SFOR Transcript 12 April 1999

Transcript: Joint Press Conference 12 April 1999, 11.36 Hours Coalition Press Information Center Tito Barracks

LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: Dobar dan from SFOR. I have three items today. First, a young Pale girl in critical need of delicate brain surgery is now in an Italian hospital undergoing treatment thanks to the generous efforts of several SFOR units. The story began April 5th when an Italian medical officer was asked by contingent colleagues to assess the condition of a seven-year-old girl from Pale. He immediately recommended the girl be examined by the neurosurgeon with the German Field Hospital at Rajlovac. The young girl was admitted to the field hospital and assessed over several days. Her condition seriously deterioratedand the German medical team diagnosed a life-threatening intra-cranial medical problem in need of immediate surgery. As the German hospital is not equipped to perform such intricate surgery, the medical team recommended the young Pale girl be moved as soon as possible to a suitable medical facility. The Italian contingent, whose personnel had been keeping a close eye on the young patient, immediately volunteered to make arrangements in Italy. They soon confirmed the Clinica Meyer in Florence would perform the surgery at no cost. On Sunday the German Field Hospital requested a medical airlift and within 24 hours SFOR headquarters approved and scheduled a humanitarian airlift to Italy, and arranged to cover all other transport costs. The Italian Red Cross offered to support the girl and her mother while in Italy. At 5 p.m. yesterday, daughter and mother were en route to Italy in a German C-160 transport aircraft-one of two SFOR aircraft dedicated to strategic evacuation-accompanied by a German medical team. SFOR, through the Italian contingent, will be staying in close touch with the situation and will provide an update as soon as information is available. For privacy reasons, SFOR cannot release certain details, such as the names of the patient and her family. It is up to her family to decide whether to release such information. General Montgomery Meigs, Commander of SFOR, on behalf of all SFOR personnel, prays for a successful operation and a speedy recovery, and extends his best wishes to the girl's family and relatives. Next, General Meigs has reviewed the lists of general officers submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina's ministers of defence in accordance with the Instruction to Parties issued in December 1998, and has accepted the nominations as compliant. The Instructions to Parties issued to Entity army leaders in December implemented a program of minimum standards of conduct and professional competence for general officers in a modern democratic society along with the procedures to ensure those qualities. These standards require generals to be neutral in political matters, not to engage in partisan politics, and to support the Dayton Peace process. To implement these standards of conduct, Entity ministers of defence were given until March 15th to review the cases of all current general officers. This review required each general officer to submit a detailed personal and financial disclosure report. Following a review by the ministers of defence, lists of general officers who met the standards of professionalism and ethical behavior, along with supporting paperwork, were forwarded to Commander SFOR for review and acceptance. SFOR sees the implementation of standards of conduct for general officers as a very important step toward Bosnia and Herzegovina's full participation in the NATO security and cooperation framework and toward eventual integration into the European family of nations. Finally, at 8 a.m. today, at the direction of General Montgomery Meigs, SFOR issued a notice to airmen advising national and international civil aviation operators that some airports and specified air lanes in Bosnia-Herzegovina are reopened during daylight hours. Effective immediately, therefore, the airports at Banja Luka, Mostar and Sarajevo and specified corridors within the airspace over Bosnia-Herzegovina are reopened to civil flight operations during daylight hours only. The reopened air lanes include those from the direction of Split and Zagreb, Croatia, and those between the three reopened airports. Bosnia-Herzegovina airports and airspace will remain closed to all non-authorized traffic at night until further notice as a prudent, precautionary measure. Since the first day of NATO air operations against the FRY, when civil air operations were curtailed in the interest of aircraft and passenger safety, SFOR has conducted regular assessments in order to determine if conditions were right to allow the return of general air traffic. In the view of Commander SFOR, the latest assessment offered a high degree of safety and opened the door to limited civil use of Bosnia-Herzegovina airspace and airports. Importantly, this decision offers the opportunity to restart economic activity, leading to normal conditions as soon as safety permits. Copies of releases about the above items are available outside. That is all from SFOR. James Fergusson, OHR: Good morning. I've a joint statement for you today, copies of which are on the tables outside. This is from OHR and UNMIBH welcome the crucial step forward in the establishment of multi-ethnic police forces in Canton 4 over the last several days. This is in line with the OHR strategy for Canton 4 to increase the level of implementation in Zenica-Doboj Canton, in all areas concerned, and with the UN IPTF policy of minority police recruitment which the Federation partners committed to at Bonn-Petersburg some three years ago. Following 30 Croat policemen