Having examined the report presented to the Office of the
High Representative last Friday the OHR is ready today to confirm that the RS
Government has finally taken seriously its obligation to make available the
information that they had in their possession about the crimes that took place
in Srebrenica in the period from 11 – 19 July 1995.

Let me underline though that this assessment is dependent on all
the members of the Srebrenica working group signing the report, as has been
announced, at 12.00 today.

Let me underline a few additional points;

1. No names from the report will be made public to ensure that
   subsequent investigations, prosecutions, and eventual convictions, are not
   undermined.  
   
2. The report and the documents
   are now being forwarded to the BiH Prosecutors Office, who will need to process this
   information and decide how to proceed with any investigations.
   
3. OHR
   expects and the BiH Prosecutors will prioritise
   their investigations to focus initially on individuals who are still holding
   an office in RS or BiH institutions.
   
4. The annexes presented in the report do not assess the level
   of responsibility nor are they evidence of an individual being guilty of
   committing a crime.
   
5. Although the list is comprehensive at this
   moment the emergence of new names linked to these crimes cannot be excluded.
   When this does happen the RS Government is required to present that information
   to the BiH Prosecutors.
   
6. To conclude, the interests of the families will be best
   served by seeing justice being done – only by applying the rule of law and the
   full judicial process through the appropriate international and domestic
   institutions can this be done.

PDHR
Butler
Chairs Roundtable with
Business Journalists

Principle Deputy High Representative, Larry Butler, will be
chairing a roundtable with business journalists at Media Centre in
Sarajevo from 13:30 to 15:00 today.

Participants have been invited to discuss key issues affecting
business reporting and will take a critical look at the ways in which the
Economic agenda can be advanced.

Two short presentations entitled “What’s wrong with business
journalism in BiH” and “What’s wrong with the IC economic agenda” will be
discussed.

Ambassador Butler will emphasise the role of the International
Community is to make it easier for BiH’s authorities to reform than not to
reform so as to unleash the latent entrepreneurial energy that is abundant but
utterly under exploited in BiH.

He will also outline the role of the media, which must hold
BiH’s authorities to account but from the position of knowing what it is they
should be doing.

Representatives of the media can attend throughout

EUPM

OSCE

No statement.

EUFOR

No statement.

NATO

No
Statement

RTQs:

Nedim Dervisbegovic, Reuters:

How many people are on that list that will be forwarded to the
Hague tribunal?

Oleg Milišić, OHR:

As I said, I’m not going to discuss specifically what’s in the
Annexes.  I think that should be abundantly clear from the statement that I
gave you earlier.

Antonio Prlenda, Oslobodjenje:

A comment would be
welcome about yesterdays statement by the European Union Foreign Ministers that
there would be no discussions and talks on theDayton anniversary.  They
said there would be no discussion about the closure to the European Union on the
Dayton anniversary for
Bosnia
and Herzegovina.

Oleg Milišić, OHR:

Okay.  I think the High Representative did make a
statement yesterday underlining that in fact we can see that the difference between
the positions from the EU Foreign Ministers couldn’t be starker. On the one
hand you have

on the other hand, I think you
saw the words the regrettable with regards to police reform. I think that
message in itself is absolutely clear and now it’s for the RS government to move
as quickly as it can towards finding a solution.

Journalist:

The position of the OHR regarding the report made by
the Srebrenica working group is not quite clear. What is exactly meant by
“taken seriously its obligation”?  And what changes did you sign at
twelve
o’clock – I was not informed of
this?

Oleg Milišić, OHR:

We were informed that the members of the Srebrenica working
group are expected to sign the report at 12.00 today.  At that moment, of
course if this does happen, as I previously said, we are prepared to confirm
that the RS government has fullfiled their obligation to transfer, that is
publish all details they possess in relation to that event.  So, even
though we are ready to do this we still have to wait for it to
happen.   

Glusica Nenad, Studio 99:

I would like to ask Mr. Derek Chappell to answer a question. We
know that the NATO troops are not in

are moving forward, whilst we are only getting closer to becoming a
black hole.  How do you explain this? What is your personal view?

Derek Chappell, NATO:

If I understand the question you are trying to draw a parallel
between

are
still faced with the requirement for the remaining PIFWICs, the remaining
indicted war criminals.  When you say NATO troops are not here to detain
them, that is part of our prime mission and as General Webber stated in his
interview last week, if we had evidence to indicate that they were here, if we
knew they were here, if we knew their movements, we would act very vigorously to
detain them.  We also act in full support with the local B&H
authorities.  We are very aware this country is being held hostage in it’s
ambitions to join Europe on this issue and be in no doubt whatsoever for as long
as NATO is here, for years to come, until these people are in custody we will be
devoting our full efforts to assisting local authorities, gathering intelligence
and detaining them.  Not just because it’s a mission, but because this
country deserves it.

Oleg Milišić, OHR:

If there’s nothing further, thank you very
much.