LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Serbia can be China’s support in Europe (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbia can be China’s support in Europe and its significant partner for the future, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said at a meeting with Li Wei, president of the Development Research Centre of China’s State Council, in Belgrade on Monday. The development of Serbia-China economic ties points to a clear interest of both countries, and several joint projects of great significance to Serbia have been launched to date, Nikolic said. He noted the significance of a recent agreement on the Smederevo steel mill and the fact that the arrival of Chinese partners in the Serbian meat industry will revive Serbia’s rural regions and encourage people to return there after seeking better life in cities, Nikolic said. Nikolic said that he was delighted with China’s support for Serbian diplomat Vuk Jeremic’s candidacy for the new UN secretary general. Li thanked Nikolic for his immeasurable contribution to enhancing the cordial relations between Serbia and China. He briefed Nikolic on activities concerning the implementation of China’s One Belt, One Road project, expressing the wish that efforts to make full use of potentials for cooperation will be maximized, the presidential press office said in a statement.

Nikolic in Sarajevo: Serbia to overcome problems with Zagreb in direct talks (Tanjug/Beta)

Serbia hoped to overcome problems with Croatia on its way to the EU in direct talks, Serbian President announced on Sunday in Sarajevo, news agencies reported. Nikolic supported joint approach of countries of the regions towards the EU, so that the whole process to the EU membership should not last ten years or more. At the press conference after the meeting of heads of states of southeast Europe as a part of Brdo-Brioni Summit in Sarajevo, Nikolic stated that it was held against Croatia because it wanted to prove that Serbia was not ready at the first chapter.

“I believe that we will remove that obstacle in direct talks and I think that we will now talk about it in advance so that we do not make an impression that the states that joined the EU last would like to stop the accession process, although it is enough that the founders are tired of enlargement”, Nikolic emphasized. He said that he talked with his Croatian counterpart Kolinda

Grabar Kitarovic regarding the issue that Zagreb created at the opening of chapters for Serbia. He explained that Croatia attempted to stop Serbia by requests they could not fully justify or prove to Europe. “We will soon have a meeting on which the experts and state officials would talk and agree next steps. I think that Croatia will not be able to justify its view, so Serbia would most probably have an open chapter”, Nikolic emphasized.

Nikolic’s official visit to B&H, which was postponed on several occasions, should be held in autumn since Serbian President accepted the invitation of the Chairman of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic. Nikolic’s participation at the Summit Brdo-Brioni on Sunday and Summit of 100 Business Leaders of Southeast Europe on Saturday in Sarajevo was the first visit of Serbian President to B&H since he was elected to the office.

Djuric: Solution for Serbian passports in Kosovo soon (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) news that the Serbian delegation told European officials that it was unacceptable that Serbian citizens in Kosovo and Metohija enter with more difficulties EU countries with official Serbian passports than those entering without any travel document. He points out that the Serbian delegation “was especially harsh regarding this topic”, since the prime minister also wants this issue to be urgently resolved. Djuric says that he is a moderate optimist in regard to this problem being resolved in a short period of time, but that the entrance regime into these states doesn’t depend on Serbia. “It is certain, and I can assume responsibility before citizens, that we will not leave our citizens in Kosovo and Metohija without valid documents with which they can travel to the EU without visas,” said Djuric. As regards the talks on normalization with Pristina, Djuric says that he received confirmation from European officials to respect reached agreements, while there was only conditioning from Pristina. “The important thing for us is that our approach to talks has been positively assessed by European officials,” says Djuric, adding that Serbia has the support of even those who advocate independence of Kosovo.

Dacic: Serbia not to change foreign policy priorities (Beta/FoNet)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Serbia would not change its foreign policy priorities and would continue to pursue a predictable policy in line with its national interests. “Serbia is not changing its foreign policy priorities, they are long-term. We will continue to pursue a predictable policy in line with our national interests,” Dacic said at a ceremony marking Serbian Diplomacy Day in the Serbian parliament. Dacic went on to list Serbia’s major foreign policy goals, namely, accession talks with the EU, full EU membership and, on the other hand, the development of traditional friendships with Russia, China, India, African states and other friends.“The major goals of Serbian diplomacy also include finding common ground with the great powers, regional stability and peace,” Dacic said. He recalled that Serbia had recorded a series of foreign policy successes over the past 12 months, including the OSCE chairmanship-in-office and a final meeting in Belgrade, a motion to prevent a resolution on genocide from being passed by the U.N. and the fact that Kosovo did not join the U.N. cultural wing, UNESCO.

