Main News Summary
Tuesday, 9 March 2004

SFOR
BiH Radio 1
Bosnian Serb general has "no complaints" about Sfor treatment in detention
Pensioned general of the RS Army Bogdan Subotic said he has no complaints on the behaviour of SFOR troops, but that they treated him as a prisoner. He was released last night. SFOR had arrested Subotic under suspicious of aiding persons accused for war crimes on 4 March in his family home near Banja Luka. He could not say where he was taken, only adding that it was a NATO base. Subotic announced he will issue a statement during the day.
SFOR
Jutarnje Novine
Operation Harvest 2004 in Tesanj
Representatives of SFOR and the Tesanj Police Administration have attended the presentation of the "Harvest 2004" plan organized by the Municipal Civil Protection HQ in Tesanj. Enis Mehinovic, Chief of the Municipal Civil Protection HQ, said that the purpose of this operation was to inform SFOR and the Tesanj Police Administration about the course of the operation to collect unregistered weapons, mines and explosive ordnance. Capt. Bogdan Cesnjevski from the Multi-National Task Force in Doboj said that this activity would be carried out by the Civil Protection HQ in the future, and emphasized that no punishment would be imposed on those citizens who hand over their illegally held weapons. Mehinovic said that the Tesanj Police Administration and the Multi-National Battle Group in Doboj would support the Civil Protection in carrying out this operation. Vedad Sercic, Chief of the Tesanj Police Administration, underlined the good cooperation between the Municipal Civil Protection HQ and SFOR members, who are working to provide BiH citizens with a better and happier future. (Photo on page 57)
SFOR
Jutarnje Novine
SFOR satisfied with Operation Harvest in Krajina
Representatives of SFOR and the municipalities of Bihac and Bosanska Krupa organized a press conference in Bihac on Monday to present the results of Operation Harvest carried out in this area. Major Laurence Fowkes, Commander of the British SFOR Contingent, said that he was satisfied with the results of this operation. He said that a quantity of weapons had been discovered, and that Bihac and Bosanska Krupa residents had realized that they did not need their weapons. According to Fowkes, this thinking contributed to the creation of a safer environment, and the assistance of the local and cantonal police was crucial for the success of this operation. Fowkes said that many people had protested against handing over their weapons because they wanted to keep them as souvenirs. "I suggested they kept photos as souvenirs instead of weapons," said Fowkes. (Photo on page 57)
SFOR
Blic
Local residents in Gornja Visca accuse SFOR of poisoning them with their waste
The residents of Gornja Visca near Zivinice are considering moving out because SFOR has been poisoning them with the waste that is being disposed of at a dump only a hundred meters away from their houses. According to Enver Hodzic, President of the Gornja Visca Local Community, the residents have had this problem for five years, but they could not solve it because the "local and cantonal authorities are working in co-operation with SFOR." According to official information from the Zivinice Health Care Center, the cancer rate has increased by 50% in the past eight years. Doctor Enver Sakic from Gornja Visca claims that hazardous materials are being incinerated in SFOR incineration plants, while the Tuzla Cantonal Minister of Health, Muradif Seric, says that the increased cancer rate has nothing to do with the dump. SFOR in Tuzla also denies that Visca residents are living with a "dense smoke and an unbearable smell". They say that the incineration plants are specially designed for the disposal of medical waste and that they are separated from other waste. SFOR invited Visca residents to visit the incineration plants but they would have to announce their visit 24 hours in advance. (Photo on page 13)
SFOR
Glas Srpske
Illegal weapons discovered in Kozarska Dubica
After the Multi-National Task Force based in Kostajnica had discovered a quantity of weapons and ammunition in the village of Koturovi and the Kozara integrated wood-processing plant in Dubica in the past ten days, it moved to Kozarska Dubica on Sunday. Major Robinson, Commander of the Multi-National Task Force, stated at a press conference yesterday that the Battle Group would be based in Draksenic in the next eight days. He emphasized that the basic reason for the arrival of SFOR units in this area was information about a significant quantity of weapons and ammunition, which posed a big threat to the local population. Robinson said that Operation Harvest should be carried out by the local authorities and that SFOR was there to assist them. The Dubica Municipality Deputy Mayor, Bogdan Skaric, called on the residents of Kozarska Dubica to co-operate with the local authorities and SFOR members and to hand over any illegally held weapons. (p. 2)
SFOR
Nezavisne Novine
Team of experts in Skoplje
