BiH State-related Issues
- BiH parliamentary delegation to visit Croatia and discuss ratification of the Ploce/Neum agreement
- BiH Election Commission adopts its draft Budget for the next year
- Reuters:
Bosnian rights group slams Dayton peace deal - The Banja Luka airport put under the BiH SBS control
Federation
Republika Srpska
International Community
- Head of the OHR office for the Central Bosnian Canton appointed
- ICTY completes Srebrenica indictments: Vinko Pandurevic – the third indictee for genocide
- ICTY Spokeswoman says indictments against Todorovic and Rasevic have not been delivered to Banja Luka authorities
- Experts’ seminar examines introduction of VAT in BiH
- Inaugural session of the BiH/FRY inter-state cooperation council to take place on Tuesday in Sarajevo
- Yugoslav Foreign Minister sees big differences between Yugoslavia, Croatia on tenancy rights
- Dnevni List:
UN Mission in BiH is implementing ‘Protocol Four’ of the ‘Roman Defense’ Plan- Dnevni List:
Editorials
- Oslobodjenje, Dnevni Avaz and Jutarnje Novine
BiH State-related Issues
BiH parliamentary delegation to visit Croatia and discuss ratification of the Ploce/Neum agreement
According to Saturday’s Oslobodjenje, a BiH parliamentary delegation is expected to visit Croatia on Sunday and Monday, meet with the Croatian parliamentarians and discuss the ratification of the inter-state agreement on the free pass through Neum and free usage of the port of Ploce. Speaker of the BiH House of peoples Sejfudin Tokic told journalists in Sarajevo on Friday that the agreement had gone through all necessary procedure in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. However, since the document was being strongly opposed by certain political structures in Croatia primarily the Ploce local authorities, Tokic said the BiH delegation would insist it is ratified in a form in which it had bee signed on November 22, 1998. At the press conference, Tokic also criticized the recent visit of a senior Republika Srpska delegation to Moscow and a senior delegation of the BiH Federation Defense Ministry to Israel, saying that they had both made a big damage to the BiH’s international position and its image in the world. He announced he would therefore request, at the next session of the House, that all those involved in these actions are held responsible for the political damage.
BiH Election Commission adopts its draft Budget for the next year
At a session held on Friday, the BiH Election Commission adopted its Budget for the next year amounting a total of 11,767, 233.26 KM. Oslobodjenje reports that the Commission members also discussed proposals for procedures of voters’ registration in the country and abroad.
Reuters: Bosnian rights group slams Dayton peace deal
A human rights watchdog said on Saturday Bosnia should rethink the Dayton accord that ended its 1992-5 war, saying it had failed to deliver real peace or stability six years on. Bosnia’s Helsinki Committee for Human Rights added its voice to rising calls to overhaul Dayton, which divided Bosnia into a Serb republic and a Bosniak-Croat federation after Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two. The mission’s head Srdjan Dizdarevic said no stable progress had been made towards any of the U.S.-brokered treaty’s goals. He also criticised the Western peace presence as disorganised, inefficient, and beset by conflicts of interest and distrust. Despite billions of aid dollars, Bosnia’s economy is still impoverished and 20,000 NATO-led troops remain to keep the peace among Muslims, Croats and Serbs. A lack of cooperation and trust between the riven Balkan state’s two ethnic halves hobbles its central government. The West has agreed to streamline its work in Bosnia but has so far balked at tinkering with the peace framework itself. Dizdarevic said that under Dayton nationalist parties had obstructed the return of refugees and their property. Minorities lacked physical and legal security, and the economy, courts, police, education and media still needed to be reformed. “We should not hesitate to put the solutions from Dayton under criticism as they limit the normalisation and democratisation of the Bosnian state and its practical work,” Dizdarevic told a news conference. Last month a respected think tank said the West should radically reform its operations in Bosnia, and if that was not enough it should also consider overhauling the constitution. “If Bosnia cannot be put on its feet by evolution…or by some negotiated constitutional settlement, then the international community must be ready to impose a more workable and democratic model than Dayton,” the International Crisis Group said in a report. The top international policy-making board for Bosnia agreed earlier in December to speed up aid and reform efforts by forming special task forces to supervise its main goals. But the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, which groups the world’s biggest powers and financial bodies, did not discuss changes to the Dayton treaty. It said the accord must first be fully implemented, and then Bosnian legislators could decide if they wanted to change it.
