| RADIO HERCEG BOSNA (18,00 hrs) | BH TV 1 (19,00 hrs) | FED TV (19,30 hrs) | RT RS (19,30) |
| Statement of Ante Jelavic | Trial of Slobodan Milosevic | Reduction of pensions | Cavic on Tihic |
| Paravac on Tihic | Arrest of Karadzic | Control of pharmacies | RS POWs statement |
| PDP’s Milojevic on Tihic | Situation in RS | Defence of Milosevic | Kunic presser |
| New audit reports | Pavarotti in | RS political scene | Trial of Milosevic |
| Oslobodjenje | Scandalous: Tadic’s inauguration on the day of funeral in Srebrenica |
| Dnevni Avaz | Sulejman Tihic: Mikerevic and Ivanic should apologize |
| Dnevni List | Croat MPs against deception of foreign currency savers |
| Vecernji List | BiH first in |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | SD investigates mega-corruption of Alija Izetbegovic during war: Dear brother Fatih, give Edhem 500 000 KM’ |
| Glas Srpske | Dragan Mikerevic with EU member-states Ambassadors: My concern should fall on RS |
| Nezavisne Novine | Cavic demands clear answer from Ivanic: Will PDP leave authority; Intelligence officers following up on 300 militants; Sulejman Tihic: Mladen Ivanic is trying to destabilise BiH |
Political developments/statements | |
| Tihic: Mikerevic and Ivanic should apologize
| Dnevni Avaz cover page, pg 5 ‘Mikerevic and Ivanic should apologize’ – In an interview with the daily, BiH Presidency Chairman Sulejman Tihic decisively rejects all the criticism against him coming from the RS in the past days. “The top RS politicians including Mladen Ivanic and Dragan Mikerevic are trying to transfer their responsibility and their failures to the SDA,” said Tihic. Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 4 ‘Ivanic is trying to destabilise BiH’ – In an interview to NN, Sulejman Tihic, Chairperson of BiH Presidency, says that demand of Mladen Ivanic (for early elections and removals of SDA ministers from RS Government) is an attempt to destabilise BiH. As for timing of deliberation on removals, he says that nobody could have made choice, noting that “these measures have resulted from the NATO He says he would not ask from Adnan Terzic to remove PDP ministers from BIH COM, noting that “it does not have logic that Ivanic remains BiH Foreign Minister if party, whose President he is, left authority.” He also stresses SDA would oppose to early elections, not because it is afraid of such, but because “SDA is of the view early elections would hinder further reforms’ processes. I do not think such proposal would get any support from serious parties.” He also adds that “measures against RS and 59 officials have resulted from nine-year long lack of cooperation between RS and the Hague Tribunal. RS has not processed a single crime committed during the war – 90% of mass crimes were committed in RS during the war.” |
| Paravac described Tihic’s war crimes-related statement as tendentious
| BHTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Tihic’s statements bad message for BiH’, Dnevni Avaz pg 5 ‘Dangerous playing with percentages return us to the past’, FENA – Serb Member of the BiH Presidency Borislav Paravac, on Monday described as tendentious the statement by BiH Presidency chairman Sulejman Tihic who had said that Serbs were responsible for 90 per cent of the crimes committed during the war in the country. “Such a tendentious attitude to our history and Tihic’s dangerous games with percentages are pulling us back, dividing us and confronting us again,” Paravac said. Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Running away from truth’ – Borislav Paravac, Serb member to BiH Presidency, commented on the latest statement by Sulejman Tihic (who said that Bosniaks in BiH committed 3% of war crimes during the war in BiH, Croats committed 7% and Serbs 90% of crimes). Paravac said that Tihic is again trying to get us back to past, divide and then confront us. Paravac also said this is the peek of Tihic’s pre-election campaign, during which, over the past month, he has marked Serbs as obstructionists. |
| RS President Cavic: BiH not to unite under current president
| BHTV, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 9 ‘There will be no reconciliation in BiH under Tihic’, SRNA – There can be no true reconciliation of peoples in BiH with Sulejman Tihic heading the country, the RS President Dragan Cavic‘s cabinet stated on Monday. Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Politics grounded on hatred’ – Dragan Cavic, RS President, yesterday commented on latest statement by Sulejman Tihic (who said that Bosniaks in BiH committed 3% of war crimes during the war in BiH, Croats committed 7% and Serbs 90% of crimes). According to press release issued by Cavic’s information service, “in the manner of history alchemic, Sulejman Tihic is again presenting untruth and promoting the thesis on the guilt of all Serb people, trying to ascribe collective guilt to Serbs, although he is aware of the fact the Hague Tribunal ahs amnestied a single side from crime. There will be no true reconciliation of people with Sulejman Tihic on the top of BiH.” |
