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| Zaric resigned | RS govt. session | Protests-SLO embassy | RS government on RS EP |
| ABS Bank branch robbed | Osmanovic on single army | HR on HB EP audit report | HR imposes two laws |
| Covic with Croat refugees | Becirbasic on single army | Law on State Service | Dixon on RS fin. autonomy |
| Ivanic – Picula |
| Terzic on CIPS | Terzic on the price of IDs |
| Oslobodjenje | ‘Kalen’ owes to the state 15 million-KM in taxes; Srebrenica women and Hadzihafizbegovic – we can not keep quite anymore; The RS police detained Ibran Mustafic; The IDs over 14,5 KM?; Mila Gadzic’s resignation requested; HB EP – Dierctor Zaric resigned |
| Dnevni Avaz | Police entered ‘Kalen’ due to tax evasions amounting to 50 million-KM; Kikic – I will not give up until they give me an explanation; Nikolic – each of our soldiers has been humiliated; Suspicions in the work of the Foundations – veterans afraid of misuse of loans; |
| Dnevni List | Price of ID higher than 14,5 KM?; Depositors announced boycott of Slovenian products |
| Vecernji List | Ashdown forces resignation of manager Zaric; They threaten with new boycott of Slovenian products; |
| Slobodna Dalmacija | Paddy Ashdown after audit of the EO CC HB – the HDZ will pay electricity or must leave from power; HDZ responds to HR – we pay all our bills on regular basis |
| Glas Srpski | An investigation into dealings of six Bijeljiina firms continues – money amassed through black market; Owing to lack of time – ‘Kontrapunkt’ without electricity |
| Nezavisne Novine | Action of the BiH Tax Administration and CAFAO in Zenica – Firm ‘Kalen’ embezzled 50 million KM; An American official with Kalinic with Cavic – negotiations on the arrest of Radovan Karadzic; The RS Elektroprivreda – the government has no solution for director; Paddy Ashdown – the HDZ should pay bills or election price |
| Blic | HR Ashdown removed director of the EP Herzeg-Bosnia; Osmanovic – single army is a step toward the PfP |
| Slobodna Bosna | American attack on Iraq threatens to break Turkey apart |
| BH DANI | Jovan Divjak (retired BiH Army general) case – a measure for hypocrisy |
HB Elektroprivreda | |
| HR Ashdown
| Avaz pg. 4 ‘The HDZ has to pay all their electricity bills’ – yesterday’s press conf by HR Paddy Ashdown following the issuing of the audit report on the HB EP. “The conducted revision clearly shows to what extent the HDZ used the HB EP for financing their own parallel activities and for paying privileged HDZ members. If the HDZ wants to keep even a small part of credibility they should pay the bills,” said Ashdown. Added the Election Commission would be requested to investigate all potential breaches of rules on financing political parties. Ashdown refuted claims that the revisions of elektroprivreda companies were serving as conspiracy to dismiss workers and reduce the price of companies for a swift and cheap privatisation. Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 8 – the OHR was yesterday informed that General Director of the HB EP, Matan Zaric, resigned. “I spoke to Zaric and I respect his decision to take the responsibility for everything that took place in this company,” said Ashdown. The HR also met with FBiH PM Ahmet Hadzipasic and requested the removal of the HB EP Steering Board, appoint new leadership and put a ban on further issuing of new tenders. Nezavisne Novine pg 1 and 3, Glas Srpski pg. 3 ‘Steering Board dismissed’ – Ashdown yesterday removed the HB EP Steering Board and banned further tenders. Vecernji List pg. 1 and 2, Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 15, Dnevni List pg. 1 and 5 – on the press conf and the removal of the Steering Board. Blic pg. 7 ‘Electric shock in Mostar’ – Ashdown removed on Thursday the HB EP Steering Board and announced that together with the Federation government he would appoint a new Board that ‘would be elected in accordance with the law without any political influence’. |