The Banja Luka airport put under the BiH SBS control
Dnevni Avaz reports that the BiH State Border Service officially took over the control over the Banja Luka Mahovljani Airport from the RS Interior Ministry on Friday. At the ceremony, Republika Srpska Interior Minister Dragomir Jovicic emphasized that the Airport was an example of RS policemen professional behavior.
Federation
Sefer Halilovic arrives in Sarajevo
Retired General Sefer Halilovic, the wartime commander of the BiH Army and the BiH Federation Minister for Social Welfare, Refugees and Displaced persons who had been indicted for war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, arrived in Sarajevo on Friday accompanied with his lawyer Faruk Balijagic. According to Oslobodjenje, the Tribunal’s Council has in recent days approved Halilovic’s temporary release after the BiH Federation Government had provided necessary guarantees. At the Sarajevo International Airport, Halilovic was welcomed by several hundreds of his supporters from all over the BiH Federation. In a brief address to journalists, Halilovic thanked to the entity Government and particularly Prime Minister Alija Behmen for the guarantees and all the support. Balijagic told Oslobodjenje that the trial of Halilovic before The Hague Tribunal would not take place before the end of the process against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. According to acting President of the Halilovic’s BPS Rifat Skrijelj, there is no doubt Halilovic will re-take the top party’s post in the coming days. In addition, Behmen told Oslobodjenje that there were no legal obstacles for Halilovic to re-assume the ministerial duties as well.
Anic says his visit to Israel not damaging BiH’s reputation
According to Oslobodjenje, BiH Federation Defense Minister Mijo Anic told journalists at the Sarajevo Airport on Friday upon his return from Israel that his visit to the country had been successful. He expressed his conviction that Israel could assist BiH to re-establish pre-war business relations in the field of arms and military equipment industry. Commenting on the criticism by some parties and BiH Council of Ministers Chairman Zlatko Lagumdzija, Anic said he did not see why would his visit to Israel damage the BiH’s reputation.
SDA: Does Anic sell our weapons bought by Islamic countries?
Vice-president of the SDA BiH Mirsad kebo told journalists in Sarajevo on Friday that BiH Federation Defense Minister Mijo Anic was selling arms to Israel, which was not a wise political move at the moment, instead of to take care about his soldiers. According to Oslobodjenje, Kebo asked SDP and other Alliance for Change members in the name of whom Anic was entering into negotiations about selling the weapons with Branko Jeftic, who had his firm registered in Israel? Kebo wondered whether it was about the weapons BiH Federation had purchased by the Islamic countries-donated money?
HDZ BiH Presidency says the Alliance economically destroying Croat areas
At its regular session in Jajce, the HDZ BiH Presidency pointed out at an unequal position of the two pensions funds in the BiH Federation whet it came to their unification. The Presidency expressed its concern that, in that case, an average monthly income of the Croat pensioners would be decreased. According to Oslobodjenje, the HDZ supports a comprehensive pension system reform, which will preserve the equal position of the Croat pensioners. The Presidency also concluded that the current Alliance for Change authorities at the federal level were bringing the cantonal and municipal authorities into a very difficult financial positions through their policy of a maximal centralization. The Federation Government uses such the financial position of the cantons and municipalities for the political purposes. The HDZ Presidency rejected all media speculations about the party’s registration and the position of Ante Jelavic.
BiH Federation House of Peoples adopts the entity Budget rebalance for this year
Oslobodjenje reports that the BiH Federation House of Peoples adopted the entity Budget rebalance for this year at its session in Sarajevo on Friday. According to the rebalance, the Budget has been increased by 195.7 million KM and it now amounts a total of one billion and 193.4 million KM. The rebalance foresees 84 million KM for the payment of two backlog pensions, one of which has already been paid out, and 23 million KM for the payment of one backlog monthly pension to the disabled persons. The amendments to the Budget rebalance proposal were transformed into conclusions, which will be taken into consideration by the Government in drafting the Budget for the next year. This means that the rebalance was adopted in the save version as it had been earlier passed by the BiH Federation House of Representatives.
