The viewers of the most watched TV show in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the "Centralni dnevnik" Face TV, in a twenty-day telephone poll, decided with their calls that Fahrudin Radončić is a political figure in 2021.
Radončić got as many as 5,033 votes by phone calls from viewers of the most famous television in BiH, while a well-known lawyer, anti-vaxer and president of BOSS, Mirnes Ajanović, got 1852 votes and ended up in second place. In third place is the well-known RS opposition leader, Vojin Mijatović, with 640 votes.
By the way, Radončić's interview on this television, on YouTube alone had 225,818 views.
Viewers could also vote for Draško Stanivuković (13), Aleksandar Vučić (18), Nermin Nikšić (67), Dragan Mektić (81), Benjamina Karić (98), Elmedin Konaković (140), Nenad Čanko (189), Haris Silajdžić (198), Nebojša Vukanović (278), Željko Komšić (379), Mirsad Hadžikadić (410) and Zlatko Miletić (524). 
Take a look at the table below, and see how many votes each political leader and political figure in Bosnia and Herzegovina received individually.

Radončić got as many as 5,033 votes by phone calls from viewers of the most famous television in BiH, while a well-known lawyer, anti-vaxer and president of BOSS, Mirnes Ajanović got 1852 votes and ended up in second place

Fahrudin Radončić: Political figure of the year

Radončić was convincingly chosen as the political figure of the year in BiH

Osman Mehmedagić Osmica, Director of the Intelligence and Security Agency (ISA) of BiH, spent 300,000 KM more than he earned, according to the financial investigation ordered by the Prosecutor's Office of B&amp;H, "Avaz" portal reveals.

<h2>He did not withdraw money from his account at all</h2>

Mehmedagić paid 120,000 KM in cash to Šaćir Čedić, the owner of the "Vatra" cafe chain in Sarajevo, for the house he bought from him in 2017. It is a house of 94.40 square meters, located in Posavska Street in Sarajevo.
About 160,000 KM was spent on the renovation of the house and the construction of the pool.
In addition, Mehmedagić paid Asim Sarajlić, an SDA delegate in the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a member of the Joint Commission for Supervision of ISA's work, about 40,000 KM for an Audi Q5 car which he bought for his wife Amela Šehović.
All these data were determined by a financial expert and a police agency that conducted the investigation.
Mehmedagić did not withdraw the invested money from the account at all, and the investigation established that he could not even earn it. He paid in cash to renovate the house and the car.

However, the head of the secret service, who is under investigation by the Prosecutor's Office of B&amp;H due to suspicion of forgery of a diploma and abuse of office, did not report this money at all.
This is undeclared income that is not taxed. In this way, it is suspected that he committed the crime of tax evasion because he paid everything in cash, not with the money from his account.
However, the question is where the ISA Director Mehmedagić got all this money from. It was previously established that he did not withdraw his salary from the account. The income he earns as a director cannot cover all the costs he obviously has or has had. 
We remind you that in 2018. our newspaper published that the director of ISA hid from whom and at what price he bought two properties in Sarajevo, whether the payment was made from his current account to the seller's account and whether the FB&amp;H Tax Administration assessed the property and whether he paid real estate transfer tax.

<h2>To whom did they buy real estate</h2>

It was recently revealed that criminals discovered by the Sky app to individuals in police and intelligence circles, in order to protect them from prosecution, were buying various real estate and cars. Some of them, such as the first suspect Bojan Cvijetić, former adviser to Dragan Mektić in the Ministry of Security, communicated directly with Mehmedagić's first associates.
In Cvijetić's case, to make the matter more indicative, secret ISA data was found during the search and arrest. These are data from foreign services on drug gangs in the Western Balkans, which were obtained by ISA, ended up with drug dealer Cvijetić.

<h2>Some names could shock the public</h2>

According to the information that "Avaz" has, there are dozens of people in Sarajevo, but also in Banja Luka, who bought apartments on Bjelaćnica, and Jahorina mountains, and in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. And all in elite facilities. In addition, vehicles were purchased. Mostly jeeps. The question is who got all the cash. That is why the Prosecutor's Office ordered a financial investigation in this part.
Some names could shock the public. Especially buildings where they have real estate.

He paid all real estate in cash, as well as the renovation of the house of 94.40 square meters, located in Posavska Street

ISA Director Osman Mehmedagić spent 300,000 KM more than he earned

Outsiders, like me, must be cautious before saying anything to a troubled nation like Bosnia, a war-weary and – now - war-fearful place.&nbsp;Better to stick, cautiously, to facts of which I can speak. Nothing else.My ICTY experience is already almost 16 years stale and involvement in Bosnian matters since then has been intermittent. Looking back, those details on which trial attorneys and judges must concentrate seem now either unimportant or invisible. The broad outlines of Bosnia’s tragedy fill the mind; and with them broad but conclusions of which I am certain beyond any reasonable doubt.

<h2>They may can choose to forget Bosnia</h2>

A first conclusion of which I am certain is that there will be no contentment in your land if its history is not accurately recorded.