International cooperation necessary to counter terrorism (Beta/Tanjug)

A meeting dubbed “Western Balkan Countries and Fight against Terrorism” took place in Belgrade as part of the regional prayer breakfast. Deputy parliament speaker Vladimir Marinkovic told reporters that it had welcomed guests from the Bundestag, U.S. Congress and Senate, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, with the main topic exploring ways to take a more pro-active role in the fight against terrorism. The fight will certainly take a long time. It should encourage the Serbian parliament and government, regional economic cooperation, in an effort to secure stability, he said. “This shows that Serbia and the entire region could bring various actors here, that we can sit down and talk and overcome any problem,” the deputy parliament speaker said.

Serbian acting police director Vladimir Rebic said that international cooperation and exchanging information were essential in the battle against terrorism. “Terrorism is the most critical threat to security, which is why our defense needs to be quick, both national and international,” Rebic told reporters in the Serbian parliament. Rebic said international cooperation and exchange of information with other states were of vital importance. The police official added that terrorism was linked with crime and corruption, which made these the priority of national police.

Leaders to discuss concrete projects at Paris summit (Tanjug)

The Western Balkan Leaders’ Summit, due to be held in Paris on 4 July, will include discussions on two projects – a free flow of cargo across the region with no stops at EU borders, and prospects for driving electric vehicles along the highway from Ljubljana to Skopje, Chairman of the Summit 100 Management Board Iztok Seljak said. The idea is to implement the Balkanika Free Cargo project  in six months’ or a year’s time, and thus solve the issue of long waits at borders of Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina with Croatia, or Greece, he said in a statement to Tanjug. As for the other project, an electric car charging station should be installed after every 50 kilometers, as well as electric bus lines established along the highway, Seljak said.

REGIONAL PRESS

Ivanic: Izetbegovic’s statement undermines mutual trust (Srna) 

The Republika Srpska member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic said that the statement by the Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, about the alleged persecution of Bosniaks and Croats in Banjaluka in the B&H civil war, undermines any mutual trust in B&H.

“Izetbegovic acted absolutely contrary to the normal and usual functioning of the B&H institutions. He can present his positions, but not at an official meeting where positions are presented on behalf of B&H. It is absolutely unnecessary, inappropriate and rude to answer the questions that are not posed to him. Had he listened more carefully, he could have seen that similar thing could have been said in a more wise way,” Ivanic told reporters in Sarajevo.
According to him, this is one of the things that have happened as of late where one political concept, primarily the Bosniak one, considers that it is entitled to B&H. “Nothing will come out of it. My future moves should not be a surprise. I will not say what they will be and they will clearly show that B&H is not that which Izetbegovic thinks and that he is not entitled to present his personal positions, which are inappropriate, at such meetings,” Ivanic said. He said that in the coming days and weeks he expects more reactions to Izetbegovic’s statement since it is undermining any mutual trust in B&H, particularly after the decision on the population census was brought by outvoting, which was the first outvoting since this Council of Ministers has been formed. “I assure you that this will be the last outvoting and that that which happened will have negative consequences for those who were convinced that they will secure some change in BiH by outvoting, but nothing will come out of it,” Ivanic said.
Dodik: Izetbegovic’s statement is proof of abuse of B&H institutions (Srna)

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik told Srna that the statement of Bakir Izetbegovic is another in a series of proofs that the abuse of BH institutions is on the scene and that exclusively Bosniak positions are presented from these institutions.

Izetbegovic abuses Sarajevo summit to accuse RS (Srna)
The Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic abused the press conference after the Brdo-Brioni summit in Sarajevo to accuse the RS and Banjaluka of alleged persecution of Bosniaks and Croats in the BH civil war. Even though he was not asked, Izetbegovic stood in defense of Banjaluka Bishop Franjo Komarica who compared Banjaluka with Bleiburg. “Banjaluka was not a besieged city, but a free city. The state systematically removed Bosniaks and Croats from it. The para-state systematically destroyed 16 mosques,” Izetbegovic said.