The November average salary in the BiH Federation amounts 458 KM
According to Oslobodjenje, the officials of the BiH Federation Statistics Bureau announced at a press conference in Sarajevo on Friday that the average November salary in the entity had amounted 458 KM, as the average pension for the month had amounted 169 KM. The consumer’s basket for a four-member family in November amounted 442 KM, which is a 1.6 percent increase comparing to the same month last year.
A bus stoned near Stolac
Dnevni Avaz reports that immediately after the Fed TV Dileme news program dedicated to the situation in Stolac, which was broadcast last Thursday, a Bregava Trans bus with some 15 Bosniak students, who were returning home after participating in the program, was stoned on the road some 10 kilometers from the town. Not a single student was injured in the incident. The investigation is underway.
Dnevni List: The decision on the suspension of construction works on Sultan Selim Mosque was not implemented
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Posters wishing ‘a happy Bairam’ were pasted all over Stolac on Saturday morning, especially on the Department Store and the Primary School buildings, located in the center of Stolac opposite the location where the mosque is being illegally reconstructed. Also, a large number of persons, who have nothing to do with Stolac have been noticed in Stolac. Even a mujahedeen who married a Bosniak woman came to the town from the village of Osanjici. From the construction site, where a big green flag is flying, a stone is thrown occasionally, and curses can be heard as well. Mayor Obradovic told the daily that on the grounds of the Law on Construction and the Law on Administrative Procedure, the Municipal Construction Inspector issued the decision on the suspension of the construction works.
The Roman-Catholic Office in Stolac, the authorized Cantonal Ministry and Stolac Municipality lodged an appeal against the decision on the construction of the mosque on the foundations of a church, which was passed by Ramiz Mehmedagic, the Federation Minister for Urban Planning and Environment.
In accordance with the legal regulations, the authorized Municipal inspector has issued a decision to have the construction works suspended and the construction site entrance sealed. However, the Bosniak security guards, who are numerous, completely ignoring the aforementioned decisions, prevented the inspector and the Sealing Commission from approaching the illegal construction site.
Obradovic said the next step would be to seal the site and suspend the works in the presence of the Police, all in the spirit of valid legal regulations. It is expected that the Police, which should intervene on Monday, will show more objectivity than was the case before, while Smajo Cerkez was their commander.
In spite of cold weather and the decision on the suspension of works the works on the disputable construction site continued on Saturday. The old people comment that no good will come out of this.
Dnevni List: HSP holds 4th Convention
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
The 4th Program Convention of the HSP, held in Mostar on Saturday, was marked with divisions among the HSP membership and criticisms unleashed against the HDZ, whose representative at the Convention, in turn, was advocating a coalition between the HDZ and HSP at the next elections in BiH.
Some of the HSP officials were not allowed to enter the Herceg Stjepan Kosaca building, where the Convention took place. This act was explained by the fact that their names were not on the list of invited representatives. Ante Djapic, the President of the Croatian HSP, who supports the leadership of the HSP members led by Zdravko Hrstic, also spoke at the Convention. He did not talk about the divisions within the HSP BiH, but he criticized the policy of the HDZ, the leading Croat party in BiH. He wondered: ‘Was it someone else who pushed Croats to The Hague? Was it someone else who signed the Dayton Peace Agreement?’
Also, he called on the Croats in BiH to be unified and come out of ‘darkness,’ adding that they should come up with a strategy, which should give answer to the question: ‘emigration or survival’ (of Croats). Marko Tokic, (dismissed and unrecognized) HDZ Vice President, stated in his introductory speech that if the elections take place next year, the HDZ an HSP will form a Coalition and they will win the elections at the entity and state levels.
Vecernji List: Minister Anic testifies against Jelavic
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Vecernji List announces that a final hearing against Ante Jelavic will be held before the Sarajevo Cantonal Court tomorrow at 10 o’clock at which the Federation Minister of Defense and Deputy Minister of Defense, Mijo Anic and Ferid Buljubasic respectively, would testify about the circumstances surrounding the “self-disbandment of the HVO” (…) The papers read that Anic is going to be the Prosecution’s key witness in substantiating the part of the indictment that deals with the self-disbandment and that videotapes of the HDZ pre-election rallies from 2000 and the HNS sessions will be examined during the final hearing, with a special focus being on the HNS session from the March 3, 2001. According to the Prosecution, the videotapes contain “hostile” elements, elements against BiH and BiH’s integrity. Ante Jelavic’s attorney, Josip Muselimovic, dismisses the claims that the videotapes contain anything relevant adding that he believes that the case would be finished after the tomorrow’s hearing.
