LOCAL PRESS

Serbia sends protest note to ICTY; Vucic says it is not a note but a letter (RTS)

Serbia has sent a protest note to the ICTY over the Court’s behavior towards the Serbian legal representative, Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) learns. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic states in the note that this international institution must respect Serbia. He also stresses the double standards applied by the ICTY. The Prime Minister points out that Serbia is not allowed to conduct some cases before national courts, for which other states received consent. Vucic recalls in the note all Serbian letters in which it had given guarantees for releasing indictees pending trial for medical treatment, to which the ICTY remains silent. Following talks with US Senator Bob Corker, Vucic said that he didn’t send a protest note but a letter and that he cannot disclose the content as it is confidential. He says that large protests will be held in Pristina on 17 February, but that he wasn’t happy about this. He adds that this is why agreements with Belgrade are not being fulfilled, which includes the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities. He said that Serbia consistently fulfills all its obligations and that he hopes the Pristina authorities will do the same. Vucic said that it would be difficult to maintain stability in the region in the following period, but pointed out that all Balkan states much needed it.

ICTY: Tolimir died of natural causes (RTS)

Retired general of the Republika Srpska Army and ICTY convict Zdravko Tolimir died of natural causes in the ICTY detention unit, the ICTY announced today. The statement reads that the autopsy was conducted by the Dutch authorities in line with standard procedures according to the national law of the Netherlands.

Dacic: We will not let migrants remain in Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbia meets its international obligations and respects Germany’s position on migrants, but we will not accept that all others seal off their borders, and migrants remain in our territory in the end, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said. At a conference titled “Security Times Press International Press Lounge” in Munich, he underlined that there had been no crisis in the Balkans over the last decade, no economic crisis, international terrorism, no migrant crisis, the foreign ministry said in a release. “However, there is now a possibility of us being victims, as Serbia has a complex geographic position – we are surrounded by the EU – Greece, Bulgaria, Romania. Migrants are coming to you from the Middle East and Africa, but to us migrants are arriving from the EU. How long will we be victims of your incapability to protect your exterior borders?, Dacic said.

Dikovic: Downsizing KFOR would have security implications (Tanjug)

Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Ljubisa Dikovic, met in Belgrade Thursday with KFOR Commander, Major General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta, and said that downsizing KFOR would adversely affect the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija. Dikovic stressed that the Serbian Army saw the KFOR administration as the most important element in preserving security and stability in Kosovo, and downsizing it would have negative security implications, the Serbian Army said in a release. General Dikovic stressed that events that were a threat to security in Kosovo should be called by their true name and the objectives of their perpetrators and possible consequences predicted in advance, and those in charge of security should act preventively, rather than only when incidents occurred.

Selimi is seeing new Kosovo recognitions (Politika)

Reacting to Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Petrit Selimi’s statement – that the process of Kosovo recognition is a one-way street, and that Serbia will be conditioned to recognize its independence, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told Politika: “the political scene in the province is very colorful. Often we hear nonsense and it would be out of place for me to comment countlessly already seen statements of provincial politicians despite the fact that they have a stand, as Serbian citizens, which is radically opposed to the majority stand in our country.”

Njemanze will accept to provide evidence to Serbia (Blic)

Nigerian doctor Philip Njemanze will accept to provide evidence to Serbia and testify about the human organ trafficking that involves former KLA leader Hashim Thaqi, Blic reports. “I stick to every word that I said about Thaqi and Okorocha. I am ready to share the information and evidence concerning the human organ trafficking with any official institution, including the Serbian prosecution,” he told Blic.

REGIONAL PRESS

U.S. Ambassador in B&H: I will not meet with Dodik (Fena)

The U.S. ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack stated that she had regular meetings with all representatives of the authorities in B&H who were prepared to build a better and more positive future, but that she would continue to not meet with the President of Republika Srpska (RS), Milorad Dodik. The Ambassador said she hoped that meeting would take place during her mandate in B&H. So far, there has been no reason for that meeting, Cormack told reporters in Banja Luka, commenting on the fact that U.S. diplomats are still not meeting with Dodik.

