October 2005 Police in BiH The European Union has supported the agreement on police reform, which was adopted by the RS National Assembly. In a letter from Olli Rhen, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement addressed to the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, emphasised that the English text of the agreement, satisfied the three EU principles and that the European Commission supports it.Implementation of this reform must be done in accordance with the requirements of the EC, and the process will be carefully monitored, stated Rhen. He emphasised that the three EU principles on police reform are unchangeable. All legalities and budgetary issues in regards to the police administration must be done at the State level and must not be influenced by politics. A local police administration must be determined according to branch demand. The House of People in the BiH Parliament has adopted the decision on accepting the agreement on the reform of the police force in BiH, in the same text that was adopted earlier by the House of Representatives, RS, Council of Ministers, BiH, Government of BiH, and the representatives from the Parliament House, BIH. Politics and Security The police reform does not jeopardise the existence and future of the Republic of Srpska. They are in jeopardy if they continue to use the Constitution to blockade the police reform, conveyed the representatives from the international community. In a joint statement by the, High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, US Ambassador, Douglas McElhaney, British Ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, Country representatives of the EU, and the Head of the European Commission Delegation in BiH, Michael Humphreys, a warning was issued that the RS Government is unjustly losing time. Yesterday in a joint program between the prosecutor and the police in Banja Luka, approximately 30 persons suspected of belonging to an organised crime group were captured. The captured group, is believed to have been engaged in the theft of expensive motor vehicles amongst other criminal activities. This long and thorough organised program by the prosecutor and police, lasted a few months, and is one of the largest imprisonment programs to have occurred on the territories of the RS. The US will not abstain from capturing the accused war criminals, especially Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, stated the US Ambassador in BiH, Douglas McElhaneey at the welcoming ceremony for the US war ship “USS Micer”, which arrived on BiH waters, during a visit to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Agreement. The “USS Micer” is a component of the militant float of NATO. The reform of the defence and police structures in BiH represents a significant guarantee for the progress of BiH membership into the European Union and NATO alliance. With our absolute support we expect that the progressive path continue in the future, emphasised the members of the political committee of NATO during a discussion with members from the House of Representatives and the parliamentary assembly in BiH. According to the words by the authorities, parliamentary assembly in BiH, no opposition exists when the European Union path is in question and after the positive reaction from Brussels and the near signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Support is required for entry in to the Partnership for Peace. We expect that the work of NATO in BiH to date, result with the entry of BiH into the Partnership for Peace. During the open discussion, the NATO political committee which is led by Karl Lamers was interested in the implementation laws, control of arms, fight against terrorism, human trafficking and corruption, announced the publicity office of the Parliamentary Assembly. September 2005 Politics and Security In accord with the decision made by the High Representative in BiH, the responsibility of the State border service has been taken over by Vinko Dumancic, whilst Vahid Alagic has over taken the responsibility of Deputy Director. It is now clear that BiH will not be able to commence negotiations on the signing of the agreement on stability and the association with the European Union, within this year, stated Olli Rehn who is the EU Commissioner for Enlargement. I regret that the chance for the 10th anniversary of peace in BiH to be marked with the beginning of a new phase within the European future has slipped by. I am disappointed by the decision by the RS National Assembly to reject the police reform proposal, which is in accordance with the EU principles, stated Rehn. He also reminded that the police reform is the last condition that the authorities need to meet prior to commencing negotiations on the signing of the agreement on stabilisation and association. He mentioned that the EU would be ready to start negotiations with BiH, once the country proves it is ready to accept three principles, which are fundamental for any future agreements on police reform. Police reform negotiations have fallen through after the RS National Assembly rejected the agreement that is based on the three principles of the EU, offered by the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic. The Prosecutors office in BiH has issued an order for the State Border Service (SBS) in BiH, to investigate the attempted smuggling of weapons from Sarajevo by express post DHL. The investigation was set in motion after the State Border Service (SBS) unit “Aerodrome” inspected the cargo being shipped by DHL via an airline company named “Ikar Air” (en route line Sarajevo-Zagreb-Oslo) found two automatic guns (AG 3 and heckler-koch), six gun hatches for AG model and four hatches for the heckler model. After a joint assignment with the Prosecutors Office, BiH, the SBS has confirmed that the owner of the cargo being shipped is an official from EUFOR, camp “Butmir:, Sarajevo. The Prosecutors Office in BiH, EUFOR and the SBS, announced that the investigation would continue. Should it in fact be a EUFOR soldier in question, he will be held in custody and questioned at the EUFOR base, and not at the Prosecutors Office in BiH, as all members of the European Military Forces have immunity. Radovan Stankovic, accused of crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war has been transferred by the Hague Tribunal to Sarajevo. For the international court this event represents a turning-point, as this is the first time that an accused standing before the Hague Tribunal has been transferred before the national jurisdiction. Police in BiH OHR gave to the Police Minister of RS, Darko Matijasevic a list of corrupted high-ranking police officers. The independent source has close ties to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS, said that the list contained about 20 police names. He confirmed that the Head of Public Security in Banja Luka, Dusan Kos, his substitute Perica Stancic, and the Head of Criminology, Darko Ilic are found on the list, amongst others. On the list of corrupt police, the Head of the Traffic Control Unit at the Police Department, Milenko Boskovic, the Minster’s, Head of Security, Sasa Milovanovic and the advisor to the Cabinet Minister, Alexander Milic can be found, confirmed the independent source from the top of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RS. Armed Forces in BiH The BiH Presidency has reached a decision on rationalizing and decreasing the defence personnel in the year 2005 and to alter the magnitude and structure of the armed forces in BiH.According to this ruling, which is was arranged in accordance with the new legal solutions, which was proposed by the Defence Reform Commission, in which the armed forces will be presented as professional soldiers, which means a moratorium on the calling of recruits. From the Ministry of Defence, BiH has reinforced, how this means that there wont be any calls for recruit training till the end of the year. August 2005 Politics and Security Fifty-five trunks of weapons were found in Ladina and Goranci, two suburbs approximately 30km west of Mostar, towards Siroki Brijeg. According to the evidence, the weapons are from the past war. Srecko Bosnjak, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs Hercegovinian Neretva Canton, confirming this information said that the weapons were not in a warehouse, but that an unknown person bought it to the location where it was found and left it there. We are dealing with dangerous illegal weapons and a lot of lives could have been in danger, said Mr Bosnjak, adding that the weapons were found and reported to the police by a certain citizen. Members of the demining team came out to the place of the scene. They notified the Canton Prosecutor, Nedzad Maksumic of their findings. The incident has also been reported to the Multinational South East division in Mostar. According to announcements, the weapons will be destroyed immediately Police in BiH The new round of talks in regards to police reform, in which representatives from State and Entity Governments and Institutions took part in, ended in Mrakovica without any spectacular or final conclusions. Pero Bukejlovic, Premier of the RS, as well as, the host of the meeting, in his announcement to the media said that the atmosphere was tolerant and constructive and visible movements were undertaken. All options to date were laid out at the negotiating table, we are conscious of the fact that we won’t reach a final conclusion today, said Bukejlovic. He estimated that the “statements in the framework of the institutions would be defined by the end of this month”, which would “satisfy all the peoples of BiH.” Bukejlovic told the media that the participants