggling in BiH |
| Dnevni Avaz | Fierce polemics between Dixon, Terzic |
| Dnevni List | “BiH capital blocked”; “SDA advocates 7 election units”; “Mostar Deputy Mayor Ljubo Beslic: Most of employees in City Administration work illegally” |
| Vecernji List | “Croatian President Stjepan Mesic: BiH Croats should not behave as if they are Diaspora”; “OHR supports continuation of production in ‘Aluminij’ “ |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | “English company sells electricity purchased in BiH at smaller price in some other places”; “Across border without passport as of New Year” |
| Glas Srpske | New plot with high education: Law was written in secrecy |
| Nezavisne Novine | Pierre Prosper met Republika Srpska officials: Arrest of Karadzic opens EU door for BiH; 3rd Diplomatic Forum held in Sarajevo: Paddy Ashdown: Police in BiH in service of criminals, not citizens |
| Blic | Changes to the Law on PIO adopted: contributions mandatory, salaries may be paid with delay |
Economic/social issues | |
| CoM again failed to appoint ITA Director
| Croat Radio Herceg Bosna, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Croat Ministers want a Croat to head the Administration’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Halilovic: Croat Ministers were against the appointment’ – Council of Ministers could not agree again on appointment of director of ITA. SDA and HDZ could not find solution who will be head of ITA. Session on Wednesday was again postponed. Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic explained: “At previous session of CoM HDZ objected proposed candidate for director and the session was interrupted. It seems there is still no agreement and it remains to be resolved in next days.” Commission for Indirect Taxation is disappointed with lack of progress and chairman Joly Dixon said: “There is no director, no headquarters, finance ministers have not appointed persons for preparation of VAT introduction…after so long time there is still no progress on taxation”. Next session of CoM will be on Monday. Dnevni Avaz front page, pg. 4 ‘One should be concerned about a lack of collective readiness to enter/start reforms’ – In a statement for the newspaper, Dixon said that the failure to appoint the head of ITA represents a symptom of a big problem. Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Adnan terzic: If I appointed Kasumovic BiH would lose 10 million euros’ – Replying to Dixon’s criticism, BiH CoM Chairman Adnan Terzic said that not CoM but Dixon himself and CAFAO were culprits for non-appointment of the ITA Director. |
| OHR/EC say further delay in appointing ITA director unacceptable
| BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Appoint Director by Monday’, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘OHR: ITA Director must be appointed by Monday’, Slobodna Dalmacija p 7, “Integration being slowed down”, by B. Kristo, Dnevni List page 5, “New deadline for appointment of ITA Director”- Following the news that the CoM has once again failed to appoint a Director of the ITA, High Representative Paddy Ashdown and Ambassador Michael Humphreys, Head of the EC Delegation in BiH, said: “The delay in appointing a Director of the ITA is totally unacceptable. This is an explicit requirement of the European Union’s recently published Feasibility Study and a key test of BiH’s seriousness towards the reform agenda the EU requires. Failure to deal with this – and the many other challenges that the establishment of this key institution will require – would seriously threaten BiH’s progress towards the European Union. The decision has been held hostage to narrow party politics.” They concluded in a joint statement issued on Wednesday that any “further delay in the process, which is already behind schedule, would seriously jeopardise the possibility of meeting the conditions set out in the Feasibility Study. This has now gone on long enough. We expect this issue to be resolved, and a Director of the ITA to be appointed by the Council of Ministers by the end of Monday 8 December at the latest.” |
| Oslobodjenje: New wave of smuggling in BiH | Oslobodjenje front page, pgs. 4-5 ‘New wave of smuggling in BiH’ – The collection of taxes on high-tariff goods on state border has been dramatically fallen in the past two months, learns the newspaper from the sources close to the FBiH financial institutions. |
| VL: “OHR in favour of continuation of work in Aluminij” | Vecernji list (front & p 3, by Z. K.) reports that the OHR has gotten involved in the dispute between Mostar-based Aluminij Co. and Elektroprivreda BiH. According to the daily, at yesterday’s meeting, which was attended by PDHR Donald Hays, FBiH PM Hadzipasic, FBiH Finance Minister Vrankic, Minister of Energy Zigic as well as directors of Elektroprivreda of HB (EPHB) and Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBH), it was agreed in principle that electric power supply would not be cut in Aluminij. Finance Minister Vrankic is quoted as saying that EPBH was recommended to suspend public tender for the sale of surplus electricity. VL says that in the meantime, the OHR will organise another meeting at which recommendations by Special Auditors that Elektroprivredas should sell electricity via public tenders is to be considered. |
