LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: No new pressures over Russia (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that there Serbia had been under no new pressures to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation following a recent shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine. “Serbia is defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but it cannot defend it more than it protects Serbia’s own territorial integrity,” Dacic said. He said that nobody had “the right to lecture us on violating territorial integrity,” since Serbia had long been expecting to hear all UN member states say something about Serbia’s territorial integrity. Serbia is bound to gradually, in accordance with Chapter 31, align its foreign policy with that of the EU, he said. “Serbia will definitively direct its foreign policy towards alignment, taking care, of course, about state and national interests just like all other countries. But they are all in a position quite different from Serbia’s. They are settling their differences during decision-making, and Serbia is not part of that process,” Dacic the morning news of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).When it comes to foreign policy, our interest is to develop good relations with Russia, China and other countries, and our national and economic interest is to build the South Stream pipeline.

“Serbia will direct its foreign policy towards reconciliation, taking into account its national and state interests, as do other countries, it’s only that their positions are different compared to Serbia. They harmonize their differences in the decision-making process, and Serbia is not part of the decision making process and that’s why there have recently been rumors about whether we have or do not have to – we do not have great disputes with the EU over that, because we are a sovereign country that looks after its national and state interests, and our position is quite clear,” he was quoted as saying. “We on the other hand as a friend of Russia also cannot support any move that is reprehensible. Regardless of whether somebody now suspects Russia with evidence, or without it, since mostly pro-Russian forces are suspected, Serbia is requesting an independent investigation and must not be dragged into the conflict, but will be a factor in conflict resolution next year as the chair of the OSCE,” Dacic pointed out.
Will Vucic support Vuk? (Politika, by Jelena Cerovina)

Even though there is still two-and-a-half years until the expiration of the mandate to South-Korean Ban Ki-moon at the post of the UN Secretary-General (the new Secretary-General will be elected in December 2016), the race for his post has commenced a long time ago. For now, two candidates, Bulgarian Irina Bokova, UNESCO General Director, and Danilo Tirk, former Slovenian president, have the necessary formal support of their states to join the battle for this prestigious post. Another three, Vuk Jeremic, former Serbian foreign minister and former chair of the UN General Assembly, Vesna Pusic, Croatian Foreign and European Integration Minister, and Miroslav Lajcak, Slovak Foreign Minister, are mentioned as the contenders only in unofficial diplomatic talks and media. Even though Jeremic still doesn’t have official support from the Serbian government to join this race, he has allegedly self-proclaimed himself as the candidate, according to Blic, so a medallion with his name and years of mandate: 2017-2022, has been already placed in the UN. There were rumors that Jeremic wants this post even while he was the chair of the UN General Assembly, but he himself never wished to officially either confirm or deny these rumors. In any case, the very participation in the race for the post of the Secretary-General is a great honor for an individual, even if he/she doesn’t end up as a winner. Not to even mention the significance for a state the fact that its candidate is elected to the post of the first man of the world organization. What are Jeremic’s chances to receive support of the government in Belgrade, but also to succeed in the complicated procedure that is accompanied by the lobbying and rallying among the biggest world powers?