| HDZ | Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘Non founded connecting of criminal knot’ – an announcement by the HDZ as a reaction to the published results of the audit report. They think the report is full of non-grounded information in an attempt to criminalize HDZ leadership. “One can not escape the feeling that the report is intended to create a picture of a criminal knot between HDZ leadership and Elektroprivreda leadership, despite the fact that for the past two years the Alliance has been managing the company,” read the announcement. Avaz pg. 4 ‘Non-founded information intended for criminalizing the party top’ – the party claims that on November 6 last year their debt amounted to 30,366,53 KM. Therefore, they signed an agreement on the how the debt will be paid off and determined deadlines. The party claims that ever since the agreement was signed they had been paying their bills on time. Dnevni List pg. 5 ‘HDZ BiH tied to criminal knot of Elektroprivreda top’, Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 15, Vecernji List pg. 2 ‘HDZ claims it pays electricity’ – reaction by the HDZ. |
| Covic | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The providing of consulting services was not kept secret’ – an announcement from the Cabinet of a Croat member of the BiH Presidency Dragan Covic. It reads that after departing from the duties of the FBiH Vice-President and Finance Minister in March of 2001, Covic worked at the Mostar University as a professor and for a short while provided consultancy services to several BiH companies. The announcements further read that each consulting job Covic did was conducted in a transparent manner and there was no reason to question it. “It is simple to check these information,” the announcement read. Dnevni List pg. 5 ‘Illogical and frivolous report!?’, Slobodna Dalmacija pg. 1 and 15 – the announcement says the audit informed taht Covic lives on the same address as the CEO of EP HZ HB. “We hope that being a neighbor to somebody does fall under the conflict of interest category and that nobody will be held accountable only for living in the same building as someone else,” reads the announcement. |
| Federation government | Avaz pg. 4 ‘The HB EP Main Board removed’ – following a letter that PDHR Donald Hays sent to Federation government heads, the government tasked the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry to dismiss the current HB EP Steering board and nominate candidates for the new one. The Ministry, in cooperation with Federation PM and his deputies, is to appoint temporary leadership to the company. At yesterday’s session, the government also returned a report by the Agency for Privatisation for further supplementation. The Law on State service has been forwarded to the parliamentary procedure. Oslobodjenje pg. 3 ‘Mostar Elektroprivreda Steering Board will be removed’ – the FBiH government yesterday tasked Federation Minister of Energy and Mining, Izet Zigic, to remove the current Steering Board and appoint a temporary one. |
| DL editorial | Dnevni List pg. 2 by Arijana Beus ‘Who to trust in future’ – “The fact is that a man or a woman in this country, referring to ordinary citizens of BiH, cannot believe in the management system within many segments of BiH including the big companies like the Elektroprivreda of Croat Community of Herzeg Bosnia, the company we trusted despite many stories and speculations. What is left now, who should we trust when there is not a part of the state and state institutions that has lived up to trust of the BiH citizens. Everything shows that the time when we have to turn to ourselves and ponder who to trust to is getting near,” says the author. |
Political Affairs | |
| Kikic
| Avaz pg. 1 and 2 – Sead Kikic, candidate for the new FOSS Director, yesterday told the daily that he still had not decided whether to withdraw from the candidacy for the above-mentioned post. “I will make a final decision in the next day or two, but I am determined not to give up the candidacy until grounded and serious arguments against my appointment were presented,” said Kikic. He added that he could not keep quite about this whole ‘objection to his appointment’. He said he wanted explanation because of the public, so people would not think he was some sort of a criminal. |
| Hadzipasic on Kikic
| Avaz pg. 2 ‘I will personally nominate new FOSS Director’ – Federation PM Ahmet Hadzipasic yesterday stated the new candidate for the FOSS Directory post should soon be nominated. He added that Kikic’s nomination raised a lot of unnecessary politicising of the issue. “According to my information, due to such reasons Mr. Kikic is not interested in taking the post. I will personally nominate a new candidate that will be a good solution according to all criteria, the IC and professional, to avoid keeping the post vacant any longer,” Also said that speculations about disagreements between Tihic and him were not true, as well as of disagreement amongst SDA Presidency members. |