| PDP’s Milojevic criticises Tihic
| Herceg Bosna Radio, RTRS, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘HR encouraged Tihic’, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Tihic’s statements anti-Dayton’ – Goran Milojevic, PDP Vice Chairman, said that the latest statement of Sulejman Tihic, Chairman of the BiH Presidency on percentage of war crimes committed in BiH, would cause nothing but inter-ethnic intolerance and political destabilization, and that those making such statements should be sanctioned. “It is obvious that recent dismissals made by High Representative Paddy Ashdown encouraged Sulejman Tihic”, said Milojevic. |
| Other reactions to Tihic’s war crimes-related statement
| Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Blacksmith of false history’ – GS brings some reactions on the latest statement by Sulejman Tihic (who said that Bosniaks in BiH committed 3% of war crimes during the war in BiH, Croats committed 7% and Serbs 90% of crimes). Slavko Jovicic, the Vice President of the RS Association of former inmates, strongly condemned the statement of Sulejman Tihic. Jovicic added that Tihic ‘s statement is a further contribution to still complicated situation in BiH. (EuroBlic RSpg 2 ‘RS Association of inmates: Tihic insulting again’) Savo Cvijetinovic, President of RS Veteran’s Association, expressed surprise over the fact that Tihic admitted Bosniaks did commit some crimes during the war in BiH at all. Nevenka Trifkovic, PDP MP at RS NA, says that it is a common practise of Sulejman Tihic to shift all the responsibility onto one people. She says: “I would not go into any counting of percentages. I find it to be extremely irresponsible and unserious. There is no exact number to support such figures.” Igor Radojicic, SNSD MP at RS NA, says that Tihic’s statement must be regarded from two aspects: “On one hand, this is a hard position by SDA regarding the need for abolishment of RS. On the other hand, extremely pragmatic, daily-political attempt to gain as much election points as possible during pre-election campaign.” |
| RS Radicals support multiethnic government without SDA ministers
| Oslobodjenje pg 5 ‘SDA should be excluded from government’, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘Serb majority should elect new Government’, Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Agreement or elections’; Nezavisne Novine pg 8 ‘Serb parliament majority is a path for overcoming the crisis’, ONASA – The chairman of the Republika Srpska’s Serb Radical Party (SRS), Milanko Mihajlica, deems that it is necessary to form a majority in the RS National Assembly that would either elect a new or carry out restructuring of the current RS government. Mihajlica told a press conference on Monday that the RS government had to be multiethnic, but without ministers from the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). |
| Kunic: Individuals from RS participated in making the list for removals
| RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg 4 ‘RS authorities participated in making the list’, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘New elections solution’, Glas Srpske pg 3 ‘Right is a victim of politics’; Nezavisne Novine pg 8 ‘RS authority was assisting OHR in making the list’, Dnevni List pg 15 ‘Early elections are best solution’ not signed, FENA – The independent representative in BiH House of Representatives, Petar Kunic, does not exclude the possibility that the RS authorities had participated in making the list for removing the officials in this BiH Entity. Kunic told a press conference that his claim is supported by numerous indications, as well as by the people who had been removed. “I do not believe that OHR has so many information, and even from the companies, and that somebody did not supply the Office with them. Thus, it is not excluded that the current authorities participated in this process, especially because certain people who had been removed, are not supported by the current authorities”, said Kunic. |
| ICG’s Slatina hopes common sense to prevail in RS
