The outgoing BH Presidency held its last session today, which was initiated by Kresimir Zubak. The foreign policy advisor of the outgoing Chairman of the Presidency Izetbegovic, Mirza Hajric, announced that the High Representative Carlos Westendorp, as well as members of the PIC Steering Board were expected to attend the first informal session of the newly-elected Presidency, which is scheduled for tomorrow. At today’s session, the former Presidency members sumarised their work up until now. Krajisnik estimated that the cooperation between members was “good” and expressed belief that a good basis for successors was created. Zubak reiterated that the Presidency members always managed to communicate in a civilised way.
2:10
At today’s session of the Federal government, a decision was reached that the privatisation claims of the members of the BH Army and the HVO, based on the military credit books, will amount to the total of seven billion DM. TV BiH’s reporter concluded: “We would like to remind you that based on the number of owners of military credit books at the moment and their value, 9 billion DM should be allocated, meaning that significant revision and the reduction of rights in that domain.”
1:30
Valentin Coric, Minister of the Interior in the Hercegovacko-Neretvanski Canton, confirmed his resignation at a press briefing in Mostar. However, Coric said that he would stay in office until the cantonal assembly states its view with regard to his resignation. He pleaded that his responsibility be objectively examined in connection to the latest incidents in the canton.
1:30
Following the incident in Tasovcici, Alija Izetbegovic met the US Ambassador Richard Kauzlaric, who sharply condemned the violence in the village. The UNHCR‘s message that the “attacks against Bosniaks refugees in the past months have intensified, thus creating the climate of fear” was also conveyed.
0:30
Simultaneously, the Governor of the canton of Central Bosnia, Adnan Terzic visited Mostar, wanting to go to Tasovcici and call the Croat refugees living in Capljina to return to the canton. However, following Sir Martin Garrod’s suggestion, the visit was postponed. Terzic instead addressed journalists at a press briefing in Mostar.
1:00
The multi-ethnic assembly of Brcko was supposed to discuss the issue of the two-way return of refugees to the city today. Nevertheless, the session did not inlude the subject to its agenda, due to the “lack of readiness of the Serb parties”. “Many tacticising accompanied the session… The voice of all deputies of the Serb parties… has today clearly shown how much they desire to block the return to Brcko”, the reporter said.
2:00
“Today’s developments in Kosovo… seem to have put the IC closer to reaching the decision that the NATO forces should attempt solving the crisis in Kosovo by force. Namely, the FRY President Milosevic did not accept the UN conditions for the prevention of the NATO attacks, presented to him by the US mediator Richard Holbrooke”, TV BiH introduced a report on Kosovo, suggesting that the nervousness was obvious in the FRY ahead of the eventual military intervention (Canadian embassy closed their office in Belgrade, British diplomats are getting prepared to leave the city, while the Serbian government introduces restrictive measures against media, the sale of food products has risen in the FRY, some cities are already experiencing shortages of fuel, the (airstrike) shelters are being speedily repaired.).
4:00
The RS Parliament Speaker, Petar Djokic said that a meeting with the representatives of newly elected parliamentary parties in RS will take place on Tuesday, October 13 – aimed at defining the date when the constituent session of the RS Parliament will be held (according to Djokic, the Parliament could be expected to convene on October 23).
0:50
Follows a report on party activities. The Alternative CoM discussed the reconstruction of the shadow government; the Bosnian Party expressed their dissatisfaction over election results, and called for new general elections in 1999; the Bosnian Patriotic Party president, Sefer Halilovic, pressed charges against seven prominent army and police officers to The Hague Tribunal, and the cantonal court in Sarajevo, because of their involvement in the establishment of “Seva” terrorist organisation, which was allegedly plotting at his murder during the aggression (i.e. the war in BiH).