discussed hot topics in regards to the police portfolio. The question was posed on “how the former negotiations at Vlasic and Konaku, in Sarajevo, passed the proposed concept of, nine plus one region”. The Premier of the RS, answered that in this case the Bosnjaks would have the greater part with seven police regions, the Serbs in one region and the Croats in two regions. That question we need to harmonise with a list of people from 1991, said Bukejlovic, also adding that the law and the BiH constitution require this. In response to the question, if the representatives from the RS Government would withdraw from the conclusions reached during the April meeting of the peoples assembly of that Entity, he answered that in the framework of those conclusions, more favourable ones could be found. Armed Forces in BiH The Entity Parliaments have not commenced the procedure for the changes to be made to their Constitution, which could result in a blockade of the defence reform, stated Sefik Dzaferovic, member of the BiH Parliament, Reform and Security Commission. “We cannot commence procedures for adopting laws on defence and service in the armed forces in BiH whilst the entities don’t alter their Constitutions and transfer their competencies onto the State. The procedure for the transfer of competencies has not yet commenced. If we wish to plan a budget for the army for the following years and hold onto the dynamics for the defence reform, then by the end of August the entities must transfer the competencies” explained Mr Dzaferovic. The Defence Reform Commission in BiH, proposed laws on defence and services in the armed forces of BiH, in which the entity forces, Ministry of Defence and Recruitment are abolished. During a parliamentary procedure, the Federal Government put forward a proposal for the amendment to the FBiH Constitution, in which the Federation of BiH’s authority over defence is passed onto the Government. The Government has put forward a draft bill, in which the validity of the FBiH defence and the service by the FBiH armed forces is terminated. Miroslav Nikolic, Federal Ministar of Defence, said that the adoption of these laws would enable the termination of the Ministry of Defence of BiH and the BiH army, which is in harmony with the defence reform, in which the authority is passed onto the State level from the entity level. The entity defence reform is planned to be abolished by the 1st of January 2006. It has been stated that the existing laws will cease to exist 30 days after the adoption and the embankment of the new laws on the BiH defence force as of January 1st, 2006 at the earliest. Those employed in the FBiH Ministry of Defence will be transferred to Ministry of Defence BiH, whilst at the same time keeping their positions, salary and remuneration. The foundation of the inner structure of BiH Ministry will carry out a selection of those employed and will define the status of those in the FBiH army in the same manner. The head quarters command will have joint responsibility, after which will cease to exist, stated Nikolic. He added that there still is no proposal on the internal organisation for the BiH Ministry of Defence, it is not known how many people will be employed, “surely we will find the best way to solve the surplus number of those employed, after the selection has been carried out. Proposed solutions, regulate the manner of taking care of property, archive, as well as, property movement. An agreement between the FBiH government and the Council of Ministers in BiH, for that, stated Nikolic. July 2005 Politics and Security It has been confirmed by the Ministry for Civil Affairs in BiH, that two men with the citizenship of BiH are on a list of 36 militants, who have been characterised by the Saudian police as the most wanted members of Al Kaeda in the country. Except for Junuza Muhamed Al-Hijarija, who is claimed to be the leader of the Saudian Al Kaeda, the BiH citizen is a thirty one year old Saudian, by the name of Zaid Saad Al-Shammary, announced the Ministry for Civil Affairs in BiH. The BBC¨s agency for international security services has announced that the most wanted war criminal, Radovan Karadzic is hiding in Montenegro. The peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not in a position to undertake action, as their jurisdiction does not cover Montenegro, which is part of Serbia. Police of Montenegro announced that they have no knowledge about the most wanted indicted war criminal hiding in Montenegro. Tens of thousands of people from both BiH and internationally, including 27 foreign and national delegates and diplomats were present at the Memorial Centre in Potocari, near Srebrenica, to mark the 10th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica, and the burial of 610 identified Bosnjak victims, killed during July 1995 in Srebrenica. From the 610 victims buried, three were women, youngest victim was a 14 year old, whilst the oldest victim was 98 years old. President of the Executive Board of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Gerald Knaus, thinks that the abolishment of the RS, will not eventuate due to the fact that all sides in BiH need to agree to the abolishment. The Dayton Peace Agreement is a historical document, which can’t be changed, except in the event of organising some other international conference, which no one really wants and in fact it will never happen, said Mr Knaus. In his opinion, today BiH is more internationally isolated than it was in the previous years, but it is still not too late to make up for lost time, he said. Richard Goldston, former Prosecutor at the Hague tribunal believes that if there was a political will for the capture of Karadzic and Mladic, that they would have been caught in 1995 or 1996. Today, ten years after the indictment was proclaimed, Karadzic and Mladic are still at large. I am extremely frustrated and disappointed about this, said Mr Goldston during his interview with AVAZ. When asked if there was any political pressure to not indict the two, Mr Goldston said no and that if there had been he would not have hesitated in making that public. Mr Goldston also said that he does not believe in the conspiracy theory that someone made a secret deal with Karadzic and Mladic, stating that he did not hear nor see any proof that would confirm that such a conspiracy exists. Police in BiH Adnan Terzic and Paddy Ashdown invited the political leaders who were involved in the discussions on police reform to Vlasic on Tuesday, 26th July. In an announcement by OHR, it was mentioned that the police reform remains the last major obstacle in the negotiations between BiH and the EU on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The meeting is to decide the next steps to be taken throughout the summer on ways of securing an agreement involving the police reform. Milorad Dodik, President of the SNSD, rejected the invitation to Vlasic. He said that they do not want to be a part of an ineffective concept of ownership. Armed Forces in BiH Defence Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Nikola Radovanovic informed the media that the message from NATO is very strong, in regards to their expectations when it comes to the abolishment of defence recruitment and the transfer of the current army reserves into the standing army. The army reserve would compose of retired soldiers, officers and civil experts, whose area of expertise is required by the armed forces. They would be expected to sign a contract, obliging them to spend some time in commands and special units. Members of the defence reform commission have ceased to have meetings. This is a result of the Bosniaks members refusing to accept the abolishment of defence recruitment, professionalism of the forces, and reduction of the reserve units as well as refusing to retain three national components of armed forces in BiH. The defence reform commission in BiH (DRC) proposed the formation of unified armed forces in BiH, and the abolishment of the entity defence Ministry, entity commands and recruitment. At the same time the commission proposes the abolishment of recruitment and the entity ministries by the end of this year. The unified defence budget will commence implementation from the 1st of January, 2006. A “support command” will be formed and responsible for civil, logistics, individual teachings and the production of a doctrine. The passive reserve will be abolished, and those that haven’t served their military term will be pardoned. New active reserves will be comprised of former professional soldiers, said Mr Nikola Radovanic, who is both the Minister of Defence in BiH and the chairman of the DRC. Implementation of the proposed defence reform will mean that 1,100 professional soldiers and approximately 1,300 administrative workers will be left unemployed. The Minister of Defence in BiH has announced that a few hundred surplus staff will fulfil the conditions for a preliminary pension. I requested, NATO form a special fund to take care of and pay compensation to those persons who unfortunately will cease services within the defence structure in BiH. Compensation will be in the vicinity of previous payments, said Radovanovic. June 2005 Politics and Security During the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the Prosecutor’s Office at the Hague tribunal, presented a video, showing the execution of six muslims from Srebrenica, in which it is confirmed was committed by the Skorpians unit, who are tied to the Serbian Ministry of Interior Affairs. