LOCAL PRESS
Vucic: Serbia will challenge UEFA decision on Kosovo (Tanjug)
Serbia will take all legal measures to challenge the decision of European football’s governing body UEFA to admit Kosovo as its member, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party Aleksandar Vucic said. What happened in Budapest when UEFA accepted Kosovo as its member is in contravention of the Statutes. We will take legal action to challenge the decision, he told reporters at the SNS headquarters on Wednesday evening. “The decision is not in accordance with the UEFA Statutes which clearly say that only UN members could join the organization,” he underlined.
Ambassador Scott conveys Kerry’s congratulations to Vucic (Tanjug)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has congratulated Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on his election victory, saying that his leadership will continue to be of crucial importance in maintaining the focus and momentum for achieving the set goals. Kerry’s letter of congratulation was given to Vucic by U.S. Ambassador in Belgrade Kyle Scott on Thursday. “I am glad that we will have an opportunity to continue working toward achieving the shared priorities, including implementing the EU integration process, encouraging regional reconciliation and strengthening bilateral relations. We are looking forward to the possibilities for supporting your government’s commitments towards improving the rule of law, fight against corruption, development of the economy and normalization of relations with Kosovo. I would also commend your personal efforts to improve relations with neighbors. Your leadership will continue to be of crucial importance in maintaining the focus and momentum for achieving the goals,” the government’s press office cited Kerry as saying. During the meeting, Ambassador Scott said voters placed great trust in Vucic to go on along the path he had embarked on in his previous term of office. Extending his thanks, the Serbian prime minister said Serbia would stay committed to the EU agenda, and stability as key to the progress of the entire region.
Results after repeated elections (Tanjug/RTS/Beta/B92)
The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)-led list won the highest number of votes, and the Dveri-Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) coalition has officially crossed the threshold, the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) said after processing 99.99 percent of materials from the snap parliamentary elections. At a press conference held around 1a.m. on Thursday, the results of the repeated parliamentary elections were published from 14 polling stations, with the results from a polling station in New Belgrade still pending, RIK Chairman Dejan Djurdjevic said, adding that a squabble ensued there over the signing of the polling station logo. According to the latest results, SNS-led list secured 48.25 percent, the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)-United Serbia (JS) – 10.95 percent, the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) – 8.10 percent, the Democratic Party (DS) – 6.02 percent and the Enough is Enough movement (DJB) – 6.02 percent, Dveri-DSS 5.03 percent and the Social Democratic Party (SDS)-Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) 5.02 percent, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) got 1.50 percent, the Bosniak Democratic Community of Sandzak -0.86 percent, the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak – 0.80 percent, the Green Party 0.63 percent and the Party for Democratic Action -0.43 percent of the vote. When the data are translated into seats, this means that the SNS-led list won 131 seats, the SPS-JS coalition – 29, the SRS- 22, the DS- 16, the Enough is Enough movement- 16 seats, the Dveri-DSS coalition -13, the SDS-LDP-LSV – 13 seats, the SVM-4, the Bosniak Democratic Community of Sandzak and the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak- two seats each, and Green Party and the Party for Democratic Action – one seat each.
In the repeat vote at 14 polling stations, the SNS-led list gained 54.35 percent, the Dveri-DSS coalition 22.58 percent, the SPS-JS coalition – 7.85, the SRS- 3.16 percent, the SDS-LDP-LSV 2.58 percent, the DS – 2.27 percent, the SVM-0.13 percent.
Director of the national stats office Miladin Kovacevic said the results from the remaining polling station in New Belgrade could have no effect on the outcome of the repeat vote.