Promises and obligations made by presidents of Balkan countries (CDM)

B&H Presidency Chairperson and members of the B&H Presidency, President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov, President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic, President of Albania Bujar Nishani and President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci also took part. The meeting had a special guest, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella.  Presidents passed conclusions after the debate. They agreed that the stability is the key of potential of South Eastern Europe and a guarantee of its integration in EU. They recognized their responsibility to create stable political environment favorable for economic development and progress in the region. They made promises to build trust, understanding and peace among their countries and other leaders in the region, through participation in direct and open dialogue, with a goal to overcome differences, and promote truth, justice, and rule of law.

They said they would support each other and work to help each other in EU integration process, and NATO integration process. They said they would take concrete activities in order to solve remaining open matters through intense dialogue and political communication at the highest level, in accordance with international laws. They will refrain from the rhetoric that can contribute to tension and political instability. They will seek coordinated solutions for current global threats, such as immigrant crisis and terrorism, and they will try to minimize the influence of those threats in the region. They will work to improve educational systems and to widen the possibilities for young people, in order to stop negative demographic trends, such as young people leaving the country. They will work to strengthen gender equality, especially in leadership, and they will work to stop violence towards women and family violence.

They will work to make the economic market better, to minimize obstacles that prevent free flow of people, goods and capital in the region. They will improve our connections through joint projects in the areas of energy, infrastructure and transport, using the instruments of regional cooperation. They will continue to implement standards of EU and promotion of European values through ambitious political, justice, social and economic reforms that build better societies and economies for all our citizens. Leaders believe that the integration of the region in EU will accomplish and strengthen the founding vision of European Union, that of all of its people united in peace and prosperity. “We remain firmly dedicated to this vision and we will continue to work within Brdo-Brioni process as a key platform for political dialogue at the highest level”, the participators stated. They welcomed Macedonian visit, and agreed that Macedonia should host the next meeting in 2017.

If he plays it smart, Luksic could have an influential position (Pobjeda)

Slovakian candidate for the Secretary General of United Nations Miroslav Lajcak has the biggest chances in the race for this prestigious international function, while Igor Luksic should use his candidacy for acquiring another position in UN’s system, said Dusan Janjic, analyst from Belgrade. He spoke to Pobjeda saying that it is important for Luksic to do as much as he can to promote himself and Montenegro”. “New Secretary General of UN will most likely be Lajcak or Bulgarian candidate Irina Bokova. In this race, as in life, everything is a matter of an agreement and a trade-off. If it is estimated that Lajcak has the biggest chances to win, than it is smart to support him, and in turn, you could get another influential position in the UN. In this race, other positions, such as an assistant, are not out of the question. I think it is good for Luksic to run in full force, but he should consider who he will support at the final stage of elections,” Janjic said.

Within his promotional campaign, Igor Luksic traveled to all five permanent member countries of Security Council, which are USA, Russia, China, Great Britain and France.His campaign coordinator Milorad Scepanovic told Pobjeda that Luksic had a great presentation in UN’s General Assembly. “Our candidate’s campaign is predominantly tied to the main seat of UN in New York, and European seats Vienna and Geneva, where he takes part in meetings and debates under the patronage of UN. Recently we had more activities, bilateral meetings with members of Security Council, he also had lectures at People’s University in Peking, Diplomatic Academy of MInistry of Foreign Affairs in Russia, John Hopkins University in Washington,” Scepanovic said. He said that this week, during his visit to London, Lukšić will speak at London School of Economy and take part in informal dialogue with candidates for Secretary General in UNAUK Organization. “By taking part in events in London, he will complete second phase of the campaign. We are pleased with the pace of the campaign, visits and activities. We have accomplished our goals, and more importantly, by taking part in this process, Montenegro has demonstrated its full legitimacy, and we can calmly await for the results,” Scepanovic concluded.

He added that in the following period they will have a few more visits to New York and other important international centers.