| SFOR: Still no results of RS Telekom inspection | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 3, ‘SFOR still hiding results of search’ – Almost two weeks after SFOR inspection at premises of Telekom Srpske in Banjaluka, which some media linked with illegal instalment of tapping devices, no official results of the inspection have been announced. SFOR Spokesperson, Dale MacEachern, did not want to make any comment on this. |
| Another audit into RS Elektroprivreda | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 2, ‘Audit at Republika Srpska Elektroprivreda (EPS)’, Blic p 12 ‘Audit of Elektroprivreda’ – Arsenije Tesic, Assistant to EPS Director for financial and economic affairs, yesterday confirmed that a regular monitoring of special auditor for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska at Republika Srpska Elektroprivreda is ongoing in Trebinje. The audit team, led by Slobodan Brankovic, has commenced with audit on Tuesday, and will stay til Friday. As GS learnt, the results of this OHR audit will be announced by Dale Ellen Ralph. |
| EFT best bidder to buy electricity surplus in the Federation | Nezavisne Novine, pg. 6, ‘London EFT is new buyer’ – Enver Kreso, General Manager of Elektroprivreda of BiH, yesterday confirmed that the new buyer of the electricity surplus produced at BiH Elektroprivreda will be London firm EFT. Kreso said that EFT was the best bidder. |
| Changes to the RS Law on PIO
| Blic p 13 ‘Salaries can be paid out with delay’, Vecernje Novosti p 21 ‘The right to dual pensions’ – In future, employers will pay contributions for pension insurance regardless to whether they had paid out salaries for the same month or not. This was regulated by changes to the Law on Pension and Disability Fund (PIO), which were adopted yesterday by the RS National Assembly representatives. The RS NA also adopted the conclusion in relation to necessary enacting of laws in the entities and at BiH level in field of PIO, in order to harmonize all disputable issues regarding payments of pensions. Blic, p 13, ‘Contributions on a long stick’ – ‘Raising pension contributions from 24% to 34% is the only permanent solution that could provide with average pension in the amount of 180 KM’, as Dusan Prica, the President of the Pensioners Democratic Union (PDS), which had proposed changes and addenda to the Law on Contributions the RS NA representatives did not adopt at their last session. “They at the PDS should have been aware that such a proposal would not be adopted”, the President of the RS Pensioners’ Association, Rade Rakulj, has stated and assessed their attempt as ‘a political marketing’. “We appreciate pensioners’ requests, yet these could lead us to new conflicts with the IMF. We cannot resolve the situation of the eldest population on the damage of the RS interests”, the Spokesperson of the RS Prime Minister, Goran Radivojac, has stated. |
| HT Mostar director issue | Dnevni List (front & p 2, “Brankovic refused to remove Prlic”, by Irfan Mujkic) reports that yesterday morning the FBiH Minister of Traffic & Communication, Nedzad Brankovic, sent a letter to HT Mostar’s Supervisory Board and director Stipe Prlic informing them that this Ministry “accepted recommendation by FBiH Ombudsmen” not to remove Prlic as the decision on removal had been assessed to be “illegal and unfounded”. DL reds that there is another, informal, side to Brankovic’s refusal to remove Prlic: both Brankovic and Prlic are Assistants at Sarajevo Faculty of Traffic and they have a mentor in common – the Faculty Dean, Sefkija Cekic, who is a high-ranking SDA official. Cekic is said to play a key role in controlling communications via his in-law, Samir Causevic, who teaches at the same Faculty and is the president of BH Telekom’s Steering Board. |
| FBiH Ombudsmen request Parliament’s intervention re appointment of Steering Boards | Dnevni List (p 3, “Ombudsmen’s competencies end after Parliamentary procedure”, by De. L.) reports that BiH Federation Ombudsmen yesterday presented to the FBiH Parliament their findings, conclusions and recommendations on relieving off duty of members of Steering Boards of two public enterprises and called on the FBiH Parliament to take legal measures over violations of the Law on Ministerial, Governmental and Other Appointments. The Ombudsmen expressed their dissatisfaction because the FBiH Government and certain Ministers failed to acknowledge provisions cited in the Law on Ministerial, Governmental and Other Appointments, which provide for the obligation binding “the public officials holding posts of responsibility” to submit all documentation and data on those dismissals and appointments which are under the Ombudsmen’s’ investigation. Ombudsman Branka Raguz stated for DL that Ombudsmen are not competent for the issue after the parliamentary procedure ends, adding that she hopes the Parliament will consider the documents and pass its judgment within a reasonable time period. Sarajevo media also covered the issue. |
