Main News Summary
Wednesday, 21 May 2003
SFOR
Dnevni avaz
Lt. Gen. Ward: We will arrest Karadzic and Mladic
"The NATO-led peace force in Bosnia hopes to arrest former Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic and 20 other indicted war crimes suspects before ending
its mission," said Lt. Gen. Ward yesterday. "There is still some unfinished
business. There are still persons indicted for war crimes who are out there
that we want to apprehend - Karadzic, Mladic and others," said Lt. Gen.
Ward in an interview with Reuters. (p. 2)
SFOR
Slobodna Dalmacija
SFOR soldiers watched little boy die
(TNO) Zahid Sefer died due to heavy head and arm injuries, on Friday. His family
claims that he died due to SFOR's fault. The Travnik Municipal Court Investigative
Judge Senad Dautovic, Public Prosecutor Meho Bradic, a Travnik Police Department
representative, and SFOR representatives visited the crime scene on Friday.
"The assumption is that an item exploded in his hand, or near to his body,
but we do not know how it happened. What kind of an item this was is also not
known. We collected the evidence from the crime scene and we sent them to be
examined. We will have more information on this case once our detectives take
statements from witnesses, including SFOR soldiers who offered their cooperation",
Bradic said. Our Journalists visited Sefer family on Saturday. They told us
what happened on Friday afternoon. Halil Sefer, Zahid's uncle, had the most
courage to talk to us. "This is all very stupid. It is like he was an animal.
These foreign soldiers, instead of protecting us, they are killing us. They
are the God that took him away", he said. Major Ben Doomernik from the
SFOR base in Novi Travnik, did not want to comment on this case, on Monday.
He said that SFOR believes that the local authorities would solve it. After
that is done, the public would be informed about what really happened.
SFOR
TK NEWS
Road through former SFOR Camp open for traffic
(TNO) Residents of Dubrave can finally travel to Zivinice via the road through
Ciljuge that goes through former SFOR Camp "Comanche". This way the
travel distance between Dubrave and Zivinice is 8km shorter
SFOR
Oslobodjenje
A quantity of weapons discovered near Cajnice
On Monday, members of the SFOR German-Italian Combat Group successfully implemented
another operation to seize illegally held weapons in the villages of Glamocevici,
Maharevici, Zaborak and Milatkovici near Cajnice. During the operation the following
weapons were seized: 30 AK-47 and M-48 rifles, 15 hand grenades, two M-80 rocket
launchers, five mines, about 10,000 bullets of various calibre, four machine
guns, and plastic and TNT explosive. The operation for the seizure of the weapons
was carried out by the 217th Mountain Unit from Rogatica, together with an EOD
team of deminers. SFOR reported that the operation started at dawn by surrounding
the area and that the weapons and ammunition were discovered during an inspection
of houses and haystacks. The representatives of the local police and the EU
Police Mission were also present during the operation. (p. 3) /The same in Dnevni
avaz (p. 4)/
SFOR
Nezavisne Novine
SFOR can have 9,000 soldiers
"The analysis shows that BiH can only afford about 9,000 soldiers. Further
analysis assuming a 30% reduction in fixed costs, as a consequence of force
reduction, would allow for up to 2,500 additional soldiers," said Dale
MacEachern, SFOR spokesperson, at a press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday.
(p. 3)
SFOR
Reuters
Interview-NATO forces want Karadzic before leaving Bosnia.
(Factiva) The NATO-led peace force in Bosnia hopes to arrest former Bosnian
Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and 20 other indicted war crimes suspects before
ending its mission, its Commander said on Tuesday. General William Ward said
the task of uniting and shrinking Bosnia's oversized, ethnically based armed
forces was also incomplete. "There is still some unfinished business. There
are still persons indicted for war crimes who are out there that we want to
apprehend -Karadzic, Mladic and others," he said in an interview. Karadzic
and Bosnian Serb Army Commander General Ratko Mladic have been indicted by the
U.N. war crimes tribunal for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo.
Both have been on the run since 1996. The European Union, which took over the
alliance's much smaller mission of 350 troops in Macedonia two months ago, has
hinted that it could take over NATO's 12,000-strong Bosnia mission next year.
Ward said he did not know if his Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was going to be
replaced by an EU-led force in 2004. The U.S. General said he did not expect
cuts in SFOR this year or next but such a decision was subject to twice yearly
NATO review. The EU said this week that its new rapid reaction force, designed
to field up to 60,000 troops for crisis management, was ready for peacekeeping
and would consider a U.N. call for troops to quell fighting in eastern Congo.