starting to work in the interior ministry of Zenica-Doboj Canton last Thursday, the 93-person multi-ethnic police was inaugurated in Zepce in the presence of Deputy High Representative Jacques Paul Klein and Commander of IPTF Detlef Buwitt, and the collective leadership for the canton as well as local authorities. The new Zepce police force will encompass areas of Zavidovici and Maglaj municipalities, which conform to the area previously covered by the Croat police force in Zepce until Joint Police Force administration is established there no later than the 13th of July 1999. UN IPTF is posting an adviser to the Zepce police administration to assist in the establishment of a fully-functioning, multi-ethnic police force. We also welcome the establishment of multi-ethnic police administrations in Zenica and Kakanj yesterday as scheduled as part of this step-by-step approach. These are important steps forward and will increase the security in the whole canton for all residents. OHR and UNMIBH are determined to sideline those who attempt to reverse this constructive outcome, based on the restructuring plan adopted on the 26th of March by the Bosniak minister of interior and his Croat deputy. And a word also about the airports reopening, which is obviously good news. Right from the start of the NATO air campaign, OHR along with others, have worked for an early resumption of normal service in Bosnia - Herzegovina air space. The High Representative Carlos Westendorp even wrote to NATO Secretary General Javier Solana arguing that the no-fly zone clearly could do no good to the commercial health of the country. Bosna, for example, calculated that if the stoppage were to last for a month, it alone would lose quarter of a million dollars in direct profits. It is with great satisfaction, therefore, that the high rep notes SFOR's announcement of the partial reopening of air corridors, Mostar, Banja Luka and Sarajevo as discussed. He anticipates a return to normal economic activity through these airports as soon as possible. That's it. Kelly Moore, UNMIBH: Good morning. I have a few points for you today. In the last week, about 100 UNMIBH personnel returned to their offices in the Republika Srpska, bringing the total number of UNMIBH staff to about 325 throughout the RS. UN IPTF officers have continued to advise and monitor the local police, investigate human rights cases, conduct patrols and carry out local police training, while our Civil Affairs officers have continued their meetings and contacts with local officials and community leaders. While we are mindful of the sensitivity of the NATO action in Yugoslavia for many residents of the RS, the people of Bosnia - Herzegovina have our strongest assurances that we remain fully committed to attending to the business of Bosnia with a view toward creating professional and democratic police and strengthening the rule of law. I'd like to say a word about the Federation Parliament meeting yesterday. UNMIBH welcomes the Federation Parliament's discussion on the work of the Federation Ministry of Interior. The Interior Ministry's accountability to the public through its elected representatives in the parliament is a sign of the democratic process at work. However, yesterday's session demonstrated that policing issues continue to be politicized by the main political parties in the Federation. UNMIBH regrets this disservice to the citizens of this country that can only undermine the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. UNMIBH calls upon all political parties to work together to find solutions to the problems in the field of law enforcement and refrain from unconstructive and divisive debate. The need for strengthened cooperation between the Cantonal and Federation ministries of interior is paramount to solving crimes. UNMIBH urges politicians at all levels to support this process in the interests of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And finally, as most of you know, yesterday in the Hague trials began of Dario Kordic and Mario Cerkez, both accused of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and violations of the laws or customs of war. A press release with more specific information about their indictments is available on the tables outside. That's all I have. Thank you. Wendy Rappeport, UNHCR: Good morning from UNHCR. I'd like to announce a Bosniak return movement to the villages of Blace and Memici-Ljubinci, Prozor Municipality, which took place last Saturday the 10th of April. Some 50 Bosniaks, mostly displaced in Bugojno but also as far away as Germany, arrived in villages at approximately 10 a.m. A total attend of 15 persons are expected to remain in the villages to clean in preparation for reconstruction. UNHCR provided non-food items for the group, and a quick note, this is the second movement into Prozor for the past two weeks, the last one was from Jablanica, a third is expected in the coming weeks. In addition to UNHCR, the movement was monitored by OHR South, IPTF, SFOR and local police. Several Bosniak cantonal officials, including the governor and minister for displaced persons and refugees, visited the returnees over the course of the day. One truckload of building materials was provided to the group by the cantonal authorities. Another announcement: we are opening an office in Stolac. There have been many return activities, as you well know, in that municipality. We are planning on Serb returns in the beginning of May, and will continue throughout the summer. There will be further Bosniak returns to the area as well. As we know, there are some 335 returns to the area since the Dayton Peace Accord, and it's a strategically important area. The opening will be tomorrow with the UNHCR Chief of Mission