Alija Izetbegovic’s office reacted to the official celebration of August 5, the Republic of Croatia’s state holiday, in parts of the BH territory. In a press statement, the office said that “this was neither the first time nor the only way of denying the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of BH.” Izetbegovic insisted that the Parliament and the Federal Government should investigate responsibility of state organs which declared the celebration official. Having labelled the event as a “direct violation of the DPA“, Izetbegovic’s office also expressed expectations that the OHR would take appropriate steps.
1:00
EASC introduced sanctions to organisers of recent protests in Banja Luka. Serb coalition was found responsible for the involvement of leaders and supporters of SSKiP in the July 23 protest at the Ferhadija mosque site. EASC decided to remove the names of Predrag Lazarevic and Zdravko Zupljanin from the list of candidates for the HoR of the BH Parliament. EASC also suggested that the OHR should consider the case and take measures aimed at replacing Lazarevic and Aleksandar Iliskovic, Vice President of SSKiP.
1:20
NATO General Secretary Javier Solana today refuted the news on the existence of mass graves in Kosovo, but still described the situation in the troubled province as “dangerous and alarming”.
3:00
The Central Payment Office (ZPP) continues to ignore instructions on freezing future deposit activities of the Bosnian National Bank. Deputy HR for Economic issues Didier Fau and the liquidator of the National Bank said that the ZPP was instructed not to allow future placement of deposits or withdrawal of money from the accounts of depositors. Fau asked that the ZPP be liquidated and that its General Manager Maruf Burnazovic be replaced.
2:00
Sarajevo cantonal government presented data on the realisation of refugee returns to the city. The government said that 10,855 families have registered for return since the signing of the Sarajevo Declaration (SD). In 6,908 cases the possibility for actual return was checked. For another 4,146 cases reconstruction of housing space would be necessary. According to the government, some 6,000 families have returned to the canton, 2,000 of which are of Croat, Serb and ‘other’ nationalities. Since the SD was launched, until July 31, 807 families have returned to their homes, 85% of these being minority returns.
1:50
IMC publicised the names of members of the Council and the Board for its implementation. Both bodies will comprise of seven members, four of which will be the citizens of BiH, and the rest – international representatives. TV BiH listed the names, emphasising that the Board for the implementation will be chaired by the IMC General Manager, Krister Thelin.
1:00
The HR Principal Deputy Jacques Paul Klein visited a reconstructed school in Dobrinja. The reconstruction was financially supported by the Swiss NGOs, and the renewal of two more schools was announced.
1:20
There follow reports from the political parties’ press conferences: Sarajevo Governor Midhat Haracic, in the role of the member of the SDA Executive Board, reiterated that the SD will not be implemented by means of evictions. “Nobody should fear from evictions”, Haracic said and dismissed the allegations of existence of a secret list (of multiple occupancies) which Carlos Westendorp had supposedly handed over to Izetbegovic as false. Haracic added that the sanctions against Sarajevo were not introduced, since he never “officially received a document introducing” them.