| CRA on 3rd GSM operator | Dnevni List (front & p 3, “Preparations for taking Eronet’s users over”, not signed) and Slobodna Dalmacija (back page, “Green light for 3rd operator”, by M. Landeka) carry that the Enforcement Panel of the Communications Regulatory Agency (CRA) supports the Agency’s Management activities regarding resolving the issue of the 3rd GSM operator. CRA is getting ready for 2 variants: to issue the license at the time determined by the BiH CoM or to suspend operations of the illegal 3rd operator in case CoM does not set another deadline or passes other decision. Sarajevo media also covered the issue. |
BiH/EU | |
| Ashdown, Ivanic addressed Diplomatic Forum: “Road to Europe – the Next Steps”
| BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Deadline for key tasks 210 days’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘We are leaving the era of Dayton and entering the era of Brussels’, Vecernji list p 2, “Lagging behind Europe is too costly”, by E. Medunjanin, Dnevni List page 3, “BiH has still not ensured its European future”, by R. Radic,Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 2, ‘Paddy Ashdown: Police in BiH in service of criminals, not citizens’; Glas Srpske, pg. 3, ’16 locks for European door’, Blic p 13 ‘Either black hole or EU’- Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached a moment in its postwar history when critical choices will determine whether or not the people of this country are to enjoy a prosperous future inside Europe, the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said on Wednesday. The question facing the citizens of BiH is whether, and how quickly, the dream of a prosperous, secure future in Europe will become a reality. He said hard work and confidence will determine the future. “Confidence in this country’s ability to change, and the hard work needed to bring it about.” The High Representative was speaking in Sarajevo at a Diplomatic Forum organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. BiH Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic, who also addressed the Forum entitled: “Road to Europe – the Next Steps”, stressed that that the year 2003 would be remembered in BiH by significant steps ahead in the view of Euro-Atlantic integration. “Euro-Atlantic integrations are our choice. If there is a subject that enjoys the consensus of all, than this is the integration”, said Ivanic, warning, however, that the list of European Commission’s 16 requests, which must be resolved till next summer, also contains certain matters that could be very delicate politically. |
| BiH CoM discussed accession to EU process | Croat Radio Herceg Bosna, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘Can be reach Europe if Karadzic and Mladic are at large?’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 4 ‘Drafting of strategic document for acceding EU starts’, Vecernji List page 2, “To implement 16 EC conditions”, by D. Ja.., Slobodna Dalmacija page 7, “Joining EU on first place”, by Z. Rerig, Dnevni List page 5, “BiH takes over a half of translated reports from Croatia”, by E. Mackic, FENA – On Wednesday the BiH Council of Ministers decided on the manner of co-ordination in the process of BiH’s accession to the European Union, which was proposed by the BiH Directorate for European Integration. Head of the Directorate Osman Topcagic told a press conference after session that the Decision defines the manner of realising horizontal and vertical co-ordination amongst the BiH institutions in preparing and implementing activities, measures and tasks in the process of BiH’s accession to the EU. The Council also decided on the procedure of harmonising BiH legislation with the EU legislation. The Council also formed task forces for designing the proposal for conducting of negotiations and concluding the BiH’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement with EU. The Council of Ministers supported the initiative of the Directorate for European Integration on launching of activities on preparing negotiating positions and forming of negotiating teams for this very significant agreement. The Council also accepted the Initiative for designing strategic documents for BiH’s accession to the EU, which was prepared by the Directorate as well. |
