On the tragic occasion of the earthquake in Iran, Alija Izetbegovic, BiH Presidency President expressed his sympathy to Ali Akbar Rashemi Rafsangani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian people. The earthquake of 7,1 degrees which hit Iran on 10 May, killed over 2.400, injured around 40.000 people and destroyed 200 villages on the border with Afganistan. Haris Silajdzic, Co-Chairman of BiH CoM sent a telegram of condolences to the first Deputy President Of Iran Hasan Habibi, and, BiH Federation Prime Minister, Edhem Bicakcic to the Iranian Ambassador to BiH, Mohamed Ebrahim Taherian.
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Ambassador Michael Steiner, HR’s Principal Deputy, sent a letter to Biljana Plavsic, RS President, demanding release from the RS prison of Ivan Mijacevic, member of the SDP BiH Main Board, and former commander of the 107 brigade of Gradacac. Pointing out that the arrest is contradictory to the Rome agreement signed also by RS, Ambassador Steiner lists in his letter all items which concern irregularities of this arrest.
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On the occasion of Mijacevic’s arrest, BiH SCC (Serb Citizens Council) sent a letter of a strong protest to the local and international representatives demanding his urgent release, since his illegal imprisonment could endanger the democratic ambiance in BiH.
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Ambassador Michael Steiner sent a letter to Enver Kreso, BiH Federation House of Reps President expressing some new details in the case of arrest of MP Ibrahim Djedovic. Among them is the fact that Kreso had by now not answered his previous letter, Djedovic has meanwhile illegally been transferred from Bihac to the Central Prison in Sarajevo, his court file has still not been sent to the Supreme Court in Sarajevo, Djedovic is not allowed to receive any visit including from his attorney, etc. The letter was read in full.
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Ambassador Michael Steiner, together with his associates and the BiH Federation Ombudsmen visited Middle Bosnian Canton. During the morning high ranking guests talked in Travnik with Ivan Saris and Adnan Terzic, Cantonal President and his Deputy behind closed doors. Although invited to go on the trip, journalists were not allowed to attend the meeting. In a short address to the journalists, after three hours of discussion , Steiner said that the main topics of the meeting were: respect of human rights in the region of the Middle Bosnian Canton, as well as discussion on the Ombudsmen report on human rights there. Branka Raguz pointed out that the situation of human rights is worrying in 11 municipalities of the Canton which has a direct effect on the 30.000 refugees who should be returning to their homes.
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Ambassador Steiner met with the evicted Bosniaks and Croats in Vitez, around 19,00h (a TV Special was announced on this subject in a later program).
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BiH refugees should be sent back to their homes, only after war crime indicted Radovan Karadzic has been sent to the Hague, Hans van den Broek, EU Commissioner for the Foreign Affairs, said after his recent visit to BiH.
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Klaus Kinkel, German Minister for Foreign Affairs announced a new plan for BiH refugees return home from Germany.
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A meeting between HDZ and SDS was held in Banja Luka yesterday. Talks focused on the working of the common institutions in accordance with DPA, said Bozo Rajic, HDZ President for BiH. We concluded that it is necessary to take steps to halt the negative trend in which the former BiH institutions which are not harmonized with DPA, continue to exist and so hold an exclusive right that BiH is represented by only one people. The discussion related also to the lost persons and exchange of exhumed bodies.
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Summary SRT News
Prijedor – RS Army HQ organised a Military Commemoration to mark the day of VRS which is celebrated on May 12. All of the high-ranking military officers from the RS and FRY, the RS Army HQ Commander, President Plavsic, and other guests attended the Commemoration. Commander of the RS Army General Colic held a speech saying that all Serbs are obliged to defend the RS with all means necessary. Although the Serbs would rather live in peace and co-operate with other countries, they will be ready to fight if they have to.3:00
In her interview to the ‘Srpska vojska’ magazine, RS President Plavsic stated that the RS Army must guarantee safety to its people during peacetime too, in case the RS borders are attacked. She emphasised that the Army HQ are doing their best and they should share the destiny of the RS citizens during this difficult period of time which the Republic is facing. The RS Army began celebrations of the Army Day throughout the RS. Banja Luka – RS Army General Colic organised a reception for the families of soldiers killed in the war. In his speech he spoke of the historic importance of the Serb Army founded after the attack on Serb people. The Army saved the RS and its people who faced the threat of extermination. RS Army HQ will keep the peace and co-ordinate its activities in accordance with the DPA. 3:00
RS state officials sent their Army Day greetings:
- Krajisnik said that the RS Army took the obligation to defend the RS people in their bloody war for the fatherland, the same as the Serb army always did ever since the Serbs united for the first time when Saint Lazar took his oath at the Battle of Kosovo. The army is the key element for protection of the Serb future.
- RS Interior Minister Kijac said that the army and the police are the key elements for security of the fatherland that will never forget the victims of the imposed war.
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Brief News:
The CoM went for a six-day visit to the USA. They will meet the delegation of US high officials and discuss the implementation of the DPA and BiH common institutions. In his interview to Svenska Dagbladet, HR Bildt said that the region between Slovenia and Greece is the most unstable part of Europe, thus the international community must act strategically and on a long-term basis. Bildt suggested military regrouping of NATO that would provide security and its long-term presence within the ‘Partnership for Peace’ project, similar to the way this had been done in Germany after the Second World War. A customs union with Europe through economic reintegration of the region is the only way out, Bildt stressed. Svenska Dagbladet journalist concluded the article with the observation that the Muslim threats with a new war were caused by their rapid arming foreseen by the DPA. German Foreign Minister Kinkel announced a new programme for return of BH refugees. He said that the financial burden of keeping the refugees is becoming heavier each day for Germany so he asked from Sarajevo authorities to speed up the process of reception of refugees. Srpski Sveti Sabor (“Serb Sacred Assembly”) from Paris requested from a group of international legal experts to start an investigation against Anthony Lewis because he committed crimes against the Serbs. Lewis’s article published in the International Herald Tribune is the most severe attack on the RS, Dr. Radovan Karadzic, and General Mladic. His article is the most inflammatory article ever written in the history of enticing war hatred – worse than Hitler’s and Goebels’s Nazi propaganda.
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World News:
Sarajevo – DNZ member and Federation MP, Djedovic, was taken away from house confinement at the Holiday Inn Hotel to the Central Prison in Sarajevo. Ambassador Steiner said that Djedovic’s arrest was a scandalous violation of the Constitution, but Sarajevo authorities ignored him.
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