Decisions on caucus whip ongoing (Danas)
The parties that have ensured entrance into the Serbian parliament have already started deciding who will head their deputies in the parliament in the next four-year period. The caucus whip of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will be Aleksandar Martinovic, former deputy of Zoran Babic at this post. After a long period, the Democratic Party (DS) leader Bojan Pajtic is returning to parliament, and he will assume the post of the caucus whip from Natasa Vuckovic, Danas writes. If the SNS leader Aleksandar Vucic decides not to invite the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to be part of the executive power, the SPS leader Ivica Dacic will be this party’s caucus whip. The chairperson of the SPS executive board Dijana Vukomanovic tells Danas that Dacic will head the SPS caucus during the constitution of the parliament. “If the SPS becomes a partner in the future government, then the caucus whip will be someone else,” says Vukomanovic. The chairperson of the executive board of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Vjerica Radeta tells Danas that the this party’s caucus whip will be probably be its leader Vojislav Seselj, even though the SRS has not yet decided on this officially. Rasim Ljajic’s Social-Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS) says that they have not yet decided who will be their caucus whip. “For the time being, Milorad Mijatovic, who was the SDPS caucus whip in the past two convocations, has the best chance,” says the SDPS vice president Vladimir Marinkovic. The vice president of the United Serbia (JS) Petar Petrovic says that they didn’t have a difficult job in this party and that their caucus whip will be its leader Dragan Markovic Palma. For the time being, other parties still don’t know who will be their caucus whip.
PIK announces final results of Vojvodina provincial elections (RTS)
The Provincial Election Commission (PIK) on Wednesday announced the final results of the elections for the Vojvodina Assembly that took place on 24 April. The bloc led by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 44.48% of the vote, and will have 63 MPs in the 120-seat body. The bloc led by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), which won 8.86% of the vote, will have 12 seats. Ten seats were won by both the bloc led by the up to now governing Democratic Party (DS), which won 7.24% of the vote, and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), which won 7.66% of votes. The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) won 6.43% of the vote, namely nine seats. The Enough Is Enough won 5.54% of the vote and will have seven seats whereas the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), which won 4.88% of the vote, will have six seats. The Hungarian Movement (1.71% and two seats) and the Green Party (1.14% and one seat) will be also represented at the provincial parliament. Incumbent Vojvodina Assembly speaker Istvan Pasztor has three days to announce the date of the constituent session holding, which a new speaker, deputy speakers and secretary of the provincial parliament will be elected at.
Croatia keeps blocking opening of Chapter 23 in negotiations with Serbia (RTS)
Croatia again, at a meeting of ambassadors of the EU member states in Brussels on Wednesday, did not approve the opening of the Chapter 23 in the accession negotiations between Serbia and the EU, the state-run Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) reported. The Netherlands, the EU presidency holder, following a break of several weeks, tried to have the EU member states reach a consensus, raising the issue to the ambassadorial level of decision- making. RTS reported that the Croatian representative said that Zagreb could not agree with the opening of the Chapter 23 because of regional competence of Serbia’s war crimes court and representation of the Croatian minority in the Serbian parliament. This time 27 member states again supported the proposal on the opening of the Chapter 23 with Serbia, concerning the judiciary and fundamental rights.
Joksimovic: It is European Commission’s turn now (Tanjug)
Serbian Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic said late on Wednesday, following Croatia’s new blockade of opening Chapter 23 in Serbia’s negotiations with the EU, that Serbia had met the agreed criteria and it was now the European Commission’s turn to make a move. “We’re going in a circle. Serbia has behaved and is behaving constructively. Just as I said earlier, this is a matter of the member-states and the European Commission reaching an agreement,” Joksimovic told Tanjug. She stressed that Serbia had met the previously agreed criteria for opening the chapters. “Now it’s the European Commission’s turn,” said Joksimovic.
Kosovo’s “both standards and status” (Politika)
By some strange logic, it would ensue that the Serbs too can be satisfied with the fact that the European Commission (EC) recommended yesterday that Kosovo be approved the visa-free regime. Namely, only six months ago, some of the criteria for receiving the “Schengen”, which Kosovo had still not fulfilled, referred to taking care of returnees, freedom of movement, integration of minority communities, resolving ethnically motivated crimes fight against organized crime, corruption and terrorism. The reports from Kosovo weren’t very convincing that the situation in these domains has progressed so fast, but it seems we will just have to trust EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn who assessed on Twitter that abolishing visas is a “deserved award to Kosovo citizens” and nearly exclaimed: “Reforms are worth. Continue on the European path!”