Ivanov calls on Balkan countries to prepare better for a possible repeat of the migrant crisis (MIA)

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said that the Brdo–Brioni process regional conference in Sarajevo was an opportunity to discuss the economic cooperation, but also to prepare for the danger of a new wave of migrants, which, Ivanov said, is apparently underway. Italian President Sergio Mattarella joined the Presidents of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia at the conference, and said that Italy is already facing a re-opening of the central Mediterranean migrant route. “I noted that Macedonia has expanded its resources. Our Army and police forces are using their budgets to tackle the security element of the crisis, while the humanitarian aspect is covered by international organizations, our domestic companies and by a number of humane people. But, we are exhausted. If a second wave comes, that we will find a way to approach it much more efficiently, in a much faster manner, because during the first wave, there were many missteps between the European institutions and finding solutions was painstaking,” Ivanov said. MIA correspondent in Sarajevo reports that Ivanov called on other regional countries to fall back to the reservoir of confidence that developed during the handling of the migrant crisis during the summer, when more arrivals are expected, not only at the central route, but at the Balkans, eastern Mediterranean route. “This challenge will not be resolved short term, we will face it for a number of years”, Ivanov said. According to President Ivanov, the conference in Sarajevo took off very positively, opening potential infrastructure programs in energy and transportation, and was well accompanied by the business meeting Summit 100. The next conference of the Brdo – Brioni process will be held in Macedonia, which, President Ivanov said, will give us an opportunity to share its experiences, but also raise the issue of the blockade of its NATO and EU integrations.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

NATO Meeting in Albania Focuses on Macedonia (BIRN, by Fatjona Mejdini, 30 May 2016)

At the NATO meeting in Tirana, the alliance’s special rapporteur on the Balkans, Ulla Schmidt, told BIRN that the situation in Macedonia remained critical.

Albania is hosting the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tirana, which has gathered more than 250 members of the 28 Allied nations as well as partner countries and observers. The focus of the gathering is showing joint resolve in the face of Russia’s increased assertiveness in the region and on tackling terrorism. The Assembly, which is preparing the working document for the NATO July summit in Warsaw, is also focusing on the Western Balkan region, with a security committee discussing the draft report of German rapporteur Ulla Schmidt, vice-president of the German Bundestag. Schmidt presented a draft report on the challenges facing the Balkans in Euro-Atlantic integration, which emphasised the need to contain ethnic tensions and ensure that the unresolved status issues of countries like Kosovo and Macedonia does not impede their eventual integration. Macedonia’s political deadlock, which has lasted months, was the centre of discussion, with Schmidt telling BIRN that the situation had become critical. Both the EU and NATO needed to make powerful efforts to ensure integration processes there did not discontinue, she said. “If we see the situation in the Balkans overall, there were a lot of good developments in the last years, but in Macedonia, we have at this moment a critical situation,” she noted. “I fear that ethnic conflicts will further grow since we have seen them escalate lately. But now is not too late… to find solutions,” she added. The NATO rapporteur on the Balkans told BIRN that Macedonia should also continue to try to resolve the years-long dispute with Greece over its name to which Athens objects. Schmidt said it was also important for people in the Balkans to rediscover trust in their own political institutions. “It is important for them to trust and support their governments. The fact that people don’t trust their governments because of the corruption is really problematic,” she emphasized. On Monday, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly it will hold a plenary session which its President, Michael Turner, and the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Alexander Vershbow, will open alongside Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Montenegrin counterpart, Milo Djukanovic.

UN urges Hungary, Serbia to find a solution to refugees stuck between their borders (New Europe, by Beata Stur, 30 May 2016)

Hungary has agreed to open a third transit zone on its border with Serbia where refugees can apply for asylum, after the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR urged the two countries to find a solution to the dire conditions facing refugees stranded between their borders.

As reported by Vatican Radio, the UNHCR said Hungary and Serbia should care for the hundreds of refugees who are stuck at the border, waiting to enter the European Union.

On May 27, UNHCR Representative in Serbia, Hans Schodder, visited the small tent city that has formed on the Serbian side of the razor-wire fence Hungary put up last year to keep out migrants. He said some 300 people are camping in an area without toilets and running water.

Hungarian authorities let through about 20 people a day, mostly families with small children. However György Bakondi, the homeland security adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, told reporters that a new transit zone is planned to be set up in the village of Asotthalom. In a separate report, the Breitbart online noted that the UNHCR has been visiting the area to provide food and medicine from Hungary, but now wants to set up larger tents and create more of an established settlement. Asylum lawyer Tímea Kovács argued that Hungary’s hard-line stance is “absurd,” and said that the restriction of border crossings will only make the migrants look for illegal ways to get into Hungary. The Hungarian government, however, said they were stopping illegal immigration.

