(No-comment footage: SFOR vehicles rolling, crowd of people throwing stones at them, a young boy in the hospital with bandages on his leg…)
The pictures you have just seen were filmed today in Bijeljina, Brcko, Janja, Jahorina and other places where SFOR tried to occupy with the goal of taking over the police stations and bringing in the para-police forces loyal to Biljana Plavsic. This morning, SFOR took control of the Udrigovo SRT transmitter near Bijlejina. SFOR did not mind opening fire on unarmed people. In Brcko, five civilians were wounded. This unexpected show-off did not scare the Serb people, on the contrary, it mobilised them to decisively stand against the occupation and the division of the RS. In the meantime, Ms. Biljana Plavsic is busy with the forming of her new party.
Early this morning, SFOR tried to take over the Ministry of Interior in Bijeljina, Centre for Public Security in Brcko and to block the special police brigade in Janja. The RS Interior Ministry released a statement saying that the goal was to put in place the illegally appointed Minister of Interior by Biljana Plavsic. The situation become dramatic at 4.00 a.m. when the people went to the streets. Some did so spontaneously, others were called upon by the Serb Radical Party and the SDS from Bijeljina. In the SFOR blockade of Bijeljina, Brcko and Janje, a few hundred SFOR vehicles were used, together with numerous helicopters.
Another sleepless night is ahead for the people from Brcko. The total occupation did not come through thanks to the people who knew what they are defending and why. Almost nothing has changed as of this morning. Neither tear gas nor threats from the air and ground scared away the people, who are defending the city with their bodies. ‘We have more patience and energy than those up there have the fuel’, somebody said. The tragic fact is that 5 people were wounded. The extraordinary session of the local board of the SDS and the municipal Assembly concluded that traitors were active even among the people of Brcko. They have organised these events. We will talk about the names after the investigation. The Assembly began an initiative to name Bosko Maricic the Head of the Brcko CJB. Mr. Farrand did not push himself very much in an attempt to calm down the situation. He even asked himself at the meeting with the local officials ‘how come this happened in Brcko’. The talks between Farrand and SFOR were very intensive throughout the whole day, but according to the situation on the streets right now, no progress was made.
Premier Klickovic was also in town and had addressed the crowd, gathered in front of the municipal building: “I want to say that we would face the fate of the Republic of the Serb Krajina if you hadn’t done what you did this morning. According to the scenario, BP was supposed to have her speech and the meeting in ‘liberated’ Bijeljina. Yesterday, all transmitters of the SRT were supposed to be taken and today, the Brcko CJB was due to receive a new Ministry of Interior. In addition to this, a new Republic Ministry of Interior was scheduled to be formed in Bijeljina. But you and people from Bijeljina preserved the RS. Biljana Plavsic, as a current SFOR Commander, did not blink an eye when she put the Serbian children in SFOR uniforms and SFOR tanks and sent them to Duge Njive. We regained control in Duge Njive and arrested these Serbs…Today, we will solve problems of some other sites which are of great importance for the SRT. I hope that tonight you will be able to watch the SRT here. I beg you to have the patience and have your eye on each Serb here… and don’t fall for the provocation’s. Tonight we will meet with the representatives of the IC and will tell them that, in such capacity, they are not welcome here anymore.”
SFOR blocked the Pale-Jahorina road. The goal of this action was to gain control of the smaller housing unit belonging to the anti-terrorist police unit. Using an excuse to inspect the site, SFOR entered the barracks. Four officers were allowed to get in, but did not find anything illegal. SFOR left after that. Immediately after, rumors spread saying that SFOR was heading toward the SRT relay in Trebevic. The SRT crew went there and reported that the relay is well secured and safe.
This brutal SFOR action provoked the spontaneous reaction of the people who know the price of their state. Report from Bijeljina: (many banners with Karadzic’s and Seselj’s pictures were seen) People gathered early this morning and gave support to the legally elected institutions of the RS. At the meeting, Cvjetin Mikic, president of the municipal SDS Board, was the first one who addressed the crowd consisting of a few thousand people. Premier Klickovic made a speech as well (the same points made as in Brcko)
In Sokolac, a meeting ‘For the RS’ was held, organised by the SDS municipal board. The top RS officials, Momcilo Krajisnik, Dragan Kalinic, Velibor Ostojic and others, made their points. “According to Dayton, nobody has the right to appoint ‘the obedient people’ to the Government, police or the army. We will decide about that. I would like to thank SFOR for all the good they did, but would also like to stress that we will not allow the occupation of our police stations and the division of the RS,” Krajisnik said.
The RS Interior Minister, Slavko Paleksic, and the American general Greench met in Ugljevik today. The meeting was held behind closed doors. After the first round of talks, the American general flew off to Brcko, while Paleksic and the municipal officials from Bijeljina stayed and continued the talks.
A report from Zvornik: Another brutal show of force was seen today in Zvornik. A check-point was set up on the Zvornik-Bijlejina road, at which SFOR searched for long-barrelled weapons. People were very upset and the situation was boiling up. An SFOR soldier spoke on camera in clear American English: “SFOR has the authority to run compliance check-points throughout the area. The purpose of the check-points is to search for any illegal weapons or any violation of the Dayton accord. The incident today was just a misunderstanding. The way it happened…The way we have this check points, we have to stop cars at either end. So we don’t create an accident in the middle. There was a lot of traffic and a lot of cars were not allowed to get through.” The situation was resolved when the local CJB set a joint check point with SFOR and the IPTF. After 13.30, SFOR left and allowed the situation to normalise.
