Brussels – It was officially confirmed that the third Donors Conference will be held on July 23 and 24. It has not been specified whether the conference at which the actual amounts of financial aid will be discussed, will be held on an expert or high level. According to the information from Co-Chairman Silajdzic’s cabinet, the donor countries are expected to contribute about 1.4 billion US dollars.
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Sarajevo – BiH President Izetbegovic held a meeting today with US Embassy representative Beecroft. Discussion focused on telecommunications, the BiH national flag, citizenship, passports, etc. Other main topics discussed included the foundation of the joint police forces in Her/Ner canton, and the return of the refugees to Brcko area.
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Sarajevo – Vice-Chair of the CoM, Tomic, received the HR Deputy Wagner today. They discussed the current situation in BiH, the forthcoming meeting of the DPA Implementation Committee, and the organising of the Donors Conference. Realisation of CoM obligations with regard to the Sintra conclusions, ministries’ foundations, and co-operation with the OHR was also discussed.
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Sarajevo – Minister of Foreign Trade and Economy in the CoM Muratovic received Chiarini, the Head of EC in BiH. The main subject of discussion was disagreement regarding the rehabilitation of the Telecommunication network. Those disagreements have existed for the past several months. It was agreed that European Commission should respond to our changes of the project, and following that, the memorandum could be signed. This would enable a solution to the problem of financing before the next Donors Conference.
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Gorazde – Bosnian/Drina Canton police was founded today. IPTF and Federal MUP representatives, as well as the BiH Prime-Minister Bicakcic was also present. Prime-Minister Bicakcic said that the canton police is one of the most important democratic institutions, and that the Federal government will try to achieve it in the whole Federation area. The canton police foundation creates conditions for all people to return to their homes. We will try to realise this great aim as soon as possible. UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Eide said that the police have to work according to internationally accepted methods and principals.
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Mostar – The UN spokesperson in Mostar, Moore said that The deadline for the Canton Police foundation expires on August 1, as regulated by the agreement achieved between the Bosnian and Croatian side last Friday. She also specified that the meeting on the internal deadline for the plan of founding six police precincts is scheduled for tomorrow. OHR speaker in Mostar Gasic mostly discussed the problem of Croatian majority municipalities’ creation. Quoting a letter from HR deputy Wagner, addressed to Federation President Soljic, and Federation Vice-president Ganic, Gasic said that the current constitution of Mostar does not enable foundation of joint governed municipalities, and thus any decision of assembling three municipalities to one, from any side of the Neretva river represents serious damage not only to the word but to the spirit of the DPA. Assessing that the HDZ representatives’ decision to form a union of the municipalities was illegal, Gasic also said that Wagner asked from Soljic and Ganic to intervene with the local authorities of west Mostar and point out their legal obligations.
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Zepce – The judges of the newly formed Joint Court of Law in Zepce pledged their allegiance today. Finally, all the conditions for updating the Court authorities in Zenica/Doboj canton have been established. On this occasion, it was said that this was a great achievement in implementing annex seven of the DPA, and that the court will act in accordance with all international contracts.
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Banja Luka – An explosion occurred by residential building, where an OSCE officer was housed. OSCE speaker Foley announced that there were no injuries, and the only damage was broken windows, included those on the OSCE officer’s apartment. Foley said that IPTF and SFOR are investigating this case.
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Hague – Indicted war criminal, Kovacevic recently arrested by SFOR, was transferred to hospital today. His condition is such, that it requires several days of observance in the prison hospital.
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Sarajevo – The alternative CoM held a press conference today. The central theme was the current situation in RS, and events in Prijedor.
