Banja Luka – Plavsic received a group of businessmen from Knezevo who informed her about the economic situation in this town. Plavsic promised she would do her best to send financial aid to this town.
2:00
Pale – The CoM Co-chair, Bosic and Minister Albijanic talked with the Chinese Ambassador to Sarajevo about the current situation in the RS. The Chinese Ambassador asked for the RS official position regarding the general situation in BiH and the RS, and agreed on it. He said that the holding of the RS pre-term elections is the only way out of the crisis in the RS. Bosic and Albijanic asked the Chinese Ambassador to help the CoM solve certain issues regarding the work of joint institutions, within the BiH Constitution and DPA, that is, BiH that consists of two entities, and three constitutive peoples.
2:00
Tanjug reported that the further steps of the IC regarding the Pale TV issue will be, as the State Department Spokesman Foley said, to air US entertainment programmes instead of SRT that will be transmitted via towers they seized. He did not specify which programme they will broadcast. However, the programme will not be ethnically coloured, whereas the IC will make a strict selection of the new Pale TV staff.
Sarajevo – the SFOR regular press conference – the IC representatives assessed the Brussels conference on the situation in RS and the media as positive, and proposed further steps towards its democratisation, that also includes the holding of the RS elections. OHR Spokesman (they said UNHCR) Haselock said that the final decision regarding Pale SRT will be made after a meeting between Krajisnik and HR Westendorp to be held at OHR. OSCE Spokesman Foley announced the results of the local elections for 19 municipalities, adding that OSCE is preparing a report for another 30 municipalities for tomorrow.
2:00
German media reported that NATO will definitely extend their mandate in BiH. They do not accuse the Serbs for non-implementation of the DPA, but Croats who do not see their future in the BiH Federation.
Russian MoD and Foreign Office denied information that Russian troops took part in the NATO action of seizing the SRT transmitters two days ago, claiming that the two Russian check- points on the road near Pale should not be considered as participation in the action. Anyhow, Russian officials are still strongly against any actions that could lead to a division of the RS.
Doboj – Yesterday’s statement of the Doboj Mayor Ljubic on SRT, when he openly pointed his finger at Milan Ninkovic, the head of Doboj SDS, accusing him of causing anxiety among people in the region, proves that there is still hope for the future and that the democratic process is developing slowly but certainly. Ljubic stated for Banja Luka news that he is not afraid of them (referring to SDS), and that he believes in honest, clever people, the patriots who were in Doboj before, during and after the war, and who know as well as he does who really harassed the people. He also said that he was threatened after his statement yesterday. SRT asked Doboj people about this statement and their vision of the future, and found that most of them agreed with Ljubic’s position. However, SDS will have the final word on this after its extraordinary session, to be held next Monday.
3:00
Banja Luka – The High Court in Banja Luka continued with proceedings against the war criminal, Izetbegovic who was accused of war crimes against humanity, killing of civilians, tortures of POWs, etc. 96 witnesses have given evidence so far.
2:00
Modrica – A trial against the Muslim, Faruk Halilovic who was accused of mass murders and tortures of civilians in various Muslim-Croat concentration camps in the region of Posavina in 1992, continued today since the public attorney collected more evidence against him. One of witnesses stated that Halilovic severely tortured him in a Muslim camp – he wanted so desperately to break his spine that he ordered him to lie down on the ground and adopt a position as he would to do push-ups, while Halilovic made a series of jumps on his back. The public attorney demanded the death penalty for Halilovic.
2:00
Novi Grad – The Canadian humanitarian organisation Care and the Canadian Embassy rebuilt and reopened a primary school which was destroyed and burnt down by Muslim extremists in 1995.