A second conclusion of which I am similarly certain is that the Serbs – in Serbia and in Bosnia itself - were and are to blame. There was and is absolutely no reason or excuse for what was done to the Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s by the Bosnian Serbs and Serbia itself, something all know but that those with power to help Bosnia may choose to forget.
A third similar certainty – well a very high probability – is that the ICTY process, well-intentioned as it may have been, may not have worked that well for Bosnia.
To my surprise I have come to ask whether trying individuals – and the ICTY can only try individuals – from all sides of conflicts is really such a good idea. It seemed "fair" at the time – whatever "fair" may mean. But fair to whom and with what consequences?After WWI the Kaiser was given sanctuary in the Netherlands and there were a few rather feeble war crimes trials of Germans in Leipzig. After WWII at Yalta Churchill wanted to have the Nazi leadership shot or imprisoned without trial. Roosevelt wanted public trials and Stalin agreed with Roosevelt on grounds that Russians liked public trials for propaganda purposes. The Head of counter-espionage at the UK’s security service MI5 (Liddell) explained some of the UK’s reasoning at the time the Nuremberg trials were being planned:
- Personally I think the whole procedure is quite dreadful. The (chief prosecutor) had recommended that a fact-finding committee should come to the conclusion that certain people should be "bumped off" (murdered) and that others should receive varying terms of imprisonment, that this should be put to the House of Commons and that the authority should be given to any military body finding these individuals in their area to arrest them and inflict whatever punishment had been decided on. This was a much clearer proposition and would not bring the law into disrepute...It seems to me that we are just being dragged down to the level of the travesties of justice that have been taking place in the USSR for the past 20 years.&nbsp;

<h2>The victor will always be the judge</h2>

He then visited the trial of the main defendants in Nuremberg and wrote

- One cannot escape the feeling that most of the things the 21 are accused of having done over a period of 14 years, the Russians have done over a period of 28 years. This adds considerably to the somewhat phoney (false/fraudulent/sham) atmosphere of the whole proceedings and leads me to the point which in a way worries me most, namely, that the court is one of the victors who have framed their own charter, their own procedure and their own rules of evidence in order to deal with the vanquished.One of those on trial, Nazi Reichsmarschall Göring felt rather the same, saying, while waiting his fate:&nbsp;- The victor will always be the judge, and the vanquished the accused.Yet, in many ways, Nuremberg worked well. Let me explain, but first a couple of sentences about football, of which I know nothing.
In any football match, team members may do bad things, get yellow cards or red cards and be sent off. Even the captain can be sent off for what he, as an individual, did. But if their team wins then, in the end, that is all that matters. There is always a difference between teams as entities and their members. Had the ICTY tried teams – countries, quasi-states like the RS, even perhaps paramilitary groups like "Arkan’s Tigers" or "The Scorpions" and not just individuals its value might have been very different.
I never thought this way during the trials in the Hague although those working there for the UN regularly reckoned how a trial of a leader was to some extent trial of the entity that the leader led. But only to an extent.
Since the unsatisfactory 2007 decision in the Bosnia-Serbia Genocide Convention case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) I have done one or two things, sometimes with Dr Nevenka Tromp who had worked with me on the Milošević case, aimed at helping Bosnia, although nothing really worked. That, and other things, set me thinking along these lines and to questioning whether victor’s justice might not necessarily have been a bad thing for Bosnia and other parts of the former Yugoslavia. Dayton happened 26 years ago.&nbsp;The Nazis surrendered to the Allies in the spring of 1945. I went to university in the UK a mere 19 years later. At my university, where I studied philosophy and politics, WWII was never spoken of - in lectures or tutorials or among friends. It had been a war where we, with the USA, Russia and others, were among the "all-virtuous" victors. Of course it was not like that in reality.&nbsp;There were unresolved possibly criminal acts such as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Japanese war and the carpet-bombing of Dresden in Europe, none of which has ever been properly investigated as possible war crimes. And, it is reasonable to assume, there may have been criminal acts against enemy soldiers and civilians by individual Allied service personnel or units. But they seem never to have come to light. The black and white image of good and evil worked well in all ways for us.&nbsp;With the war behind us, to the east was the Iron Curtain, shielding us from the evil of the different political and economic system functioning behind it, mostly under Soviet control. And to the west was the USA.So it was that, from the end of the war we had been able to look both backwards and forwards with certainty in the rightness of our society. We northern Europeans – the UK for example – prospered and developed. Curiously, so too did Germany, also certain, not certain of being in the right but of being in the wrong.

Certainty of a nation’s virtue brings benefits, it seems. Uncertainty does not. Victor’s justice may have contributed to why those benefits came our way.

