Mostar – Beginning from midnight today, the Joint Police will patrol in Mostar. Dressed in unique uniforms, Bosniaks and Croat policemen are deployed in the whole city – east and west. The process of setting up the Joint Police started in the central city’s zone and went ahead in all six municipalities. Establishing of the Joint Police is regarded a capital step towards a united town of Mostar.
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Sarajevo – The Office of the Federal Interior Minister issued information carried by BiH Press, that the setting up of the Joint Police was completed in Mostar according to the agreed model, before the scheduled time.
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Sarajevo – American Ambassador to UN, Robert Richardson paying an official visit to BiH today met Alija Izetbegovic, Presidency Chairman as well as Kresimir Zubak, Presidency member. The topics of their separate meetings were: implementation of the DPA, especially establishment of the Joint Police powers in the Neretva-Hercegovina Canton, refugee return in this and middle Bosnian Canton as well as talks on the forthcoming Donors Conference. They also focused on the Brcko question and refugee return to this town.
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At the Press Conference following the talks, American Ambassador announced that Alija Izetbegovic and Croatian President Tudjman will, as a result of the establishing of the joint police powers in Mostar, meet on 6 August. Following a certain delay in recent time, Richardson pointed out the positive development of events in general in BiH, caused by the strong political action of Bill Clinton and Madelaine Albright.
1’30”
Ambassador Richardson also met with General Crouch, who informed him of the incidents and violence in RS. I would like to point out that the attempts of some factors in RS to bring threat and animosity towards SFOR, are foolish and must stop immediately, Richardson said before he left for Konjic, together with the high level FBiH representatives.
Sarajevo – BiH CoM convened in full today, after an 18 day pause and 2 canceled sessions. The meeting is a result of harmonizing all important questions – prerequisites for the Donors Conference. Haris Silajdzic, CoM Co-Chairman said that there exists a complete agreement concerning the basic stands relating to the Conference. Boro Bosic confirmed that the delegations of the two entities are not traveling together to Brussels, but we will be together there tonight, he added.
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Haris Silajdzic commented on the announcement of Mate Granic, Croatian Chief of Diplomacy, who expressed Croatian dissatisfaction with the work of the BiH Intelligence Agency, the organization of BiH TV, the non acceptance of the law on new municipalities and the division of ambassadors’ appointments. Expressing surprise that a foreign country (Croatia) believes it has the right to mix in the internal affairs of another (BiH), he said that such an attitude is not in compliance with the DPA. We should rather ask why the work of Croatian TV is tolerated in the media space of BiH and why part of our country is shown in a weather report every day, as a part of Croatia, he added and gave more examples.
2’30”
Edhem Bicakcic, FBiH Prime Minister and Ambassador Donato Chiarini, EU Mission Chief in BiH signed an agreement on funding of the telecommunication net between Federation and RS. A sum of DM 7,0 million will enable reconstruction of a complete telecommunication network by September. The same memorandum signed RS recently.
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Follows information from the Press Conference of the international organizations, situation in RS, Croatian reactions to the Hague Tribunal demands and the current world news.
Summary SRT TV News
The RS Parliament Speaker, Kalinic convened the 11th session of the Parliament to be held on Aug. 8. Draft Laws on Refugees, public peace and order, strike, and other issues will be on the Agenda. Kalinic sent an invitation to all the MP’s including the RS President.The RS Government issued a press release, analysing the current situation in the RS prior to the donors’ conference:
- The experience with regard to the donors’ conference does not give us a lot of hope. However, the RS Government has been preparing for the conference and established a number of projects for reconstruction, although it managed to cover the majority of costs without money from abroad;
- A dark cloud of crime came over the RS from the very top. Therefore, the Government leaned on the Constitution and managed to survive, aware of Plavsic’s manipulations she used in order to keep her power. The Government continued to carry out its duties and keep the situation under the control. It hopes that it will be known who works in line with laws and who doesn’t, but the RS Government does not have time to organise rallies and explain its decisions. It work confirms it all;
- In order to find a way to remove Karadzic who was able to solve all the problems within the RS institutions instead of organising rallies, and to cause people’s reaction, Plavsic had to make Karadzic a Serb enemy. The only result of Plavsic’s campaign is that world media do not talk about Karadzic as the leader of all the Serbs anymore, but only as a criminal. Besides, in this temporary political campaign, Plavsic sacrificed both the Government and the Parliament;
- Van Den Broek’s statement that the RS will not receive a penny of aid as long as Karadzic holds illegal economy of the RS in his hands because the IC cannot be sure that the aid will not finish in Karadzic’s pockets, is similar to Plavsic’s statement given to Der Spiegel which is full of lies, confusion, gossips, and unfinished stories;
- The RS Government will make lists of personal possession of all officials and publish them, although they are not sure that Plavsic’s supporters have the nerve to do the same;
6:00
Sarajevo – the CoM session – the CoM agreed on all the issues which created obstacles for holding of the donors’ conference in Brussels on July 23 and 24. The CoM Co-chair Bosic expressed his hope that the donors’ conference will not be postponed again.
