LOCAL PRESS

Ongoing parliamentary debate on Gasic’s dismissal (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic called on MPs to approve his decision to dismiss Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic for the sake of the decency and civility expected from ministers – not because he is disputing Gasic’s good results. “I submitted the request to dismiss Minister Gasic over one statement, because this is much more than this one statement and one insult,” said Vucic while elaborating this dismissal before the Serbian MPs. “I signed the decision to relieve Bratislav Gasic of his duties as defense minister because our society must be decent and because Serbia must be a decent, normal and modern country,” Vucic said. “I ask you to approve the motion with all respect for the serious work that Gasic has done,” Vucic concluded.

So far, the support for Gasic’s dismissal was announced by the MPs of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), United Serbia (JS) and the coalition Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO)-Christian Democratic Party of Serbia (DHSS), Social-Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS), Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), New Serbia (NS), Social-Democratic Party (SDS), Democratic Party (DS).

Vucic: EP resolution good signal, different position of our country (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic emphasized that the adoption of the EP resolution was not only the issue of political declaration, but also the signal of different position of Serbia at the international political scene. “It is not just an issue of political declaration. It says that, if we should do our job, people in Serbia could have an opportunity to achieve their dreams and goals and that we slowly but certainly get closer to those normal and decent countries in the EU”, Vucic said to the reporters in London.

Vucic to Breedlove: KFOR plays key role in protection of Serbs (Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has conveyed today to NATO chief commander in Europe, US General Philip Breedlove, satisfaction with the good cooperation with KFOR, and General Breedlove thanked Vucic for the efforts he is investing in preserving stability in the Western Balkan region. Vucic pointed out that KFOR, i.e. international peace forces in Kosovo and Metohija under NATO command, play the key role in protecting the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as guarantor of their security, as well as preservation of stability in the region. Vucic voiced hope that cooperation between the Serbian Army and NATO within the Partnership for Peace Program must improve towards further building capacities for contribution to international peace and stability. General Breedlove confirmed that KFOR would in the future fulfill, in a responsible manner, its obligations in preserving security in Kosovo and Metohija.

He added there were many possibilities for improving cooperation between NATO and the Serbian Army, which he assessed as very professional.

Generals Dikovic, Di Marco: VS-NATO cooperation is good (Tanjug)

Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS), Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic, met with chief of the NATO Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Leonardo di Marco, in Belgrade Thursday. Dikovic and Di Marco said that cooperation between the VS and the JFC Naples was good, proven by Serbia’s participation in NATO’s Operational Capabilities Concept. Dikovic and Di Marco agree that countering security challenges, risks and threats and preserving security requires cooperation of all state security institutions in the region. General Dikovic said that the VS and KFOR enjoyed very good mutual cooperation, stressing in particular the importance and responsibility of KFOR when it came to security in Kosovo-Metohija.

Dacic-Breedlove meeting cancelled (RTS/Beta)

The meeting between Foreign Minister Dacic and NATO chief commander in Europe, US General Philip Breedlove, has been cancelled, the Foreign Ministry announced. The reasons have not been stated, but Dacic will take part today at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Amsterdam, reads the statement. According to earlier announcements by the Foreign Ministry, Breedlove was supposed to visit Belgrade today at the invitation of the Chief of General Staff Dikovic.

Kosovo Serbs entering election race (Novosti)

The Serb List in Kosovo and Metohija will nominate the Head of the Pec District Vinka Radosavljevic as its candidate for the Kosovo president, Novosti learns. The leader of the Serb List Slavko Simic told Novosti that the idea on a Serb candidate is being seriously examined and that they will pass a definite decision in the next two-three days, together with the government in Belgrade: “We have a short list of candidates and if we decide to launch the candidacy, we will present the program of our candidate. In this case, we will need 30 signatures from MPs, and one should bear in mind that the political destabilization in Kosovo and Metohija is not in our favor.” Asked whether the representative of the Serb community would thus run for the president of the “Kosovo Republic”, Simic says: “That would be the president of the province of Kosovo and Metohija. It is clear that there are still preconceptions towards the institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, but due to the circumstances it is necessary to accept responsibility for our people.”