| FTV, Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Common sense to prevail in RS’, FENA – The political analyst from the Office of the International Crisis Group (ICG) in BiH, Senad Slatina, estimates that the High Representative’s Decision to remove 59 officials from RS would produce a certain political crisis, but expects that the common sense will prevail in the entity’s political circles. |
| Tomljenovic says chance should be given to new politicians
| Oslobodjenje pg 4 ‘Give chance to new politicians’, FENA – RS Vice-president Ivan Tomljenovic told Fena that there are no grounds for the stories of certain politicians in RS that the removals of 59 officials would produce a crisis. “New politicians/officials will come”, said RS Vice-president, warning that it is also necessary to change the general behavior in order to expect progress. The politicians in RS blame the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, for the removals, avoiding pointing out that their failure to do their jobs has led to the sanctions. This is a manner of shifting/transferring the guilt to the opposite side, said Tomljenovic. Nezavisne Novine pg 5 ‘There are more individuals obstructing reforms’ – Ivan Tomljenovic, RS Vice President, assessed there is no grounds for claims there would be a crisis in RS and BiH following latest removals of 59 officials. He said: “There will come others after these removed.” He stressed there are more individuals obstructing reforms’ processes. He also added we should wait to see results of these newly-appointed officials. He also added that apart from removing individuals, the overall method of work and action politcs must be changed, in order to ensure expected progress. |
| Oslobodjenje: Dusan Stojicic to be appointed new RSNA speaker?
| Oslobodjenje pgs 4-5, mentioned on cover ‘Dusan Stojicic to be appointed new RSNA speaker?’ – According to RS National Assembly Deputy Speaker Sefket Hafizovic, Dusan Stojicic, the current SDS spokesman, should be nominated for the RSNA Speaker as the most appropriate and competent politician inside SDS. |
| ‘Ivanic against Ashdown’
| Oslobodjenje pg 2 ‘Ivanic against Ashdown’ op-ed by Zija Dizdarevic – Dizdarevic believes that PDP President and BiH Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic has in the fiercest manner reacted to the measures taken last week by High Representative Paddy Ashdown. “The PDP President is becoming the leader of the aggressive nationalistic particularity in RS,” concludes Dizdarevic. |
| Mikerevic meets with EU Ambassadors at lunch
| FTV – Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, was presented at the working lunch in the Dutch Embassy in Glas Srpske cover page story ‘My concern should fall on RS’ – GS reports on yesterday’s meeting in Sarajevo Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, had with EU member-states Ambassadors, when he said that “if BiH has troubles over large administration, meaning existence of 169 ministries, it should be born in mind that there is only 16 ministries in RS. It means that RS takes part to extent of 10 top 20% in these BiH difficulties”. According to press release issued by RS Government Bureau for Public Affairs, Mikerevic agreed with claims that BiH is a hostage of RS, claiming that “the problem of BiH is not the existence of RS and F BiH, but the existence of ten cantons, ten cantonal constitutions and governments in F BiH. Being unable to resolve these difficulties in F BiH, F BiH authorities are trying to place these problems at BiH level and to also transfer them onto RS.” Speaking of police reform commission, he expressed support to its work, noting reform that police reform must be implemented in accordance with constitutional provisions. |
| EC’s Maroevic on SAA talks | Nezavisne Novine pg 5 ‘BiH is not ready for negotiations with EU’ – Frane Maroevic, Spokesperson of the EC delegation to BiH, yesterday stated that BiH has achieved progress in fulfilment of conditions, noting it still is not enough to launch Stabilisation and Association Agreement talks with EU. He also noted that under most ideal circumstances, the talks could be launched sometime middle next year. |
| NN interview with Mikerevic
| Nezavisne Novine pg 4 ‘First institutions then party’ – In a brief interview to NN, Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, says that he has not still received any official stance of SDS regarding PDP demand for removal of SDA ministers from Government. He backs the statement given by his Party President, Mladen Ivanic, who said that “a part of Bosniak establishment wants to shift the crisis from F BiH onto the entire BiH, identifying RS as the one and only responsible.” Regarding request of his party of SDA ministers’ removals, he says “as Premier, I must take care of institution I am leading. And my deliberation on this issue will follow publication of official SDS stance on this issue.” Responding to press question as to what sort of measures party could undertake against him owing to his disobedience, he says that “PDP is far most democratic party.. We are far too serious to have any misunderstanding on issues, on which we do not share the view.” He denies speculations that Ivanic’s statements represent a part of political marketing, stressing that “PDP does not need any sort of marketing, because we are completely aware of the situation we are faced with.” |
