BOSNIAN PRESIDENT HARIS SILAJDZIC TO VISIT LIBYA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) - The Bosnian President Haris Silajdžić yesterday has had a phone conversation with Muammar Abu Miniar al-Gaddafi, the President of the Arabic Libyan Jamahiriya,the Bosnian Presidency said.

On this occasion, President Silajdžić thanked the President of Libyan for the support during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia, especially for welcoming the Bosnian children and the parents who were guests in Libya at the time.

During the conversation, they stated that cooperation in the economic field was improving and the number of Bosnian companies working in Libya was increasing on a daily basis.

The Bosnian President thanked for the invitation to visit Libya in the next period and stated that it would be an opportunity for economic relation intensification, especially the Libyan investments in Bosnia.

On the other hand, the Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi confirmed that he would do everything necessary for having the relations between Bosnia and Libya developing to a mutual benefit and a special accent would be placed on the further development of economic relations between the two friendly countries.
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EUROPEAN UNION WELCOMES BOSNIAN POLICE REFORM

BRUSSELS, Belgium (April 12,2008) - The European Union welcomed yesterday the approval by the Bosnian State Parliament of a long-awaited police reform bill, calling it a "major step forward" towards the country's EU membership.

Reforming Bosnia's ethnically-divided police force is one of several key measures required by Brussels of Sarajevo in order to sign a pre-membership document known as a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

"Yesterday's adoption of the police reform laws represents a major step forward towards the signature of the SAA with the EU," said Krisztina Nagy, spokeswoman of the EU executive's enlargement commission.

"The commission is pleased that the elected representatives of Bosnia have listened to the voices of their citizens in favour of European integration, prosperity and progress," she added.

Nagy said the commission would start assessing Bosnia's overall prospects of signing the SAA as soon as the police reform bill received its final approval in the Bosnian Parliament's upper-house.

The International Community's High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajčák said yesterday that he is certain the European Union will sign a pre-membership agreement with Bosnia in the coming weeks now that its Parliament is adopting important police reform laws.

On Thursday evening, the lower house of the Bosnian State Parliament passed a compromise proposal for police reforms that Lajcak helped design. That ended years of discussion about how to integrate the country's two existing, ethnically divided police forces.

The reform package still must be approved by the upper house of Parliament, but little opposition is expected when it votes Monday.

Lajcak congratulated those who worked hard to reach a compromise for the sake of a better future for Bosnia and said he hopes the upper house will follow suit.

The EU had set the police reform as a condition for the signing of the pre-membership Stabilization and Association Agreement with Bosnia and will now review the details of the adopted bill to ensure it complies with the standards the EU has set.

Before the EU approves the signing of the agreement with Bosnia it also will assess whether the country properly fulfilled other conditions, including its laws on public broadcasting and public administration and whether it is cooperating with the international war crimes tribunal, EU spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy said in Brussels.

Pending the adoption of the police reform by the upper house of Parliament and the EU's positive assessment of Bosnia's progress, the pre-membership agreement could be signed in late April or early May. If properly implemented, the agreement is the gateway to candidate status.

Slovenia said it warmly welcomes the police reform in Bosnia, which "should allow the country to further progress on the path toward EU integration."

Reforms in Bosnia are slow because of the complex setup of the country.

The peace agreement that ended three and a half years of war in 1995 divided the country into a Serb Republic and a Bosniak-Croat Federation, each with its own police force. The EU demanded a unified force which led to four years of debate among Bosnia's divided politicians.

The political representatives of the Serbians living in Bosnia have long refused to agree to a merger of the two police forces, fearing it might lead to the loss of their genocidal creature in Bosnia "RS". Bosnians, on the other hand, demanded an unified Bosnian police force.

The EU said a way must be found to at least make the police more effective, free from political influence and financed from the state budget.

The compromise approved Thursday does not foresee the merger of the two existing police forces in Bosnia but establishes seven bodies that will coordinate police work and integrate some areas such as education or forensics.

Some Bosnian lawmakers argue the compromise offers only "cosmetic" changes to the existing structure and that it was designed to satisfy the EU but not improve security in Bosnia.

However, for the sake of moving closer to European Union membership, lawmakers adopted the police reform.

The state control over local police agencies will be launched only after Bosnia agrees on the future organisation of the country in accordance to a new constitution.

Croatia is the only western Balkan nation trying to join the EU that may be ready before the end of the decade, according to a recent EU report. Bosnia will need at least five years to prepare itself economically and politically.
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TIHIC: POLICE REFORM LAWS REPRESENT LEGALIZATION OF RS POLICE WHICH COMMITTED GENOCIDE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) – The President of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Speaker of the Bosnian State Parliament’s House of Peoples Sulejman Tihic stated yesterday that the police reform laws adopted by the House of Representatives on Thursday are a matter of shame for Bosnia and for the European Union and that the act of adopting the bills is legalization of war solutions.

”These laws are a matter of shame for Bosnia and for the EU because they are legalization of war solutions, legalization of Karadzic’s RS police which committed genocide”, Tihic told the press.

