Transcript of the International Agency’s Joint Press Coneference at CPIC

Subject: JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE – 14 November 2002

1. The following attended the regular Press Conference held at the CPIC at 11:30 hours on Thursday 14 November 2002:

Agency	Spokesperson	Topics
a. OHR	Oleg Milisic	Removal Mr. Pero Markovic OHR in Geneva Transfer of Returns Facilitation
b. OSCE	Henning Philipp	OSCE Heads of Missions meeting Meeting of Education Ministers
c. UNMIBH	Kirsten Haupt	Police certification Visit of UN SecGen
d. ICTY Outreach	Refik Hodzic	Issue of scheduling order in Srebrenica case
e. SFOR	Lieutenant Commander Yves Vanier	Unauthorised VF helicopter flight

2. Twenty-two members of the media including three television crews attended the conference.

3. The transcript of the questions and answers is attached.

A Ollivier

Col (FRA)

Chief Operations and Plans

Oleg Milisic – OHR

OK good morning everybody, as you can see we’re missing a name plate although I’m sure you won’t be confused as to who’s who. I have two items for you today, the first concerning the removal of Pero Markovic. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, today removed Mr. Pero Markovic, who is the General Manager of Suma Herceg Bosne and former President of the municipality of Capljina. Mr. Markovic has been removed because of his long record of grossly and exceptionally mismanaging public resources. He has failed to show proper regard for the standards that a holder of such office ought to demonstrate. Mr. Markovic transferred ownership shares to the financial detriment of his municipality. He offered land plots to associations he was a member of, proving a clear conflict of interest in the exercise of his duties. Mr. Markovic is currently charged with numerous offenses of gross mismanagement, amounting to criminal conduct. The charges brought before the relevant prosecuting authorities allege violations of numerous articles of the Criminal Code. The High Representatives decision was taken independently of these proceedings and will not effect the case before the court. However, the High Representative feels that to allow Mr. Markovic to remain at this post would undermine the need for full transparency and demonstrable probity in public life. The OHR will be issuing a Press Release on this decision shortly.

The High Representative will travel to Geneva tomorrow to meet with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers. The High Representative will be co-ordinating returns strategy with UNHCR. The High Representative wants to ensure that the returns strategy is planned as comprehensively as possible: that it fully integrates the domestic strategy co-ordinated by the State Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, as well as the input of the international community.

OHR will be transferring its Returns Facilitation activities to domestic institutions by the end of next year. This should be viewed in the context of building a viable state responsible to its citizenry. The OHR will continue to monitor the returns process, and remain closely in touch with the State and international actors still engaged in overseeing return activities, to ensure continuing acceleration in the rates of return and the implementation of the property laws. This is by no means a declaration that all Annex 7 rights have been fulfilled, but rather an acknowledgment that BiH has moved closer towards reaching a self-sustaining return process where each individual can freely choose to return to their homes, and the local authorities are fully in charge of the processes of reconstruction, and the resolution of property claims. This was the goal set in 1997 when the PIC endorsed the RRTF and OHR plan to spend the next 15 months supporting the domestic system to ensure that the process continues until complete.

The local authorities are playing a greater role both as donors and implementers of reconstruction projects, and as the rate of property repossessions picks up, it becomes increasingly possible to turn our focus to ensuring a future to returnees. This means building the local authorities ability to channel resources constructively, their ability to take action that will revive their economies, their ability to care for those who have unresolved housing needs, their ability to reconstruct both homes and infrastructure.

Now, the key priority for return is to ensure that the process is fully sustainable, that those who return do not face further obstacles to re-establishing their lives. This means ensuring jobs; reforming the education systems so that they accommodate rather than alienate returnees; ensuring that returnees have equal access to all benefits, utilities and services; ensuring that the justice system works not only efficiently but equally for everyone everywhere. The OHR will remain fully engaged in supporting the domestic authorities in reaching these goals.

Henning Philipp – OSCE

Good morning everybody, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Robert Mason Beecroft, attended a meeting of all OSCE Heads of Missions in the Balkan region in Skopje on 11 and 12 November. It was one out of a series of regular meetings, which are held every six months. The participants discussed OSCE’s future role in the region including its overall organisation. Ambassador Beecroft pointed out our Mission’s priority areas of concern as there are education, refugee return, democratisation and the security situation in BiH. On the issue of refugee return the Heads of Missions agreed that OSCE will push intensively for a regional return of refugees.

On 13 November, the Federation Ministry of Education hosted a meeting of all education ministers, Cantonal, entity and Brcko, at the Federation ministry building in Mostar. Ambassador Zipper de Fabiani Deputy Head of Mission for OSCE and Ambassador Dr. Gerhard, Enver Schroembgens, SDHR, chaired the meeting, which had two objectives: presentation and endorsement of the education reform strategy paper and presentation, endorsement and signing of the Implementation plan for the interim agreement.

