| CROAT RADIO HERCEG-BOSNA (18:00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19:00 hrs) | FED TV (19:30 hrs) | RT RS (19:30) |
| BiH Presidency goes on | Violation of UN in FBiH | Cavic on IC’s ‘Orao’ report | RS NA special session |
| Cavic on RS Army | Cavic on single army | Reconstr. of entity armies | RS NA discuss Annex 7 |
| ‘Eronet’ case | War against Iraq | War against Iraq | Covic with SFORC comm. |
| Arizona market | Serbia joins the CoE |
| Mikerevic on organizes cr. |
| Oslobodjenje | A criminal report against Ivan Vuksic; CoE supported policemen; Sacirbegovic –why is the US Interpol keeping quite; Sarajevo anti-war demonstrations – the US flag burned |
| Dnevni Avaz | Heroes from Denmark welcomed (football related story); Hartman – the RS Army too protecting Karadzic; Financial investigation in Holiday Inn; |
| Vecernji List | Paddy Ashdown started with thorough reforms of state and defense structure – first Army and then entities will lose the authority; BiH without 85% of prerequisites for entering the European Union |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | RS President Dragan Cavic: Belgrade was spying the Federation and Croatia trough the RS; Because of the ‘Vitezit’ and ‘Bratstvo’ Federation leaders will be sanctioned as well; Interview with Dr. Mirko Tadic, Head of the NHI Council on idea BiH, third Republic – Dayton obstruction to unification of BiH |
| Glas Srpski | Address by RS President to RS NA MP’s – ‘Tiger’ extracted resignations; The State Administration Inspection – Law cutting out stamps |
| Nezavisne Novine | Anti-war protests in Sarajevo – the US Embassy stoned; The RS NA – Dragan Cavic announces purge within the RS Army; Stjepan Pocrnja – Ashdown’s decisions bring BiH closer to the NATO; Banja Luka – 12 million KM necessary for the reconstruction of Ferhadija |
| Vecernje Novosti | Admission to the CoE – return to the European house; Extraordinary session of the RS NA – a single HQ yes, single army no |
| Blic | Dragan Cavic criticises some RS Army officers – they command here and live in Serbia; Who is replaced by the OHR; Ranka Misic – the government failed to meet the deadline, there will be strike |
| BH DANI | Srebrenica – the instruction for mass funerals; Zlatko Lagumdzija – Ashdown has two honourable ways out |
| Slobodna Bosna | War amongst spies in BiH |
Political Affairs | |
| Tomac on Ploce port
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘Croatia must not give in to Sarajevo’ – Zdravko Tomac, Presidency of the Croatian Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, yesterday stated that the Croatian government must not give in to continues calls from Sarajevo to ratify the existing Ploce-Neum Agreement, and afterwards the Annex that alters the management of the Ploce port. “We have established that it is not possible for the Croatian Parliament to first ratify the old Agreement, without changes, and then additionally ratify the Annex that changes the Agreement.” Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5 – Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament and President of the Parliament’s Board for Foreign Policy, Zdravko Tomac, said the Croatian authorities must not give in to persistent calls from Sarajevo that the Croatian Parliament ratifies the current Agreement on Ploce Port and only then the Annex to the said agreement. Also reported in Jutarnji List pg. 7 ‘Reject BiH’s proposal for Ploce’, Vecernji List pg. 14 ‘Transit through Ploce Port’. |
| Ashdown’s new decisions | Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘Still work to be done to establish state control over armies’ – the article basically goes into more detailed about decisions HR Ashdown announce don Wednesday following the ‘Orao’ report. The decision refer to amendments to entity constitutions and their laws on defence, which allow for the strengthening of the state and the role of the Presidency members in terms of commanding the armed forces. Vecernji List pg. 1 and 3 by Dejan Jazvic – an analysis of a situation after the High Representative for BiH has taken decision to abolish the RS Supreme Defense Council and taken several decisions in the area of defense. The daily says that results of Ashdown’s decisions will be evident on 1 of January 2004 when BiH should get a new military-defense structure, which will be under control of the state institutions. “By proclaiming the package of military reforms on Wednesday, Ashdown clearly warned the entities that he left them seven months to arrange the future military-defense structure themselves. Otherwise, he will take the reform measures,” says VL. The daily goes on to say that the key role in the transfer of the military and defense authorities from the entity to state level will be carried out by the Standing Committee for Military Matters adding it is evident that the SCMM is most