”That is just another historical mistake made by the International Community and domestic politicians," Tihic said.
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SDP: POLICE REFROM LAWS ARE FALSE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) - Damir Masic, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Spokesperson said that the laws approved on Thursday by the Bosnian State Parliament's House of Representatives are no police reform and that they will not contribute the realization of goals in the country in any way.

”It is obvious that an internal agreement had been reached between SBiH, SNSD and HDZ parties in relation to the adoption of the police reform laws and that the events in the past few weeks were only a trick for the people.The laws adopted are bad and will cause further ‘cementing’ of the reforms and the parties’ positions. SNSD has already made clear for several times that police reform is over for them with adoption of those laws,” he said.

”On the other hand, those who had promised a 100 per cent Bosnian Police, agreed to the RS Police 100 per cent, as well as for non-fulfilment of the EU principles”, Masic emphasized.

”At the same time, when the false laws were adopted on Thursday, the majority of delegates approved the increase of their already high wages”, Masic said.

”Also, SDP party’s proposal on seizure of illegally obtained property was denied, which says a lot about the real intentions of the current majority”, SDP party spokesperson Damir Masic stated.
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RICHARD HOLBROOKE TO TAKE PART IN A CNN DOCUMENTARY ABOUT GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) – The former U.S. diplomat, Richard Holbrooke, arrived in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo yesterday to take part in a documentary on the genocide committed by the Serbian fascists during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia, the Bosnian national television reported.

During his visit to Bosnia Holbrooke will meet the country's top local and international officials "in his capacity as a private citizen," the US embassy in Bosnia said.

Holbrooke is visiting Bosnia to take part in a documentary on the genocide to be shot in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica by the US Cable News Network, CNN.

In July 1995 the genocidal Serbian aggressor mass murdered up to 10,000 Bosnian civilians from Srebrenica.The Srebrenica massacre has been deemed by the UN war crimes tribunal and the International Court of Justice to have constituted genocide. Thousands of bodies of the genocide victims have been uncovered from about 60 mass graves around Srebenica.

Yesterday,Holbrooke met with the Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic and a member of the Bosnian Presidency Zeljko Komsic.He was also to meet other leading Bosnian officials, as well as the International Community's High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajčák to discuss the political situation in the country.

The "prime minister" of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" Milorad Dodik said he was not willing to meet with Holbrooke stressing the former diplomat was not a "positive political persona."

However, to the dismay of the Serbians living in Bosnia, Holbrook has since repeatedly called for the agreement to be improved in a way to bring more integration of the country's post-war government structures.

Holbrooke was the architect of the Dayton peace agreement which ended the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.

Bosnia's administrative setup created by the Dayton peace agreement is generally considered too complicated, ineffective and costly.Under strong international and US pressure, Bosnian leaders started negotiating possible constitutional reforms in 2005, but the talks failed in April 2006.

But,despite the failure, Bosnian and international officials agree that Bosnia needs to start upgrading its constitution if it wants to become a member of the European Union.
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PROTOCOL ON JUDICIARY COOPERATION SIGNED BETWEEN BOSNIA AND MONTENEGRO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) – The Bosnian and Montenegrin justice ministers Barisa Colak and Miras Radovic singed in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo yesterday Protocol on Cooperation between the two countries’ ministries.

The document improves cooperation between Bosnia and Montenegro in judiciary sector, especially in modernization of judiciary system, training of the ministries’ employees and cooperation in fight against organized crime, money laundering, corruption and other forms of crime.

Colak and Radovic stated that cooperation also relates to development of new and improvement of the existing laws in the sector, as well as to harmonization of the laws in accordance with the European standards and the best European practice.

”Both the countries are determined for the EU and Euro-Atlantic integrations. The main condition for the two countries’ association to the EU are good neighbouring relations and regional cooperation”, Colak said.

Radovic stated that cooperation between the judiciary organs in Bosnia and Montenegro is good and that there are no open issues and that there is space for intensification of cooperation.

He announced that Agreement on International Legal Assistance will be innovated between the two countries so that communication between Bosnia and Montenegro judiciary organs heads the right way.

The Protocol on cooperation signed is the first agreement between Bosnia and Montenegro; signing of two new agreements has been announced.
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO BOSNIAN PUBLIC FINANCES SECTOR SIGNED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 12,2008) – The Bosnian Parliament's House of Peoples and House of Representatives’ presidents of finance and budget commissions Dusanka Majkic and Sadik Bahtic and Ambassador of Great Britain to Bosnia Matthew Rycroft signed in Sarajevo yesterday Memorandum of Understanding and Technical Assistance that British Government’s International Development Department has been providing for the Bosnian public finances sector.

The project is aimed to strengthen capacities for supervision over public finances.

Ambassador Rycroft also welcomed the decision on adoption of police reform bills at the House of Representatives.

”By adopting amendments that are very important in relation to the fulfilment of the three EU principles, Bosnia has now an open road to signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the European Union”, Ambassador Rycroft emphasized.

In that sense, he urged the Bosnian Parliament’s House of Peoples to follow the House of Representatives’ example and adopt the laws necessary for signing of SAA.

The Bosnian Parliamentary Assembly’s representatives Bahtic and Majkic thanked Ambassador Rycroft for his engagement in the process of adoption of police reform bills and for support of the British Government via International Development Department for the Bosnian public finances sector.
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