Minister Demirovic and Deputy Minister Lovrenovic of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of FBiH and Minister Savanovic, Minister of Education in the RS presented the education reform strategy paper to the Cantonal ministers. Reaction to the paper was positive overall. Mr. Lovrenovic, Mr. Demirovic and Mr. Savanovic will present the same strategy paper to the Peace Implementation Council next week on 21 November in Brussels. The Cantonal ministers endorsed the paper and gave their support to the delegation to Brussels, which will include education authorities from cantons, entities and Brcko. Entity and Cantonal ministers participated in a signing ceremony of the Implementation Plan for the 5 March 2002 Interim Agreement on the Accommodation of the Specific Needs and Rights of Returnee Children. The Implementation Plan was developed by entity and Cantonal ministries with support from the OSCE and other international organisations. The Implementation Plan:

Outlines obligations of the Ministries and School Directors in addressing the needs of returnee children
Obliges schools to organise classes from the national group of subject (language, literature, geography, nature and society and religious classes) when requested by parents and students if there are 18 or more students in a grade.
Obliges schools to place priority on the hiring of qualified returnee teachers and to take proactive steps in advertising vacancies in areas of return as well as in areas where returnees are displaced.
Establishes a co-ordinating board comprised of representatives of each ministry and of the IC to make decisions and set deadlines regarding the Implementation Plan.

During the meeting Ambassador HZF emphasised the role of local education stakeholders in the development of the strategy paper. He said that 80 percent of the participants in the six working groups dealing with education reform were local education experts and commended them for their excellent work.

Kirsten Haupt – UNMIBH

Good morning, I have two items for you today, the first one is on the certification process and appeals to certification. In response to misleading and inaccurate information on the issues of certification of police officers and their right to appeal the decision on non-certification, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jacques Paul Klein, has issued a statement to clarify his position. In his statement, SRSG Klein says that he had earlier set up an independent review panel outside the command structure of the IPTF to handle any cases that might be subject to appeal. He further clarifies that this review panel could not overrule the IPTF Commissioner. But the panel could evaluate new information or evidence that was not available at the time the original decision was made and then refer the case back to the Commissioner for reconsideration of his decision. SRSG Klein calls on all police officers concerned to use their right to appeal and submit their appeals immediately, saying also that full fairness in the appeals process will be ensured. I have sent out the statement to all of you in English as well as translation but I have copies with me so you can get it after the press conference.

The second issue is on the visit of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan on Sunday and Monday. A more detailed advisory containing information for the media will be sent out later today to all of you. Just to give you an outline of the programme, on Sunday, the Secretary-General and his entourage arrive in the late morning by air. There will be a media opportunity for cameramen and photographers only at the airport. Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General will be unveiling a memorial to UN personnel who died while serving in the Former Yugoslavia. There will be a media opportunity at UN House for this. The Secretary-General will also hold private meetings with UN staff and officials during the afternoon. In the evening the Secretary-General will attend a recital and a reception at the National Theatre. Coverage of this will be pooled and our media advisory will have details of the arrangements. He will then go to an official dinner. On Monday, the Secretary-General has several official meetings at the Presidency and the Common Institutes building with senior elected officials. There will be a brief media opportunity following the meeting at the Common Institutes building. The arrangements for Monday’s programme, including media arrangements, are in the hands of the Government and we will include contact details in our media advisory. The Secretary-General will then depart for Pristina.

Refik Hodzic – ICTY OUTREACH

On 11 November, Judge Schaumburg issued a scheduling order in the case of Prosecutor against Vidoje Blagojevic, Dragan Obrenovic, Dragan Jokic and Momir Nikolic (Srebrenica case) in which a status conference is scheduled for 27 November. As this status conference is of crucial importance for the preparations of the trial, and it may be the last one before the trial starts in spring 2003, Judge Schaumburg ordered Dragan Jokic, the only of the four accused who is currently on provisional release, to appear in the ICTY’s Detention Unit before 26 November and to attend the status conference on 27. After this he will be able to continue being on provisional release until the start of the trial.

Pursuant to the rule 65 ter of the ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Prosecution has disclosed an amended, redacted list of summaries of witnesses it plans to call for this trial. The total number of witnesses to testify in the prosecution’s case will be 123, out of which 4 will be ICTY expert witnesses, 13 outside expert witnesses, three outside law enforcement witnesses, 10 members of UN Dutch Battalion, one UN military observer, 33 Bosniak survivor witnesses, one witness from Federal MUP and 12 witnesses from 2^nd Corps of Army of BiH, five witnesses from RS Ministry of Interior, 12 witnesses from Bratunac Brigade of VRS, 16 witnesses from Zvornik Brigade of VRS, one witness from 10^th Sabotage Detachment and three witnesses from Republika Srpska Military Prosecutor. Other documents related to this trial are also available, including Prosecution’s pre-trial brief, where Prosecutor’s case is outlined and several expert reports, which describe in detail events in and around Srebrenica in summer of 1995. If you are interested in receiving these documents please contact our office in Sarajevo so we can organise it.

Lieutenant Commander Yves Vanier – SFOR

For those of you who were present at our Tuesday press conference, you will likely remember hearing the loud sound of a helicopter hovering low above CPIC. A Federation Air Force helicopter, while conducting an authorised flight mission over Sarajevo was seen to be taking photographs and video footage of SFOR barracks from a position well beneath the permitted minimum flight ceiling. Photographic evidence of the helicopter was captured and details of the violation are under investigation. The type AB 205 helicopter was seen performing low overfly of downtown Sarajevo, including several passes above Tito Barracks with doors opened taking photographs or video with a telephoto.

Consequently, the Commander of SFOR, Lieutenant General William E. Ward, has no choice but to take immediate action pending the completion of a more thorough investigation. With this in mind, the following interim action has been implemented effective immediately: a complete ban on VFBiH Air Force helicopter flying operations until completion of the investigation.

Oleg Milisic – OHR

Thank you, are there any questions.