Headlines
- The RS Government adopts new standing orders on the organization of the RS Ministry of Interior
- Kosovo Albanians as an obstruction in discovering the destiny of two journalists of Tanjug
- Intense diplomatic activities by RS top-level officials
- Italy officially approved the new Government
The RS Government met behind closed doors in Banja Luka today. The meeting focused on the reconstruction of the RS police in line with the DA. According to the new rules of procedure related to the internal organization of the RS Ministry of Interior that were adopted at the session, all police officers and employees of the Ministry will be put through a test of their professional expertise which will, eventually, lead to a reduction of the total number of Ministry’s personnel to 8.500. The Government also adopted the respective preliminary drafts of the RS Law on Amnesty and the Law on Lawyers to be forwarded to the RS Parliament to go through a regular procedure.
2:57
(Kosovo-related news) A peaceful protest rally of journalists took place in front of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade today requesting the U. S., as a guarantor of the agreement on a peaceful solution of the Kosovo crisis, to get involved to get two journalists of the Tanjug news agency who recently went missing released.
1:47
BETA reports that private consultations on a possible resolution supporting the recent agreement between President Milosevic and mediator Holbrooke yesterday started between the members of the Contact Group in New York. According to BETA, Russia has refused a proposal made by Great Britain that the UN Security Council should pass a resolution in support of a NATO military intervention if the Yugoslav troops do not withdraw from the area until 27th October.
0:24
The Association of Independent Electronic Media today condemned the newly passed Serbian Law on Information and described it as the most restrictive Serbian law on media ever.
0:14
The RS President, Biljana Plavsic, has, today, held separate meetings with the German and the Swiss Ambassador in BiH. After meeting Plavsic, the German Ambassador, Hennecke Graf Von Bassewitz, stated that Germany intended to have its companies involved in the development of economy in the RS and thus held create conditions for the return of refugees. No statement has, however, been released after the meeting with the Swiss Ambassador.
1:17
The newly elected RS President, Nikola Poplasen, also met with the German and the Swiss Ambassador in BiH in Banja Luka today.
0:36
The German and the Swiss Ambassador to Sarajevo also met with the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik. After meeting Dodik, the German Ambassador stated that the continuation of dialogue with the current Government would contribute to the RS economy and the return process. The Ambassador expressed concerns that the RS could possibly find itself isolated due to the activities be certain individuals wishing to cut off contacts with the rest of Europe. The Swiss Ambassador, on his part, stated that the meeting with Dodik had discussed the post-election political situation in the RS as well.
0:57
The RS representative at the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic, today held separate meetings with the respective Ambassadors of Greece, Spain, Portugal and France. All of the meetings agreed that the full implementation of the DA was a good basis for an accelerated economic and social rehabilitation of the RS and the BiH Federation. After meeting Radisic, the French Ambassador, Yves Gaudeul, stated that Radisic had made it clear that the Brcko issue was of a great importance for the Serb people and that he was going to pass on Radisic’s concerns to his Government in Paris. The four Ambassadors expressed their support for Radisic’s efforts to duly implement the DA.
3:14
Exhumation work by members of the RS State POW Exchange Commission and an RS expert team today continued at the locality of Susnjar in the vicinity of Sanski Most. Bodies of 66 Serb soldiers and civilians who were killed in the autumn of 1995 have been exhumed in the past three days.
1:27
The RS state Association of families of killed and captured RS soldiers and missing civilians today released a public statement saying that the establishment of common sports associations and competitions in BiH or between the two entities would not be appropriate at the current moment, when the destinies of over 1.000 soldiers and several thousand civilians are still unclear.
01:02
The Speaker of the RS Parliament, Petar Djokic, has scheduled a consultative meeting between representatives of all RS parliamentary parties for tomorrow in Banja Luka. The meeting is expected to elect members of the parliamentary Commission for verifying.
0:36
The SDS Presidency met in Pale today as part of preparations for the consultative meeting of RS parliamentary parties scheduled for tomorrow. The meeting designated SDS candidates for members of RS parliamentary bodies, including the Commission for verifying. According to Dragan Kalinic, the SDS will insist that the political party with the largest number of seats should be able to propose a nominee for the new Prime Minister. On the issue of Cavic, Kalinic stressed that the SDS remained of the firm view that the decision removing Cavic should be withdrawn and that Cavic should be allowed to occupy public functions in the RS and BiH.
1:48
The Serb Coalition for the RS held a press conference in Banja Luka today. According to Predrag Lazarevic, the President of the Coalition Coordinating Board, this coalition will insist that a Government of national unity should be established, or at least a parliamentary, majority with the list of parties constituting such majority to be clearly indicated. Lazarevic went on to give the example of Germany as a pattern to follow in creating such a majority. Present journalists were delivered copies of a protest letter addressed to the HR and the OSCE MEC on the publication of a statement by Duncan Bullivant describing the Mayor of Banja Luka as a “racist pig”.
2:15
OBN looking for a local company in BiH to buy it off in due time.
0:11
A statement has been released by the Cabinet of the Banja Luka Mayor, Djordje Umicevic, correcting the report aired on last night’s SRT evening news on the letter of gratitude addressed by the BL MA to the respective Governments of Russia and Belorussia. The statement should, thus, state that in the light of the Kosovo crisis, the BL MA wished to express their gratitude for Russian and Belorussian support to the Serb people, but not for President Milosevic.
0:31