A team of experts in charge of analyzing the black boxes from the plane of the Macedonian President arrived in Skoplje late on Sunday. Experts from BiH and Macedonia who analyzed the black boxes in the German city of Westling have not reported their conclusions yet. According to the Macedonian authorities, the experts in Skoplje will collect information about the flight data record, the licenses and medical certificates of the pilots. The results of the investigation are expected to be announced before the end of this week. (p. 3)
SFOR
Oslobodjenje
Transcript made of the pilot's conversation with the flight control tower
Salko Begic, chairman of the commission for investigating the cause of the crash of the Macedonian President's plane, told Oslobodjenje on Monday that a transcript of the pilot's conversation with the flight control tower had been made thanks to the black box with a communication voice record. The transcript itself is not sufficient to establish the circumstances of the plane crash. That is why experts from BiH, Macedonia, the US and the BiH Chief Prosecutor, are waiting for the results of the flight data record analysis in order to match the voice communication transcript with the data on the altitude, speed, course and acceleration of the plane. Both black boxes will be sent to Germany for analysis. (Photo on page 8)
AF IN BIH
Glas Srpske
Dragan Kalinic meets with James Locher to discuss defence reform
Yesterday, Dragan Kalinic, the President of the RS National Assembly, met with James Locher, the Chairman of the Defence Reform Commission, to discuss the defence reform in BiH. Locher said that the RS National Assembly must amend the RS defence law and the law on the VRS to enable the transfer of authority to the state defence ministry and the BiH Armed Forces. He added that NATO would begin assessing whether BiH was ready to join the Partnership for Peace Programme on 15 May, emphasising that the defence reform must be completed by then. Kalinic said that the RS had received three times less money for demobilised soldiers than the Federation. (Photo on page 2)
AF IN BIH
Oslobodjenje
Dumic withdraws his candidacy, Nikola Radovanovic - new candidate for BiH Defence Minister (Front-page story)
Dragomir Dumic has decided to withdraw his candidacy for the first state defence minister. The SDS will most probably nominate Nikola Radovanovic, a member of the Defence Reform Commission, for this position. The OHR has already suggested that it would approve Radovanovic's nomination. Dumic said that given the OHR's concern about his nomination, he had decided to withdraw his candidacy. "It is his choice," said Oleg Milisic, OHR spokesperson, commenting on Dumic's decision. (Photo on the front page and page 4) /The same in Dnevni avaz (Front-page), Dnevni List (p.3), Jutarnje Novine (p.4), Glas Srpske (p.2), Nezavisne Novine (p.3), Slobodna Dalmacija (p.17)/
AF IN BIH
Blic
Dodik: I have been offered the position of state defence minister
Milorad Dodik, the President of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, said that Adnan Terzic and some members of the international community had offered him to be the first state defence minister. He refused to accept what his party politically opposed. He also said that the RS authorities had prepared the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. He claimed that RS officials had asked Pierre Richard Prosper, the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, to address the RS National Assembly and point out what must be done. "The SDS would then have justification for the arrest," he said. (Photo on page 12)
AF IN BIH
Jutarnje Novine
HVO members threaten to block borders; Hadzipasic refuses to sign Provision on Retirement of HVO members
Yesterday, Ivan Iko Pavlovic, Vice President of the HQ for Protection of Retired HVO Members, warned that the association would "block life" in the Federation this week. He accused Ahmet Hadzipasic, Federation Premier, of refusing to sign the Provision on the Retirement of HVO Members. However, Hadzipasic said that he had already held talks with Dragan Covic and Sulejman Tihic, members of the BiH Presidency, Miroslav Nikolic, FBiH Defence Minister, and Niko Lozancic, Federation President, to discuss this issue. He emphasised that the Provision would be signed only when the list of all members of the VF-B and VF-H and the list of already demobilised soldiers were presented by the FBiH Defence Ministry. "The Government needs these lists to start the defence reform and continue with the further downsizing of the VF," said Hadzipasic. (Photo on page 5)
BIH - CONSTITUTIONS
Oslobodjenje
Franjo Boras: Four cantons to each constituent people
Franjo Boras, a former Croat member of the BiH Presidency, has launched a new proposal for the administrative division of BiH. He advocates the abolition of the Federation BiH and the RS, and the division of BiH into 18 cantons and a Sarajevo district. According to his proposal, each constituent people would have four cantons; Croat-dominated cantons would have centres in Mostar, Bugojno, Vitez and Odzak and would include 21% of the BiH territory, Bosniac-dominated cantons would have centres in Sarajevo, Zenica, Tuzla and Bihac and would include 39% of the territory, while Serb cantons with centres in Banja Luka, Doboj, Bijeljina and Foca would include 40% of BiH territory. A Sarajevo District would include the municipalities of Centar, Ilidza, Novo Sarajevo and Novi Grad. (Photo on page 5) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 5), Glas Srpske (p.2)/
