Sarajevo – On her second day visit to BiH, US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright met separately with Alija Izetbegovic and Kresimir Zubak, Members of the BiH Presidency. Following the talks, a Press Conference was held in the Holiday Inn. The talks with Madame Albright tackled the provisions of the DPA, Alija Izetbegovic told the press. We suggested a modification of the CoM structure after elections and instead of two Co-Chairs to have one President of CoM. He underlined the need of having a police power at the countries’ boarders, and assessed that the best and just solution for returnees are multiple returns. Izetbegovic also said also that non implementation of last years elections as in Srebrenica annuls the election in general, that Brcko should belong to the Federation and BiH, and that the refugee and soldiers families cannot be put out of their temporary housing before a new housing solution is found for them. We had a frank discussion on the actual BiH political situation, Kresimir Zubak told the news presenting his talks with US Secretary. Informing her of the pre-election campaign, Zubak accentuated unequal representation of the parties in some media. He also mentioned a manifestation of intimidation by some parties. The end of the Press Conference was reserved for Madeleine Albright. She said that the time had come that BiH and its peoples have what they deserve. She stressed the need of better functioning of the common institutions.
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Sarajevo – Alija Izetbegovic met with Robert Gelbard, Bill Clinton’s Special Envoy for the Balkans. The main topics, in which the US Ambassador Richard Kauzlaric also participated, were the September elections.
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Sarajevo – Klaus Kinkel, German Foreign Minister visited Sarajevo – as he put it, a town to which besides Brussels, he pays most visits. The first stop on his visit was the National Museum, where he met with the three members of the BiH Presidency. BiH refugees and Kosovo issue were key topics of their talks. At the Press Conference, Kinkel asked for understanding for German human refugee return to BiH although there is no self sustained living possibilities there. The Bosnians can always count on support from Germany, Kinkel said. In this context Izetbegovic accentuated once more the need of Croatian Serbs living in the region of Banja Luka and Prijedor, to return to Kninska Krajina in order to make place for the large number of Bosniaks returning from the Federation and Germany to the RS. He opposed Krajisnik’s announcement that the majority of Serb refugees in RS do not wish to go back to Federation.
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Klaus Kinkel also met with Edhem Bicakcic, Federation Prime Minister, and presidents of the Liberal Social Party and Social Liberal Party Hidajet Repovac and Miodrag Zivanovic.
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Sarajevo – The guests from Germany as well as BiH diplomats attended a celebration of the first Skoda Felicia coming off the VW production track in Sarajevo after the war. Where VW goes, all go, Klaus Kinkel told the journalist at the celebration and expressed his wish that more business will follow VW example and come to work in BiH.
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The VW delegation was received separately later on by Haris Silajdzic and Edhem Bicakcic.
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There follows international news Sarajevo – CoM convened a meeting today and accepted suggestions on changes and annexes of the Law on immunity, which should be discussed tomorrow at the BiH Assembly HoR session. CoM could not agree on the Draft Law on Refugees and therefore the standpoint of OHR will be requested on this issue. A set of Laws relating to economic and foreign trade was also discussed.
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Hambarine – A burial of 22 victims of genocide in Prijedor, took place today. Of 21 mass and 42 individual graves in the region, 213 genocide victims have been exhumed during last two months. The exhumation is continuing.
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Usora – Kresimir Zubak visited Usora in the afternoon, where works on the road to Zabljak began. Tuzla – The airport in Tuzla will be opened in nine days.