Sarajevo – President Izetbegovic and Rory O’Sullivan from the WB signed the agreement on three projects: local initiative project, 21 million US Dollars’ worth (4.5 million for the Federation, 2.5 for RS, the rest will be financed by other organisations); elementary hospital services project (10 million US Dollars for the Federation, 5 million US Dollars for RS); project for renewal of industry, 10 million US Dollars’ worth.
2:00
Lukavica – CoM session – No agreement was made on Rules of Procedure. ‘We agreed on the OHR proposal at the last session, but the other side reiterated their position… My proposal was that we shouldn’t discuss anything else [but Rules of Procedure] until we agree on this. If that doesn’t happen, we should resign collectively,’ Silajdzic said after the meeting. The main problem was that the Serb side insisted on deputy ministers having the same powers as the ministers, which, according to Silajdzic, means division, i.e. it establishes three different governments that can work each on its own. ‘The voting right only belongs to those who are members of the CoM, and the members of the CoM, apart from the Co-chairs and Vice-chair, can only be the ministers. The Constitution is clear on that,’ Steiner said. Bosic did not want to give any comments. However, the CoM agreed on draft laws related to economic issues. The next session will be held on February 13th, which is set as the deadline for adopting the Rules of Procedure.
4:00
Sarajevo – Federation Government session – Croat ministers abandoned the session right after the vote on the draft law on founding of municipalities of Domaljevac-Samac, Doboj-Istok, Gornje Ravne, Ravne-Brcko, Teocak etc., and changing the borders of Jajce municipality. Minister Bilandzija said that this is the elementary requirement of the Croat people on which they will not back down, insisting that the Government declares itself on the draft. 5 out of 13 Government members voted in favour of the draft, after which Bilandzija called on all the Croat representatives to abandon the session. The Government cancelled Bilandzija’s decision on customs exemption for the Lijanovic company, and Minister of Agriculture Smajic said that the real reason for Croats to leave the session was the Lijanovic case.
3:00
Mostar – Another failed Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Government session – The session was dismissed because no agreement could be reached on the joint account for financing the Canton. In her reply to the letter from the Bosniak ministers, where they demanded collective resignation or replacement of Brajkovic if no final solution could be found for the finance disputes, Fatima Leho said that there is no point in holding further sessions if there is no implementation of the Washington and Dayton agreements.
4:00
Una-Sana Canton Government session – The Croat representative abandoned the session, complaining that the representation of Croats in the Canton Government is too small.
2:00
Silajdzic’s, Hajric’s, and Murphy’s comments on Krajisnik – Silajdzic: Krajisnik denies the existence of the state of which he is the Presidency member. His interpretation of the DPA is suited to his own needs, which is basically Karadzic’s policy of division of Bosnia. Hajric said that RS is not a country and they should realise that as soon as possible, and Krajisnik should come to the next Presidency session with new, sensible ideas. Murphy said that BiH can have only one currency and one state the same as there is one planet and one mankind.
3:00
Summary SRT News
The Supreme Council of Defence met in Pale, chaired by Biljana Plavsic. Members of the Council contemplated the report of the VRS HQ on the military readiness.1 min
RS Government convened a meeting in Pale and adopted a regulation on armaments of the Interior ministry. Another regulation, determining buildings and some person to be specially secured, was approved as well.
11,5 min
In Lukavica, a session of Council of Ministers took place. At today’s meeting no actual conclusions were made. Rules of procedure was the main item on the agenda and after two hours no progress was made in that regard. Everything is left to be discussed again at the next session. We must say though, that previously agreed amendments to the Rules of procedure were objected this time by Muslim representatives. Since it is obvious now that the CoM can not resolve this issue, Co-chairman Boro Bosic said that the presidency will be informed and will make a decision. “The role of the deputy minister is disputable. Some tries to marginalise that post. I thought that this issue will not lead into any discussion since Silajdzic, me and Steiner signed a Protocol where we have already determined certain modalities of the work of CoM. Today we heard that this was some kind of a mistake and that deputy ministers should not be members of the CoM. I also thought that at the last meeting we had found a solution for that with Mr. Bildt. I was obviously mistaken,” stated Bosic after the meeting. On the QSP, ministers concluded that a lot was accomplished by working groups and that further yielding will take place at the next session of the CoM on Wednesday in the Museum in Sarajevo.
2 min
Clubs of representative from the Serb radical party, SDS and Serb patriotic party launched an initiative for a consultation meeting that took place today. The goal of this gathering was to review the up-to-date arbitration process for the IEBL in Brcko area.
WASHINGTON – During a pause in the work of the Arbitration Commission for the Inter-entity Boundary Line in the Area of Brcko, the RS delegation – led by the RS vice-president Dragoljub Mirjanic – held several meetings with US high-officials in Washington informing them that Brcko is an integral part of RS, and that it is not in the interest of the USA to support some other solution, which would lead the Banjaluka’s region into a very difficult position. In addition, they said, an international protectorate would not be a good solution for international community either, for the decision who will get Brcko will have to be brought sooner or later.
2 min
The head of the Zvornik Public Security Center, colonel Dragomir Vasic, SFOR and IPTF representatives, worked out modalities of RS Police entrance into the village of Dugi Do, by which the establishing of RS civil authorities in the Zvornik municipality would be completed. They expressed hope that Serb Police entrance into the village, planned for Tuesday, February 11, would meet no complications.
1 min