Meanwhile, the former Yugoslavia’s well-known "soft" communism failed to neutralise the general propaganda about the wickedness of communism or any form of serious socialism. Neither did the tourism allowed by President Tito into your dangerous state that I visited on a school exchange in 1963 and, later, as a tour guide for the summer of 1970 in Cavtat/Dubrovnik. My tourists guests then, so far as I recall, thought those "Commy" Yugoslavs were lucky to have our foreign financial patronage. They certainly never appreciated how the "Commy" youth – if they spoke to them at all - were probably better educated, more genuinely liberal than they and their "Brit" children were and they knew very little if anything of the complex construction of the Republic whose coast was a one-year-only change from Spain’s Costa Brava. And they cared less.Holiday travel is part of popular culture and popular culture generally is a powerful indicator of many things, including the effects of wars and how a nation recovers from war.&nbsp;Remember the Beatles and ever heard of the "swinging 60s"? The Beatles take-over of the world started only 15 years after the end of WWII and they were not looking back. Nor the Rolling Stones. Check out on the internet UK films of 1960/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 and what do you find? Comedies, Spy films about the iron curtain, silly James Bond films, Ben Hur, "westerns" but almost nothing serious about WW11. Lanzmann’s seminal film about the holocaust, Shoah, came out only in 1985 , well over one generation after the war was ended; Schindler’s list in 1993.&nbsp;UK citizens’ culture, shallow or not, moved forward to some other place because it, and much of the rest of the world, was certain of the UK’s immediate virtuous past.In Bosnia, and also in Kosovo, some, many, most films since the 1990s look back to the wars of the 1990s.&nbsp;For Bosnia to Srebrenica in particular. Despite all the many good things Bosnia has going for it, forward movement is not one of them. And it is not Bosnia’s fault. And that’s really bad luck because those whose fault that is may do nothing now to help. Bosnia is trapped and, in truth, people outside Bosnia do not really care.

I must return to the heresy that victor’s justice may not, after all, be such a bad thing. And indeed, despite what Göring said, and the UK head of MI5 thought, in 1946 it was not until about 1971 that the term "victor’s justice" was generally applied in a critical or pejorative way to one-side-only trials.

Before that happened and perhaps, not as surprising as we might now think, in 1962 when Lord Russell established an informal process to consider criminality in the Vietnam war , its left-leaning panel of anti-American philosophers and others looked only at criminality of the USA. No interest in crimes of the other side, the communist Vietcong. Much though the tribunal has been criticised – and little though may been its effect – it was the only public evidence-based assessment of criminality of the US although it declined to consider the Vietcong. It stuck to the Nuremberg model – unashamedly.
Do these considerations speak of the value of having a clear winner after conflicts and a certain loser? Just as in football?The ICTY - well-intentioned - set out to "try" all sides. Not for it or for the ICTR (the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established a year later) the failings of the "victor's justice" court at Nuremberg. Nor indeed for the International Criminal Court that came into being a few years later that also will consider trying all sides.&nbsp;The UK/USA/Canada/Australia etc. model of justice - as a game where a prosecutor and defendant compete - may never have been the ideal way to review the wars of the Western Balkans. And may now be showing its shortcomings.One shortcoming – unintended one hopes – of the determination of the ICTY to try all sides in the Yugoslav wars was that all sides were given pubic opportunity to advance their own side of the history, even if absurd, as defendants or as victims. And they were able to use the overall trial process to make the best they could of the ICTY’s public record by provision of evidence, by withholding of evidence, by use and abuse of the legal process. And perhaps by an ability to persuade Mrs del Ponte as to what documents should be in public, what not; even who should be prosecuted and who not. And from the start the Serbs knew well what they were doing, able as they always have been to rely on instinctive preference for Serbia over other parts of the Balkans by politicians in northern Europe, in the UK in particular.Back to what I said at the start. Not only were the Serbs without excuse and wholly to blame collectively but even individually – team member by team member as individuals - they were the worst offenders.
Lord Owen said in evidence to Milošević during his trial that:

<h2>There was evil done on all sides by all parties</h2>

- I think it is too simplistic to see the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina being one of aggressors and victims. I've made it quite clear that I think there was evil done on all sides by all parties... there is a danger in trying to be fair in apportioning an equality of guilt, in trying to determine that all were equally at fault. That, in my judgement, was not the case. I said it yesterday and I say it again. In trying to make that very difficult judgement as to how many -- you know, what was the balance of fault, what was the balance of horror, what was the balance of inconsiderate behaviour, I think the Bosnian Serbs come out the worst. I they are followed by the (Bosnian Croats), and then by the Muslim leaders and troops. The Bosnian Serbs were the first, in my view, in the scale of bad behaviour. I think your fellow Serbs did not do the reputation of the Serbs worldwide any good by their conduct in Bosnia.But this kind of "fair" analysis - "worst", "bad", "less bad" - obscures or overlooks a truth. Of course once at war each side will kill people of the other side and bad things may be done by both sides within warfare. Unless there is total victory, or the general perception of total moral victory, by one side - as in WWII - the originating cause, the real cause of all the death, misery, loss and destruction, gets forgotten
And if the originating cause was by the party also seen as the worst collectively and individually – Serbia, Republika Srpska in this case - why not demand from the international community the certainty for Bosnia’s future that victor’s justice might have brought and could now bring? May the potential value to Bosnia of this certainty be a fourth truth?

