Headlines
- The continuation of the constitutional session of the Republic Parliament is scheduled for 12 January
- The Deputy High Representative for B&H, Hanns Schumacher handed over to the RS Assembly a document with the IC demands
- Northern Ireland Protestant terrorist group stated that it had killed one person and wounded three persons as a sign of revenge for killing its leader
The constitutional session of the RS National Assembly was stopped last night in Bijeljina after the new-elected deputies did not manage to achieve an agreement about the appointment of the president, vice-president and the secretary general of the National Assembly. The continuation of the session will be held the latest on 12 January, again in Bijeljina. The final date of the session continuation will be determined on 9 January when the consultative meeting of the partiesą leaders should be held.
0:30
Mrs. Plavsicąs comment on the progress of the yesterdayąs constitutional session of the RS National Assembly: “It is not finished. It will be continued on 12 January. In the first part it seemed that everything was started. However, the deputies spent all their energy in that part. Two commissions were formed and the deputies took the oath. I think that a significant part was done and maybe it is good to wait for 12 January. Maybe, due to such time distance it would be possible to have more success regarding the cooperation.”
0:45
The Member of the B&H Presidency from the RS, Momcilo Krajisnik, denied last night the right of the RS President, Biljana Plavsic, to propose Mladen Ivanic for a mandatory of a new RS government. Krajisnik said that it had not been recorded that an out-of-party candidate is proposed for a mandatory of a new government. However, he expressed the optimism that a better solution would be found and a better cooperation established and that till the middle of January the Assembly and the Assembly bodies would be constituted and the officials appointed.
0:30
A new-elected national deputy in the Assembly and a vice-president of the SNS (Serb National Alliance), Ostoja Knezevic blamed the SDS and the Serb Radical Party for the unsuccessful outcome of the yesterdayąs session of the Assembly. “Regarding the personnel solutions the representatives of the SDS and the Radicals were uncompromising. Due to their exclusiveness they bear responsibility in front of the people”, he said in his statement to the Beta agency. “The atmosphere was a difficult one especially regarding the agenda and the statement of the member of the B&H Presidency from the RS in which he claimed that the President of the Republic, Biljana Plavsic, is not in charge of proposing a mandatory of the RS government”, Knezevic stated.
0:58
The reactions of other political partiesą leaders to the progress of the Parliament session in Bijeljina:
- Aleksa Buha, SDS, expects that till 12 January the disputable issues will be solved. “We are practically at the beginning of the agenda.”
30 sec - Nikola Poplasen, the Radical Party: “Serb radicals will try to ease what others spoilt.” However, he considers that the chances for it are small. Commenting on the possibility of the international protectorate over the RS, he expressed his hope that it would not happen.
25 sec - Svetozar Mihajlovic, SNS expressed his hope that the attitudes would become closer regarding the appointment of the president, vice-president and the secretary general of the Assembly. “If there is no compromise or good will of the deputies of the SDS and the Radicals we are going to form the government and the Assembly leadership with other parties”, he stated.
25 sec - Zivko Radisic, the president of the SPRS, stated that he was dissatisfied with the work of the yesterdayąs constitutional session of the RS National Assembly. He said that the session had shown big antagonisms among political parties and their leaders who were not aware of the situation in which the RS was. “First of all this is related to the SDS and the Radicals that still think that the whole power can be in their hands”, emphasized the president of the SPRS.
30 sec - Nenad Bastinac, Independent Social Democrats: “It is an SDS and Radicals attempt to gain time and to postpone the solution of the political and constitutional crisis in the RS. Their obstruction by insisting on not putting into the agenda the addressing of the President to the National Assembly and to the public is an attempt to prove that the National Assembly does not support the President.
30 sec
“Something was achieved, but the nation cannot breathe a sigh of relief. The greatest achievement is that the National Assembly was constituted, the deputiesą mandates were verified and it was elected that part of the assembly bodies which would enable next sessions of the new parliament. We expected much more and we hoped the constitutional session would mean the end of both divisions and a political crisis that had lasted for months. It was easy to conclude that some powerful individuals try to do things out of a severe and primitive spite. The reasons for not allowing a direct broadcasting of the session which were given by , we hope now the ex, Minister of Information can be explained only by this kind of spite. In every country which respects its institutions the speech of the President of the country is a necessary part of a civilized ceremonial. Did we really need an intervention, in both of these cases, of the IC representative? He had to warn the Minister of Information that she was going to be replaced and he wondered with astonishment why the President of the country was not allowed to get the floor at the session and why the President was forced to cite the Constitution in order to carry out her authorizations. Why do we have as a state and as a people to disgrace ourselves in front of the world? The question is who is responsible for this and who will pay for it. An out of party President of the Government like a proposed dr. Ivanic possesses all the necessary indisputable professional, political and moral virtues. He has most chances to gather all the antagonist parties at one place and finally to let the RS to breathe synchronically with its both lung wings.”
4:20
The Deputy HR for BiH, Hanns Schumacher, handed over yesterday at the constitutional session of the Assembly in Bijeljina to this body a document with the IC demands about the primary tasks of the RS. One of the main tasks of the yesterday constituted Assembly as well as of the future Government is the creating of conditions for the return of refugees along with the opening of the railway, telecommunication and bus lines with the BiH Federation . Passing of the law in the field of economy is also demanded. In Hanns Schumacherąs document it is demanded that until 31st January the budget of the RS for 1998 is adopted.
0:40
The vice-president of the Russian Government Valerij Sierov will arrive in BiH tomorrow in order to wish a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to Russian soldiers within SFOR.
0:30
The Greek Minister of Defense arrived in BiH today , Sarajevo media report. During the day he visited the Greek battalion within SFOR in Visoko near Sarajevo. His meetings with Mr. Izetbegovic, Mr. Krajisnik and Mr. Zubak respectively are planned for tomorrow. Afterwards he will hold a press conference at the hotel “Holiday Inn” in Sarajevo.
0:35
Tomorrow 18 000 teachers from the RS will go on an organized strike.
0:40