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, emphasised that the initiative in which countries around the world, including the US and BiH, are in partnership when it comes to minimising the possibility of weapons for mass destruction ending up in the hands of the terrorists. Dragomir Andan, Director of Police in the Republic of Srpska, didn’t give any real facts to justify his assumption that those responsible for the terrorist attacks in Madrid, were trained in BiH, announced the European Police Mission. BiH will become a member of NATO, once it captures the indicted war criminals, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, stated Nicolas Barns, the State Department Under Secretary responsible for political issues. I respect your foreign politics, for which we will further remain in your country, including our arrival on the 11th July in Srebrenica. Once you have captured the war criminals, Karadzic and Mladic, you will already be on your way down the path to NATO, said Barns. In Sarajevo today, the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, signed the resignation, which the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mladen Ivanic presented last December. Terzic signed the resignation, at the Journalist Conference, so as to explain the obstruction with Ivanic over the naming of the Director for the Agency for Investigation and Protection of BiH. Police in BiH The RS Government has rejected in continuing with the police reform, and by doing so has closed the door into the EU. Addressing the media, Paddy Asdown didn’t hide his concerns and emphasised that BiH is the only country from the Atlantic to the Black sea, that doesn’t have a legal agreement with the EU. In a separate letter, the High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, has warned the Police Minister of RS, Darko Matijasevic and the Minister of Defence in the RS, Milovan Stankovic, that they must supply the Srebrenica working group with the requested list of names of those who participated in the crimes in Srebrenica. Ashdown also reminded Matijasevic and Stankovic that they did not meet the deadline of May 31st, for which they were supposed to have supplied the requested information to the Srebrenica working group. Armed Forces in BiH Raffi Gregorian, the Co-Chairman from the Commission of the Defence Reform, NATO, announced at the Defence Reform Seminar in Sarajevo, that there is a possibility that the deadline set by the High Representative in regards to the defence reform will not be met. The permanent representative of BiH to NATO, Ambassador Sven Alkalaj, said that BiH’s defence reform to date has meet high grades, but the key condition for BiH’s formal affiliation into the Partnership for Peace, is the capturing of war criminals. The Defence Reform Seminar was organised by the Centre for Security Studies, Sarajevo, Centre for European Security Studies, Netherlands in cooperation with the Centre for European Integration, Belgrade. May 2005 Politics and Security It was announced at the meeting of the donor Board for de-mining, that the plan for the anti-mine action for 2005, envisions de-mining of around 4.5 million square metres. The Board is chaired by, Minister of Civil Affairs of BiH, Safet Halilovic, and the Resident Representative of UNDP in BiH, Ambassador Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen. The priorities regarding de-mining are, technical reconnoitring and permanent marking of the risk areas, mine warning, and help for mine victims. Mr. Toyberg-Francen invited donors to continue supporting the de-mining process since BiH still needs international help. It is shameful that Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic are still at large, said the Chief Prosecutor at the Hague Tribunal, Carla del Ponte in her speech to the Permanent Council of OSCE in Vienna. She added that she would not participate in any commemoration for Srebrenica this year, if the two former leaders of the Bosnian Serbs, who are indicted for war crimes, still remain at large. Ms. Del Ponte asked, how can the international representatives participate in a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, whilst they displayed their incompetence to arrest Karadzic and Mladic. As expected, BiH did not receive the green light for the commencement of negotiations for signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. This is due to the fact that two conditions remain unfulfilled. These are, the police reform and the adoption of the Law on Public Radio and Television Systems. Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, announced at the anniversary of the European Bank, for the Reconstruction and Development Assembly, that the economic indicators for 2004 show that the BiH economy is becoming self-sustainable and that BiH is the most stable part of the region regarding macro-economy. Mr. Terzic emphasised that the strengthening of the economic sustainability has brought important results in the political stability of BiH and that the local institutions, especially at the state level, continue to grow in strength and are taking over the responsibilities in reform management. Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Mladen Ivanic, invited foreign investors to visit and invest in BiH, at the meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Assembly. During the meeting he emphasised the macro-economic stability of BiH and its great potentials. Mr. Ivanic also emphasised that the largest barrier for investing in BiH, is the presence of pre-judgement by the foreign investors, regarding the situation in the country. According to Mr. Ivanic, the economic situation is satisfactory in BiH, since the annual inflation in the country is 0.4% and the growth of the GDP is around 6%. Mr. Ivanic said that the largest economic problem of the country is the foreign trade deficit in BiH. The United States of America will be the first country to suggest the entrance of BiH into the NATO’s Partnership for Peace when all obligations towards the Hague Tribunal are fulfilled, said American ambassador in BiH, Douglas McElhaney. Mr. McElhaney said that South Atlantic Alliance is currently offering help to BiH in the defence reform that should create one Ministry of Defence and a joint command, together with discharging the surplus military personnel, weapons and ammunition, as well as transformation of the surplus military buildings into civilian objects. Mr. McElhaney also announced the departure of 50 soldiers form BiH to the mission in Iraq. International Security Institutions Search for information on the most wanted war criminal, Radovan Karadzic, and the network of his accomplices, 50 members of NATO forces, mostly Americans, searched the house where his wife, Ljiljana Karadzic, lives in Pale. NATO HQ Commandant in BiH, Steven Schook, emphasizes that the action in Pale is a part of continues efforts to find Karadzic. Even though the primary mission of NATO is the defence reform, NATO is in a constant search for information on Karadzic’s where about. This was also one of the actions that should result in Karadzic facing the Hague Tribunal, said Schook. Police in BiH The main Board of the SDS party rejected the agreement on the police reform, which was reached at the Vlasic meeting. The attitude of the main Board is that the principles discussed at Vlasic, which concern the political oversight and operative management, do not represent the framework in which the solution for the police reform can be sought. The issues discussed at Vlasic and the opinion of SDS greatly differ. Dragan Cavic, president of SDS, said that it was concluded that the issue of the police reform must be solved in the institutions, in the RS National Assembly and the Parliament of BiH. They ask for the reform to be undertaken according to the Constitution of BiH and RS, which means, SDS cannot accept passing of the inter-Entity lines in the organisation of the police regions. Sulejman Tihic, President of SDA and member of the BiH Presidency, stated that the largest number of BiH citizens, not only his political opinion, but the opinion of others as well, will not accept the police reform and the division of police regions in regard to inter-Entity lines. He emphasized that the inter-Entity line is a barrier for criminals and a more efficient police work. It is a barrier to efficient police that needs to fight against organised crime and apprehending war criminals, as well as other realities now days, such as terrorism or arm trafficking, said Tihic. Leaders from the political parties in BiH did not achieve any progress regarding the continuation of negotiations in regards to the future look of the police force in BiH, during the first day of continuous negotiations related to the police reform. There was one attempt at voting for the proposal offered by the High Representative, on organising the police in semi-nine plus one region, but the representatives from the RS rejected this proposal. The police reform is a large political issue that requires an agreement between the leaders from the political parties who are the participants at the negotiations. The government of RS is still holding onto the earlier opinion, which was confirmed by the RS National Assembly, announced Cvijeta Kovacevic, Chief of Bureau for Public Relations in the RS Government. “Politicians need to reach a consensus regarding the minimum and maximum of the RS interest”, said Ms. Kovacevic adding that that the Government of RS does not have anything to add or take away from the early conclusions. The government is of the opinion, that the police reform must take place within the frame of the Constitution of BiH and RS. The current de-centralised security model is acceptable to the government, which means the existence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and RS police as the level of