Main News Summary
Tuesday, 10 June 2003 |
Topic
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Source
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Title
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Narrative
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SFOR
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Slobodna Dalmacija
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Occupation of Franciscan Monastery at Scit unseen since Partisans burned it downs during WWII
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On Sunday, after small children received Communion in the church at Scit, Spanish and Italian SFOR members carried out an invasion of the area of Gornja Rama with helicopters and APCs. SFOR tanks surrounded the Franciscan monastery at about 10.00 hours and wanted to search the monastery and the House of Peace. Soldiers wearing masks, in full combat gear, jumped out of the helicopters, pointed strong reflectors at the settlement, raided houses and detained some men, thus causing great stress to the residents of this area and trauma to the children. The spectacular charlatan behaviour of Spanish and Italian SFOR members caused great damage to the reputation of SFOR and unnecessary war trauma to the local population. They carried out a military occupation of the Franciscan monastery at Scit as has not been seen since WWII, when Partisans burned down the monastery. (p. 17)
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SFOR
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Dnevni avaz
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SFOR looks for Ante Gotovina in the House of Peace at Scit (Teaser)
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On Sunday, SFOR carried out an operation in the area of Prozor/Rama with the purpose of arresting Ante Gotovina. Apart from inspecting vehicles and asking for ID cards of the Rama citizens, the soldiers of the Spanish Contingent and members of the Italian Carabinieri entered the yard of the House of Peace at Scit, which is situated in the Franciscan monastery. "SFOR members arrived at about 22.00 hours in full combat gear, wearing masks on their faces and with their rifles pointed. I went outside and asked them what they wanted and who they were looking for. I was told briefly that they were looking for a person that is a threat to our and their security, and they wanted to enter the monastery. I prevented them from entering by saying that I would inform the Vatican about what was going on in five minutes if necessary. They changed their minds about entering the monastery but did not leave the yard of the House of Peace until midnight. I suppose that they were looking for Ante Gotovina. It is bad that SFOR soldiers did not have a search warrant and did not allow us to talk to their commander during the operation," said monk Mato Topic, the guardian of the Rama-Scit Franciscan monastery. SFOR soldiers detained Jozo Mestrovic and Luka Faletar during the operation. "They told me to stop one hundred meters from my house. They checked my documents, and compared my appearance to some photo they had with them. They did not have an interpreter, but luckily, a local chaplain who could speak Italian was passing by. He told me that I would have to go with the Carabinieri and to tell my wife to pick up the car," said Luka Faletar, one of the two persons who were detained in the SFOR operation. He was taken to Camp Butmir by car. "It was almost 02.00 hours in the morning. I made a statement and they concluded that I was detained because of my resemblance to General Gotovina. The taking of a statement lasted for two hours, after which I was taken back to Rama by car," said Faletar, physical education teacher at the elementary school in Rama. He especially pointed out that SFOR soldiers had not treated him badly either on the way to Butmir or on the way back. We learned from the local residents in Rama that the operation of SFOR was still going on. According to Nezavisne Novine, Mestrovic was told that he was indicted for war crimes, after which an indictment against General Ante Gotovina was read to him. After he convinced them that he was not Gotovina, he was taken to another room, where he stayed until Monday morning, when he got his personal belongings back and was released. The same thing happened to Luka Faletar. Mestrovic and Faletar announced that they would file a lawsuit against SFOR for fear suffered, false accusations and violation of their human rights. The same paper reported that the Rama Police Administration was informed about the operation of SFOR only after checkpoints had already been set up in Gornja Rama, which was just before SFOR members raided the yard of the Scit Franciscan monastery. The Rama Police Administration was asked to send one of its patrols. Members of the Rama Police Administration went to the scene yesterday. The police confirmed that SFOR had detained two persons, Luka Faletar and Jozo Mestrovic, in order to check their identities, after which they were released. (Photo on page 3) /The same in Oslobodjenje (p. 6), Jutarnje Novine (p. 3), Dnevni List (p. 9), Slobodna Dalmacija (p. 17), Nezavisne Novine (p. 3), Glas Srpske (p. 3)/
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SFOR
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Dnevni avaz
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No war crimes suspects were among those arrested in the area of Prozor
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SFOR members detained a number of individuals in the area of Prozor/Rama on Monday because they believed that one of those detained was Ante Gotovina, who is wanted for war crimes by the ICTY. However, confirmation of the identification of these individuals showed that Gotovina was not among those arrested. SFOR released these individuals after having concluded that none of them were war crimes indictees. The detention was carried out in accordance with SFOR's mandate and was an example of a common and coherent international operation. MNB (SE) confirmed on Monday that its members, in co-operation with MNB (NW), had carried out an unannounced search of the river peninsula Dronjici in the area of Prozor/Rama on Sunday. (p. 3)
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SFOR
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Oslobodjenje