There was no mention of an imminent Bosnia role.
ONE ARMY
SFOR is also supervising the process of restructuring and reducing Bosnia's
ethnically-based armed forces as part of the defence and military reforms needed
for the country's admission to the NATO Partnership for Peace program. The armies
of the Muslim-Croat federation and Serb Republic, the two halves of postwar
Bosnia, should submit their proposals on the future armed forces by the end
of this week, Ward said. The total force for Bosnia should not exceed 12,000.
Ward said substantial progress has been made with the adoption of a state-level
territorial defence policy doctrine but admitted that military reforms have
been slowed by "political factors". The Muslim, Croat and Serb army
components each have a different approach: Muslims want a single, multi-ethnic
army, Serbs want to keep a separate force and Croats prefer one army consisting
of three ethnic components. "From NATO's prospective... the structure has
to be amended and controlled from a state-level organisation that provides effective
command and control down to the structures. And that is not negotiable,"
Ward said.
SFOR
Dnevni avaz
Lt. Gen. Ward suggests a model for AFs: BiH can have 12,000 soldiers at most
"Over the weekend, COMSFOR Lt. Gen. Ward sent a letter to the Minister
of Defence and the Chiefs of Staff of the AF in BiH in which he suggested a
model for the restructure of the AFs and some planning figures for the number
of soldiers in the AFs," said Dale MacEachern, SFOR spokesperson, at a
press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The structure for the AFs suggested
by SFOR included state-level command and control with a single chain of command
from the Presidents, through the Secretary General of the Standing Committee
on Military Matters, to the Chiefs of Staff Committees and onto the AFs. The
manning level planning figures were prepared by the OSCE. They made an analysis
of the potential strength based on the assumptions that the collective defence
budget will stay within the nominal level of 2002 and that 60% of the budget
is allocated to personnel in accordance with the goal set out in the BiH defence
policy. The analysis shows that BiH can afford a maximum of 12,000 soldiers.
(Photo on page 8) /The same in Jutarnje Novine (p. 8), Dnevni List (p. 11),
Slobodna Dalmacija (p. 64)/
AF IN BIH
Slobodna Dalmacija
Dragan Cavic: The Republika Srpska will preserve its army
"The RS will endeavour to preserve its army in an acceptable form, as an
integral part of the joint defence structure in BiH. The RS will take an active
part in looking for the path to joining PfP, because this is its strategic interest
as an entity. In doing so, the RS cannot accept that others look for that path
on its behalf." This is what Dragan Cavic, the RS President stated at a
meeting of the Sub-regional Consultative Commission for Arms Control held on
Tuesday in Banja Luka in attendance of delegations of Serbia and Monte Negro,
Croatia, F BiH, the BiH Presidency, the Contact Group and OSCE. Cavic further
remarked that "eight years after cessation of the war in BiH it is necessary
that we make decisions on our own, decision which define the structure, responsibilities
and the manner of commanding and controlling the armed forces." Cavic highlighted
that for the future of BiH "we need the armed forces that will guarantee
its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the internal entity structure as
stated in the Constitution. The armed forces should be organised in such a way
that all three constituent peoples have trust in and perceive as their proper
army, as guarantors of the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity, the
internal entity structure and the national security of all three peoples."
Cavic concluded by stating "I believe that we can build a new international
status of BiH without jeopardising the Dayton and entity status of the RS."
(p.16)
AF IN BIH
Dnevni List
Turkey will support reform of the armed forces in BiH
The Ambassador of Turkey to BiH, Melek Sina Baydur, accompanied by the Deputy
Chief of Mission and the military envoy, visited the Secretariat of the BiH
Standing Committee on Military Matters /SCMM/ yesterday and met with the Secretary
General, Stanko Pocrnja and his deputies, Enes Becirbasic and Savo Stankovic.