| Ploce port | Avaz pg. 9 ‘The Agreement can not be changed before its ratified’ – follow-up on yesterday’s story on a meeting between BiH Foreign Minister Mladen Ivanic nd Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula and their discussion elated to the Ploce port issue. Ivanic announced that the signing of a protocol on Ploce port, which would exclude the involvement of an international member in the work of the Managing Board in charge of the Ploce port issue. According to an agreement on Ploce port signed between BiH and Croatia back in 1998, the Main Board to deal with the issue was to be established including three members from BiH, three from Croatia and one international member. The BiH Parliament ratified the agreement, but the Croatian Parliament did not arguing that the involvement of an international member was breaching of the state sovereignty. The daily poses a question of whether Ivanic’s latest announcement was actually approved by state bodies in charge of foreign policy. Seada Palavric, an SDA MP in the BiH HoR, stated that no agreement could be changed before it was ratified. Martin Raguz, Vice-Chairman of the BiH HoR, said the relationship between the two countries should not worsen over the issue. |
| HR requested Gadzic’s resignation
| Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 3 – HR Paddy Ashdown yesterday requested the resignation of Mila Gadzic, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economic Relations. The reasons outlined, with a lot of unexplained contradictories according to the daily, in a letter sent to CoM Chair Terzic and HDZ President Barisa Colak. Ashdown wrote that minister gadzic was under an investigation of the Financial Police based on a criminal report against her. The daily says they checked with the Financial police and they knew nothing of a criminal report against Gadzic. They however confirmed they were investigating her role in he case of privatisation of a small company in the Herzegovina Neretva Canton (HNK). Before being appointed to the post, Gadzic was Director of the Privatisation Agency in HNK. The daily then gives a few more details from a letter such as that Ashdown recalled that when the OHR approved Gadzic’s appointment, Ashdown made it clear to Colak that the international reputation of BiH would be endangered in case a criminal report was to be raised against Gadzic. Unofficially, the daily informs that Gadzic was involved in the privatisation of the ‘Soko’ company. Oslobodjenje goes on to remind that Gadzic’s Deputy at the time, Maid Ljubovic, who is the current FBiH Minister of Trade, also signed documents related to the privatisation of ‘Soko’. The question remains how Ashdown will treat Ljubovic. The final paragraph reads that all this indicates a dose of nervousness in the behaviour of the HR and possible admitting of his own mistake in the process of the vetting procedure. |
| Ashdown imposes law amendments | Oslobodjenje pg. 8 ‘Director Zigic resigned’ – during yesterday’s press conference that was mainly dedicated to the audit report on the HB EP, HR Paddy Ashdown also imposed amendments to the Law on Public Donations and Deregistration of Companies. Avaz pg. 4 ‘The HDZ has to pay all their electricity bills’ – also on the newly imposed law amendments. Also, the HR congratulated CoM Chair Terzic on his swift reaction related to the Bulldozer Commission suggestions. Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 and 3, Glas Srpski pg. 3 ‘Steering Board dismissed’ – also reported on the imposition of the amendments. |
| PDHR on RS EP | Avaz pg. 8 ‘Resistance to changes’ – PDHR met yesterday with RS prosecutors who should open an investigation on mismanagement of the RS EP. The daily reads that HR Ashdown is not satisfied with measures that the RS undertook against officials responsible for robbing the RS EP. “I am worried that people still resist changes even after the audit report was published. I am also worried that the RS assembly rejected a suggestion by RS PM Mikerevic to reconstruct the company.” |
