UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS IN BOSNIA BY 0,22%

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 9,2008) - According to the official figures released by the Bosnian State Employment Agency, there were 488,433 registered unemployed persons in the country in July. Compared to the month before, their number dropped by 1,095 (0.22 per cent).

In the past year, the number of the unemployed fell by seven per cent. In July 2007, there were 525,175 registered people without a job. 50.18 per cent of the unemployed are women.

According to the Bosnian State Statistics Agency, there were 775,228 employed people working in Bosnia in July (increase of 0.5 per cent compared to May 2008).
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BOSNIA DEMANDS FROM SWEDEN NOT TO ALLOW EARLY RELEASE OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL BILJANA PLAVSIC FROM PRISON

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 9,2008) - A member of the Bosnian State Presidency Željko Komšić has urged Sweden yesterday not to allow the early release of Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavšić,who was convicted for war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Bosnian State Presidency Member Željko Komšić sent a letter to Pero Westerberg, the Parliament President of Sweden, and Frederik Reinfeldt, the Prime Minister of Sweden, of the following content:

"In the Swedish prison Hinseberg, since 23.06.2003, Biljana Plavšić has been serving her eleven-year long sentence convicted by ICTY for being a member of the top war leadership of the Bosnian Serbs, for the worst crimes committed against humanity. She participated in planning, creation and implementation of persecution and destruction of the Bosniacs, the Croats and other non-Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I possess information about the possibility that after serving 2/3 of the punishment, the competent judicial organs of the Kingdom of Sweden could accept the prisoner’s request for shortening the sentence, i.e. a pardon her and forward it to ICTY.

As a Member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, but also personally, I think that, given the gravity of the acts for which she has been convicted, and because of her reported unwillingness to have any further cooperation with the ICTY in other cases, any act of mercy toward the mentioned person would be a great mistake and an insult for the families of the victims of the criminal enterprise in which she took part for which she has been convicted.

In addition to the committed genocide in the Srebrenica area, more than 100,000 killed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, hundreds of thousands of wounded and thousands of raped women are a direct result of Biljana Plavšić’s activities, as well as the fact that there are more than 13,000 persons currently missing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One should especially bear in mind the fact that 60,000 citizens originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina currently live and work in the Kingdom of Sweden, majority of them had had to leave the country because of the prisoner’s war engagement.

I am of the opinion that all this does not leave any ethical possibility for displaying any act of mercy toward the prisoner, for the competent organs of the Kingdom of Sweden.

I hope that you will respect my opinion on this matter and in this way contribute to the enhancement and improvement of the traditionally friendly relations between our two countries.”

Serbian fascist Biljana Plavsic, 78, was indicted and tried by The Hague Tribunal. In 2002, she plea bargained and was convicted to a shamefully low sentence of 11 years in jail for crimes against humanity.

As part of Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s plea deal, she laid the blame for the genocide committed during the 1992-95 Serbian aggression against Bosnia on the late former Yugoslav president,Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, and on former leaders of the Serbians living in Bosnia,Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

A month ago, a group of Serbian fascist launched an appeal to the Hague Tribunal and Swedish authorities for Serbian war criminal Plavsic’s early release on the basis of her age and the period she has already spent in the jail. This plea was also backed by the leader of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS",Serban fascist Milorad Dodik, who even visisted her in her cell less than a month ago.

In 2009, the convicted Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic will serve two-thirds of her sentence, after which Swedish laws allow an early release of prisoners in case of their good behaviour. However,Komsic’s letter could block this move.
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BOSNIA MEETS TWO THIRDS OF PRIORITIES SET BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 9,2008) - Two thirds of the total 30 priorities that Bosnia needs to meet by the end of September, in order to receive a positive progress report from the European Commission (EC), have been fulfilled so far, chairman of the Bosnian State Parliamentary Commission for European Integration, Halid Genjac, announced yesterday.

The members of this commission met yesterday with representatives of the Bosnian Directorate for European Integrations, to revise the work done so far on meeting the priorities. Their conclusion was that no progress has been made on the issues of a census and election legislation. The latter is connected to constitutional reform, Genjac said.

There are problems in meeting anther five or six priorities (the bills have been drafted, but they are not likely to be adopted by the end of this month).
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