Sarajevo – A BiH delegation headed by the BiH Presidency Chairman, Alija Izetbegovic, returned back to Sarajevo today after paying an official visit to Slovenia.
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Sarajevo – The Catholics celebrate their important holiday – Easter. Numerous congratulations on this occasion called for peace and trust building. All over BiH Easter masses were served. The central Mass headed by the Cardinal Vinko Puljic was held in Sarajevo Cathedral. There followed lengthy footage of the Cardinal talking in the Cathedral. Then followed a listing of the Easter celebrations in various BiH towns: in Zenica; in Una-Sana Canton the biggest Christian holiday – Easter was celebrated in all eight municipalities; in Tuzla-Podrinje canton early morning masses were held in all churches; special guests from the US visited the American base Orao near Tuzla; further masses were held in Konjic and west Mostar; and in Bijeljina, after more than 6 years, the first Catholic mass was served , etc.
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Along with Easter, Pesach is being celebrated at the same time in this year and before thousands of believers in Rome, Pope John Paul II sent his blessings also to the Jews in the world. The Pope headed the Holy Easter Mass in the basilica St. Peter. Together with 50 thousand pilgrims the Pope held a mass for the Jews and Christians of the east and the west, as well as all participants in the peace in the world, agencies reported.
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Footage of the Easter celebrations in the world.
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Vitez – CoM Co-Chair Haris Silajdzic met with the cantonal and town leaders. Their talks focused on refugee return. There is no question of real return here; out of six thousand refugees, practically none have returned back home, Silajdzic told the news. We especially discussed the question of the return to Ahmici, where a catastrophe occurred and a shame for the whole world,. The International Community should pay special attention to the returns to Ahmici, he concluded.
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Special talks were held on the activity which the Croatian side made in the field of privatisation of the public firms in Vitez.
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Trebinje – Yesterday a group of 70 Bosniaks visited their town Trebinje for the second time. They visited cemeteries in Mostaci, Zasadi, Pridvorci and Gorice. After that, a meeting was set up with former neighbours, Serbs and Bosniaks who still are living in Trebinje. Though unplanned, many Bosniaks walked through the town and visited their houses and apartments. Municipal information said that the visit went peacefully and emotionally, since this was the first visit to their town in six years, for most of these people.
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Relating to yesterday’s attack on the BiH SDP party member in Zepce, Zlatko Lagumdzija, party’s president sent a letter to the HR Carlos Westendorp. I am writing to you with an demand that an urgent measure should be undertaken in order to clear yesterday’s criminal attack and wounding of the Municipal Council Zepce President, Faruk Hrustic and four other members of our party. The investigation by IPTF and the International Community must result in punishment of the culprits and in replacement of the relevant authority members, reads a letter. The shots in Zepce do not represent only an attack against the citizens and party’s members, but is an attempt to stop the positive processes of refugee returns towards which the BiH citizens unrestrainedly go ahead.
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