If not the Serbs, then at least the Europeans could be relieved after the EC decision. Last spring they tried to stop around hundred thousand inhabitants of Kosovo who headed towards the Serbian-Hungarian border, in an attempt to illegally reach EU territory and seek asylum. Still, this perhaps doesn’t imply that all of them will now be able to legally enter the EU and still seek to stay there permanently. If one accepts the assumption that Kosovo has progressed as much as this may be concluded from the recommendation of the EC and Hahn’s words, it must be that much less of them, despite the poor economic situation at home, now wishe to move out.
In many ways, standards for Kosovo have been even more flexible for Kosovo than for Turkey, which, if nothing else, was never labeled by the European, and not only the Serbian media, no matter how much they criticize Rexhep Erdogan, as the “mafia state”, as they have done for the territory under Pristina’s control. At one point, the West proclaimed the policy “standards before status” for Kosovo, claiming that it will insist on the establishment of an exemplary rule of law and protection of its inhabitants before it is recognized independence. Subsequently, the Serbs there were massively attacked on 17 March 2004, which served, in an absurd turn, many Western politicians to declare full statehood of Kosovo as the only way to achieve standards, i.e. for the Serbs to be protected. They noticed the “mafia state” only when Kosovo – already recognized in most of the European capitals even though the Serbs were not the only ones who objected that this was in violation with international law – started to cause problems to them as well, just as during the influx of asylum seekers last spring.
KFOR takes away the bridge in Leposavic municipality (Politika, by Biljana Radomirovic)
KFOR members who financed the construction of the new bridge on the Bistrica River, in the Leposavic municipality, which is located on the Kosovska Mitrovica-Kraljevo road, violated the agreement with the leadership of this municipality and gave the construction of the old bridge to an Albanian whose company is conducting the works. Leposavic Mayor Dragan Jablanovic is outraged with KFOR’s action, and after talks with KFOR representatives, who are stationed in the “Nothing Hill” military base in Popovo polje near Leaposavic, he requested a meeting with the KFOR commander in charge of zone “north”. “In previous talks with KFOR representatives, we reached agreement to take over the construction of the old bridge and to relocate to a smaller river bridge. However, we were tricked since KFOR had given or sold the bridge to an Albanian company that is conducting the works,” Jablanovic told Politika, noting that the Leposavic leadership originally objected since KFOR rejected a Serb construction company trained to perform this kind of specialized work. The Mayor says that this municipality had proposed the Belgrade firm “Mostogradnja” that constructed two bridges on their territory and whose machines are still in the field. “They rejected us and entrusted the construction of the bridge to an Albanian from Suva Reka. I heard a few days ago that the iron construction was sold as scrap iron, even though we told KFOR that the original bridge has also historical significance for us since it was built back in 1938. However, they ignored all that. They behaved arrogantly, violating the given promise that they will give us back the bridge, which is our property, after the dismantling,” says Jablanovic.
In the conversation with the Mayor, we also touched on an unofficial story that has disturbed the Serb population, which says that barracks were being built in the neighboring Albanian village of Kosutovo for the purposes of the future army of Kosovo, but Jablanovic denied this: “We are constructing a new first aid station and a building where the staff of the local community will be stationed. No barracks are being constructed, nor can they be constructed.”