Vecernji List: Federation Police seeking connection between Taibah International and Global Relief’s documentation and Bin Laden
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Federation Police expects that the documentation seized during the check-up of five facilities used by Global Relief Foundation and Taibah International will show whether the humanitarian work is just a cover for terrorist activities. These humanitarian organizations are not well known in BiH and according to available data are not as active as other organizations in BiH. A total of seven of these organizations’ employees have been questioned by the police. The police does not want to say whether other people linked to these organizations would be questioned too. It would appear that it depends on the UN Mission, which members were overlooking the raid of these organizations. Unofficial information say that the Federation Police carried out the operation after receiving order from foreign services and international organizations deployed in BiH and that it is not coincidental that it was carried out just 24 hours before the great Islamic holiday, the Bajram. The fact that offices of the aforementioned organizations in Kosovo are also under surveillance points to the fact that the Federation Police were acting according to the international intelligence’s findings (…) More information about the operation will be probably revealed after the Bajram holidays.
Republika Srpska
Mladen Ivanic comments on representation of non-Serbs in RS Authorities – Nothing without DPA
Weekend editions of both Banja Luka dailies quote Republika Srpska Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic, as saying that the proposal on representation of non-Serbs in the RS institutions, in line with the 1991 Census, would be “too strong”. “I think that the power in the RS should be multi-ethnic, and that the other two nations, Bosniaks and Croats, should have an adequate representation in the RS institutions. However, I think it will take us a lot of time to reach a compromise”, Ivanic told a press conference on Friday. He stressed that all constitutional changes should be based on the Dayton Peace Accords. “This means that constitutional changes cannot be treated in a way that will question the position of the RS itself, because the RS has to remain while its internal structure depends on political compromises”, said Ivanic. He also reiterated that the RS authorities do not have any information on Karadzic’s and Mladic’s whereabouts. “Those who know where Karadzic and Mladic are should say it and present the evidence in order to make the authorities, on which territory Karadzic and Mladic are currently residing, do something about them”, said Ivanic. When asked whether he expects sanctions for the RS and the FRY if the authorities of these two countries keep repeating that they do not know where Karadzic and Mladic are, Ivanic said that there would be no sanctions. “We have a quite good cooperation with the international financial institutions”, said Ivanic.
Is principle of national parity going to be respected in RS Institutions?
Monday’s edition of Nezavisne Novine quotes Deputy Republika Srpska National Assembly Speaker, Sulejman Tihic, as saying that the RS authorities must accept the High Representative’s proposal on fair representation of non-Serbs in the RS institutions according to the 1991 Census and that there is no compromise or bargaining about that. Commenting on views presented by RS politicians who are against the High Representative’s proposal, Tihic says that the functioning and the existence of the RS depend on the implementation of constitutional amendments. According to a proposal, made by the non-Serb members of the RS NA Constitutional Commission, the RS Supreme Court and the RS Constitutional Court would be formed in line with the 1991 Census, while the composition of the RS National Assembly would depend on election results. All other institutions, including the RS Government and steering and supervisory boards would be formed in line with the 1991 Census. Tihic does not expect all amendments, proposed by Bosniaks, to be accepted, but stresses that a compromise regarding these issues has to be reached because the existence of the RS depends on it. Tihic also points out that they can reach compromise about some other issues but not about the 1991 Census. The paper also speculates that if the RS NA Constitutional Commission accepts the principle of national parity from 1991 then Serbs would have 8 seats in the RS Government.
Banja Luka police filed criminal report against Head of the RS Public Revenues Office
Weekend edition of Glas Srpski reports that the Banja Luka Police Administration filed a criminal report against Head of the Republika Srpska Public Revenues Administration, Dragan Veselinovic. The report charges Veselinovic with misuse of office. According to Glas Srpski, the criminal report was filed to the Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Banja Luka and is based on the report on execution of the RS budget, submitted by the RS Supreme Auditor, Bosko Ceko.