probably to evolve into the state MoD. Regarding possible resistance to the reforms, VL says analysts believe that following the ‘Orao’ and espionage affairs, the resistance to reforms coming from the RS has lost its strength and credibility, as confirmed by the silence to the HR’s decision to erase certain words such as statehood and independence from the RS Constitution. The daily also says that some Croat parties will oppose the abolishment of the Croat component of the Federation Army in fear of being sidelined by the Bosniak majority. The article concludes that the international efforts to create a state level defense structures are so strong that any resistance to Ashdown’s reforms would be pointless. Vjesnik pg. 6 by Alenko Zornija ‘The creation of unified BiH armed forces begun’ – the recent measures taken by HR Ashdown cannot be labeled as an end to the RS, but still direct towards the change of the DPA. Listing decisions enacted by the High Representative, the author sayidthey should lead to something that should represent unified armed forces in BiH and the SCMM getting competence of the state MoD. |
| Ashdown’s statement for VN | Vecernje Novosti pg. 3 ‘Military command to the Union’ – “I feel sorry for Mirko Sarovic. I had an extremely good cooperation with him. By resigning he made a brave and proper step,” High Representative Paddy Ashdown told Vecernje Novosti. He says that the RS President remains to be the supreme commander of the Army. “Since the RS signed the goals in the field of defence, I have formed a commission that will secure a possibility to transfer the command to the state level by 1 January 2004. If that does not happen there is no admission to the Partnership for Peace. Apart from this, conditions defined by NATO Secretary General George Robertson should be fulfilled as well. The decisions I made aim at making it easier for BiH to joint the PfP. But if BiH wants to join the NATO, the Alliance will decide – whether BiH will be able to join with a single or two entities’ armies.” Asked whether, as some RS political circles claim, the spying affair happened at the same time when Sarovic should have been removed, thus helping the IC to change unacceptable elections results, Ashdown said that the Dayton Peace Accord was seriously violated and that it would be hard to believe that the RS authorities had not been aware of the ‘Orao’ and espionage affairs. “That has been concluded by honourable act of Mirko Sarovic.” The High Representative said that Mirko Sarovic could be politically active, but that he suggested to Sarovic to keep away from any political activity until the end of this mandate. |
| BH DANI on Ashdown’s move | BH Dani ‘Bosnian Barometer’ pg. 6 and 7 – in this week’s issue, the magazine awarded HR Paddy Ashdown with an encircled star (a so-so move) because he accepted Mirko Sarovic’s resignation as a relief, allowing him in this way further political engagement. On the other side ‘only a few days before, Ashdown removed already removed Edhem Bicakcic, banning him from working for any public institution without properly documenting any accusation.’ DANI yet awarded Ashdown with three black dots (very bad move) because he had rejected to interfere in the case of 19 Sarajevo Canton Special Police Officers and annul their unjustified de-certification by then IPTF Chief Sven Frederiksen. |
| BiH Presidency | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The BiH Presidency continues its activities’ – that the BiH Presidency will continue to act as an institution despite the fact that the post of a Serb rep is currently vacant. The previously taken obligations by the Presidency will be performed as planned, it was confirmed from the BiH Presidency. Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘The taken obligations are not questionable’ – the same statement from the BiH Presidency saying they would continue as usual. |
| Cavic | Avaz pg. 4 ‘Officers have to understand that their command is not in Belgrade’ – an excerpt from a speech that RS President, Dragan Cavic, yesterday delivered at an extraordinary session of the RS NA. As for the causes of the ‘Orao’ and espionage affairs, Cavic said that a certain number of officers had to understand that their command is not in Belgrade, but in Banja Luka. He added that a status of a certain number of officers in the RS has been undefined and ambiguous since the war. According to Cavic, Head of the RS Army HQ who is directly responsible for the ‘Orao’ affair is retired in Belgrade and so is the head of the 410 Unit, yet the price for them was paid by Mirko Sarovic. Oslobodjenje pg. 6 ‘I knew about eavesdropping’ – Cavic said he found out about the eavesdropping affair before he was informed by the SFOR. Also, emphasized that a single army was not possible, but was possible to establish a single command and civil control at the BiH level. Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 7 – “Some high-ranked officers were expressing loyalty to the Headquarters of the Yugoslav Army regardless of the consequences for the RS Army, which is according to the Dayton Peace Agreement under the considerable competence of SFOR.” Jutarnji List pg. 3 ‘RS: There is no handicap’ – Cavic stated that the abolishment of the RS Supreme Defense Council was not a serious handicap. Cavic attacked the IC saying that interventions created chaos in relations between the military and civil structures. The SDS qualified the SFOR’s report as tendentious. Glas Srpski pg. 1, Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 and 3 – “The decisions passed by the HR just represent consequences, and it is therefore necessary that reasons for the current situation should be established. It should also be established who is responsible for what.” President expressed extreme dissatisfaction over the fact that the situation in the Federation, in regard to the violation of the UN SC resolution, was assessed as less important. Blic pg. 2 ‘Sarovic paid for someone else’s mistakes’, Vecernje Novosti pg. 3 ‘Single command yes, single army no’ – Cavic said that a report by the ‘Tiger’ Team on the ‘Orao’ affair included many controversial points, that it was politically biased, pretentious and selective. |
| SDU on Sarovic’s successor | Avaz pg. 5 ‘Sarovic’s successor can not be from the SDS’ – Sejfudin Tokic, SDU Vice-President, said that none of the SDS reps has the legitimacy to take over the vacant post at the BiH Presidency because this is the party that showed through their actions so far that they are anti-Dayton oriented. Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Against the SDS in the Presidency’ – said the party was acting against Dayton since the end of the war and prevented the arresting of Karadzic and Mladic. |
| VL on Sarovic’s successor | Vecernji List pg. 3 ‘Appointment of Sarovic’s successor next week’ – reads that Borislav Paravac (SDS) is a candidate for succeeding Sarovic,. VL also notes that the SNSD and some parties from the Federation are opposing the Paravac appointment adding that given the majority the ruling coalition has in the BiH House of Representatives, it is likely that Paravac will be appointed after all. Finally, VL says a session of the BiH HoR, where Paravac would be appointed a member of the BiH Presidency, should take place next week. |
| RS media on Sarovic’s successor | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘New member of the BiH Presidency to be elected on 9 April’, Glas Srpski pg. 2 ‘Sarovic’s successor to be named on Wednesday’ – on announcement by Sefik Dzafarevic, Chairperson of the BiH House of Representatives, that at a session on 9th April, the HoR will select and appoint the new member of the BiH Presidency of Serb nationality. |
| Commentary in Oslobodjenje (short) | Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘Centre of evil’ by Zija Dizdarevic – commenting on the IC’s measures taken following the surfacing of the ‘Orao’ and espionage affairs. The author thinks that it is incredible how mild the IC factors were in the cases of the mentioned affairs. “With a single painless resignation by a faceless politician the IC sanctioned the unconstitutional intelligence actions on the lines of the Great Serbia project, which means that they agree to continue with the anti-BiH activities.” It is absolutely unacceptable that eh SDS, as a centre of evil, goes unpunished for the persistent violation of the DPA. The chance is missed to analyse the conceptual and structural malignancy of the RS and SDS.” |
| Commentary in Oslobodjenje (long) | Oslobodjenje pg. 2 ‘March developments‘ by Hamza Baksic – most of the text is actually on Serbia. In the last two paragraphs however the author tackles the issue of Sarovic’s resignation and his place being taken by Paravac. According to Baksic, Paravc comes from the worst hard-SDS-liners in Doboj, which was responsible for planting a bomb on the premises of the ‘Alternative’ independent paper. The author goes on to say that the time will show whether HR did anything while bargaining with the SDS. With the ‘Orao’ affair he could have done anything, but opted to a long-term version – he opened a lot of fronts and persistent obstructions are to be expected. |
| SD Commentary | Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 7 by Zlatko Tulic – comments that moves made by High Representative Paddy Ashdown drew a lot of attention, but disappointed those who attended his press conference and most of the Federation citizens. Also, the reactions to the resignation of Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Mirko Sarovic, are tepid. SD says that according to the sources close to the SFOR, documents on the alleged export of weapons to Iraq from the ‘Vitezit’ and ‘Bratstvo’ from the Federation through Serbia have already arrived from Belgrade and this information is going to be published these days. SD concludes that for this reason the one should not be surprised that the HR announced the changes of the Amendments on the Constitutions of both entities. |
