Press Statement

28 September 2004

COMSFOR Transfer Of Authority Ceremony; Release Of Milovan Bjelica

Good morning, I have two points for you today:

COMSFOR Transfer of Authority Ceremony

Brigadier General Steven P. Schook will become the ninth commander of SFOR in a ceremony at Camp Butmir on Tuesday 5 October 2004 at 11:00 a.m. He will take command from Major General Virgil L. Packett II, who has been in the position since October 2003.

The Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Joint Force Command, Naples, Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, U.S. Navy, will preside over the event.

Brigadier General Schook assumes this appointment having served as Chief of Staff of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Pristina since July 2003. Major General Packett, the outgoing commander, will be assigned as the Deputy Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, in the United States, on completion of his tenure as COMSFOR.

The change of SFOR Command at this stage will help a smooth transition to the new NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo at the end of this year, which will also be headed by Brigadier General Schook.

Members of the media interested in attending the Transfer of Authority Ceremony must be at the SFOR bus parked in front of the main (RS) gate of Camp Butmir at 10:00 a.m. for an accreditation and security check. There will be a dedicated viewing area set up for the media. Timings are very tight thus anyone wishing to attend should be prompt. The event will be open only to SFOR accredited media. Due to time constraints, there will not be an opportunity for media interviews.

Release of Milovan Bjelica

On the evening of 27 September 2004, SFOR officials released Milovan Bjelica to the local authorities in Sokolac. SFOR detained Mr Bjelica on 31 August 2004 for questioning on the suspicion that he had been engaged in activities contrary to the Dayton Agreement.

Such operations, including detentions, fall within the legal mandate of SFOR. The operations are carried out to support the efforts of the ICTY to bring those Persons Indicted For War Crimes (PIFWC) to justice at The Hague Tribunal.