LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Brussels dialogue victim of disagreement in Kosovo Assembly (Danas)

“The dialogue in Brussels, which is the key criteria for Serbia’s progress in EU integration, is the ‘victim’ of disagreement in the Kosovo Assembly, where the issue of the establishment of the special court for war crimes was set as an ultimatum,” said Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic while replying to MPs’ questions. “Serbia will respect everything it signed. However, Pristina uses every situation not to respect this agreement and applies for membership in organizations that have not been the subject of the dialogue,” said Dacic.

Concealing details on UNESCO candidacy (Danas)

“The Kosovo Presidency didn’t respond to Danas’ question, which Hashim Thaqi also avoided to answer in the Kosovo Assembly – whether the request for Kosovo’s UNESCO membership was signed by President Atifete Jahjaga. Thaqi told MPs that the candidacy “was drafted in line with the Kosovo laws and Constitution”. He avoided saying whether the UNESCO candidacy had gone through UNMIK. According to Danas, UNMIK confirmed to Belgrade that the UN Mission is the mediator in the candidacy behind which, as Danas’ sources claim, there is no decision by the Kosovo government.

Tadic: I will not be a candidate for UN Secretary-General (Politika)

The leader of the Social-Democrat Party (SDS) Boris Tadic has denied the allegations that he will be the candidate for the UN Secretary-General. He accused the “regime media” of trying to weaken the opposition in Serbia by publishing such misinformation, pointing out that they have been publishing on a regular basis similar speculation since the founding of the SDS, “despite the fact that they always turned out to be untrue”. “I recall that the media reported how the SDS was founded in order to enter Vucic’s government at all costs. Just as the rebuttal of the news on my alleged candidacy for the UN has been ignored all this time, so is the fact that the SDS refused to enter the government and that it left the negotiations. Also ignored is the fact that the SDS refused to enter the provincial government, which makes it the only party in Serbia that refused to enter both governments,” said Tadic.

Joksimovic: EU assistance needed in providing for migrants (RTS)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the list of the negotiating team for opening chapters exists and that only a formal decision of the government is missing. “Serbia is ready, the action plans for Chapters 23 and 24 are ready, and we also have one addition, a plan for migrants, which the EU had requested by the end of August. We will wait for the opening of chapters with a complete negotiating team and completely prepared,” said Joksimovic. She says that it had been demonstrated over the past several months that Belgrade is the one that wishes to reach a compromise based on what is the spirit of the Brussels agreement. “Serbia is only a transit country, we are not the source of the problem, only part of the resolution of the problem and this is what the EU expects from us, but we need to fulfill standards concerning the treatment of the people passing through our country. On the other side, there is also the problem of false asylum seekers,” says the Minister. She points out that Serbia needs financial aid from the EU for providing for the people passing through the country and that the EU has clearly recognized this. “That is why a high level conference will be held in Budapest in September where the Western-Balkan route will be treated. It has been noticed that 70 percent of the migrants pass through this land route where Serbia is one of the most important transit countries and in this sense clear mechanisms of financial aid will be crystalized,” explains Joksimovic. She says the Vienna Conference on Western Balkans will be held on 27 August and that Serbia is ready for this conference, which is a continuation of the Berlin process commenced last year. “The conference will discuss several topics – regional cooperation, economic cooperation, regional infrastructure, exchange of the youth, and the migrant issue,” says Joksimovic, adding that our region is specific with constant open issues in it. “When we start resolving these issues we will go one step back, but I expect the Western Balkan countries to approach seriously the resolution of open issues and that we will all head towards the zone of stability and prosperity,” said Minister Joksimovic.

West finds Kosovo more important than Dodik (Danas)

The announced referendum in the Republika Srpska (RS) will not greatly threaten Serbia’s reputation among the EU member states, nor could it slow down Belgrade’s EU path, political analysts told Danas. They say it is good that Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic called on the RS President Milorad Dodik to once again think about the referendum on the B&H Court and Prosecution “because he has thus distanced himself from his move”. Representatives in diplomatic circles tell Danas that the West finds it more important for progress to be achieved in the Brussels negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina than the relationship between Belgrade and Banja Luka. If results are soon achieved at the negotiating table, the first negotiating chapters will be opened by the end of the year,” they point out.

Novosti Internet Poll

Will Serbia manage to prevent Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO with strong diplomatic action?

Yes               28.49 percent

No                64.53 percent

Don’t know   6.98 percent

REGIONAL PRESS

Another extraordinary session of FB&H parliament after labor law adopted (Srna)

The speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federation parliament Edin Music has scheduled an extraordinary session of the House for Friday to discuss the labor law adopted by the parliament’s House of Peoples on Thursday.

The workers who gathered outside the Federation parliament building to protest the government’s decision to submit a non-harmonized labor law to the parliament, dispersed after the law against which they protested was passed. Ismet Bajramovic, the head of the B&H Independent Trade Union Federation, which operates in the FB&H territory, called on the demonstrators to gather again at the same place on Friday at 2p.m.