| Dnevni List editorial | Dnevni List pg. 6 by Pejo Gasparevic – an editorial dealing with the resignation of Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Mirko Sarovic, and other recent events in the RS. The author says that erasing of the following terms – state, sovereignty and independence – from the RS Constitution can be considered as the most charming move that High Representative Paddy Ashdown has made since he has come to BiH because the HR did favor to both Serbs and BiH. “A hasty conclusion might be: the RS – the state that does not exist. However, one should be cautious with regard to this issue (…) From the first statements of some RS officials and Sarovic’s explanation itself, one can discern a background motive that shows that Sarovic did not leave the state Presidency because of love towards BiH, but in order to prevent further dismantling of the RS.” |
| NN Commentary | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘This is the beginning of the RS Army’s end’ – Ostoja Barasin, Military and Political commentator, yesterday stated that the decision on the abolishment of the RS Supreme Defence Council represented the beginning of the RS Army’s end and also the disappearance of the sole minimal sovereignty characteristic of the RS stipulated by the Dayton Peace Agreement. He is of the view the HR’s decisions are aimed at placing the RS Army under the state control and transferring the authority over entity defence matters onto the state institutions. |
| GS Commentary | Glas Srpski pg. 5 ‘Ashdown altering Constitution’ by D.V. Mihajlovic – the author of this article is rather critical of the latest decisions passed by HR Paddy Ashdown. He says the decisions are not aimed at harmonising the constitutions of the RS and the Federation, but rather at altering the overall constitutional order in the state, which is, by the way, a member of Council of Europe. And this is proved by the fact that Ashdown established the Commission, whose task is to ‘establish the constitutional and legal obstacles for transferring command and control over armed forces at the BiH level’. The thesis that the HR here plays the role of framer of constitution is supported by a decision of the BiH Constitutional Court as of August three years ago. Namely, BiH CC then assessed that the existing constitutional solutions in the RS were in accordance with the BiH Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement. The BiH CC also established that ‘the BiH Constitution did not stipulate the existence of armed troops in BiH, neither the establishment of the unified troops and placement of BiH authority in control of such’. “A question can be raised as to what is the point of having the BiH Constitutional Court if the HR lays claims and holds the right to alter the Constitution and to backtrack the entire issue of constitutional solutions to its very beginning,” concludes Mihajlovic. |
| Milisic on ‘Orao’ | Glas Srpski pg. 2 ‘End of the Orao affair’ – Oleg Milisic, OHR Spokesperson, confirmed that the resignation of Mirko Sarovic and measures undertaken by the HR represented the end of the affair on the UN SC resolution violation. According to him, ‘everything has been resolved’. Blic pg. 2 ‘The line has been drawn’ – same statement as above. |
| Vrankic on arms trade between Iraq and FBiH | Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘Vrankic: it is possible that firms from the Federation traded with Iraq’ – Dragan Vrankic, Federation Vice Premier, yesterday stated that it was presumed that some irregularities, concerning the violation of arms embargo against Iraq, were performed in the Federation. He announced that the Defence Ministry is to compile a report on this matter. According to Vrankic, if the investigation confirms the arms were traded with Iraq and accordingly the UN SC resolution was violated, the Federation government would undertake appropriate measures. Former Federation Defence Minister, Mijo Anic, yesterday denied claims about Federation arms trade with Iraq. However, he did not dispute the possibility that the arms produced at the Federation factories somehow reached Iraq. Furthermore, Anic did not deny a statement given by PDHR, Donald Hays, that Federation firms were engaged in business dealings with ‘Jugopimport’ firm from Serbia. |
| Pocrnja on HR’s decision | Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 and 5 – Stjepan Pocrnja, Secretary General of the BiH Standing Military Committee, expressed his belief that BiH would be admitted into the Partnership for Peace until 31 July 2004, following decisions passed by the HR. In a short interview to NN, Pocrnja stressed how proud he was for being an optimist in saying that BiH would be admitted into PfP until 31 July 2004. |