organisation, decision - making and authority on the territory of RS. Members from the contact group, met in London with the High Representative in BiH, Paddy Ashdown. The contact group invited all leaders in BiH, especially the ones from RS, to reach an agreement, regarding police reconstruction in harmonisation with the three principles of the European Commission. The contact group invited the RS National Assembly to enable leaders of RS, to agree on such a deal which is necessary for BiH in order to commence negotiations with the European Union on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Armed Forces in BiH John Drewienkiewicz, Military Advisor at the OSCE Mission in BiH, warns that the current military structures of our state are unsustainable. Just over 5% of military potentials at this moment bring in some profit. Those are the teams for de-mining, of which there are approximately 600, of which 36 are going to Iraq. The question is what are the other 12.000 people, the number of the armed forces of BiH, doing. Mr. Drewienkiewicz also stressed that the BiH teams are especially good in de-mining. Currently there are several de-miners, BiH nationals who work for civilian de-mining firms engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have been trained either in the army or in de-mining firms in BiH and are now helping all over the world, said Drewienkiewicz. He also said that a thorough reconstruction of the armed forces of BiH is necessary. Mr. Drewienkiewicz added that gendarmerie could be very useful and that BiH could offer this kind of unit to the international community for peace operations. Should BiH authorities decide to form such units, instead of large brigades, the international community would surely salute such a development. The medical check up of future recruits was put on hold temporarily. As was decided by the Government of the Federation of BiH, this process is placed on hold until the beginning of September. Federal Minister of Defence, Miroslav Nikolic, explained at the press conference that this does not mean the discontinuation of recruiting since future soldiers will continue to be recruited in municipalities. The process of recruiting costs. The medical check ups cost around 1.3 million KM annually and that is why they were temporarily suspended. In September, the government will analyse the effects of the decision and will decide on what to do next, said Mr. Nikolic. April 2005 Politics and Security Bosnia and Herzegovina has no alternative in regards to the accession to NATO, as this means accession into other institutions also, especially the European Union, announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mladen Ivanic in Banja Luka. Mr. Ivanic stressed that our country has fulfilled all technical pre-conditions for the entrance into the NATO Partnership for Peace and that only the political pre-condition, that is, the co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, has remained. In the meantime, Mr. Ivanic stated that BiH should go towards the creation of a small professional army, which is also the opinion of key political institutions in BiH. The authorities of RS and BiH, have not taken concrete steps towards arresting Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, which is the key pre-condition for BiH to join PfP, warned Rafi Gregorian, Co-Chairman of the Defence Reform Commission of BiH. We definitely won’t be invited to Brussels. It is clear that the co-operation with the Hague Tribunal is the key. Nikola Radovnovic, the Defence Minister of BiH said he would withhold on his assessment of how close BiH is to this goal. At a panel discussion on the future of the BiH constitution, in Mostar, four possible solutions for the organisation of the state were revealed. Gajo Sekulic, a Professor at the Sarajevo Faculty of Political Sciences, believes that there should be irregular elections for the assembly, which will draft the new Constitution. Mr. Sekulic said that prior to the adoption of the Constitution there should be a new referendum where citizens could voice their opinions regarding this matter. The engagement of military forces in de-mining BiH, that amounts to 20 to 25 % of the entire mined surface, must increase. This was concluded at a one day workshop titled “Military De-mining” organised by the Centre for Security Studies in Sarajevo, a non government organisation. Mr. Halilovic said that BiH is on the list of the most mine endangered countries. Mr. Radovanovic said that the number of de-miners is far fewer than the number of tank drivers. De-miners are helping BiH citizens in a concrete way, where as the tank drivers are just waiting around for the day that they will be of use. Mr. Radovanovic also emphasised that the work on the establishment of the Department for anti-mine action at the state level is nearing completion and that the establishment of the Department is expected this summer. The representatives from the BiH Ministry of Defence stressed that military de-miners work in difficult conditions, that they work in ordinary uniforms, they lack in sophisticated equipment for mine detection as well as means for de-miners’ salaries. Members of the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the condition of the regional integration of the West Balkan. The Resolution stresses a revision of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The Parliament stresses that after 10 years, certain basic political issues still have not been resolved, that BiH is deeply divided and that its political stability is fragile. The Resolution states that new political initiatives need to commence as soon as possible based on participation and peaceful co-existence from the bottom to the top of the three peoples and that the current institutional framework provided by the Dayton Peace Agreement disables BiH to function normally and represents a barrier for European integration. The Resolution also states that the presence of Entities that look like states and sustaining their undefined status contributes to the instability of the region. The European Parliament would provide full support to BiH’s participation into PfP if RS accepts full co-operation with the Hague Tribunal. The newly appointed British Ambassador in BiH, Mathew Raycroft, hopes that during the residing of Great Britain over EU in the second half of this year, negotiations regarding stabilisation and accession will commence between BiH and the EU. Mr. Raycroft stated that this is a priority for BiH, EU, as well as the UK. He stresses the UK will support the start of negotiations on stabilisation and accession, if the European Commission gives a positive thoughts on this matter. BiH has fulfilled 95% of the conditions for the commencement of the talks on stabilisation and accession with the EU and by October next year, the stabilisation and association agreement should be signed with the European Commission. This was stated by Adnan Terzica, Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, at the three day long conference attended by Officials, City Mayors and representatives from NGO’s BiH. The European Union showed the Prime Minister of Croatia how important it considers ensuring a full co-operation with the Hague Tribunal. Paul Dour, Chairman of the Political and Security Committee of EU, warned that the BiH Government must make maximal efforts to fulfil the conditions; otherwise BiH could become the only country in the region that did not commence the talks on the Stabilisation and Accession Agreement with the EU. Except the condition for the full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, the BiH government must achieve the agreement on the police reform if they want to receive the green light from the European Commission to start the talks on SAA. The Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and OPEC Fond for International Development – the project of the Sarajevo Bypass was signed in Vienna. The project was signed by minister of finance of BiH, Ljerka Maric in the name of BiH. BiH received a credit in the amount of 18 million USD through this project. The deadline for the repayment is 20 years. The project aim is to offer conditions for economic development, decrease travelling costs and travel time, and to develop security of traffic and improve traffic infrastructure in the Sarajevo region. Ambassador Dr. Bisera Turkovic attended the signing of the Agreement in the name of the Permanent Mission of BiH to the United Nations, OSCE and other international organisations in Vienna. German chancellor, Gerhard Sreder supports giving the “green light” to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the commencement of the negotiations regarding the stabilisation and accession with the EU. Mr. Shredder stated that the German government would be wiling to help BiH in order for this process to pass as soon and as painlessly as possible and he offered legal experts of his state who could help BiH in creating a modern European constitution. International Security Institutions The EUFOR Commandant, David Leaky, said that the specific ways of EUFOR offering support to BiH in the fight against organised crime, was discussed at meeting with the representatives from the agencies for law implementation in BiH, and that an integrated approach to focused operations was agreed upon. Leaky met the high officials from SIPA, SBS, OSA, the Administration for Indirect Taxing, the police from the RS and FBiH, with whom he considered plans for future co-operation. During this opportunity he expressed his hope that in the future he won’t have to preside over the meeting, instead that the BiH officials will take over the leadership against