SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, Oct 23 (Hina) - The condition of Zeljko Kopanja, grievously injured editor-in-chief of the Banja-Luka based newspaper "Nezavisne Novine" improved overnight, said doctors on duty in Banja Luka, north-western
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The radio of the Bosnian Serb entity (the Republic of Srpska), on Saturday quoted doctors as saying that Kopanja is now conscious and his health state is, in general, better. Kopanja, the director and editor of "Nezavisne Novine" sustained serious injuries on Friday morning when a bomb, set up in his car, exploded while he was opening the door to the car. This horrendous terrorist act maimed him as leaving him without both legs. The car was demolished completely. Bosnian Serb entity's Premier Milorad Dodik immediately responded to this cruel assault describing it as a heinous terrorist act. According to Dodik, this act was not aimed only at
SARAJEVO/BANJA LUKA, Oct 23 (Hina) - The condition of Zeljko
Kopanja, grievously injured editor-in-chief of the Banja-Luka
based newspaper "Nezavisne Novine" improved overnight, said
doctors on duty in Banja Luka, north-western Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The radio of the Bosnian Serb entity (the Republic of Srpska), on
Saturday quoted doctors as saying that Kopanja is now conscious and
his health state is, in general, better.
Kopanja, the director and editor of "Nezavisne Novine" sustained
serious injuries on Friday morning when a bomb, set up in his car,
exploded while he was opening the door to the car. This horrendous
terrorist act maimed him as leaving him without both legs. The car
was demolished completely.
Bosnian Serb entity's Premier Milorad Dodik immediately responded
to this cruel assault describing it as a heinous terrorist act.
According to Dodik, this act was not aimed only at threatening media
freedoms but also at sending a clear warning to moderate political
forces in the Republic of Srpska. Kopanja is said to be close to
Dodik.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, also
condemned this terrorist attack. He told reporters in New York that
behind the assassination attempt against Kopanja are those dark
forces who initiated the war in the former Yugoslavia.
The Sarajevo press connected this assault with the secret police of
Milosevic, the Yugoslav President, believing that it carried out
the attack against Kopanja.
The daily "Dnevni Avaz" read that this event is extremely similar to
murder of a Belgrade independent journalist, Slavko Curuvija,
whose killers have not still be found.
Both Kopanja and Curuvija were well known critics of Milosevic and
his totalitarian regime.
The "Nezavisne Novine" editorial staff has released a special
statement saying they will not allow the discontinuation of the
publishing of this newspaper.
The editorial staff publishes one daily and one weekly, which are
most popular in the Bosnian Serb entity at the moment.
These papers have issued a series of reports on crime, corruption
and political intrigue of hard-liners in the Serb Democratic Party
(SDS), former leaders of which are notorious Radovan Karadzic,
Momcilo Krajisnik and the late Nikola Koljevic, and among radicals
led by Nikola Poplasen.
Kopanja himself has previously warned about death threats made
against him due to articles in his papers.
(hina) ms