There will be no contentment in your land if its history is not accurately recorded

Former Hague tribunal prosecutor Geoffrey Nice for "Dnevni avaz": Bosnia is trapped in, and people outside do not really care

The President of SBB (Savez za bolju budućnost - Alliance for a Better Future), Fahrudin Radončić, reacted to the statements of the member of the Presidency of BiH and the leader of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, against whom the United States imposed new sanctions yesterday.
- At yesterday's press conference of the SNSD, after the United States deservedly imposed new sanctions on him, Milorad Dodik mentioned me in a negative context among several respectable personalities from the international community. In that sense, it is an honor for me to be in the company of people whom Dodik is trying to satanize in the most mundane way.
So, he attacked me with a story in which I am the main character of the alleged criminal schemes.
However, the public knows that I have been legally acquitted before international and domestic judicial institutions of all charges that Milorad Dodik is now mentioning.
First of all, before the EULEX International Tribunal in Kosovo. In a fair trial, all allegations in the indictment, represented by prosecutor Andrew Hughes, were completely rejected.
The same happened before the Court of BiH. From today's point of view, I am glad that Hughes was the main actor in the story, because the EULEX Supervisory Authority (HRRP) in case no. 208-01 of 16 September 2021, by the Decision on the merits of the case, and on the appeal of my lawyers, additionally and definitively established that "my human rights protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights have been violated".
Now, after the process is over, it is time for my financial compensation claim, which will amount to millions of euros. The same applies to compensation for unfounded detention in Sarajevo.
So, this is a judicially adapted story, which - and was publicly acknowledged by some actors - was mounted at the top of the SDA and submitted to the international community and the domestic judiciary.
Finally, my advice to Milorad Dodik is to have confidence in the judicial system under the auspices of the international community or at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The on who is not guilty, has no reason to be nervous – it is concluded in the statement.

My advice to Milorad Dodik is to have confidence in the judicial system under the auspices of the international community or at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radončić said in a statement

Radončić: The public knows that I was legally acquitted before international and domestic judicial institutions

Radončić: Milorad, why are you nervous if you are not guilty

Fahrudin Radončić, President of the Alliance for a Better Future of BiH (SBB), addressed the audience today, during the awarding of the Order of the People to the Ambassador of the United States of America to BiH, Eric Nelson. 
Nelson was awarded the Order by the European Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina for "special merits in strengthening friendship and cooperation between our peoples, preserving peace in BiH, successful implementation of the Mostar 2020 Election Process, and development and respect for tolerance and human rights."

<h2>Ambassador Nelson encouraged us to understand each other</h2>

According to Radončić, all awards must contain one specialty, charisma, strength and result in the work that a certain person does.
- I had the opportunity to meet him personally, and I was a friend of several ambassadors as a media mogul, and I cooperated with several US ambassadors accredited in Sarajevo. All of them worked hard on the development of relations between the two countries, and I am grateful to my friend Osmanović for detecting it and stating it. I am old enough, I am friends with many very powerful people, to say that His Excellency Nelson is a very capable successful diplomat, very competent and I must say that he is an extraordinary diplomat with a sense of delicacy, but also with very precise views in communication with others, when it comes to expressing the views of his government, or his views personally.
Through these challenges of amending the Electoral Law and the Constitution, we spent many hours together, in the same room and with many other political leaders, and I must say that there was a consensus among all of us to have great respect for what His Excellency Nelson was doing and showing, and that is, I have reason to emphasize, exceptional care for everyone, and I must emphasize, for every citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of their ethnic or other religious affiliation.
I am not saying this out of courtesy because of today's solemn occasion, but because it is really so. I mentioned at the beginning that this great award, and this medal, has a personality. This is perhaps the only opportunity to say that His Excellency, Ambassador Nelson encouraged us by personal example and transparency, as a society and as a community to be much more tolerant and to understand each other better, not only in a political sense.

Each US ambassador left a personal mark during his service in Sarajevo. Politics and diplomacy are such disciplines that much of what has been done that is relevant is relatively quickly forgotten under something called dynamic life, new personalities and events. However, there is one merit of Ambassador Nelson that will not be forgotten, because it represents a civilizational step forward for BiH in understanding the rights of the LGBT population, and at the same time our approach to the standards that we will have to meet as a society if we want to be accepted, and we want, in the European Union and to have the highest Western standards when it comes to the respect for human rights.
Only thanks to his Excellency, which motivated many of his colleagues from the diplomatic corps, but also influential figures from politics, sports, culture, pride parades became part of public opinion, without the former extremely violent reactions of the domestic public. Therefore, on this occasion, I would like to emphasize this as something that will remain in the form of a permanent category behind His Excellency for the good of the citizens of BiH and for our more democratic relationship and our Euro-Atlantic path.
My predecessors have already said enough about his efforts in the field of security, economy, mediation so that we, the domestic actors, can make our decisions more courageously and decisively, and in the end I wish him great success, good luck and equally great results in the duties he will perform in the future - said Radončić.