organised crime. The Committee for the Fight Against Organized Crime of the South-East Police Commissioners' Association (SEPCA) will undertake all measures necessary to make the regional co-operation in the fight against organised crime more efficient in the aim of fulfilling conditions for the accession into EU of those states that are still not member states. Director of the Police Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Federation of BiH, Zlatko Milietic, belives that the only real answer to the organised crime in the region is a co-ordinated and joint fight. The Declaration on the Joint Co-operation and the Fight Against Organised Crime should be signed by police officials from FBiH and RS, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania next month at the Ohrid meeting. Police in BiH The RS government concluded that the Ministry of Interior of the RS must exist with its own police in its own territory. This conclusion was reached after the minister of police submitted a report on the degree of the police reform in BiH. The government again opposed the concept of the chairman of the Commission for Police Reform that stands for the elimination of the Entity Ministries of Interiors and the creation of 10 police regions in BiH, financed and controlled by the Ministry of BiH. Mr. Matijasevic added that the government chose to continue the talks on the police reform stressing that a lot of diplomatic skills will be needed for the negotiations. The representatives of 11 parliamentary parties of BiH discussed the ways that would secure real democratic responsibility and oversight inside the joint police structure in BiH. The participants discussed suggestion how to formulate the work policy of the police and the way to co-ordinate operative control of the police. The aim of these talks is the draft of the political agreement on the future organisation of police in BiH, which should be adopted by the Entity Parliaments in May. Armed Forces in BiH This year 240 million KM has been assigned to the Armed Forces, that is, the FBiH Army and RS Army, whilst in the previous years the amount was much higher. For the Federal Military forces 173 million KM was assigned this year, which makes up one fifth of the entire budget, for this Entity, whilst in the RS this amount is somewhat higher than 67 million KM. How much will the "professionalisation" of the army, that is, the abolishment of regular military services, affect the costs of the Armed Forces is shown by the fact that 13 million KM was assigned for the recruiting costs and military service in FBiH out of the entire budget allowed. In RS this amount is 1.800.000KM. According to data from the Ministries of Defence in RS and FBiH, 15 million KM is spent out of 240 million for the costs of the military service, while all other means are spent in the non-returnable salaries and compensation for the employees, taxes and contributions, as well as the costs of various materials and other services. The authorities and the Ministry of Defence of RS must submit an investigative report on the accountabilities for the incident that occurred in the RS military barracks during the recruit oath taking. Those who are responsible for the incident will bear the consequences, said the NATO HQ Commandant Steven Schook, yesterday. The RS Army recruits, whilst taking the oath at Manjaca and Bileca changed the text of the oath and said that they will protect the sovereignty of the Republic of Srpska and not Bosnia and Herzegovina. General Schook said that this incident took place at the worst possible time, during the NATO Summit in Vilnius and that he was disappointed that no one from the RS authorities condemned this event. The Federal Ministers of Defence and Internal Affairs, Miroslav Nikolic and Mevludin Halilovic, have signed the Protocol on the Procedures and Duties of these ministries during the international inspections of the armament of the Army of FBiH in Sarajevo. The Protocol defines issues of the international inspection teams insurance, inter-ministerial reporting and information exchange. Ministers are hoping that this is the last time they are signing such an agreement since this will be done on the level of BiH in the future. March 2005 Politics and Security Raffi Gregorian, Co-Chairman from the Commission of the Defence Reform, stated yesterday in Banja Luka that BiH still has not fulfilled three conditions for the accession to PfP. The conditions are: complete co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, vacant employment positions at the Ministry of Defence of BiH must be filled and the efficient military command and control at the level of BiH. The Ministry of Defence of BiH announced that the commandant of the NATO South Wing, admiral Michael Mulan, yesterday positively assessed the results achieved in the process of the defence reform in BiH and the support of the Alliance for BiH's journey towards Euro-Atlantic integrations. During the meeting in Sarajevo between Mr. Mulan and the Minister of Defence, Nikola Radovanovic, and also the Chief of Joint HQ, General Sifet Podzic, a statement was made by the BiH Presidency that BiH is determined to join PfP and then NATO as a fully fledged member was saluted. BiH risks to lose a credit of 108 million US dollars from the World Bank due to the slow implementation of the reforms in the areas of economy and social policy, said Orsalia Kalancopulos, Director of the World Bank and co-ordinator of this institution for South East Europe. The reform implementation, supported by three structural World Bank credits, is endangered due to constant delays. Ms. Kalancopulos added that eventual suspension of the project would not only bring the current implementation into question but would also influence future investments by the World Bank into BiH. BiH has expanded into the regional point for the transport of narcotics between the East and the West. The report by the State Department on the international control of narcotics and the fight against crime states that even though a small amount of narcotics was withheld for a short time in BiH, its market is progressively increasing. “The narcotics trade remains the integral part of the influence on organised crime and ethnic extremists that operate, thanks to the agreement by the corrupted politicians,” states the report. The report states that BiH has the strategic position in historical smuggling channels of the Balkans. At a meeting held on Friday, the Venice Commission concluded that the current constitutional solution in BiH is irrational, inefficient and non-sustainable. Hugh Chetwin, special representative of the secretary general for the Council of Europe in BiH, said that BiH cannot advance with the current Constitution towards European Integration. In order for BiH to function correctly some Entity authority must be transferred to the state. Also, the position of the local self-government must be strengthened and given more authority. It is obvious that FBiH cannot continue to exist with ten Cantons. The report states that it would be ideal to abolish the Cantons or to lose their legislative power, said Chetwin. In addition to this, among the priorities for the reform is to simplify the political and administrative structure and the decision making process at all levels of the government. Gojko Jankovic, the Hague indictee, arrived at the Hague yesterday with a special flight from the airport at Banja Luka, he was accompanied by Darko Matijasevic, Minister of Interior Affairs in the RS. After his return to Banja Luka from the Hague, the Minister of Interior Affairs in the RS said that he met with Carla del Ponte, the main Prosecutor from the Tribunul and Patrick Lopez Perez, the main Researcher for the International Court, who expressed their appreciation with the activities by the RS government in regards to their co-operation with the Hague to date. He added that Ms. del Ponte also added that further efforts are still needed in order to encourage this kind of co-operation. The Ministry of Interior Affairs of the FBiH confirmed that the security measures in Sarajevo have been strengthened after it was stated that the security of the OHR and the British Embassy building and personnel were endangered. According to unofficial and unconfirmed information, the Ministry received a call from an anonymous person on Tuesday at 8 pm that threatened to have a truck full of explosives crash into the British Embassy building in Sarajevo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not want to comment on this information. A similar threat was received at the OHR office at approximately 4pm on Tuesday, which resulted in the building being evacuated. SIPA announced that the measures taken for the heightened security would last according to the assessment of the situation in Sarajevo and the necessary scope of activities to be undertaken when identifying the persons responsible for the threats. Yesterday the High Representative in BiH, Paddy Ashdown, brought in State and Entity laws that temporarily forbid handling state property on the entire territory of BiH. Mr. Ashdown undertook these measures in order to protect BiH property. This became an emergency due to the laws recently adopted by the FBiH Parliament that made the sale of state property easier. While OHR states that the command and control of the armed forces should be taken over by the State and that by the end of this year the Entity Ministries of Defence must cease to exist. Members from the RS Parliament believe that the Ministry of Defence in the RS should not be abolished. “The goal is to have the state take over the command and control over the armed forces in a larger