BOSNIA NEWS

BRATISLAVA,Slovakia - "The time has come for Bosnia to move beyond the rigid 1995 Dayton peace treaty and strive for "political normalisation" with a reformed constitution",said the international community's high representative in Bosnia,Miroslav Lajcak, who is to take charge next week.

The Slovakian diplomat has promised a "new approach" to break the political deadlock that has heightened ethnic tensions and derailed European integration within the past year and a half.

"We need to move from post-war arrangements to the most normal possible constitution given the circumstances," Lajcak said.

"Political normalcy is the pre-condition for sound economic development... and foreign direct investment," he added.

Mr Lajcak, who oversaw the Montenegro's peaceful transition to independence from Serbia last year, says he has "strong views on the region based on personal experience".

However, Mr Lajcak rules out unilateral moves to revise the peace treaty, as demanded by Bosnian leaders who wish to eliminate the entity system and ethnic-based presidential voting. "You cannot impose (normalisation) because it won't work," he said.

His arrival follows the forced exit of the previous high representative, Christian Schwartz -Schilling, whose failure to use of executive intervention powers against leader of the Serbians living in Bosnia,Milorad Dodik,attracted scorn from western diplomats and Bosnian public.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - The United States supports the international community's high representative’s decision to enact a new Law on the Centre for the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery for the genocide Victims.As original strong supporters of the memorial, we firmly believe that the state, on behalf of all people in Bosnia, should assume responsibility for its maintenance and finances,the US Embassy in Bosnia said.

The Memorial Center is essential to Bosnia’s reconciliation process and to ensure the terrible suffering resulting from the genocide committed at Srebrenica is not forgotten.

The United States has noted that some have misinterpreted both its substance and intent. The legislation defines the Bosnian state’s responsibilities with respect to the Foundation. The decision does not involve or imply either directly or indirectly any form of change in the status of Srebrenica municipality or the constitutional order of Bosnia.

The United States also notes last week’s PIC Declaration, which expressly states that the status of Srebrenica and that of any other unit of government within Bosnia can only be changed in accordance with the relevant constitutions and laws. . The United States reminds all authorities in Bosnia of their obligation to fully respect and abide by the decision of the international community's high representative in Bosnia, and expects them to do so, the US Embassy said.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia - NATO and European Union forces in Bosnia raided yesterday the house of former leader of the Serbians living in Bosnia,Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic.Serbian war criminal's wife Ljiljana Karadzic is suspected of helping him avoid justice.

The operation was launched "at the request" of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the spokesman for EU troops here, Neil Mathieson, stated.

. "The aim of this operation is to find materials or an information which would assist the ICTY in the search for and capture of persons indicted" by the tribunal, he said.

"Secondary aim is to put pressure on the networks believed to be involved in protecting these persons," Mathieson added.

Karadzic's wife Ljiljana Karadzic, their daughter Sonja and her two children were in the house when the troops came, he said adding that "no force was used" toward them.

"The two children just left the house," Mathieson said adding that Italian Carabinieri police were questioning the two women.

Some 30 NATO and EU vehicles were parked in front of the house while the troops cordoned off the access.

Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic and his former military chief, Ratko Mladic, have been on the run from the UN war crimes court in The Hague for almost 12 years since being charged with war crimes,including genocide, committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The homes of Karadzic's wife and the couple's two children have often been searched by NATO or EU peacekeepers in their effort to track down the fugitive.

Authorities have little knowledge of Karadzic's whereabouts, but he is thought to be hiding in the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia, or in a remote part of neighbouring Montenegro, where he spent his childhood. NATO has failed in repeated efforts to hunt down and capture Serbian war criminal. Two years ago Zelen Karadzic publicly called on her husband to surrender in order to relieve pressure on the family.

Raffi Gregorian, the deputy to the international community's high representative in Bosnia, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, said recently that Karadzic was in contact with his family and assisted them financially.

SARAJEVO,Bosnia – The Bosnian Palriament’s House of Peoples adopted the Law on Service in the Bosnian Armed Forces in both readings.The Law proscribes that the Minister of Defense is entitled to, at any moment and in accordance with the needs, extend an officer’s mandate after 35 years of service.

House of Peoples also adopted the Report of the Ad Hoc Commission on examining the justification of objections to the rank list for the election of Auditor General and his Deputy at the Bosnian Office for Auditing.

In other words, the Ad Hoc Commission decided to annul the public competition for the election of the Auditor General and his Deputy. A new commission, which will announce new competition will be formed.

They also adopted the trimester financial report of the Bosnian Office for Auditing for 2007.

The Bosnian Parliament’s House of Peoples terminated session yesterday in Sarajevo when the point of the agenda related to the ratification of the base agreement between Bosnia and the Holy Chair came to discussion.

The session was terminated in accordance with the agreement at the beginning, when the Speaker of the House of Peoples Ilija Filipovic proposed to move the 13th point of the agenda to 23rd place. That point was related to the agreement.

Related to the point of the agenda dealing with ratification of the Agreement with the Holy Chair, the representatives of the Serbians living in Bosnia proposed to completely remove it. They added that the point may be discussed if the Bosnian Presidency submits to the parliamentary procedure acceptance of the base agreement between Bosnia and other religious communities.

Speaker of the House Filipovic settled the issue by relocating the point to the last place of the agenda.