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Sarajevo – In the announcement of the Croatian Embassy on so-called denial of Croatian documents to Bosniaks, as well as the right to permanent residence in Croatia it is said that people previously settled in Croatia who left later on, lose their right to permanent residence in accordance with current Croatian law. Such people must regulate their status in accordance with Croatian laws. The Croatian Embassy in BiH denied those claims in their announcement
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Summary SRT TV News
Banja Luka – SRT learned that RS President Plavsic met the Orthodox Bishop Pavle and discussed the current political situation in the RS and ways of solving it. However, there was no statement issued with regard to this meeting from the Presidential Cabinet.Mrkonjic Grad – Assembly Speaker Kalinic and RS Foreign Minister Buha met the representatives of several RS municipalities in the region of Mrkonjic Grad and discussed the current situation in the RS. SDS Vice-president Komljenovic said that members of all municipal authorities and SDS support the National Assembly’s and Constitutional Court’s decisions, as well as the general standpoint of the SDS. Buha said that he was particularly surprised when he found out that Plavsic had said that Krajisnik should not discuss and solve the crisis in RS because, as she allegedly said, he ‘belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina’. Buha said that ‘this statement leads us to conclude that she is building walls around who has competency on both sides. However, Plavsic cannot work without consultations and in agreement with other RS bodies, nor the RS bodies can make any decisions without her. This crisis must be resolved through the RS institutions, which is the only way to avoid confrontation and division both within the party [SDS] and the country.’ Buha appealed to the people to get used to the present situation because this is ‘a normal thing which happens all over the world, and we will overcome it only if we trust each other. Plavsic already committed herself at the meetings she held with the two of us and Krajisnik to resolve the crisis through the Constitutional Court. However, if she changes her position even after the Court makes a final decision, I don’t know what one can think about such a person then.
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Belgrade – Milosevic has been elected for the FRY President by a secret vote. He will officially assume office July 23.
Pale – The legal departments of OHR, SFOR, State Department, and the Venetian Commission have been stating their opinions with regard to the present situation in the RS, thus interfering illegally with the internal problems of the RS. The RS Deputy Foreign Minister Lukic said that what was said in Mr. Lamoen’s letter to the RS President is not true, i.e. that the RS bodies accepted the Commission’s role in solving this dispute, because this institution does not have the authority to legally deal with any problems in the RS. ‘The Commission is not a part of the DPA. It doesn’t have any rights or duties. We accepted it as a consultation body with the HR and nothing more than that. Therefore, its position is not legally binding,’ Lukic said, adding that this is a position of only two experts.
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SRT Commentary – The IC is directly interfering with the internal matters of the RS in order to control the RS bodies and take away from the RS everything that it had won during the four-year war so it could melt it into a unitary BiH. The IC is using the old colonial method that includes creation of disorder by internal divisions followed by a military attack on some strategic areas. The same method had been used on the RS each time it had not been co-operative. NATO bombings and enemy offensives forced us to the negotiating table, but now, since the RS was legally recognised by the DPA, they decided to disintegrate it from the inside. Of course, they also had to find an ally among our own ranks who would complete that job for them and commit a coup against the state institutions, police, and state media. But even they were surprised to find such an ally in the RS President herself. Apart from the people on the list of sealed indictments that was created by god knows who, maybe even by the Muslim political leadership, the Times said that Plavsic and the IC also discussed the arrest of Karadzic and Mladic. Realising that the RS is sinking deeper and deeper into the crisis, the state leadership tried to hold talks with the RS President. But now it is for certain that this is Sisyphean labour. Plavsic said she could not attend the meeting in Bijeljina because of her safety, but, only two days later, she came to this very town to promote herself, and ended up with the support of only a small bunch of people. Plavsic’s lack of will to solve the crisis was proved by her lack of co-operation at the meeting in Banja Luka. She said she couldn’t continue the meeting due to an illness, but then again two days later she appeared alive and kicking at the SRT in order to start another round of the fight with Krajisnik. She said that his duty is to work with BiH bodies, and not the dissolved assembly (imagine if they told Izetbegovic that he can’t deal with the problems of Muslims), adding that SRT’s general manager should be immediately dismissed or even sent to the Hague. But the Constitutional court, not the Venetian Commission from which Plavsic asked for an opinion, will decide whether the assembly is legal or not.
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The Hague – Mico Kovacevic’s lawyer Pantelic said that he will ask for immediate release of Kovacevic as soon as he gets better. According to Pantelic, Kovacevic is at the Hague hospital, where he was transferred right after his ‘kidnapping’. Pantelic said that he will raise the issue of the illegal procedure of arrest of Serbs without any evidence.
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VRS HQ Commander Colic said that his name is also on the list of sealed indictments, adding that SFOR blackmails all the Serbs so as to melt them into a unified BiH as soon as possible, which is not in line with any of the DPA segments.
Brcko – Several hundreds of Serbs peacefully protested against OSCE and IC rules that do not allow them to register. 3809 Serb refugees in Brcko finally found a place to settle down and now OSCE wants to force them to vote in Sarajevo and other places from which they had fled. Their complaints were sent to the OSCE HQ in Sarajevo, and OSCE will solve the complaints only if it suits them to have another 3809 Serbs living in Brcko, otherwise they will throw them in the dust bin.
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