| HR Ashdown on RS EP | Nezavisne Novine pg. 2 ‘Resignations follow pressures’ – HR Paddy Ashdown expressed concern over the fact that at the recent session, the RS NA withdrew the Action Plan on Restructuring of the RS EP. He also said that the pressure was exerted against newly appointed officials at the RS EP in order to resign. “It raises a great concern that instead of suspending all disputable contracts, the RS EP refused to pay off salaries to its staff.” PDHR Donald Hays stated that he offered assistance to Jovan Spaic, RS Public Prosecutor, in resolving the cases ‘which include rather sophisticated types of criminal activity’. Blic pg. 7 ‘Ashdown concerned’ – Ashdown says he is deeply concerned over the fact that the resistance of responsible persons persisted even seven days after the issuing of the special auditor’s report on the RS Elektroprivreda. |
| Hays on RTRS | Glas Srpski cover page – Tonight’s RTRS show on the RS Elektroprivreda will not cover this topic because PDHR Donald Hays cancelled his participation in the programme. As GS learnt, Hays is not able to attend the programme because he is too busy. Moreover, he could not accept an option to take part in the show by coming to the RTRS ITC in Serb Sarajevo, instead of coming all the way to Banja Luka. Bosko Lemez, who was also to participate in the programme and discuss the RS EP Audit Report, said that ‘ he was extremely interested in participating in the ‘Kontrapunkt’ programme because I would have been enabled to cross my opinion with Hays’. |
| RS govt. on RS EP | Nezavisne Novine pg. 1 and 2 ‘The RS government has no solution for RS EP Director’, Glas Srpski pg.3 ‘The Elektroprivreda without leadership’ – on yesterday’s extra-ordinary session of the RS government, which failed to elect and appoint the new Acting Director General at the RS Elektroprivreda. According to Cvijeta Kovacevic, Head of the RS govt. Bureau for Public Affairs, ‘the consultations are still ongoing and the government would try to appoint new A.D. ASAP’. She noted that the RS government receives information on developments inside the RS EP from Dragan Andjelic, Assistant Director General at the RS EP. According to GS, Milan Bogicevic, RS Minister of Energy, and Gojko Savanovic, RS Minister of Education, did not attend the government session. According to NN, the RS EP Supervisory Board (which performed its duties from March 2001 through December 2002) yesterday convened in Banja Luka and announced that it observed certain irregularities in the company dealings. Ranko Labovic, President of the former SB, said that those irregularities mainly referred to tenders for contractors. Commenting on the special audit report on the RS EP, Labovic stressed that the RS government and the Ministry of Energy were fully informed of the work of the RS EP and gave assents to contracts on the electricity sales. Blic pg. 7 ‘Ministers did not have proposals’, Vecernje Novosti pg. 4 – Kovacevic said that a solution would be found soon, but yesterday that was not possible because no minister had concrete proposals. |
| Problems in RS govt. | Vecernje Novosti pg. 4 ‘Electricity shakes the government’, Nacional pg. 11 – two months after it was established, the RS government has hit the crisis. This was evident during the last RS Parliament session when an SDS’s Deputy, Vojislav Gligoric, told the RS PM that he had been appointed by the SDS, which could easily remove him too. This act was provoked by Mikerevic’s decision to remove from the agenda the current happenings in the EPRS. But even before the Parliament’s session, and after the audit report on the EPRS, relations between two ruling parties (the PDP and SDS) reached a critical point. The SDS opposed the government’s decision to appoint Dusan Mijatovic instead of removed EPRS director Svetozar Acimovic. The fact that the relations of the coalition partners are in deep crises is evident also from a letter that SNSD leader Milorad Dodik sent yesterday to RS President Dragan Cavic. The letter says that the current political situation, as well as economic and social circumstances in the RS, request from all subjects an urgent action and an agreement on action. “Therefore, I kindly ask you to meet an SNSD delegation in order to talk about possible solutions for overcoming the current situation,” the letter reads. As Novosti learns from sources close to the SDS, the SNSD and SDS have become closer as of recently. The last session of the Parliament shocked many – the biggest political opponents until recently (Milorad Dodik of SNSD and Milan Tupajic of SDS) agreed about some issues. |