Crime in Dobrovoljacka street, 24 years later (Politika, by Dusanka Stanisic)
White roses laid by the family members of the murdered in Dobrovoljacka Street in Sarajevo and the delegation of Republika Srpska (RS) in memory of the members of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) killed in this city in 1992, which were first thrown into garbage, then returned to the place where they were laid, have once again been thrown by unknown hands, this time into the Miljacka River. The river also washed away the candles lit for the victims of the crimes for which no one has been found responsible for a quarter of a century. Political Sarajevo received this inhumane act with complete indifference, without condemnations by the politicians, NGOs, or Sarajevo intellectuals. Media from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) who were reporting on the events in Dobrovoljacka, on 3rd of May, mention the reaction of the Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton Dino Konakovic written on his Facebook profile: Konakovic said that “throwing roses into the trash represents a shameful act” and that “this is not Sarajevo”. There were no reactions by the leading Bosniak, Bakir Izetbegovic, who often emphasizes that “B&H has no future without good relations among all the peoples who live in it” and that “a precondition for reconciliation is recognition of crimes and prosecution of their perpetrators”. However, Izetbegovic was completely silent to what happened in Dobrovoljacka Street. Throwing of roses and candles of Bogdanka Tomanovic who came again this May 3rd to the place where her nineteen-year-old son Zdravko was killed, and other mothers who have joined her, casts a shadow on Izetbegovic’s rhetoric of reconciliation, in which the war crimes do not seem to include the crimes against Serbs.
This year, the same story was launched from Sarajevo, just like in all previous years, about the events in the city from the beginning of May 1992 in which “B&H was a victim”, how “barehanded Sarajevo youth and volunteers prevented JNA from occupying their city”, and that the young men which were killed in Dobrovoljacka Street while peacefully exiting the city on the Miljacka River according to the withdrawal agreement, were actually “just collateral damage”. Before every commemoration of the events in Dobrovoljacka, when the Muslim military and paramilitary formations led by Alija Izetbegovic cut the JNA convoy led by general Milutin Kukanjac, and killed 42 members of JNA, wounded 71 and captured 207, Sarajevo politicians again continue to launch the claims that this was not a crime. They are being followed by a number of media from the Federation, which present the Muslim attack on the JNA convoy withdrawing from the barracks on Bistrik on May 3rd, in accordance with the previous agreement made between the Muslim authorities and the JNA, as an “arm conflict”.
In that defense of the “Sarajevo truth”, which is also the subject of legal proceedings, no one from Sarajevo deals with the murdered JNA soldiers and officers, neither mentions the names of those who killed unarmed people. As a matter of fact, the number of victims is being minimized, by using the B&H Prosecution data which allegedly concluded that in Dobrovoljacka “only seven people were killed and fourteen were wounded”. A few days ago Al Jazeera aired a documentary movie, warm story about unusual friendship of Admir Buljubasic, a military policeman of RB&H Army, and his captive, JNA officer Ratko Katalina who was wounded in the attack on the convoy, the friendship which lasts to this day. After his wounding, Katalina was transferred to the hospital where he survived, as he says, thanks to above all Admir. Not less warm is the story of Aca Nenadic, a Serb soldier, who was found by a member of Territorial defense Hasan Jusovic at Dobrovoljacka Street in the middle of the attack and who took him to his own home where he stayed for a month. “Together we drank, ate and spent our days in fear and shooting. People were dying, among them there were children. At that time it wasn’t really easy keeping a JNA soldier”, said Jusovic for Anadolu. In the shadow of these two stories about good people, the question still remains, who and why shot at them and their colleagues, a question to which the responsible B&H institutions 24 years later didn’t give an answer to. That question is not being raised by the media which tells us these warm stories either.
REGIONAL PRESS
Central Election Commission reaches decision on local elections (Novo vrijeme)
At the session held yesterday, the Central Election Commission (CIK) of B&H reached a Decision on organization of local elections in B&H which are to be held on October 2, 2016. President of CIK B&H Ahmet Santic said at the press conference after the session that elections will be organized for 74 municipal councils in Federation of B&H, 57 municipal assemblies in RS, 131 municipal mayors in B&H, four city councils in Federation of B&H (Bihac, Tuzla, Zenica and Siroki Brijeg), six city assemblies in RS (Prijedor, Bijeljina, Banja Luka, Doboj, Zvornik and Trebinje), ten mayors in B&H and the Assembly of Brcko District B&H. Santic highlighted that CIK B&H could not reach a decision on elections for the council of the City of Mostar, given the decisions by the Constitutional Court of B&H of November 26, 2010, because those decisions declared the regulations of the Election Law of B&H regarding the City of Mostar unconstitutional. “Last night, CIK B&H made a cross section of the voting register. Total number of voters in B&H according to last night’s cross section is 3.345.486 voters, in comparison with 3.278.908 voters in election from 2014. We are talking about an increase by 66.000 voters,” said Santic. Answering the question related to the organization of local elections in the City of Mostar, Santic said that the national parliament must make amendments to the Election Law of B&H which refers to the City of Mostar. “Elections for the Council of the City of Mostar will be organized when legal conditions are created,” Santic stated.
