BOSNIA AND IRAN TO INTENSIFY BUSINESS COOPERATION

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 18,2008) - The Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic met yesterday with the Iranian Ambassador to Bosnia Ahmad Fard Hosseini who informed him that Iran’s president Ahmadinejad had authorized the building of a modern health centre in Bosnia.

Business cooperation between two countries was also a topic: Ambassador Hosseini announced that the Iranian construction company and equipment supplier FARAB is ready to invest on the Bosnian market, having already talked with Sarajevo-based Bosnian construction company Hidrogradnja.

Bosnia and Iran had agreed four economic cooperation agreements, awaiting approval of the Bosnian government.
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AUSTRIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER URSULA PLASSNIK WELCOMES BOSNIAN PARLIAMENT'S ADOPTION OF POLICE REFORM LAWS

VIENNA, Austria (April 18,2008) - The Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Ursula Plassnik welcomed the adoption of police reform laws by the Bosnian Parliament's House of Peoples and stated that “a huge obstacle was removed from Bosnia’s path to the European Union”.

“With this achieved agreement on the police reform in Bosnia, political parties showed their will to search for solutions together in the best interest of their citizens. Bosnia again found its way to join the accession road towards the EU along with the region. I see a clear dedication of all people for the unity of the country and its citizens”, stated Plassnik.

Minister Plassnik pointed out the next stage and that is signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the European Union.

“We now expect that the SAA between Bosnia and the EU is to be signed as soon as possible. EU perspective is a motor for reforms in the EU accession process. The SAA makes this perspective even more clear. Majority of population wants progressive, European politics for its country. This unifying motive has to be used”, concluded Plassnik.
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BOSNIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER SVEN ALKALAJ ASKS EU TO SIGN SAA WITH BOSNIA ON APRIL 28

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 18,2008) – The Bosnian Foreign Affairs Minister Sven Alkalaj will travel to Brussels today, April 18, and meet with the European Commission officials. He will express expectations that official signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the EU will take place April 28.

Alkalaj will advocate the attitude that there are no obstacles to singing of SAA, keeping in mind that after the Bosnian Parliament's House of Representatives and House of Peoples adopted thepolice reform laws. That means that Bosnia fulfilled the last condition for signing of SAA with the European Union.

Alkalaj will also initiate talks on visa regime facilitation between Bosnia and the EU.
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GENOCIDAL SERBIAN FASCIST AGGRESSOR SEXUALLY ABUSED BOSNIAN CIVILIANS IN ZVORNIK AND ENGRAVED CROSSES ON THEIR FORHEADS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 18,2008) - Two Prosecution witnesses, two concentration cmp survivors from the eastern Bosnian town of Zvornik, testified yesterday before the Bosnian State Court,at the trial of Serbian war criminals Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic,how they were tortured by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in the "Novi izvor" concentration camp,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Admir Hadziabdic described, and Ramiz Smajlovic confirmed his testimony, how they were tortured by Serbian war criminals Dragan Stanojevic and Slobodan Ostojic in the "Novi izvor" administrative building in the eastern Bosnian town of Zvornik.

"They took me and Ramiz to some big room. Nobody else was there. They took me to one part of the room and they left him in another part. Besides Dragan and Slobodan, Sreten Lazarevic was also present, but he did not beat me. Another person named Dragan was also there. We called him Mali, but I do not know his last name," Hadziabdic said, adding that they "beat him with police sticks" and, when he fell on the ground, they beat him with their legs.

The Prosecution of Bosnia charges Serbian war criminals Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic with having personally caused, and helped others cause bodily injuries to Bosnian civilians detained in the Offence Court building and 'Novi izvor" building in Zvornik from May 1992 to March 1993. The indictment refers to the both buildings as concentration camps.

Hadziabdic said the conditions in the "Novi izvor" building were "awful". According to him detained Bosnian civilians used to get one meal per day and it consisted of leftovers and they slept on sponges and used one toilet only.

During direct examination, this witness said he was detained by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in May 1992 and he was then taken to the school building in Orahovac. He was transferred from there to the Internal Affairs Section premises, and then to the "Standard" factory building, to the "Ekonomija" agricultural cooperative and finally to the "Novi izvor" detention camp. He was exchanged on January 18, 1993.

Ramiz Smajlovic recalled how he was sexually abused and he said this was the most painful experience he had in the concentration camp.

"Members of some paramilitary group, who used to come to the concentration camp, forced me into having oral sex with another detainee. Some other detainees had to do it to each other as well," Smajlovic said, adding that he saw when they "engraved a cross sign on the foreheads" of some detained Bosnian civilians.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Sreten Lazarevic, Dragan Stanojevic, Mile Markovic and Slobodan Ostojic is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on April 23.
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BOSNIA'S TRADE EXCHANGE WORTH 1,9 BILLION BOSNIAN MARKS IN MARCH

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (April 18,2008) - The Bosnian State Statistics Agency has announced that Bosnia’s trade exchange was worth 1.9 billion Bosnian Marks in March. Export accounted for 28.1 per cent (535 million Bosnian Marks ) and import for 71.9 per cent (1.3 billion Bosnian Marks). The export/import ratio was 39.1 per cent last month.

In the first quarter of 2008, Bosnia exported 1.567 billion Bosnian Marks worth of goods, which was by 14.8 per cent more compared to the same period last year.

However, import is incapable of keeping pace with export, which grew annually by 27.4 per cent, to 3.672 billion Bosnian Marks. The quarterly trade deficit has thus amounted to 2.105 billion Bosnian Marks. Croatia was the main trade partner (16.9 per cent share).
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