LOCAL PRESS

Opening of Chapter 26 unblocked (Tanjug)

Croatia and Bulgaria on Tuesday gave the official green light for the opening of Chapter 26 (education and culture) in Serbia’s EU accession talks. The Croatian and Bulgarian members of the Council of the EU working party on enlargement and candidate countries officially supported the opening of the chapter, enabling the necessary consensus on the matter.

Joksimovic: We will be ready to open three chapters (Tanjug)

Consent has been given in Brussels for the negotiating position on Chapter 26 in Serbia’s EU accession talks, and Serbia will be ready to open three chapters at the next intergovernmental conference, Serbian Minister without portfolio in charge of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic confirmed Tuesday. But it is important that we do our part of the work, in the interest of the citizens of Serbia and its economy, she said. “At the COELA (Committee on EU Enlargement of the Council of the EU) meeting today, the agreement was given for Chapter 26, and I expect that by the end of this week it will also be at COREPER (the Committee of Permanent Representatives)”, said Joksimovic. She also said that she expected that the inter-state conference, at which the opening of the chapter will be confirmed, would be held at the end of February or in March and added that the European Commission had also been sent the negotiating positions for Chapter 20 (enterprise and industrial policy) and 29 (customs union), which were adopted on Tuesday by the finance board of the Serbian parliament.

Tanjug published on Tuesday, citing diplomatic sources from Brussels, that in the course of this year six or seven chapters should be opened in the pre-accession negotiations with Serbia.

NATO: Kosovo police throughout Kosovo without KFOR’s approval (Beta)

Sources at NATO headquarters in Brussels state that the 2013 Brussels agreement, referred to by Serbia, doesn’t encompass the Kosovo police forces. They noted that the Kosovo authorities do not need to seek KFOR’s approval for sending their police forces throughout Kosovo. NATO officials told Beta in Brussels in response to whether the authorities in Pristina had to previously request KFOR’s approval for sending ROSU special police units aimed at stopping the train to Kosovska Mitrovica. This was also a response to the question whether NATO made it clear in a written document, as part of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, that the Kosovo authorities need to request KFOR’s consent for sending the police and not only for deployment of the Kosovo security forces in the north, where the Serb population lives.

Vucic: Biden understands that Serbia wants peace and stability (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic had talks on Tuesday, on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, with the outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden, and on that occasion expressed dissatisfaction to him over “the campaign” being led against Serbia, electronic media reported. “For the most part we discussed the region, out personal relations, the relation between Belgrade and Pristina. I spoke of something that has been tormenting me, haunting me for two days. I can see that there is a harsh campaign being led against our country, which is blameless on all counts. I tried to explain what happened”, Vucic said for a reporter of Radio and Television Serbia (RTS). “Had someone asked me before, I would have said that I was more afraid for the situation in B&H then for the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Then suddenly all this story,” said Vucic, adding that he had “personally lost trust in any kind of system”. However, for the sake of peace and stability in the region, he said, I am prepared for an establishment of a “red line” with Pristina. “I understand what our obligation is and what we have to do to preserve this peace. The one who does not understand this is either ill-intentioned or there is something wrong with him. I believe that Biden too will take certain steps and I told him that I wasn’t happy with the reaction of the US Embassy in Pristina. I have an open relation with him, and I believe that he had represented the interests of Serbia in a fair and brave manner, just as I believe that he had smartly represented American interests and proven why he was an important leader,” Vucic said.

Vucic: We need to forget arms (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that Belgrade and Pristina must forget arms and to discuss everything, stressing that he hopes nobody would dare kill the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Asked to comment the statement by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic on Serbia’s readiness to defend the Kosovo Serbs with arms, Vucic responded with a question: “Do you ask yourself whether somebody will kill the Serbs. Somebody is continuously turning around things in different ways. We simply hope that nobody would dare that. Let us see what are we guilty of. We can discuss everything and disagree on everything, but we need to forget arms, both they and we, and then we have no problems,” Vucic said in Davos.

