REHN: EU TO SIGN PRE-ACCESSION ACCORD WITH BOSNIA ON JUNE 16

BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 27,2008) – The European Union and Bosnia will sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) on June 16th, the EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels yesterday after opening the discussion on lifting visas for Bosnian citizens.Commissioner Rehn confirmed the date at a joint press conference with Bosnia's Prime Minister Nikola Spiric and Vice President of the European Commission Jacques Barrot where it was also announced that dialogue over liberalizing the visa regime for Bosnian citizens has begun.

“We opened dialogue today for the liberalization of visas between Bosnia and the EU, based on the ‘road map’ that will presented in the next few weeks,” Barrot said.

He added that the dynamics of the talks would depend on Bosnia’s capacity to meet criteria such as the introduction of biometric passports.

Spiric said that this was a good day for Bosnia and stated that the country was ready to meet all the necessary conditions as soon as possible.
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EUROPEAN UNION LAUNCHES VISA TALKS WITH BOSNIA

BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 27,2008) – The European Commission formally opened yesterday a dialogue on visa liberalization with Bosnia.

Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot said the opening of talks represented a “concrete example of the political commitment given by the EU to the region.”

Like the other countries of the southeastern Europe, Bosnia must fulfill technical conditions before a visa-liberalisation agreement can be signed. These include improving border management and issuing biometric passports.

“I am convinced that Bosnia will be able to make rapid progress to fulfill the necessary criteria,” Barrot said.

After it finished a process of visa "facilitation" with the countries of the southeastern Europe, making it easier for certain groups of citizens to acquire visas, the Commission decided to launch a technical dialogue on visa liberalization with all countries in the region. The aim is to reach agreement on a visa-free regime by January 1, 2009.

Bosnia's Prime Minister Nikola Spiric took part in the opening of the technical dialogue and stressed that the decision of the EU will “reinforce the EU idea" in Bosnia. In the next few weeks the Bosnian authorities will receive a roadmap laying out the conditions that have to be met before a visa agreement with the EU can be signed.

“We are committed to fulfilling all the conditions from the roadmap,” Spiric said. “Our aim is a visa-free regime for all citizens of Bosnia.”

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the Commission's decision to launch a dialogue on visa-free travel, noting that it was particularly important for young people in Bosnia.

“Compared to where we were half a year ago, the year 2008 has started well for Bosnia and its EU orientation,” Commissioner Rehn said.
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EU TO KEEP TROOPS IN BOSNIA

BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 27,2008) – European Union defense ministers agreed yesterday in Brussels to keep the bloc's 2,500 peacekeepers in Bosnia, citing concern that tensions in Kosovo could spill over into other parts of the southeastern Europe.

"The region is not yet fully stable,It is necessary to continue being present militarily." said Slovenia's Defense Minister Karl Erjavec, who chaired the meeting.

"Some EU nations had hoped that growing stability in Bosnia would allow them to pull the troops out, leaving just a police and civilian mission. However, the failure of Bosnia's ethnically based political parties to agree on a new constitution and the tensions over Kosovo mean thesoldiers needed to stay on," Minister Erjavec told reporters.

The EU ministers said in a statement the "EU-led military presence will remain in Bosnia for as long as necessary."

The EU took over the Bosnian mission in 2004 and cut troop levels from 6,000 last year as part of a gradual reduction from the 60,000 NATO soldiers that moved in after the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.
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TWO BOSNIAN WOMEN,WHO WERE RAPED BY GENOCIDAL SERBIAN AGGRESSOR,TESTIFIED BEFORE BOSNIAN STATE COURT AT TRIAL OF THREE SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 27,2008) – Prosecution witnesses Dika Suljic and Ismeta Pervan testified yesterday before the Bosnian State Court at the trial of Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo,Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba about sexual abuse of Bosnian women by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor and the participation of Serbian war criminals Djordjislav Askraba and Nedjo Zeljaja in the capture and forcible detention of Bosnian civilians from the Bosnian town of Kalinovik by the genocidal paramilitary fascist formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS), during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

"Our neighbours (Serbians living in Bosnia), who were armed and uniformed, came to pick us up on August 2, 1992. They first took us to the elementary school building in Kalinovik. When we came there, some women from Gacko had already been there. Slavko, Zaga and another soldier drove seven of us by a truck to Miljevina. The four girls from Gacko were 14 to 18 years old, while the three of us from Jelesac were adults. I was raped, but I cannot speak about that," witness Pervan said through tears.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo, Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba with crimes committed against Bosnian civilians from Kalinovik in 1992 and 1993,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced Serbian war criminal Dragoljub Kunarac, also known as "Zaga", to 28 years imprisonment for torture,rape and unlawful detention of Bosnian civilians in the eastern Bosnian town of Foca.