Mektic dissatisfied with the discussion on the Srebrenica events (Srna)

The B&H Council of Ministers adopted on Thursday the Security Ministry’s Information on the events in Srebrenica on 11 July, as well as the addendum to the information, and expressed discontent with the level of coordination of police and other security bodies in the country.

B&H Security Minister Dragan Mektic says he is dissatisfied with the discussion held by the B&H Council of Ministers about the Information on the security aspect of the commemoration in Potocari on 11 July, when Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was attacked. Mektic said the Council didn’t request anybody’s responsibility and that it speculated that the blame for the events in Srebrenica should be placed on the Organizing Committee that has nothing to do with security. “They passed some conclusions such as: ‘we should change laws, improve coordination’, but this is demagogy for me,” he explained. Mektic hopes the B&H parliament will be a more serious place where this issue will be better discussed and he expects concrete conclusions there. “I called for launching responsibility of the police agencies that were supposed to secure the gathering, but there was an attempt to avoid their responsibility and to place the entire blame on the Organizing Committee,” says the Security Minister. He says the Organizing Committee dealt with far more complex issues, and that the Sub-Committee for Security was in charge of the security of the events. When it comes to the data that 20 people are under suspicion, Mektic says this data can only be given by the B&H Prosecution. “I am not authorized to give data from the investigation. However, everything is going too slow, this is what I can notice,” he said.

EU statement on new FB&H labor law (Fena)

A new labor law is an important initiative – not just for the Federation of B&H but for the whole country. It is also an essential part of the Reform Agenda adopted by all levels of government in B&H this past week. As part of a joint commitment to move B&H closer to the EU, in February this year all 14 major political parties in B&H committed themselves to undertake serious economic and social reforms, including reforming the labor market. Now is the time to implement these commitments made by all political actors. And at a time when 60% of the young people do not have a job and the overall level of unemployment is among the highest in Europe, this is a necessary choice. Some people are concerned about how a reform of labor standards may affect them, but there are good reasons to be optimistic.  The new labor law will provide many new job opportunities as is the case in other countries that have recently adopted similar laws, for instance Italy and Serbia. It is for the governments and institutions of B&H to decide on the specifics of the new Labor Law and in accordance with democratic procedures. In our view, the draft labor law presented by the Federation government is sound, balanced and in line with the principles of the EU. While the overall aim should be to make the economy more competitive and ready for growth, workers’ fundamental rights need to be safe guarded. We believe that the new legislation does offer important improvements in workers’ rights, for instance by significantly increasing maternity and paternity leave. Active participation by citizens is essential for a healthy democracy, whether in elections or other democratic actions, and is also vital for the EU integration process. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, with the aim to publicly express certain opinions and disagreements.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Under Western pressure, Kosovo to put war crimes court to new vote (Reuters, by Fatos Bytyci, 31 July 2015)

PRISTINA – Kosovo’s government asked parliament on Friday to reconsider its rejection of an ad hoc court to try ethnic Albanian former guerrillas for alleged war crimes including organ harvesting, responding to intense Western pressure. The young Balkan state’s parliament last month voted against creating the court, which many Kosovo Albanians see as an attempt to tarnish their 1998-99 guerrilla war against Serbia’s repressive rule. The now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which counts among its former ranks much of Kosovo’s current political elite, has been dogged for years by allegations it removed organs from ethnic Serb captives, who were then killed and their organs sold on the black market. Kosovo’s chief diplomatic and financial backers, the United States and European Union, have lobbied hard for Kosovo to address the accusations, and were disappointed by parliament’s ‘No’ vote last month. They warn failure to create the court risks seeing the issue taken up by the United Nations Security Council and the inevitable involvement of Serbia’s big-power ally Russia, which opposes Kosovo sovereignty. “We have to be aware that we cannot build and develop this country if we are isolated by friendly countries,” Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told a cabinet meeting, televised for journalists. “Voting for these changes in the parliament will bring long-term benefit for Kosovo.” Parliament is expected to vote next week, possibly on Tuesday. Local media reports say Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci, a former guerrilla leader, has managed to quell opposition to the court in his Democratic Party of Kosovo, which emerged from the KLA. Some of the party’s lawmakers rebelled last month and voted against the court. After a decade of passive resistance, the KLA took up arms against the Serbian forces of the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic in the late 1990s, eventually winning NATO air support to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognised by over 100 states, not including Serbia or Russia. If parliament approves the court, it will be located in the Netherlands due to concerns over witness intimidation and judicial corruption in Kosovo.