When it comes to the obstacles that he needs to overcome in the “domestic field”, Jeremic’s chances are divided here. The decision on whether he will be the man that Serbia will nominate, it is more than clear, is in the hands of Prime Minsiter Aleksandar Vucic. Their relationship over the past years had not always been accompanied by mutual benevolence. On the contrary. Namely, in the 2012 election campaign Jeremic was one of the flagships of the Democratic Party in the battle against the Serbian Progressive Party. Thus, let us recall, in the election broadcast “Decision” on TV B92, in the duel with Vucic, Jeremic, speaking about how the Progressives would lead the country if they win at the elections, he said this, among other things: “You could betray the country just as you have betrayed Vojislav Seselj”. As much as it may be hard for Vucic to go over these things, perhaps he will do so since he is the prime minister of a country that has, as Reuters once commented, one of the most serious candidates for the UN Secretary-General. Namely, this British agency marked Jeremic as Ban Ki-moon’s most serious successor since Russia and China are on his side (they supported in 2012 Jeremic’s election for the chair of the General Assembly), and Reuters notes as his advantages that he is “dedicated, passionate, popular with most of the world, and he comes from under- represented regions of the world”. At the beginning of March this year, Vucic himself gave him credit for work in the UN. As he assessed then, Jeremic, at the post of the chair of the General Assembly, performed a significant and important job for Serbia and contributed to raising its reputation in the international community. As it was announced from Vucic’s cabinet, “the Serbian government will not be guided in the future with narrow party interests, but state and national, so we expect from Jeremic further activity in most significant international forums”. Perhaps this was a signal that there is still hope for Jeremic. If Jeremic manages to skip the domestic step, perhaps an even more serious battle awaits him on the international plane. According to some unofficial information, Jeremic could count on nine certain voices in the future composition of the Security Council, which would secure him to pass the first round. Among the new non-permanent members of the Security Council during 2016 will also be Turkey where, as Politika has learned, Jeremic will be travelling soon. Jeremic is a welcome guest in Turkey since he is one of the founders of the trilateral (Serbia-B&H-Turkey) so now he can collect “dividends” of his foreign policy. Jeremic could also play with the fact that no country willingly vetoes during the voting in the Security Council, even France and Great Britain, if they don’t have very serious reasons for this. However, according to some information, the U.S., Great Britain and France would be allegedly prepared for this step in Jeremic’s case. But even in this case, explains Politika’s interlocutor, who is versed in the functioning of the UN, Jeremic isn’t losing chances for election. Namely, if there is no agreement in the Security Council – the decision is on the General Assembly. “In case the Security Council cannot agree on one of the candidates, there remains a dilemma and legal gap how the General Assembly decides. In any case, if the Security Council is paralyzed, the significance of the General Assembly, according to the spirit of the Charter and in the political sense, increases dramatically. The trend of ‘democratization’ is also present in international relations, which in practice means that the total number of states that support some candidate also represents a significant factor, while only the support of the biggest is not anymore crucial, as it has so far mainly been the case. These two circumstances offer an opportunity and maneuvering space to some smaller states, which have so far not been in the realistic position to be reckoned as serious candidates, to enter the race for the Secretary-General this time”, explains Politika’s interlocutor. Here are also opportunities for Jeremic since, thanks to his foreign policy “on steroids”, when he lobbied with many African and Asian states that do not recognize Kosovo, secured a rich fund of votes. Even though this travelling of his was often criticized by the domestic public as completely meaningless spending of money, it turned out from WikiLeaks dispatches that this is not really so. Namely, as Politika has learned from these dispatches, former British ambassador in Belgrade Steven Wordsworth went to see former U.S. ambassador Cameron Munter, requesting him to reduce the pressure on states to recognize Kosovo for some time in order to stultify Jeremic’s travelling around the world that was obviously yielding results.

If he would become the UN Secretary-General by any chance, this would mean that he beat the “U.S. candidates”, but also that he was among the rare “non-American” heads of the UN, if we exclude Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the man who opposed NATO decisions to bomb B&H. All this provided that Jeremic himself doesn’t become a U.S. candidate in two years.

Simic: Serbia again “little Russia” (TV Pink)
Political science professor Predrag Simic has stated on the occasion of the crisis in Ukraine that Serbia has for now avoided serious consequences except one that regards the South Stream pipeline. Simic told TV Pink that the South Stream has been pushed to some future, and that by the end of year it will be seen whether perhaps the beginning of negotiations with the EU will also suffer over certain views on Serbia that are arriving from the West. He points out that after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis and the shooting down of the Malaysian plane, the U.S. wishes to change the balance of power by severing ties with Russia and weakening its influence on European countries, especially on Germany. For the U.S. it is important to keep Russia at a distance from Europe, while keeping its own presence in Europe, opines Simic. Serbia has great significance in all that, because it showed most sympathies towards Russia so far, regardless of the fact that it is officially neutral, says Simic. He points out that Serbia is once again at this moment “little Russia” in some way or a metaphor of Russia and that there is nervousness and tensions in the public both here and in the world. He adds that top Serbian officials wish to maintain ties with Russia at the moment since they believe that Serbia’s integration into Europe is still a distant future. “If Serbia would classify in the group of countries that would apply sanctions towards Russia, it would be very cold in Serbia this winter,” said Simic.