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Weapons collected during Operation Joint Resolve XXIX
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MNB (SE) has reported that it carried out Operation Joint Resolve XXIX last week, in co-operation with all MNB members. "MNB (SE) members collected 54 rifles and pistols, 33 hand grenades, four rifle grenades, two mines, 17,305 rounds of various ammunition, 3.4 kg of explosives, and 73 bayonets, home made hand grenades and knives," MNB (SE) reported in its press release, adding that an SFOR patrol stopped a vehicle during the operation, and found the driver of the vehicle in possession of drugs. Members of the local police are carrying out an investigation into this case. (p. 4) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 12), Dnevni List (p. 14)/
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SFOR
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Slobodna Dalmacija
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SFOR is proud of operation
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Brigadier General Gianmarco Chiarini, Commander of MNB (SE), stated on Monday that he was proud of this operation that was carried out quickly and unnoticed, and that it showed once again the will and the possibilities of SFOR members to maintain a safe and secure environment no matter where they are at any given time. (p. 17)
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SFOR
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Nezavisne Novine
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Milakovic and his associates to be remanded in custody for another two months
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"A decision was made on 6 June for Milorad Milakovic, Ilija Gavranovic, Mladenko Rosic and Niko Aleksic, who are suspected of human trafficking and prostitution, to be remanded in custody for another 60 days," Bozo Mihajlovic, the State Prosecutor handling this case, told the paper. "The suspects were to be released today after being in custody for 30 days and at my proposal, they were remanded in custody for another 60 days. The Prosecutor's Office did not want to wait for the last day to extend their detention, which is today, as we have far too much work to finish," said Mihajlovic. (Photo on page 4)
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SFOR
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Nezavisne Novine
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Dragan Vasiljevic: "I was not racketeering, but arranging meetings"
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Q: What did they ask you about in the SFOR base in Tuzla, after you were arrested on 8 May? A: All sorts of things, starting from my identity to working together with them. They asked me about Ljubomir Borovcanin and asked me if I was in contact with him. They asked me about all persons from a list of Hague indictments and not only about Borovcanin. I am not in contact with any of them. I have not been on good terms with Borovcanin for more than two years for some personal reasons. (Photo on page 6)
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SFOR
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HINA
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SFOR releases two persons taken into custody on Sunday
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The NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday released two persons who were taken into custody on Sunday during an operation in the area of Prozor-Rama municipality. SFOR today stated its troops had arrested two persons, while eyewitnesses claimed the troops were looking for Croatian General Ante Gotovina, a runaway indictee of the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. During Monday, SFOR troops were checking vehicles at several locations in the settlement of Scit near Rama, Rama police officials confirmed. The check-up and search of vehicles at Scit was carried out by fully equipped SFOR troops, local police said. The interior ministry of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, which covers the territory of Prozor-Rama municipality, stated that it had not been notified about the operation.
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AF IN BIH
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Dnevni avaz
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Continuation of English in Federation Army
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Yesterday, the Federation Ministry of Defence signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Defence of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. With this agreement, signed by the Federation Defence Minister, Miroslav Nikolic, and the British Ambassador in BiH, Ian Cliff, members of the Federation Army will continue to receive English classes until 2005. Ambassador Cliff announced that there is the possibility that the programme be extended after 2005, while Defence Minister Nikolic expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the UK for its assistance to the Federation Army in that matter. (p. 4) /The same in Dnevni List (p. 4), Nezavisne Novine (p. 4)/
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AF IN BIH
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Dnevni avaz
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SDS: accuses opposition: RS opposition votes against its own conclusions
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Yesterday, the SDS spokesperson, Dusan Stojicic, stated that the opposition in the RS had not voted for the conclusions of the RS National Assembly regarding defence reform, thus deciding to act outside of the RS institutions. He added that such behaviour by the RS opposition was beyond comprehension, especially taking into consideration that it was the SNSD had advocated the reforms and accession to the Partnership for Peace in 1999. He added that the RS Parliamentary session held last week had been an excellent opportunity to achieve a consensus on the matter, but that the RS opposition had not had enough courage to do it. (p. 8)
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BIH - EUROPE
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Oslobodjenje
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Regional co-operation to accelerate BiH's accession to EU