EU to demand Serbia to host and retain 6000 refugees (Danas)

The EU will not require Serbia to accept and retain a large number of refugees, and this figure certainly won’t exceed 6000, which corresponds to the estimated Serbian capacity, Danas reports, quoting diplomatic sources close to the prime minsiter’s cabinet of one of the countries that organized the London conference. The same principle applies to accepting and retaining refugees in Macedonia. There won’t be any pressure on the countries of the region, the source claims. According to these sources, unlike in 2015 when 800,000 refugees passed through Serbia on their way to EU countries, an expected 1.2 million refugees will attempt to cross the EU border this year.

Djuric, Simic discuss political challenges in Kosovo (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric met in Belgrade Thursday with leader of the Serb list in Kosovo and Metohija Slavko Simic to discuss ways to improve the political, security and economic situation of the Kosovo Serbs and adopting a clear position on future political challenges. Djuric and Simic discussed the current political and security situation in Kosovo and once again confirmed the importance of and the need for coordinated action and cooperation between the Serbian government and elected Kosovo Serb representatives, with an emphasis on the need for strengthening political unity of the Serb people in the province. Djuric and Simic stressed the importance of the Serbs in the Kosovo Assembly showing unity and synchronized action and taking a clear position on future political challenges.

Belgrade sees ICTY’s request as pressure (Novosti)

Official Serbia sees the public invitation of the ICTY for Belgrade to state why it is not arresting three members of the Serbian Radical Party as new political pressure from the ICTY. The state team has prepared a detailed legal argumentation in connection with the request to extradite Petar Jojic, Jovo Ostojic and Vjerica Radeta. The Coordinator for Cooperation with the ICTY Rasim Ljajic tells Novosti that the conference that will be held on 10 February is not the first one: “We held two conferences that were labeled confidential. We treat the fact that the ICTY has now decided to publicly call Belgrade as increased pressure on our country. We will take part in the conference with attorney Sasa Obradovic and this time we will present only the legal aspects of the case.”

Car owned by Gracanica municipal lawyer torched (RTS)

A car owned by the municipal lawyer of Gracanica, a Serb enclave in central Kosovo-Metohija, has been torched, prompting a police investigation. Gracanica municipal officials had been receiving threats for months, but the police have not identified those behind them, the RTS reported late Thursday. This is the third or fourth time that vehicles or property have been torched, said Gracanica Mayor Vladeta Kostic, who hopes that the perpetrators will at last be brought to justice. “We believe that the police have done absolutely nothing about the previous two cases when the property of our officials was torched and that this is a result of police inaction,” Kostic said. Asked who the perpetrators could be, Kostic said that the threats, made from unknown telephone numbers, began after the municipality tried to tackle the issue of usurped flats.

Ministry: Visit to Srebrenica postponed over technicalities (Beta)

A visit to Srebrenica by the Serbian government was postponed for a few days for technical reasons, in order to prepare the documents necessary to outline joint projects with the municipality, Beta learned at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure on Feb. 4. Beta was told that “when the necessary records, relevant comparative projects in Serbia and the like are collected, a team of engineers will be ready to arrange the details.” The office of Srebrenica Mayor Camil Durakovic said in a press release that a Serbian government delegation, headed by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic, canceled the visit to Srebrenica, scheduled for Feb. 5, and that a new date would be set. During a visit to Srebrenica, the Serbian government representatives and Srebrenica’s municipal delegates were to define the projects the Serbian government planned to finance in Srebrenica by the end of the year.