| Terzic to take part at a regional economic forum in Cavtat | Osloboodjenje pg. 4 ‘Partners on the path to Europe’,FENA – BiH Council of Ministers Chair Adnan Terzic will take part in the opening of the First Regional Economic Forum in South East Europe, which will take place in Cavtat, Croatia on December 4 and 5, the BiH Council of Ministers stated on Wednesday. The Forum, discussing the issue “Competitors and/or Partners on the Road to the EU”, will be held under the auspices of BiH Council of Ministers Chair Adnan Terzic. Representatives from Albania, BiH, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia will take part in the Forum. Croatian President Stjepan Mesic will also take part in the Forum. The main objective of the Forum is to stimulate communication and cooperation between public institutions, the economic sector and the academic community in SE Europe, as well as to create a new economic and social quality for joining the EU and global economic structures. |
Defence | |
| FBiH Hose of Peoples adopts defence amendments to constitution
| Croat Radio Herceg Bosna, BHTV, FTV, Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘Amendments went through ‘small doors’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 8 ‘Constitutional amendments adopted with only four Serb votes’, Dnevni List front and page 4, “Entity authorities transferred in area of defense at state level”, FENA – The Speaker of the FBiH House of Peoples, Slavko Matic, declared that six amendments to the Federation Constitution related to defence reforms, that is transferring authority from entity to state level, have been adopted at Wednesday’s session of the House in Sarajevo. Matic declared the adoption of these amendments after a very controversial situation in the House regarding individual declarations of parliamentary floor group members in the House. The Bosniak and Croat parliamentary floor group members supported all six amendments, while of the eight Serb deputies present at the session four voted in favour and four abstained. There was an exception for one amendment where three Serb deputies voted in favour and the other five abstained. Secretary of the House of Peoples Izmir Hadziavdic said that in this situation where amendments to the BiH Federation Constitution did not receive the majority of votes from the Serb deputies present, then according to the official OHR interpretation, the voting results can be viewed as the House of Peoples giving its backing to the amendments to the Federation Constitution. |
| RS NA discusses laws on defence, army | RTRS, Croat Radio Herceg Bosna, BHTV, Blic p 13 ‘Salaries can be paid out with delay’ – At Wednesday’s special session, RS National Assembly discussed in urgent procedure the Law on RS Army and Law on Defence. SNSD has also sent its version of the text of the Law on RS Army, according to which there would be only two components: professional army and reserve. Chairman of the Parliament, Dragan Kalinic, explained that composition of the army is projected under the law on which the discussion has not even started yet. Kalinic stressed that SNSD’s proposal did not go necessary procedure and they can influence the law via amendments. Nezavisne Novine, pg. 4, ‘Republika Srpska Army to be discussed on Wednesday again’; Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘To get pension through short-cut’ (about regular session) and Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘Army and defence on turn’ (about special session) – Republika Srpska National Assembly last night interrupted special session, at which MP’s discussed the proposed laws on changes and addenda to the Law on Defence and Law on Army. The session is to resume on 10th December. |
Other political developments | |
| Damjanac appointed new Mayor of Brcko
| RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg. 10, Nezavisne Novine, pg. 6, ‘Branko Damjanac is new Brcko Mayor’; Glas Srpske pg. 3, ‘Damjanac instead of Kisic’, Vecernje Novosti p 21 ‘Damjanac is the new Mayor’, Vecernji List pg. 2, FENA – Branko Damjanac was appointed mayor of Brcko district by acting supervisor Gerhard Sontheim on Wednesday, after several days of consultations with political parties and deputies of the interim assembly. Damjanac is a member of the RS Socialist Party and a deputy in the interim assembly of Brcko district. An economist by profession, he is the manager of the Hypo-Kristal Bank’s branch office in Brcko. |
| Covic visits Vatican | Dnevni Avaz pg. 2 ‘Covic: I will ask Pope to help BiH’s accession to EU’, FENA – Delegation of the BiH State and Church Board for greeting the Holy Father, John Paul II, departed for Vatican on Wedensday, and should be officially received by the Pope on Thursday, it was announced by BiH Presidency. BiH Presidency Chairman Dragan Covic, who was the President of the BiH Board for greeting the Pope on the occasion of his second visit to BiH, will thank the Holy Father for everything he has done and is doing for Catholics, all peoples, as well as the citizens of BiH. |