measure. The intention is to have the Entity Ministries of Defence abolished,” said Kevin Salivan, the OHR spokesperson. The US Embassy called Dragan Covic, Member of the Presidency to resign due to the indictment of the Prosecutors Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was announced on 3 March by the BiH Court. The Embassy published a statement on 16 March, which states that due to the indictment it would be the best for the Presidency of BiH and BiH citizens if Mr. Covic, was to resign from his current duty. The Centre for Security Studies, in co-operation with the NATO HQ in Brussels, organised a series of meetings of high NATO officials with the representatives of legislative and executive authorities, civil society, academics and students from all over BiH. During their stay in BiH, NATO officials visited Mostar yesterday. On 22 and 24 March they will stay in Sarajevo while on 23 March they will be in Banja Luka. The Centre announced that the goal of these activities is to introduce, through a direct dialogue the future plans of NATO’s policy towards BiH and the Balkans, as well as the experiences of Slovakia on its way towards joining the Partnership for Peace and NATO. The introductory speaker at the meetings will be Monique Tuffelli Pierre and the Permanent Representative of Slovakia in NATO, Igor Slobodnik. During his one day visit to BiH, German Minister of Defence, Peter Schuk, said that Germany will support BiH's entrance into the Partnership for Peace if the BiH authorities ensure full co-operation with the Hague Tribunal. He also stated that the continuation of the defence reforms is important for the entrance of BiH into NATO's Partnership for Peace. Olli Ren, Commissar of the European Commission for the EU enlargement, stated yesterday that BiH could start negotiations on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with EU in May this year, if it ensures full co-operation with the Hague Tribunal and if it commences the police reform. “I hope that the Commission will be able to suggest the opening of negotiations on SAA with EU at the next meeting of the Consultative Working Group in May. If the current progress is continued, BiH could get a positive finding on the Feasibility Study in November or December,” said Mr. Ren in Brussels after a meeting with Adnan Terzic, Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers. Mr. Terzic took this opportunity to repeat his recent statement that the persons on the list of those indicted by the Hague Tribunal cannot be found within the territories of BiH. At the Coordination Committee for Economic Development and EU Integrations meeting held yesterday in Sarajevo, it was said that the situation regarding the realisation of the World Bank programme became highly serious due to the differences between the government of FBiH and the World Bank created over the amount set aside for the soldier protection for this budget year. The World Bank is asking the government of FBiH to limit the expenses in the name of soldier protection within the reforms for limiting public expenses. Otherwise there is a potential danger for BiH to lose approximately 200 million dollars worth of budget help, from the Monetary Fond and the European Commission. American Diplomat, Larry Butler, officially took over the duty as the first deputy of the High Representative for BiH yesterday. Mr. Butler will be responsible for the economic reform issues. The first deputy will head the Rule of Law Department, which will make further economic development and European Integrations more favourable within the scope of the fight against crime. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, removed the Croatian member of the BiH Presidency, Dragan Covic from his post, due to the indictment against him in the “Lijanovic” case, confirmed by the BiH Court on 10 March this year. Mr. Ashdown also limited Mr. Covic in executing any kind of executive duty, but he did not limit Mr. Covic’s political engagements within the HDZ bodies, the political party of which he is the President. The Prosecutor of the Special Department of the Prosecutor's Office for Organised and Economic Crime, John Macnare stated that the organised crime in BiH is present in all aspects of the society in large measures. He stated, “The crime in BiH represents a large problem. The progress that BiH achieves will be measured by the outside on how much BiH succeeds in the fight organised crime.” State Investigational and Protection Agency (SIPA) took over the project “Krimolovci” from EUPM yesterday. The project is about a toll free telephone number where citizens can give police information on crime. “The take over of the project from EUFOR shows that security bodies of BiH are ready to take over the responsibility for the fight against organised crime. Citizens can call and report information regarding the organised crime, corruption, as well as war crimes,” said Adnan Terzic, chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers. International Security Institutions Yesterday at the press conference in Mostar, the spokesperson for EUFOR, Bruno Compagnione, said that EUFOR’s Multinational operative group “South East” uncovered a large amount of hidden arms and ammunition on Tuesday near Trebinje. “EUFOR found 5 rifles, two machine guns, 21 hand grenades, two grenade dischargers, two anti-personnel mines, three rocket launchers, 500 pieces of ammunition and half a kilogram of explosives,” said Comagnione. He added that the arms were hidden under ground and that EUFOR still does not have information on the persons who hid it. Jerald McLaughfin, Director of the PR Office at the American Embassy in BiH said that the US did not lose interest in BiH, adding that the goal of the US is to have BiH as a full fledged member of the Euro-Atlantic Institution. This is the end goal for all our activities including the military-political activities within the NATO HQ. Police in BiH The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown stated that the misunderstanding of the suggested concept for the reform of police forces in BiH is still present in RS. The statement followed the new round of meetings with the political party representatives in Banja Luka, where a common language could not be found regarding the future of the police forces. Mr. Ashdown told the representatives from the parties in the RS National Assembly that the European Commission insists on the state control of the police forces. “If we succeed in this, BiH will have a future. If we do not then BiH will be the black hole of Europe,” said Mr. Ashdown. OHR announced that the High Representative in BiH, Paddy Ashdown will meet today with the instructors and students from the Banja Luka Police Academy where he will answer questions on the police reform. The statement says that Mr. Ashdown will explain how the process of re-formation will make the work of the criminals difficult in BiH, whilst making the work for the police officers easier when fulfilling their duties. If the police reform is not implemented then the door into EU will be closed to BiH. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, repeated yesterday in Banja Luka that this reform is the last one which will bring BiH to the doors into Europe. He spoke about the reform with the students from the Police Academy in RS, who said that they support the reform and the survival of the Ministry of Interior Affairs in the RS. Armed Forces in BiH Prime Minister of RS, Pero Bukjelovic and the Co-Chairman of the Commission for the defence reform in BiH, Raffi Gregorian, stated that alongside the already implemented defence reforms in RS, and the filling of the vacant positions at the Ministry of Defence, Joint HQ and the Operative Command of BiH, conditions for BiH's accession to the Partnership for Peace will be fulfilled. The statement made by the Government Bureau for Public Relations, states that Mr. Gregorian stressed that besides the accession to PfP and the realisation of conditions for the commencement of negotiations between BiH and NATO regarding the accession into this organisation, it is necessary to achieve complete co-operation with the Hague Tribunal and to create conditions for an efficient command and control of the forces at the level of BiH. Ten days ago, the NATO HQ in BiH informed the Presidency member, Sulejman Tihic, that there are no barriers for the employment of the retired General from the FBiH Army, Selmo Cikotic at the Ministry of Defence of BiH or the Joint HQ of the Armed Forces of BiH or any other type of public function. Nikola Radovanovic, Minister of Defence of BiH, confirmed that OHR has been issued with the report by the Ministry of Defence of RS, regarding the issue of whether persons employed by this Ministry or the RS Army, served in the 410th military intelligence centre, or were personal guards of Ratko Mladic, accused of war crimes. Mr. Radovanovic assessed the report and said it was correct and of quality, that it included all the questions that were asked. Mr. Radovanovic, however, did notwant to discuss the parts of the report concerning General Mladic. OHR will analyse the report and then make a public statement on it. Minister of Defence of BiH and Co-Chairman of the Commission for the Defence Reform, Nikola Radovanovic, said that the abolishement of the military services and the introduction of a professional army is supported by all those who are included in the talks on the future look of the BiH armed forces. However, there are no agreements on how the reserve system will look like. Mr. Radovanovic stated that the issue of the reserve systrem is still the most debatable issue dealt by the Commission, whose extended