REGIONAL PRESS

Indictement filed against Fahrudin Radoncic, Bakir Dautbasic, Bilsen Sahman and Zijad Hadzijahic (Fena)

Deputy Chief Prosecutor and Head of the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office, issued an indictment against Fahrudin Radoncic, Bakir Dautbasic, Bilsen Sahman and Zijad Hadzijahic, announced today the Prosecutor’s Office.​

I will always gladly respond to the calls from judicial institutions (Dnevni avaz)

Member of the Presidency of B&H Bakir Izetbegovic confirmed that he was questioned in the B&H Prosecutor’s Office regarding the circumstances of appointing the Ambassador of B&H to Slovenia Nermana Hadzijahic. Izetbegovic highlighted that even earlier he used to say he will always be glad to respond to the calls from judicial institution. “Of course I said that the appointment of the Ambassador of B&H to Slovenia had nothing to do with the case of possible influence on witnesses, which is what Bakir Dautbasic and Fahrudin Radoncic are being charged with,” Izetbegovic said to the press in Sarajevo. Izetbegovic pointed out that, besides this, he cannot say anything else in order to protect the integrity of the process and that the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H is relevant for all other possible questions.​

Izetbegovic: Prosecution of officers of B&H Army an attempt to establish artificial balance (Fena)

A definite historical fact that can be substantiated with exact data is that the regular troops of the Army of B&H prevented, sanctioned and opposed carrying out of war crimes. On the other side we had Karadzic, Mladic and some paramilitary groups in the country which systematically organized and committed crimes, mainly against civilians,” said in Sarajevo, the B&H Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic, and called the prosecution of the officers of B&H Army an attempt to establish the artificial balance.

B&H Prosecutor’s Office dissatisfied with Serbian court’s ruling in Gojkovic case (Fena)

The B&H Prosecutor’s Office expressed dissatisfaction with the Serbian court’s ruling, saying that Brano Gojkovic should have been given a longer prison sentence because he took part in “one of the largest executions in the Srebrenica genocide”.

Cormack: US is not toppling the Republika Srpska government (Fena)

U.S. Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack said that the U.S. has no intention to topple any government in B&H, in the Republika Srpska (RS), or anywhere else. Commenting on the claims, which can be heard in RS, about alleged plans of the opposition, to topple the RS Government, and alleged role of the international factor and above all the United States in those plans, Cormack stressed that those allegations are not true. “The goal for me and my colleagues in the international community, in all missions, is to really build positive relationships with the public and all levels of government … I know that young people need jobs, better education, and this is what we do,” said US Ambassador. She reiterated that the US supports RS as part of B&H. “It is clear that I respect the state of B&H and the two entities, the Federation of B&H and RS. I know I keep hearing that the United States and the US Embassy are trying to destroy the RS, but this is not true. Last year we worked closely with the people, and even before, through the USAID programs we worked in order to help communities recover from the floods,” said Ambassador Cormack and added that the desire of the USA is to have B&H become a stable and prosperous country in all its segments. She reiterated that corruption is a huge problem in this country, “it is on the judicial institutions to solve this problem, we need the independence of these institutions and we need them to do their job. This is essential in any democratic system”, said Cormack. She stated that B&H is moving towards joining the EU, and added that she hopes that B&H submits its application for candidate status in the European Union on February 15th. Cormack said that B&H needs a coordination mechanism, as well as progress towards the adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement. “The application involves even more work that should be done. A huge amount of work will follow, so we appreciate the commitment of governments at all levels to work on it, because we believe that this is essential,” concluded Cormack.

