Headlines
- Second session of the RS NA in progress in Banja Luka
- President of the BiH Presidency Radisic and Prime Minister Dodik met with a delegation of NATO and the Partnership for Peace association
- Exhumations of civilian victims of the war continue in Sarajevo
- Russia and Italy again pleaded for a peaceful solution of the Kosovo crisis
The second session of the RS NA is currently ongoing in Banja Luka in the presence of 73 MPs who have, so far, mainly discussed the proposed agenda. After a lengthy discussion MPs managed to agree on the agenda with the order of items to be finally determined by Speaker Djokic. In discussions, the strongest attention was given to the proposed amendments and changes to the Law on the RS Intelligence and Security Service. The SDS and the SRS, however, insisted that the inclusion of this law in the agenda was in violation of the RS Constitution, whereas PM Dodik explained that it was the right of MPs to propose any items to be discussed before the NA.
2:22
After a lengthy discussion members of the RS Parliament have finally agreed on the agenda for today’s second session of the RS NA. The agreed items, amongst others, include the Draft Law on the Cessation of Implementation of the Law on the Use of Abandoned Property, changes and amendments to the Law on Housing Relations, the Draft Law on the RS Foreign Debt, the Draft Law on the Rebalance of the RS Budget for the current year, the draft Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on the Privatization of state capital in state banks, the draft Law on the RS Intelligence and Security Service and others. At the proposal of the SDS, the third item on the agenda will involve a report on the suspension of payment operations between the RS and the FRY, with the one before last involving a discussion on the platform to be taken by the RS delegation attending the forthcoming Madrid conference. The very beginning of the session saw a discussion on possible corruption in the work of the RS Government, where the SDS requested the Government to clearly state whether there was bribery and corruption in the work of this high-level state body or not.
02:04
The President of the BiH Presidency, Zivko Radisic, and the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, met with a delegation of the Association of NATO and the Partnership for Peace led by its President Teodoros Georgi (?). After the meeting, Radisic thanked SFOR for their efforts aimed at stabilising the peace in BiH and, also, efforts of the IC aimed at ensuring urgent economic and any other rehabilitation of BiH as soon as possible and expressed his wish that the activities of this association, which is comprised of representatives of 38 countries, would continue in the area.
1:52
RS PM Dodik and the President of the SNS, Biljana Plavsic, met with the Head of the Mission of the Greek government for the implementation of donors resources in the RS, Atanasios Aganapolous (?), in Banja Luka today.
0:36
Exhumation works today continued in Sarajevo. The RS POW and Civilians’ Exchange Commission was expected to start exhumations at the Dobrinja 1 location earlier this morning and then at the location of Vlakovo, which is believed to conceal the bodies of 27 soldiers. However, it turned out that about 20 bodies believed to be in the mass grave at the Dobrinja 1 location had been transferred to another location not long ago. The Bosniak side stated that the bodies had been reburied at eight graves at the Vlakovo graveyard location claiming that five of the eight burials were attended by family members. The Serb side expressed their expectations that the OHR, SFOR and IPTF would, in the future, make sure that there were no transfers of remains from one locality to another.
2:28
The Croatian police recently discovered large amounts of weaponry in the town of Sibenik thus breaking a strong gun running chain from BiH to Kosovo. Four citizens of Bosnia and one citizen of Croatia were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the gun running operations.
0:33
(Kosovo-related news)
1:41
The Head of the RS Chamber of Commerce, Nedjeljko Suzic, and the Russian Ambassador in BiH, Sidosrkiy, today met to discuss the possibility of establishing economic and trade relations between the two countries. Suzic stressed that there were some problems as there were no strong companies in the RS representing Russian companies, but that information on possible modalities of such cooperation was today presented to the Russian Ambassador.
1:37
(BH Federation-related news)
2:19
The suspension of payment operations between the RS and the FRY has also affected the price of Serbian newspapers in the RS. Thus, an issue of the Belgrade-based “Politika” daily newspaper which costs 3 dinars in the FRY now costs 1KM (7.5 dinars) in the RS. This is also the case with other newspapers and magazines published by the same company. One now cannot buy any Politika-published newspapers and magazines at kiosks of the “Glas Srpski” newspaper, which is the main company distributing press from the FRY in the RS. However, the Director of the Glas Srpski hoped that the newspapers from the FRY would again be available at their kiosks starting this Thursday.
1:35
A representative of the German Trade Unions Association, Ljubomir Dabovic, met with representatives of the RS Trade Union Association in Banja Luka today on establishing cooperation between the respective trade unions of the two countries. The meeting stressed that the intensifying good cooperation between the respective Trade Unions Associations of Banja Luka and Nuremberg has been ongoing for 20 years. The meeting today confirmed that the President of the RS Trade Union Congress, Cedo Volas, would be travelling to Germany next month to have talks on the work of the respective trade unions of the RS and Germany.
1:27