Vucic says Belgrade will not join sanctions against Dodik (RTS)

It would not be realistic to expect Vucic will join sanctions against RS President Milorad Dodik and this will not happen, Vucic said on Tuesday evening.Vucic told RTS in Davos that “Americans told him” about sanctions against Dodik. “But I didn’t get the information on the content and on the kind of sanctions against the RS President,” he said. “Personally, I simply do not know what to answer; to say that Serbia will freeze the property of the RS President and will not allow him to travel to Belgrade? That is not realistic and it will not happen,” Vucic added.

EU waiting Vucic’s stand on presidential elections (Danas)

The EU is aspiring for the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to continue soon at the top political level, which implies a new meeting between the Serbian and Kosovo Prime Ministers by mid-February, but it wishes to hear from Vucic, before a new round of negotiations, who will be the SNS candidate at the upcoming presidential elections, Danas was told unofficially by certain diplomats in Brussels.

Vulin: No migrant deportation from Serbia (Novosti)

Serbia did not and will not deport migrants in the future, Serbian Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin stated. He made the statement in relation to unconfirmed and unpublished reports that NGOs have been advising migrants not to leave Belgrade in order to avoid deportation. Vulin’s ministry organized on Tuesday the transportation of around 250 migrants who slept in Belgrade parks and abandoned buildings near the bus stations. Most of them have been transferred against their will to the Accommodation Centre in Presevo on the far South of Serbia, were around 1000 migrants are already staying. He said the NGOs spreading these allegations probably want to whitewash their own dirty laundry. “Those hidden by fences criticize a country with neither fences nor barbwires and a country that ensures maximum human rights and behaves in a more European way than any other European country,” Vulin said.

REGIONAL PRESS

US imposes sanctions against Dodik (TV1)

The US Embassy to B&H confirmed on Tuesday evening that the US has imposed sanctions against the Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik. In a video message, US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack stated: “Today, the US Treasury Department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control in consultations with the US Department of State, designated Milorad Dodik, President of the RS the status of a subject of sanctions, pursuant of the executive order 13304 which was signed by US President George W. Bush in 2003. That order authorizes sanctions to be imposed on, among others, persons who determined to have actively obstructed or pose a significant risk of actively obstructing the implementation of the Dayton (Peace) Accords. Milorad Dodik has defied the Constitutional Court of B&H, violated the law and poses a significant risk of obstructing implementation of the Dayton (Peace) Accords. This action demonstrates our firm commitment to the Dayton (Peace) Accords, to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of B&H and continued European integration of the country. As a result of today’s sanctions, any property or interest in property of Mr. Dodik in possession or control of persons from the US or (property) within the US, will be blocked. Besides, transactions by US citizens involving Mr. Dodik are generally prohibited”.

Dodik says sanctions are work of losers in U.S. elections (Srna/RTRS/Nezavisne)

Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska (RS) said that he feels proud and he doesn’t see the sanctions of the United States as a punishment, and that it is important that these sanctions are against him and not against RS. Dodik says he is proud to have opposed the intentions of the outgoing administration in the United States about redrawing of the Dayton agreement. He said he has no assets or accounts in the United States, even abroad, except in Serbia. He pointed out that he has long been under sanctions, but that this is only now officially published.

Dodik says those who suffered defeated in the elections in the United States have imposed sanctions on him. He said that he was “under attack of an arrogant policy of the outgoing U.S. administration.” “These are not sanctions of the United States, these are sanctions of those who were defeated in elections in the U.S. and I’m not surprised by this move, because I have heard so many threats from this outgoing administration over the last ten years,” said Dodik, and added: “The reprisal followed, but it probably wouldn’t have happened had I not been invited to the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. They could not bear to see me. The sanctions are a personal move of those who understand politics as a policy of force.”

“The decision was announced by an administration that will two days from now go into political history, and it yet remains to be seen whether they had any suggestions from here for such a decision. This is also Mrs. Cormack’s personal revenge, not that of U.S. officials,” Dodik said, referring to the U.S. ambassador to B&H. “She has been informing falsely about the situation in B&H. She bears full responsibility for such a cynical move that she has made. She is a proven enemy of the Serbs and of the RS,” said the leader of the Serb entity in B&H.

