Tuesday, September 18, 2007

TECHNICAL TALKS ON BOSNIAN POLICE REFORM CONTINUE TODAY

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 18,2007) – Talks on Bosnian police reform will continue today at the level of experts from the eight leading political parties in Bosnia.The reform was proposed by the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia,Miroslav Lajcak.

The Office of the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) Spokesperson Eldar Subasic told Bosnian media yesterday that the participants have been submitted a summary of all the comments made by the parties’ representatives at the last meeting, in order for them to prepare for today’s meeting.

”We expect the participants to approach this round of talks constructively and responsibly. We have no time to waste if we want an agreement to be reached by the end of the month”, he said.

SDA Party representative Semsudin Mehmedovic said that he expects the talks to be more productive than they had been a week ago; that is, that the issues are solved and aligned at a faster pace.

”Our goal is to make a functional structure. We will try not to deal with the ‘tough issues’”, he said.

Social-Democratic Party (SDP BiH) has a clear attitude – police reform must be implemented, Damir Hadzic told Bosnian press.

”The key parties, primarily SBiH Party and the SNSD Party need to find a compromising solution”, he said.

Hadzic announced that the SDP BiH will be a correctional factor in an attempt to find a solution. That means a better police structure. A structure which would be able to deal with criminals.

”Whether or not those sitting at the Bosnian Parliament will accept this, I do not know. If wish that happened, for the sake of the Bosnian citizens”; Damir Hadzic, SDP BiH Party representative said.

BOSNIAN MINISTER OF SAFETY TARIK SADOVIC TO SIGN VISA REGIME FACILITATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN BOSNIA AND EU

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 18,2007) – Agreements on visa regime facilitation and readmission between Bosnia and the EU wuill be signed today in Brussels, Bakir Dautbasic, the Bosnian Ministry of Safety Secretary told press.

The Bosnian Minister of Safety Tarik Sadovic will sign the agreements, together with the EC high official Franco Frattini.

The agreements are to be implemented starting January 1 2008. They are later to be ratified at both the Bosnian and the EU parliaments.

Visa regime facilitation will encompass about 20 categories of Bosnian citizens. Visa regime facilitations will mean exemption of visa taxation payments. Also, visas will be issued for longer periods of time.

BOSNIA AND SWEDEN TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 18,2007) – The Bosnian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Alkalaj and Swedish Ambassador to Bosnia Lars-Erik Wingren will sign today a frame agreement on development cooperation.

Sweden is one of the biggest foreign donators to Bosnia, with the annual investments of 22 million Euros on average. The agreement will regulate the ways and shape of cooperation between the two countries until 2010.

The top priority of Sweden and its development agency SIDA was construction of houses and ensuring the necessary living conditions for the returnees.Sweden has been engaged in the reconstruction processes in Bosnia since 1994.Over 16.000 houses have been reconstructed.

Sweden has also been supporting the civil society sector development.

”Integration of Bosnia to the EU is one of the top priorities for Sweden. Once the SAA is signed, many reforms will need to be implemented. This frame agreement will simplify the Swedish investments to Bosnia, for the benefit of the country’s citizens”, Swedish Ambassador to Bosnia Lars-Erik Wingren said.

BOSNIAN PRIME MINISTER NIKOLA SPIRIC MET WITH WORLD BANK REGIONAL DIRECTOR MARCO MANTOVANELLI

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 18,2007) - Bosnia's Prime Minister Nikola Spiric had a meeting yesterday in Sarajevo with the World bank Regional Director for Bosnia Marco Mantovanelli.

The two officials talked about the preparations for the session of the Coordination Board for Bosnia's Economic Development and European Integrations. The session will be held September 25 and the World Bank for Bosnia Director and Coordinator for the Southeastern Europe Orsalia Kalantzopoulos will attend.

Spiric said that the sectors of energy, infrastructure, social insurance, education and corporate management are the priorities which could be credited by the World Bank.

They also talked about the IBRD financing in the context of the new 4-year strategy of the World Bank for partnership with Bosnia.

Spiric and Mantovaneli also talked about the V – c corridor and simplification of procedures for the sector of corporate reconstruction.

FBIH ENTITY : CONSUMERS' BASKET IN JULY 500,18 BOSNIAN MARKS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 18,2007) – Consumers’ basket in August 2007 in FBIH entity was 500,18 Bosnian Marks; which is per 11,28 Bosnian Marks or 2,3 per cent higher compared to July (488,90 Bosnian Marks),the FBIH entity Bureau of Statistics announced yesterday.

