GENOCIDE MEMORIAL CENTRE TO BE BUILT IN PRIJEDOR

PRIJEDOR, Bosnia (August 8,2008) - Survivors of the notorious genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor-run concentration camps in the northwestern Bosnia,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia, and their families are continuing their campaign for a memorial centre to record their suffering.This week, for the fifth time, the genocide survivors from Prijedor gathered in Omarska, near the northwestern Bosnian city of Prijedor, to mark the anniversary of the closure of the infamous concentration camp, announcing that they will unite in order to build the Genocide Memorial Centre there.

In May 1992, the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor formed three concentration camps in Prijedor municipality – Keraterm, Trnopolje and Omarska. About 1,000 Bosnian civilians were murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor in the Omarska concentration camp, which many genocide survivors recall as the worst of all.

The Omarska concentration camp was closed on August 6, 1992. On that day, every year, the genocide survivors from Prijedor, recall the terrible events that occurred there in 1992.

“We have decided to commemorate the victims and visit the concentration camp in order to try to understand, to some extent, what those people suffered in the course of 1992,” the genocide survivor Edin Ramulic, of the Izvor Association from Prijedor, said.

However, the genocide survivors have encountered strong resistance to their plan from the genocidal Serbian fascist creature in Bosnia "RS", which was created during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia and which still exists.Prijedor is located in that part of Bosnia.

In 2004 they put forward an initiative for building of the Genocide Memorial Centre, but it did not produce any results. They reactivated the idea this year. In May, they formed an initiative board for the establishment of a foundation, which would become involved in building the memorial centre.

A conference has also been announced for later this year in order to discuss, among other things, the concentration camps in Prijedor area and post-war activities related to the facing up to the past in this part of Bosnia. Pending approval of the site’s current owner, the conference is to take place in the premises of the former concentration camp.

Most Bosnian civilians from this area were detained by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor at one of four locations: the administrative building, where they were examined; Bosnian women and girls were detained in this building; the garage or hangar; the building known as the Bijela kuca (White house), in which many detained Bosnian civilians were tortured and murdered; and the asphalted area between the buildings, which was known as Pista (Runway).

There was also a small building, known as Crvena kuca (Red house), to which detained Bosnian civilians were taken,tortured and murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggresor.

Sixteen years on, the genocide survivors from Prijedor gathered again in front of and inside these concentration camps.

“I came here because of my brother. He was a sportsman. He was taken from his apartment in early August. He was murdered in Hrastova Glavica,” Emir Alibegovic said.

The former concentration camp buildings now belong to the Mittal Steel mine, in which production has started again. For several years,the genocide survivors from Prijedor had to struggle even to obtain permission to enter Omarska. In 2007, they finally won the right to go inside and visit the former concentration camp premises every year on August 6.

As part of the memorial activities, the group visited one of the biggest mass graves in this area, Hrastova Glavica, which was found in 1998. The bodies of 124 Bosnian civilians murdered by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor in the Omarska and Keraterm concentration camps were
exhumed from this mass grave.

The Bosnian State Court pronounced guilty and sentenced Serbian war criminals : Zeljko Mejakic to 21 years' imprisonment, Momcilo Gruban to 11 years and Dusko Knezevic to 31 years for crimes committed in the Omarska and Keraterm concentration camps.

After Serbian war criminal Dusan Fustar admitted guilt, the Bosnian State Court sentenced him to nine years' imprisonment for war crimes committed against Bosnian civilians in the Omarska concentration camp in the course of 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.
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SCHMIDT: BOSNIA TO FACE MANY CHALLENGES

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (August 8,2008) - The German Ambassador to Bosnia, Joachim Schmidt who took over his duty at the end of July said that the picture he got until now is a very clear one - Bosnia has to face a lot of challenges in months and years to come.

Ambassador Schmidt primarily referred to means and ways of reaffirming further political stabilisation of Bosnia, which means transition of the Office of the Internationa Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) into the Office of the EU Special Representative (EUSR). and conditions which have to be fulfilled in order to achieve this.

He also mentioned further possibilities for progress after signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Bosnia and the EU “Which was a great step for the country but also there are a lot of steps to be done in months and years to come”.

The last but not the least, Ambassador Schmidt underlined visa regime liberalization between Bosnia and the EU.

Agreement on visa regime liberalization entered force on January 1 2008 which meant significant improvement of possibilities for traveling to EU countries for the Bosnian citizens and the European Commission on June 5 handed the Road Map to Bosnia for the visa regime liberalization.

Ambassador Schmidt hopes that Bosnia will make enough progress to achieve complete visa liberalization with EU in near future.
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THE TRIAL AGAINST SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL RADOVAN KARADZIC SHALL PROVE THAT THE GENOCIDAL SERBIAN CREATURE IN BOSNIA "RS" MUST BE ABOLISHED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (August 8,2008) - Director of the Bosnian Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, Smail Cekic stated in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo that he is convinced that the trial against former leader and creator of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" and one of the masterminds of the genocide committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia,Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic shall confirm his genocidal intent to destroy the Bosnian people.

”The trial will show that political and military leadership of paralegal, collaborationist state of RS, led by Radovan Karadzic had intent, according to the Great Serbia ideology, politics and practice, to destroy the Bosnian people”, stated Cekic.

"Also, the process will openly show that institutions built by Karadzic with the help from Serbia and Montenegro or former Federal Yugoslavia, must not continue to exist, that is that RS and its institutions created on genocide should be abolished the same way it was done with the Nazi Germany during the WWII”, added Cekic.
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NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS FOR THE LOCAL ELECTIONS IN BOSNIA INCREASED

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (August 8,2008) - The Bosnian Central Election Commission will announce the final number of the voters in Bosnia after August 21st, when, according to the law, the elective list has to be closed and confirmed.

"The number of registered voters in Bosnia so far exceeds three million, while at the elections in 2006 we had 2.765.504 registered voters”, said in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo at the press-conference the President of the Bosnian Central Election Commission Suad Arnautovic.

The number of the registered voters from abroad has also increased.

"35.049 voters have been registered till today for voting by mail”, said Arnautovic reminding that in 2006 there were 32. 441 registered voters from abroad.

4.483 Bosnian citizens used their right to be registered for Srebrenica municipality.

The local elections in Bosnia will cost ten and a half million Bosnian Marks. More than six million ballot papers will be printed.

Bosnia will hold local elections on October 5th. Voters will elect new municipal councils and municipal mayors, as well as new Brcko and Banja Luka assemblies and a new city council in Mostar. These will be the first elections in Bosnia in which representatives of national minorities will be elected to local assemblies.64 political parties and 183 independent candidates were certified to stand in the election.
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BOSNIA TO INTRODUCE BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS IN 2009

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (August 8,2008) - Introducing biometric passports is the key condition set by the European Union to Bosnia for cancelling the visa regime. Although the biometric system was initially supposed to be ready by the end of 2008, and then the deadline was pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, it seems that it will take much more for biometric passports to reach the Bosnian citizens.

According to the Citizen Identification Protection System (CIPS) Implementation Directorate, they are not expected before late 2009.Bosnia will thus be among the last countries in the region to introduce biometric passports.

A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. The passport's critical information is stored on a tiny computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards. Like some smartcards, the passport book design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to hold digital signature data to ensure the integrity of the passport and the biometric data.
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