REPUBBLICA SERBA DI BOSNIA-ERZEGOVINA (RS)

* Il vice-presidente Sarovic assume gli incarichi presidenziali (Tanjug
26 gennaio) dopo mesi di stallo a causa della dismissione di Poplasen da
parte dell'Alto Rappresentante. L'Alto Rappresentante internazionale
Petritsch si oppone anche alla nuova scelta (FreeB92 27 gennaio).

* Il signor Holbrooke chiede a Radisic (attuale componente serbo della
presidenza collegiale, socialista) di rispettare i diktat internazionali
oppure dimettersi (FreeB92 31 gennaio).

* L'"erede al trono" Alessandro Karadjordjevic incontra l'opposizione
filooccidentale serbobosniaca; plauso del premier Dodik (FreeB92 27
gennaio). Per l'occasione, meeting "internazionale" dell'opposizione
liberale e monarchica proveniente dalla RFJ e dall'estero (FreeB92 18
gennaio).

* Isolamento e criminalizzazione dei leader "storici" della RS: l'ex
componente serbo della presidenza collegiale bosniaca Krajsnik si
nasconde, i radicali non possono presentarsi alle elezioni ne' andare
all'estero, il presidente Poplasen bandito da ogni carica dal
super-governo occidentale (IWPR 8 ottobre 1999).


---

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA VICE PRESIDENT SAROVIC ASSUMES PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES
BANJA LUKA, January 26 (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (RS) Vice-President
Mirko Sarovic, acting in keeping with the Constitution, assumed on
Wednesday evening presidential duties at a Parliament session in Banja
Luka.
Sarovic informed the deputies that he is ready, on the basis of Article
80 of the RS constitution, to assume presidential duties - to represent
RS, to propose a mandator for the RS Government, to propose the
president and judges of the Constitutional Court, to declare laws and
carry out duties in the sphere of security.
Following Sarovic's address, Parliament Speaker Petar Djokic concluded
that the RS National Assembly has "duly noted" Sarovic's readiness to
contribute to the resolution of the political crisis in RS.
Djokic scheduled the continuation of the ninth session of the RS
Parliament for February 8 when the issue of the election of the new RS
Government is expected to be resolved.

B92 27/01/00 ---

Petritsch on Sarovic

SARAJEVO, Thursday - The decision of Republic of Srpska Vice-President
Mirko Sarovic to assume presidential authority was unconstitutional and
illegal, International High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch said
today.
Petritsch described Sarovic's action as an attack on the legal
institutions of the Bosnian Serb Republic with the clear and obvious aim
of destabilising the entity and undermining the Dayton Agreement.

Prince meets opposition in Republic of Srpska

BANJA LUKA, Thursday - The exiled Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic of
Serbia today met Kosovo Serbs and representatives of the Serbian
opposition in Banja Luka, capital of the Bosnian Serb Republic. Republic
of Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik described the meeting as being
aimed at joint efforts to prevent a Serbian tragedy and reach an
agreement for a better future.
The meeting concluded that the priority for Serbia at the moment was
democratisation and removal of the regime which had brought only tragedy
to the country.

B92 18/01/00 ---

Royal visit to Banjaluka

LONDON, Tuesday - The heir-in-exile to the Serbian throne, Prince
Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, is to visit the Republic of Srpska next week,
his London office announced today. Prince Aleksandar is to attend
religious services commemorating St Sava, founder of the Serbian
Orthodox Church.
Representatives of political parties and cultural institutions in Serbia
are also expected to travel to the Bosnian Serb Republic for meetings
with the prince. During Prince Aleksandar's visit, Banjaluka will host a
meeting of Serbian opposition leaders and representatives of Serbs
living abroad.

B92 31/01/00 ---

Holbrooke lays down the law

SARAJEVO, Monday - US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke
has demanded that the Serb member of the Bosnian Presidency, Zivko
Radisic, assent to legislation on border services for Bosnia, according
to Sarajevo media today. Daily "Dnevi avaz" writes that Holbrooke has
written to Radisic demanding that he perform his duties or withdraw from
the three-man presidency. Serb members of the Bosnian Parliamentary
Assembly voted against the legislation in the parliament last month.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 00:57:21 +0000
From: The Institute of War and Peace Reporting <info@...>
To: info@...
Subject: IWPR BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 82

WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 82, October 8, 1999

(...)