I would like to emphasize this as something that, in the form of a permanent category, will remain behind His Excellency for the benefit of the citizens of BiH and for our more democratic relationship and our Euro-Atlantic path

Radončić: Ambassador Nelson is a very capable and successful diplomat

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina acquitted Dušan Sladojević, Slavko Aleksić and Risto Lečić of charges of inciting hatred due to activities undertaken at a meeting of the Ravna Gora Chetnik Movement in March 2019 in Višegrad.

They were accused of participating in a gathering in Višegrad on March 10, 2019, organized by the Ravna Gora Chetnik Movement of the "Fatherland of Srpska", and then glorifying the movement in speeches at the Dobrunska River site, known as Draževina (named after Serbian Chetnik movement commander in WWII, war criminal Draža Mihailović), thus causing unrest and fear among the population, especially the returnees.
Lečić is accused of singing a fiddle song at the Višegrad Square, glorifying the Chetnik Movement. Which, as stated in the indictment, expresses threats of violence in the lyrics.
The accused did not attend the reading of the verdict, N1 reports.

The accused did not attend the reading of the verdict

Dušan Sladojević, Slavko Aleksić and Risto Lečić are acquitted of all charges

B&H Court acquits members of Ravna Gora Chetnik Movement for inciting hatred

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turković on Wednesday talked with the British Prime Minister's Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Stuart Peach about current challenges and the situation in B&amp;H and the region of Western Balkans.

Minister Turković pointed out that the current blockade of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the latest anti-constitutional activities are causing enormous damage to all citizens and the progress of our country towards the European Union, and threatens to destabilize the entire region.
She pointed out that the problems should be solved in the institutions of our state, and in the context of talks on changes to the Election Law. She stressed the importance of involving all parliamentary parties and other stakeholders in order to enable equal rights for all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Special Envoy Peach said the UK wants to provide support to the entire region, where there are currently a number of problems.
He informed the Minister with the meetings he held with officials in our country, but also with young people, and added that in the process of strengthening and progressing Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, he would work closely with the United States and the European Union.
Peach reiterated his support for the OHR and said he would work closely with the High Representative and promote Euro-Atlantic integration, said the B&amp;H Foreign Ministry.

Peach reiterated his support for the OHR and said he would work closely with the High Representative and promote Euro-Atlantic integration

Turković and Peach discuss the ongoing situation in B&H and the region

Police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) are carrying out an operation in the areas of Nevesinje, Gacko, Trebinje, Banja Luka and Sarajevo in the early morning hours today, due to suspicions of the criminal offense of crimes against humanity and war crimes against prisoners of war was committed in 1992 in this area.

As part of the operation, eight people have been deprived of their liberty, who, after criminal processing in the premises of the State Investigation and Protection Agency, will be handed over to the acting Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina for further proceedings.
The operation is being carried out on the orders of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, SIPA said.

The operation is being carried out on the orders of the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Eight persons arrested for war crimes in Nevesinje and Mostar in 1992.

Special Adviser to the Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken, Derek Chollet spoke with a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) Milorad Dodik.

As he wrote on his Twitter account, in a telephone conversation with Dodik, he emphasized that the steps of the ruling coalition in the entity of Republic of Srpska, with the intention of undermining the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are unacceptable.
He announced that there will be consequences for corruption and anti-Dayton activities and called on political representatives from the RS to return to the dialogue within the state institutions.
Derek Chollet paid an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina last month to reaffirm the United States' support for B&amp;H's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the country's European perspective and called on leaders to engage in constructive dialogue.
- I called for a de-escalation, dialogue and functioning of institutions at all levels of government. It is time for BiH to turn to the future - Chollet said at the time.

He announced that there will be consequences for corruption and anti-Dayton activities

Chollet speaks with Dodik: Undermining of the state institutions is unacceptable

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) today marked the end of another successful campaign called "Heroes of Bosnia and Herzegovina", focusing on the successes of B&amp;H citizens, their engagement and achievements in various fields.