Dodik asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak to declare the US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack, persona non grata in B&H and added that he expects the new authorities in the U.S. to urgently withdraw Maureen Cormack from her post in Sarajevo, “and criminally prosecute her for interference in the internal affairs of B&H and for violations of the Dayton Agreement.”

Inzko: I welcome the decision of the United States, Dodik was playing with fire (Nezavisne)

The High Representative in B&H Valentin Inzko welcomed the US decision to impose sanctions against the Milorad Dodik, judging that they are of “great symbolic significance.” “Milorad Dodik was playing with fire and has crossed the red line. Now he will have to live with the consequences,” said Inzko in his statement.

Cormack: Washington takes seriously the threats of secession (Nezavisne/Fena)

US Ambassador in Sarajevo Maureen Cormack said today that Washington has taken seriously threats by Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik regarding the referendum on secession, and that additional reasons for the sanctions  include the violation of the decision of the Constitutional Court, which, as she claims, will have significant effects.

“We took very seriously threats regarding the referendum on secession, and what he is doing regarding violation of the rule of law. We believe that this process should be completed so that B&H can move on. That does not mean that we are not worried about negative rhetoric of other politicians in B&H,” explained Cormac, reported Fena. “The introduction of sanctions implemented by the Ministry of the Treasury of the United States is an important step, they came to this decision, because the United States very seriously takes its role of those who should protect the Dayton Peace Agreement, but also due to the fact that the United States strongly supports the European path of B&H.

“Dodik’s recent activities, such as the September referendum, which he led in violation of the decision of the Constitutional Court, as well as rhetoric which were then used, clearly spoke in favor of advocating further division in B&H and creation of new problems,” thinks Ambassador Cormack. She explained that this is an individual sanction, adding that the US supports the citizens of RS. She expressed the hope that this move will help the people of RS to progress on the road to improve the economy and create jobs. She announced that the US will continue to assist the RS through a series of programs under the US Embassy, ​​as well as B&H to achieve its targets, namely the Euro-Atlantic integration. The ambassador, however, could not say whether other countries would join the US sanctions, but she particularly emphasized that this step was coordinated with the “closest partners”.

“This is also a message to all those who take steps contrary to the decisions of the Constitutional Court, and reiterated that the rule of law is crucial not only for B&H, but also for all countries that wish to be successful” said the ambassador.

Asked why the sanctions came two days before the appointment of the new US administration, the Ambassador reiterated that the sanctions process within the US government requires careful consideration and that it takes time. These are serious steps and they are not taken lightly. “This process is of a technical nature in its preparation just the same as in its annulment,” she concluded, stating the fact that they are 192 individuals from the Balkans on the list, some people are removed from that list, but it is a long bureaucratic process”.

Commenting on the sanctions against President Dodik, French Ambassador to B&H Claire Bodonyi said that 28 EU Member States would make a joint decision regarding sanctions against Dodik.

Officials comment sanctions imposed against Dodik (FTV)

Commenting the information that the US introduced sanctions against RS President Milorad Dodik, the SNSD Vice President Marko Vidakovic stated that injustice towards Dodik should be corrected. Deputy Speaker of the RS Assembly Nenad Stevandic assessed the sanctions imposed against Dodik as another revenge action.  The B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic expressed his concerns due to the situation created after imposing sanctions against Dodik. He said that other states especially European may support the sanctions, which would clearly mean that B&H is in deadlock and that the country is stagnating. Mektic concluded that this is not a good message for B&H and especially for the RS, bearing in mind that the sanctions mean that some politicians are again acting detrimental towards B&H and the RS. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of B&H and Vice President of SDS Mirko Sarovic pointed out that he was surprised by this information, noting that introduction of any kind of sanctions against any official is simply unacceptable. He also stressed that he and his political party do not support such conduct, reminding that certain sanctions were also imposed against SDS in the past. “However, the sanctions against SDS were much stricter and more drastic because they were imposed by the High Representative,” Sarovic concluded.