On this occasion the Turkish Ambassador reiterated Turkey's commitment to developing
a co-operation on national defence issues with the BiH state-level defence institution
- the SCMM. This co-operation will represent a new development, as Turkey had
so far co-operated with the F BiH Defence Ministry and the F BiH Army on a number
of specific military education and logistic issues, in the implementation of
the "Train and Equip" programme. Turkey, as a NATO member, promised
through its Ambassador further support to BiH in joining PfP and other defence
and security Euro-Atlantic structures. The Secretary General of the SCMM emphasized
an enormous contribution which Turkey made in stabilising BiH through the participation
of its army forces in SFOR. In this sense, the SCMM hosts underlined that Turkey
was expected to continue its engagement in the work of the Commission for Reform
of the Defence System in BiH in the capacity of an observer. (p.7)
AF IN BIH
Dnevni List
OSCE welcomes the agreement on common military doctrine
The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes the recent agreement reached
by the Common Military Doctrine Working Group on a common military doctrine.
"Reaching consensus of on such an important issue signals that the leadership
forces AF in BiH have understood that a defence policy is a matter for BiH as
a whole", said Emir Salihovic, OSCE spokesperson. (p. 11)
BIH - EUROPE
Oslobodjenje
EU Ambassadors meet with the BiH Presidency
The members of the BiH Presidency held talks yesetrday with ambassadors of the
EU member states about the US - BiH Agreement on exemption of US citizens from
the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court /ICC/, signed last Friday
in Sarajevo. The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Borislav Paravac stated that
the US had played a key role in arranging and signing the DPA, as well as in
the stabilisation forces. The Ambassador of Greece, which currently presides
over the EU, said the EU still wanted to assist BiH on its path to Europe. Apart
from the BiH Presidency members, the meeting was also attended by the BiH Foreign
Minister, Mladen Ivanic and the ambassadors of Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Spain,
Germany, Denmark, Austria, Holland, Slovenia, The Check Republic, France, Italy,
Sweden and Great Britain.(p. 4) /The same in Jutarnje Novine (p.3), Dnevni List
(p.9)/
BIH - PRESIDENCY
Dnevni avaz
SDA Vice-President: Paravac harmful for his own people
After the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Borislav Paravac, recently stated
that "The Republika Srpska was not created by Serbia or Montenegro, but
rather it was created in a civil war and is an expression of the will of the
Serb people in BiH", the SDA vice-president, Elmir Jahic commented for
Dnevni Avaz: " One of the most imporrtant pieces of evidence pointing to
the active enagagement of Serbia and Monte Negro in aggression on BiH is that
fact that Milosevic signed the DPA, never mind the presence of the FRY's units
and equipment on BiH territory. A number of the verdicts already passed by the
Hague Tribunal clearly speak of the nature of war in BiH, and the ruling of
the International Court of Justice in a suit of BiH against the FRY will show
the same thing". The faction club head of the Party for BiH /S BiH/ in
the State Parliament, Beriz Belikic, commented: "Paravac is in a 'completely
wrong movie'. He is harmful to his own people for wanting to rewind the film
of what happened long ago. I cannot see how some people do not realise the time
we live in and that things have now completely changed. We should focus on building
and modernising the state to bring it into Europe, instead of wasting our strength
on fiddling the same old tune." The President of the Social Democratic
Union of BiH /SDU/, Milan Lazovic, said Paravac, as the BiH Presidency member,
should work on the country's unity and on strengthening the state institutions,
instead of fostering mythological illusions and serving them to his own people.
"His statements are not helpful for the Serb people, because they only
keep it further isolated". (p.8)
BIH - PRESIDENCY
Dnevni List
The HDZ of BiH to restore its pre-war, original principles: Kljujic appointed
adviser to the Croat Member of the BiH Presidency
The former, pre-war president of the HDZ of BiH, Stjepan Kljujic was appointed
an adviser for IC relations to the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, Dragan
Covic, who was elected to this office as an HDZ candidate. Kljujic relinquished
his position as the HDZ BiH President some 11 years ago, when he left the Party
in disagreement with the party policy at the time. More precisely, Kljujic was
then said to disagree with the policy which the Croatian HDZ officials, in power
in Zagreb, maintained toward BiH and which Kljujic viewed as being unsupportive
of the survival of an integral BiH. Kljujic was considered to be the most consistent
opponent of the idea of BiH partition, the reason why he for years had been
attacked by the HDZ radical faction whose members reproached Kljujic for being,
as they called him, "Alija's Croat" . Political analysts in BiH are
interpreting Kljujic's recent appointment as Covic's Adviser as an attempt of
the HDZ to restore its original, pre-war principles. (p. 5)
BIH - PRESIDENCY
Dnevni List
BiH Presidency extends the mandate of the Central Bank Governor Peter Nicholl
Yesterday the BiH Presidency appointed members of the BiH Central Bank's Executive
Board and extended the mandate of the current Governor, Peter Nicholl. The Chairman
of the BiH Presidency, Borislav Paravac, told journalists after the BiH Presidency's
session that Nicholl agreed to carry out the duty of the Governor until the
end of 2004, when he will be replaced by the current Vice-Governor Kozaric.
