BOSNIA NEWS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia - Two members of the Bosnian Presidency,Haris Silajdzic and Zeljko Komsic, have called on the United Nations to help eliminate the results of genocide in Bosnia.

Since the end of the 1992-95 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia, the country has been divided into two entities — the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "the RS entity" and the FBIH entity.

Serbians living in Bosnia want to keep the status quo, but the other two ethnic groups,Bosnians and Croatians, are pushing for the country's unification.

"The situation created in Bosnia is a direct result of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes," said the letter, which was sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by the Bosnian Presidency members Haris Silajdzic and Zeljko Komsic.

"Therefore, we are urging you to use your authority and influence to ensure that these obligations are fulfilled and that all efforts are made to eliminate the results of genocide in Bosnia," according to the letter, which was sent last week and made public yesterday.

Željko Komšić and Haris Silajdžić dispatched a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to remind him that on February 26, “the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a ruling in the Bosnian genocide lawsuit against Serbia and Montenegro.”

“Serbia had been found responsible for breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention since it failed to prevent the genocide and punish all persons involved in it, at the same time refusing to comply with temporary measures ordered by the ICJ in 1993,” the letter said.

The Bosnian Presidency members said that the Dayton Agreement stopped the genocide but it left Bosnia split into two semi-autonomous entities, with powerless central institutions, and Bosnian multiethnic character “almost completely crushed”.

Silajdžić and Komšić claimed that even today, “the future of Bosnia is hostage to its ethnic and territorial divisions, and that the Dayton Agreement was only partially implemented.”

“The Annex 7 of the Agreement that guarantees safe return to all refugees and displaced persons has not seen any meaningful implementation, particularly in the RS,” the letter went on to say.

Silajdzic represents the country's Muslim Bosniaks and Komsic is leader of the Catholic Croats. The third member of the Bosnian Presidency, Orthodox Serb Nebojsa Radmanovic, is not among the signatories.

Silajdzic and Komsic are now asking the United Nations for help in resolving the status quo by not recognizing Bosnia's division into ministates, particularly the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "the RS" since its existence is a consequence of wartime ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The Bosnian Presidency members said they based their claim on the verdict in February at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands. The U.N.'s highest court acquitted Serbia of direct responsibility for genocide in Bosnia but pronounced Serbia guilty of failing to prevent genocide.The tribunal found that the illegal forces of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS and RS police) did commit genocide during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

In their letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,the members of the Bosnian Presidency,Komšić and Silajdžić demanded from the United Nations to urgently use its authority in order to “eliminate the results of the genocide committed in Bosnia, and make room for the modification of Constitutional and other reforms in Bosnia.”

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - The European Union appointed yesterday the Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak as the Union's Special Representative, EUSR, in Bosnia , the EUSR office in Sarajevo said.

Miroslav Lajcak, who was last month already appointed as the international community’s High Representative for Bosnia, will take over on July 1 from Christian Schwarz-Schilling of Germany in both roles, the EUSR statement said.

Lajcak, 44, is best known for his role as mediator and personal representative of Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, in Montenegro last year, where he oversaw the republic’s referendum on independence.

Javier Solana welcomed Lajcak’s appointment saying: “Ambassador Lajcak is a senior diplomat with broad experience in EU and Balkan issues, including as my personal representative for the facilitation of the Montenegrin dialogue”.

Lajcak’s EUSR role will include a broad mandate, enabling him to offer the EU’s advice and facilitation in the political process in Bosnia, the statement said.

Among other matters, it mentioned the need to help Bosnia tackle organized crime, implement reforms of the police and help Bosnia to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

NEUM,Bosnia - Bosnia may take Croatia to the International Maritime Court in Hamburg if Croatia continues plans to build the Peljesac bridge,a bridge connecting the mainland to southern Dalmatia without signing a protocol with Bosnia.

Croatia’s recent opening of the tender for building the Peljesac bridge was done without the agreement of Sarajevo and “Bosnia might sue Croatia”, a member of the Bosnian Border Commission, Mugdin Cukle, said.

“Defining the maritime border between Bosnia and Croatia has not yet been finished and because of this Croatia’s activities must be stopped immediately,” Cukle told Mostar daily, Dnevni List.

The two countries have been searching for a compromise for years on the subject of a bridge connecting the Croatian mainland with the Peljesac peninsula, connecting two southern territories that are divided by a 14-kilometre stretch of Bosnian coast.

Croatia wants to build the bridge in order to allow its citizens to reach the country’s southernmost areas, especially the city of Dubrovnik, without having to cross an international border.

But Bosnia protests that a bridge would prevent large ships from entering its only port at Neum, blocking Bosnia’s access to the sea.

“Obviously, we cannot forbid Croatia to build the bridge, but likewise they cannot prevent us from having free access to Neum,” Bosnia’s deputy communications and traffic minister, Veselin Poljasevic, said.

The Croatian Roads company, which launched the tender, said that bidding for the project, estimated to cost about 260 million euros, would open on August 28.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia – “I am here to visit the ICMP. The Commission has greatly supported us during the Asian tsunami crisis. I came to see their offices and labs and ask for their help, necessary to us and to the entire world”, Ronald Noble, Interpol Secretary General told the press at the Sarajevo International Airport.

The world's top cop arrived to Bosnia on Sunday and will stay for two days.He will visit the ICMP office in Tuzla and will be hosted by Kathryne Bomberger, ICMP General Director.

. He will also visit the re-association center in Lukavac and the Identification Coordination Department (ICD) in Tuzla.

Interpol Secretary General emphasized that cooperation between Bosnia and Interpol has greatly improved in the past few years.

”Bosnia is strongly supportive of Interpol. That is especially seen in the Sarajevo Interpol Office, with which we have an excellent cooperation”, he said.

Interpol intensively cooperates with the ICMP.Noble announced to ask for their assistance in identification of the Lebanon bombing victims and added that their cooperation will expand.

Mijo Kresic, The Bosnian Deputy Minister of Safety welcomed Interpol Secretary General.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia – The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), in cooperation with the Italian Embassy and the Bosnian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA), has organised a seminar titled “Investment in Bosnia: Energy, Environment and Infrastructure” in Sarajevo.

The seminar aims at promoting industrial cooperation between Italian and Bosnian companies in the energy sector, as well as in the fields of the environment and infrastructure. Some 20 Italian and 100 Bosnian companies are taking part in the seminar.

Italian Ambassador to Bosnia Alessandro Fallavollita said that the seminar is focussing on three basic elements of future development of Bosnia. There are significant, but still insufficiently exploited capacities in the energy sector, which provide opportunities for significant investments in the reconstruction of old and the construction of new facilities for the production and distribution of electric energy.

The protection of the environment is also an important field for Bosnia in order to make up for the lost ground, but it also provides an opportunity for using measures in accordance with international standards. In doing this it is important to reconcile the interests of sustainable industrial development and protecting the environment, the Italian Ambassador said.

Without adequate infrastructure (a highly developed network of roads, railways and airports) it will not be possible to use the potential of foreign investments, which Bosnia needs,he said.

The Italian Ambassador also told journalists that he expects concrete business agreements to be reached during bilateral talks between Bosnian and Italian companies.