Minister of Information, Svjetlana Siljegovic, denounced the CNN claims that SFOR is carrying out the security operations to prevent an outburst of violence in RS. Siljegovic said that SFOR arrived in Brcko and Bijeljina to take over some vital buildings of the state bodies and the state media. We can conclude that SFOR accepted to be the executor of a certain political option in the RS.
According to the first reactions, the world is, above all overwhelmed. It is clear to everyone now that the Serb people will not allow the realisation of those plans which are not part of the DPA.
SRT carried the SKY News report, saying that NATO troops faced the open animosity of the Serb civilians who stoned their vehicles rolling to Janja and Bijeljina. Plavsic, who used to be a hard-line nationalist, is now sticking to the DPA and enjoys the full support of the IC. But peace can not be established here where people still believe that she is a traitor and Radovan Karadzic their hero and saviour, concluded the SKY News report.
In Belgrade, leader of the Radical Party, Vosjislav Seselj, called upon all Serbs to stand against the occupier in order to make his stay in the RS unbearable.
Summary SRT TV NewsBanja Luka
HEADLINES
- Today we note a worsening of the political security situation in RS, especially in the area of Brcko and Bijeljina. The news reported by various agencies is quite contradictory and its hard to determine precisely what is going on in those places.
- at 7:45 am the citizens of Brcko prevent SFOR from taking the Center for Public Security (CPS);
- at about 2:30 am strong SFOR forces with tanks and armored vehicles block the CPS and the police station
- SFOR opens fire on two occasions shooting in the air from small fire arms;
- at 8:15 am a meeting of the Council of town security is held; two citizens wounded by SFOR;
- at 8:40 the people’s wrath turns against anything in Brcko that has the insignia of SFOR or other international organizations;
- the Head of the CPS, Andrija Bjelosevic tells SRNA journalist that he does not control the situation in Brcko;
- at 9:25 the Commander of SFOR says that there are no wounded SFOR personnel;
- the municipal authorities meet with Supervisor Farrand;
- at 12:35 the sirens in Brcko announce general danger by which the Council of Defense call the people of Brcko to come out to the streets and defend their country;
- at 12:45 American SFOR soldiers withdraw to the Sava bridge where they surrounded themselves with barbed wire;
- at 14:10 the SDS municipal board states at its meeting that the people of RS are not against SFOR and the international community but are against their latest actions;
- Milos Jovic, a physician from the Brcko hospital says that five civilians were wounded;
- SRNA reports that a meeting between Slavko Poleksic, a new minister of interior appointed by the Pale Assembly, and with SFOR will take place in the afternoon hours;
- Agency Beat reports that Gojko Klickovic, RS Prime Minister, said that the Government of RS would inform the representatives of the international community that they were not welcome anymore in the territory of RS because of their present behavior. “They have gone over all limits in… violating the Dayton Peace Agreement. What they are doing is not written anywhere and nobody has given them that mandate,” Klickovic stated in front of about 500 Brcko citizens at a protest rally, He called on the gathering to give the “right” answer to the representatives of the international community.
- The CPS in Bijeljina reported that the SFOR members occupied the SRT transmitter this morning at about 5:00 am in Udrigovo, north of Bijeljina.
- Several thousand citizens gathered in Bijeljina to protest and they were joined by Gojko Klickovic, Djoja Arsenovic, Vice-President of SDS and the Head of the General Headquarters of the RS Army, Major General Pero Colic.
- RS President stated today in Banja Luka that she did not like hearing the news concerning the incidents in RS. After a meeting of the founding Assembly of the Serb National Alliance, Plavsic said she had heard about the incidents on her way to the Assembly.
- Momcilo Krajisnik, a member of BiH Presidency from RS, warned today that the current actions of SFOR could have formidable consequences on the peace in this region. SFOR could not be called an occupier but was very close to such a qualification, said Krajisnik.
- Gojko Klickovic said today in Bijeljina that the scenario from Banja Luka on taking power with the help of SFOR and international agencies had been crushed in Duge Njive near Doboj, in Brcko and Bijeljina.
- One of the greatest Serb religious holidays, Velika Gospojina (the Great Lady) was celebrated in all churches in RS.
- At the founding Assembly of the Serb National Alliance held today in Banja Luka, 436 members of the party publicly elected Biljana Plavsic as their president.
- Ostoja Knezevic, Svetozar Mihajlovic and Dragan Veselinovic were elected as Vice-Presidents of the Serb National Alliance, whose members are also former SDS leaders and RS ministers
- SFOR members withdrew from three of five police stations in Banja Luka
- The Deputy of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Igor Afanisijevski will visit RS on 31August because Russia is worried about the situation in RS, reported the Russian Foreign Ministry today.
- The London Times claims Slobodan Milosevic will definitely come to Banja Luka because the people from Milosevic’s protocol have already been seen in Banja Luka.
- Dragutin Ilic, a Vice President of the Socialist Party of RS, said today that the Main Board of the party did not have information that this party’s members participated in taking the SRT transmitter in Duge Njive near Doboj.