Paravac additionally stated that the BiH Presidency has assessed the past work
of the Central Bank as very positive, expressing support to the continued work
of this financial institution which operates on the Currency Board Agreement.
The BiH Presidency made recommendations according to which the Main Controller
of the Bank as of 1 January 2005 should be a Croat, while the president of the
Executive Board of the Agency for Deposits should be a Serb. The Presidency
adopted the report from the 7th session of the Inter-state Council for co-operation
between the Republic of Croatia and BiH, and accepted an invitation to the summit
of presidents of the countries which are part of the Stabilisation and Accession
Process scheduled to take place on 2 June 2003 in Skoplje. The BiH Presidency
also made a decision to grant credentials to the newly appointed Ambassadors
of Canada and Sri Lanka to BiH.
BIH - SCG
Oslobodjenje
Stanimir Vukicevic, Ambassador of Serbia and Montenegro to BiH: "Serbia
and Montenegro does not have territorial aspirations towards BiH"
"Claims that the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic linked the RS with
Kosovo and Metohija in an interview with Der Spiegel are not correct. The borders
cannot be changed, and consequently, the borders cannot be changed, when BiH,
or Kosovo and Metohija are in question," said Stanimir Vukicevic, Ambassador
of Serbia and Montenegro to BiH. Vukicevic said that at the core of the discussion
was "the misinterpretation and interpretation formed without a basis of
an interview with Zivkovic for Der Spiegel" and recommended that the politicians
read the whole interview with Zivkovic, adding that then there would be no need
to seek any explanation. Zivkovic said that as far as BiH was concerned, it
should rely more on the DPA that was ratified by the Serbia and Montenegro Parliament,
which makes it clear that Serbia and Montenegro have no territorial aspirations
towards BiH. Vukicevic also pointed to the statement signed at the subregional
summit in Sarajevo in July last year. This statement makes it clear that Croatia,
BiH and Serbia and Montenegro recognise each other's territorial integrity and
sovereignty. "This is also proof that we have no territorial aspirations
towards any part of BiH," said Ambassador Vukicevic. (Photo on page 7)
BIH - USA
Dnevni avaz
BiH Presidency did not set a deadline for ratification of agreement
"The BiH Presidency has not set a deadline for the BiH Parliament to ratify
the Agreement signed with the US. In any case, we expect discussions to be held
in the Parliament about this agreement," said Borislav Paravac, Chair of
the BiH Presidency on Tuesday. (p. 4)
BIH - USA
Dnevni avaz
European Commission disappointed with the agreeement signed between BiH and
US
"The European Commission is disappointed with the contents of the agreement
that BiH concluded with the US on the exemption of US soldiers from the jurisdiction
of the International Criminal Court. We are especially disappointed with the
provisions from the agreement that define who was granted immunity from the
ICC," said Ema Advin, spokesperson for the EU Commissioner for Foreign
Relations. "We would like and appreciate if those that would like to share
common values with us present our unified stance as much as possible,"
said Advin. (Photo on page 3)
BIH - USA
Nezavisne Novine
BiH authorities awaiting reactions from EU
"It is true that we fear the consequences, but I honestly hope that the
EU will have understanding for us. We expect reactions from the EU, and we scheduled
a meeting with EU representatives in order to be able to thoroughly explain
the real reasons for and our interest in signing such an agreement," said
Borislav Paravac, Chair of the BiH Presidency. (Photo on page 7)
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
Oslobodjenje
BiH Council of Ministers adopts set of laws in the field of the judiciary
On Tuesday, the BiH Council of Ministers adopted several laws in the field of
the judiciary, previously issued by the HR in BiH. The BiH Security Minister,
Barisa Colak, told journalists at a press conference that the BiH Council of
Ministers adopted the BiH Law on Criminal Procedure, the Criminal Code, The
Witness Protection Law and the Law on Court Police in BiH. He added that all
of those laws were forwarded to the BiH Parliament for adoption by summary procedure.