| Mesic on BiH/Croatia relations | Dnevni Avaz pg. 3 ‘Those thinking that Zagreb will ever again interfere in BiH’s internal affairs are wrong’, FENA – “Croatian politics will never again interfere into BiH internal affairs,” said Croatian President Stjepan Mesic ahead of his visit to Sarajevo where he will attend an upcoming session of the BiH-Croatia Interstate Cooperation Council. In his interview for Vecernji List (front & p 5, “Croats in BiH should not behave is if they were Diaspora”, by Diana Glavina), given on the eve of the session of the BiH-Croatian Inter-State Council tomorrow, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic expresses disagreement with the assessment that BiH solves relations and establishes cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro (SCiG) faster than with Croatia. Mesic expects speeding up of resolving of the issue of Ploce Port as this Port deserves to be a huge one and to serve entire Central Europe. As for Vc corridor construction, he re-iterated Croatia’s arguments for the participation in the project. Speaking of the request by Croatian SDA President, Semso Tankovic, to have Bosniaks back in the Croatian Constitution, Mesic is of the view the request is justified. He does not think that HDZ’s come-back to power in Croatia will aggravate relations with BiH, adding that it is Croats themselves who can influence their position in BiH best and that Croats in BiH must not behave as if they were Croatian Diaspora. Mesic adds that during his stay in Sarajevo he will go to Izetbegovic’s graveyard and pay respect. |
| Mostar restructuring | Dnevni Avaz pg. 10 ‘Commission gain failed to agree on the town’s organisation’ – At its session held in Mostar on Wednesday, the members of the Commission for Mostar Statute chaired by Norbert Vinterstein again failed to reach the agreement on the key issues related to the town’s organisation. Dnevni List (front and page 4, “SDA stands for 7 election units”, by M. Relota) carries that during its yesterday’s session the Mostar Commission discussed the election system in Mostar and the discussion on this issue will continue on December 9. DL says that SDA representatives stand for 6 Municipalities and 7 election units, and this is a step back because they envisage the Central Zone also to be the election unit. Representatives of HDZ and People’s Party Working for Prosperity believe that the best option is one election unit with some modalities of protection of vital interests. According to DL, verbally Party for BiH stands for one unit of the local self-government while it actually supports SDA in the concept of the elections for the Mostar City Council. Slobodna Dalmacija (page 17, “Ashdown is preparing sanctions”, by E. Karamatic) carries that so far the Mostar Commission has not achieved any results. The author says that although the Head of the Mostar Municipality Salem Bubalo as he says ‘successfully realized the referendum’, while Head of the Mostar Municipality Southeast Zijo Isic hesitates to do the same being aware as to what happened with Croat self-rulers, the two of them are not important when the Mostar re-structuring issue is in question since President of the SDA Board in Mostar Fatima Leho and President of the SDA Herzegovina-Neretva Cantonal Board Salko Sokolovic are taking the main moves in the Bosniak policy. According to the author, the two of them do not even respect the opinion of SDA President Sulejman Tihic, who tried to prevent them in destructive actions a few times. The author says: “The Bosniak ‘self-rulers’ have not learnt anything from Croat ‘self-rulers’ but they just took over roles from them, however, this is not the problem. The problem will emerge when they take over the role of High Representative Paddy Ashdown and put miners’ helmets on their heads and start picking the rest of aubergines. Then the only thing that the HR could do is to take over the role from both of them and that he finally resolves the case called Mostar and that he tells ‘Bosniak self-rulers’ Leho, Sokolovic and many others ‘you cannot deal with politics any longer.” Dnevni List (page 17, “Commission decides on status of Mostar”, by D. Kozina) carries that, with regard to some media speculation that the HR Ashdown is in favour of positions that Mostar, compared to other towns, should not be an exception, Avis Benes, OHR spokesperson, said this was not the case: “Mostar was treated exceptionally in the Dayton Peace Accord because of its particular circumstances and history, and the Mostar Commission is tasked to find a solution for the problems of Mostar that reflects these particular circumstances and history”. Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘Agony of Mostar’ Op-ed by Gojko Beric – Beric claims that the town will be administratively unified in one way or another but that the Mostar citizens will continue living in two ethnic ghettos. |
| Interview with Mostar Deputy Mayor Ljubo Beslic/ On Mostar issue, waste dump etc.