"In June 1992 Sasa Cerovina came to our house and asked for my father. I could have hid him, but I was naïve and I asked him to come out. My father said a final goodbye to us and he got on the truck. Zeljaja, who had already been on the truck, told him that they were taking him to an interview and that he would be back home the same night," Pervan said.

According to this witness, the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor took her father and a group of other Bosnian civilians from Jelesac village to the "Barutni magacin" concentration camp, where Pervan saw Serbian war criminal Djordjislav Askraba, who was "the chief".

"In the beginning I used to bring clothes and food to my father in 'Barutni magacin'. However, after some time Askraba did not let us do that any more, as he was the boss there. The last time I saw my father he was wearing a blue pullover and he just waved to me," Pervan told the Bosnian State Court.

The examination of second Prosecution witness Dika Suljic, who began her testimony before the Bosnian State Court on Monday, May 19, took place, as requested by the Court, with no members of the public present, so as to "protect the personal and intimate life of the witness", who spoke about the sexual abuse of Bosnian women by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo,Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on Thursday, May 29.
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3.000 ROSES THROWN INTO THE DRINA RIVER FROM MEHMED PASHA SOKOLOVIC BRIDGE IN MEMORY OF GENOCIDE VICTIMS FROM VISEGRAD

VIŠEGRAD, Bosnia (May 27,2008) – In the organization of the Bosnian Association of families of missing persons and civilians victims of aggression “Visegrad 92” on Sunday, a commemoration was held for genocide victims from the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad.

On this occasion, 3.000 roses were laid on Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge and after the ceremony they were lowered into the Drina River as a sign of memory 3000 genocide victims from Visegrad murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor in the early 1990's.

16th anniversary ceremony of the mass murder of innocent Bosnian civilians from Visegrad was attended by a member of the Bosnian State Presidency Zeljko Komsic who threw a bouquet of red roses into Drina River in memory of the genocide victims.

About 2.000 people were present at the commemorative ceremony.

Those present were Bosnian government representatives, representatives of Bratunac municipality, emissaries of the FBiH entity, Sarajevo Mayor Semiha Borovac, Gorazde Imam Hamed Ef. Efendic, and number of Imams from Podrinje.

During the 1992-95 Serbian aggression against Bosnia, Visegrad was a site where war crimes were committed by the Serbian aggressor against the town's Bosnian population.Some 3,000 Bosnian civilians, including 121 children,from Visegrad were mass murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor.
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PARLIAMENTARY MEETING ON SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE BEGAN YESTERDAY IN BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 27,2008) – The Joint Parliamentary Meeting titled “Achieving the European Perspective for South East Europe” has began yesterday at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, France Cukjati chairs the meeting together with the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering.

The Bosnian State Parliament at this significant gathering is represented by Niko Lozancic, the Bosnian State Parliament's House of Representatives Chair who will address the present during the meeting.

Participants of the meeting,which ends today,are focusing on the role of parliaments in the integration of the southeastern European countries, economic development and European perspective for the Southeastern Europe, security and judiciary and immigration and visa policies.
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8 BOSNIAN CITIES TO HOST FORUMS ON NATO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 27,2008) – Bihac is to host a first out of eight city forums with a purpose to create informal, open forum for leaders of local communities in Bosnia in order to initiate a discussion about Bosnia's defense reform progress, stated the release of NATO HQ.

Bosnia is a very successful member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program (PFP). As recognition for this success, Bosnia was invited at the NATO Bucharest Summit,earlier this year, and joined the process of Intensive Dialogue with NATO.

During next six weeks, NATO HQ in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo will visit eight Bosnian cities (Bihac, Prijedor, Livno, Travnik, Bijeljina, Brcko, Trebinje, Gorazde) with a purpose to inform citizens, NGOs, students, businessmen, education and religious sector with aspects of NATO which are rather unknown to the broader Bosnian public.
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BOSNIA TO BECOME A MEMBER OF WTO IN 2009

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 27,2008) - A member of the Bosnian negotiating team has confirmed that negotiations about Bosnia’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) are expected to be over by the end of this year. A year after that, Bosnia could become a full member.

Bosnia has already formed agencies for the food safety, industrial and intellectual rights, copy rights and plant protection, while there are several pieces of legislation awaiting adoption in the area of commerce.
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BOSNIAN COMPANIES CONSIDERABLY INCREASE THEIR PRESENCE ON FOREIGN MARKETS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 27,2008) - The value of work carried out by Bosnian companies in foreign countries increased by considerable 58.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period of last year.

According to the official statistical sources, the value increased the most in Africa (by 67.7 per cent), where the shares of building construction and heavy construction contracts were approximately the same.
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