(p. 5)
EXHUMATIONS
Jutarnje Novine
Some 13 bodies exhumed in the area of Visegrad in the past nine days
A team of experts from the Federation Commission for Missing Persons, the Gorazde
Canton Court and the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs exhumed
the mortal remains of 13 people, including a nine-month old baby, in Dusce and
Velji Lug, who were killed by the Uzice Corps of the Yugoslav National Army
in May of 1992. (p. 44)
FBIH - PARLIAMENT
Dnevni List
FBiH House of Representatives adopts Criminal Law
The House of Representatives of the Federation BiH adopted the Criminal Code
at its session held yesterday, reports Dnevni List. The text of the law was
adopted along with several amendments to the law. One of them was proposed by
a deputy Mirnes Ajanovic who submitted the amendment to the law that illegally
acquired property be seized from its owner. (p. 3) /The same in Dnevni avaz
(p. 4)/
ICTY
Oslobodjenje
Dragan Obrenovic pleads guilty
Former Chief of Staff of the VRS Zvornik Brigade, Dragan Obrenovic, made an
out of court settlement with The Hague and pleaded guilty for crimes against
humanity. In return, the Prosecutor's Office will drop other counts of the indictment
against him and suggest that he be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison. Dragan
Obrenovic is the tenth indictee to have pleaded guilty.(p. 5) /The same in Dnevni
avaz (p. 3), Jutarnje Novine (p. 3), Nezavisne Novine (p. 3), Dnevni List (p.
3)/
ICTY
Oslobodjenje
Two people from Prijedor detained on suspicion of preparing an attack on Ponte?
According to information obtained from the Zenica-Doboj Canton Police department,
two people from Prijedor were detained on Tuesday on suspicion of preparing
an attack on Carla Del Ponte. However, no one from the Cantonal police wanted
to confirm this piece of information to Oslobodjenje. According to the unconfirmed
information, these two people from Prijedor were stopped by a police patrol,
and when asked where they were heading, they allegedly said that they were going
to kill Del Ponte. A duty investigating judge from Sarajevo questioned them,
but Oslobodjenje could not obtain details of the questioning. Also, Oslobodjenje
learned from its source that the police had no evidence that these two people
really had the intent to assassinate Del Ponte, adding that they had had no
weapons on them and that they had been drunk when stopped by the police. (p.
5) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 2)/
ICTY
Oslobodjenje
Del Ponte: I will go to RS to talk about arrest
The Chief Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, stated during her official visit to Sarajevo
that she would go to the RS in order to discuss the issue of Karadzic's arrest
with the local authorities of that entity. (p. 4)
ICTY
Dnevni avaz
Del Ponte: It is high time Karadzic voluntarily surrendered
During an official visit of the Chief Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, to Sarajevo,
she called on Karadzic to voluntarily surrender. "It is high time for Karadzic
to surrender. I expect to see him in The Hague and I am ready 'to pick him up'
wherever he might be at the moment. He knows very well that he is running out
of time," stated Ms. Ponte at the meeting with the BiH Presidency members.
A member of the BiH Presidency, Dragan Covic, said that the BiH Presidency had
expressed its willingness and readiness for all war crimes indictees to be brought
to justice. During her meeting with members of the BiH Council of Ministers,
the Chair of the Council, Adnan Terzic, confirmed the readiness of this BiH
body to continue with the co-operation with the Hague Tribunal. "During
the meeting we came to a conclusion that all BiH institutions should make clear
statements that the political situation in BiH will not improve and that BiH
will not be able to move towards European integration while Karadzic is at large,"
said Mr. Terzic. He added that they had also discussed with Ms. Ponte the issue
of the BiH Liaison Office to The Hague, but that they had not discussed anything
about new indictments. (p. 2) /The same in Oslobodjenje (p. 4), Dnevni List
(p. 3), Jutarnje Novine (p. 40, Nezavisne Novine (p. 3), Slobodna Dalmacija
(p. 17)
INCIDENTS
ONASA
Bosnian Serb returnee killed near Bugojno - ethnic background discounted.
(Factiva) The Office of the High Representative (HR), EU Police Mission (EUPM)
and OSCE on Tuesday [20 May] condemned the murder of 69-year-old Grozdana Djukic,
returnee to Sultanovici near Bugojno. Unknown bandits entered the house, ransacked
all rooms, and murdered the old lady, whose body was discovered on Sunday. "The
OHR condemns this crime act and every similar violence. The High Representative
will carefully monitor the investigation and expects the local police to find
the perpetrators of this crime and make sure they are brought before court,"
OHR spokesman Vedran Persic said. EUPM spokesman Jan Oscar Solnes said that
this murder was a disturbing and concerning act, but that there is no evidence
that the motive was religious or ethnic background.