mandate presents the task of abolishing the Entity Minsitries of defence and transferring this duty onto the state level. This should be completed by autumn, as was requested by the High Representative. Mr. Radovanovic says that the Ministry of Defence of BiH will soon fill its personnel vacancies, which is the basic technical condition for BiH's entrance into PfP. The Bosniak Club in the RS National Assembly discussed the Declaration on the strategic moves by this Entity regarding the defence system of BiH and decided to raise the issue on the protection of the vital national interest. This declaration envisages the abolishment of recruitment, as well as further existence of the current organisation of the Entities' armies. This is not in accordance with the determination of BiH entrance into the Partnership for Peace and NATO. The Bosniak Club said that the conclusions of the RS National Assembly are also unacceptable because they envisage a total blockade of the defence reform in BiH. February 2005 Politics and Security The American administration warned its citizens not to travel to BiH due to security risks that expect them there. BiH was included into the group of extremely risky countries, such as Iraq and Libya, with this. BiH is the only country in Europe characterised as the country with a high risk level. One of the conclusions of the Council for Peace Implementation is to form one working group composed of officials of all security institutions and international representatives. The group will deal with the issue of arresting those indicted of war crimes, announced in Brussels Adnan Terzic, chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH. Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Mladen Ivanic, is participating in the 41. conference on the security policy taking place in Munich. He met with a group of congressmen and senators form the USA lead by John McCain where it was said that the USA highly appreciates and salute the advancement in the reforms in BiH. It was confirmed at a meeting held at the Ministry of Security in BiH that the security agencies in BiH have a very poor cooperation and exchange of information on the movement and stay of those indicted of war crimes. The meeting was attended by the officials of the Ministry of Security of BiH, Interpol BiH, the State Boarder Service, the State Intelligence Service, SIPA and the entity Ministries of Interiors. The high state delegations of BiH and SiCG agreed in Sarajevo on the way of co-operation of security institutions of these two countries, in the aim of complete co-operation with the Hague Tribunal and fulfilment of conditions for European integrations. International Security Institutions At the ceremony organised due to the transfer of the NATO Counselling Team from Butmir Camp to the building of the Ministry of Defence of FBiH, general Steven Shook announced that NATO is here to help BiH to enter PfP and that it will stay until the final goal is fulfilled – the full Alliance membership. The administration of the Council for Peace Implementation stressed in Brussels that unsuitable co-operation with the International Crimes Tribunal is the most serious barrier of BiH advancement towards EU and NATO. Also, the Council appealed all BiH politicians to consider the advantages of the police reform for citizens and to implement a serious discussion on the suggestions contained in the Report of the Commission for the Police Reform. The members of EUFOR, in co-operation with local bodies, will organise an action of illegal arms collection from citizens in Sarajevo, East Sarajevo and the surroundings from 21 February to 2 March 2005. “The teams composed of unarmed soldiers and interpreters will knock on the household doors and ask for arms surrender from the occupants if they posses any. There will not be unauthorised entrance into the households,” announced Jean-Philippe Camus, the spokesperson of the EUFOR Operative Group “Southeast”. The officials of the EU and NATO, Xavier Solana and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said in Brussels that the Hague is a responsibility signed ten years ago and that RS should sow its new determination to advance the co-operation with the Hague Tribunal in practice. The European Commission expects from the BiH authorities to agree on the look and structure of the joint police on the basis of Wilfred Martensen reports and start to implement it as agreed, said Adnan Terzic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH. The EUFOR Commandant, British general David Licky, said that peace forces will not hesitate to arrest Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Ante Gotovina and others indicted of war crimes if they receive “good and reliable information on their where abouts”. In the report submitted to the UN Security Council stands that EUPM in BiH achieved a considerable improvement towards establishing BiH police of international quality. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, said that without the joint police structure with authorities exclusively at the state level, BiH can forget about the European Union. Mr. Ashdown said that the cost of police in BiH are 9% of all public costs while the average in EU is around 4%. Therefore, unless police reforms takes place the bureaucracy expenses will rise so much that many police officers will loose their jobs. The Commessat of the EUPM in BiH, kevin Carty, presented an informative campaign of support to the police reorganisation in Sarajevo. The main motto of this campaign is “Joint police structure is more efficient in the fight against crime”. The campaign will last three months and has a goal to represent advantages of the suggested re-structuring of the police forces to citizens and police force members through promotional material. Also, it also has a goal to present all shortcomings of the present police system. General Steven Shook, commandant of the NATO HQ in Sarajevo, announced at the round table “Perspectives of BiH for Joining NATO” that the BiH authorities must create a concept this year within which entity Ministries of defence and command will integrate at the state level, since this year is crutial if BiH wishes to become a member of Partership for Peace and NATO. Commissar of the European police in BiH, Kevin Carty, announced that the joint police structure in BiH is the only way to create a police free from political influence and control. The suggestion of the Commission is that there is a joint structure at the state level and that political influence in entities should be removed and transferred onto the state level. Olli Ran, commissar of EU for expansion, said in his letter to Adnan Terzic, chairmen of the Council of Ministers of BiH, that the co-operation with the Hague tribunal and the reform of police forces are basic pre-conditions of bringing BiH closer to EU. Intelligence Services in BiH The members of SIPA, in co-operation with Trebinje police and with EUPM's presence, conducted a search of the offices of Elektroprivreda RS in Bileca and Trebinje, as well as the premises of EFT and GML companies, with the seat in London. Certain documentation was taken from these two companies. Douglas Maclehany, ambassador of the USA in BiH, donated 120 computers worth 145.000 US dollars to SIPA. Through the project ICITAP, American authorities donated computer equipment worth 500.000 US dollars till date. Deputy Chief of the Delegation of the International Red Cross, Michael Cambat, and director of SIPA BiH, Sredoje Novic, saluted the joint efforts on information collection on the missing persons and locations of mass graves. Director of SIPA, Sredoje Novic, announced that the reform of police forces is needed as soon as possible due tot he fact that among 14 police agencies currently functioning in BiH with around 23.000 employees, there is no co-operation and the complete division is present. Armed Forces in BiH The Commission for the Defence Reform held an inaugural meeting regarding the new mandate for 2005 with co-chairman, BiH defence minister Nikola Radovanovic and the newly appointed NATO representative Raffy Gregorian. Commandant of the NATO HQ in Sarajevo, Steven Shook said that the mandate of the commission is clear – to establish a joint command. The Peace Support Operations Training Centre will commence with the first eighth month long course on 7 February. This course will be undertaken by 33 officers of the Armed Forces of BiH and 7 officers of the international community. The goal of this course is to have the officers trained in the best ways of command and the role of personnel in taking job vacancies in international headquarters which prepare and conduct peace operations. Within the training of the candidates for the first joint unit of the Armed Forces of BiH which will participate in the peace mission to Iraq, an exercise called “Reacting in the field” took place on the polygon of the Education Centre of the RS Army. “The unit should depart for Iraq in June and its mission if to support the coalition forces in Iraq in identifying and destroying conventional unexploded ordnances,” said colonel Saban Zunic, training leader. The budget of the Ministry of Defence of RS is smaller for 17.5 million Km this year than the last year’s. Radojka Brkic, assistant to the Minister for the Budget, Finance and Planning, said that due to this its users could end up without one month’s salary. The Joint Commission of the Parliament of BiH for the Defence and Security Policy and Supervision of the Work of Defence and Security Structures at the BiH level submitted a suggestion of the Law on Sending BiH Soldiers to Peace Missions Abroad to the BiH House of People of the BiH