Sarajevo – OSCE announced that the first official results of the elections will be published by next weekend. The counting of votes is expected to be finished by tonight, followed by a 72 hour appellation term.
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Washington – US President Clinton’s first advisor Berger said that the IC will remain in BiH after the expiry of the SFOR mandate. As said by Berger, the only thing that remains to be concluded is whether US troops will join the new peace forces in BiH. White house spokesman McCurry said that Berger’s statement represents a straight answer to those who think that the US should withdraw from the international tragedy in BiH. Berger also refused the option of BiH division, saying that it would reward ethnic cleansing. Berger added that the DPA must be supported because its failure would lead to renewed conflicts in Southeast Europe, and undermine NATO’s credibility.
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New York – Van den Brook said that it was no secret that the EC is considering the prolongation of peace troops in BiH. He also pointed out the importance of refugee return and functioning of joint institutions of the state in BiH. BiH FA Minister Prlic said that the first steps taken in joint institution functioning was the presence of two of his deputies Zivalj and Bozanic. He added that the peace troops presence was also important if not in the field then somewhere around the corner. At the UN summit in NY German FA Minister Kinkel appealed to all sides in BiH to overcome the current problems. Kinkel also said that everything must be done in order to arrest Karadzic and other indicted war criminals.
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Sarajevo – BiH President Izetbegovic received the accreditation letter of the newly named non-residential Irish Ambassador to BiH, Davenport.
- Izetbegovic also received the accreditations of non-residential Ukrainian Ambassador to BiH
- CoM Co-chairman Silajdzic received Chinese Ambassador to BiH. The subjects of the conversation were the matters of bilateral co-operation.
- Federation President Soljic received Hungarian Ambassador to BiH. Hungarian Ambassador expressed the wish of his Government for co-operation between two countries.
- Federation Co-president Ganic received the Malaysian Ambassador. The conversation considered the DA implementation, current situation in BiH Federation and the elections.
Mostar – Since noon today, Bosniak and Croat Policemen are patrolling together again. OHR Mostar condemned and appealed to political leadership and some media in Mostar to stop publishing dangerous and non-productive remarks about who was guilty of planting the recent car-bomb. OHR said that those responsible for this cowardly act must face justice, and that it would happen only if a full investigation was conducted with minimum delay. A discussion on the car-bomb investigation between Izetbegovic and Zubak, mediated by HR deputy Klein, was held today. Izetbegovic and Zubak achieved an agreement that the investigation would be conducted by the Cantonal MUP, assisted by Federal MUP and with IPTF supervision.
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Sarajevo – The Egyptian Embassy made an announcement saying that the recent explosion in Mostar is being related to the similar one in Cairo of 18 Sept. The Embassy announcement absolutely condemned the barbaric act in Mostar, saying that “Any relations between the terrorist act in Egypt and terrorist acts in any other country are lies, opposite to truth about this land of civilisation, humanity and science”.
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Kladanj – Another mass grave was discovered nearby Kladanj. 18 bodies were found so far. According to current information, those are the bodies of Bosniaks from Srebrenica who tried to escape to Tuzla during the war. Among the bodies, a child’s corpse was discovered with a school-bag attached. Supposedly, the body count is not final.
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Hong Kong – At the World Bank summit in HK, Federation Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade, Muratovic said that BiH cannot imagine reconstruction without international aid. Muratovic also briefed WB summit members on BiH economic activities which had been accomplished during the past year.
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An open letter from Sandra Wagner, wife of the late HR deputy Ambassador Gerd Wagner
In the letter, Mrs. Wagner addresses the BiH people, reminding of her husband’s efforts in humanitarian and peace efforts in BiH. I hope that Bosnians will accept my words that I speak from the heart, and undertake extraordinary efforts to overcome the existing differences between them, working together for a golden future that is here, within reach. If it that happens, then the death of my husband will not have been in vain.
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