Bosnia’s ‘radical’ Muslims defy crackdown (AFP, 29 May 2016)

OSVE, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Two veiled women work the land while a man collects eggs in a bucolic Bosnian village – now notorious for exporting fighters to Syria. “This is how we finance terrorism,” joked 50-year old Izet Hadzic as he opened his henhouse in Osve, which overlooks a peaceful valley in the Balkan country’s north. A grey-bearded former rock musician, Hadzic founded this “dzemat” (religious community) in the late 2000s – one of dozens in Bosnia that refuse to comply with the country’s official Muslim leaders. Police and religious authorities are now trying to crack down on these rebel communities and bring them back into the official fold, amid fears they are nurturing extremism. Osve made international headlines last year as an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) “stronghold”, and Hadzic says two large families have left the village for jihad in the Middle East, among the 300 or so Bosnians to do so. But Hadzic insists he was “the first to condemn” ISIS and has “prevented 90 per cent” of his community from leaving – saying those who did just wanted to help the Syrian people. But congregations like his are causing concern – especially after suspected Islamist attacks last year killed two Bosnian soldiers and a policeman. Dragan Lukac, chief constable of Bosnia’s Muslim-Croat entity, said police have identified “around 60 radical communities”, numbering a few thousand, who refuse to follow imams appointed by Bosnia’s Muslim religious leader, the Grand Mufti. Based in remote villages or praying in houses in city suburbs, they mostly adhere to the ultraconservative Salafist brand of Sunni Islam and see Bosnia’s traditionally more liberal teachings as a corruption of the faith. “Here in Osve, we are trying to live in line with the religion,” said Hadzic, who took a break to lead worship as the call to prayer sounded out over the valley. Contrary to foreign media reports, AFP saw no visible traces of an extremist training camp at Osve, and Lukac denied the existence of such camps in Bosnia. The police chief also stressed that “not all” members of breakaway groups on the radar were “potential terrorists”. But a 2015 report from a Bosnian think-tank, the Atlantic Initiative, said most Bosnian volunteers in Syria and Iraq had come from well-known Salafist communities, naming Osve as an example. Returning fighters “pose a direct threat not only to the security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also of the region and beyond,” it said. Late in 2015, members of one radical congregation in Sarajevo were arrested on suspicion of plotting to detonate a bomb in a police car. If confirmed, the plot would be “the first sophisticated effort” to organise a terrorist attack on such a scale against the general public, said Vlado Azinovic, an expert in radical Islam at Sarajevo’s political sciences faculty. He fears there is a small group within Bosnia’s Salafist communities “that is embracing these calls” from ISIS to take action at home. Salafism was introduced to Bosnia by foreign fighters who flocked from North Africa, Asia and the Middle East during the country’s 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war. “It’s been 25 years since Bosnians were introduced to the idea of Salafism. So we have our own (radical) authorities now,” said Azinovic. These men were often “recruited by foreigners and sent directly to the Gulf states. They received some education there and then were re-sent to Bosnia to proselytise.” Some 190 Bosnians, including 50 women and 60 children, are currently abroad involved in jihad. Another 30 to 40 have been killed and around 50 have returned to Bosnia or elsewhere. Bosnia’s unofficial Salafist leader Nusret Imamovic left for Syria in 2013, and the man considered his successor, Husein Bosnic, was jailed in November for inciting jihad.

Bosnia’s official Islamic Community has identified 67 groups that refuse its teachings – mostly Salafists – and has so far talked to 38 of them. Half of those have now agreed to comply with its authority. Others have, since mid-May, faced the zeal of state administration, through checks on building permits, fines and police patrols. “It’s quite normal that the state seeks to enforce its rules,” said Islamic Community official Ismail Smajlovic. Musician-turned-imam Hadzic is among those fined for running an unauthorised mosque. Although he fought during the 1990s war, Hadzic said he was not influenced by foreign fighters and instead turned to Islam after years of alcohol and excess during his rock-and-roll years. Even if he rejects violence, his version of Islam is foreign to the moderate one practised by most of Bosnia’s 1.5 million Muslims – he said knowing whether to cut off the hand off a thief is “a complex issue”, for example. Hadzic said his community had lived peacefully for years following Islamic sharia law until some left for the Middle East. “These are people who physically resemble me in some way, but they behave like savages, they add fuel to the flames.”