Mladen Ivanic visited Turjak
Monday’s edition of Glas Srpski quotes Republika Srpska Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic as saying that the RS is a result of struggle of the Serb people for its right to live freely here and that is why the representatives of certain international organizations do not have the right to question the existence of the RS. “It is especially concerning when something like that comes from a man who is tasked with keeping the constitutional order in BiH and the Dayton Peace Accords implementation, and that is the High Representative. I hope that what has been said recently regarding the RS is just a free interpretation and that he really does not think so, because if he really thinks as it was written in the paper, then the question is whether his role is being played in BiH in an adequate way”, said Ivanic.
Deputy RS Prime Minister slams statements about dissolution of RS
The Belgrade-based Tanjug news agency quotes Republika Srpska Deputy Prime Minister Petar Kunic as saying on Saturday that “nobody can dissolve the RS” and that its survival primarily depends on the will of the Serb people, who represent the majority in this region. Reacting to a statement by international community’s High Representative for BiH Wolfgang Petritsch, who warned authorities in Banja Luka that their behaviour could lead to the dissolution of the RS, Kunic said that nobody could dissolve the RS. “I cannot believe that the High Representative has said such a thing and I cannot understand how such a ranking official, who has received so much trust from international factors, can say that one Bosnian entity, created with the presence of the world’s greatest forces and neighbouring countries’ guarantees, can be dissolved,” Kunic said.
Former RS Army Chief to die before he is arrested – a Montenegrin Daily
Text of report by Marina Borozan, “General Mladic ordered his guard to kill him”, published by the Montenegrin newspaper Dan on 15 December
Sources from the Republika Srpska inform us that former commander of the RS Army Ratko Mladic is being guarded by about 100 of his loyal soldiers. They went through every battle together with Mladic and are now prepared to lay down their lives defending Mladic if Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic tries to arrest him. Milan H., a man close to Mladic, is under orders to kill the former RS Army commander if an arrest attempt is made. Zoran Djindjic believes that Mladic’s defense should be taken seriously. His guards are prepared to die for their commander. The Serbian prime minister, aware of the problems he is facing, is trying to recruit anybody who is in any way connected to Mladic. Our source from the RS says that well-trained special units are prepared to react and support Ratko Mladic if someone tries to attack him. Autonomous special squads are deployed in Banja Luka, Bijeljina and some other towns in the RS and are prepared to prevent the arrest of their commander. Allegedly, Ratko Mladic was seen in one of the Belgrade hospitals, but he is not in the capital any more. Hague prosecutor Carla Del Ponte still keeps pressurizing Belgrade since she expects Mladic to be delivered to The Hague. However, Del Ponte will not be securing another witness of Milosevic’s alleged war crimes in BiH. Mladic will not say a word about former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Hague investigators are in trouble, since Mladic’s arrest would destabilize the RS and could undermine the Dayton Agreement.
RS Defense Minister condemns The Hague Tribunal’s double standards
Srna news agency quotes Republika Srpska Defence Minister Slobodan Bilic as saying on Friday in Serb Sarajevo that the decision of The Hague Tribunal to temporarily release BiH Army General Sefer Halilovic and file an indictment against RS Army General Vinko Pandurevic is another example of the Tribunal’s double standards. He added that these activities of the tribunal would not change anything in the cooperation between the RS and The Hague as this cooperation is envisaged in the Law on Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal.
RS Government adopts draft Budget for 2002
Fena news agency reports that the Republika Srpska Government adopted on Friday the draft budget for 2002 which amounts to 886.4 million KM. This represents an increase of 8 per cent compared to the budget of the current fiscal year, the government’s press office announced. The 2002 draft budget and the proposed law on implementation of the budget will be on the agenda of the next RS National Assembly session scheduled for 26 December.