Stevandic: Bosic is inciting conflicts between citizens in RS (Srna)
The Deputy Speaker of the Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly, Nenad Stevandic, claims that by protests announced for 14 May in Banja Luka, SDS president Mladen Bosic is inciting conflicts between citizens in RS. Meanwhile the PDP leader and Alliance for Change official Branislav Borenovic said that the Alliance for Change will not give up protests announced for 14 May in Banja Luka.
HR Meets UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: The country has chosen its direction (Fena)
High Representative (HR), Valentin Inzko, met with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York, prior to his address to the UN Security Council scheduled to take place on 5 May. The HR briefed the Secretary General on the situation on the ground in B&H and outlined the main aspects of his report that is to be presented to the UN Security Council. “When I addressed the Council six months ago we were on the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement. This was an opportunity to mark how far B&H has come, but also to recognize that no matter how much distance has been covered there is much more work needed to ensure lasting stability and a better future for the people of this beautiful country”, the HR told the Secretary General. “On 15 February the country took the historic step of applying for membership in the European Union. The country has chosen its path and there is no way backwards. Transition is, of course, a process and not an event and we all know that the transformation the country must undergo on the path to membership will make B&H better off. We are fully united in supporting B&H in their European aspirations”, added the HR. He underlined that “2016 can be a year of progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration, economic growth and job creation, but only if the country pulls together and works as one. Questioning and challenging the fundamentals of the Peace Agreement is not a formula for success.” The HR used the opportunity to thank the Secretary General for his continuous support and commitment to achieving lasting peace and stability in B&H.
Croatian President booed during speech on freedom of media (Hina)
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic addressed a video conference on freedom of the media, held in the offices of the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) in Zagreb, saying that freedom of the media was the foundation of every democracy. She was booed by several civil society activists and journalists. “Freedom of the media is one of the most fundamental freedoms, one of the most fundamental human rights, and the foundation of every democratic society,” Grabar-Kitarovic told the conference, involving 16 countries from Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Quoting US President Thomas Jefferson as saying that “where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe”, Grabar-Kitarovic stressed that as President she would always advocate freedom of expression. Her speech was disrupted by boos from Workers’ Front (RF) activists and several journalists. During the President’s speech, two RF activists were holding a banner saying “Croatian government is killing the media”, and before her speech, freelance journalist Domagoj Margetic asked her who had put a contract out on him. The President then left the venue, after which RF activists Marko Milosevic and Aleksandar Dolic told the press that the purpose of their protest was to send a clear message about what was going on in the media sector in Croatia. “The media are being censored not just for ideological reasons, but also because Croatia, if the present government serves its full term, is facing privatization plunder on a scale we haven’t seen since the 1990s. That’s why they need obedient media,” Milosevic said. Grabar-Kitarovic later wrote on her Facebook page that she was disappointed that her speech had been disrupted “precisely by those who allegedly advocate freedom of speech and media. By not letting me express my opinion, they showed that they are not true advocates of freedom of speech, but obviously engaged activists. I will continue to persevere in advocating freedom of the media and responsibility for public speaking”, she said. The video conference was organized by the HND and the US Embassy to mark World Press Freedom Day. US Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes said that journalistic freedom must be paired with journalistic professionalism, fact checking and integrity reporting. “It is fitting that we are meeting just moments after the Croatian Journalists’ Association gave out their annual awards to a number of Croatia’s most highly respected journalists. They set the high standards to which all journalists, including in the United States, must aspire,” she said. The ambassador said that freedom of the media was important for the health of every democratic society and that her government would encourage the integrity and independence of the media and freedom of the media in the US, Croatia and elsewhere in the word.