The SDA issued a press release which reads that the decision of the US administration is expected and called on all political actors in B&H to continue with construction of a stable state in line with the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA). Vice President of SDA Asim Sarajlic stated that Dodik has started a road which aims to return the RS to the nationalistic path, forgetting socioeconomic situation in the entity. Sarajlic warned that all political actors in B&H must act in a responsible way and respect laws of B&H and avoid acting like Dodik. In his opinion, Dodik preferred only one nation and one entity, taking care only of his own interests. Leader of HDZ 1990 Ilija Cvitanovic said that the US, as a guarantor of the DPA, must have had strong reasons for imposing the sanctions, which shows that B&H is not forgotten yet. According to Cvitanovic, this move proves that B&H still has strong support on its Euro-Atlantic road and that forces that block the path most of which are in the ruling coalition, will not succeed. Member of SBB B&H Mirsad Djonlagic said that the reaction of the US to Dodik’s moves is strong and significant. He assessed the situation in B&H as highly complicated. “The international community and the US have sent very clear warnings to politicians in B&H”, added Djonlagic. The DF leader Zeljko Komsic stated that the decision of the US Administration was expected but has come late. He further noted that he witnessed the discussions with the State Department’s representatives during his term in the Presidency of B&H, regarding the dilemmas with Milorad Dodik. “Several years ago I talked to certain officials who were in charge of this part of Europe at that time, and what has been cooked for years has happened just now”, he concluded. Komsic also said it remains to be seen how will the European countries react now and if they will follow the US’ decision.

Croatia to decide on its own whether to join sanctions against Dodik (Hina)

Croatia will decide on its own whether to join in the US sanctions against President Dodik, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tomislav Lendic said on Wednesday. As for Croatia, we make our decisions based on our own estimates, including on possible sanctions against Mr Dodik, “starting from the foundations, naturally, and the foundations are the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which all three peoples will be constituent and equal,” Lendic said.

Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP: Latest communication of Yee, Cormack with RS officials is direct violation of basic principle of international law (RTRS)

The Republika Srpska (RS) government’s advisor in the field of international law, Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP company, has sent a memorandum to U.S. officials which reads that the latest communication of US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Brian Yee and US Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack with the RS officials represents direct violation of the basic principle of the international law which says that foreign governments should not interfere with internal affairs of sovereign countries and should respect political independence of these countries. The memorandum also mentions that an obligation of foreign diplomats on the basis of Vienna Convention, not to interfere with internal affairs of a state, was violated as well. The memorandum reminds that RS President Milorad Dodik and RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic received four demands that refer to termination of activities on the reform of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H with HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic, Dodik’s accepting the invitation of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H for interrogation, preventing the publishing of the results of the referendum on the RS Day in the RS Official Gazette and putting the provision of the SNSD’s declaration on the referendum on the status of the RS in B&H out of force. “These demands of the US officials and accompanied threats in case that they are not met are not just against basic principles of the international law, but accepting these demands would force the RS President and the Prime Minister to violate duties they have taken under oath, i.e. to respect the RS Constitution and laws and to protect interests of the RS and its citizens”, the memorandum reads. It also stresses the lack of independence of B&H CC from political influence, primarily from Bosniak political influence against foreign judges. When it comes to the demand for Dodik to accept the invitation to interrogation at the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, the memorandum explains that such demand unnecessarily undermines integrity of the institution of the RS President that is protected by the RS Constitution and his safety, warning that investigation against Dodik is unlawful since the decision on the referendum was proposed by caucuses of all Serb parties in the RS Assembly. The memorandum further says that the demand for Dodik and Cvijanovic to prevent publishing of the results of the referendum on the RS Day in the RS Official Gazette was sent to a wrong address, noting that they have no legal right to obstruct publishing of the referendum results. As for the SNSD’s declaration, the memorandum says that the RS as one of the sides in the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) has the right to evaluate if other sides violate their obligations and to seek for legal remedy. It adds that centralization of jurisdictions has resulted in inefficient administration and destruction of the most important constitutional mechanisms for protection of constituent peoples in B&H and that Bosniak parties have not demonstrated flexibility when it comes to defending of unconstitutional and dysfunctional status quo. The memorandum further says that SNSD adopted the declaration on the referendum on the status of the RS in B&H in the aforementioned context.

