BOSNIA NEWS

AMMAN, Jordan – The members of the Bosnian Presidency Haris Silajdzic,Zeljko Komsic and Nebojsa Radmanovic are in an official visit to Jordan. Welcoming ceremony was organized in the Amman’s Royal Palace, where the Bosnian Presidency members were welcomed by His Royal Highness King Abdullah II Bin Husein of Jordan.

The officials talked about the aspects of cooperation between Bosnia and Jordan. They emphasized the space that is yet to be used in economical, cultural and other kinds of cooperation.

They agreed that a significant effort has been made in promoting the two countries’ relationship. They also agreed to continue promoting the cooperation and actively engage into building friendly relations between the countries of the Middle East and the Balkans. The countries will also cooperate in the fight against organized crime and the illegal migrations.

The Bosnian Presidency members supported the efforts and engagement of the Kingdom of Jordan in the process of stabilization of political and safety situation everywhere in the world, especially in the Middle East. They emphasized that Bosnia is an active participant in creating the world peace.

The Bosnian Presidency members invited His Royal Highness to visit Bosnia.Also,they signed the following bilateral agreements: Agreement on Double Taxation Avoidance, Agreement on Cooperation between the Kingdom Of Jordan and the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chambers, Memorandum of Understanding between the Jordan Investment Board and the Bosnian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) , Agreement on Cooperation between the FIPA Agency and Jordanian Radio and Television.

The Bosnian state delegation visited the Jordanian Royal cemetery and paid tribute to the late Kings of Jordan.

The Bosnian Presidency members are also expected to meet with the Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, and the Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, the Bosnian Presidency announced yesterday.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia – During the last month’s visit by a senior Pakistani state delegation to Bosnia and talks between the Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf and a member of the Bosnian Presidency Haris Silajdzic an agreement was reached under which Pakistan would donate 1.000 two-wheel tractors with accessories for the region of Srebrenica and the broader Podrinje region. This donation, worth more than 6 million Bosnian Marks (4.1 million USD), carries even greater importance considering the fact that Pakistan is still recovering from the consequences of a devastating earthquake while left thousands of people without a home.

This gesture by the Pakistani President Musharaf shows that Pakistan has a good understanding of the overall situation in Bosnia, especially the difficult conditions returnees are facing.

This being a significant donation for the returnee population,the Bosnian Council of Ministers has been requested to provide a VAT exemption for it.

The majority of returnees in the region of Srebrenica and the broader Podrinje region base their livelihood on farming and this donation will significantly contribute to improving life in these areas.

This large donation will also help approach farming in this area in a more serious way and is expected to also result in surplus products for the market.

Haris Silajdzic,a member of the Bosnian Presidency expressed gratitude to the Pakistani President, as well as the Pakistani people for this important and concrete donations, while will ensure better life for returnees in the region of Srebrenica and the broader Podrinje region, Silajdzic’s Cabinet stated.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - The international community's High Representativea in Bosnia, German diplomat Christian Schwarz-Schilling, plans to remain active in Bosnia after his mandate ends at the end of June, Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz reported yesterday. The 77-year-old Schwarz-Schilling would stay in Bosnia within a special commission to help the country's officials conduct a thorough reform of the constitution, the report said.

Schwarz-Schilling personally suggested the formation of such a commission to shepherd the reform of the constitution, which was written in Dayton nearly 12 years ago as part of a peace agreement to stop the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggression against Bosnia, but is now seen as an obstacle to the country's progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration.

The source quoted by Dnevni avaz said Schwarz-Schilling wanted to stay and that he had already informed his associates and foreign ambassadors in Bosnia about his decision, despite the fact that most of them "do not wish him to stay."

Schwarz-Schilling, in his role as international mediator, has been criticized over what some observers have seen as his passivity in helping Bosnia's authorities solve the country's complex political situation.

The media and the public in Bosnia have mostly given a negative assessment of the effect of the German politician in the course of the last year and a half of his term.

The Bosnian media accused him that “he slept through most of his term,” resenting him for not having used the wide authorities at his disposal.

SLAVONSKI BROD,Croatia – After discovering a sizeable oil spill in River Sava we have established contact with relevant officials in the neighbouring Bosnia, who have confessed that the spill has come from their Refinery in Bosanski Brod, the Croatian chief water inspector Zeljko Makvic said.

The Bosnian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a note to the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration informing it about measures that have been taken on dealing with the spill of oil from the Bosanski Brod Oil Refinery into the Sava River.

Further activities in accordance with the Danube Convention are now being implemented and preventing measures for protecting the left bank of Save are also being considered.

Makvic confirmed that a spill from the cooking oil plant has been also registered on River Sava in the area of Brcko on the Bosnian side.

He said that if the pollution of River Sava does not stop he would go to Slavonski Brod to agree further measures on protecting the river.

He also announced that the relevant Croatian ministry is preparing a protest note to Bosnia because of the pollution of Sava.

According to preliminary reports the spill has been caused by a malfunction on two pumps in the Refinery’s purification system. The malfunction was removed immediately after the incident and no further oil has escaped into the Save River, the note stated.

A complete overhaul of the purification system in the Bosanski Brod Refinery is expected to be completed in the next several days.

KONJIC,Bosnia – After ten days of archaeological research expert teams from the Bosnian National Museum have discovered 27 complete and fragmented graves from the medieval period.

“First analysis indicate that the graves are from the late 14th or early 15th century”, head of research Adnan Busuladzic said.

First indication of the existence of these graves appeared during the preparation work for the construction of the Lisicici-Celebici bridge two year ago. Work on the construction of this bridge continued during this time and the expert team from the Bosnian National Museum was requested to come to the scene ten days ago.