Ines Kavalec, Dragana Jovanović, Malik Sakić, Sara Tuševljak, Emina Bošnjak, Suad Bešlić, Srđan Puhalo, Jelena Vilotić, Tomislav Puđa, Amar Pašić, Vladan Galijašević and Senad Šantić were declared as heroes of B&amp;H at the ceremony in Sarajevo.
These are people who, through their actions and advocacy for true values in various fields, have contributed to positive changes in B&amp;H society, and become an inspiration for B&amp;H citizens, especially young people, to take the future into their own hands and fight for it without compromise.
The participants of the ceremony, which, among other things, marks the 25th anniversary of USAID's partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina, were greeted by the Ambassador of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina Eric Nelson, at the same time paying tribute to the people who have shown by personal example in local communities throughout B&amp;H that change is possible and desirable.
- To mark 25 years of USAID's activity and partnership with B&amp;H in 2021, we decided to declare some of the deserving B%H citizens as heroes of BiH - said Nelson, stating that recognizing, encouraging and strengthening positive changes in B%H is the best way to further strengthening that partnership.
He underlined, at the same time, that a better future can be built in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- It is possible to build a better future in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that is why I say that individuals who have been declared heroes of B&amp;H are an inspiration to me and everyone else, young and old - said Ambassador Nelson.
He added that a publication about 61 heroes of B&amp;H will be printed and published this year, recalling the engagement of 12 mostly young people from B&amp;H, who were recognized as part of the aforementioned USAID campaign.
Ines Kavalec, founder of the Service Center for Assistance to Families with Children with Disabilities, Sara Tuševljak, engaged in protecting the Kasindol River (East Sarajevo) from the construction of small hydropower plants, Suad Bešlić, entrepreneur and investor from the diaspora and Srdjan Puhalo, psychologist, analyst and blogger, and Senad Šantić, IT expert expressed the appreciation to the US Government, USAID and Ambassador Nelson personally.
They said that the USAID recognition will be an additional incentive for their further engagement and action oriented towards the valorization of lasting values and the achievement of common social goals.
The one-year campaign of the US Agency for International Development "Heroes of Bosnia and Herzegovina" highlights BiH citizens from all spheres of life who contributed to their local communities, and thus to their country.
The United States, primarily through USAID, has supported the post-war economic development and social progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina with two billion US dollars.

He added that a publication about 61 heroes of B&H will be printed and published this year

Nelson: It is possible to build a better future in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina will receive the President of the Republic of Hungary, Áder János, who will pay a one-day official visit to B&amp;H.

According to the Office of the President of the Republic of Hungary, Áder János will visit the EUFOR and NATO headquarters in Sarajevo on Tuesday.
He will take part in the meeting of the headquarters of the Hungarian unit that is on duty at the Butmir military base, where he is scheduled to give a speech.
It has been announced that Defense Minister Tibor Benkő and Colonel General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Commander of the Hungarian Armed Forces, will also accompany the Head of State during his visit to B&amp;H.

He will take part in the meeting of the headquarters of the Hungarian unit that is on duty at the Butmir military base, where he is scheduled to give a speech

Hungarian President Áder János paying an official visit to B&H

A group of Bosnians and Herzegovinians and Americans from B&amp;H united in the "Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina" sent a letter to US President Joseph Biden, urging him to respond decisively to threats to B&amp;H's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The letter was signed on behalf of the Working Group by David Pettigrew, Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Southern Connecticut State University and a member of the Board of Directors of the Yale University Genocide Study Program.

<h2>Serious attack on the Dayton Peace Agreement</h2>

As they stated in the letter, it is crucial that "we prevent Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat nationalists from destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina by threatening secession or further deepening of ethnic divisions that would ultimately enable the goals of genocide and international aggression from the 1990s to be fulfilled.

The signatories of the letter mention that it is important to support the High Representative of the International Community in B&amp;H, who is the supreme interpreter and protector of the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
The B&amp;H Presidency member Milorad Dodik has recently stepped up efforts to destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region by simultaneously boycotting state institutions, undermining the Constitution and threatening to establish an entity army.
In a report to the United Nations Security Council on 5 November 2021, High Representative Christian Schmidt warned that such actions would abandon B&amp;H's constitutional order and the Dayton PA framework and "have a practical effect of the secession of Republic of Srpska from B&amp;H."
The High Representative called these developments a "serious attack on the Dayton Peace Agreement, which thwarted all hopes for peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
It is even more important, however, that any such move by the entity of Republic of Srpska towards secession or 'autonomy' must not be understood as anything less than the achievement of its genocidal goals, stated the Working Group for B&amp;H.
They recall that the Trial Chamber of the Hague Tribunal found Radovan Karadžić guilty of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at permanently removing the non-Serb population from the territory claimed by Bosnian Serbs and establishing an ethnically homogeneous state.

On December 13, 1995, current US President Biden condemned the atrocities as "Serbian genocidal enterprise" and "cruel genocide", and described his commitment to B&amp;H as a commitment to the values ​​of justice and a promise that genocide will never happen again and they have issued and appeal to Biden to fulfill that promise by instructing his diplomatic team to ensure that genocidal goals are not achieved.