Lavrov: Celebration of RS Day was not unconstitutional (TV1)

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said that celebration of January 9 was not unconstitutional. Lavrov said that nobody is trying to destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and added that conflicts in the Balkans must be prevented. “Whenever hysteria is created about the decision of B&H Serbs to proclaim January 9 as the Republika Srpska (RS) Day and whenever claims appear that this represents undermining of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA), this represents yet another provocation and a sort of an insult because someone recognizes their own values and not Brussels, post-Christian values. Russia advocates realization of the DPA and it has always been confirming its dedication to the DPA. I will emphasize one more time, nobody in B&H is destroying the state. RS President Milorad Dodik has confirmed his dedication to the DPA on several occasions already. Those who make decisions without considering opinions of all three peoples are the ones who violate the DPA”, Lavrov said. He added that Moscow has reminded its western partners on several occasions that the Office of the High Representative (OHR) that can impose any kind of solutions to Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats should be abolished in B&H, which is considered to be an independent state. “The EU finds difficult to reject these jurisdictions of the HR and this is irritating, the same as the fact that Serb politicians in Banja Luka are constantly exposed to accusations that they break down the state”, Lavrov explained. He stated that accusations that the RS violates the DPA by celebration of the RS Day are nothing but provocations.

Izetbegovic: Nikolic’s visit would be opportunity to tell him to his face everything that I think (Faktor.ba)

The Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency and leader of the Party of Democratic Action, Bakir Izetbegovic, has said that a visit by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic to Sarajevo would be a chance for him to say to his face that everything Nikolic was doing was not contributing to the building of neighborly relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Izetbegovic told the Sarajevo Faktor.ba portal that he could have but had not wanted to decline the Serbian president’s visit to Sarajevo, announced for February, adding that Nikolic was welcome in Sarajevo whenever he decided to visit B&H’s capital. Commenting on statements by RS President Milorad Dodik that “RS dreams about merging with Serbia” and Nikolic’s support for Dodik’s statement, the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency said that Dodik and Nikolic needed to get to grips with reality. “Especially considering the mortgage of crimes that RS carries and its wartime friendship. The RS entity has no moral, historical or legal argument to secede from B&H. It can try only by reigniting a new circle of violence, but the question is how that would end,” Izetbegovic said.

Covic speaks about third entity (TV Mostar)

In an interview for a local TV station in Mostar, Dragan Covic, the Croatian member of the B&H Presidency and the leader of the HDZ B&H, for the first time “drew” the border of the third, Croatian, entity of B&H. “In every organization of B&H in which the Croats will be defined as a constituent and sovereign people, Posavina, Zepce and part of central Bosnia and part of Herzegovina will be ours. This is the answer to everyone,” said Covic.

Zvizdic to visit Serbia; Joint sessions with Serbian and Croatian government (Radio Sarajevo)

The Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic will pay an official visit to the Republic of Serbia next week. “In order to continue the strengthening of good-neighborly cooperation between the two countries, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic, accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to officially visit the Republic of Serbia on Monday, January 23rd,” announced the Council of Ministers.

Igor Crnadak, Minister for Foreign Affairs, announced the joint session of the B&H Council of Ministers and the government of Serbia and later of the Council of Ministers and the Croatian government. “Both sessions are intensively prepared, the first session will be between the Council of Ministers and the Croatian government and the second session will be between the Council of Ministers and the Government of Serbia. We are working on the very intense preparations and I expect that both of meetings will happen in the first part of 2017. I expect them not only to be protocol but substantive. I cannot say in advance – we will solve this or we will solve that, but I know that it is our commitment, as well as colleagues from the Serbia and Croatia, to work on substantive matters such as certain border issues, infrastructure projects, and cooperation in the field of European integration. I believe that the upcoming sessions will bring a lot of useful things,” said Crnadak.