DOUBLE BLOW FOR BOSNIAN SERB HARD-LINERS

Fearing war crimes charges, Momcilo Krajisnik of the hard-line Bosnian
Serb SDS is reportedly in hiding. Meanwhile, leaders of the Bosnian Serb
Radical Party have been banned from next year's elections.

By Janez Kovac in Sarajevo (Published on October 8, 1999)

The two most extreme Bosnian Serb political parties have suffered a
double blow this week that will certainly effect their participation and
chances in next year's elections.

In the wake of media speculation about a possible indictment for war
crimes, the leader of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Serb
member of the first post-war Bosnian tripartite presidency, Momcilo
Krajisnik, has reportedly taken refuge somewhere in Serbia, fearing
arrest.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, three leaders of the Bosnian
Serb Radical Party (SRS) have been banned from competing in next year's
elections.

Although the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has made no
official comment about Krajisnik's indictment, nobody is answering the
telephone in Krajisnik's office and none of his friends or aides appears
to know his current whereabouts.

This follows the appearance of an article in the Sarajevo daily Dnevni
Avaz citing western diplomats alleging that Krajisnik's name was on one
of the Tribunal's latest sealed indictments.

In recent months The Hague Tribunal has grown in confidence, issuing
indictments among others against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
and four of his inner cabinet, and receiving in custody several
high-ranking war crimes suspects, including the active head of the
Bosnian Serb army.
Moreover, new prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has made it clear that she
intends to focus on the most senior indictees.

During the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Krajisnik, who is popularly referred to
as 'The Eyebrow' as a result of his principal physical attribute, was
one of the closest allies of leading Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect,
Radovan Karadzic and a notorious profiteer.

After Richard Holbrooke persuaded Karadzic to withdraw from public in
July 1996, Krajisnik took over control of the party and became its
leading candidate in the September 1996 elections.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the
international agency which supervises elections in Bosnia, banned Nikola
Poplasen, the president of the SRS, and two other senior party members
from standing in next year's poll after reviewing the material which the
party presented to register. OSCE officials said that they would be
penalising parties which violate local laws, the Dayton Peace Agreement
and the election rules and regulations.

After winning most votes in the 1998 presidential elections, Poplasen
became the president of Republika Srpska but was dismissed this March by
Bosnia's then High Representative, Carlos Westendorp, for obstructing
the peace process. The SRS now has until October 22 to resubmit its
registration documentation, including candidates and membership lists,
after removing Poplasen, Mirko Blagojevic and Ognjen Tadic, or it will
not be allowed to participate in the ballot.

In response, Poplasen rejected the OSCE's demand in a statement that was
read out on Bosnian Serb television, describing the OSCE's move as "an
obvious example of a totalitarian behaviour of a fascist type, which
bans parties and people who think differently".

In the wake of these two blows, the key Bosnian Serb hard-line parties
find themselves in a no-win situation. Even if The Hague Tribunal has
not indicted Krajisnik, it is unlikely to deny the report and thus
reassure him. As a result, Krajisnik will likely be obliged to keep a
low profile and leave the decision-making and management of the SDS to
others.

If the Radical party does eventually yield to the OSCE demand, their
election prospects will be seriously affected by the absence of their
leader.

Meanwhile, the SDS and the SRS have increasingly been coming into
conflict with each over. The rift is especially acute at the local
level, where officials of both parties have in some places begun to work
with parties from the Muslim-Croat Federation in order to win
international, reconstruction projects.

The two hard-line parties have also failed to agree a common approach on
the question of the president of Republika Srpska and whether Mirko
Sarovic, the vice president who is also a member of the SDS, should
accept the position in place of Poplasen. While the SDS believes that
Sarovic should become president, the SRS insists that Poplasen's
dismissal should simply be ignored.

A rift has also emerged within the SDS party itself, between the
followers of Krajisnik and a more moderate faction headed by one of the
party's vice presidents, Dragan Cavic. If Krajisnik does decide to keep
a lower profile in the wake of his reported sealed indictment, western
diplomats believe that the Cavic faction is likely to come out on top.

Janez Kovac is a pseudonym for a journalist from Sarajevo.


==================================================================

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