| Charges against Vuksic | Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 5 – the daily finds out that criminal charges have been filed against the current Acting Director of the FOSS Ivan Vuksic. He is being charged with organizing attacks on international officials, local policemen and financial inspectors during the raid of the Hercegovacka Bank in April 2001. The dossier on Vuksic has been forwarded to the EUPM, OHR and the Federation government, or rather to the hands of the Justice Minister Borjana Kristo. |
| Mikerevic on organized crime | Nezavisne Novine pg. 2 ‘The RS security bodies disclosed channels of organised crime’ – Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, yesterday stated that the RS security bodies disclosed the channels of organised crime in RS. “We have placed those channels under control. Those thinking that Serbian developments cannot have an impact upon the RS are wrong.” Mikerevic further expressed firm belief in the competence of the RS security bodies in dealing with all those in the RS ‘who would like to repeat the same scenario from Serbia’. As for the appointment of the new RS Minister of Finance, Mikerevic stressed that the talks with two candidates reached the final phase, noting that it was not of primary importance whose party member the candidate would be. He stressed that the best solution would be if a candidate was not a member of any political party. |
| RS NA | Vecernje Novosti pg. 3 ‘Kalinic vs. Mitrovic’ – Dusko Vukotic of the RS Democratic Party commented on Dragan Cavic’s address before the Parliament. “I am afraid that such an approach stated today towards the Army, in sense that the Army controlled everything, is very bad. That is the model of ‘the revolution eating its own children’.” The SDS supported Cavic’s statement, and Dusan Stojicic asked to examine a degree of the international factors’ interfering into the RS institutions after Ashdown’s decisions. He also asked to adopt a conclusion that Sarovic’s resignation was forced. Jovan Hadzi Mitrovic of the DNS said that directors of ‘Ora’o were not responsible for the ‘Orao’ affair, adding it was high time that due to the current situation the RS officials left their posts. Reacting to that, RS NA Speaker Dragan Kalinic said he would sue Mitrovic because he stated lies before the delegates. |
| SB on espionage affair | Slobodna Bosna pgs. 5-10 ‘Internationals, FBiH Army and Milorad Dodik followed and eavesdropped’ by Suzana Andjelic – two big affairs in the RS (the export of arms to Iraq and long-standing spying of domestic and international institutions by the RS Army) have been ended up only by an extorted resignation of BiH Presidency member Mirko Sarovic and the dismissal of the RS Supreme Defence Council (but not by removals of its prominent members Cavic, Kalinic, Ivanic, Mikerevic, Stankovic). The magazine’s journalist presents in the article evidences found and seized by SFOR members during the raid of the 410th intelligence centre of the RS Army premises. “Six months ago, Slobodna Bosna requested from SFOR information on the operations of the centre placed in the RS National Assembly’s building in Banja Luka. According to data we had at the time, the centre was dealing with the illegal surveillance and eavesdropping of domestic and international institutions. The response we got from the SFOR officials was that they did not have relevant information about the activities of the RS Army’s 410th intelligence centre. Together with this response, we received a suggestion, meaning a request not to write about the issue for the time being, because the heads in Banja Luka would become aware of the discovery of their secret canter,” the article read. |
| Interview with Meholjic | Slobodna Bosna pgs. 22-24 ‘By punishing Mijat Tuka, Ashdown confirmed he was a thief, tramp and failed man’ – an interview with Hakija Meholjic, Head of the Office for Return in Srebrenica. Meholjic accuses HR Paddy Ashdown of an ungrounded hunt on former FBiH Deputy Minister for refugees Mijat Tuka. “When I assumed the duty of the Head of the Office for Return, I first made contact with then Federation Prime Minister Alija Behmen and, through him, with Mijat Tuka. What I can confirm is the fact that in Srebrenica, during Tuka’s mandate, ten times more was done than before. Why Ashdown remove such a man, I will never realize,” Meholjic said. |