- After the statement of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on December 9 on the importance of genocide prevention in which he also condemns genocide denial, our letter emphasizes the need for President Biden to prevent a recurrence of international aggression and genocide against B&amp;H. Given that the entity of Republic of Srpska is taking steps to form its own judiciary and army, the situation has never been more serious - Pettigrew warned in a statement for FENA.
The letter also warned that the HDZ President Dragan Čović insists on reforming the Election Law, which he said would enable the election of a representative of his HDZ (Croat Democratic Union) to the BiH Presidency, thus "strengthening ethnic divisions and leading to the creation of a third entity and further destabilization of BiH ".
- Therefore, we urge you to send a negotiating team that would reject such a proposal to reform the election legislation and enable the transition of B&amp;H from a state composed of "constituent peoples" to a modern liberal democracy of citizens with equal rights and dignity - it is stated in the letter.
They also remind that such goals are openly supported by the Russian Federation, which sees them as an opportunity to prevent Bosnia and Herzegovina's Euro-Atlantic integration, as we have recently witnessed Russia's claims that it sees BiH's NATO membership as a hostile act to which they should respond.
With B&amp;H facing threats from Republic of Srpska and Russian interference, the signatories of this letter appeal to Biden-led diplomats to push for an increased EUFOR presence in B&amp;H and launch NATO's emergency planning.
They expressed confidence that the United States would respond with an unwavering commitment to the values ​​of justice, democracy and human rights, with a lasting promise to prevent a recurrence of genocide and international aggression against BiH.
In addition to Professor Pettigrew, the letter to Biden was signed by Bosnian-American citizens with prominent careers in education, medicine and law, as well as friends of B&amp;H, supported by Satko Mujagić, Munira Subašić, Bakira Hasečić and other survivors, victims of war.

It is crucial that "we prevent Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat nationalists from destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina by threatening secession or further deepening of ethnic divisions

Working Group in US urges Biden to respond to threats against B&H's sovereignty

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg demanded that Russia de-escalate its conflict with neighboring Ukraine on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the crisis politically.

- We call on Russia to de-escalate and reduce tensions (with Ukraine) and to be transparent about their intentions - Stoltenberg told the Berlin-based Friedrich-Ebert Foundation via video link.&nbsp;- We really hope that this time Russia will not use military force but respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign and independent state in Europe – Ukraine.-Stoltenberg warned of a "very serious situation" amid the escalating Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
He accused Moscow of "not wanting Ukraine to be an independent and sovereign nation."
The NATO chief reiterated the "need for a political solution" in the crisis.
Russia, Ukraine and NATO have stepped up military exercises as tensions have intensified in recent weeks as Kyiv has openly accused Moscow of planning to stage an invasion.
Russian military aircraft were scrambled Wednesday to escort French Rafale and Mirage fighter jets flying above the Black Sea, according to the RIA news agency that cited the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine alleges that more than 14,000 people have been killed in seven years of fighting with Russian-backed separatists.

We really hope that this time Russia will not use military force, says Jens Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg warned of a "very serious situation" amid the escalating Russian-Ukrainian conflict

NATO demands Russia reduce tensions in Ukrainian conflict

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina explained in a statement why they did not attend the two-day meeting of political directors of the PIC Steering Board member states, reiterating their non-recognition of Christian Schmidt as High Representative of the international community in B&amp;H, appointed without the consent of the United Nations Security Council.

As the Embassy stated, they intend to draw attention to the fact that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) itself confirms the correctness of their arguments because the conclusions regarding the independent annual audit report approved by the PIC on November 26 directly state that "PIC proposes a candidate for the position of the High Representative. The UN Security Council, which approved the Dayton Peace Agreement and the deployment of an international military contingent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, approves the candidacy. "
They believe that the reason for the internal political crisis in B&amp;H is "the subjective decisions of former High Representative Valentin Inzko and the refusal of PIC partners to follow the procedure for appointing a new High Representative."
They believe that the proposed communiqué contains a distortion of "the letter of the Dayton Peace Agreement", which is why they believe they are forced to remind that "B&amp;H, according to the Dayton PA, does not include but is consisted of the two entities."
"We start from the fact that all problems in B&amp;H should be solved exclusively through dialogue between the parties in B&amp;H on the basis of mutually acceptable compromises.
This also applies to B&amp;H's foreign policy priorities, including Euro-Atlantic integration, on which there is no consensus in the country. We insist that the mandate of the PIC within the Dayton PA does not imply securing B&amp;H's membership in NATO."
The Russian Federation, as one of the witnesses of the Dayton PA, stands for the territorial integrity and real sovereignty of B&amp;H, the Embassy said, adding that in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to close the OHR as soon as possible, as it has become a blocking stone on the path of democratic development of B&amp;H.
It is also necessary to transfer all responsibility for the situation in the country to its citizens, stated the Russian Embassy in B&amp;H.&nbsp;

They believe that the reason for the internal political crisis in B&H is "the subjective decisions of former High Representative Valentin Inzko and the refusal of PIC partners to follow the procedure for appointing a new High Representative"

Russia demands the closure of OHR in B&H

The epidemiological situation in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is mostly similar to that in the last two months or more, which can be called epidemiological stability, but high mortality is still a problem, said at today's session of the House of Peoples of the FB&amp;H Parliament Goran Čerkez from the FB&amp;H Ministry of Health.

