REMEMBERING OVER 1.000 DESTROYED AND DAMAGED MOSQUES IN BOSNIA DURING THE 1992-1995 SERBIAN,MONTENEGRIN AND CROATIAN AGGRESSIONS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Bosnian Islamic Community managed to reconstruct three quarters of sacral objects destroyed during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.

That is an extraordinary success keeping in mind all the tragic circumstances of the situation in which Bosnian people lived after the end of these fascist aggressions.

This was announced at Centre for Islamic Architecture of the Bosnian Islamic Community on occasion of May 7, proclaimed the “Day of Mosques” by the Bosnian Islamic Community. On that day, 12 years ago, the Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka was destroyed by the genocidal Serbian aggressor.

”Day of Mosques” is the day on which Ferhadija Mosque is remembered as well as other 1.000 destroyed or damaged mosques throughout Bosnia.

”The Day of Mosques” is aimed to awaked the sleeping consciousness of the Bosnian people who need to remember their destroyed mosques and tragedy which keeps repeating itself in these areas every 20, 30 or 40 years.

This day should remind the world, especially Bosnians, that 80 per cent of the sacral heritage created in the past 500 years, was savagely destroyed by the fascist Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressors in only several months.

Many mosques have been reconstructed in their authentic or new form, but the most beautiful and most significant of them all, like the Aladza in Foca, Arnaudija in Banja Luka and Sinan Bey’s Mosque in Cajnice are only sad piles of dug out stones which wait for reconstruction.

Whether or not those Bosnian mosques will be reconstructed depends on the funds which lack as well as on other factors.

The fact is that many Bosnians died without seeing the reconstruction of their mosques, which are places where they had grown up and spent their lives.

”If we strive to prevent these tragedies from happening again, the least we can do is remember the ‘Day of the Mosques’, for Bosnians and their mosques share the same fate”, the Bosnian Islamic Community’s Centre for Islamic Architecture announced.
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PULJIC TAKES OVER CHAIRMANSHIP OF BOSNIAN INTER-RELIGIOUS COUNCIL

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Bosnian Inter-religious Council chairmanship takeover was completed yesterday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. Current Council’s president, Reisu-l-ulema Mustafa Ef. Ceric, Head of the Bosnian Islamic Community handed the chairmanship to leader of the Roman Catholic Community in Bosnia Cardinal Vinko Puljic.

The chairmanship mandate is fixed to one year.

"I was supposed to hand over the chairmanship to leader of the Bosnian Jewish Community Jakob Finci but since he is taking over the position of the Bosnian Ambassador to Switzerland he left the mandate to Cardinal Vinko Puljic”, stated Reisu-l-ulema Mustafa Ef. Ceric.

Cardinal Vinko Puljic stated that the Bosnian Inter-religious council shall continue with planed activities and programs and work on raising awareness about the importance of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation through improvement of relations among religious communities in Bosnia.

The Council’s Assembly yesterday adopted the report on freedom of religion in Bosnia (November 2006 – December 2007).

This is the first time the Council published the report on religious freedoms in Bosnia.

The Bosnian Inter-religious Council (IRC-BiH) has been in existence since 1997 through joint commitments by Reisu-l-ulema Mustafa ef. Ceric, the Bosnian Islamic Community, Metropolitan Nikolaj,the Orthodox Christian Community in bosnia, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, the Roman Catholic Community in Bosnia and Jakob Finci, the Bosnian Jewish Community.
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LAJCAK URGES EU TO QUICKLY SIGN KEY PACT WITH BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) - The International Community's High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia,Miroslav Lajcak, urged EU nations yesterday to quickly sign a key pact on closer ties with Bosnia before further delays dampen pro-European attitudes and undermine stability.

"If we wait too long, then we may lose the momentum we have created with such a huge effort," Lajcak warned.

The pact,a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), would provide Bosnia with access to EU funds to build up its dilapidated infrastructure. It was essentially ironed out and initialled in December.

The delay now is blamed on "technical" problems linked to translating the pact into EU and Bosnian language,a first step for Bosnia to join the European Union.

