Thursday, September 20, 2007

16 SKELETONS OF GENOCIDE VICTIMS FROM ZELENI JADAR MASS GRAVE EXHUMED

SREBRENICA, Bosnia (September 20,2007) – The Tuzla Canton Team of Experts in charge of the search for the missing persons, exhumed five complete and 11 incomplete bodies of genocide victims from the Zeleni Jadar mass grave.

It is assumed that several dozens of bodies will be found.This is the third mass grave in the Zeleni Jadar area opened in the last 2 years.

All the graves are of the secondary character. They contain the bodies of Bosnians from Srebrenica who had been murdered in the Bratunac area by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in 1995 and then buried in the Glogova region.The Serbian aggressor later moved bodies of genocide victims to the Zeleni Jadar grave.

FBIH ENTITY PARLIAMENT APPROVED BUDGET REBALANCE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 20,2007) – The FBIH Entity’s House of Peoples had a session in Sarajevo, which lasted for 18 hours.The FBIH Entity Budget Rebalance has been approved. The Budget Rebalance was proposed by The FBIH entity government.

Because of the public sector increase, budget has also been increased per 150 million Bosnian Marks and has mounted to the current 1.586.018.529 Bosnian Marks.

The The FBIH entity government stated that the following priorities have been taken into consideration during the development of budget rebalance: protection of citizens in social sector and protection of the veterans’ rights. In that sense, the non-war caused invalidity sector’s fund has increased per 74 million Bosnian Marks and the disabled veterans’ sector has increased per 24 million Bosnian Marks.

Demobilized veterans of war are dissatisfied with the budget rebalance, Muhamed Sisic, President of the Demobilized War Veterans’ Association stated. He announced mass protests of veterans in The FBIH entity if the missing 40 million Bosnian Marks is not ensured.

The FBIHeEntity government responded that the budget rebalance ensured additional 10 million Bosnian Marks to meet the legal obligation of providing funds for the needs of retirement of this population. The 40 million Bosnian Marks is supposed to be provided by the cantons. Sisic, however, stated that the cantons will not have enough money to pay for the payment of these benefits until the end of the year.

Apart from the budget rebalance, the The FBIH Entity House of Peoples adopted by the majority of votes Bill on Control of Privatization in The FBIH entity.

The opponents stated that the Bill does not foresee the revision of privatization, but rather a control in the sense that the privatization agreements are implemented. This has been enabled by the past regulations in the sector.

Unlike the Bill on Privatization Control, the delegates approved the Bill Changing and Amending the Law on Work, foreseeing a greater jurisdiction of the work inspections and a better coordination between the cantonal and entity inspectors.Bill on Financing the FBIH Entity Political Parties was rejected.

COMMEMORATION FOR LJILJANA MOLNAR-TALAJIC HELD AT BOSNIAN NATIONAL THEATRE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 20,2007) – Commemoration was held at the Bosnian National Theatre in Sarajevo to tribute Ljiljana Molnar-Talajic, a profound artist, the Sarajevo opera Prima Donna until 1975 and Zagreb’s opera Prima Donna until 1980.

Gradimir Gojer, Director of the Bosnian National Theatre, Amila Baksic, the Sarajevo Opera Prima Donna and Ivica Saric, the Sarajevo Canton Vice President and Sarajevo opera singer.

”The greatest opera singer in our region left a permanent obligation to the younger generations in the Bosnian culture. She is now a legend of all the divas of opera in the world. The greatest among us, she was a protagonist of love towards Sarajevo. She will remain a citizen of Sarajevo forever. She had never forgotten Bosnia”, Gradimir Gojer said.

Beauty and passion of her voice was perhaps best described by Ivica Saric: “She had a voice Verdi could have only dream of”.

Ljiljana Molnar-Talajic was born in 1937 in Bosanski Brod,Bosnia.A delegation of the Bosnian National Theatre will attend her funeral in Zagreb,Croatia.

SIXTH INTERNATIONAL POETIC MEETING DEDICATED TO BOSNIAN POET IZET SARAJLIC TO BE HELD IN SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 20,2007) – The Sixth International Poetical Meeting dedicated to Bosnian poet Izet Sarajlic will be held in Sarajevo from September 28 to September 30. The event will take place at the “Prvi Maj” cinema.

This poetical event is aimed to realize the dream of this great poet – returning the international poetry to Sarajevo.

12 years after the end of the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia and siege of Bosnian capital, this event bears a full symbolic and political value – the project based on the culture of meetings, exchange of experience and brotherhood will again be situated in Sarajevo.