Shirokov demanded Djukanovic’s murder (Pobjeda)

Serbian Security and Information Agency (BIA) recorded the talk of Russian citizen Eduard Shirokov in which he demanded from Aleksandar Sindjelic to organize the group to kill the then Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic at the date of the parliamentary elections on 16 October, daily Pobjeda writes. According to the information of the daily, Serbian BIA sent to our investigators secretly recorded conversations. Shirokov and Russian citizen Vladimir Popov, by an order for an investigation, are charged with having been the head of a criminal organization that was to create chaos in the streets of Podgorica, after the closure of polling stations. All members had specific roles and tasks, and two scenarios of bloodshed were prepared. Plan A was to forcibly occupy the Assembly and take over the power, and plan B was to assassinate Milo Djukanovic. The two Russians have financed the operation and give clear guidance to Sindjelic how to “take care” for Montenegro to be permanently destabilized.

At a meeting in Moscow in late September, Sindjelic has agreed to organize, for more than 200,000 euros, the arrival of as many people on the meeting of the Democratic Front. Sindjelic called Bratislav Dikic and asked him to come to Montenegro on 16 October in order to hold together “protesters, organize their movement, operate in conflict with the police, for the purpose of forced entry together with the politicians in the Parliament of Montenegro”.

59.9% of the population would vote for the EU (RTCG)

About 62 percent of Montenegrin citizens support the membership of the country in the EU, which is four percent more than in the last survey conducted by the agency DeFacto. Presenting the results of public opinion polls “Informing citizens about European integration and the process of joining the EU membership,” Olivera Komar from agency DeFacto said that 61 percent of respondents have a positive view regarding the EU. “This number has never been bigger, in any of the previous research,” Komar said, adding that the survey was conducted from 18 November to 3 December on a sample of one thousand respondents. Asked whether they think Montenegro would become an EU member regardless of their personal opinion, 68.7 percent of respondents answered positively. Asked how they would vote in a referendum on Montenegro’s entry into the EU, 59.5 percent of citizens said they would vote ‘yes’.

Initiative to re-examine the work of the George Soros Foundation in Macedonia (MIA)

An initiative was launched on Tuesday to examine the work of the George Soros funded Foundation Open Society in Macedonia. According to Nikola Srbov, who is one of the initiators, the Soros funded organization has monopolized the civil society sector in Macedonia, and has acted to stop expressions of diverse opinions among the so-called NGO groups.

We’ve witnessed the takeover of the entire civil sector and its abuse and instrumentalization to meet the goals of one political party. That is unacceptable and goes beyond the principles of civic organizing. The Foundation Open Society, operating under the Soros umbrella, used its funding and personnel to support violent processes in Macedonia. It has monopolized the civil society sector, pushing outside any organization which disagrees with the Soros ideology.

According to journalist Cvetin Chilimanov, the Foundation Open Society in Macedonia has coordinated its activities with the social-democratic SDSM party, but also with many of the diplomatic missions in Macedonia, which has caused worsening of Macedonia’s relations with these countries. “Here, we are primarily talking about the American USAID program, the European Union program to develop the civil society, and some of the European embassies in Skopje. This has, unfortunately, led to impression in the public that foreign countries, whose diplomatic representatives in Macedonia should be even-handed observers of political processes, but not active participants in them, are taking sides, picking their favorites in the political arena and supporting one side against the other. This is unacceptable and has largely contributed to a feeling in the public that the traditional relations of partnership Macedonia enjoyed with some countries, are being undermined. Therefore, one of the goals of our initiative will be to ask the diplomatic corps what has led to this situation, and to look for ways to overcome it in the shortest possible amount of time,” Chilimanov added.

Nenad Mirchevski said that the main goal of the initiative presented on Tuesday will be ‘desorosoization’ of Macedonia. Mirchevski added that he is fully aware of the power which this structure has concentrated over the years in Macedonia, but said that he is confident that enough citizens will stand up and join the initiative.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Balkan States ‘Could Emulate Slovenian Law Curbing Refugees’ (BIRN, by Sven Milekic, 17 January 2017)

Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, warns that Slovenia’s proposed new Aliens Act will likely cause an unwelcome ‘domino effect’ along the Balkan refugee route.