Jevtic: Hundred internally displaced returned to Kosovo and Metohija this year (Tanjug)

Kosovo Minister for Communities and Return Dalibor Jevtic said that 108 internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned to Kosovo and Metohija in the course of this year, adding that a higher rate of returns requires cooperation between Pristina and Belgrade institutions. From January to June 2014, 108 IDPs returned to Kosovo and Metohija , while 177 have started the return process and new houses are expected to be built for them over the next three weeks, Jevtic told Tanjug, adding that this will increase the number of returnees to 285. He pointed to several obstacles that stand in the way of a higher return rate, underlining the need for cooperation between the institutions of Belgrade and Pristina, which in the previous period did not take place. “A major obstacle on the ground is the issue of usurped property, which the judicial bodies and institutions do not address. There is also the economic aspect that affects the IDPs decision to return to Kosovo, and occasional security problems, primarily in Metohija,” said Jevtic. Figures released by the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration in June say that Serbia currently has a population of 204,042 IDPs. According to figures released by the UNHCR on 13 June, there are more than 17,000 IDPs within Kosovo and Metohija.

REGIONAL PRESS

Drecun: Leaving out organ trafficking would mean amnesty for KLA (Srna, by Vesna Surbat)
The Chairman of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun warns that leaving out human organ trafficking from Clint Williamson’s report would represent amnesty of the terrorist KLA. In an interview with Srna, Drecun notes that Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty was absolutely clear and that he mentioned three aspects of the crime, including the most severe, organ trafficking, organized crime and Albania’s role in the war in Kosovo and Metohija.
“All these should be included in Williamson’s report. But, if there is no mention of illegal organ trafficking, then it will be gross omission and represent amnesty of the KLA,” Drecun stated ahead of the publication of Clint Williamson’s report on human organ trafficking during the Kosovo war. Drecun submits that if Williamson’s report does not establish KLA’s command responsibility, it could completely amnesty the terrorist organization, whose only modus operandi was organized crime against the Serbs, other non-Albanians and Albanians themselves, members of the army and police. “We should wait for none of us has seen Williamson’s report. He was pretty secretive and in contacts with other international officials did not speak about the contents of the report. Evidence of KLA crimes can be found but the biggest problem concerns the witnesses since the Albanians who could testify often do not want to do so for various reasons or out of fear and many have been bribed by the people such as Ramush Haradinaj. Williamson has interviewed around 300 people. I believe that some international officials should be involved in the process, especially Bernard Kouchner, during whose term in office the whole matter was covered up, while UNMIK’s comprehensive report disappeared in a weird way,” Drecun says. He admits being “very suspicious” and adds that it should be checked whether the investigators had found the actual witnesses and whether they would come up in the process. But, the first thing that should occur is an indictment. Drecun recalls that it has often happened at the ICTY that indictments were raised and then the people like Haradinaj, Naser Oric, Croatian generals and others were acquitted for ‘lack of evidence’. “Our generals are in prison; in their cases alleged evidence was always found. But when it comes to the crimes committed against Serbs, it is always difficult, almost impossible, to find the appropriate evidence,” says Drecun.

Zenica, Bihac, Siroki Brijeg and Tuzla become cities (Patria)

The FB&H parliament has passed a decision for the former municipalities of Zenica, Bihac, Siroki Brijeg, and Tuzla to receive the status of cities, Patria reports. The FB&H government in December last year established and directed the parliament to consider four proposed laws that would establish Tuzla, Zenica, Bihac, and Siroki Brijeg as cities. The House of Representatives at a session in March approved the draft of the laws, and now the House of Peoples adopted them. Jasmin Duvnjak, delegate to the FB&H parliament, explained that if representatives of Zenica, Bihac, Siroki Brijeg, and Bihac have sufficient wisdom and creativity, the status of cities could bring them many more international projects and foreign capital. “In an administrative sense, there won’t be changes, the administrations will continue to work almost as they have thus far, but just the status of the city of Zenica and the other cities can bring many more foreign investments than were possible for municipalities to attract,” Duvnjak told Patria. “When international projects appear, then they look at you much more seriously if you have the status of city instead of municipality,” he said.

Poposki: Greater focus by key NATO and EU members required for progress in name dispute (Republika)

“We cannot expect any progress in the name dispute without political will by Athens and concrete engagement by key NATO and EU members. The biggest limiting factor at this time is the lack of any political will in Greece to seriously sit on the table and seek for a solution in the issue. The reasons are obvious, since the political focus is on domestic challenges, which practically absorb their entire energy. In addition, it is obvious they want to avoid this issue and resume on the no-decision path in NATO and EU. A change of this situation requires greater focus by key NATO and EU member states”, said Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki.