Croatian Culture Minister: Zuroff has no right to be an arbiter of the Croatian government policies because he explicitly denied genocide in Srebrenica (Hina)
Croatian Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic has said in an interview with the Al Jazeera Balkans broadcaster that accusations about the current government’s attempts to trivialize crimes committed by the WW2 Nazi-style Ustasha regime are groundless, underlining that one of the critics, Efraim Zuroff, has no moral right to be an arbiter of the Croatian government policies because he has explicitly denied genocide in Srebrenica. In 2015, Zuroff told Serbian media that what happened in Srebrenica in 1995 did not fit the definition of genocide. In the interview, broadcast on Wednesday, Minister Hasanbegovic said that taxpayers’ money could no longer be allocated by the Culture Ministry in the way it had been before. As for the accusations that the ministry under his chairmanship was conducting a clampdown on newspapers of ethnic minorities, Hasanbegovic said that the Culture Ministry had not closed any such newspaper and that those media were financed by the Ethnic Minorities’ Council. As for the grant to the Edit publishing company whose publications include the Italian-language daily “La voce del popolo”, the Minister explained that the Edit company had been added to the list of beneficiaries of the funds allocated by the Culture Ministry as part of political deals made by previous governments. “This was a sort of political racketeering which all Croatian governments paid for political loyalty from (ethnic Italian) parliamentary deputy Furio Radin. I put an end to this practice,” Hasanbegovic said. He said he was adamant not to pay “racket money” either to the so-called left-wing or right-wing media. The minister explained that his decision to stop subsidizing certain cultural projects and non-profit media was in line with the decision to put an end to non-transparent distribution of tax-payers’ money to clientelist lobbies. The minister once again dismissed accusations from the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) that the new government was stifling media freedoms. Those accusations are completely unfounded, he underscored. Hasanbegovic added that this could be corroborated by the fact that some media activists were free to boo Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic during her speech at an event at the HND headquarters on Tuesday.
Montenegro: No single opposition list, no session of parliament (CDM)
The session of the Parliament of Montenegro that was supposed to discuss the future members of the government from the opposition ranks, has been postponed. The reason is that three currents in the opposition have different proposals for ministers. This has been confirmed by one of the promoters of the special law on the basis of which the Agreement on fair elections would be applied, Dritan Abazovic. “Session of the Legislative Committee could not be held because there is no unified list as mentioned in the lex specialis. And without it, the Assembly cannot discuss until further notice,” he said adding that he won’t sign any list, unless it has been drawn up by SDP, Demos and URA. These parties suggested one minister each, and left room for SNP to also pick one. However, SNP leader, Srdjan Milic, wants two ministries in order to enter the government. “SNP is acting in favor of DPS, and the ruling party always has players in the opposition. To me, this looks like the game of DPS and an opposition party,” said Abazovic, adding that the Agreement “might not happen” after all. He also said that the proposal of DF, that Djukanovic is deposed in the Assembly and a new government formed to operate until elections, is “acceptable but unrealistic”. Previously, the session of the lawmaking Committee which was supposed to discuss the lex specialis, was not attended by its proponents, Goran Danilovic and Dritan Abazovic.
Simovic: Opposition to agree on a single list (RTCG)
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic has received two opposition lists of candidates for ministers in the future reconstructed government. One of the lists has been submitted by Social Democratic Party (SDP), Demos and URA Civic Movement, the other one has been submitted by Socialist People’s Party (SNP), the head of the caucus of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Milutin Simovic, said. According to Simovic, it is a proof where the distrust hides. “This process is supposed to be preceded by a communication among the opposition parties. How it comes that after all those painstaking talks with DPS, it turns out that there is a problem among them? We have two lists and a potential blocking of the process”, he said. Simovic added that the process should be resolved through a dialogue and agreement. However, he did not directly answer whether Djukanovic has a chance to select ministers from both lists or he must opt for only one of them. “The Prime Minister will decide about that. It is stipulated by the constitutional jurisdiction related to government reshuffle. Meanwhile, agreement among the opposition parties themselves is preferable,” said Simovic. He denied accusations by a part of the opposition that the whole thing was arranged by DPS and one opposition party. “When there is a problem among certain parties in the opposition block, then they blame DPS for that too. Citizens do not buy that anymore,” Simovic concluded.