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, has told BIRN that Slovenia’s proposal for the new Aliens’ Act may cause “a domino effect” across the Balkans in countries lining the so-called “Balkan route”, meaning Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. “You have this chain reaction of building fences along the ‘Balkan route’. Croatia is already looking with fear what will happen in Slovenia,” he said. “My fear is that these changes, if adopted, can signal a race to the bottom in terms of standards and safeguards in the region and would lead to ‘a domino effect’ in other countries as well. “It would be a very unfortunate thing for refugees, the region and Slovenia, which would trigger the process,” Muiznieks said. “It would signal to other countries to go down the same route.”

Slovenia’s government backed an amendment to the existing Aliens Act on January 5, proposing tougher procedures towards asylum seekers and refugees for a trial six-month period – with a possible extension for another six months. It is likely to be backed by the country’s parliament in which the plan enjoys cross-party support. Although the restrictions would not apply to persons whose lives are deemed to be in danger if they are returned to their native countries, or to unaccompanied minors, the provisions will empower the police to refuse entry to most asylum seekers on the border. The plan has drawn criticism from activists and experts dealing with the refugee crisis in Croatia, as well as among NGOs in Slovenia itself.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, last week wrote to the Slovenian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, voicing concern that the proposal would cause issues with the European Convention on Human Rights, especially noting the “right to due process, the consideration of individual circumstances in the processing of applications and protection of all migrants and asylum seekers against ill-treatment”. Muiznieks wrote to the speaker of the Slovenian parliament, Milan Brglez, on Tuesday, warning that the proposed changes “raise serious issues of compatibility with a number of European and international standards by which Slovenia is bound, notably the prohibition of non-refoulement and of collective expulsions, as well as with the fundamental right of every individual to seek and enjoy asylum”. Non-refoulement is a principle in international law which forbids returning victims of persecution to their persecutors – in most cases the states from which they came. In the letter, Muiznieks mentioned a case he had submitted to the European Court of Human Rights, in which he recalled that asylum seekers returned to Hungary from Austria had been “exposed to a very high risk of being subject to deportation to Serbia and to onward chain refoulement”. “My core concern is that there is no individual assessment procedure foreseen in the [Slovenian] law, to assess if individuals have sound claims if they would face torture if pushed back at the border,” he explained to BIRN.

Besides tasking the military to patrol the border in October 2015, Slovenia erected a barbed wire fence in November of that year. The refugee crisis later virtually ended with the simultaneous closure of borders to most migrants in March 2016. The proposed Aliens Act amendment will likely be passed by the parliament in Slovenia since both the government parties and the strongest opposition party, the centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party, SDS, have said they will back it. The Slovenian daily Delo reported on Monday that, according to a telephone survey conducted on 500 people, 64 per cent of those questioned support the government’s proposal.

Bosnian Experts Expect Little From NATO Chief’s Visit (BIRN, by Eleanor Rose, 17 January 2017)

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Bosnia in February is unlikely to result in major progress towards membership of the alliance, an expert has predicted, blaming political disarray in the country.

The secretary-general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, will visit Bosnia early in February, when officials are expected to update him on the improvements the country has made on the path to NATO membership. However, experts have warned that because of a dispute over the involvement of Bosnia’s armed forces in last week’s banned holiday in Republika Srpska, as well as stalled progress on registering military property – the key condition for activating NATO’s Membership Action Plan – the meeting may not result in a significant step forward.

The completion last November of a defence review that allows for the development of the Bosnian armed forces over the next 10 years was a positive step, said Denis Hadzovic, a security expert from Sarajevo’s Centre for Security Studies. “On the other side, there was a huge problem with the celebration of [the disputed holiday on] January 9 [in Republika Srpska],” he said, which represented “a political conflict between the Federation and Republika Srpska” – the two entities that make up Bosnia. Bosnia’s Ministry of Defence has been caught in the middle of this row, after members of the Third Infantry Regiment, made up of RS soldiers, took part in last Monday’s celebration of Republika Srpska Day, which Bosnia’s Constitutional Court deems illegal. Soldiers had been urged by both the Ministry of Defence and the commander of NATO’s Sarajevo HQ not to participate in the event. The chairman of the Joint Commission for Defence and Security, Sifet Podzic, told the media that he hoped a session this Monday would help clarify confusion surrounding the event, about which several conflicting announcements have been made by ministry officials. During the row, the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, threatened to withdraw the Serb-led entity from a 2005 agreement that unified Bosnia’s armed forces. The other problem, Hadzovic added, was that there appears still to be “no political will on the domestic level” to solve the issue of the registration of immovable military property to the state – the key remaining condition for activating the Membership Action Plan. NATO granted Bosnia MAP status at its summit in Tallinn, Estonia, in April 2010, but conditioned its activation on the full registration of such military assets. The Bosniak member of Bosnia’s state presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, voiced optimism in November that MAP could be activated this year. However nearly seven years after the Tallinn conference, the task of military asset registration remains incomplete. Bosnia’s efforts to obtain NATO membership have been slowed by the reluctance of politicians from Republika Srpska. Bosnian Serb leaders have opposed registering the entity’s military assets to the state level, claiming they belong to the entity and not to the state. Of about 60 prospective military assets in the country, two-thirds are located in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a third in Republika Srpska. So far, the Federation has registered just over half of 40 properties, whereas Republika Srpska has resisted registering any.

