Monday, 9 July

A sad column with caskets of 520 Srebrenica victims passed through Sarajevo on its way from Visoko to Potocari. Among the many people of Sarajevo who honored the victims of Srebrenica were the Chairman of the BiH Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, member of BiH Presidency Zeljko Komsic, and High Representative in BiH Valentin Inzko. In Izetbegovic’s words, Srebrenica is the deepest wound on the body of our people, a black hole on the conscience of mankind, the black hole on the conscience of those who did this and those who allowed this.

Deputy Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers and BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdzija and State Minister for European Affairs of Ireland Lucinda Creighton rated that bilateral relations between the two countries are very good, and that these relationships can only improve. "A minister visits BiH six months before Ireland will assume the presidency of the EU, and the BiH intention is that in this six months define the road map with high-level dialogue for BiH to submit a credible application by the end of the year, which would, at the time of Ireland's EU Presidency, open the process of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina," Lagumdzija said.
 
Today at 4 p.m. the deadline established for political parties an coalitions for submitting candidate lists expires.
"The Central Electoral Commission of BiH (CIK) then has until 3 August to complete the process and verify and certify candidates and candidate lists," CIK spokeswoman Maksida Piric said.
 
On Saturday a meeting of Bosnalijek shareholders was held, which was almost immediately adjourned. It is already known that the remaining shareholders left the hall, and held their session within Bosnalijek and chose a new Board of Supervisors. "All this was terribly humiliating - both the postponement and the police and the continuation of the assembly," the remaining shareholders believe.
 
Tuesday, 10 July

In the past few weeks, the number of asylum seekers from BiH in Sweden has increased significantly. Today a clear warning was sent, that the visa-free regime in BiH could be discontinued. "The greatest number of people seek asylum for economic reasons, on the basis of which you will not get asylum in a country. In fact, there are clear procedures for who and how one can get asylum status. From 2010 to June 2012, 1,565 BiH citizens submitted requests for asylum in Sweden. They are placed in asylum centers or with relatives. They await the answer of the Swedish authorities and ultimately are returned to their country," Charge d’Affaires of the Swedish Embassy in BiH Per Anders Person
said.
 
About thirty retired soldiers of the BiH Armed Forces from Republika Srpska spent last night in Mladen Stojanovic Park in Banja Luka, where they gathered yesterday asking the RS overnment to approach a resolution to their problems as soon as possible. They are protesting because of the fact they have not yet received the payment of pensions
under rules adopted by the state parliament.

The Banja Luka Citizens Association, Fatma Association and the Behar Women's Chorus, in memory of the victims of genocide in Srebrenica and all those killed from Banja Luka during the war, threw flowers into the Vrbas River from the bridge in the settlement of Gornji Seher.

Chairman of the BiH Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic received the eminent rabbi in the United States and President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation Arthur Schneier, who is in BiH to participate in the commemoration of the 17th anniversary of genocide in Srebrenica and to express solidarity with the families of victims, as he personally lost family members in the Holocaust. Referring to the rather recent history in BiH, Schneier said that the only way to recovery, which is essential to the work of future generations, is the promotion of truth through the educational system and continued education.

The Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) has rejected all accusations of Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) President Igor Radojicic, who according to the PDP has once again confirmed that he is performing his job as a party activist of the SNSD rather than according to the function that is performed with dignity and statesmanship.

BiH Communication and Transport Minister Damir Hadzic visited the construction site in Corridor 5c at the subsections of Suhodol-Tarcin, Drivusa-Gorica, and Biljesevo-Kakanj, in the company of Federal Transport and Communication Minister Enver Bijedic and representatives of JP Motorways FBiH. During the site visit in Tarcin, Minister Hadzic said that it was a very challenging section of the route, 60 percent of which comprises a tunnel.

HDZ Croatia President Tomislav Karamarko said that one of his party's priorities in the future would be the fight for the rights of the Croat people in BiH, for its full constitutive value. "We are a constitutive people here and we know how our sister party is leading a difficult struggle to realize that. This is friendly support, without ambition to interfere in the affairs of a neighboring and friendly country, but we are certainly interested in the fate of the Croat people here," Karamarko said.
 
Wednesday, 11 July

Speaking to those who best understand him, his Srebrenicans and Podrinjians, Camil Durakovic, president of the Organizing Committee, today in Potocari said that 11 July is a holy day, and Potocari a holy place, and told Srebrenicans to hold on to the dignity that they have had all these years and that they were never disgraced, despite the fact that they were humiliated around the world. "Before us in these coffins lies an entire world. Only today do we return to everyone their identity, name and surname, from it. For all of us here today they once again become people, and cease to be unknown unidentified remains. We did not embed unidentified remains, but rather our fathers, brothers and sisters," Durakovic said.
 
Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent condolences to the families of murdered Srebrenica Bosniaks and said that the criminals responsible will eventually answer for their misdeeds.
"The joy and pain of the Srebrenica victims are not forgotten, the hand of justice is slowly reaching the criminals. Let it be clear to everyone that everyone will answer for their crimes, no matter what religion or ethnos they belong to, wherever they are and whatever they do," Prime Minister Erdogan said.

