News Headlines:
- Petritsch and Miller visit returnee settlement of Carsija, Doboj Municipality, to investigate implementation of real property laws
- During visit to Doboj, Petritsch states that he does not accept political discouragement of the refugee return
- Petritsch and Miller visit returnee settlement of Jablanica, Maglaj Municipality
- Head of Maglaj Municipality Bradaric says this municipality is ready to implement real property laws
- 70 refugees erect tent settlement near Prijedor, and will wait there to return and regain their property in this town
- Representatives of five foreign embassies in BiH visit Capljina and Stolac, and express interest in implementing aid projects for returnees
- International Mediator for BiH Christian Schwartz-Schilling holds press conference after two-week visit to BiH to stress main concerns regarding overall situation
- World religious leaders assemble in New York – World news
- BiH Council of Ministers discusses needs in this year’s budget at Thursday’s session in Sarajevo
- Fire raging in Ozren
- State of emergency declared in BiH Federation due to great drought period
- During session in Mostar, BiH Federation Government discusses construction of Zenica-Sarajevo highway and increasing price of gas and oil
- Petritsch proclaims three RS laws invalid: law on return of confiscated property, law on return of confiscated real property and law on return of confiscated land
- RS National Assembly continues 6th special session and adopts proposal on amendments to law on financial police and customs authority
- BiH and Croatian expert groups, negotiating preparations for agreement on social security, reach final phase in negotiations and assess there was high level of cooperation and accord during talks
- World news
- Former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, recently kidnapped, still main focus of Serbian media – News from Yugoslavia
- The Hague Tribunal is not conducting investigation into BiH Army Fifth Corps operations in Croatia during ‘Oluja (Storm)’ military operation in 1995 – Graham Blewitt
- Atif Dudakovic, Commander of Fifth Corps in 1995, strongly denies all insinuations and allegations against Fifth Corps’ involvement in crimes committed during Storm military operation
- Bicakcic promises Association of Parents of Thirteen Missing BiH Army Soldiers, who were taken away by HVO in 1993, that the investigation into their disappearance will be continued
- SDA requests international community to order RS Government to allocate DM 5 million from RS budget it earmarked for refugee return to RS
- HDZ respects autonomy of University in west Mostar and considers that “authorities” should and must resolve this new problem
- BiH Republican party considers that latest BiH House of Representatives session shows destructive forces within BiH common institutions have again demonstrated their decidedness to break the BiH State
- Bosnian Party (BOSS) condemns inhumanity of Una-Sana Canton authorities that are ignoring hunger strike of Bihac Trgovina workers, who went on strike six days ago
- Eucharistic Congress of Vrhbosna Archbishopric to be held in Zenica on Saturday
News Summary:
Schwartz-Schilling holds press conference after two-week visit to BiH to stress main concerns regarding overall situation (01:59)
After a two-week visit to BiH, International Mediator for BiH Christian Schwartz-Schilling held a press conference in Sarajevo. He used the conference to assess the main concerns now facing the country. “One concern is rebuilding religious buildings, the second concern is the present attitude of the government in Banja Luka, and the third concern is property rights” he told the conference. He criticized the attitude of the RS authorities toward the right to religion. “As I told representatives of the authorities in Banja Luka, nobody in the civilized world can understand this tragicomedy concerning the issuance of permits for the construction of mosques in that town” he added. Schwartz-Schilling stated that he is concerned over RS Premier Milorad Dodik’s recent statements concerning the construction of the Ferhadija mosque in Banja Luka.