HR Westendorp and OSCE Acting Head of Mission canceled yesterday’s decision of Croat Club of Representatives of the Federation Parliament HoP about election of Croat representatives for the BiH Parliament House of People. Namely, regardless of the previous recommendation from the OHR and decision of the Provisional Elections Committee to elect four HDZ and one New Croatian Initiative member to this membership, the HDZ Club of Delegates elected all five members from the HDZ.
2:00
It is still not known whether the Special Relations Agreement will be signed tomorrow, due to consultations that are still in progress. The RTV BiH learned that some articles of the Agreement might be changed, such is Article 13, regarding the date of implementation of the Agreement. HR Principal Deputy Klein met with Federation President Ganic to discuss the Special Relations Agreement. At the press conference held after the meeting, Ganic said that the Agreement will not be signed tomorrow. It was also said that at the moment of signing the Agreement, HR Westendorp will deliver Croatian President Tudjman diplomatic letter in which he will demand that the Bosniak issue is initiated in the Republic of Croatia Constitution.
4:00
HR Westendorp believes that in the next year, the International Community will have to make significant improvements in the areas of refugee return, the joint police, independent judicial system, and economic independence, as well as to decrease aid from abroad.
0:30
Management Council of the BiH Central Bank held a session in Sarajevo and discussed the report on BiH Economy and implementation of the budget plan for the first 9 months of this year. The Council said that incomes of the Central Bank were larger, and expenses smaller than it was estimated in the budget.
1:00
UNHCR Chairman, Ogata chaired the UNHCR conference for humanitarian issues on the area of former Yugoslavia. Main issues of the session were problems of aid to BiH and Kosovo. BiH Association of Refugees and DP’s President Komarica said that this conference is crucial, for it will make the year 1999 either the real year of return or it will legalise the status quo.
1:30
The Government of Germany approved 2.5 million DEM credit for flats reconstruction in the Tuzla region. The credit will enable reconstruction of 300 houses in Tuzla and thus solve the matter of war damaged houses in this town.
2:00
22.500 minority returns were registered in the Federation in this year, while there were about 10.000 to the RS, UNHCR spokesperson said in Banja Luka.
1:00
Five Croat families returned to the village of Grabovica, 30 Km north of Mostar, UNHCR official Moquet said.
1:00
Conference called “The Media in Democratic Society” was held today in Neum, organised by IMC, in co-operation with the European Council. One of the main issues of the conference was the printed media.
1:30
BiH TV also brought a report of the Media Plan in which RTV BiH is criticised for not publishing the news of fire accident in discotheque in Goteborg from October 30 1998. (A very cynical report indeed.) RTV BiH published the first three minutes of the central newscast from October 30 first news in the newscast. (Although the date on the intro was there only for half a second.)
3:30