| Cavic’s letter to Ivanic
| Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 3 ‘Will PDP leave authority’ – NN learnt from a senior official of PDP that Dragan Cavic, RS President, yesterday addressed a letter to Mladen Ivanic, PDP President, in which he demands explanation of the latest PDP demand for early elections. Source claims that Cavic asked from Ivanic to provide answer to the question as to whether this would imply PDP would leave parliament majority and whether Prime Minister would file resignation. The letter reads: “Since the official stance of your party is not clear to me, and in order to solve the current situation, I demand responses to the following questions: will PDP ministers at RS Government file resignations and whether PDP Ministers at BiH COM will file resignations.” Cavic kindly asked Ivanic to deliver responses by Cavic also noted that all constitutional pre-requisites need to be met in order to convene early elections. |
| SDA Ministers respond to Ivanic | Nezavisne Novine pg 5 ‘Ministers from SDA call on Ivanic to file resignation’ – Omer Brankovic, Saud Filipovic and Mensur Sehagic, Ministers at RS Government from SDA, share the view that Mladen Ivanic should file resignation to the position of BiH Foreign Minister, and after that to demand removals of SDA Ministers from RS Government. |
| New members of SDS Chair Board elected | Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘New members are Bojic, Siljegovic, Vukovic…’ – The new members of the SDS Chair Board are Borislav Bojic, Slobodan Udovicic, Mico Vukovic, Bosko Siljegovic and Vesko Budincic. The SDS Chair Board is expected to resume session on Thursday. |
| SDS’ Vukovic on removals
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘SDS will appeal to Ombudsmen’; Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Attempt to weaken institutions’, Dnevni List pg 14 ‘SDS still have strength’ not signed – Mico Vukovic, the newly-elected member of SDS Chair Board, yesterday stated that the SDS would file an appeal with the BiH Human Rights Ombudsmen Office to examine the latest OHR decision regarding removals of 59 officials. He stressed RS does not want to be a destabilising factor in RS over the latest removals. |
| Miroslav Mikes on removals
| Glas Srpske pg 5 ‘Labels without evidence’ – Miroslav Mikes, Banja Luka attorney and Co-Chair of RS NA Council of Peoples, yesterday stated that the most recent decisions of Paddy Ashdown are not in accordance with the position of Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (which concluded that OHR should turn into a democratic institution). |
| Mikerevic and Gaspar to take over duties of removed ministers
| Nezavisne Novine pg 3 ‘Mikerevic and Gaspar to take over duties of removed ministers’; Glas Srpske cover page story inset ‘Ministers’ – Dragan Mikerevic, RS Prime Minister, yesterday informed EU member-states Ambassadors to BiH that until new ministers are appointed, he would take over duties of RS Interior Minister, while Boris Gaspar, RS Minister of Trade and RS Vice Premier, would take over duties of RS Minister of Energy. |
| RS NGOs on removals
| Nezavisne Novine pg 8 ‘Paddy Ashdown sent criminals to political oblivion’ – Dragomir Babic, President of the NGO “Narodni Front”, congratulated to Paddy Ashdown on removal of 59 officials, assessing that “this has finally sent a large number of criminals in RS into a political oblivion”. However, he is also of the view that “Ashdown should have done this at the beginning of this mandate, because in that manner, he would have saved RS of many affairs and thefts, whose main executors are those removed” He also reiterates that Mladen Ivanic is still No. 1 criminal in RS, while Branko Dokic is his closest associate. Babic also assed “Ivanic is in panic, since his most loyal man, Zoran Djeric, who was supposed to hush up all his crime, was removed.” Branko Todorovic, President of RDS Helsinki Board for Human Rights, stated that HiRep’s decision on removals resulted from the failure of RS to cooperate with the ICTY, noting it is inadmissible that authorities obstructed cooperation process. He stressed: “Nobody has a right to drag RS into problems and leading it towards sanctions, in order to preserve war crime suspects.” Nikola Sekulovic, President of the Coalition “Movement for Trebinje” is of the view that SDS has profited over these removals, noting that the party would improve its rating at the upcoming elections. |