Berlin: Appointment of Haindl sign of commitment to situation in Macedonia (Telegraf.mk)
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Martin Schaefer said on Wednesday that the election of the current German ambassador to Vienna as Special Envoy of Germany in Macedonia reflects the commitment of the federal government in Berlin for progress in the Western Balkans. “The internal political situation in Macedonia is a cause for concern to the German federal government. Therefore Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier decided to appoint a personal representative for the situation in Macedonia and the Ambassador Johannes Haindl asked to take on this function. Ambassador Haindl from now on will work together with the European Commission, the United States and other partners, and he will assist in their mediation for overcoming the political crisis,” Schaefer said on Wednesday in Berlin. According to Schaefer, the move reflects the commitment of the Federal Government in Berlin on the progress of the Western Balkans. It applies to the European perspective of all Western Balkan countries, as well as on the integration in the Euro – Atlantic structures. Ambassador Haindl, who last year was appointed ambassador in Vienna and still performs this function, today was appointed as a special envoy of Germany in Macedonia. German authorities on Wednesday did not announce whether Haindl will step down as ambassador to Austria.
Joseph Daul: Situation in Macedonia resembles theater, only way out is through elections (MIA)
Joseph Daul, the leader of the largest political party in Europe, the European People’s Party (EPP), at the conference “Western Balkans: Towards a European future”, which was held on Wednesday at the European Parliament in Brussels, sent a strong message against what the Macedonian opposition does in Macedonia, calling it a theater. Joseph Daul, who is a president of the party of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the European leadership duo Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker and the European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, made clear that what is being done in Macedonia can no longer be tolerated and therefore elections are needed as a solution to everything, MIA reports from Brussels. “Corruption is a major problem in all the Balkan countries and for it to be dealt with it is necessary the European standards to be implemented. We see difficulties in the country and when I hear and see what is happening in Macedonia I have the impression of being like some kind of a theatrical performance. The country requires elections because this situation can no longer be tolerated. Everything must be done to realize the democratic elections in the country as soon as possible and the responsibility for it is on the two opposing political spectrums in Macedonia,” Joseph Daul made clear.
Bozinovski: If DUI demands election postponement, it would mean Ahmeti Went for meeting at the US Embassy (Telegraph.mk)
SDSM’s behavior is unclear, because it seems that the party is now organizing protests in order not to go to elections. This is a highly confusing situation, the political analyst Vladimir Bozinovski assesses. According to him, it remains to be seen how the two Albanian parties will react, because so far, they have been following the position of the US. “We have a strange situation at the moment, the party that demanded elections, now does not want to go to elections, even though all conditions for elections have been met. The opposition should be the first party to turn in the candidate lists, it should not demand postponement. So far, EU has been very constructive, especially Commissioner Hahn. We will wait and see DUI and DPA’s reactions because they are following the politics of the US. If DUI requests postponement of elections, that would mean that Ahmeti visited the US Embassy again, as it was the case last time,” Bozinovski said for Telegraph.mk. Just after the meeting between the DUI leader with the US Ambassador Jess Baily, Ahmeti started talking about the possible postponement of elections scheduled for 24 April, which came true. Experts are expecting for something similar to happen this time too and that DUI will be the party that will publically announce that conditions for 5 June elections are not met. VMRO-DPMNE President Nikola Gruevski pointed out that 24 April should be the first and last postponement of elections and that there should not be any further conditions. Additionally, Gruevski said that he was assured by Ali Ahmeti that DUI will take part in elections on 5 June, with or without SDSM.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Turkey urges EU, China to cooperate in Balkans (World Bulletin, 4 May 2016)
Turkey believes Bosnia can be a major production base, for the European market, and for Chinese investment, says deputy PM
Turkey’s deputy prime minister for the economy on Wednesday urged both the EU and China to seek cooperation, integration, and openness in the Balkans. Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek arrived at Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo to attend the Sarajevo Business Forum, an event giving business figures the chance to explore cooperation and investment opportunities in the region. “The whole world today needs far more structural reforms, openness, and regional integration,” he said. “I therefore believe that the EU should not stop its enlargement process. The entire Balkans, including Turkey, should be included, because it is in the interest of the larger European family.” He added, “We believe that Bosnia can become a major production base, to target the European market, and that it can serve as a base for Chinese investment. We believe that there is room for cooperation with Turkey, China, and all over the Balkans.”
