24.11.1999

OHR RTRS News Summary, 24 November 1999

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News Headlines

  • Dodik and Bicakcic meet with Petritsch
  • Dodik meets with Serb Sarajevo Mayor Lasica
  • RS leadership acknowledges New York Declaration – Ferguson
  • BiH Presidency adopts draft BiH border service law
  • BiH Presidency discusses draft 2000 budget
  • BiH Serb politicians not brave enough to say RS is not a state – Mihajlovic
  • BiH Council of Ministers discusses program till end of year
  • BiH House of Representatives adopts Law on BiH Refugees and DPs and amendments to Law on Immigration and Asylum
  • Conference on De-mining in BiH concludes in Serb Sarajevo
  • Majority of refugees and DPs polled want to return home – UNHCR
  • BiH Presidency accepted 21 November as BiH Statehood Day – Dodik
  • Logical for 21 November to be BiH Statehood Day since Dayton Agreement was signed on that day – Djokic
  • Natural for 21 November to be BiH Statehood Day – Plavsic
  • 25 November will be working day in Livno Canton even if it is BiH Statehood Day
  • 10th session of BiH Federation House of Representatives convenes in Sarajevo
  • SFOR spokesperson on IMC decision for TV Erotel
  • 3 December deadline for filing property return claims in BiH Federation
  • IMC fines Croat RTV Herceg-Bosna
  • Stability Pact cannot succeed without Serbia – Koschnik
  • Kouchner opposes lifting sanctions on Belgrade
  • NATO has no evidence KLA members entered Serbia in organized operation – unnamed NATO official
  • Two police officers injured in terrorist attack on police station in Bujanovac, Kosovo
  • KFOR arrests several members of Kosovo Protection Corps for illegal possession of weapons
  • Member of Kosovo Protection Corps arrested in Klina for abuse of official position – KFOR
  • British and Canadian KFOR and UN Police search vehicles for illegal weapons
  • Three Serb houses burned in Prizren
  • Independent Kosovo is only real political solution – Rugova
  • Yugoslav JAT airlines loses over $130 million due to EU sanctions – BETA
  • World News
  • RS Deputy Premier Gligoric and RS Syndicate meet with Yugoslav Syndicate and Serbian Independent Unions
  • Banja Luka-based Incel Company workers protest in front of RS Government building and demand payment of seven back salaries
  • 12 primary school textbooks presented in Bijeljina
  • RS Army General Krstic to enter plea before ICTY on 25 November
  • It will take long time for peace in Kosovo – conclusions from International Forum on Balkan Stability held in Paris
  • Sports
  • Weather

News Summary

Dodik and Bicakcic meet with Petritsch

RS and BiH Federation Prime Ministers Milorad Dodik and Edhem Bicakcic met with High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch in Sarajevo to discuss the need to apply the property law, brought by Petritsch, more efficiently. Petritsch stated that the return of refugees is of the utmost urgency since it is unacceptable for hundreds of thousands of refugees and DPs to still not have access to their pre-war homes and property. According to him, that is the reason why the entities must provide greater financial means for reconstruction of existing or construction of new buildings for refugees. The Prime Ministers pointed to the problem of double occupancy and the importance of the Interior Ministries in realizing property laws. Dodik stated that the RS Government supports the property laws brought by Petritsch. He emphasized the necessity of establishing a joint commission at the BiH level, which would monitor the results of property law implementation. Bicakcic discussed BiH Federation plans to support refugee return. He added that new legislation for property issues has created a distinctive legal framework in BiH, which is the framework needed for two-way returns in both BiH entities. Petritsch concluded that he expects concrete results in the application of property laws very soon.

02:07

RS leadership acknowledges New York Declaration – Ferguson

OHR spokesman James Ferguson told a press conference in Banja Luka that the request for a special session of the RS National Assembly to discuss the New York Declaration shows that the RS leadership acknowledges the document. He said that the High Representative supports the draft law on the state border service and that the OHR is eagerly awaiting the deployment of multinational units on the border at the beginning of 2000. Ferguson added that the purpose of the common passports is to offer a common international identity to those who do not want to be specifically identified as citizens of one of the two BiH entities. He could not say precisely whether the new BiH passport without entity symbols would be mandatory. Even if the New York Declaration does not specify any deadlines, the OHR believes that the new passport would be introduced after the current one expires. He also commented on certain reports in the RS media that the OHR requested the dismissal of RS Information Minister Rajko Vasic by saying that Vasic’s future is an issue for the RS Government. The OHR has already asked the RS Government to carry out its obligations in accordance with the Law on RT RS, said Ferguson. He could not give any other details on the talks with the RS Government.

01:25

SFOR spokesperson on IMC decision for TV Erotel

The SFOR MND Southeast spokesperson stated that SFOR has received a letter from the IMC asking for assistance in regard to its decision to ban the broadcasting of the Mostar-based TV Erotel. According to ONASA, SFOR is considering the problem but will not react until the OHR requests it to do so.

00:29

IMC fines Croat RTV Herceg-Bosna

According to an IMC statement, the IMC Enforcement Panel has fined the Croat RTV Herceg-Bosna 5,000 KM after the station on several occasions violated the provision on Editorial Responsibility in the IMC Code of Broadcasting.

00:20