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At a meeting held on Monday, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of country members of the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) signed a joint statement, which read that the main objective is for all the countries of the region to become members of the European Union as soon as possible and, thus, fully take part in creating the future of Europe. "The regional co-operation in South East Europe has never been as dynamic and substantial as it is today," said Mladen Ivanic, BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ivanic stressed that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs were encouraged by the fact that the EU Presidency programme, the conclusions of the European Council of March this year, and the recent contacts between the European Commission and the European Council and Parliament, have confirmed that the future of the West Balkan countries is in the European Union. "In this light, we expect that the summit in Thessaloniki on 21 June will be a new and significant step in further strengthening of relations between the EU and the West Balkans countries. We have welcomed the results achieved so far and confirmed the readiness of the country members to increase their efforts in order to continue implementation of necessary reforms," Ivanic said. The statement cites that the SEECP country members are prepared to go on fighting organised crime, corruption and terrorism, which hinder stability and economic prosperity, and discourage foreign investment in Southeast Europe. According to Ivanic, the Ministers agreed to eliminate visa regimes, while still considering the obligations of country members towards the EU. The Ministers also welcomed the accomplishments of the region in all aspects of free transit of goods. Among other things, they discussed the improvement of the current and the construction of new traffic infrastructure, development of electricity markets, recognition of university degrees, and refugees and displaced persons' issues. The next summit of the heads of states is scheduled to take place in Sarajevo at the beginning of 2004. (Photo on p.8)/The same in Jutarnje Novine (Photo on p.4), Glas Srpske (Photo on p.2), Dnevni List (Photo on p.5), Nezavisne Novine (Photo on p.2), Dnevni avaz (Photo on p.4)/
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BIH - PARTIES
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Oslobodjenje
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SDA and HDZ agrees on division of power in Hercegovina-Neretva Canton
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Late last night, eight months after the elections in BiH, the SDA and HDZ finely agreed on the establishment of power in the Hercegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK). The future Cantonal Government will consist of four Bosniac ministers, three B-Croats and one B-Serb. Also, the Cantonal Premier of the Cantonal government will be a B-Croat. Unofficially, Oslobodjenje learned that the Cantonal Premier will be Miroslav Coric, Minister of Internal Affairs, Goran Bilic, Minister of Education, Science and Culture will be Zeljko Raguz, and Minister of Traffic and Communications, Stjepan Krasic. As for Bosniacs, the Minister of Finance will be Semin Boric, the Minister of Justice, Kemal Isakovic, the Minister of the Economy, Samir Sunagic, and the Minister of Town Planning, Tarik Djulic. The SDA spokesperson, Elvir Jahic, told Oslobodjenje that the HDZ and SDA had agreed that the premier with the approval of the political parties would propose the Cantonal B-Serb Minister of Health. He added that the final list of names of future ministers would be most likely known on Tuesday. (p. 4) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 4), Dnevni List (p. 2)/
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BIH - USA
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Dnevni avaz
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BiH Presidency awaits approval from the House of Peoples
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After the BiH Parliament House of Representatives consented to the ratification of the agreement between BiH and the US regarding the transfer of persons to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, approval from the state House of Peoples is also required. "At the moment, we don't know when a session of the House of Peoples at which this agreement will be discussed is going to take place," Dnevni avaz was told in the BiH Parliament. After the House of Peoples gives its consent, the agreement will be ratified by the BiH Presidency and, subsequently, this information will be publish in the BiH Official Gazette. The US Government will be informed of the ratification through the diplomatic channel. (Photo on p.2)
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BIH - USA
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Glas Srpska
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Agreement with the US ratified too early
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Momcilo Novakovic, President of the SDS Caucus in the BiH Parliament Assembly, considers that the decision to ratify the agreement between the US and BiH on the exemption of US citizens from the International Criminal Court was made too early. In his opinion, this issue should have been set aside until a conference in Thessaloniki in order to clarify it. (p.2)
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BIH - USA
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Jutarnje Novine
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EU reaction is awaited
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President of the Serb Democratic Party Caucus in the BiH Parliament House of Representatives Momcilo Novakovic stated that it was hard to say if BiH would suffer any consequences because it had signed the Agreement on Non-transfer of US citizens to the International Criminal Court with the US. On Friday the House of Representatives had ratified this Agreement. Novakovic said that the SDS and HDZ (Croat Democratic Union) deputies had insisted that this issue be postponed until a conference in Thessaloniki, when more precise and clearer stance of the European Union would be known, but other deputies did not accept their proposal. (p.4)/ The same in Dnevni avaz (p.8)/
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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