| SD on HR Ashdown’s interview for Vecernje Novosti
| Slobodna Dalmacija, pg 16 ‘Lord calls Serbs an exceptional people’, mentioned on cover, by Darko Juka – reflecting on the interview that the High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, gave for Belgrade-based ‘Vecernje Novosti’ in which he stated that he was ‘a protector of the Republika Srpska’ since he was a ‘protector of the Dayton Peace Accord’, and in which he called the Serb people an exceptional people, the author notes that every person is entitled to an opinion, however in this case, considering the office HR Ashdown is executing, the author says this and similar statements are only sending messages that support the Serb(ian) aggression on Croatia and BiH, and monstrous genocide and killings of non-Serb population in BiH and Croatia. “By calling himself a protector of creation that arose from genocide, killings, aggression and idea of Great Serbia, Ashdown declared himself a protector of criminal and murderers”, notes the author. The author stresses that such statements should result in HR Ashdown’s resignation and sharp reactions from international circles. |
| SD on former Communists’ attacks against Ashdown
| Slobodna Dalmacija pg 17 ‘Tito, Mladic and Karadzic were hiding in Zelnegora’ by Z. Tulic– SD says that High Representative Paddy Ashdown was harshly attacked by former Communists after the HR stated in an interview for HRT that it is no wonder that Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have not been arrested so far when Germans failed to arrest Tito who was hiding on Mountain Zelengora with 17 000 partisans. SD says that the biggest criticism on this statement were heard from former Yugoslav official Dragutin Kosovac. According to the author, it is interesting that Kosovac is more irritated by the High Representatives’ statements about Tito than by the mistakes made by the High Representatives in BiH. SD says that allegedly it was announced that Ashdown’s departure has been expected by the end of the year and the author says that according to the present situation it seems that Ashdown will leave BiH in a bigger chaos than it was at the time when Ashdown assumed the current position. |
| M. Dodik on OHR’s role in BiH
| Dnevni List pg 14 ‘OHR must not be absolute ruler in BiH’ not signed – DL carries that commenting on the decision passed by High Representative Paddy Ashdown on the removal of RS officials, SNSD President Milorad Dodik claims that the problem of all SDS officials is the fact that at the end of 2000 they signed the statement at then HR Wolfgang Petritsch, according to which they will meet 10 obligations and complete cooperation with the ICTY is one of them. Dodik said that he is against the role of the OHR as an absolute ruler in BiH, that the time has come to give the authority to local leaders but also that the HR’s sanctions are proper since the obligations that SDS officials took upon themselves were not met. |
| Statement of Day: H. Silajdzic | Dnevni List pg 2 carries in its ‘Statement of Day’ founder of Party for BiH Haris Silajdzic as saying: ”We have to destroy entities in BiH simultaneously.” |
| On reception in BiH citizenship
| Dnevni List pg 4 ‘Reception in BiH citizenship made easier’ by D. P. Mandic – During its yesterday’s session, the Commission for Human Rights, Immigration, Refugees and Asylum of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly gave a positive opinion on the proposal of changes and amendments to the Law on BiH Citizenship. According to these amendments, citizens of former |
War crimes | |
| BHTV doubts NATO successful in searching for war crime indictees