Parliament in the identical text adopted by the BiH House of Representatives. Director of the Office for the Military Help of the Ministry of Defence of USA, Glen Norfolk, and minister of defence of BiH, Nikola Radovanovic, signed two agreements within the framework of the program of the Foreign Military Support (FMS) from the USA government. This ensured 1.900.000 US dollars for the support to defence forces of BiH. The Headquarters of the RS ARmy announced that deputy chief of the Headquarters of the RS Army, Dragan Vukovic, met military oservers, members of the RS Army who came fromt he UN Peace Mission from Erithrea. Co-chairman of the Commission for the Defence Reform, Raffy Gregorian, belives that the complete “professionalisation” of police forces offers possibilities of agreement and continuation of the reforms. he said that the system of serving the military service does not satisfy NATO requests for joining the Partnership for Peace since the reserve component of the armed forces, based on the serving the military service, is not under the efficient control and command of the state level. The FBiH government decided to place aside 7 million KM for unpaid salaries and supplementaries to officers of the Federal Ministry of Defence and FBiH Army from this years budget. This decision was brought at a session in Sarajevo. Ministers of Defence of BiH and SiCG, Nikola Radovanovic and Prvoslav Davinic, signed the Agreement on CO-operation in the Area of Defence in Sarajevo. The Commission for the Defence Reform of BiH announced that persons who get affected by re-structuring will be suggested as priorities when employment in state structures takes place. The Commission will try to develop a system where members of the Armed Forces of BiH will have equal status with the officials of other institutions of BiH as well as with their colleagues from partner and alliance countries. The officials from the Alliance of Independent Social-Democrats announced in Banja Luka the continuation of the public campaign for the abolishment of the military service and introduction of professional army in BiH. Police in BiH The High Representative for BiH adopted the suggestion of the Commission for Restructuring Police Forces according to which BiH will get police at the state level divided into nine plus one police area. These police areas are on the entire BiH territory and they ignore cantonal and entity boarders. Their seats are in: Bihac, Banja Luka, Doboj, Tuzla, Foca, Mostar, Livno, Travnik, Zenica and Sarajevo as the special district. Around 40 kilograms of heroin was uncovered in the joint action of the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, the Federal Ministry of Interior and the BiH Prosecutors Office in the last 5 days in Sarajevo. This is the largest amount of this narcotic to be discovered on the BiH territory worth 6.5 million KM on the black market. The Centre for Public Security of East Sarajevo announced that police, in co-operation with prosecutors of the District Prosecutors Office and the authorised court, placed 14 persons under arrest suspected of heavy theft. The Association of the De-certified Police Officers of RS was established in Doboj. The primary goal of this association is to try to gain right to work together with their colleagues from FBiH. The working group on the fiscal sustainability of BiH, whose goal is to create an analysis in order to rationalise work of all levels of government in the future, belives that this country does not need so many police officers that it has, announced Dragan Vrankic, minister of finances of FBiH. The Office of the High Representative in BiH warned the members of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament that drafts of law on police officials and internal affairs of FBiH are completely harmonised with current laws at the state level and that some of the suggested amendments could have negative effects. The Association of the De-certified Police Officers from FBiH and RS announced that it will sue the state of BiH at the European Court for Human Rights in Strasburg. The suit regards violation of human rights and freedoms committed with the process of certification of BiH police officers by IPTF and continuous political persecution and discrimination conducted by BiH authorities more than two years. The House of representatives of the FBiH Parliament adopted the Law on Internal Affairs of FBiH that enables employment of de-certified police officers who have court decision that they have lost their right to employment without foundation. This amendment sees people who currently work in these institutions and do not have a certificate remain at their job posts. The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, commented the letter of commissar for expansion of EU, Olli Ran, to Adnan Terzic, chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH. He stressed three points for police organisation in BiH. Firstly, all budget authorities must be transferred onto the state level. Secondly, the police reform must be implemented on the basis of geographical territories organised in the aim to achieve maximal efficiency, including fast answer to a call. Thirdly, the obvious political interference into police work must be eliminated. OHR spokesperson in Banja Luka, Ljiljana Radetic, warned at a press conference that the amendments of the House of representative of FBiH Parliament on brining de-certified police officers to work cannot be included into the law since this will lessen the efforts of BiH for further Euro-Atlantic integrations. January 2005 Armed Forces in BiH The High Representative for BiH, Paddy Ashdown, extended the work of the Commission for Defence Reform in BiH until the end of 2005. The main task of the commission will be the abolishment of Entity Ministries of Defence and the command of entity armies. The Ministry of Defence of BiH is not in a position to answer the requests of UN regarding the participation of BiH units in peace missions in the world. There are several limitating factors begining, from personnel problems to financial difficulties. The fact that BiH is currently in the process of defence reform is also one of the factors. The general training of 49 soldiers from BiH who will be sent to the peace mission in Iraq in April has commenced. The officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH have confirmed this. The primary training is 4 weeks of training in using primary military techniques that will be conducted in Iraq. The special training is for 9 weeks and includes identification operations and destruction of conventional weapons. The special co-ordinator for the Stability Pact for SEE, Erhard Busek gave a statement yesterday in Prague that in the following period two very important themes for the Pact will be the reform of the defence forces in the Balkan countries and the fight against organized crime. Co-chairman of the Commission for the Defence reform in BiH, Raffy Gregorian, expressed his suspicions in Banja Luka yesterday regarding the effective control of BiH over the armed forces. According to him the issue on the existence of Entity Ministries of Defence can become a problem when the decision-making on BiH joining NATO arrives. At the same time, the decision on budget cutting in regards to this is a sign that the armed forces should become smaller. The HQ of the RS Army announced yesterday that the analysis on the realisation of the consolidation of the RS Army showed that the Army functions according to the new organizational and formational structures. In the announcement it also states that this year the main focus in activities will be the training of the RS Army members. A group of 200 to 300 dissatisfied professional soldiers and officers from the FBiH Army, who were demobilized in February 2001, formed an association through which they will attempt to realise the right to a pension. The President of the association, Saban Durmis, says that professional soldiers did not receive severance pays in the amount of 10. 000 KM per soldier. What they did receive was the help from several International Organizations that amounted between the amounts of 3000 to 5000 KM. Receipt of this help form the International Organisations prevented them from receiving a pension, as the State considers them as being taken care of. The Ministry of defence of BiH announced that the Ministers of Defence from the countries that signed the American-Adriatic Charter stressed at the meeting in Zagreb that BiH institutions should take full responsibility for implementing future defence reform and establishing a joint structure by the end of this year. Osman Brka, member from the Parliamentarian Commission for Defence and Security Policy, announced that the Commission for the Defence reform commenced talks on the abolishment of the official military service in BiH. He emphasised that the Commission will not decrease the budget for the Armed Forces of BiH. Nikola Radovanovic, BiH Minister of Defence, announced at a round - table in Banja Luka, that it is necessary to implement the reform of the military tertiary education in order for young military personnel to have a perspective future. Chief of the Headquarters of the RS Army, General Major Novak Dukic, announced that the RS Army fulfilled all its duties, and that all conditions for joining the Partnership for Peace have been met. A four-week military training for 49 soldiers from RS and FBiH commenced in Pazaric and Manjaca. Out of the 49 soldiers 36 will be selected and sent to the peace mission in Iraq in April.   Branilaca Sarajeva 13/1, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Tel/Fax: +387 33 223 250 E-mail: info@css.ba