News Headlines
- 6,600 persons killed in earthquake in Turkey
- Opposition rally in Belgrade
- Army to intervene if incidents appear at rally – General Pavkovic
- Live report from Belgrade rally
- Police did not forbid opposition rally
- Police arrest Nebojsa Vukic from Cetinje who tried to set explosive at rally
- Milosevic to use force if they try to remove him from office – The Independent
- Serbian SPS ready for elections
- US recommends opposition to work together to remove Milosevic
- Farrand explains Brcko arbitration decision annex
- Ferguson on Brcko decision annex
- BiH debt to US reduced by 30 percent
- Hedges responds to accusations
- Izetbegovic addresses open letter to Petritsch
- OHR never claimed illegal activities by Bakir Izetbegovic – Stiglmayer
- BiH Federation Ministry of Trade and Communications issues statement regarding New York Times article
- US Embassy statement regarding corruption accusations
- New York Times article attempts to undermine BiH progress – SDA
- BiH Republicans holds press conference
- BiH Council of Ministers holds session
- Murder of two juveniles shocks Zenica citizens
- Two Italian KFOR soldiers wounded near Djakovica
- New mass grave discovered near Pristina
- KLA fulfilled obligations regarding disarmament – Ceku
- International news
- 60 Serb families return to Potoke in Mostar
- Refugee return to Zvornik Municipality intensifies
- Serb Orthodox church in Sarajevo serves holy liturgy
- Sarajevo Film Festival to open Friday
- Events from Belgrade posted on Internet
News Summary
Farrand explains Brcko arbitration decision annex
Brcko Supervisor Robert Farrand emphasized at a press conference in Sarajevo that main the priority now is to make a Brcko district statute and based on respect of the Dayton Agreement principles in Brcko Municipality, which could be the most progressive, prosperous and ethnically mixed municipality in BiH. He stated that the annex includes that entities cannot impose military or other obligations on the district citizens. It is also defined that the judiciary structure will be regulated by statute, courts will be independent and will have global jurisdiction. Police in the district will also be regulated by statute and will assume all functions from current police forces including the uniformed, border and financial police. After consultations with the advisory board for education, the Supervisor will harmonize educational plans and programs and will ensure the removal of educational material that is not in accordance with the aims for development of a democratic society.
01:44
Hedges responds to accusations
Author of the New York Times article on BiH corruption, Chris Hedges, in interview for Voice of America, stated that according to information he received, the leadership of all three BiH people is deeply involved in theft of state and international money. “They are all working together and the Mafia is the one multiethnic group in BiH that functions well.” According to Hedges, the IC has not criticized RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and his Government, which they see as an alternative to the hard-liners such as Krajisnik. Hedges said that he does not consider this as good, but it is the fact that the focus of the investigation was on Croats and Bosniaks. “Serbs were left alone, but from what I saw, Serbs are probably more corrupt than Croats and Bosniaks are” he said. Regardless of the fact that the OHR denies the existence of an expert team for corruption, Hedges stated that the team exists anyway and he met with Americans who lead this team and this is a secret group that works under special conditions and tight security. OHR issued the statement that the New York Times article could not be based on a 4,000 page report by the OHR unit for fighting corruption. Such report does not exist, was never made and it is possible that the article used sources by the local financial police.
02:24
Izetbegovic addresses open letter to Petritsch
BiH Presidency Member Alija Izetbegovic addressed an open letter to new High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch and Contact Group members. The letter says that “from your Wednesday statements I understood that you do not have the intention to publish the secret report prepared in the OHR that the New York Times used to attack BiH. I regret this, but the truth will be discovered soon or later. The New York Times article has done significant and irreparable damage to BiH. Who is guilty and who is going to be responsible for the damage? If the data are true, the guilt is on us, but if the data are untrue, then the guilt is on some of your officials from the OHR. Who will be responsible for those who mislead Chris Hedges into determining that BiH is a “misused” project and that world should give up on BiH. Even though all sides are mentioned in article, we consider that the sharp edge is pointed at the Bosniak side which constitutes a moral attack on the authority that some of your people call Muslim.”
02:16
OHR never claimed illegal activities by Bakir Izetbegovic – Stiglmayer
OHR spokesperson Alexandra Stiglmayer stated on Thursday that the OHR never claimed that there were any kind of illegal activities by Bakir Izetbegovic. She added that the New York Times claims are unsubstantiated.
00:18
US Embassy statement regarding corruption accusations
A statement issued Thursday by the US Embassy says that financial losses mentioned in the New York Times article on corruption are not related to US Government assistance to BiH. An Independent inspector frequently controls the USAID programs in BiH and so far they have not discovered any losses from corruption.
00:19
New York Times article attempts to undermine BiH progress – SDA
SDA views the New York Times article on corruption in BiH as an attempt to portray the fight of pro-Bosnian forces and US projects in BiH as ‘ruined projects’. In addition, Chris Hedges made a statement for VOA that the most corrupt leader is Milorad Dodik, but this is tolerated because of support from the US Government.
00:31