| BHTV – Despite last week’s statements by international officials on the imminent arrest of Radovan Karadzic, the most wanted war crime indictee is still at large. SFOR has withdrawn from Karakaj and Han Pijesak and is no longer undertaking intensified activities in any location. They say that all their operations are successful, although they have not found Karadzic anywhere. More than 150 SFOR operations to arrest Karadzic and Mladic have failed. Despite this, after each operation including the most recent one in Han Pijesak SFOR is satisfied. SFOR did not want to comment on what constitutes their success then. Nevertheless, as of late they have intensified their search for Karadzic, while the media are even speculating about his alleged surrender. Political analysts believe that the operations have become more frequent because of SFOR’s departure from our country. “What is indubitable is that in the period to come we will have intensified activities in hunting war criminals. This is above all a result of the fact that the most powerful military alliance, NATO, is withdrawing from BiH and that it would be disastrous for the image of the world’s most powerful alliance to withdraw from BiH with business unfinished,” said Senad Slatina of International Crisis Group. As for local forces, a special unit for arrests of war crime indictees will be established at the state level only towards the end of the year. So far these activities (arrests) should have been undertaken by the entity police forces, who have not arrested anyone yet. “I think we have to be completely realistic: this fragmentation of police structures above all the lack of links and coordination has largely, largely made it practically impossible to arrest war crime indictees,” said Sredoje Novic of SIPA – State Information and Protection Agency. It is a fact that in the 10 years since the issuance of the indictment against Radovan Karadzic there has never been more talk about his arrest. The British Independent has placed him before Ossama bin Laden, proclaiming him the first of the world’s four most wanted indictees for crimes against humanity. The international community may finally be determined to arrest him. |
| Scandalous: Tadic’s inauguration on the day of funeral in Srebrenica
| Oslobodjenje cover page, pg 3 ‘Tadic’s inauguration on the day of funeral in Srebrenica’ by S.K. – Newly-elected Republic of Serbia President Boris Tadic has invited the BiH Presidency members and other top BiH and RS officials to a ceremony of his inauguration, which is to take place on July 11 in Belgrade. The daily assessed as scandalous and undiplomatic the fact that the ceremony was scheduled to take place on the day of funeral of Srebrenica victims in Potocari. Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Tadic should declare on Srebrenica’ – The Belgrade-based Youth Initiative non-governmental organization on Monday requested newly-appointed Serbian President Boris Tadic to declare on the crime committed in Srebrenica on the day of his inauguration. |
| Masovic on search for remains of Srebrenica victims
| Hercegg Bosna Radio, FTV, Oslobodjenje pg 3 ‘Two locations of so far unknown graves processed’, FENA – The State Commission on Missing Persons and the Hague Tribunal have so far, separately or together, “processed” over 40 graves with the bodies of Srebrenica victims. “The final number of the Srebrenica victims will never be determined and we must accept this fact. Nobody knows the exact number of victims, because these are mainly the victims from the secondary mass graves”, FBiH Commission for Missing Persons Chair Amor Masovic told journalists in Sarajevo on Monday. Regarding the identification of the Srebrenica victims, 1.418 victims have been buried so far. Of this number, 970 had been buried at the Memorial and Cemetery Potocari. So far, 334 newly identified victims have been prepared for burial in Potocari July 11 this year. Thus, the total number of the so far buried victims at the Memorial Centre will rise to 1.304. |
Security/investigations/legal proceedings | |
| On yesterday’s interview with A. Jelavic
| Vecernji List pg 5 ‘HDZ keeps silent, OHR in favour of court’ by Z. Kresic – VL says that commenting on the yesterday’s interview that former HDZ President and suspect in the Hercegovacka Banka case Ante Jelavic gave to VL, in which Jelavic stated that the bill of indictment issued against him ‘is a literary piece written in the OHR’, the OHR gave a short statement which says that Mr. Jelavic is entitled to his opinion and authenticity of the evidence is a matter for the courts. VL says that HDZ did not comment yesterday on another Jelavic’s statement from the interview, which says that silence of HDZ with regard to his case is the most difficult thing for him. VL says that Jelavic’s former colleague and one of founders of Croat Block (HB) Ivan Bacak confirmed for VL that one of the reasons because of which HB was founded is deviating of the HDZ policy from the road that Jelavic was taking HDZ. |
| Intelligence services in BiH
