BOSNIA NEWS

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - The international community's principal deputy high representative in Bosnia, Raffi Gregorian, and the leader of the Bosnian Islamic Community Reisu-l-Ulema Mustafa Ef. Cerić met yesterday in Sarajevo and discussed Gregorian's recent claims that Bosnia is harbouring "Al-Qaeda linked individuals".

Gregorian stressed that Bosnia is a valued and important partner in the struggle against global terrorism, and that it is facing the same challenges as the US, the EU, and many other countries do in dealing with the issue.

Gregorian recalled that just a few months after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the US President in his State of the Union address praised Bosnia for its role in combating terrorism.

Reisu-l-Ulema Mustafa Ef. Cerić expressed concern that the headline of a recent press interview seemed to imply that Bosnians are actually harboring terrorists,but Gregorian reassured Ceric that members of Al Qaida were not receiving shelter in Bosnia; instead his comments about terrorist connections were confined to a small number of former foreign fighters and that the Bosnian security and law enforcement agencies are capable of dealing with them.

Gregorian and Ceric agreed that efforts by some to exaggerate the problem served only to promote Islamophobia and intolerance and need to be refuted.

“The challenge for Bosnia has been to counter alien elements and ideologies which have sought to exploit the situation that existed in Bosnia during and after the war,” Gregorian said.

He noted that since 9/11 great improvements had been made in building Bosnia’s institutional and legal capacities to contribute to the struggle against terrorism, but that more needed to be done.

Reisu-l-Ulema Mustafa Ef. Cerić reminded Gregorian of the Islamic Community’s commitment to countering ideologies that promote intolerance and hate, and of the need for the Bosnian state authorities to help in that effort if need be. Both agreed it was important to develop and adhere to the rule of law in dealing with such threats.

SARAJEVO.Bosnia – The Bosnian Presidency ratified the Basic Agreement between Bosnia and the Vatican and the Additional Protocol to the Basic Agreement. It also adopted the Basic Agreement between Bosnia and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

A member of the Bosnian Presidency Nebojsa Radmanovic told a press conference after the session that the Basic Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church was adopted with two votes in favour, while a member of the Bosnian Presidency Dr Haris Silajdzic abstained from voting.

Journalists were also presented a statement from Dr Haris Silajdzic’s Cabinet stating that he did not support the Bosnian Presidency’s decision on accepting the agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church because incorrect Constitutional and legal basis was used for its adoption.

The statement further underlines that the decision was adopted based on Article V.3(d) of the Bosnian Constitution, which gives the Bosnian Presidency authority to reach international agreements, as well as based on the Law on procedure for reaching and implementing international agreements.

“Despite the fact that this legal basis was used in adopting the decision on a similar agreement with Vatican, the Serbian Orthodox Church, unlike the Vatican,the Serbian Orthodox Church is not a sovereign state and this basis could not have been used for the agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church if a precedent under which Bosnia would treat churches and NGOs as states was to be avoided”, a statement issued by Silajdzic’s Cabinet reads.

The statement also stresses that he offered an alternative and an entirely legitimate basis for adopting this agreement, which was earlier agreed with the office of the international community's high representative in Bosnia (OHR).

"A member of the Bosnian Presidency Dr Haris Silajdžić even offered an alternative and a fully legitimate basis for accepting the Agreement, previously coordinated with the OHR. That proposal envisaged accepting the Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church based on the Article II.3(g) of the Bosnian Constitution that guarantees the right of religious freedom, the Article V.3(h) of the Bosnian Constitution authorizing the Bosnian Presidency to coordinate with the non-governmental organizations, and based on the Law on Religious Freedom and legal position of religious communities in Bosnia explicitly authorizing the Bosnian Presidency to conclude agreements with religious communities in relation to “issues of mutual interest to Bosnia and certain or several religious communities",” Silajdzic’s Cabinet announced.

Asked by journalists what were the arguments in favour of signing an interstate agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church, Radmanovic said that there was no debate and that whether this was an interstate agreement was never the issue.

“The agreement went through the necessary procedure and pursuant to Article V of the Bosnian Constitution the Bosnian Presidency decides on such agreements, which is exactly what it did today”, Radmanovic said.

Asked why is it being treated as an interstate agreement, Radmanovic said that "this is based on Article V of the Bosnian Constitution"(?)

Asked how does the agreement treat the confiscated property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosnia, Radmanovic said that it treats it in the same was as the property of the Catholic Church in accordance with the agreement with the Vatican. He stressed that it does not represent a substitute for the law on restitution.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia – The Appellate Panel Section I for War Crimes of the Bosnian State Court held the first hearing in the case of Croatian war crimiank Nikola Andrun, found guilty December 14 2006 of war crimes against Bosnian civilians and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment.

Appeals were made by both the prosecution and the defense. They stated their arguments at the Panel.

Prosecution made an appeal on the basis that the criminal procedure was breeched in the liberating part of the verdict. They claim that the facts were not carefully considered,and Prosecutor Vesna Trncica asked for a new trial.

The defense denied his participation in torturing and inhumane treatment of the Bosnian civilians deteined by the Croatian aggressor in the “Gabela” concentration camp in southern Bosnia.Defense attorney Hamdo Kulenovic insisted that Croatian war criminal Nikola Andrun was nothing but a prison guard, not a co-commander. As such, he had to oblige to his superiors.

He added that the only crime that he can be blamed for is separating one of the prisoners, but that does not imply causing any injuries to anyone.

The Trial Panel’s verdict inter alia states that in 1993, acting in the capacity of the Deputy Commander of the Gabela Detention Camp in the Municipality of the southern Bosnian town of Čapljina, and as a member of the Croatian aggressor's formations,Croatian war criminal Nikola Andrun acted contrary to the rules of international law.He tortured and participated in the torture of detained Bosnian civilians, behaved in an inhumane manner towards the detainees and used methods of intimidation and terror.

The Bosnian State Court will decide on the arguments presented by both sides in due time.