This manifestation is organized by the “Multimedia Edizioni/Casa della poesia” from Baronissi (Salerno),Italy, in cooperation with the Italian Embassy in Sarajevo, the “Dante Alighieri” Association, the City of Sarajevo, the Bosnian P.E.N. Center and the Association of Independent Intellectuals “Circle 99”.

Numerous governmental institutions, cultural centers, Italian companies, the “Andre Malraux” Cultural Association and Spanish, US, Egyptian and Turkish embassies also contributed.

IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 2007 BOSNIA MADE A TRADE DEFICIT IN THE AMOUNT OF 5 BILLION BOSNIAN MARKS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 20,2007) – Bosnia made foreign trade transactions in August 2007 worth 1,7 billion Bosnian Marks. From that sum,28,5 per cent is export and 71,5 per cent is import-related money.Director of the Bosnian Statistics Bureau Zdenko Milinovic stated at a press conference in Sarajevo that percentage of export-import coverage was 39,9 per cent.

The total export rate in the first eight months of 2007 was 3,9 billion Bosnian Marks and is per 17,6 per cent higher as compared to the same period last year. In that period, the import mounted to 8,9 billion Bosnian Marks, which is per 26,8 per cent higher as compared to the same period of last year. At the time, the export-import coverage was 43,6 per cent.

”In the first eight months of 2007, Bosnia made a trade deficit in the amount of 5 billion Bosnian Marks”, Milinovic said.

Observed in regional groups, Bosnia made most of the export to the EU (259,7 million Bosnian Marks or 53,1 per cent of the total export) in August 2007. Most of the export was made to Germany (56,4 million Bosnian Marks).

In August Bosnia imported mostly from Croatia (247,5 million Bosnian Marks or 20,2 per cent of the total import).

Observed in regions, most of the import was made in August from the EU (539,2 million Bosnian Marks or 44,1 pre cent of the total import). From all the EU countries, Bosnia mostly imported from Germany (138,8 million Bosnian Marks, or 11,3 per cent of the total incomes made).

Seen in the regional groups,in the first eight months of 2007,Bosnia mostly exported to Croatia (764,4 million Bosnian Marks) and to the EU (2,3 billion Bosnian Marks).

Most of the import was made from Croatia – 1,6 billion Bosnian Marks. EU follows with the amount of 4,3 billion Bosnian Marks.

BOSNIAN STATE COURT SENTENCED CROATIAN WAR CRIMINAL KRESO LUCIC TO 6 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 20,2007) - The Bosnian State Court handed down its verdict in the case of Croatian war criminal Krešo Lučić, finding the accused guilty of crimes against humanity and sentencing him to six years of imprisonment.

Croatian war criminal Krešo Lučić,was found guilty of unlawfully arresting six Bosnian civilians in June and July 1993,during the Croatian aggression against Bosnia.He was a member of the Croatian aggressor's formations.

The Trial Panel also found that on 20 June 1993, together with two of his subordinates, Croatian war criminal Lučić arrested a Bosnian civilian whom he escorted to a detention camp located in the Ivo Lola Ribar Elementary School in Kreševo. Following this, the detainee was physically abused by Lučić and another Croatian aggressor's soldier.

Croatian war criminal Krešo Lučić also tortured detained Bosnian civilians in Kreševo during June and July 1993.

Croatian war criminal Lučić was acquitted of the charge of interrogating and physically abusing a detained Bosnian civilian on 18 July 1993 in Kreševo , and ordering his subordinates to physically assault this detainee.

The time Croatian war criminal spent in custody from 26 April 2006 to 19 January 2007 will count towards his sentence.The Bosnian State Court has issued a decision extending restrictive measures imposed on Lučić in accordance with the decision dated 11 January 2007.

CROATIA TO INTRODUCE VISAS FOR BOSNIAN CITIZENS

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (September 20,2007) - If agreement on the Bosnian police reform is not reached by the end of September, the European Union may ask Croatia to introduce visas for the Bosnian citizens , said a source close to international diplomatic circles in Brussels to Banja Luka newspaper Nezavisne novine.

This would be one of the measures taken by the EU in order to put additional pressure on the Bosnian authorities to reach an agreement,Nezavisne Novine said .

"I do not know if the negotiators are aware of this, but if there is no agreement, the doors to the EU will be moved to the border with Croatia. This means that the Bosnian citizens will not be able to enter Croatia without a visa, they will not be able to go to the seaside without a visa. The EU is seriously considering such a possibility" said the source.

When he recently addressed the Bosnian parliament representatives,the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia Miroslav Lajcak said that the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Bosnia and the EU would not be signed without an agreement on the police reform.

"If the agreement is rejected, it would be politically naive to think that there will not be any reactions on part of the international community, which would in that case have to change its policy toward Bosnia", Lajcak pointed out.