(Editing by Matt Robinson and Robin Pomeroy)

Humanitarian crisis in Serbia as refugees stream in (AFP, by Ismet Hajdari, 31 July 2015)

At the crack of dawn hundreds of refugees, most of them Syrians, stream into Serbia’s southern valley of Presevo after a perilous journey they hope will lead to a new life in the European Union. “It’s a dangerous road, we’ve been walking for days,” says Mahmoud Rashid, a 25-year-old Kurd from northern Syria’s devastated city of Aleppo. For several weeks the men and women, some carrying babies, had mostly walked — crossing through minefields on the Syrian-Turkish border, camping in forests, and hiding from mafia gangs as they passed through Greece and Macedonia. At Presevo, they are met by local officials who usher them into a temporary reception centre to receive medical aid, food and shelter. The majority hope the stay in Presevo, a mostly-ethnic Albanian town of some 30,000, will last only a few hours — the time it takes to apply for asylum in order to get a document legalising their stay in Serbia for 72 hours. Once the precious piece of paper is in hand, the plan is to board a train or bus to the northern town of Subotica on the Hungarian border. But many have discovered that making that crossing is not as easy as thought, given Hungary is building a four-metre high fence to keep migrants out. The number of people apprehended crossing the Serbia-Hungary border alone has risen by more than 2,500 percent since 2010 — from 2,370 to 60,602, Amnesty International said in a report in early July. Those caught are stuck in Serbia, resulting in a sharp jump in the number of asylum seekers there. Since the beginning of the year, more than 37,000 asylum seekers have been registered in the ex-Yugoslavia republic, the interior ministry said. And with between 800 and 1,000 refugees arriving every day in the Presevo valley in recent weeks, according to official estimates, fears are growing of a looming crisis in Serbia. “It’s just the beginning of the refugee crisis in Serbia. Wait until autumn,” said an international relief worker who did not want to be named. “I have a feeling the country will not be able to cope without strong foreign backup.” Underlining the pressing demand, local Red Cross official Ahmet Alimi said: “Since we established the centre a week ago some 5,000 people have passed through, twice more than the number registered by the authorities since early June.”

– No turning back –

In a visit to Serbia this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged that the EU would help Hungary and western Balkan countries deal with the sudden influx of migrants. At the time, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic stressed that the “immigrants are a joint problem and we will need Europe’s help to resolve it.” Visiting Presevo in July to assess the impact of the refugee influx, he asked migrants: “Are people here friendly? Do you have enough to eat?” For many Syrian refugees, Greece is typically the first EU port of call but most try to slip through unnoticed to avoid seeking asylum in a country mired in a debt crisis where they expect little material support. So instead they head through the Balkans, many hoping to wind up in affluent Germany or Sweden. Residents in Presevo are generally sympathetic to the refugees as they themselves are accustomed to conflict due to the inter-ethnic tensions near neighbouring Kosovo. “It’s a shame what was done to those poor people,” said Stojadin Ilic as he handed bottles of water to refugees passing in front of his house. For the migrants, there’s no turning back despite the risks. Rashid sees no alternative. “Aleppo is devastated and very dangerous. There are no more schools, no hospitals. I want to start a new life in Europe because the old one is finished. ISIS razed it to the ground,” said the unshaven young man. Hysein Ahmed, a maths professor also from Aleppo, fled with his wife and their three children. “Just look at this,” he said, showing a scar on the head of his 10-year-old son Lemandar from a shrapnel wound.

Serbia’s Plan for Refugees ‘Likely to Fail’ (BIRN, by Sasa Dragojlo, 31 July 2015)

The new Serbian national strategy on refugees and displaced people will not help them resolve their problems, a refugee association warned. Milojko Budimir, the head of the Association of Refugees and the Association of Other Associations of Serbs from Croatia, told BIRN that the new national strategy for refugees and displaced people will not drastically improve their situation. “This is just a political game that is constantly being played. It is just words on paper and it will not help refugees to solve their numerous problems,” Budimir told BIRN. The Serbian government adopted the new strategy for the period from 2015 to 2020 this month. It targets two groups: refugees whose status has been defined in accordance with the Law on Refugees, mostly from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and internally displaced persons from Kosovo. The goals of the strategy are to provide conditions for their return of refugees, as well as helping those who have chosen to stay in Serbia to integrate. The most common problems that refugees face are with the restitution of property, housing rights, pension entitlements and general integration into society. Budimir argued however that only joint work between Serbia and the countries from which the refugees come will result in progress. “Serbia cannot do it alone. Serbia need to use the international community to mediate and help in establishing a constructive discussion with the countries from which the refugees came to Serbia,” he said. In 1996, about 537,937 refugees and 79,791 war-affected people were been registered in Serbia – most of them from Croatia and Bosnia. During and after the 1999 conflict in Kosovo, more than 210,000 Serbian citizens fled their homes in Kosovo. In March 2004, an additional 20,000 people were displaced from Kosovo. According to the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, 31 per cent of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina have returned and 18 per cent of those from Croatia. The number of refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the total refugee population in Serbia decreased from 43.3 per cent in 1996 to 26 per cent in 2014. The amount of refugees from Croatia however increased from 54 per cent in 1996 to 74 per cent in 2014, showing that refugees are less willing or face more obstacles in returning to Croatia.