Main News Summary
Monday, 7 April 2003

SFOR
Oslobodjenje
Martin Gechelmann arrested for taking photogrphs of SFOR base
On Saturday Turkish SFOR Battalion troops captured Martin Gechelmann from Germany and took him to the Centre Police Station. He was captured when taking photographs of facilities of the Turkish Battalion in Zenica. The EUPM was informed of the case. Gechelmann was interviewed by the police and then released at approximately 2230 hrs. (p.18) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p.25), Jutarnje novine (p. 45)./
SFOR
Glas Srpski
Mladen Ivanic: Tiger strikes secretly
In an interview with Oslobodjenje, Mladen Ivanic, BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Tiger Investigation Team consisted of unknown people from unknown intelligence services from unknown countries. The report on the Orao case that the Tiger Team submitted to the Peace Implementation Council was not signed. Ivanic, who was mentioned in the report as one of the people responsible for the Orao scandal and as someone involved in spying on SFOR, stated that it was not normal that politicians in this country were judged by anonymous intelligence officers, nor was it correct on the part of the international community to consider an unsigned report. (p.4)
SFOR
Slobodna Dalmacija
Ilkic sentenced to 26 months in prison for shooting at SFOR
The Cantonal Court in Zenica has sentenced Denis Ilkic from Zenica to 26 months in prison for various crimes, including steeling a rifle from an SFOR vehicle and shooting at SFOR from his apartment in Zenica in January this year and the day before he had stolen a rifle from an SFOR vehicle. (p.13)
BIH - ARMS TRADE
Ljiljan
Two Iraqis and violation of UN embargo
The extradition of two Iraqis, Naffee Khadab al Dulamee and Saad al Kaduri, brought the problem of violating the UN embargo on arms sale to Iraq by two Federation companies to the surface. The announced extradition of these persons cannot possibly hide the truth that in the two years that the Alliance was in power, the BiH Federation made attempts to trade with Iraq. The two Iraqis, regretfully, seem to be collateral damage here. After the illegal arms export, the Federation now is trying to conduct the even more illegal export of two Iraqi nationals. Last week, Donald Hays, Principal Deputy High Representative, said in a TV programme that "data will soon arrive from Belgrade confirming that, apart from Orao, there were other participants in the arms sale to Iraq, and from the Federation at that". The Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs has a file from which it is clear that the data from Belgrade are irrelevant, since it is said in the FMUP document on the extradition of Dulamee that had had already made contacts. Why would Dulamee want to be involved in this business? Or, a better question is why would the Management of Bratstvo in Novi Travnik want such a job? It seems that the bosses of Bratstvo, the weapons factory in Novi Travnik, authorised Dulamee as their mediator in business dealings. Dulamee was asked to establish contacts with the personnel of the Iraqi Embassy in Belgrade, which he did. It is certain that during 2001 and 2002, Bratstvo conducted no direct arms sale to Iraq, because the sale was possible only via Jugoimport. To put it more precisely, Minister Mijo Anic and his Deputy Ferid Buljubasic were not that naïve to certify the sale of arms to a country under UN embargo. This is, therefore, a scandal that will shake this country after Orao. Now, the current BiH authorities are facing two problems. The first one is very serious, as the Convention on Human Rights does not allow for people to be extradited to a country at war. A third country which would accept those extradited is out of question. The second problem is generally known: the involvement of Federation companies in the export of weapons to Serbia, which then sold them to Iraq. In the following months, Vitezit from Vitez and Bratstvo from Novi Travnik will be much talked about. (pages 23, 24 and 25)
BIH - PARTIES
Jutarnje Novine
Request for extraordinary elections
Milorad Dodik, President of the Party of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) told Jutarnje novine that, due to a very difficult situation in the country and inefficiency of the parties on power, the leaders of the New Croatian Initiative, Social Democratic Party, Social Democratic Union and Party of Independent Social Democrats recently considered the idea of holding extraordinary elections. (p.7)
BIH - SCG
Glas Srpski
Borislav Mikelic arrested
On Saturday, the last Premier of the former Republic of Srpska Krajina, Borislav Mikelic, was arrested in Belgrade. He is accused of being involved in various activities of the Zemun gang. It was ascertained in the investigation that Mikelic had been the main link between certain circles in the Republika Srpska and some groups that were directly or indirectly involved in the preparation or execution of the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. The Croatian Minister of Justice, Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic, stated that Croatia would request Mikelic's extradition as he had been sentenced in absentia in that country to 20 years in prison for war crimes against civilians.(p.7)
ICTY
Oslobodjenje
Rajic indicted for massacre in Stupni Do
The former HVO Commander, Ivica Rajic, was arrested by the Croatian Police on Saturday. Eight years ago, the Hague Tribunal indicted Rajic for the massacre of several dozens of Moslem civilians in Stupni Do committed on 23 October 1993. On Sunday, Spokesperson of the Hague Tribunal Florence Hartmann was not able to comment on Rajic's arrest since Croatia had not yet officially informed the Tribunal. Ivica Rajic, also known as Viktor Andric, was accused as the commander of the HVO Second Operational Group Kiseljak of massacring at least 16 residents of Stupni Do in October 1993. By ordering an illegal attack on the civilian population of Stupni Do, thus causing deaths and injuries and almost totally destroying the village, he seriously violated the Geneva Convention and the laws and customs of war. The Hague Tribunal sent the arrest warrants to the Republic of BiH and the BiH Federation in August 1995, and an additional arrest warrant to Croatia on 8 December 1995. According to