Headlines
- Implementation of the local election results in Brcko was the main topic of today’s meeting between the President of RS, Biljana Plavsic, and the Supervisor for Brcko, Robert Farrand.
- Krajisnik and Schumacher talked in Pale about the necessity of adopting the Law on passports, citizenship and the Council of Ministers.
- Banja Luka still without a mayor.
- In Vienna: Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary discuss the extension of the European Union
0:30
The President of RS, Biljana Plavsic, talked to the Supervisor for Brcko, Robert Farrand, today in Banja Luka. The subject of their conversation was the situation in Brcko. The implementation of local election results and the realisation of programmes for reconstruction funded by the International Community were the main topics. Biljana Plavsic: “People are voting in order to express their opinion on something and when the results are analysed they have to be implemented.
I will not go into detail, but the results of the elections in Brcko have shown that the Serb entity, so to speak, has the majority, then the Moslems and then Croats. Of course, those results will be implemented at all levels. Mr. Farrand is working in a proper manner within the scope of his high authority, but of course he will not always want to use the full extent of his authority, but to succeed through co-operation with the local authorities. If that kind of principle is used, the optimum results will always be achieved. There are some concrete results of the small Donors Conference held in Brcko, where several projects are to be realised regarding: school facilities, primary schools, Gymnasium; health centre; a hospital which would satisfy European standards”. In his interview to the press, Robert Farrand stated that the International Community would participate in building water installations, school and health facilities, financing of the police and the education of employees in Brcko municipality.
3:30
Member of the BiH Presidency, Momcilo Krajisnik, talked today with the Deputy High Representative for BiH, Hanns Schumacher, in Pale, about the adoption of laws on passports, citizenship and the Council of Ministers. After the meeting, Schumacher warned that the High Representative would take certain actions if the BiH Parliament did not adopt the aforementioned laws this afternoon.
He stated that Krajisnik presented him with the Agreement on dual citizenship of BiH and FR Yugoslavia which he signed with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of FRY, Milan Milutinovic, in Belgrade. Legally, nobody can deny that dual citizenship is allowed according to the Constitution of BiH. However, the Agreement has to be adopted by two other members of BiH Presidency, because the Presidency acts as the collective body. Schumacher asked the representative from RS for a constitutive session of the new Parliament of the entity to take place in due time according to the law. Schumacher stated that for the International Community, calling for the new Parliament and the election of a new President and Vice President of RS, would be good signals for things to improve.
1:30
The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the RS Government, Aleksa Buha, talked today in Pale with the Greek Ambassador in Sarajevo, Procopious Mantzouranis, about the post-election situation in RS, where he repeated the SDS attitude about forming the majority in the National Assembly and the Government.
He expressed his expectation that the Agreement on dual citizenship would be ratified in the BiH Parliament. He asked the Greek Ambassador to encourage Greek businessmen to invest in RS, stressing that such investments would be very profitable.
1:00
American President, Bill Clinton, will visit BiH next week, reports “Washington Post”, according to officials from the White House. The newspaper also states that the real aim of the visit is to prepare the public for a decision on maintaining the presence of American troops after the expiry of the mandate of the current NATO mission.
0:20
The Main Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal for crimes in the former Yugoslavia, Louise Arbour, again accused France of providing shelter to war criminals in the French zone of SFOR in Bosnia.
0:45
Announcing yesterday’s regular autumn meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the country members of NATO in Brussels, the German media stress today that the main subject of the meeting will be the future of the mission in Bosnia.
1:30
The Adviser for Defence to the President of RS, Ostoja Barasin, today received in Banja Luka the military attaches in BiH, when they discussed the implementation of certain aspects of the Dayton Agreement.
1:30
At a press conference today, Stanko Stanic, President of the Town board of the Serb National Alliance, stated his satisfaction with the results of the parliamentary elections. He appealed to the delegates of the Banja Luka Town Assembly to constitute local authorities as soon as possible.
0:30
A press conference was held today of the People’s Radical Party “Nikola Pasic” the Coalition for the King and the Homeland. The President of the party, Dubravko Prstojevic, was present with the Vice-president, Vasilije Damjanovic, and the acting President of the Town board in Prijedor, Slavisa Kneginjic.
Stressing that this was the largest party in RS not represented in Parliament, Prstojevic gave the reason as being that they had been deprived by the OSCE of a mandate. With 8,118 votes, the party considered that it had the right to a seat, but was refused by OSCE. He supported the Agreement on Dual Citizenship and supported the FRY and RS delegations for leaving the Bonn Conference because of its interference in an internal matter of FRY politics.
1:00
The 7th session of the constitutive Assembly again failed to elect a mayor. The Socialist Party confirmed their cancelling of the Protocol, so that the Coalition of the four leading parties in Banja Luka no longer exists. Within seven days the majority parties should submit their proposals for the town authorities, by the 23rd Dec, until when Banja Luka will still be without a mayor.
0:40