Mr. Barry Rigby at 2 p.m. That's all from UNHCR. Thank you. Tanya Domi, OSCE: Good morning. After careful evaluation of the security situation, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina has resumed its work in the Republika Srpska. A small contingent of officers returned last week to the regional center in Banja Luka, and is conducting regular business. The OSCE continues to meet with Republika Srpska officials and political leaders on a regular basis. The OSCE continues to reassess the security situation on a daily basis throughout the country, and will decide on a gradual return of its officers to Republika Srpska when it is appropriate. The OSCE would also like to express its appreciation to Minister Novic, who in his statements and efforts has continued to maintain an increasingly positive security environment in the Republika Srpska. That's all for OSCE. James Fergusson, OHR: Questions please. Questions Sadovic Merdijana, ABC News, Q: David, Belgrade news agency BETA claims that one NATO plane crashed in Bosnia, somewhere near Tuzla, last night. Is that true? LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: No, it's not true. No NATO planes have crashed. We actually checked this morning with NATO and Tuzla, and as far as I can tell it's not true. Sadovic Merdijana, ABC News, Q: Is it possible that one of the Serb planes crashed then, because local population LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: We have no reports of any crashes up there. Sadovic Merdijana, ABC News, Q: I say that because local population claim that they noticed some increased SFOR activity, and they also heard an explosion in the area. LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: The instant we had confirmation of information like that, we would pass it out. Nedim Dervisbegovic, Reuters, Q: Wendy, could you give us an update on refugee figures, please. Wendy Rappeport, UNHCR: O.K. I can just give you the total in-country, is 30,124. That includes 27,624 refugees from FRY. We're readjusting, once again, the refugees from FRY include both Kosovars and Sandzaks, but at this point the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Communications is just taking registrations and origins, but they are not dividing the figures for us into who is coming from where. So that is just arrivals from FRY into the Federation - 27,624. The Republika Srpska - our numbers still something around 2,500, however we do understand that the Minister for Refugees in the RS is giving out a figure much higher than that. Jamila Milovic, Radio MIR, Q: Kelly, in light of the encouraging news in Canton 4, can you give us any updates on the police situation in Stolac after the three-month probation team has been there sent to monitor it? And Drvar, is there a significant number, finally, of police officers who joined the force there? Kelly Moore, UNMIBH: On Stolac, as you know, the probationary period ends the 3rd of May, it began on the 3rd of February. Thus far, the Stolac local police have been extremely cooperative with our special team that we sent down to Stolac, and we have also received the full support of the Cantonal Ministry of Interior. To date, we've only issued four non-compliance reports against various officers in the Stolac police station for failure to cooperate with us. That said, the kinds of things they've been working are pretty basic organizational and administrative-type tasks, for example, putting down job descriptions of what the various functions should do. They've begun holding daily morning meetings with Croat and Bosniak police officers, and that didn't take place before. So, it's really just been a question of pulling together the police station from an organizational point of view, and thus far everything seems to be going according to plan. In Drvar, we don't have any up-to-date statistics on the number of non-Croat police that are there, but I can tell you that we should have more news in the next couple of weeks. As you know, we've been planning a Federation police academy to begin. That's had to be delayed simply because not enough of the cadets have passed the UN IPTF tests to qualify for that. So hopefully within the next few weeks, I'm going to able to give you some precise information on how many minority candidates Canton 10 has put forward. Ranko Mavrak, HINA, Q: David, can you tell us after this assessment of this general's list by COMSFOR - can you tell us how many generals do you have in the entity armies and does the list include deputy commander of the Federation army? There were some difficulties with these nominations, so I'm wondering if it's solved. LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: The last time we made an announcement of this sort, we made it clear that we would leave it to the entities to give out specific details of who was nominated. That's their business. We're only in the business of approving under the ITP. So I can't give you specific details - all I can say at this time is that General Meigs is very satisfied, they were compliant, and you'll have to go to them for details. If we see any contradictions in what we've done or said, between us and them, we will clarify that publicly, but there are no such contradictions at this time. Vedran Perisic, OBN, Q: Do you know how many generals are approved? LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: I saw a long list - that's all I can say. I didn't count the list, but once again I'd ask you to go to the entities for that information. They're the ones who make these selections and it's up to them to release the information. Vedran Perisic, OBN, Q: It's not up to SFOR to release that list? LCdr Dave Scanlon, SFOR: No. James Fergusson, OHR: O.K.? Thank you very much.