Transcript of the International Agencies’ Joint Press Conference

OHR

Nansen Dialogue Centre Talk

The High Representative/EU Special Representative, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, addressed a packed Nansen Dialogue Centre yesterday afternoon in Mostar and urged young people to vote in the 1 October elections.

He also compared the situation when he was young in Germany with that prevailing today in Bosnia and Herzegovina explaining that in both cases Euro-Atlantic integration held out the prospect of a better life. And he expressed his hope that someone present would rise to one of the most senior positions in the European Union.

“Elections in general are important,” Mr Schwarz-Schilling said. “These are especially significant because of the changing nature of the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The leaders elected on 1 October this year will have to take responsibility for the future of their and your country and to lead it towards Europe after the closure of the Office of the High Representative next year.

“If, therefore, you choose not to use the opportunity presented by the election, you are allowing others to decide for you about your future,” Mr Schwarz-Schilling warned.

Concerning the comparison between Bosnia and Herzegovina today and the Germany of Mr Schwarz-Schilling’s youth, he said: “When I was your age, the future of my country was not clear. Germany had been defeated in war. It was divided. And democracy was in its infancy.

“There was no European Union at that time,” the High Representative/EU Special Representative said. “But through NATO, the Marshall Plan and later the European Coal and Steel Community, there was a Euro-Atlantic perspective for Germany that the country’s then Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, seized.”

Mr Schwarz-Schilling concluded by urging his audience to become engaged in building a European future for Bosnia and Herzegovina by voting in the October elections and actively participating in every aspect of the process.

The full text of the speech is available on both the OHR and the EUSR web sites.

PDHR to Attend Plum Fair in Gradacac

Principle Deputy High Representative Larry Butler will visit the celebrated Plum Fair in Gradacac tomorrow. During the visit, Ambassador Butler will attend a reception at Husein Kapetan Gradascevic tower, after which he will give a short speech at the opening of the Fair at midday. For all other details regarding the protocol of the Fair, journalists should contact the Mayor’s office and the Director of the Fair. For arrangements on the ground, you can contact me on my mobile telephone.

High Representative/EU Special Representative Thursday Press Conference

On Thursday, the High Representative/EU Special Representative will hold a press conference at 10 o’clock. That will be 100 days after the speech he gave to parliament on May 24 after his first 100 days in office. It will also be one month before the elections. In this press conference, he will present his assessment of the achievements or lack thereof of the legislative in the intervening period.

ICTY

Good morning on behalf of the Tribunal. I have several announcements for you today.

First, the ICTY Appeals Chamber last Friday dismissed Zoran Žigić’s request for review of the Appeals Chamber’s judgment as being completely without merit. Žigić had been sentenced to 25 years in prison forparticularly brutal crimes committed in Prijedor camps where he entered to abuse, beat, torture or kill detainees.

In his request, Žigić referred to a document that according to his allegations had not been disclosed to him by the Prosecution during trial. However, the Appeals Chamber found that Žigić’s allegations were blatantly untruthful and that it is well known that his defence even relied on the document earlier during trial. The Appeals Chamber noted that this was the third motion filled by Žigić making baseless and frivolous claims and that it constitutes an abuse of proceedings. The Chamber warned Žigić it would impose strict sanctions should he continue with similar motions.

Second, I remind you that the judgment against Josip Jović for contempt of court will be delivered tomorrow at 9:00. Jović, a former editor of Slobodna Dalmacija, is accused of disclosing the identity and testimony of a witness that judges had ordered be protected from the public, as well as violating a court order that specifically instructed him to desist from further publication of the testimony of the witness.

Third, you probably know that the appeal hearing in the case against Stanislav Galić is taking place today. Galić, who was the Commander of the Sarajevo Romanija Corps of the Republika Srpska Army, was sentenced by the Trial Chamber to 20 years in prison for cundicting a campaign of sniping and shelling intended primarily to terrorise the civilian population of Sarajevo. Here I have a copy of a decision issued yesterday by the Appeals Chamber dismissing Galić’s request to submitt further evidence.

And finally, on the occasion of tomorrow’s marking the International Day of Missing Persons, I would like to invite all those who have information on mass grave locations to reveal the information to relevant authorities.

Thank you for your attention.

EUFOR

No statement.