Headlines
- The RS Government meets in Banja Luka
- Westendorp addresses letter to Kalinic informing him that the second session of the RS National Assemble has officially ended
- Seselj decides in Bijeljina – Radicals will act as an opposition party
- The UN Security Council discussion on the Iraq crisis
The RS Government met today to discuss its plan of action until the end of January. The session was also attended by the RS Vice -President, Dragoljub Mirjanic, and the Deputy High Representative, Hanns Schumacher. Addressing the session in his capacity as a guest, Schumacher reiterated that the new RS Government had not been imposed by the IC, but was elected in a legitimate way as a result of the will of the majority of RS MPs. Schumacher added that the German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel, today appealed to the IC to offer undivided support for the new RS Government and that the Council of Ministers of the European Union would meet on Monday to discuss a relief project worth U.S. $ 5 million needed by the RS state budget for the payment of outstanding salaries for RS teachers and pensioners. Speaking about the recent visit by the RS governmental delegation to Belgrade and its meeting with President Milosevic, the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, stated that the FRY expressed full support for the new RS Government, which, he said, would contribute to the stabilisation of relations between the two states, and the stabilisation of general situation in the RS. The session also discussed the report on the Brcko arbitration process. Radomir Lukic, an RS representative participating in the process, today resigned, as he refused to continue to represent the new Government in the process. The session also supported the draft law on the amendments and supplements to the Law on the RS Government, according to which the new RS Government would be based in Banja Luka, as well as the draft law invalidating the 33 laws passed by the former Government after the RS National Assembly had been officially dissolved.
4:49
The RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, in an interview to SRT, spoke about his recent meetings with top-level Yugoslav and Serbian officials: “The meeting with Milosevic stressed that the transfer of power from the former Government to the newly-elected one was going smoothly and normally. The meeting with the Serbian Prime Minister and other members of the Serbian Government discussed concrete measures to establish better co-operation. A number of concrete steps in the respective fields of trade, the transit of goods, the prevention of a grey economy were agreed. I hope that as early as within ten days we will be able to see the first concrete actions in this regard. The meting with the Federal Prime Minister primarily focused on the implementation of the Dayton Agreement. All outstanding donor obligations by the FRY towards the new RS Government are now expected to be fulfilled in the next few days. The meeting with Prime Minister Kontic also focused on issues relating to all kinds of traffic, and I think that the responsible ministries will be able to agree on a far more efficient border regime within the next month that will prevent any further delays and complications at border crossings with the FRY.
2:38
The RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, during his recent visit to Belgrade, also met with high-level officials of Serbian TV (RTS). The meeting discussed future co-operation and the presence of news items covering developments in the RS in all FRY media. The meeting with the Director of Serbian TV, Dragoljub Milanovic, stressed the importance of the media in strengthening relations and co-operation between the RS and the FRY, and the necessity of establishing closer relations between the respective media. The meeting also stressed that Serbian TV would continue to support co-operation and special relations between the RS and the FRY in all its programmes.
1:16
The High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, has officially informed the Speaker of the RS Parliament, Dragan Kalinic, that the second session of the RS Parliament ended on 18th January 1998, in spite of the fact that MPs from the SDS and the Serb Radical Party left the session before it finished. Westendorp specified that the session just could not resume now, and that the election of the new RS Prime Minister was in line with the RS Constitution.
0:29
The Deputy High Representative, Hanns Schumacher, today expressed the hope that there would not be two parallel sessions of the RS Parliament. Schumacher stressed that a meeting of the respective caucuses of RS parliamentary parties would be held in Bijeljina this evening to agree on guidelines that will be given to the Parliament Speaker regarding the venue of the third session of the RS Parliament. “Should the SDS move to open the meeting without the presence of the majority of MPs, such a meeting would not have a quorum and would represent an open and dangerous attempt to work against the DA.”
0:32
The President of the SDS Presidency, Aleksa Buha, confirmed to SRNA that he would be attending the consultative meeting of parliamentary parties’ caucuses scheduled for today in Bijeljina. With the exception of the SDS caucus, Buha, however, was not able to confirm the attendance by other parliamentary parties’ caucuses.
0:23
The leader of the Serb Radical Party, Vojislav Seselj, who is visiting Bijeljina today, met with RS MPs from the RS Radical Party there. The meeting decided that RS Radicals would, in the future, act as an opposition party and criticise the work of the new RS Government, using exclusively parliamentary means.
0:22
The Head of the SNS Caucus, Svetozar Mihajlovic, and the Vice President of the Party, Ostoja Knezevic, today addressed a letter to the Speaker of the RS Parliament, Dragan Kalinic, stressing that the most recent session of the RS Parliament managed to discuss all items on the agenda, and that it was, therefore, pointless to attend the scheduled consultative meeting on the resumption of the second session of the RS Parliament. The letter went on to say that: “The SNS will take part in preparations for the third session of the RS Parliament, in line with the RS Parliament Book of Rules.”
0:43
The RS Socialist Party today also released a public statement saying that this Party’s position was that the second session of the RS Parliament had ended in Bijeljina on 18th of January in line with the RS Constitution and the RS Parliament Book of Rules. “Any further discussions on a possible resumption of the second session will be seen as an attempt to obstruct the work of the Parliament by MPs from the SDS, as well as an attempt to contest the election of the new Government.
0:29
The RS Representative of the BH Presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, met with the new Head of the OSCE mission in BH, Robert Barry, in Pale today. No statements were released after the meeting.
0:18
The RS representative of the BH Presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, met with a German parliamentary delegation led by Dietmar Schlee in Pale today. The meeting focused on the return of Bosnian refugees who currently live in Germany.
0:28
Following the election of Milorad Dodik as the new Prime Minister, the German Foreign Minister, Klaus Kinkel, launched an initiative aimed at offering comprehensive help for the RS. Kinkel today announced that the European Union should now deliver funds that had already been allocated for the RS and that he would personally advocate that the RS receive additional support. The respective foreign ministers of the European Union member states are expected to decide on specific actions in this regard as early as next Monday. The German Foreign Minister has already had discussions with the Director of the World Bank and is planning to have discussions with the IMF on economic support for the RS. The German Foreign Ministry announced that they would allocate funds from their own budget to support those RS ministries that will be based in Banja Luka.
2:00
A Vice-President of the RS Parliament, Tihomir Gligoric, along with the RS Minister for Refugees and DPs, Miladin Dragicevic, today met with the respective representatives of the municipalities of Dravr and Glamoc, Mile Marceta and Bozo Jovicic. The meeting discussed the problems of refugees and DPs in these two municipalities.
0:26
The Alternative BH Council of Ministers that opened their office in Banja Luka today have already started to work. Representatives of the Council today held a round table discussion on issues relating to reconstruction and development. The Deputy High Representative, Hanns Schumacher, gave an introductory speech at the beginning of the round table discussion.
0:20