But this has not gone down well in Bosnia.

"It's a fact that people in this part of the world tend to see a conspiracy behind every technical reason," Lajcak told reporters at his offices in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Fueling those suspicions has been the SAA signing last month of Bosnia's eastern neighbour - the genocidal Serbia.

At that time, the EU pledged to sign a pact with Bosnia at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on May 26, but the calendar is again in danger of slipping.

"It is still not clear whether Bosnia will sign the SAA in May or in June," Lajcak said, warning: "We must not underestimate the importance of the symbolics of the date."

"This country must see that if you do something you are expected to do, then you react and react promptly and in a way that's adequate," he said.

Lajcak said a plan to sign an official English-language version of the text and adopt the others later had met with resistance from some of the 27 EU member nations and was eventually rejected.

But Lajcak added: "There is always a way if there is a will, to make our message clear."

He said Bosnia's initialling of the SAA in December had created a "very positive pro-European momentum".
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RYCROFT: BOSNIA IS READY TO JOIN EU

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) - Britain wants Bosnia to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in May and as far as I am concerned, the country is ready to do that,the British Ambassador to Bosnia Matthew Rycroft said yesterday.

He emphasized that the halt in the process of signing the SAA is purely of technical, not political nature.

”All the conditions for signing of the Agreement have been achieved by adoption of police reform laws”, Rycroft said.

Bosnia should sign the Agreement in Brussels, May 26.
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TOPCAGIC: IT HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED IF BOSNIA WILL SIGN SAA WITH EU ON MAY 26

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – “It has not been confirmed if Bosnia will sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU on May 26th. Nobody has excluded the possibility”, Osman Topcagic, Head of Direction for European Integrations of Bosnia stated in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo yesterday.


He also announced possibility of signing of the agreement in June, that is, June 16.

”The next opportunity would be June 16, Topcagic said.

According to the announcements, the SAA could be signed as a part of the regular meeting of the EU ministers. The following such meeting will take place May 26 and will be held in Brussels.

As far at the June 16 meeting is concerned, Topcagic said that he is not certain where it will take place.

”It will be held either in Brussels of in Luxembourg”, Topcagic said.
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FRANCE WANTS TO SEE BOSNIA IN EU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – France supports Bosnia on the way to Euro-Atlantic integrations and wants Bosnia to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU as soon as possible, members of a delegation of French Senate stated this yesterday in the northern Bosnian city of Banja Luka.

French Senator Christian Cambon stated that the exact date of signing cannot be discussed and added that France or any other country for that matter is not slowing down the process.

”You need to understand that there are procedures that need to be respected. Geographically, Bosnia is in Europe. Our wish is that after signing of the Agreement Bosnia associates to the EU and strengthens the Union of 27 member countries”, French Senator said.

Cambon stated to have talked about constitutional changes in Bosnia and that his country wants the Bosnian state institutions to strengthen, with full respect of everybody’s identity.

Also, Cambon expressed hope that cooperation between Bosnia and France will improve.
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BOSNIAN STATE PARLIAMENT ADOPTS DRAFT LAW ON AMENDMENDS TO THE ELECTORAL LAW

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Bosnian State Parliament's House of Representatives and House of Peoples on joint session yesterday adopted the draft law on changes and amendments to the Bosnian electoral law.

These changes include the provisions for the citizens who lived until 1991 in Srebrenica municipality which would enable them to decide whether to vote in municipality where they currently reside or in Srebrenica where they were registered until 1991.
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CONCENTRATION CAMP SURVIVORS TO HOLD A PROTEST IN SARAJEVO ON MAY 9

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – Managing Board of the Bosnian Union of the Concentration Camp Survivors decided at the special session to hold a peaceful protest meeting in front of the FBiH entity government building since the concentration camp survivors and victims of torture are left out of all adopted laws from the end of the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia until today.

Head of the union, Murat Tahirovic stated that this population is not protected by any laws and that it is time that this population regulates their status through system solutions. In this way they would finally realize their status that belongs to them according to international conventions and the Bosnian Constitution.

