BOSNIAN DEFENCE MINISTER SELMO CIKOTIC VISITS PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (March 24,2008) – A four member Bosnian defence delegation led by the Bosnian Defence Minister Selmo Cikotic has arrived in Pakistan yesterday for five-day official visit to Pakistan.

The Pakistani Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Rear Admiral Tanveer Faiz, received the delegation at Islamabad International Airport.

During its stay in Pakistan, the Bosnian delegation will hold meetings with the Defence Minister and military leadership of Pakistan.

The visit of Bosnian defence delegation will further boost bilateral cooperation between the two Muslim countries.
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SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS MARKO ADAMOVIC AND BOSKO LUKIC ARRESTED IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 24,2008)- Bosnian police has arrested two Serbian war criminals suspected of committing war crimes during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Serbian war criminals Marko Adamovic and Bosko Lukic were detained in the northwestern Bosnian towns of Banja Luka and Prijedor respectively, on suspicion of committing war crimes against Bosnian civilians, Boris Grubesic,Bosnian State Prosecutor’s Office Spokesperson said.

The alleged crimes took place at the start of the 1992-95 Serbian aggression against Bosnia in the western town of Kljuc.Hundreds of Bosnian civilians were murdered in Kljuc and surrounding villages while the remaining residents were forced by the genocidal Serbian aggressor to move out.

Thousands of Bosnian civilians were imprisoned in the concentration camps in the area, including the notorious Manjaca.

Some estimates say 200,000 people were killed and 2.2 million displaced during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.
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LANDMINE KILLS THREE PEOPLE IN GORAZDE

GORAZDE, Bosnia (March 24,2008) – Bosnian police have confirmed that three people have been killed in a landmine explosion near the eastern Bosnian town of Gorazde.

The three included two policemen and a member of Bosnia's civil protection unit, who all died on Saturday as a result of the explosion. Policemen Suljo Hurtic and Radislav Carapic, and civil protection unit member Gorazde Ranko Simic had been trying to mark the area around the landmine, when a mine exploded.

Incoming reports indicate that the three had in fact entered a minefield that had not been marked previously.

The accident happened in Masici village as police were called to mark and secure the ground before the arrival of mine clearers.

"The three men died when a landmine went off," local police said.

Teams stationed at Gorazde including police and judicial authorities and a Canadian team of de-miners were immediately sent to the scene to investigate the case.

The most recent records show that Bosnia is Europe's most mine-contaminated country, with nearly 4 percent of the territory still planted with landmines and other explosive devices.

More than 470 people have been killed and 1,100 injured in mine explosions in Bosnia since the end of the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions.
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OHR: POSTPONMENT OF THE POLICE REFORM LAWS IS A WASTE OF TIME

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 24,2008) – The Office of the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) warned that any postponement of the adoption of the police reform laws by the Bosnian Parliament is a waste of time.

Mario Brkic, OHR Spokesperson, said that the Bosnian Parliament is given a chance to decide on the issues that are essential for Bosnia’s EU future.

”We call all the political parties to agree on the EU perspective of this country. There is no alternative to that”, Brkic emphasized.

The Bosnian State Parliament failed to adopt the police reform laws last week; parliamentary commission for defence and security gave a negative report to the bills for the second time.

Adoption of the police reform laws is a precondition for singing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the European Union.
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