Negotiations on the port Ploce – A joint statement following the meeting of the BiH and Croatian delegations on the utilization of the port Ploce indicated that a final agreement was not in sight. The original positions of the two sides have remained unchanged. While the BiH side insists on a free zone in Ploce, referring to the Washington Agreement , the Croat delegation remained adamant to allow only an agreement on commercial basis, “evading to cede a part of the port for a free zone, ignoring the Washington and all other agreements”, said the report.
“The BiH side will not tolerate much longer delays in these negotiations, and in case of a failure to reach an agreement soon, it will change its negotiation position and political course”, concluded the report.
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NATO Drill – The media featured a report on the NATO exercise named “Dynamic Response 98” and landing of 1000 US and 300 Italian marines in the port Ploce. The report has underlined that the drill clearly demonstrates NATO’s commitment to maintain peace in Bosnia.
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Kosovo – A lengthy report from correspondent in Kosovo informs that the situation in Kosovo remains tense and that the Serbian police arrested nine Albanians yesterday. The Committee for Human Rights in Pristina requested the Contact Group to exert pressure on the Serbian regime to withdraw special police forces from Kosovo, while 30,000 Albanian women protested in Pristina.
US Special Envoy Robert Gelbard is expected to arrive in Pristina tomorrow. The report underlined that US Secretary of State Albright failed to convince the members of the CG to impose additional sanctions against FRY. However, Serbian President Milosevic was given the four-week deadline to enter into negotiation with Albanians.
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The Association of Pensioners protested against irregular payment of their monthly pensions and the reduction of percentage of pension contribution.
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1700 workers of the industrial complex Natron Maglaj desperately need a loan worth 16 million Deutsche marks to re-start production. The local workers union has sent an open warning to PM Bicakic maintaining that all 1700 workers will seek employment elsewhere in the country and abroad if production is not revived soon.
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The OSCE Deputy Chief of Mission accused the SDS and the Radicals in the RS of obstructing yesterday’s municipal session in Srebrenica Despite prior agreement not to intone national hymns, the RS national hymn was played, which drove CD Coalition deputies out.
Ambassador Ellerkmann forwarded to HR Westednorp and the Head of the OSCE Mission an amendment to their arbitral decision defining key aspects of the hymn. The High Representative accepted the amendment in order to speed up the implementation of election results in Srebrenica.
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