RS government adopted the conclusion on non-acceptance of the coordination system (Srna)

The RS government adopted yesterday the conclusion on non-acceptance of the decision on coordination system of European integration process in B&H, which the B&H Council of Ministers adopted on January 26, requiring the B&H Council of Ministers to declare it null and void. The RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic believes that it would be logical if B&H Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak, before the B&H Council of Ministers voted for the controversial decision on coordination mechanism, had compared the text with the text adopted by the RS Assembly, which his party – the PDP voted for. Members of the Joint Commission for European Integration of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly in Sarajevo failed to reach an agreement related to the proposal of the Chairman Nikola Lovrinovic to include the coordination mechanism debate, adopted by the B&H Council of Ministers, in the agenda. The SNSD MP in the House of Representatives of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly, Milica Markovic, announced that most likely at the next session of the House of Representatives, the SNSD MPs will ask Denis Zvizdic, the Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers, and Serb ministers in the B&H Council Ministers to explain the establishment of coordination mechanism. At the same time B&H Security Minister Dragan Mektic has told Srna that he sees nothing disputable in the adopted coordination mechanism, which is generally set so that everything works on the basis of consensus.

B&H Prosecutor’s Office and B&H Court committed a crime (Dnevni avaz)

By monitoring communications between Radoncic and Vidovic, the B&H Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of B&H committed a crime! Lawyer Kadrija Kolic yesterday sent his written response to the heads of the Bar Association of the Federation of B&H and the Regional Bar Association regarding the scandalous action of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H which invited lawyer Vasvija Vidovic to appear as a witness in a show trial before the Court of B&H, thus making it impossible for her to work in the defense team of the leader of SBB Fahrudin Radoncic. In this way, as Vidovic had already warned, this constituted a violation of the law and an attempt to undermine Radoncic’s defense! In addition, for the same reason Vidovic cannot act as a defense counsel for Bilsena Sahman. Apart from asking the relevant institutions to adopt decisions and offer their public response, Kolic sent his written statement to all media under the title of “Frequent monitoring of telephone communications between lawyers and their clients, and the last example of it in case of monitoring of communications of lawyer Vasvija Vidovic of 9/2/2016”.

DPS’ offer is aimed at reaching an agreement (MINA)

It is in the best interest of all parties to complete negotiations in the parliament as soon as possible, because the offer of the president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) is aimed at reaching an agreement to remove doubts regarding the electoral process, the DPS announced. The political director of the DPS, Tarzan Milosevic said that the party has always been open for dialogue.He said he wanted to believe that the part of the opposition participating in the negotiations expressed the desire to reach an agreement.

Kumanovo Trial: We were told not to shoot at Police, but in the air (MIA)

Nasuf Bekiri from Kosovo, one of the defendants for the events in Diva Naselba settlement in Kumanovo, in his statement in court said that upon arriving in Kumanovo, they were told that they would only be figures, and if police officials were to approach them, they should not fire at them but rather in the air. He also stated that four of the terrorists who surrendered to the police were allegedly killed in a police station. “We are not terrorists and we did not come to Kumanovo to involve in terrorist acts. I remember the words of Mirsad Ndreckaj and Bek Rizaj that in Kumanovo we will only be figures, and if policemen were to approach us we should not fire at them, but rather in the air. We will not admit anything. We are not terrorists. I demand Europe and America to clear the case. Even a two-year-old would know that we have been used for political goals.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Europe’s watchdog: Migrant crisis threatens Balkan stability (EUobserver, by Nikolaj Nielsen, 11 February 2016)

The migrant crisis risks reigniting old tensions among the Western Balkan nations as EU-led policies fail to stem the flow of migrants, says Europe’s human rights watchdog.

Thorbjorn Jagland, who presides over the Council of Europe, said panic, the lack of a coordinated EU response, and national agendas have led Europe “to a very very dangerous point”. “If they [Western Balkans] end up with the whole problem of refugees, you can foresee that this would be very dramatic in a region where there are already so many tensions from the past,” he told reporters in Brussels on Thursday (11 February). He also cast doubt on EU plans to return asylum seekers to Greece from other capitals and possibly place them in detention centres. The Strasbourg-based body houses the European Court of Human Rights, which in 2011 banned EU states from transferring people to Greece under the strained so-called Dublin asylum rules. “Greece cannot be a kind of camp for all those who are coming either from Turkey or are being sent back from other European countries. As I see it, it is not a solution to the problem,” he said. “What are they going to do with them? One can obviously not detain them and keep them there,” he added. The EU executive on Wednesday said Greece had until March to report on progress in improving living conditions for asylum seekers so that other EU states could start sending them back to Athens. “This does not mean transfers will start. We are not there yet,” noted EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. But the deadline coincides with a proposal to overhaul the Dublin regulation, which could include forcing member states to distribute asylum seekers in a much-loathed quota system.