| Federation govt | Vecernji List pg. 1 and 3 and Dnevni List pg. 3 ‘Report Assessment of Sustainable Development in BiH supported’ – during yesterday’s session of the Fed govt. they defined the Draft Law on Public Service in the Federation. Vice President of the Federation, Sahbaz Dzihanovic, judged that this law was the ground for thorough reform of the public sector in the Federation, while Federation Minister of Justice, Borjana Kristo, stated that through this Law, the European principles for the state administration were being introduced. “After passing of this law the revision of all appointments will take place, and the utter goal is to rationalize the administration At the same time the program for taking care of extra employees should be made,” said Kristo. |
| Pejic | Nezavisne Novine pg. 6 ‘The SDS and PDP to shift their cowardice on me’, Glas Srpski pg. 2 ‘Ungrounded claims of politicians’ – Milutin Pejic, former Director General at Srpske Poste, released a press statement where he stressed that claims by officials from the SDS and PDP (that no officials from any of these two parties exerted pressure against him) were ungrounded. As a proof of this, he made a reference to a statement given by Milenko Mihajlica, President of the RS Serb Radical Party, who had already announced the name of the future Director General of the Srpske Poste. “If officials of the SDS and PDP are not ready to clearly and publicly announce their official stances, I kindly ask them not to shift their cowardice on me,” said Pejic. |
| SDS and PDP about SDA’s requests | Nezavisne Novine pg. 7 ‘The SDS and PDP: requests are not realistic’ – Milenko Stanic, member of the SDS Chief Board, assessed that request by the SDA (for the increased representation of SDA officials in leading posts in firms across the RS) was unrealistic. “The SDA cannot expect anything spectacular. They cannot seek any direct intervention through parties or the government,” said Stanic. According to Igor Crnadak, PDP Spokesperson, the megalomaniac requests by the SDA are not good and will not result in anything good. “We are ready to talk about issues, which are in accordance with the constitutional changes and nothing above that. Any other requests, which go beyond that framework are not acceptable for us,” said Crndak. |
| SDA vs. Ashdown | Slobodna Bosna pg. 5, 6, 7 and 8 by Mirsad Fazlic ‘The SDA gets in conflict with Ashdown because of Sead Kikic, who has been accused by the US and The Hague Tribunal of covering-up crimes’ – the SDA announced early this week a decision of its leadership to finally establish a partnership relation with the international community, namely the OHR. The love between the leading Bosniak party and OHR seemed to be indisputable all until then. The move has therefore surprised all analysts dealing with the BiH political scene. The SDA did not make the move with regard to the inappropriate behaviour of the HR when he rejected and humiliated the ID card price-related proposal made by the SDA’s representatives in the CoM, Adnan Terzic and Haris Basic. The SDA also did not protest against the robbery-like sale of the Eronet shares (supported by the OHR), nor it raised its voice against a series of the SDS authorities’ actions in the past months. It, however, energetically requested the establishment of a partnership relation with the international community after the OHR failed to approve the appointment of a number of its candidates for senior posts in the police and intelligence structures of the Federation. |
| Mafia in RS | Slobodna Bosna pg. 16 and 17 by Asim Metiljevic ‘Electric-Mafia from former YUGEL in Belgrade controls the RS’ electric energy resources’ – shocking findings of the OHR’s special auditor on the robberies worth millions and the illegal transfers of money in three power production and distribution systems in BiH, particularly in the RS, unveil in the clearest way real reasons for a long-standing opposition by the local electric-Mafia to the implementation of the WB-supported Power III project. The local Mafia would be glad to take a favourable loan of $ 240 million, but it did not like the following obligations. The Power III project is essentially aimed at the abolishment of the current monopolistic position in this sector in BiH and the creation of conditions for a fair market competition. |
| Interview with Bond | BH Dani pg. 8,9, 10 and 11 (mentioned on the front page) ‘Bosnia risking to lose the US assistance’ – an interview with the US Ambassador to BiH Clifford Bond. “I believe that the High Representative is to a certain extent sceptic when it comes to the existence of reform-oriented forces within the nationalists. The current authorities in BiH are the authorities elected by the people of BiH. My government will try to work together with these authorities in order for the process of reforms to be carried on in the country. We will cooperate with them in the proportion in which they commit themselves to the implementation of reforms,” Bond said. |