International Community
Head of the OHR office for the Central Bosnian Canton appointed
The High Representative, Wolfgang Petritsch, has reviewed and restructured the OHR presence in the Central Bosnia Canton (Canton 6). Petritsch has appointed his Special Envoy for Bugojno, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Prozor-Rama, Ulrich Bucher, as Head of Office for the integrated Central Bosnia Canton OHR Office in Travnik. (Dnevni Avaz and Jutarnje Novine carried the Press Release)
ICTY completes Srebrenica indictments: Vinko Pandurevic – the third indictee for genocide
The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said on Friday it had charged a Bosnian Serb wartime commander with genocide for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of thousands of Bosnaiks. The indictment against Vinko Pandurevic was originally approved by judges in 1998, but was only publicly released on Friday. Pandurevic remains at large. According to the indictment, Pandurevic served as commander of the “Zvornik Brigade” which took part in the attack on the U.N.’s ‘safe area’ of Srebrenica. The brigade also carried out killings and executions of thousands of Bosniak boys and men rounded up after the city fell under Serb control. Pandurevic and units under his command also engaged in efforts to conceal the killings by burying victims in isolated sites scattered over a wide area, sometimes digging up bodies and moving them to secondary graves, the indictment said. In addition to one count of genocide, Pandurevic is also charged with complicity to commit genocide, five counts of crimes against humanity and one count of violation of the laws or customs of war.
ICTY Spokeswoman says indictments against Todorovic and Rasevic have not been delivered to Banja Luka authorities
Weekend edition of Nezavisne Novine quotes ICTY Spokeswoman Florence Hartman as saying that the ICTY administration did not send indictments against Savo Todorovic and Mitar Rasevic to the Republika Srpska authorities in Banja Luka. “The RS authorities are right – they have not received the indictments and my statement was wrong”, said Hartman. She said that a mistake had been made and that she withdrew everything she had said regarding these cases. “We checked the information and it turns out that the statements made by the RS officials were correct. We are going to correct the mistake and the RS authorities will soon get the indictments. The ICTY Prosecutor’s Office sent the indictments almost a moth ago, but it goes through the ICTY administration and the administration did not serve the RS authorities with the indictments”, said Hartman.
Experts’ seminar examines introduction of VAT in BiH
The Office of the High Representative, in conjunction with Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), on Friday convened the first of a series of seminars for senior officials on the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in BiH, the OHR said in a press release Saturday. The seminar was chaired by the Principal Deputy High Representative, Don Hays. Participants included BiH Treasury Minister Ante Domazet, Federation Deputy Minister of Finance Sefika Hafizovic and other officials of the Federation BiH, Republika Srpska and Brcko District. (ONASA on Saturday and Fena on Sunday carried the Press release)
Inaugural session of the BiH/FRY inter-state cooperation council to take place on Tuesday in Sarajevo
According to Dnevni Avaz, an inaugural session of the BiH/FRY inter-state cooperation council is scheduled for Tuesday. Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica is expected to meet with BiH Presidency members before the session.
Yugoslav Foreign Minister sees big differences between Yugoslavia, Croatia on tenancy rights
Tanjug news agency quotes Yugoslav Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic as saying on Friday at the end of his one-day visit to Croatia that the issue of tenancy rights of refugees had dominated the talks with Croatian officials, stressing that major differences existed on this issue between the FRY and Croatian officials. Svilanovic told reporters before departing for Belgrade that “the Yugoslav side finds it hard to accept the Croatian view that tenancy rights have already been consumed, and that this problem can only be solved by giving the former tenancy rights holders the status of protected tenant in housing on offer, and then only after 10 years do they have the right to buy off those apartments.” The Yugoslav foreign minister added that he had received support from the representatives of the Serb community and non-governmental organisations to continue negotiations on this problem so as to find the best possible solution. Svilanovic believes that tenancy rights are one of those property rights covered by the succession agreement, which deals with all the rights attained before 1991. Svilanovic also expressed his sincere regret for the sufferings of the citizens of Croatia, Croats as well as Serbs. He said that the events of the war in Croatia will remain engraved on the hearts of Croatians forever. After the meeting with his Croatian counterpart, Tonino Picula, Svilanovic urged the people to look to the future: “It remains up to historians to explain the reasons behind everything that happened. It is up to the politicians to take step towards reconciliation. This is not going to be easy and will take many years”, said Svilanovic.
Dnevni List: UN Mission in BiH is implementing ‘Protocol Four’ of the ‘Roman Defense’ Plan
Written by Leo Plockinic, (full translation provided by OHR Mostar)
The real role of the international organizations in BiH after the Dayton Peace Agreement provided for establishing of a relatively stable peace, can best be seen from the behavior and actions of the international community, whose organizations treat Croats in BiH as “adopted orphans.”