2:00
The representative of the RS Constitutional Court, Simovic said that the Court will not be able to organise a public hearing of the case Plavsic against RS Parliament before Aug. 10. He invited all the press, Parliament, the RS high ranking politicians and others to attend the hearing.
Banja Luka – The RS President Plavsic held separate meetings with the Russian Foreign Minister Aksenikov, and the US Special Envoy for Human Rights, Rehn. The discussion was about the current crisis in the RS, human rights and the issue of open towns, implementation of the DPA, and donors’ conference. Plavsic said that they offered certain suggestion which will be accepted with regard to the situation. She also said that she hoped that the donors’ conference will bring prosperity to the RS, adding that the legally received financial resources will remove aside those made on the black-market and bring the country back to its feet again.
Plavsic also talked to the US Special Envoy Richardson about implementation of the DPA and the present crisis in the RS, donors’ conference, the issue of Brcko and, as Richardson said, acts of terrorism against the IC. SRT commented that Richardson did not call the SFOR acts of murder and kidnapping terrorism. Plavsic said that all the RS citizens are willing to solve the crisis as soon as possible and to implement the DPA. She should sign an agreement with the USAID for concrete aid to the RS.
4:00
Brcko – The Interior Minister Kijac held a meeting with the local police of Brcko, and analysed the security situation. They also discussed how to stop the black marketeering with the Federation, and adopted certain measures in that regard, and concluded that the relations between MUP and SFOR is getting better after its recent crisis.
3:00
The Times reported that Plavsic was offered British asylum once she decides to run away, even if the Constitutional Court decides in favour of her. Plavsic has established good relations with the Yugoslav royal family and the Serb community there. However, the British diplomats denied it, confirming that she is welcomed to visit Britain as long as her visa is valid.
3:00
The RS Ministry of Health condemned Plavsic’s statement referring to Dr. Karadzic who did not pay a visit to almost any of the RS hospitals and wounded soldiers during the war, confirming that Karadzic as a human being and a doctor often paid visits to hospitals and soldiers in both the RS and FRY. On the other hand the SRT played a video material of Karadzic, Krajisnik and other RS officials [05.09.93, Foca, 11.05.94, Brcko and 08.01.95, a hospital near Sarajevo] where Karadzic talked with the staff of the hospitals and soldiers, wishing them all the best. SRT also said that Plavsic should remember that members of her family occupied almost a half of the hospital in Koran, ‘beds which could be used for 15 soldiers’ using all medications which could hardly be found at the time, and yet nobody complained.
4:00
Trebinje – The town was covered with posters condemning the IC, SFOR in particular, for their acts of vandalism against good hearted Serb people and their hospitality. Pamphlets openly called for the RS citizens to stop every co-operation with the IC, starting from cancelling their accommodation to refusal to sell them goods in the shops.
3:00
The RS citizens anxiety which resulted from the recent SFOR acts in Prijedor and Plavsic’s statement that all the RS citizens think the same, made several families from Serb Sarajevo and Pale write a letter of protest to the RS President, asking her to whom she waved goodbye sending him off to the front, and for whose life she feared like Serb mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters did. ‘Don’t tell us that you feared for the whole RS people.’ She doesn’t trust the RS Parliament, Government, army, police, the Serb TV, who called her an iron lady. ‘But you trust Albright, Bildt, Steiner, Frowick, and Crouch, that is, those who protect you, but from who.’ Then they asked her why she tolerates the internationals because they cannot tolerate their ancient enemy who killed their sons and fathers and don’t need their protection. ‘We don’t need either salary or pension promised by Albright, dollars splashed with blood of our killed sons. There is no greater crime than selling out Serb heroes for financial resources promised by the West.’ They referred to Plavsic’s statement that the strongest world power, the US, will protect the RS, asking if this is the same ‘America which bombed the Serb Krajina in ’95.’ The Serb sons were dying throughout the RS, even when they were getting Plavsic’s ‘furniture and family out of Sarajevo.’ After she put the blame on Pale she promised democracy, prosperity, wealth, but the Serb families heard those words before from Izetbegovic, Genscher, Mok, Juppe and other politicians.
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