FBIH - PARLIAMENT
Nezavisne Novine
SDA against removal of Premier Hadzipasic
The SDA Presidency decided last night to reject the HDZ request for the removal of the BiH Federation Premier, Ahmet Hadzipasic. "We have come to an agreement that there is no need for Premier Hadzipadsic to be removed, and that we support his work. We also believe that HDZ ministers have no reason whatsoever to continue with the boycott of the BiH Federation government work. We will do everything in our power to have all the ministers attend the next session of the government scheduled for Thursday," stated an SDA Vice President, Elmir Jahic, after the meeting. He also said that HDZ and SDA representatives would agree on future co-operation between the two parties as well as the functioning of the coalition in power in order to overcome problems that might appear in the work of the BiH Federation executive authorities. (p. 5)
FBIH - PARLIAMENT
Nezavisne Novine
FBiH Deputy Premier Gavrilo Grahovac: "FBiH Vice President Sahbaz Dzihanovic will not sign request for removal of Hadzipasic"
The Deputy Premier of the BiH Federation Government, Gavrilo Grahovac, has stated that the Vice President of the BiH Federation, Sahbaz Dzihanovic, would not sign the request of the BiH Federation President, Niko Lozancic, for the removal of the current BiH Federation Premier, Ahmet Hadzipasic. He added that one could easily say that the latest HDZ request for removal of the premier was guided by reasons other than those stated publicly, and that one could also think that the establishment of a third entity was behind this request. (p. 4)
FBIH - PARLIAMENT
Oslobodjenje
SDA and HDZ agree on the BiH Federation Government issue
SDA and HDZ presidents, Barisa Colak and Sulejman Tihic, agreed on Monday night that the BiH Federation Government would continue its work in the presence of all its ministers at the next session scheduled for Thursday. They also agreed that both parties would sign a document about precise mechanisms for resolving major political problems prior to the beginning of the government's session. According to the agreement, a co-ordination body, consisting of the SDA, HDZ and SBiH presidents, would resolve all the disputes on major issues in the government. Also, all other mechanisms for achieving political agreement between the parties in power in the BiH Federation will be regulated by another document signed by the SDA and HDZ presidents. (p. 8)/The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 4)/
ICTY
Oslobodjenje
Mothers of Srebrenica protest in front of the UN HQ in Sarajevo
On Monday, about 300 members of the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa Citizens' Association protested against the possible closure of the ICTY. "We want to express our dissatisfaction with the possible closure of the ICTY and hand-over of its authorities to the local courts and Prosecutor's Office. As announced earlier, the Hague Tribunal will issue indictments until 2004, which means that a number of war criminals who are still at large will go unpunished. If the trials of war criminals becomes a task of the local courts only, a number of those responsible for the tragedy in Srebrenica and other places in eastern Bosnia will never be brought to justice," said Munira Subasic, President of this association. (Photo on page 3)
INTERVIEWS
Dnevni avaz
Mladen Ivanic: I fully support Terzic's statement
Mladen Ivanic, BiH Foreign Minister, said that the Party of Democratic Progress would not nominate a candidate for the post of state defence minister. However, he said that the reasons for the rejection of somebody's nomination must be made public. He fully supported a statement made by Adnan Terzic, the Chair of the BiH Council of Ministers, that there were no criminals in the Council of Ministers and he seriously doubted the sincerity of the OHR intention to help the council carry out numerous reforms. "Some in the OHR believe that they have to give lessons to local officials every second day. But in fact they want to be more important than they really are," he said. He expressed his belief that BiH would be admitted to the Partnership for Peace Programme in June. (Photo on page 5)
INTERVIEWS
Slobodna Dalmacija
Croatia sent seven billion Kunas to BiH between 1992 and 2000