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Oslobodjenje
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Former director of Zagreb Airport becomes employee of BiH Ministry of Foreign Affair
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On 1 April, the key partner of Dragan Covic in establishing the Soko Air Company that went bankrupt, and replaced director of the Zagreb Airport, Tomislav Leko, got a job with the BiH Ministry of foreign Affairs as advisor to the Deputy Minister, Lidija Topic. Oslobodjenje learned from a reliable source that Leko was appointed to that post despite the fact that he had not been an employee of the Ministry, nor had he had an employment book. The main reason that Leko got the job was his connections with Dragan Covic, Presidency Member, and other various interest groups related to the Soko Company. Those connections were a sufficient reference for Lidija Topic to hire him as her advisor, and on 20 April she notified the General Affairs Department of the BiH Foreign Ministry about her decision of employ Leko with the Ministry on 1 April. The way he acquired BiH citizenship was also very questionable, and the police made a report on that issue. The Federation Police opened an investigation into the way that Leko's name had been added to the Records of BiH Citizens in Donji Mamici Police Station. Allegedly, the Grude Police Station added his name in the Records of BiH Citizens after requests. (p. 4)
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ICTY
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Dnevni avaz
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Ivica Rajic can be transferred to The Hague
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The Croatian Supreme Court rejected an appeal of Ivica Rajic and confirmed the decision made by a first instance court to transfer him to the Hague Tribunal which had indicted him for slaughtering at least 16 Bosniac civilians in the village of Stupni Do in central Bosnia. Thus, the Croatian Supreme Court confirmed the decision made by the Zagreb Cantonal Court at the end of April to transfer Rajic to the Hague Tribunal. The decision of the Supreme Court is final and although the Defence has a possibility of filing a lawsuit based on the Constitution, there are no more legal obstacles to Rajic being transferred to The Hague. If the Croatian Minister of Justice signs a decision to transfer Rajic, the only question that remains is how and when Rajic will be transferred to the Hague Tribunal. (Photo on page 2) /The same in Dnevni List (p. 3), Nezavisne Novine (p. 3)/
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INCIDENTS
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Oslobodjenje
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Mufti Office in Travnik demolished
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On Monday at 07.45, a break-in at the Mufti Office that occurred over the weekend was reported to the Police Station in Travnik. The criminal police performed an on-site investigation and established that the windows and lights had been broken, the telephone cables torn up and computers and other office equipment destroyed. The inventory and equipment in the meeting room was either damaged or destroyed. According to the first information, nothing was stolen from the premises, but two vulgar messages, in English and Bosnian, were found in them. The total damage has been assessed at KM 20,000. (p. 31)
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OHR
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Jutarnje Novine
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Ashdown comments on reform of public administration in BiH
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Yesterday, High Representative Paddy Ashdown stated that BiH needed a thorough reform of the public services. He added that the current administration in BiH could be described as outdated, too numerous, indifferent and inefficient. He also said that the established inter-ministerial working group would consider the organisation and structure of the public services in BiH, as well as efficiency of the work and services provided by the administration. He pointed out that such considerations might also lead to the downsizing of the civil service employees. He stated that, currently, 64% of the Gross National Product in BiH was spent on politicians and administration, whereas Slovenia spends 43%, Albania 31%, and most European countries spend less than 30%. (p. 5) /The same in Dnevni avaz (p. 2), Glas Srpske (p. 2)/
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TERRORISM
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Dnevni avaz
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Pogorelica at a standstill
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According to information available to Dnevni avaz, the Pogorelica case is currently at a standstill. Since April, when the three suspects were faced with Rohan Gunaratna, a court expert from Sri Lanka, the Federation Supreme Court Investigative Judge Mirjana Perisic has not scheduled any other hearing. During the last hearing, suspects Bakir Alispahic, Irfan Ljevakovic and Enver Mujezinovic and their attorneys requested that questions posed by Gunaratna be sent to them in writing. As they did not receive anything to date, Alispahic, Ljevakovic and Mujezinovic have decided to contact the President of the Federation Supreme Court, Amir Jaganjac, and the BiH Presidency members to warn them that this process, in which they are victims of classic political fabrication, has been unnecessarily prolonged. (Photo on p.5)
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Please Note
The portions of articles in this report are summaries from the originals. They have been derived and translated from available open source, newspapers, periodicals, TV and radio broadcasts. They reflect the opinion of the particular media or the media's sources. The use of articles and quotations does not necessarily reflect SFOR's official opinions or policy, nor are they official endorsements of any kind. Any offence is not intentional. The primary objective is to make available a variety of regional media summaries.
Produced by: PEACE STABILISATION FORCE; PIO MEDIA ANALYSIS, SARAJEVO
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