According to him, Macedonia should continue with its proactive and positive approach, but Athens should also demonstrate specific steps. Asked if he expected a new proposal by UN envoy in the name dispute Matthew Nimetz, who will visit Skopje and Athens next week, Poposki said he was not aware of such announcement. Regarding German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement that the name dispute also includes the issue of identity, Poposki said it was no secret from the very beginning that Athens’ ambitions exceeded any international legal framework or democratic standards. “We insist on democratic standards and international law, which clearly identifies the right to self-determination and the fundamental human rights. All those observing the row are aware that the Greek approach, besides being illegal, touches upon parameters referring to identity”, said Poposki.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Fighters Deny Killings of Serb Prisoners in Trnovo (BIRN, 25 July 2014)

Edhem Godinjak, Medaris Saric and Mirko Bunoza pleaded not guilty to the wartime killings and inhuman treatment of imprisoned Serb soldiers and civilians in Trnovo near Sarajevo.

The three men pleaded not guilty at the Bosnian state court in Sarajevo on Thursday to involvement in the deaths of the imprisoned Serb troops. They are also charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at killing, detaining and burning the property of Serb civilians in villages in the Trnovo municipality. The prosecution alleges that more than 90 people were killed during the violence, including elderly people, women and a young child. Godinjak is charged as former chief of the Centre for Public Safety in Trnovo, Saric as commander of the Territorial Defence Headquarters in the municipality and Bunoza as former commander of Croatian Defence Forces units. Their trial will start at a later date.

Serbia Still Gathering Evidence to Charge Kosmajac (BIRN, by Bojana Barlovac, 25 July 2014)

Serbian police are still collecting evidence about an alleged drugs kingpin who the Prime minister named as Serbia’s biggest drugs trafficker a month ago.

Serbian police chief Milorad Veljovic said law enforcement bodies in Serbia were gathering evidence about the alleged drugs baron Dragoslav Kosmajac, before a warrant can be issued for his arrest.

“A working group has been formed and is working on the case, but we still do not know when it will be done,” he told BIRN on Thursday. “Once we finish, we will hand the material to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime,” Veljovic added.

The police working group of ten people is tasked with investigating Kosmajac’s dealings and his possible links to some police officials.

The “White Book”, an internal police document from 2001 used to track suspected criminals, said Kosmajac was then involved in trafficking drugs from South America, Turkey, Bulgaria and Macedonia to Europe.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic denounced Kosmajac in dramatic terms at a press conference on June 20 when he announced the dismissal of all Serbia’s police chiefs because of their alleged failure to fight narcotics cartels.

The Prime Minister said he was not afraid to name the biggest drug lord in Serbia, even if others were.

“Everyone is keeping quiet about contacts between police and Kosmajac. I have called for action to be taken against him but this has not been done, to this day,” Vucic said.

Following this denunciation, Kosmajac fled Serbia and entered Montenegro on a Slovakian passport.

On Monday, Montenegrin police detained him in the resort of Kotor on suspicion of forging documents, but released him as they said they had “no basis for his retention” in the country. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Zorica Zecevic, from the Prosecutor’s Organised Crime Office in Serbia, said filing an indictment could take months.

“This usually takes more than six months after the Prosecutor’s Office starts an investigation into a case,” he told BIRN.

Serbia’s opposition Democratic Party has also raised the issue and called on the authorities to explain how he was allowed to leave the country.

“We demand that the Prime Minister Vucic explain why he let a person named as the country’s biggest drug dealer leave the country freely and why a warrant has not been issued,” Vladimir Todoric said on Wednesday.

Municipal Cull Angers Albania Opposition (BIRN, by Besar Likmeta, 25 July 2014)

Plans to slash the number of municipalities in Albania – partly to reflect rural flight – are being fiercely contested by opposition and ethnic minority parties.

Albania’s main opposition party has slated plans to drastically cut the number of rural and urban municipalities from 350 to 61, three of which will be ethnic minority municipalities.

If the law is passed on July 31, it will be Albania’s first territorial administrative reform since 1992, following the collapse of the Communist regime.

The bill was approved by the government on Tuesday and passed in the parliamentary commission for territorial reform on Wednesday.

However, both the Greek minority Union for Human Rights Party, PBDNJ, and the opposition Democratic Party object strongly, albeit for different reasons.

The PBDNJ objects to the failure to denominate the southern municipality of Himara as an ethnic minority area.

Minority municipalities have their boundaries drawn based on ethnic criteria, while the other municipalities have a mixed population.