Croatian President Cabinet: No Conditions for Visit to Nikolic (Jutarnji list)

The cabinet of Croatia President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has denied the existence of five conditions which the Croatian President allegedly posed to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic for his trip to Zagreb, describing as media spin without coverage the reports of some media on the subject, Zagreb-based Jutarnji list reports. There has been no five-condition “package” that includes resolved the question of missing person, restitution of property, cultural heritage and archive material, as well as settling the frontier on the Danube, the Zagreb-based daily reported quoting its own sources and adding the Serbian President Office has been advised to that respect as well. “The Croatia President insists only on resolving at least one open issue between the two countries during the first official visit of the Serbian President in order to ensure that the visit is not aimless”, the Croatian President Cabinet allegedly stated. Grabar-Kitarovic has always insisted on a high quality of any state official visit, with clear objectives, purpose and results. “Clearly, it is not President Nikolic’s turn to visit Zagreb and there are no tensions in relation to that. It’s just that the visit has to have substance and the President told that Nikolic during their brief meeting in New York”, Grabar-Kitarovic cabinet announced. The Croatian President allegedly has nothing against Nikolic visit to Zagreb, but wants to avoid a mere protocol visit. “Insisting on the substance and on resolving at least one open issue is just a good ground for a successful visit to Zagreb, to the benefit of both Croatia and Serbia”, Jutarnji list reports.

Mandic: Referendum or conflict (RTCG)

The first man of New Serbian Democracy and one of the leaders of the Democratic Front Andrija Mandic said in an interview with Russian TV channel Cargrad that Montenegro’s entry into NATO without a referendum is a dangerous plan that could lead to conflict in the country.

“This is a dangerous plan. That plan may lead to a conflict in Montenegro. We do not want Montenegro to risk their future, we don’t want to transform the country where there is peace, where there is still some kind of order and coexistence of different communities, into a powder keg, and to experience what is happening in North African countries,” said Mandic. He also said in an interview that during the bombing in 1999 the same fate befell Serbia and Montenegro, and that “murderers, people who have committed the most serious war crimes in Yugoslavia are intended to sneak one part in a fraudulent manner, contrary to the will of citizens, into NATO.”

Mandic commented on the visit to DF leaders to Moscow, saying that this is the first visit of the Montenegrin opposition on such a level, since they met with the President of the Russian Parliament Sergei Naryshkin. As he said, they conducted talks with him from which they understood that Russia wants to build good relations with Montenegro in the future, too, “but with Montenegro which would not be Milo Djukanovic’s, would not introduce sanctions against Russia and join NATO, and which would primarily took care of its own interests”.

The Prime Minister’s offer to the opposition (RTCG)

Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Djukanovic said in his offer to the opposition that none of the strategic foreign policy commitments of the Government can be endangered because that would jeopardize both Montenegrin and its citizens’ interests. The document, which has the working title “The basic elements of the offer for the participation of opposition parliamentary parties in the Government of Montenegro in order to eliminate doubts in the electoral system”, the Prime Minister Djukanovic proposed a number of personnel but also systemic concessions to the opposition, as well as a choice of positions either at the ministerial or a deputy level in the government of Montenegro. “If the opposition does not want to accept the extent of responsibility or has no adequate candidates for ministerial posts in this moment, in fact if it wants to focus only on controlling the use of state resources in the period up to the elections, there is another possibility: that the opposition candidates obtain the position of Deputy Ministers with additional powers. This would imply that the use of state resources cannot be granted without the signature of that assistant,” Djukanovic said. He reminded that all remarks of representatives of the parliamentary opposition were related to the accuracy of the electoral roll and the abuse of state resources. “I thought that the best answer to such doubt is an offer to representatives of opposition parties to achieve full control over the work of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture in the period before the parliamentary elections,” the Prime Minister said. He added that the opposition was offered one position of the Deputy Prime Minister in order to have access to the work of the government as a whole, through inner cabinet.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Euro MPs Criticise Serbia’s Welcome for War Criminal (BIRN, by Ivana Nikolic, 5 February 2016)

A European Parliament resolution criticised Serbia for staging an official welcomes for a released war criminals and urged Belgrade to do more to find missing persons from the 1990s conflicts.