INCIDENTS
Oslobodjenje
RS Customs Administration vehicle blown up
Around 22:00 hours on Monday, an unknown explosive device blasted under a RS
Customs Administration vehicle in the village of Podromanija near Sokolac. The
vehicle in question was used by the RS Customs Inspector, Obren Arbinja, and
was parked in his garage at the moment of the explosion. The explosion damaged
the vehicle and garage. The police opened an investigation into the matter.
(p. 35) / The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 29), Jutarnje Novine (p. 45), Nezavisne
Novine (p. 2)/
NATO
Jutarnje Novine
EU: "Still early to take over NATO mission in BiH"
(TNO) EU Defense Ministers have announced that European Quick Reaction Forces
(60,000 soldiers) are completely ready for peacekeeping operations. However,
the ministers that gathered in Brussels stated that these forces are restricted
by a lack of quality in battle readiness. Earlier this year, the EU started
with a smaller military mission in Macedonia and took over the UN Police obligations
in BiH. According to the BBC, the gaps between European defense plans have been
widened in the last few months. Three years after European leaders made a decision
to form European peacekeeping forces, after the end of war in Kosovo, 60,000
soldiers were gathered and a small presence in the Balkans was realized. However,
these important movements have been pushed to the background by conflicts such
as the Iraqi crisis and recent plans to form a European Headquarters outside
of NATO, supported by Germany, France and Belgium. The EU did not succeed in
completing one-third of the 150 tasks required for the organization of these
troops. Defense ministers are now trying to fill in these gaps by better coordination
of the European weapons industry, renting large cargo airplanes and remaining
persistent in meeting essential needs, such as introducing more special units
to the fighting system. European officials say that military expenses of the
Union are about one-half that of US expenses, but the capabilities are only
about 10% of the American ones. They insist on the Union's cooperation with
NATO, where European allies are working on improving the military potentials
as well. At the meeting with NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson, European
defense ministers assessed the achievements, but the diplomats think that it's
still too early to consider plans for taking over the NATO mission in BiH next
year.
OHR
Oslobodjenje
Pressurized by OHR, the RS Electric Company suspends construction of the Tunnel
Fatnicko Polje - Bilecko Lake
The general manager of the RS Electric Company /EPRS/, Pantelija Dakic, explained
on Monday that he was forced to suspend all the works on construction of a tunnel
linking the Fatnicko Polje and Bilecko Lake, after he received a copy of the
letter addressed by the Senior Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, to the
RS Government calling for a number of specified measures to be taken, in the
wake of the well known developments in EPRS. Dakic said he informed the RS Government
about the consequences of one-sidedly suspended contract with the London based
'EFT' Company. According to Dakic, the RS Government should in the shortest
time possible deliberate whether the measures ordered by the OHR override the
contract closed between the EPRS and EFT, or should there also be a follow-up
decision of the RS Government to validate that of the OHR. Dakic explained that
if the contractor, EFT does not cancel the investment within 28 days, a new
decision on whether or not the works will be continued, has to be passed on
12 June 2003. In case the works are continued, the EPRS will have to make up
to EFT for the undelivered quantities of electrical power. Dakic warns that
a breach of contract would have negative consequences for the EPRS which would
then also have to pay the interest rate on undelivered electricity. In the end,
Dakic expressed hope that the works on the tunnel will be resumed in the situation
when new executive organs of the EPRS were in constitution and the tunnel was
already 75% finished, or else, the entire Eastern Herzegovina and BiH would
suffer a heavy damage. (p.10)
TERRORISM
Dnevni avaz
Co-ordination Team for Fighting Terrorism established
The Council of Ministers made a decision at its session on Tuesday to establish
the Co-ordination Team for Fighting Terrorism. Its main task will be to monitor
and analyse the situation and suggest measures and actions to the relevant institutions
in BiH for fighting terrorism. Barisa Colak, current BiH Minister of Security,
was appointed as the Head of the Anti-Terrorist Team, and Dragan Mektic, Deputy
Minister of Security, as his Deputy. Almir Dzuvo, Advisor on Internal Policy
in the Office of the Chair of the Council of Ministers, was appointed as the
Secretary. (Photo on page 8) /The same in Dnevni List (p. 5)/