The basket is the essential living products, which a 4-member family needs every month.

The average monthly net wage in the FBIH entity was 660,12 Bosnian Marks in July. During that month, the average net wage increased per 0,52 per cent.

The total of 320.219 pensioners received their pensions in July. The average pension was 284,31 Bosnian Marks. The lowest pension was 223,52 Bosnian Marks and the guaranteed pension was 298,03 Bosnian Marks. The highest pension in July was 1.263,94 Bosnian Marks.

SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL ZDRAVKO TOLIMIR PRAYS IN COURT AND SAYS HE CAN'T READ LATIN ALPHABET

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (September 18,2007) - Former member of the genocidal forces of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS),Serbian war criminal Zdravko Tolimir attended a status conference at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague.

Before presenting his requests at the conference, Serbian war criminal Tolimir prayed "for the salvation of all those in any way connected with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."

Serbian war criminal prayed briefly for all those present in the courtroom, all the Tribunal’s staff and elsewhere, before presenting his demands.

Serbian war criminal Zdravko Tolimir is charged with genocide and other wor crimes,committed in the eastern Bosnian towns of Srebrenica and Zepa,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Serbian war criminal Tolimir confirmed he wanted to defend himself, going on to say he wanted to get "all those things other accused representing themselves" get.

Pre-trial judge Kimberly Prost told the accused that when he decides whether he wants to defend himself he should weigh all the consequences of that decision.

She invoked the recent decision of the Appeals Chamber in the Krajišnik case, ruling that "self-representation and legal assistance of the Tribunal are mutually exclusive."

After a lengthy debate about the demand of the accused to be given all documents in "Serbian language and in Cyrillic alphabet" and his insistence that he "cannot understand documents in other languages and alphabets", the judge concluded the accused was "able to understand the documents in Serbian language and Latin alphabet."

In an effort to prove the opposite,Serbian war criminal Zdravko Tolimir demanded that the documents be disclosed to him "in Macedonian or Russian, because the Latin alphabet was too tiring for him."

At the end of the conference, the Canadian judge ordered the accused to file his preliminary motions challenging the Tribunal’s jurisdiction or alleging defects in the indictment, if any, within 45 days.

Serbian war criminal Tolimir warned her he would not be honoring any deadlines before the resolution of the issue of his status, primarily of his "kidnapping in Belgrade and his illegal surrender to the Tribunal."

According to official statements, Serbian war criminal Tolimir was arrested on May 31 on the border between Bosnia and Serbia,and transferred to the Hague Tribunal the next day.But Tolimir said that he was not arrested in Bosnia,as the first reports said,but that he had been apprehended in Serbia, whose citizen he is, and was then transferred to Bosnia.

"I was arrested in Serbia,against my will and without the right to an attorney. I was then taken to a location near Bratunac (Bosnia), the location of almost all charges against me,Serbian war criminal Zdravko Tolimir said.

When the judge asked him the usual question about his health, the accused replied he was "in perfect health." The judge then urged him to heed the appeals of the doctors in the UN Detention Unit.

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF TRAGIC DEATH OF 12 OHR AND UN MEMBERS MARKED

FOJNICA, Bosnia (September 18,2007) - The tenth anniversary of the death of six members of the UN Mission in Bosnia, five officials of the Office of the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) and a political and legal counsel of the political mediator in the FBIH entity was marked at the Prokosko Lake near Fojnica Sunday.

The International Community's High Representative in Bosnia Miroslav Lajcak stressed in his speech that those brave people had laid their lives for a noble cause – a better future of Bosnia.

Those who are prepared to do good must pay a high price. These people paid the highest price. They came from other countries to help Bosnia and that is one of the reasons why we will remember them always, Lajcak said.

The FBIH Entity Vice President Mirsad Kebo voiced condolences to the families of those killed, adding that Bosnia would remember people who had laid their lives in an effort to make Bosnia a more stable and better country.

Present at the ceremony were also the head of the EUPM Mission, Vincenzo Coppola, British Ambassador to Bosnia, Mathew Rycroft, representatives of several municipalities from the FBIH entity and members of the FBIH entity’s special police unit led by Dragan Vikic.

Ten years ago a helicopter carrying a Russian crew and 12 UN and OHR members on its way to Banja Luka crashed at the Prokosko Lake,near Fojnica,due to poor visibility and bad weather. Three Russian crew members survived.