MACEDONIAN ARMY HELICOPTER CRASHES WHILE RETURNING FROM BOSNIA

SKOPJE, Macedonia (January 13,2008)- A Macedonian army helicopter returning Macedonian soldiers from the EU-led peackeeping mission in Bosnia has crashed in foggy conditions near the Macedonian capital Skopje, killing all 11 people on board.

The Defence Macedonian Defence Ministry said the MI-17 helicopter crashed around noon yesterday about 10 kilometres southeast of the capital, Skopje, minutes before it was to land. Villagers nearby said they heard two explosions.The helicopter crashed around 1100 GMT as it prepared to land, the Macedonian officials said.

A police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said the aircraft came down and burst into flames near a village of Katlanovo, about 10km (six miles) south-east of the Macedonian capital Skopje.

Those killed in the crash included two helicopter crew members.

"This is a terrible accident, a great tragedy and a great loss," said the Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, after visiting the site of the crash.

The helicopter was returning from Bosnia, where Macedonia contributes 30 troops to a peacekeeping mission. It was the deadliest ever accident for the Macedonian air force.

The Macedonian government has established a special body to investigate the cause of the accident.The Chief of the Macedonian Army, General Miroslav Stojanovski said the helicopter was serviced regularly and operated by professional pilots.

Macedonia's military helicopter fleet is mostly made up of Russian-made Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-17 transport helicopters.

BOSNIAN PRESIDENCY MEMBER HARIS SILAJDZIC MET WITH FORMER AUSTRIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER ALOIS MOCK

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - A member of the Bosnian Presidency Dr Haris Silajdžić met this week with former Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Alois Mock in Vienna,Austria, whose health condition has lately been exacerbated.

On that occasion, Dr Silajdžić reiterated his gratitude to this prominent friend of Bosnia for his great political and humane engagement during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia, as well as for his consistent support to the application of true European values in Bosnia,

The Bosnian Ambassador to Austria Mr. Tomislav Limov and the Bosnian Ambassador to UN and OSCE in Vienna Mr. Edin Dilberović also attended the meeting.

SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS RANKO AND RAJKO VUKOVIC STILL DENY COMMITTING WAR CRIMES IN BOSNIA IN 1990'S

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - Serbian war criminals Ranko and Rajko Vukovic, who are charged with war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia,in Podkolun and Miljevina villages in the eastern Bosnian town of Foca , have testified at their trial before the Bosnian State Court.

The brothers - both former members of the genocidal paramilitary forces of the serbians living in Bosnia (VRS) - told the Bosnian State Court that the allegations in the indictment and the statements made by Prosecution witnesses were false.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Ranko and Rajko Vukovic, with having murdered,together with Serbian war criminals Ranko and Blagoje Golubovic,two Bosnian civilians - Avdija Hukara and Mejra Bekrija in Podkolun village in late March 1992. In addition, Serbian war criminal Ranko Vukovic is charged with having raped a Bosnian woman in Miljevina in July 1992.

"I do not even know who Bajro Hukara is. His name was never mentioned in my house, although he claims that his son and my brother Luka, who disappeared on April 25, 1992, were friends," said Serbian war criminal Ranko Vukovic, adding that his brother's body was eventually found and that he suspected that "Bosnians had killed him".

Testifying as a Defence witness, Kosa Vukovic,the mother of the two Serbian war criminals, also denied these allegations.

Serbian war criminal Ranko Vukovic, who is charged by the second count in the indictment with having committed rape, said he "did not know" the injured party, who testified as a prosecution witness under the pseudonym of A, and alleged that she was "lying".

At the end of its evidence presentation, the Defence presented its material evidence. This included death certificates for Bosnian citizens Avdija Hukara and Mejra Bekrija, which indicate that they died in 1992, without citing the exact date of death.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Ranko and Rajko Vukovic is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on January 16, 2008, when the Prosecution will examine additional witnesses.

BOSNIAN POLICE AND EUPM TO LAUNCH ANTI-ORGANISED CRIME CAMPAIGN

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - The fourth joint public information campaign of the EU Police Mission in Bosnia (EUPM) and the Bosnian police agencies will focus on the fight against organised crime, said EUPM Spokesperson Monja Koluder.