Simsek said that Turkey has strong, deep ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that stability in Bosnia as well as the Balkans as a whole is a priority for Turkey. The two-day Sarajevo Business Forum, sponsored by Anadolu Agency, kicked off with speeches by prominent guests including Simsek; Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al Thani, Qatar’s economy and commerce minister; and Yousef Mohammed al-Ali, trade and industry minister for Kuwait. The conference is also being attended by a delegation from China, led by Ning Jizhi, the deputy chair of China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
President Provokes Protests in Macedonian Prisons (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 5 May 2016)
Prisoners across Macedonia are launching protests to demand sentence reductions amid anger sparked by President Gjorge Ivanov’s decision to halt criminal investigations against top politicians.
Inmates complaining of selective justice have announced protests will start at noon local time on Thursday in all Macedonian prisons, alongside parallel rallies in front of the prisons at which their relatives, supporters and civil rights NGOs will express their dissatisfaction. The protests come after President Gjorge Ivanov declined a petition for a reduction of inmates’ sentences that was signed by over 2,200 prisoners, more than two-thirds of all those incarcerated in the country.
“They [the inmates] do not want to be released but rather to be granted a 30 per cent decrease in their prison sentences,” said lawyer Zvonko Davidovic, who submitted the petition to the president. Davidovic said that inmates are outraged by the response they got from the president, who instructed them to file individual requests and sign over their power of attorney in order to be eligible for consideration. “At the same time, the president pardoned half of the political elite and their collaborators without an existing law and without [requesting them to sign] a power of attorney. These are double standards and selective justice… inmates feel discriminated against,” he said. The protests come against a background of a deepening political crisis in the country which erupted on April 12 when President Ivanov abruptly halted criminal investigations into 56 politicians and their associates, most of whom come from the ranks of main ruling VMRO DPMNE party of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Macedonia’s Special Prosecution, set up last autumn as part of an EU-brokered accord aimed at ending the country’s political crisis, was running the investigations into high-level crimes allegedly revealed by illegal wiretaps that were released last year by the country’s opposition. Gruevski was the subject of six of the probes cancelled by the president’s order, which provoked a series of ongoing anti-government protests across the country which have been dubbed the ‘Colourful Revolution’. Protestors in the capital threw paint balls at the Skopje Criminal Court on Tuesday, demanding the imposition of the rule of law and the creation of an independent judiciary. They accuse Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE of controlling the legal system. The EU and US have also demanded that Ivanov withdraws his decision in order to revive efforts to resolve the Macedonian crisis and put planned reforms that would ensure fair elections back on track. For years, the Public Ombudsman’s reports have described conditions at Macedonia’s largest prison, Idrizovo, and in other detention facilities, as sub-standard. The prisons have been criticised for bad infrastructure, overcrowding and insufficient health protection as well as for housing many drug addicts who do not receive proper treatment. The EU has also repeatedly warned Macedonia about the state of its jails, describing them as old, overcrowded and understaffed. Conditions at Idrizovo have been highlighted as the most alarming because the prison should accommodate some 900 people but currently holds more than double that number. BIRN asked for a comment about the planned protest from Lidija Gavrilovska, the head of the Macedonian Prison Administration, which is in charge of running the country’s jails, but received no response by the time of publication. In her latest annual report on the Prison Administration’s work, Gavrilovska said that it had undertaken “significant activities to improve the re-socialisation process of inmates and improve accommodation capacities, as well as build up the capacity of prison staff”.
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