| Nezavisne Novine cover and pg 2 ‘Intelligence services following up on 300 militants’ – NN refers to “Associated Press” article recently published according to which terrorists close to Osama Bin Laden were in BiH. The article also reads that American and European intelligence services have been engaged in a secret war, spending time at mosques and Muslim humanitarian organisations in order to tail around 300 persons, radical Islamites. According to same report, intelligence officers are seated at Butmir. (NOTE: This report was also carried in weekend edition of Glas Srpske.) |
| Former Brcko Mayor Kisic will file appeal | EuroBlic RS pg 6 ‘Punished with BAM 20 thousand’ – Sinisa Kisic, former Brcko Mayor, and Ismet Dedeic, former Head of Brcko District Urbanism Department, have been fined with BAM 20 thousand for having overstepped their authority. Kisic said he would file a motion with |
| Kotorsko case
| Glas Srpske pg 2 ‘Bosniaks’ appeal denied’ – Doboj District Court rejected appeal filed by a group of Bosniaks and stood behind first instance ruling passed in the Kotorsko case on 29 April this year. |
| SFOR on allegations about existence of Bosnian Abu Graib
| Vecernji List – With regard to the claims published by Vecernji Novosti which say that there is a Bosnian Abu Graib (referring to a prison in Iraq’, seated near Tuzla Airport), namely in a hangar, where CIA and SFOR agents operate (see yesterday’s OHR BiH Media Round-up) VL carries SFOR’s spokesperson Mark Hope as denying these claims. Hope confirmed that SFOR has a safe prison unit that they use for investigations and, according to Hope, the exact location of that facility has not been published for many reasons and the main one is to protect interest of prisoners who are detained there. Hope added that all persons who were detained in this prison unit were treated in a proper way. |
Economic/social issues | |
| Tihic, Nicholl open premises of the new BiH Central Bank’s Main Unit in
| BHTV, FTV, RTRS, Dnevni Avaz pg 2 ‘New premises of BiH Central Bank’s Main Unit opened’, Oslobodjenje pg 5, mentioned on cover ‘Easier investigations into fictive firms and money laundering’, Dnevni List, pg 3 ‘Single register of accounts against phantom companies and money laundry’, by Indira Tabucic, Vecernji List, pg 3 ‘register against money laundry’, by D. R., FENA – BiH Presidency Chair Sulejman Tihic and BiH Central Bank (CBBH) Governor Peter Nicholl on Monday opened the new premises of the CBBH Main Unit in Sarajevo. The ceremony also marked the beginning of work of the Single Registry of Transaction Accounts. “CBBH is one of the most efficient institutions in our country that enjoys undivided support of domestic institutions as well as international community, and, what is most important, the support of BiH citizens”, said Tihic. “I am convinced that the launched reform of the taxation system aimed at introducing VAT and other reforms in this sector, together with the monetary stability, would contribute to the economic development of BiH”, emphasized Tihic. “CBBH has established the Single Registry of Transaction Accounts, which has become operative as of today”, said Nicholl. “The Single Registry will help combating fictive companies and money laundering, as well as forcible collecting of public revenues and implementing court decisions”, said Nicholl. Apart from Tihic and CBBH representatives, the opening ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Entity banking agencies, the BiH Deposit Insurance Agency, commercial banks, and representatives of the State and Entity banking associations. |
| HDZ-CCD-HNZ with PDHR Hays, WB on old savings
| Vecernji List, pg 3 ‘New law being awaited’, by Zdenko Jurilj, Dnevni List, front and pg 6 ‘Croat MPs against deception of foreign currency savers’, by Miso Relota – report from yesterday’s meeting between Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, and representatives of World Bank and representatives of the HDZ-HNZ-CCD Caucus from both chambers of the FBiH Parliament. According to Deputy Speaker in FBiH House of Representatives, Josip Merdzo, representatives of the OHR reiterated the importance of adoption of law on settling of internal claims, law on citizens’ claims in privatization process and law on changes and amendments to law on privatization of companies in sense of improving the economic stability of the state. Merdzo notes that PDHR Hays stressed the importance of the laws, however Merdzo says the proposed solutions are unacceptable to the Coalition. “A representative of the World Bank and Ambassador Hays said they were in permanent talks with associations of savers and that there were certain chances to submit some amendments to the laws. Considering that an extraordinary session of the Federation Parliament’s House of Representatives, at which the laws will be discussed in an urgent procedure, will be taking place tomorrow, we expressed hope that associations of savers would be declaring themselves towards the OHR. The current solution, which envisions only 105 million KMs to be paid out in cash in next 4 years in amount of 1000 KMs each, whilst the rest would be turned into bonds whose value would materialize in only 20 years, does not seem as a just solution. We cannot support such a solution”, stated Merdzo. Merdzo adds that the issue of old foreign currency savings should be should be defined by a special law. |