| Dnevni List (front and page 7, “Most of employees in City Administration work illegally”, by M. Relota) carries an interview with Mostar Deputy Mayor Ljubo Beslic who denies accusations of Mostar Mayor Hamdija Jahic saying that Beslic advocates parallelisms in the work of the Mostar City Administration (CA). Beslic says that he wants to resolve the issue of the employees in the Mostar CA in a systematic way and in accordance with legal regulations that are in force at the Federation of BiH and BiH level. Beslic added: “A considerable number of the employees in the CA do not have resolved a working status in terms of law.” Asked about the Mostar waste dump issue, Beslic says that this situation is the result of the Bosniak policy in 3 Mostar Municipalities with the Bosniak majority and that the World Bank has been deceived in this way. He added: “The International Community did not react at all to the games played by the Bosniak side…All these things do not take place accidentally and they are related to drafting of a new Statute of Mostar. All relations in the city, the Canton and even at the FBiH level have been disturbed to a large extent due to negotiations on the Mostar re-organization.” Asked about the Mostar re-organization issue, Beslic says that SDA representatives have a rigid stand and they do not want to change it. According to Beslic, Mostar should not be an exception from the other towns in BiH when its organization is in question. Asked whether the OHR will depart from the 8 principles set by High Representative Paddy Ashdown, Beslic says: “I am a bit disappointed by an inert stand of the OHR. The HR used to sanction Croat officials for much smaller shortcomings. I believe that Croats are rather dissatisfied because of it as well…In spite of this I believe that Ashdown is a serious person and that he will not depart from 8 principles that he set for Mostar re-organization.” |
| Head of OHR South on Mostar City Solid Waste Utility
| Slobodna Dalmacija (p 7, “Mostar in garbage up to its ears again”, by Zoran Zekic) and Dnevni list (p 17, “Andrieu: Saga on garbage in Mostar not over yet”, by D. Kozina) read that, at the regular weekly IC press conference in Mostar, the Head of OHR (South), Ambassador Andrieu, reminded that, on 30 September 2003 the Mostar City Council adopted a Decision on Formation of a City Utility Company and a City Solid Waste Utility in compliance with the requirements set out by the World Bank. In order for this decision to be implemented, all City Municipalities had to transfer the rights and responsibilities for the collection and processing of garbage to the City of Mostar. Yet, some of the municipalities have not still appropriately transferred those rights and responsibilities. That’s is why the OHR joins last week’s appeal of Mostar Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the implementation of the Decision of the Mostar City Council so that the establishment of an efficient public service for the collection and management of garbage in Mostar takes place as soon as possible. Asked as to which Municipalities failed to transfer the rights, Ambassador Andrieu replied those were the 3 municipalities with Bosniak majority. |
| Savanovic on Law on University Education
| Glas Srpske, cover page story, ‘Law was written in secrecy’ – Gojko Savanovic, Republika Srpska Minister of Education, Culture and Science, told GS that the international community has been demanding the Republika Srpska to accept the proposed Framework law on high education, in whose preparation Republika Srpska officials have not taken any part. This new text is to be discussed in Strasbourg tomorrow. According to Savanovic, it is not clear who is the author of the amended text, which greatly differs from original text, in whose preparation Republika Srpska officials took part. Minister also stressed that the new text did not include a single remark and amendment placed by Serb officials onto the original text. |
| Mikerevic on Civil Service reform | Glas Srpske, pg. 3, ‘Srpska ahead of Federation’ – RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, yesterday pledged in favour of continuation of civil service reform in Republika Srpska. At the session of the Steering Board of the programme “Institutional support to the Republika Srpska Government ”, which is implemented with the assistance of the British Ministry for international development, Mikerevic expressed hope that the second phase of civil service reform will have been implemented in the period from 2004 to 2007. Steering Board assessed that Republika Srpska has gone far ahead of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the implementation of civil service reform. |
War crimes | |
| Pierre Richard Prosper in Banja Luka
| Croat Radio Herceg Bosna, BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Ultimatum to RS authorities’, Dnevni Avaz pg. 2, mentioned on the front page ‘Prosper requested RS authorities to arrest Karadzic’, Nezavisne Novine, cover and pg. 3, ‘We are close to Karadzic’; Glas Srpske, pg. 2, ‘America demands arrests’ – US Ambassador for War Crimes Pierre Richard Prosper greeted reforms in the area of defence, adopted by the RS NA and repeated that the priority or RS authority remains arrest of Radovan Karadzic. After the meeting with RS leadership, he expressed his conviction that RS/BiH, would soon become part of the Europe and stressed that RS authority should arrest Karadzic. Prosper, after the meeting with the RS President, Dragan Cavic and RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, stated that even when the work of Den Haag Tribunal is finished, suspects for war crimes will not be pardoned and will be tried before the local courts. RS President Cavic stated that the obligation of co-operation with Den Haag has to be fulfilled. RS Prime Minister, Dragan Mikerevic, stated that the RS Government would do everything to make co-operation with Hague Tribunal more successful. RS Minister of Interior, Zoran Djeric and Director of RS Intelligence Service, Risto Zaric, were also present at the meeting. |
Security/intelligence | |
| SIPA headquarters | Dnevni Avaz pg. 8 ‘Mladen Ivanic’s arguments are wrong/incorrect’ – Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic informed on Wednesday, only 24 hours following his letter, the High Representative Paddy Ashdown that he himself and the Government would do their best within their powers to meet deadlines for the adoption of the law on the state security-intelligence agency. |