Economic Affairs | |
| A police raid in ‘Kalen’ company
| Avaz pg. 1 and 3 – 120 tax inspectors from Zenica, Sarajevo and Travnik, in cooperation with CAFAO officials, yesterday started a control of the ‘Kalen’ company business dealings. The company is situated in Zenica and owned by Kasim Krehic. The company is suspected of tax evasion and business dealings via fictitious firms, hence of damaging the state for 50 million KM. Members of the Federation police also participate in the control. Oslobodjenje pg. 1 and 7 – EU Spokesperson, Franjo Marojevic, confirmed for the daily that tax inspectors started raiding a company that owes 15 million-KM in unpaid taxes. He refused however to give the name of the company. |
| Krehic | Avaz pg. 3 ‘Searching for some fictitious firms’ – Kasim Krehic, owner of the ‘Kalen’ company, yesterday afternoon stated that he did not know whether he was arrested or the police was reducing his movement freedom. “They are looking for some fictitious firms, and claim I worked through them. The problem is that they claim I worked with fictitious firms that they could not trace. As for the debts, the matter is in the court and yet to be resolved.” |
| CIPS | Avaz pg. 2 ‘Next week a decision on the price of new IDs’- the Com will make a definite decision on the price of the new IDs beginning of next week. CoM Chair Adnan Terzic yesterday announced the rice of the same could go above the current 14, 5 KM. According to him, they a meeting of the Inter-resource Working Group was held yesterday before the Com session. “It was established that due to poor management and handling of this project, the CIPS has hit a major crisis period.” |
| VL and DL on CIPS | Vecernji List pg. 4 ‘Will motion of no confidence to BiH CoM be submitted?!’ and Dnevni List pg. 1 and 7 – the CIPS project issue. DL carries that a session of the BiH Council of Ministers (CoM) took place yesterday. “At the beginning of the next week the BiH CoM will make a definitive stand on the price of unified BiH identity card and the possibility that its price will be higher than 14,5 KM is not excluded.” VL says the CIPS issue was also discussed during the session of the House of Representatives (HoR) of the BiH Parliament Assembly and some representatives of the political parties from the RS demanded that the HoR of the state Parliament submitted a notion of no confidence to the BiH Council of Ministers because the public was deluded with regard to the CIPS project. Terzic rejected any responsibility stressing that the BiH CoM did not discuss at all the price of the new ID, but they exclusively acted according to the Book of Rule devised by former BiH CoM, which was published in December last year. VL says that the HoR will declare its stand on the aforementioned initiative in 20 days. |
| Dixon-Mikerevic | Glas Srpski pg. 3 ‘Incomes stay in the RS’ – on yesterday’s meeting in Banja Luka between Joly Dixon, President of the Indirect Tax Policy Commission, and Dragan Kalinic, RS Parliament Speaker. The meeting concluded that all solutions regarding the reforms of customs and tax administration would be in accordance with the constitutions of BiH, RS and Federation. According to a press release issued by the RS Parliament Speaker Cabinet, ‘the resources collected through taxes would be used in the interest of citizens via public system’. Dixon yesterday also met with RS Premier, Dragan Mikerevic. After the meetings, Joly Dixon confirmed that ‘the Republic of Srpska would preserve its fiscal sovereignty’. |
| Slobodna Bosna on economic reforms | Slobodna Bosna pg. 22 ‘Ashdown’s 50 reforms’ – What contains a document entitled ‘50 economic reforms’? In short, a little or almost nothing. It is about 50 small, make-up like interventions, none of which in particular or all of them together tackle the essence of problems of private entrepreneurship in BiH. |
| BH DANI on Bulldozer presentation | BH Dani pg. 6 and 7 – The ‘Bosnian Barometer’ column marked with two black dots (very bad move) recent move by HR Paddy Ashdown. The magazine negatively assessed the High Representative’s show-like presentation of the new economic measures (referring to the Bulldozer Commission promotion in front of the OHR building) while at the same time he does nothing to thwart the legalization of the illegal and unfair privatisation of the Mostar Aluminium Company for example. |