As an important cause of high mortality of patients and mostly those older than 60, Čerkez notes a small percentage of the vaccinated population, claiming that mortality is higher in certain periods than during the war.
He confirmed that the coronavirus strain omicron has not been registered in the FB&amp;H so far and that protection measures are the same for now, while professional guidelines on this type of virus are still pending.
Čerkez also said that the cantons have been given the opportunity to apply the "vaccinated-tested-had the disease" rule when it comes to the presence of coronavirus in their communities and when it comes to the citizens' entry into public buildings and crowded events. He expressed hope that the celebration of the New Year's holidays will not lead to an escalation of the epidemiological situation.
Asked by the delegates why the Federation of B&amp;H has left it to the cantons to determine the rules, Čerkez said, among other things, that the advantage of acting in a crisis is in decentralized systems, but with mutual reporting and cooperation between different levels of government.
&nbsp;

He also said that the cantons have been given the opportunity to apply the "vaccinated-tested-had the disease" rule

Čerkez: COVID mortality still high, omicron strain still not present in FB&H

NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Javier Colomina said today in talks with members of the Joint Committee on Defence and Security of B&amp;H and members of the B&amp;H PA Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that NATO pays great attention to this region and considers it strategically important.

He informed the hosts that a few days ago the NATO foreign ministers held a summit in Riga and discussed on the Western Balkans on a special session, and that many messages had been received.
- I will not hide that one message was a message of concern over the tensions that are present here in the region, both in Kosovo and in your country. But, at the same time, strong support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity of B&amp;H, and multiethnically efficient functioning organizations, institutions, including your Armed Forces, was clearly emphasized - said Colomina.
He stated that the cooperation between NATO and B&amp;H continues, and that a lot of things are being done together.
- We have decided and the ministers said very clearly, as well as the heads of state and government at the Summit in Brussels, that we will increase NATO's political engagement in the Western Balkans, because we believe that there is room to strengthen that engagement. That is the reason why I am here, to convey that message very clearly, so that we are here to support the efforts and to support BiH in its reform process, which includes economic, political and military areas - said Colomina.
According to him, the Reform Program is a comprehensive document that talks about the level of engagement, the level of ambition.
Speaking about the Reform Program, he pointed out that it is a fundamental document.
- I must tell you that we are disappointed that we could not get a document for 2021. We would welcome if we could at least get information about the work undertaken by various institutions, so that we can convey to the allies when I return to Brussels what efforts have been made, what is being done in terms of continuing cooperation at various levels - said Colomina.
We need, he said, that all actors in this country behave in the most constructive way.
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Defense and Security of B&amp;H and the Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Asim Sarajlić said that they are cooperating in partnership with NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, the NATO Secretariat and all NATO committees.
Speaking about the defense sector, he stated that the Armed Forces of B&amp;H have gone through a very successful transition period since 2005.
Sarajlić stated that at the moment, the defense and security sector does not have a sufficient budget for further modernization.
Deputy Chair of the PAB&amp;H Delegation to the NATO PA Nikola Lovrinović pointed out that respect for laws, declarations and resolutions, as well as documents and agreements implemented with NATO "should have no alternative for us".

We have decided and the ministers said very clearly, as well as the heads of state and government at the Summit in Brussels, that we will increase NATO's political engagement in the Western Balkans

Radončić was convincingly chosen as the political figure of the year in BiH

ISA Director Osman Mehmedagić spent 300,000 KM more than he earned

Former Hague tribunal prosecutor Geoffrey Nice for "Dnevni avaz": Bosnia is trapped in, and people outside do not really care

Radončić: Milorad, why are you nervous if you are not guilty

Radončić: Ambassador Nelson is a very capable and successful diplomat

B&H Court acquits members of Ravna Gora Chetnik Movement for inciting hatred

Turković and Peach discuss the ongoing situation in B&H and the region

Eight persons arrested for war crimes in Nevesinje and Mostar in 1992.

Chollet speaks with Dodik: Undermining of the state institutions is unacceptable

Nelson: It is possible to build a better future in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hungarian President Áder János paying an official visit to B&H

Working Group in US urges Biden to respond to threats against B&H's sovereignty

NATO demands Russia reduce tensions in Ukrainian conflict

Russia demands the closure of OHR in B&H

Čerkez: COVID mortality still high, omicron strain still not present in FB&H

Colomina: NATO pays great attention to B&H and this region

News

Radončić was convincingly chosen as the political figure of the year in BiH

ISA Director Osman Mehmedagić spent 300,000 KM more than he earned

Former Hague tribunal prosecutor Geoffrey Nice for "Dnevni avaz": Bosnia is trapped in, and people outside do not really care

Radončić: Milorad, why are you nervous if you are not guilty

Radončić: Ambassador Nelson is a very capable and successful diplomat

B&H Court acquits members of Ravna Gora Chetnik Movement for inciting hatred

Turković and Peach discuss the ongoing situation in B&H and the region

Eight persons arrested for war crimes in Nevesinje and Mostar in 1992.

Chollet speaks with Dodik: Undermining of the state institutions is unacceptable

Nelson: It is possible to build a better future in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hungarian President Áder János paying an official visit to B&H

Working Group in US urges Biden to respond to threats against B&H's sovereignty

NATO demands Russia reduce tensions in Ukrainian conflict

Russia demands the closure of OHR in B&H

Čerkez: COVID mortality still high, omicron strain still not present in FB&H

Colomina: NATO pays great attention to B&H and this region