The resolution on Serbia adopted by lawmakers in the European Parliament on Thursday called on Belgrade to refrain “from gestures such as publicly welcoming the return of individuals convicted of war crimes”. In December last year, top officials greeted Vladimir Lazarevic when he arrived in Serbia after serving his sentence for war crimes in Kosovo, sparking criticism from victims. The resolution was adopted as Belgrade prepares to enter negotiations with Brussels about joining the EU. Prepared by the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Serbia, David McAllister, it also urged Serbia to continue working to establish the fate of people who remain missing since the 1990s wars and to prepare a reparation scheme for victims and their families. The resolution said this would be “an important precondition for reconciliation, ensuring the right of victims’ families to know the fate of their missing family members”. It further urged Belgrade to adopt a law setting out the rights of civilian victims of war, including compensation and benefits. A draft law on civilian victims, which has been criticised by several rights groups that argue that it does not uphold victims’ rights, is supposed to be passed in the coming months. “A law on civilian victims should be adopted without any undue delay bearing in mind that the existing legislation does not recognise several groups of war crime victims,” the European Parliament resolution said. It also condemned “all forms of hate speech or war-time rhetoric” and underlined the need to strengthen and depoliticise Serbian institutions which deal with war crimes. MEPs went on to urge Belgrade to “act in a spirit of good-neighbourly relations” with Kosovo. The resolution said the European Parliament hopes that the issue of Kosovo’s failed application to join the UN’s cultural wing, UNESCO, “will not hamper the dialogue, and the further integration of Kosovo in regional and international organisations”. However it praised the publication of the draft of Serbia’s first-ever national war crimes strategy, which pledges to remedy past failings and prosecute high-level perpetrators for large-scale crimes. The finalised draft is expected to be adopted in the first half of 2016.

Why Ex-Yugoslav Balkans Reject NATO, Preserve Sovereign Neutrality (Sputnik, 4 February 2016)

Explaining his new idea of a popular movement against Balkan countries’ joining of NATO, Serbia’s Nenad Popovic cites both popular sentiment and long-term gains. Russia has an interest in maintaining close ties with ex-Yugoslav Balkan states and maintaining their neutrality from the EU and NATO, head of a recently founded Serbian People’s Party, Nenad Popovic told Sputnik. A businessman who made much of his fortune through privatization in early 1990s Russia, Popovic turned his attention to Serbia in the 2000s, after the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic. He went on to a leadership position in the Democratic Party of Serbia and became one of the chief negotiators on the Kosovo issue, attending high-profile meetings in Serbia, the United States and Albania. “Today, between two-thirds and 85 percent of Serbian citizens oppose NATO membership, while the government considers the ‘Partnership for Peace’ program the highest possible level of cooperation with NATO,” Popovic told Sputnik. He added that in Bosnia, the process is likewise stalled, Popovic said, as while the Bosnian and Croat politicians support the idea, it still requires the consent of the country’s Serbs, who live in the Republika Srpska, which makes up 49 percent of the country’s territory. In Macedonia, only the separatism-minded Albanian minority supports accension to NATO, Popovic said, while Greece has blocked the organization from accepting the country because of a naming dispute. “The situation with Montenegro even more clear. Montenegrins are traditionally sympathetic to Russia, while 40 percent of them identify themselves as Serbs and speak the Serbian language. But even among those who identify themselves as Montenegrins, many oppose joining NATO. The Montenegro regime stubbornly avoids the referendum, in which, obviously, the majority of Montenegrin citizens would vote for the country’s military neutrality, and therefore, against joining NATO,” Popovic added. Russia has a good position in former Yugoslavia, according to Popovic, ecause it supports the territorial integrity of Montenegro and Macedonia, while also supporting the current sovereign status of Bosnia. As for the South Stream project, the European Union blocked it on selfish grounds, according to Popovic, fearing an “expansion of Russian political influence,” something that, he says, Russia must do to strengthen the Balkan states’ neutrality. He added that while Serbia should have closer ties with EU members, it would not be rational for Serbia to join the bloc when Russia remains its close and natural ally.