Its launch is foreseen for spring of 2008, and its aim, according to Koluder, is to raise awareness about the role citizens can play in the fight against organised crime.

More specifically, the campaign is aimed at informing the Bosnian citizens on the prevention of organised crime in Bosnia, the negative impact such activity has on society, and what is currently being done by both local police and the international community to address the issue.

“We are intending to address the issues of drug trafficking, arms trade, human trafficking, money laundering, car theft, corruption and intimidation of criminal justice actors, which all have an impact on the security and well-being of the Bosnian society,” Koluder stated.

“We want to encourage citizens take an active part in the fight against organized crime, creating thereby a safer environment,” Koluder said.

MILJUS: BLACK MARKET ACCOUNTS FOR 70 PER CENT OF COFEE SOLD IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - The meeting of the Board of the Bosnian coffee importers, producers and distributors group with the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber was held in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo this week.

The industry’s current problems in Bosnia were discussed. Excises remain in their focus, after they have been insisting on amendments to the Excise Act for the past three years. However, there have been no developments in the area.

The Bosnian coffee industry finds that time is right for changes, given the economic circumstances lately, and they are expecting a reaction from the Bosnian government soon.

The amendments had been partly approved by the Bosnian Parliament, but the support was denied from the Bosnian State Taxation Authority. President of the Board, Zoran Miljus, claims that the black market accounts for 70 per cent of coffee on the Bosnian market, which is costing the country 40 million Bosnian Marks per year, on average.

LAJCAK MET WITH NEW NATO COMMANDER FOR SOUTHERN EUROPE ADMIRAL MARK FITZGERALD

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - The International Community's High Representative and the EU Special Representative in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajcak, met in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo with the NATO Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Admiral Mark Fitzgerald.

As Commander of AFC South, Admiral Fitzgerald’s operational responsibility includes NATO missions in the Southeastern Europe.Lajcak and Fitzgerald concluded that the defence property transfer process, agreed to in July 2007 by the Bosnian state and entity prime ministers, must move forward as a matter of urgency. This is a matter of security, and a requirement of the Bosnian Defence Law. It is also essential for Bosnia to progress further towards full NATO membership.

In this regard,Lajcak and Fitzgerald welcomed the North Atlantic Council’s approval this week to allow Bosnia to develop an ‘Individual Partnership Action Plan’ (IPAP).

Bosnia is now expected to develop an IPAP Presentation Document as the basis upon which the IPAP itself will be developed in cooperation with NATO. The approval by the North Atlantic Council is in recognition of the progress Bosnia is making in defence reform and is a useful instrument for the successful completion of defence sector reform. It puts Bosnia on a firmer footing for the next phase of defence reforms - the Membership Action Plan - which could take Bosnia from the Partnership for Peace to full membership of NATO.

Lajcak also gave Admiral Fitzgerald an assessment of the current political situation in Bosnia, including progress on police reform and the prospects for meeting the conditions for the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union in the first half of 2008.

The International Community's High Representative and the EU Special Representative in Bosnia Miroslav Lajcak underlined that there is no alternative to eventual accession of Bosnia to the Union and set out how the EU will continue to support Bosnia in order to make progress in this regard.

SINGLE INCOME TAX RATE IN FBIH ENTITY FROM 2009

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 13,2008) - The FBIH Entity House of Representatives adopted two tax policy laws this week – the Bill on Amendments to the Contributions Act and the Income Tax Bill.

The FBIH entity government has given up on the initial idea to have a two-tier income tax rate (10 per cent and 15 per cent), and eventually proposed a flat rate of 10 per cent. Under the adopted document, the non-taxable amount of personal income is 3,600 Bosnian Marks a year, and 300 Bosnian Marks a month. Income tax will not be paid on dividend payments, prizes (quiz shows) of up to 1,000 Bosnian Marks, pensions, child allowances,etc..

The overall rate of contributions on salaries was reduced from 32 per cent to 31 per cent.The FBIH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic announced that the government would look into possibilities of further decreasing the rate by three per cent next year. On the condition that these bills are adopted by the House of Peoples, the laws will come into effect on January 1, 2009