In an interview with Slobodna Dalmacija, Ante Jelavic, who is in prison for the mismanagement and redirection of funds donated by Croatia for HVO members, said: "These accusations against me have no basis whatsoever. IC representatives are persistently looking for documentation to substantiate the parts of the indictment against me that relate to the redirection and mismanagement of funds donated by Croatia and of the FBiH budget. They are persistent in their request to receive this phantom agreement signed between Croatia and the VF - H. I say 'phantom' agreement because such an agreement was not signed before 2000. It simply does not exist. That is why Zagreb cannot hand it over to them. In May 2000, an agreement on financial assistance was signed between Croatia and the FBiH. As no agreement on assistance had been signed between 1992 and 2000, the funds could not have been registered in the BiH and FBiH budgets. The OHR and the BiH Prosecutor's Office are aware that they cannot accuse me of the mismanagement and redirection of the funds without the written agreement signed between Zagreb and Sarajevo. If this money never entered the BiH and FBiH budgets, there is a question about which budget I used to allegedly mismanage funds, according to Article 358 of the BiH Penal Code." (Photo on page 15)
OHR
Dnevni avaz
HR Ashdown meets British Prime Minister Blair: Dangerous delay in implementation of reforms
Yesterday, HR Paddy Ashdown met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. During the meeting, Ashdown stated that if BiH did not expedite the process of reforms it would fail to fulfill the requirements for joining NATO and the Partnership for Peace Program at the NATO Summit in Istanbul in June. He added that the BiH authorities had already missed the deadlines they themselves set for the implementation of the feasibility study of the European Commission. Ashdown also briefed the British Prime Minister about the current situation in BiH, and about the fact that the coalition in power has not yet found a credible and qualified candidate for the BiH Defense Minister post. He added that NATO would decide how serious BiH was in its attempts to join PfP according to its proposed candidates for the Defense Minister post. "Membership to PfP is not an automatic process, and the BiH authorities have to earn the accession. However, if the BiH authorities continue to show a lack of a serious approach to this issue, BiH will not join PfP at the upcoming NATO Summit," stated Ashdown. (p. 2)/The same in Jutarnje Novine (p. 4), Oslobodjenje (p. 5), Nezavisne Novine (p. 2), Dnevni List (p. 3)/
OHR
Dnevni avaz
SDU supports OHR decision
The SDU leadership has expressed its support for the OHR decision regarding the nomination of the first BiH Defense Minister, saying that the OHR had shown more concern than BiH politicians about the protection of BiH interests. "After several months of 'negotiations' about which nationality the first BiH Defense Minister should be, the SDA, HDZ, SDS, and PDP leaders gave the exclusive right to nominate the candidate for that position to the SDS, which, with the assistance of the new regime in Belgrade, is constantly working against the best interests of BiH," reads an SDU statement. (p. 2)
OHR
Jutarnje Novine
Adnan Terzic: "There is no conflict between me and the OHR"
The OHR statement that the BiH Council of Ministers was responsible for the delay in the adoption of the Draft Law on Money Laundering has caused a harsh reaction from the Chair of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic. However, Terzic told Jutarnje Novine that there was no real conflict between him and the OHR, and that he had reacted in such a way because the OHR has pressured them to complete the work regarding the adoption of the draft law even though it knew that it would be completed soon. He added that the draft law would most likely be adopted on Thursday. "I believe that certain low-ranking OHR officials have given themselves the right to comment on things in an improper way. I have very good co-operation with HR Paddy Ashdown and Principal Deputy to the HR Donald Hays, and this excellent co-operation should continue for the benefit of BiH. I hope that a small incident such as this will not jeopardize that co-operation," added Terzic. (p. 2)
POLICE/SBS
Jutarnje Novine
State Border Service comments on RS Minister of Internal Affairs statement
The BiH Border Service (SBS) has commented a statement of the RS Minister of Internal Affairs Djeric that the SBS was accountable for the lack of measures to prevent foreign citizens illegally entering BiH from the territory of Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) and Croatia. RS Minister Djeric made this statement on 5 March during his official visit to the Public Security center in Bijeljina. The SBS comment also reads that such a statement does not contribute to the co-ordination and co-operation that exists among the law enforcement agencies in BiH, whose common goal is to increase public and personal security in BiH, as well as the security of property. (p. 56)
POLICE/SBS
Jutarnje Novine
156 RS police officers to lose their jobs
In accordance with the new job classifications in the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs, approximately 156 police officers will lose their jobs. All officers against whom criminal charges have been filed, and those who are guilty of serious misconduct will be fired. These policemen will be fired in accordance with the criteria adopted by the RS MUP and Trade Union Association. It is expected that every dismissed police officer will receive 6,000 KM severance pay. (p. 3)