Three soldiers of the Federation Army got killed, and one was slightly injured in an explosion in a military warehouse near Gorazde. According to the Ministry of Defence, the reasons of the explosion are still unknown.
0:50
(The Bosnian state radio reported that three soldiers were injured, one seriously and two slightly, by lightning that hit a military warehouse near the town) Much of the prime-time evening newscast was devoted to Kosovo (11:10), with TV BiH labelling the moment as “key days” for the crisis to be solved. “Temperature rises by hour”, TV BiH first introduced a report from Brussels, quoting an anonymous NATO official NATO as saying that the NATO Council has adopted the detailed operational plan for a phase-driven stalni savez air campaign against FRY… if Milosevic fails to comply with the September 23 Resolution passed by the Security Council until next weekend. Airstrikes Usvajanje ove odluke predstavlja radikalan korak u sankcioniranju nasilja na Kosovu, buduci da je do danas bio na snazi operativni plan za ogranicenje zracnih udara po selektivnim ciljevima u FRY. Savet NATO usvojio i dokument o inicijativu o mogucecem deployment land forces in Kosovo. The goal: to end conflict, make the ref ret possible. Albright addressed the journalists too: “not happy how M. understood the very serious situation in his country” According to TV BiH’s correspondent from Belgrade, constant threats of the NATO military action, are beginning to reflect on everyday life in the FRY. “The unconcealed fear due to ominous, but clear warnings on part of the NATO… could be felt in the air”, the reporter said, adding that the three-day tour of Holbrooke’s failed to produce any results, now that Milosevic has rejected an international solution, as well as mediation in the Kosovo crisis. “Only this morning the Serbian Parliament passed a dozen of extraordinary decisions”, banning the re-broadcasts of foreign programmes in the Serbian language, and ordering that the activities aimed at defence of the country be intensified. “In all major cities, air-raid alarms were tested”, while the citizens “queue in front of half-emptied stores”. TV BiH said that the withdrawal of Serbian special forces in Kosovo was “symbolic”, suggesting that the upcoming weekend might definitely bring clarification into what will happen next in the troubled province. TV BiH’s correspondent from Pristina then reported that the tactical positioning of military forces continued today, while the most intensive actions of the Serb forces, using mortars, occurred in the region of Malisevo. The reporter said that “dead silence prevails in Pristina” and stated that the Serbian side was increasing the number of its troops in the region of Djakovica, and the border zone to Macedonia. Simultaneously, the Italian Premier Romano Prodi’s statement that “not all the conditions were yet met for the airstrikes to take place” was contrasted to the US readiness to provide 260 aircrafts for the military intervention in Kosovo, two of these being stealth bombers B2. “The number of countries asking their citizens to leave Belgrade is increasing”, the reporter concluded. TV BiH finalised by putting the Kosovo issue in a more Bosnian framework, focusing on the High Representative’s letter to Milosevic, asking the FRY President to keep the Serbian “ultra-nationalist Deputy Parliament Speaker Seselj as far away from Bosnia as possible”. In this context, Carlos Westendorp’s decision to replace the SDS Vice President Cavic, based on his recent Kosovo-related statements, was also carried. 115 bodies were exhumed today from what TV BiH identified as “one of the biggest mass graves” in the municipality of Zvornik. A member of the expert team carrying out the exhumations was quoted, saying that at least 100 more bodies were expected to be dug out from the mass grave.
1:30
According to the agreement which was agreed upon between Sir Martin Garrod and the Hercegovacko-Neretvanski Canton Governor, Zeljko Obradovic, the return of refugees to Tasovcici will continue as of October 10. Behind closed doors, the issue of the refugee return to the Central Bosnia canton was also discussed. Mostar Mayor Orucevic called the Croats to return to the canton, following a meeting with Garrod and the US Embassy representative in Mostar. Tasovcici issue was additionally covered through the lenses of the SDA press briefing, with the party’s newly-appointed spokesperson, Adnan Jahic, labelling the incident in Tasovcici as “an attempt to stop what cannot be stopped”.
2:00
BH Delegation headed by Jadranko Prlic and Trade Minister Mirsad Kurtovic participated at the annual joint assembly of the World Bank and the IMF. The WB officials reiterated their readiness to remain devoted to the issues of BH, while the EBRD was also reported to have shown greater interest in BiH, “even without the state’s guarantees”. European Investment Bank will also appear in BH soon.
1:30
Federation and RS Premiers, Bicakcic and Dodik, met in Tuzla today to discuss the improvement of inter-entity cooperation. TV BiH introduced this news item by calling it “a new step… on the road to reintegration of BiH”. Both Premiers featured in front of TV BiH’s cameras, with Bicakcic identifying the striving for a unified BH market, organisation of taxes and better cooperation as priority tasks for the future. Dodik reiterated that something has to be done in order to prevent the new black-marketers from abusing the present, unregulated situation. Both Premiers pointed out that they would meet again soon.
2:00
Following the Federal government’s decision on military credit books, TV BiH sees the issue as “partially solved”. “Now the Ministry of Defence will have to act”, the presenter said, introducing the report investigating “how to satisfy the HVO and the Federation Army” simultaneously. The latter’s representative labelled the distribution of the seven billion “a difficult task” and said that different criteria were used. The representative suggested that “one (the Bosniak) side” attempted to be realistic, while the HVO seems to have given “every citizen” a military credit book. Followed the international news block.