information from the Prosecutor's Office, after the attack had started, residents hid in the basements of their houses or found other shelter, while some 40 residents armed with light weapons tried to defend the village. The shooting went on for three hours during which HVO soldiers went from house to house plundering and killing some residents and threatening the others. The Tribunal believed that all this time Rajic was hiding in the territories of Croatia and the BiH Federation, and the Prosecutor's Office had reliable information that he was living in Split for a while. Rajic's lawyer Zeljko Olujic confirmed for Hina that his client had been arrested in Zagreb on Saturday pursuant to the arrest warrant issued by the Hague Tribunal. "I do not know the details, but I suppose that Rajic was arrested because of the alleged crimes in Stupni Do," said Olujic. (Photo on p.3)/ The same in Dnevni avaz (p.4), Slobodna Dalmacija (p.2), Dnevni List (p.3), Nezavisne Novine (p.7), Jutarnje Novine (p.4)/
ICTY
Glas Srpski
SCG Defence Minister announces an investigation
The Defence Minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Boris Tadic, stated that he did not know if the former VRS Commander, General Ratko Mladic, was under the protection of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro or "some alienated centres of power". "We will carry out a very extensive investigation, and once I go public with the answer to the question of whether Mladic is being protected by the Army or not, or whether he is protected by some alienated centres of power, my political accountability will be behind that answer," said Tadic for In Television in Podgorica. (p.3)
INTELLIGENCE SERVICES
Jutarnje Novine
Meeting of the BiH HDZ in Livno: BiH needs one Intelligence Service
After a meeting held in Livno between the BiH Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) Presidency members (Barisa Colak, acting HDZ President and Dragan Covic, member of the BiH Presidency), members of the Livno Canton HDZ Board and heads of the Livno Canton, Colak stated at a press conference that they had discussed a number of current issues. As for the security situation in BiH, he stated that they were not happy with it, although it had not changed since 10 March despite several major events that occurred in the period after that date. He said that BiH needed an efficient and normal parliamentary control of the work of security and intelligence services, and subsequently, one state security and intelligence service. He expressed his belief that entity security and intelligence services would transform in the near future. (p.5)
OHR
Dnevni avaz
Paddy Ashdown to participate in SEECP Summit in Belgrade
The High Representative in BiH, Paddy Ashdown, is participating in the 6th Summit of the South East European Co-ordination Process to be held in Belgrade on 8 April. He will deliver a speech concerning the problem of organised crime, the threat it poses to the region and the fight against the mafia. The improvement of co-operation between the nine countries in the region in the fields of trade, energy industry, traffic and telecommunications will also be discussed at the Summit. The BiH delegation participating in the Summit will be led by Dragan Covic. Mladen Ivanic, BiH Foreign Minister, will also be in the BiH delegation. (p.3)
OHR
Glas Srpski
OHR: Intelligence officers under control
OHR spokesperson Vedran Persic told SRNA that the High Representative in BiH, Paddy Ashdown, supported the idea of Adnan Terzic, Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, concerning the establishment of a state intelligence inspectorate. He pointed out that the latest spying scandal in the Republika Srpska and the discovery concerning the role of the security agency in the murder of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic necessitated urgency in putting the BiH intelligence agencies under efficient democratic control, and that establishment of a security intelligence inspectorate would be just the first step in this process. (p.2)
RS - PARTIES
Jutarnje Novine
Nikola Spiric possible replacement for Sarovic
The Collegium of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly has received only one candidacy for the post of the member of the BiH Presidency so far.The Serb Democratic Party (SDS) proposed Borislav Paravac, representative in the House of Representatives. Other BiH political parties have not officially stated their opinion about Paravac's candidature, but there are many speculations. A possible candidate of the Party of Independent Social Democrats is Nikola Spiric, whose candidature would be supported by the Party for BiH. All options are possible and the outcome will be known at the session of the House of Representatives scheduled for 9 April. (p.5)
RS - PARTIES
Nezavisne Novine
Gligoric to be Paravac's rival for the same position
The RS Socialist Party will nominate Tihomir Gligoric as the Serb member of the BiH Presidency today. Petar Djokic, SP RS President, confirmed this for Nezavisne Novine on Sunday. "The Collegium of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly House of Representatives will propose that the election of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency be an item on the agenda of the session to be held on Wednesday," Sefik Dzaferovic, the Chair of this body, said yesterday. On Friday, the Serb Democratic Party officially submitted a proposal of its candidate Borislav Paravac to the House of Representatives. A source close to the Party of Democratic Progress revealed that this Party would nominate Petar Kunic for that position. The PDP did not want to either confirm or deny that its candidate was Kunic. Mirko Blagojevic, the Serb Radical Party deputy in the BiH Parliament, stressed that this Party might support Kunic as the member of the BiH Presidency, while in the Party of Independent Social Democrats it is certain for now that it would not support the SDS candidate. Beriz Belkic, a member of the Party for BiH Presidency, said that his Party would not support the SDS candidate. The Serb member of the BiH Presidency will be elected by votes of the 14 deputies from the RS in the BiH House of Representatives: the SDS has 5 deputies, the SNSD three, the PDP two, the SP RS one, the SRS one, the SBiH one and the SDA one deputy. (p.3)