At the protest meeting they will demand that the law on civilian victims of war in the FBiH entity regulates the status of victims of torture and the concentration camp survivors and that every person who spent more than three days in a concentration camp receives a status of 60% invalidity and that the law on the rights of soldiers and their families, war camp detainees based on three days spent in a concentration camp receive a status of disabled military veteran with 20% of invalidity, stated Tahirovic.

There will be no mass meetings even though the association has 53.700 registered concentration camp survivors. Out of 56 associations from Bosnia and Diaspora, 51 shall be represented at the meeting.

This rally is a warning o all authority executives to pay attention to their problems and to underline that if these categories are left out of the laws, someone might have an idea to change the character of the war fought in Bosna.

Asides the invitations sent to associations of the concentration camp survivors, the invitation was sent to the FBiH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic, the FBiH Entity Minister of Work and Social Policy Perica Jelecevic and the FBiH Entity Minister of Veterans and Disabled Affairs Zahid Crnkic.
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FASCIST ANTON KASIPOVIC DOES NOT ALLOW OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION ON MASS MURDER OF BOSNIAN CIVILIANS IN BRATUNAC

BRATUNAC, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – "The minister of (fascist) culture" of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS",Anton Kasipovic has decided that the exhibition of photographs “Survivors of Concentration Camps – Bratunac 1992” will not be held as planned – May 10 at “Branko Radicevic” primary school gym in the eastern Bosnian town of Bratunac . In that gym up to 300 Bosnian civilians were mass murdered by the genocidal Serbian aggressor,during the early stages of the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The Bosnian Media Group (BMG) reported that such a decision followed after the Bratunac Municipality Security Forum’s session (run by the Serbians living in Bosnia). Participants of the meeting expressed the attitude that 80 photographs depicting the Bosnian civilians with heavy injuries and engraved crosses on foreheads, backs and arms, should not be opened.

A memorial was to be set at the object, reminding the public of the most severe of crimes.

Kasipovic emphasized that the memorial should not be unveiled. He proposed to meet with the families of the genocide victims from Bratunac after marking of the 16th anniversary of the genocide committed by the genocidal Serbian aggressor against Bosnians in Bratunac to find a solution.

Organizational board for marking of the anniversary emphasized that Kasipovic’s comment is hypocritical and that it is an insult to the families of the Bosnian civilians murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor in the Bratunac concentration camp.

Marking of 16th anniversary of the genocide in Bratunac will start on Friday, May 9 and will last until Monday, May 12. On that day, burial of 41 identified genocide victim of the crimes will take place, BMG announced.
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PROJECT "CAPACITY BUILDING OF THE DIRECTION FOR THE CIPS PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION" PRESENTED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Citizen Identification Protection System (CIPS) Project Implementation Directorate in cooperation with Italian organization for international cooperation “Formez” implements a project which will contribute to professional training of the Direction employees and improvement of its security system and data base effectiveness.

The project titled “Capacity Building of the Direction for the CIPS Project Implementation” yesterday was presented in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo by Ferdinand Kopp, head of the operative department for judiciary and interior affairs of the European Commission in Bosnia, Tommaso Andria, first advisor of the Italian Embassy in Bosnia, Sinisa Macan , Head of the CIPS Direction and Saveria Spezzano, director of Formez International from Italy.

European Commission finances this project with 250.000 Euros, it will be competed in 2009 and presents a close cooperation between administrative sectors of Bosnia and Italy.

Kopp pointed out that these projects were first implemented in candidate states which are now members of the EU. Recently, the project is implemented in countries preparing for candidature.

Tommaso Andria stated that this project is within ambitions of Bosnia to become a member of the EU and NATO.

"We believe that this solution will help Bosnia to achieve these goals”, he stated.

Sinisa Macan warned about the wrong perception the Bosnian citizens have of the CIPS project which is that this direction issues personal documents.

”CIPS does not issue personal documents but provides technical support for the issuing of those documents in Bosnia”, he stated and added that personal documents are issued by authorized institutions of BiH: cantonal and entity interior ministries and Civil Registar of the Brcko District.

