BiH Presidency held a session today. The main issue on the agenda was preparation for the upcoming Madrid conference of the Peace Implementation Council. The Presidency also discussed the draft Declaration for the conference, as prepared by the OHR, and gave various suggestions in order to achieve complete and persistent DPA implementation.
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US Special Envoy Gelbard visited Sarajevo, and held meetings with BiH Presidency members and the Federation Premier Bicakcic. Gelbard said the main purpose of his visit was to consider how to achieve economic progress in BiH as soon as possible. Issues of privatisation and the financial system reforms were also discussed, as well as inter-entity trade and co-operation in this regard.
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The BiH CoM held a session in Sarajevo. The CoM concluded that it is necessary o order the equipment for issuance of new passports and to prolong validity of the previous ones until June 30 1999. CoM Co-chairman Silajdzic said that issuance of new passports started in BiH consulates. The Madrid conference was also discussed.
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Members of the State Missing Persons Committee and Cantonal Experts’ team continued exhumations of the Hrastova Glava mass grave. Due to difficult working conditions it is expected that the first victim should be exhumed this afternoon. RTV BiH also brought statement of Amor Masovic (given two days ago) in which he says it is unfortunate that nobody from the OHR was present at the exhumation to see what a real mass grave is, and not like those exhumations in Sarajevo.
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Ministers of Foreign Affairs of NATO member countries decided to prolong the SFOR mission in BiH for another six months. NATO will keep supporting all efforts that the IC is investing in development of BiH as an independent and multiethnic state.
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US Secretary of State Albright addressed another warning regarding Kosovo to FRY President Milosevic, and supported the idea of bigger autonomy for Kosovo Albanians, AFP reported. Kosovo Liberation Army political representative, Demaci said that the last version from US mediator Hill, on resolving the Kosovo crisis is not acceptable for Kosovo Albanians.
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Visit of 150 Bosniaks to Banja Luka, who are presently living in Sweden, was scheduled for tomorrow. According to President of Association of Bosniak Refuges from Banja Luka, Gunjic, about 26.000 Bosniaks have the desire to return to Banja Luka.
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30 Bosniak families returned to Kresevo in July this year. Not all the problems have been solved, and the most recent one is the problem of Bosniak children. Namely, on this area, the education process is organised by the education programme from Republic of Croatia. For this reason, there was a Bosniak class, formed to attend the classes according to Bosnian programme. However, the class was dismissed 15 days afterwards and children are not going to school. Namely, municipal inspector for employment, assisted by two policemen, sealed the classroom where Bosniak children were having classes.
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