Around a thousand Srebrenicans who gathered in front of the former battery factory booed individual domestic and foreign delegations at the moment they left from the Memorial Room in Potocari. The greatest wrath was expressed toward US Ambassador in BiH Patrick Moon.Srebrenicans are unhappy because, as they say, the international community did not allow voting in Srebrenica in the October local elections to proceed according to the 1991 census, when Srebrenica was mainly inhabited by Bosniaks.
 
The Saturday, 7 July shareholder meeting of Bosnalijek was held in full compliance with the Law on Enterprises and the Statute of the company, despite the chaos that the FBiH government created , the company said after allegations from the FBiH government that the assembly was held illegally because right after the start the majority of representatives of shareholders left, namely the FBiH government and part of small shareholders. "Citizens, unfortunately, daily witness the arrogance and demonstration of power of the FBiH government, and this government has every intent to master Bosnalijek, citing alleged illegitimacy in holding the assembly," the company said, denying all allegations by FBiH Prime Minister Nermin Niksic and the relevant Minister Erdal Trhulj of the illegality of the session.
 
Thursday, 12 July

Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Bakir Izetbegovic received a visit from a delegation of Muslim leaders from Great Britain. In a friendly and open conversation, the members of the delegation presented their past activities during a multi-day visit to BiH, as well as ideas for future projects. 


Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH President Bruno Bojic told Oslobodjenje that we must fight with all legal and legitimate means for BiH goods to be represented on the shelves of all shopping centers in the country. "A few days ago a meeting of the inter-chamber council was held, so all presidents of Chambers of Commerce in BiH. We agreed that we would launch an initiative to prohibit the importation of seasonal agricultural food products that we have in sufficient quantities. This will not disturb the market nor be inconsistent with liberalization of the market, because all countries in the world do this in the same way," Bojic said.
 
The public enterprise Elektroprivreda BiH (JP EPBiH) is continuing its campaign of signing contracts with customers. The goal of the campaign is to enable all customers to enter into the contracts as required, JP Elektroprivreda BiH will further implement the campaign of encouraging all customers who haven't signed the contract on use of distribution networks and the contract on supply of electricity to do so.
 
FBiH President Zivko Budimir in Sarajevo held discussions with SDA President Sulejman Tihic and SBB BiH President Fahrudin Radoncic on the issue of the crisis in FBiH and an attempt to find a solution to exit the crisis. Asked by a reporter why he didn't resign, Budimir said that the position of President of the Federation is not responsible for the non-functioning of the executive, saying that responsibility for functioning of the Federation government lies with the Prime Minister, which is why the question of why FBiH Prime Minister Nermin Niksic does not resign, which would be one possible solution.
 
US Ambassador in BiH Patrick Moon and EU Special Representative in BiH Peter Sorensen pointed out in a joint statement that a free, professional, independent and impartial media is one of the most important aspects of an advanced democratic society, and that it represents the fundamental values of the EU and the US. In a joint statement regarding recent events in connection with the FBiH RTV Administrative Board, the EU and US state that they are very carefully monitoring all legal developments and appointment procedures that concern the media.
 
Friday, 13 July
 
HDZ BiH leader Dragan Covic said that SDA President Sulejman Tihic made it clear that he will continue to be a blockade in the reconstruction of government in FBiH. "Tihic made it very clear that he will be a blockade going forward and he will do everything in his power to prevent the local elections from forming a new government," Covic said, stressing that in the future a solution must be found to establish a government that will be able to function normally on all levels as soon as possible.

The BiH Border Police Union will convene a strike committee that will decide on further activities after the negotiating team of the Council of Ministers issued a unilateral decision to stop negotiations with the union, they announced at a press conference in Sarajevo. Vice President of the BiH Border Police Union Svevlad Hoffman said that they were in contact with the Croatian Border Police, with whom they agreed methods of joint action.
 
The construction of the Dubrovnik II hydroelectric plant is in the interests of both Republika Srpska and Croatia, and together they are financing it through a company that in the next three years will work on its construction, RS Prime Minister Aleksandar Dzombic and First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia Radomir Cacic said today. The value of the project is €170 million, the power production of the hydroelectric plant is around 300 megawatts, and sources of funding will, as Dzombic and Cacic said today after a meeting in Banja Luka, be sought from international financial institutions and they do not doubt they will be received.
 
Party of Democratic Action (SDA) President Sulejman Tihic said that his party is against asymmetric solutions, i.e. that in the Federation there would be one method of election of BiH Presidency members, and in RS another, because he believes that in BiH Presidency members must be elected the same way to have the same legitimacy and support.

Saturday, 14 July

SNSD President Milorad Dodik said that yesterday's meeting of the presidents of the seven strongest parties in BiH showed the open conflict of political concepts of the Bosniak parties, and that he is not certain whether it is possible to reach agreement on the issues that remain open. "In an effort to preserve one in government, and another to promote its political ideas and again preserve its power, there was a rift that could be seen in yesterday's press conference as well," Dodik said, commenting on yesterday's meeting of the septet in Banja Luka.