Himara, which includes a number of villages on the Albanian riviera and the town of Himara, has a large Greek-speaking population.

On Wednesday, the Greek foreign minister, Evangelos Venizelos, expressed concern about the new set-up in a phone call with his Albanian counterpart, Ditmir Bushati.

“Venizelos stressed how critical and sensitive this issue is, and the need to move ahead to the resolution of the pending issues between the two countries, without adding new issues,” the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement
However, the statement added that Albania, “having gained the status of candidate country for accession to the EU, has additional obligations, given that the country is evaluated based on its compliance with the European acquis and the Copenhagen criteria”.

The Democratic Party has also contested the reform since its launch last autumn, boycotting the special parliamentary commission tasked with redrawing the map.

In a statement on Facebook on Wednesday former Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the reform was “unconstitutional and discriminatory.

“Whoever sees the map… can easily conclude that demographic, geographical and cultural criteria have not been respected,” Berisha wrote.

Goran Hadzic Denies Mass Expulsion of Croats (BIRN, by Marija Ristic, 24 July 2014)

Former Croatian Serb leader Hadzic told his war crimes trial that he was not responsible for the mass expulsion of Croats from Serb-dominated areas of Croatia during the 1990s war.

“If someone expels innocent people, this is for me a huge crime. I didn’t have the intention to provoke these events,” Goran Hadzic, the former president of Republic of Serbian Krajina, a Serb-led wartime statelet in Croatia, testified at his own trial at the Hague Tribunal on Thursday.

According to his indictment, Hadzic is responsible for a series of crimes including the deportation of tens of thousands of non-Serbs and the murders of hundreds more from June 1991 to December 1993.

Hadzic insists however that he was not involved in the persecution of Croats.

But the prosecution said that he give numerous interviews to media in which he claimed that Croats and Serbs could not live together, and that both ethnicities should have their own states.

The prosecution also cited interviews in which Hadzic claimed that “all Serbs should live together, no matter what is the name of the state”.

Hadzic responded that he was not being careful about what he was saying.

“I was not an educated politician, I was not thinking a lot, neither was I thinking about the possible implications,” he said.

“I was not thinking that I could be charged for my words 20 years afterwards,” he added.

He also denied responsibility for the killings of civilians during the war.

“I had an obligation to defend my state from those who attacked her,” he explained.

Croatia become independent from Yugoslavia in June 1991 after the majority of people voted in favour, but Serbs, backed by Belgrade, wanted to stay within Yugoslavia. War then broke out, mainly in areas dominated by Serbs and near the Serbian border.

The trial continues on August 19.

Croatia delays extradition bid for Predrag Japranin, alleged war criminal living in Melbourne, until Captain Dragan case is finalised (ABC Online, 25 July 2014)

The Croatian government will not request the extradition of an alleged war criminal living in Victoria until a final decision is made in the case of his fellow Serb, ‘Captain’ Dragan Vasiljkovic.

The ABC revealed this week that Predrag Japranin, an Australian citizen living in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, is wanted over his alleged involvement in the murder of three civilians in Croatia in 1991.

Mr Japranin has strenuously denied any involvement in war crimes, and told the ABC he was never a member of any military unit.

He was put on Interpol’s ‘red list’ after a Croatian court issued a warrant and indictment over his alleged crimes, committed when rebel Serbs carved out a mini-republic on Croatian territory following the break-up of Yugoslavia.

However, he will not stand trial unless the Croatian government asks Australian authorities to arrest and extradite him.

In a statement, the Croatian ministry of justice said it would not seek Mr Japranin’s extradition until the case of Vasiljkovic – aka Daniel Snedden – was finalised.

“Both Dragan Vasiljkovic and Predrag Japranin are Australian citizens,” the statement said. 

“Republic of Croatia did not submit a request to extradite Predrag Japranin from Australia until Australian judicial bodies decide regarding extradition of Dragan Vasiljkovic from Australia to Croatia.

“That decision will be the precedent and will indicate the final stance of Australia regarding extradition of their citizens.”

Mr Vasiljkovic is wanted by the Croatian government over alleged war crimes in Serb-occupied areas of Croatia in the early 1990s.

He was arrested in Sydney in 2006, but has been in legal limbo ever since.

He has launched a number of appeals against the Australian Government’s decision to extradite him, and the Federal Court is currently deliberating on aspects of his case.