Dublin overhaul

Earlier proposals involving quotas have been met with outright derision by member states, raising the likelihood any Dublin overhaul could take years to finalise. Avramopoulos earlier said that those not entitled to protection may have to be detained in removal centres to guarantee their departure. But such prospects are likely to add to an ever expanding list of woes in Athens as it continues grapple with an economic crisis, political turmoil, and the brunt of migrant flows into Europe. Just over 70,000 people have arrived in Greece since the start of the year. Italy, in comparison, has registered under 6,000 over the same time period. The vast majority that do slip by EU and Greek asylum authorities head towards the border with Macedonia in the hope of asking for asylum in Austria or Germany. But an increasingly severe border clamp down on the Macedonian side means people who are not from Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan are stuck. Human Rights Watch says people and their families unable to cross are being targeted by gangs. Should Greece meet Dublin standards then Germany or Austria can start returning them to Greece to complete the asylum processing. “If one starts sending people back to Greece, if the conditions improve, then a new problem arises, namely shall they be there forever, can Greece really cope with an additional number of refugees?” said Jagland. The Strasbourg court’s decision to prevent the transfer of migrants to Greece can only be overturned if another case determines that the country meets the minimum standards set by the Dublin regulation.

Bosnia Judicial Authorities Uphold Hijab Ban, Despite Protests (RFE/RL, 11 February 2016)

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s supervising judicial authority has upheld a ban on wearing the Islamic head scarf and other religious symbols in courts and other legal institutions.

The decision to uphold the ban on the hijab was announced by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) on February 11 and came despite weekend protests in the capital and several other Bosnian towns. It applies to judges and other employees in the Bosnian judiciary and pertains to all religious symbols and garb. But it explicitly mentions the hijab — the Islamic head scarf that leaves the face open while covering the hair, ears, and neck. The council, which supervises the functioning of the judiciary, announced the measure in October. But the measure went largely unnoticed until it went into effect some two weeks ago, prompting criticism and mass protests. The largest protest took place on February 7 in Sarajevo, where some 2,000 people, mostly women, held a one-hour demonstration in support of their right to wear the hijab. Many of the female demonstrators held banners with various slogans supporting the wearing of the hijab, including: “The Hijab Is My Right” and “The Hijab Is My Life.” Speaking on February 10, council President Milan Tegeltija sought to allay the tensions, saying they had been prompted by a misunderstanding. Tegeltija said the council was only acting in accordance with the ruling adopted in October. He explained that the ban was needed to maintain the image of the courts as impartial arbiters. “No one is stating that, by wearing a religious symbol, a member of the judiciary is biased,” he was quoted as saying by Indian daily Siasat. But he added that the presence of such symbols could prompt those under trial to accuse the judiciary of lacking neutrality. Tegeltija, quoted by the Vijesti.ba website, reiterated that the decision refers to all religious symbols, although the public protests centered only on the hijab.

In singling out the Islamic head scarf, the measure states that lawyers, court officials, and other judicial system employees will no longer be allowed to wear the hijab to work. It also says that allowing witnesses and other third parties taking part in hearings to wear a head scarf would be decided on a case-by-case basis. Critics have pointed out that while a Christian cross can be removed or concealed, the same is not true for a hijab. It was the first time Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was part of the former Yugoslavia and whose population of 3.8 million is about 40 percent Muslim, has ruled on the wearing of the hijab. Yugoslavia’s communist rulers after World War II banned the wearing of a different type of Muslim head scarf, the niqab, which covers a woman’s face almost completely, with the exception of the eyes. The hijab ruling has been condemned by Muslim political and religious leaders in the country. Several petitions have been posted online calling for the measure to be scrapped. And on the occasion of World Hijab Day, an annual event held this year on February 1 that encourages Muslim and non-Muslim women to wear the hijab, Bosnian activists posted pictures of themselves wearing the head scarf and holding the sign #unbiased. Tegeltija said that the head of Bosnia’s Muslim community, Husein Kavazovic, has told the council that he is interested in cooperating with the body. To reduce tensions, Tegeltija also proposed holding talks with leaders of Bosnia’s Muslim and other religious communities, which in Bosnia includes Orthodox and Catholic Christians. Another European country that partially forbids religious symbols is France, which banned them from public schools in 2004. In 2010, France also prohibited the concealing of a person’s face in public, resulting in a ban on the wearing of face-covering headgear, including niqabs and other veils, except under specific circumstances.

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.