| Potocari factory | Slobodna Bosna pg. 25 ‘Ashdown saved two million KM of the RS government’s money’ by Mehmed Pargan – Pargan reminded that in the course of the last week in March, HR Paddy Ashdown had decided to transfer the ownership of the Srebrenica Battery Factory to the Srebrenica-Potocari Foundation. “Since the private property represented the majority in the ownership structure, it was strange that Ashdown had a right to make such decision on his own and without consultation with lawyers,” wrote Pargan. However, the Slobodna Bosna journalist concluded that the future of the factory was uncertain and the decision was therefore the best solution for the RS government as well because from now on it would not be obliged any more to take care about re-starting the factory’s capacities (as a 30-percent owner). |
| Interview with Lagumdzija | BH Dani pgs. 8-11 and pg. 33 ‘Ashdown has two honourable ways out’ – an interview with BiH SDP leader, Zlatko Lagumdzija (to be continued in the next issue of the magazine). “This government has brought itself into position to last as long as the OHR needs that and not until the expiration of the mandate…I do not know if Ashdown got partners as he had wished to get, but I am sure that the citizens of this country did not get the authorities they wanted,” said Lagumdzija. Asked to comment on the role of the current High Representative, Lagumdzija said that a series of mistakes he had made could be corrected only if Paddy Ashdown started to listen to well-intended criticism. “He has two honourable ways out (from the current situation). The first, which is a better one, to correct his political behaviour while we all still have time and patience, and the second, which is a worse one, to go before the expiration of his mandate and leave the office to someone who will respect more the people in this country who deserve to be respected,” Lagumdzija said. |
Economic Affairs | |
| HR Ashdown addresses the CoM
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘Commercial chambers will protect investors’ – HR Paddy Ashdown addressed the Com yesterday to emphasize the urgency of establishing commercial chambers in certain courts around BiH. “If we do not provide legal guarantees to potential investors then the capital will be invested somewhere else. In that case the BiH citizens will be at loss, as they will not have a chance for new working places or the capital for starting a business.” The OHR yesterday forwarded to the entity PMs and ministers of justice drafts pf the new Law on Civil Procedure. Spokesperson for the OHR, Oleg Milisic, said the reforms were closely connected to the economic reforms. Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘Legal guarantees necessary for investments’ – the HR addressed the BiH Council of Ministers in order to stress the importance of setting up specialized commercial chambers in certain courts throughout BiH. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5. |
| Six BZ initiatives adopted by the CoM
| Avaz pg. 2 an insert with the above article on HR ‘Six initiatives of the Bulldozer Commission adopted’ – the CoM at yesterday’s session adopted six out of 13 initiatives put forward by the Bulldozer Commission (BC). Branko Dokic, Minister of Transport and Communication, stated respective ministries are considering the remaining initiatives. Oslobodjenje pg. 4 and 5 ‘Foreign capital in hand of the state’ and ‘Two instead of ten thousand KM for the registration of a firm’ – also reports the CoM adopted six BC initiatives. Dragan Vrankic, Deputy Federation PM, stated that the Federation government has so far forwarded 19 out of 28 initiatives by the IC for the parliamentary procedure or amending. He stated that the most difficult thing would be to change regulations on taxes, as they had to be harmonized with the same in the RS. Nezavisne Novine pg. 9 ‘Six out of 13 proposed reforms adopted’ – at yesterday’s session in Sarajevo, the BiH Council of Ministers passed the total of six out of 13 reforms proposed by the Bulldozer Commission. According to an NN inset, at yesterday’s meeting with members of the BiH CoM, HR Paddy Ashdown expressed his wish that he remained jobless by the end o his mandate, meaning that BiH authority institutions would in that case undertake full responsibility of the state management. |
| Benjamin Herzberg | Avaz pg. 4 ‘Until 22 April the BiH authorities should adopt the proposed reforms’– Coordinator of the Bulldozer Commission, Benjamin Herzberg, yesterday assessed that the process of the reforms adoption was faster in the RS than the Federation. He also emphasized that a certain authority levels were responsible for some changes. All authority levels received documents and appointed their coordinators for the project. The OHR believes the BiH authorities would adopt all 50 reforms by the time the deadline expires – 22 April this year. Nezavisne Novine pg. 9 ‘The Bulldozer Commission extends deadline for the changes to BiH laws’ – Coordinator of the Bulldozer Commission said the Commission extended deadline for the changes of laws in BiH and their harmonisation with proposed reforms. The deadline was extended for ten days, owing to technical reasons. |
