20.11.1997

OHR SRT News Summary, 20 Nov. 1997

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Headlines

  • “Forces that offer a better future will win in the elections”, Javier Solana stated in Sarajevo
  • Ambassador R. Frowick spoke to Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade
  • Draft Law on the Council of Ministers adopted

00:20

The new Parliament will consist of 83 members from 49 parties, coalitions and independent candidates. OSCE has ensured 1,200 observers and supervisors for the elections, which is the reason for today’s visit to Sarajevo by Javier Solana, Secretary General of NATO, and General Wesley Clark.

Javier Solana arrived in Sarajevo today to support the parliamentary elections in RS. He visited NATO soldiers based near Sarajevo and IEBL and stated that the International Community would ensure security for all those who would vote in the elections.

“We will not tolerate any violence and everybody will be free to vote”, Solana emphasized. Momcilo Krajisnik, a Serb member in the BiH Presidency, and Alija Izetbegovic, the President in the Presidency, spoke today in Sarajevo with Javier Solana, General Wesley Clark, General Shinseki and the High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, about citizenship, passports and other problems.

“We are specially interested in passports, citizenship and the Law on the Council of Ministers, because those are the bones of contention for some structure to function”, Mr. Krajisnik stated after the meeting.
2:15

The Council of Ministers of BiH adopted today in Serb Sarajevo the draft Law on the Council of Ministers. The Law on passports was not adopted due to doubt on the Serb side relating to one item of that Law. Namely, the Serb side believes that the item was changed after the session held on November 13, 1997. The Law on citizenship was not adopted because the members of the Council of Ministers could not agree on the wording of the Law.
1:00

The Local Electoral Commission of Brcko confirmed that 3,200 voters from Brcko who were deprived of their right to be registered for the local elections, will be able to vote in the forthcoming elections. “Electoral material has arrived in Brcko and preparations are in full swing, even better than in the last elections”, the President of the Local Electoral Commission of Brcko stated for Srna.
0:30

Preparations for the coming parliamentary elections in Herzegovina are about to finish. All the tasks relating to that have been carried out by the Local Electoral Commission and OSCE. In seven municipalities of Herzegovina there would be 98 polling stations. 60,000 voters are supposed to vote. In each municipality there would be a polling station intended for the voters from the Federation.
1:45

10,000 citizens of BiH living abroad have already voted, and their ballots have been sent to the OSCE Centre in Vienna, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of RS stated today to Srna Agency.
1:00

Slobodan Milosevic, the President of FR Yugoslavia, received in Belgrade today. Mr. Frowick, the Head of OSCE Mission in BiH. The topic of the meeting was the current situation in respect of the parliamentary elections in RS, and the efforts for further implementation of the Dayton Agreement.
0:40

Kathy Ladun, the IPTF spokesperson, stated that the International Community did not expect any problems during the parliamentary elections in Brcko. “As in the local elections, one polling station in the zone of separation would be intended for the voters from the Federation of BiH”, Kathy Ladun said and added that there would be one IPTF member present at each polling station.
0:30

The refugees who live in Montenegro will be able to vote in eight (8) towns, says the statement issued by the Commission for DPs of the Government of Montenegro.
0:20

Klaus Kinkel, German Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Hubert Vedrine, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, will visit RS and the BiH Federation on December 4th. The aim of their visit is preparation for the summit on Dayton Agreement implementation which will take place in Bonn on the 9th and 10th December.
0:30

OSCE required SDS to remove posters of Radovan Karadzic by Friday, November 21, at 17:00; otherwise candidates of SDS would be removed from the list for the coming elections.
0:30

Aleksa Buha stated today in BL that the pre-electoral campaign of that party went well despite the democratic media darkness.
0:20

The Serb Party of Krajina and Posavina today opposed the initiative of the Socialist Party and the Party of Independent Social Democrats to include Sipovo and Mrkonjic grad into the UNHCR programme of “open towns”.
0:25

Slavko Zupljanin, the President of SPAS, condemned some parties in RS which wanted the revision of the Dayton Agreement. He said that the certain funds that SPAS had been given by sponsors would be donated to the Fund for scholarships for children of the deceased soldiers “Petar Kocik”, and to the families of war invalids.
0:30

Carlos Westendorp, the High Representative, expressed his concern regarding the situation relating to the opposition in Bijeljina, especially about the activity of the Serb National Alliance of that town. The situation culminated there on the 14th November when a tear gas was thrown at the premises of SNS. Local Authorities and the police did not react adequately. The High Representative condemned such activities. He reminds the local authorities of their obligation to ensure a democratic political campaign.
0:50