Defence Minister Marina Pendes told local media on Monday that although not all of the tasks set by NATO have been completed, it was still appropriate for Stoltenberg to visit and pay tribute to members of the armed forces. The Bosnian Serbs however look to Russia for support, so the fact that Russia opposes the expansion of NATO into the Balkans is another factor behind Republika Srpska’s opposition to joining the alliance. Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president on Friday, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that the previous US administration’s policy to expand NATO by supporting the membership of Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia had set back US-Russia ties. “The consolidated efforts of the Western states are aimed, among other things, at undermining integration processes that our country is part of,” Patrushev said on Sunday. While February’s meeting is a positive sign to Bosnians that NATO is still interested in the country, Hadzovic cautioned that the country was only likely to be assured that it could join sometime in the future, if it fulfils the conditions.

“Due to the political conditions at present I am not sure that we will gain anything [at the meeting] more than the continuation of the open-door policy of NATO,” he said.

New Movements Emerge Ahead of Albanian Elections (BIRN, by Fatjona Mejdini, 18 January 2017)

Five months before general elections in Albania, several new political movements and parties have been founded, vowing to challenge the country’s political establishment.

The Albanian Bee [Bleta Shqiptare] political movement was launched on Tuesday in Tirana, presenting a manifesto that urged Albanians to take action to create a better future for the country after the disappointments caused by the political parties that have governed the country since the end of Communism. The anti-establishment movement, which might turn into a political party, is being formed five months before the parliamentary elections set for June 18. Its manifesto called for the establishment of a “modern state” based on the rule of law, with an uncorrupted public administration as a prerequisite for later joining the EU. “We have to strengthen our state first and later deal with the EU – we are not ready for it yet,” the manifesto says. Three of the movement’s founders are Albanians from the diaspora who have returned after living in the United States for years.

One of them, Shenasi Rama, is a well-known former activist from the student movement at the beginning of the 1990s that helped topple the Communist regime in Albania. After decades working as a political science professor at Columbia University in New York, Rama told at the movement’s launch on Tuesday that he believes that Albania is now at a critical point. “We have to be together and discuss how we can get out of this situation, at a time where our country has been governed by people who have stolen and made Albanians immigrate. We have to stop this from happening anymore,” he said.

Another of the founders, Grid Rroji, a former United Nations employee in New York, said that it was time to make people reflect on the failure of the country to establish itself as a successful democracy three decades since the end of Communism. “We have massive corruption, people that want to leave the country and a political class that doesn’t secure a normal life or any dignity for their people,” Rroji said.

The third founder, Valentina Karanxha, a former student who participating in protests that brought the end of the Communist regime, told the launch via Skype from the US told that the movement’s manifesto was a gateway to the revival of the country’s political mentality and a call for Albanians to wake up.

Albanian Bee is the third political movement to be launched in advance of the upcoming elections. Ben Blushi, a long-time critic of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, left Rama’s governing Socialist Party, and together with former Socialist MP Mimoza Hafizi formed Libra, which they described as a new anti-establishment party, in November. In January, Gjergj Bojaxhi, the former head of Albania’s energy company, set up Sfida, a party that also aims to oppose the political establishment.