CIPS system in Bosnia connects 362 locations and 18 different institutions in the country with more than 1.000 computers. The system also connects more than 45 locations of the Bosnian diplomatic and consular network around the world.

Formez director, Saveria Spezzano represented this institution as an agency which deals with traning and technical assistance to local, regional and state agencies.

”We are a part of Italy’s public management and we work directly in PM’s office and are responsible directly to him”, stated Spezzano.
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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY ORGANISED A SEMINAR ON EU FUNDS

MOSTAR, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Regional Development Agency for Herzegovina (REDAH) has organised yesterday a seminar on the funds of the European Union at the Centre for Rural Development and Agriculture at Buna near Mostar.

This is a continuation of the REDAH Programme of Capacity Building in Preparation and Implementation of Projects in the Bosnian region of Herzegovina.

The REDAH executive director Ivan Jurilj said that the objective of the Seminar is to offer useful information to institutions and NGOs in Herzegovina so that these could all the better come to know the programmes of the European Union and make use of the funds that are available to Bosnia at the moment, and the funds that are going to be opened soon.

"This is one in a series of seminars we were organising the whole previous year, as well as of trainings for drafting project proposals for the funds that are available to us", Jurilj said.

An Instrument for pre-admission support, consisting of 5 components, was opened to Bosnia as a prospective EU member candidate for the 2007-2013 period. Two of these components are available to Bosnia at the moment: assistance in transition and institutional preparation for EU membership, and cross-border cooperation within which Bosnia can participate in three programmes of cross-border cooperation: with Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Other three components will be available after the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the European Union, and the completion of certain conditions it requires.
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BOSNIA TO HOST SOUTHEAST EUROPE POLICE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION MEETING

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The fourth Southeast Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) meeting (workgroup against organized crime) will be held May 8 and 9 in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Representatives of SEPCA member countries will participate: Bosnia,Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia, as well as representatives of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Centre for Democratic Control of Armed forces (DCAF), ICITAP, OCTN, RCC and EUPM.

Topics that will be treated are SEPCA’s three year strategy, the Association’s statute, Police coordination Convention, SDC and OSCE programs for fight against organized crime and development of programs and projects of OCTN network.
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INVESTORS FROM SAUDI ARABIA INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH MIMS GROUP

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) - On the second day of their visit to Bosnia, members of the Saudi Arabian business delegation expressed interest in cooperation with Klas (milling industry) and other members of the Mims Group.

Mims has big development ambitions, and used the opportunity to introduce the Saudis to company’s plan for expanding the national retail network.

Mims’ ultimate goal is to become the leading food retailer in Bosnia. Export of Klas and Vegafruit products to Saudi Arabia was also discussed. Another fact in their favour is that they hold halal certificates, much to the Saudi Arabians’ surprise.
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INTESA SANPAOLO BANK ANNOUNCES EXPANSION IN BOSNIA

MILAN, Italy (May 8,2008) - At a press conference in Milan,Italy, called for members of the Bosnian media, the management of the Intesa Sanpaolo Bank unveiled its ambitious plans regarding expansion in the Bosnian market. The Italian bank eventually wants to become one of the market leaders.

Regional director explained how the bank will not be exclusive in picking locations. Intesa currently operates only three offices in Bosnia, he said. Its market share is around 6 per cent at present, through UPI banka.

The segments of the Bosnian economy that are particularly interesting to the Italian bank include food production, power generation and tourism.
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BOSNIA COULD FACE FOOD SHORTAGES THIS YEAR

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) - Because of a reduced amount of locally-produced food and some new trends in the global market, Bosnia could face food shortages next autumn, the Secretary of the Bosnian Farmers Association Sead Jelec warns.

According to him, this means increased reliance on food imports, in times when food prices are going up.

"The national authorities are ignorant of the gloomy warnings coming from around the world", Jelec argues, adding that the prices of seeds, fertilizers and fuel have gone up by 60 to 80 per cent.
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