| Dokic – Bates | Avaz pg. 3 ‘The same treatment for Eronet and Croatian Telecom’ – on yesterday’s meeting between CRA Director, David Betts, and Minister of Communication and Transport, Branko Dokic, where, according to the daily, a significant change has been made in the positions of the CRA. According to Avaz’s source close to the CoM, the ‘Evaluation of the third GSM licence’ document was presented at the meeting. Both sides agreed the mentioned document was a ‘poor base for CoM’s decision on the issue’. CRA Director said they would not in future make moves without previously getting instructions from the CoM. Also, the two agreed the Eronet and Croatian telecom should get the same treatment in the process of deciding for the third licence. The Ministry of Communication said they would soon provide a document that would give a minimum price for the issuing of the licence. An insert ‘The support to the CoM’s position’ – an announcement by the Independent Union of the HPT Mostar employees saying they were against the issuing of the third licence to Eronet and requesting that the same be returned under the HT ownership structure. Oslobodjenje pg. 5 ‘On the issuing of the GSM licence next week’ – Dodkic said that him and Betts agreed to hold a working meeting next week. |
| DL editorial on economic reforms | Dnevni List pg. 2 by Miso Relota ‘Constructive dialogue between politicians and entrepreneurs’ – a positive editorial on the work of the Bulldozer Commission. “This is probably the first time a country carries out such an ambitious action – 50 reforms in 150 days. One should use this opportunity and commend political representatives of this country who demonstrated a very positive approach to reforms proposed by the Bulldozer Commission. Benjamin Herzberg expresses conviction that all 50 reforms that have been proposed to BiH authorities will be adopted by the deadline on April 22. It has been stressed that a lot has been achieved already because every BiH citizen now knows about the process in which representative from the entire BiH participate,” says Relota. |
The Hague Affairs | |
| Hartmann
| Avaz pg. 1 and 4 – Spokeswoman for The Hague, Florens Hartmann, said the RS Army was a part of the web support that offered shelter war criminals including Radovan Karadzic. “There are different support webs protecting Karadazic. The support webs reaches the most senior authority levels in the RS and we once emphasized this fact to the most prominent political officials in Banja Luka.” She further said she though a part of the problem BiH had been having in the past weeks in relation to different affairs were connected with war criminals at large and their helpers. |
International Community Affairs | |
| Robertson coming to Sarajevo
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘Robertson arriving to Sarajevo next Thursday’ – Dale MacEachern, SFOR Spokesperson, announced that members of the NATO Council, including SG George Robertson, would visit Sarajevo next week. Nezavisne Novine pg. 3 ‘Robertson to visit BiH on 10 April’ –SFOR Spokesperson yesterday confirmed that NATO officials, led by George Robertson, would visit BiH on 10th April. |
| Beecroft | Avaz pg. 2 ‘The speed of reform implementation has been accelerated’ – OSCE Head, Robert Beecroft, yesterday addressed the Permanent OSCE Council in Vienna where he emphasized the depth of a challenge that BiH was still facing, and that there was no time to waste. Mentioned the OSCE revisions of public electricity companies, Ministry for Refugees and DPs that revealed major shortcomings in the management. Also, talked about the OSCE recent public survey, which showed the BiH citizens had a clear vision of how the situation should be changed for their benefit. He however assessed the speed of the reform implementation was accelerating. Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Reforms in BiH sped up’ – “We will create necessary conditions for the development of a peaceful and advanced environment.” |
Police Affairs | |
| CoM supports de-certified BiH policemen | Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 6 – the CoE yesterday decided to request from the UN SG and Commissioner for Human Rights to protect the rights of BiH police officers who had been de-certified by the IPTF. Before addressing the UN SG, ministers will ask for an opinion of the HR. An insert ‘There will be no revision’ – Sven Frederiksen, EUPM Commissioner, yesterday confirmed there would be no revisions of decision made byt eh IPTF. He said they were final and obligatory. The de-certification process left hundreds of policemen around BiH jobless and there are no official records as to how many exactly. Many think that the process was non-transparent and they were not given the proper legal protection. |