| Federation Tax Administration | Dnevni List pg. 9 ‘More than 91 million KMs in tax debts’ – a statement from the EC office to BiH, which reads that the CAFAO made possible in 2001, through gear and training, the formation of the Unit for control of big tax payers within the Federation Tax Administration (FTA). Moreover, DL reads the CAFAO helped the FTA identify a big number of debts and in that context the Unit carried out investigations within 88 companies in 2002, and identified 91 million-KM in unpaid debts. |
| USAID re-joins privatisation process | Avaz pg. 8 ‘A list of 19 companies devised’ – the USAID is re-joining the BiH privatization process. “We are starting a new cycle of help in the BiH privatization process. A selective list of 19 companies that we will help in the process of the privatization ahs been made,” said Howard Sumka, Director of the USAID. He recalled that two years ago the USAID withdrew from the privatization process in BiH as it was not satisfied with the efficiency of the process. |
International Community Affairs | |
| Del Ponte | Nacional pg. 2, Blic pg. 3 – ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte on Thursday said in Brussels that she knew that Radovan Karadzic ‘was in the Ostrog monastery’ in Montenegro. After meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Javier Solana, Del Ponte said they talked about Karadzic’s whereabouts with Montenegrian PM, Milo Djukanovic, but he denied that Karadzic was hiding in the ‘Ostrog’ monastery. Del Ponte thinks that the political will is necessary to arrest Karadzic. Speaking about Ratko Mladic, Del Ponte said ‘that nobody in Serbia ever denied that Mladic was there and that he was protected by the FRY Army’. Vecernje Novosti pg. 23 – a statement of Ostrog’s Prior, Jovan Puric, who rejected Del Ponte’s statement on Karadzic, inviting her to visit Ostrog. Dnevni List pg. 1 and 7 – a statement by Chief ICTY Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte,that she is tired of appealing for the war criminals from the former Yugoslavia be arrested. “I must say that I expect results now because I am tired of appealing that Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and other 19 renegades who are in the former Yugoslavia be arrested. That’s why I call on the IC to exert bigger pressure on political authorities in countries of former Yugoslavia,” said Del Ponte. Vjesnik pg. 2 ‘Del Ponte ‘expects’ Karadzic and Mladic arrests’, Jutarnji List pg. 1 and 3 – Del Ponte did not spare the Republic of Croatia and NATO, who she blamed for the lack of readiness to arrest General Ante Gotovina, an ICTY indictee. “Gotovina is moving between Croatia and Herzegovina. It is odd that the Croatian police always know where Gotovina is whilst he is in Herzegovina, but they do not know his whereabouts when he is on the Croatian territory. There is no readiness by either the Croatian Police or SFOR to arrest Gotovina,” said Del Ponte. Avaz pg. 2 ‘Radovan Karadzic is in the Ostrog monastery in Montenegro’ – also reported on Del Ponte’s statements related to whereabouts of war criminals Karadzic and Mladic. |
Military Affairs | |
| Osmanovic – Rikardel
| Blic pg. 6 ‘Single army is a step toward the PfP’ – RS Vice-President, Adil Osmanovic, talked with Deputy Assistant of the State Secretary of Defence, Miro Rikardel, in Pentagon about the establishment of a single army and the joint ministry of defence in BiH. Osmanovic informed US officials that the RS Ministry of Interior Affairs does not invest any effort to arrest war criminals that use the eastern part of the RS as a shelter. Osmanovic is in one-week semi-official visit to the US together with General Rasim Delic, Military Advisor to Sulejman Tihic. Rikardel said that without a single army and joint ministry of defence BiH could not expect to join the PfP, and that Washington would continue with insisting on the matter. |
| BiH Foreign Ministry | Blic pg. 6 ‘In line with a procedure’ – The BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been informed of Osmanovic’s visit to the US. The Ministry’s Spokesperson, Miranda Sidran Beslagic, confirmed this on Thursday. “We have been informed by Adil Osmanovic’s office that he will travel to States upon the invitation of the Association of BiH citizens from Chicago,” Beslagic said. |