Actions of the UNMIBH are only a segment of the overall attitude to the Croat constituent people, and a few reliable sources confirmed for us that the international diplomats in BiH have been instructed to apply a “different treatment” on Croats and approach them in a “different way” than they do the other two constituent peoples.
UN against dialogue with “Croat hard-liners”
The action of appointing Pakistanis to the key positions in the territories of the five Croat-majority cantons, an action undertaken by the UNMIBH which is led by the American Jacques Paul Klein, has shown the real intention of the UNMIBH: obstruct any sort of political or diplomatic dialogue with the legally elected representatives of the Croat people in BiH, whom the international officials arrogantly call “political hard-liners.” This deliberate obstruction of dialogue has been set up so that the Pakistani representatives of the UN, coming from a Muslim country, cannot find “common ground” with Croats in terms of either politics or religion, or culture for that matter. Pakistani diplomats dealing with international politics are represented as UN officials in the Bosniak-majority cantons and regions as well, but there are no “political misunderstandings” with Bosniak politicians in those regions, and what is more, with those politicians they have friendly relations. As opposed to such an idyll, Pakistanis are in an open “diplomatic and political” conflict with “Croat hard-liners” of the HDZ, who are “not cooperating, who are obstructing the Dayton Agreement and want to secede and pull out of the BiH Federation.”
Over 90% of employees – Bosniaks
The UN exists almost all over the world and with its declarations, this organization, through its peace missions, aims to spread peace and tolerance among different nations, but very often those who end up in UN missions are persons who, in their countries of origin, would be doing the most ordinary jobs, jobs of no importance or reputation such as taxi driver, farmer or street cleaner.
In Western European countries and America, working for the UN is considered choosing the wrong profession. In BiH, being employed in an international organization is considered a good solution of the question of existence. Dnevni List exclusively publishes the “UNMIBH Telephone Directory,” which shows that the Bosniak employees, who make up over 90% of the total number of employees, hold very important positions and to the extent of being able to influence the decisions and actions taken by the UNMIBH.
“Pakistani connection”
Still, the striking “Pakistani connection” remains, and Pakistanis are “deployed” in all the five Croat-majority cantons, as well as the UN Headquarters in Sarajevo. Jacques Paul Klein is the Head of the UNMIBH in Sarajevo. His advisor is Ibrahim Halil Ozturk, who has good relations with and is directly connected to Rubina Khan (Pakistan) and her senior assistant William Ozkaptan, an American of Turkish origin, both working in Mostar. The IPTF station in Mostar is staffed mainly by Pakistani UN police officers, whose commander is Pavanjeet Sing Sandhu. Although the IPTF Commander is Vincent Couerderoy, almost all of the lower levels, which are sometimes outside of direct control, are under the influence of Pakistanis who have close relations with Bosniaks.
The Head of the UN station in Bihac is Mohamed Hamid, and his Deputy is Suchada Kulawat.
The Head of the Civil Affairs Department in Sarajevo is Ismail Yilmaz. Those are just a few of the people who represent the option of right center in their countries. If we add to this the fact that they are closer to Bosniaks by their religion and culture, we realize that Croats in BiH are isolated in advance from the diplomatic and political dialogue.
According to a few independent and reliable political circles, individual diplomats of the UNMIBH are abusing their offices and their diplomatic immunity, as well as the vehicles and assets of the UNMIBH.
Individual diplomats from Asian countries are allegedly using UN vehicles that are extraterritorial and cannot be stopped by anyone at state border crossings or for a routine police check, for smuggling people across the European borders. Those are their close or distant relatives who come from the poor countries of the Asian continent, and they drive them to the economically prosperous countries of Western Europe and even America.
The American Head of UN Mission in BiH, Jacques Paul Klein, is just looking on all that, and according to reliable sources, he has no idea about the situation in individual cantons or municipalities nor does he have a politically independent and unbiased approach to the problem in BiH, particularly the Croat issue in BiH.