| Commission for finances and budget of BiH HoR on audit of BiH institutions
| Dnevni List, pg 5 ‘BiH Presidency ignores parliamentarians’, mentioned on cover, by Danka Polovina-Mandic – a Commission for finances and budget of the BiH Parliament’s House of Representatives yesterday discussed reports of the BiH Audit Office, which carried out audits of 7 BiH institutions. Although the Commission invited members of the BiH Presidency to participate in the session, none of them showed up. According to Nikola Kragulj, the chairman of the said Commission, “we requested the BiH Presidency to be present at the session of the Commission or to send persons who are competent for financial operations. Still, only representatives of Sulejman Tihic’s Office showed up, the rest did not answer the invitation”, notes Kragulj. Slobodna Dalmacija, pg 7 ‘Reports before Parliament next week’, by D. Pasic, Vecernji List, pg 2 ’11 new reports next week’, by f – announce that the BiH Audit Office will be submitting the BiH Parliament 11 new reports next week. |
| Contract on electricity delivery to ‘Aluminij’ company signed
| Dnevni List pg 7 ‘Power supply for Aluminij has been secured until end of year’, mentioned on cover, by V. Soldo and Slobodna Dalmacija last pg ‘OHR promised domestic electricity for Aluminij for next year as well’, by Z. Zekic – The contract on delivery of electricity for Aluminij until the end of the year was signed yesterday. The contract was signed by General Manager of ‘Aluminij’ Mijo Brajkovic, Director of Elektroprivreda of Croat Community of Herceg Bosna Vlado Maric, Director of RS Elektroprivreda Pantelija Dakic and Deputy High Representative and Head of the OHR’s Economic Department Patrice Dreiski. On this occasion Brajkovic stated: “The fact is that due to disrespecting of the High Representative’s decision, since we have not received electricity that was guaranteed to us in the decision, ‘Aluminij’ is going to lose about 3, 2 million Euros this year.” Brajkovic also expressed regret over the fact that representatives of the Elektroprivreda of the Federation of BiH did not attend the singing of the aforementioned contract. In an inset under headline ‘Aluminij and RS Elektroprivreda on way towards Europe?!’ not signed, DL carries Dreiski as saying that the two companies which signed the aforementioned contract show that they will be crucial protagonists of the BiH power sector in the coming years. |
| On financing Old bridge opening ceremony
| Dnevni List pg 11 ‘ Old Bridge left to Mostar itself!?’, mentioned on cover, by S. Bjelica, Vecernji List pg 2 ‘Ceremonious opening is waiting for state money’ by M. Musa and Slobodna Dalmacija ‘Finances will determine further course of works’ by Z. Zekic – Covering yesterday’s press conference of the Coordination Board that is in charge of the Old Bridge opening ceremony, the dailies say that although a single KM has not arrived for the opening ceremony of the Old Bridge in Mostar, members of this Board are optimists. The dailies also say that everything was planned and coordinated, however, the realization of the whole manifestation is under a big question mark. The members of the aforementioned Board hope that at least a part of the funds that the Federation of BiH Government and the BiH Council of Ministers are supposed to secure for this purpose will be operative today. |
| VL: BiH first in
| Vecernji List, front and pgs 6-7 ‘BiH first in Europe when it comes to number of diseases’, by Ivana Brkic-Cubela, Zvonimir Banovic – carries the President of Association of BiH Veterinarians, Dr. Jasmin Ferizbegovic, as saying that in the area of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton alone, some 400 livestock, mostly sheep, were destroyed because of outburst of diseases, such as brucellosis. However, he expects worsening of situation. Ferizbegovic explains: “The worst thing is that there are no systematic measures at the State or Federation level (…) BiH is the only country in Europe that does not have a national programme of control of protection of animals, which can hit us like a boomerang in the process of getting closer to European integration. BiH is literally the most endangered in |