“Croat separatists”
Croat politicians in BiH have noticed that the occasions of hearing from the UN that Croats are a constituent people, are becoming rarer and rarer. One of the reasons for such behavior is the UN Charter, which provides guarantees for the right to self-determination of constituent peoples. This means if Croats decide to break away from the BiH Federation, this right, enshrined in the international convention, must not be contested. After such an approach and after summarizing the UNMIBH actions, a perfectly clear conclusion would be that the international officials have quite different plans, and perhaps even hidden agenda as far as BiH Croats are concerned. According to the “Roman Defense” Plan, the UN Mission in BiH is implementing “Protocol Four.” It is an instruction that represents the “program” of UNMIBH actions as a apart of the overall structure of the political and diplomatic relations of all other international organizations in BiH, which will have a joint cabinet in the near future. Establishing of even stronger coordination and concentration of power in the joint “Cabinet” is aimed at providing for the quickest possible implementation of the “Roman Defense” Plan that our paper wrote about earlier. The Plan envisages a permanent peace solution for BiH by means of assimilating Croats and Bosniaks into a single nation.
Formal constituency
The role of the UNMIBH is “politically esthetic” from one aspect because UN support to someone (the OHR in this case) in one country means that this someone is right and that this support is given from all UN member countries in the world. The main role of the UNMIBH is not to talk to Croat politicians and not to establish dialogue with them, and also to criticize all of their attempts of political activity, condemn their activities and, within that, closely coordinate its actions with other international organizations against “Croat hard-liners,” who, in their opinion and contrary to the election results, do not represent the Croat people in BiH. The Croat people is formally (constitutionally) sovereign, but Croats are not as numerous as Bosniaks, and “could lose” all elections in a global proportion of votes. The positions of those politicians do not necessarily have to be taken seriously and even if they win the elections – it is the High Representative in BiH that has the final say in the interpretation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Dnevni List: OHR Mission in BiH more and more in the service of protection of Anglo-American interests
(Provided by OHR Mostar)
Dnevni List found out from reliable sources that a certain Timberland is replacing Barbara Contini at the position of Head of OSCE Regional Center in Mostar, and his Deputy is a former officer of the German Navy that used to work with the OSCE Mission in Sarajevo.
This expert for the implementation of Articles 2, 4 and 5 of Annex I.a of the Dayton Agreement has obviously been appointed to this duty by the “regional” policy of the OSCE rather than by his professional qualifications. Julien Berthoud, an experienced French diplomat who used to be working at the OSCE Regional Center in Mostar, has already been appointed to the position of Political Advisor to the Head of the OHR Mostar, in the place of Maarten de Sitter.
Another British diplomat is replacing Colin Munro, who is finally retiring. Since Mostar and Banja Luka are run by the British and Sarajevo and Tuzla by the Americans, once Petritsch leaves, says our source, the OHR will turn into an agency for protection of British and American interests in the region. The UN has already been covered with the American Klein, and yet, they all have mouths full of the necessity of a stronger European engagement in BiH.
It is well known that the Austrian diplomat Erhard Busekte will replace Bodo Hombach at the helm of the Stability Pact, Dietrich Woltmann is the second person in charge of the OSCE and that is the end and the maximum range of European politicians.
A former Head of the OSCE Regional Center in Livno, Nikola Jordanov, is slowly moving towards his homeland Bulgaria by assuming the position of Head of the OSCE Office in Tuzla. As a reminder, two ministers of the interior, two governors and several other ministers and officials in the Herzeg-Bosnia Canton have been dismissed on the basis of information provided by him.
Editorials
Oslobodjenje, Dnevni Avaz and Jutarnje Novine
In the Oslobodjenje’s In Focus column, Emir Habul wrote the temporary release of the four BiH Army wartime officers showed that the cooperation with The Hague Tribunal was profitable, and that the Sarajevo authorities might without any inside political risks continue such practice. Mirko Sagolj commented in another Oslobodjenje editorial on the situation in Stolac. He concluded that the Stolav issue could not be resolved in the town itself but in the framework of the general relations between the Bosniaks and Croats, as well as Sarajevo and Zagreb. In the Dnevni Avaz Commentary of the Day, Armin Zeba wrote that the time had come for the BiH Federation authorities to finally resolve the case of Mostar Aluminum and prove to Croatian Ambassador to BiH Josip Vrbosic and Aluminum Director Mijo Brajkovic that their counting of shares was invalid. In the Jutarnje Novine The Seal column, Midhat Dedic also addressed the temporary release of the four Bosniak military officers from the Hague prison welcoming the Tribunal’s decision.