LOCAL PRESS

Vucic: Relations between Serbia and B&H set back 25 years (RTS/Danas/Politika)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday conferred with the RS President Milorad Dodik and Chairman of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic about the revision of the B&H genocide lawsuit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Vucic said that Belgrade’s goal was to preserve peace and stability in relations with the B&H, but Tomislav Nikolic said that the RS and the Serbs did nothing either to spoil, or destabilize relations in the B&H. He said that Serbia sincerely and genuinely wanted peace, not quarrels and conflicts with neighbors, indicating that Belgrade did not in any way contribute the B&H or some of its authorities to file revision of the lawsuit against Serbia.

Nikolic assessed that the RS and Serbia did not make any move that could destabilize B&H and relationships in it. We lived to see that one member of the B&H Presidency posed the question that it did not matter whether it was within his competences or not, but what his goal was and what he said by that did matter. It was evident that neither Croatian, nor Serbian nation in B&H agreed with it, and the international community did not have words to justify this action, Nikolic said. He noted that the international community, which “has not voiced any condemnation” of Izetbegovic’s act, would have to voice its stance whether it agreed with it and approved it or not.

“Serbia will always stand by the Serbs in the B&H, we are an inextricably linked nation, one and the same people. They will be supported in everything they do and which is in line with the

Constitution and the law,” Nikolic said.

Vucic noted that the relations between Serbia and the B&H were set back 25, namely, 22 years by the revision of genocide lawsuit against Serbia, at the time of Dayton agreement signing, which was worrying. He said that Serbia’s job was to preserve regional peace and stability as well as to respond to the lawsuit and win the case. Vucic pointed out that Serbia was in no way to blame for an initiative to revise the genocide lawsuit, and voiced his belief that the lawsuit would be fruitless. “It is obvious that some people live in the past and are trying to make a living from it,” he noted. “Even this little trust that we have managed to build through meetings is gone, it is clear that it is gone, because if you want to file a lawsuit against a neighboring country, and you know that there are more than one million Serbs in the B&H who are against it, you know that you cannot win it. Then it shows how deep, essential and fundamental our problems are,” he said. Noting that probably everybody was interested in the formal question whether the Serbs would participate in the government in Sarajevo, Vucic emphasized that Serbia had never and would never exert pressure on the Serbs in the RS and the Serb representatives in the B&H, because they knew best how to preserve the interests of the Serbian nation. He also commented on the “hypocrisy of the international community”, recalling that when there was “a sort of referendum which Serbia was not enthusiastic with, and which related to the Day of the RS, not to a terrible issue – the Serbs were characterized as a disruptive factor, but today, when serious issues are at stake, they are calming us down.” “Show us the same standards and the same attitude towards the Serbs as towards the others,” Vucic said. He added that Belgrade realized that the international community could never solve anything which was against the Serbs.

Vucic said that even now he did not expect the international community to respond to the initiative of the request for revision, not even to say who is to blame for the situation caused in the region.

Ivanic: RS leadership in daily communication with Belgrade (RTS)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic said that the RS leadership will establish daily communication with Belgrade and added that Izetbegovic’s actions laid bare the relations inside B&H which Izetbegovic destroyed the most. “We are not covering ourselves with Serbia but we want to work together and take steps in the interest of the Serb people as a whole,” Ivanic said. He added that Belgrade and Banja Luka can agree on what the interests of the Serb people on both sides of the Drina River are. Ivanic said he believes that the B&H request for a review of the ICJ judgment, which he said is illegal, would probably be filed and that Serbia and the RS will take adequate measures. We will use the institutions in our interest and you’ll see what that means, Ivanic said. Asked about the canceling of Nikolic’s visit to Sarajevo, Ivanic asked why talk about the visit while a law suit is being filed and added that he completely understands Nikolic’s decision. I don’t think that it could be anything else at this time, Ivanic said. He said that it is good that there are no attacks against the RS from the international community and that it is time that the nations guaranteeing the Dayton agreement say that the Bosniak representatives are responsible for this or see the crisis deepen.

Dodik: Review act of hatred towards Serbs (RTS)

RS President Milorad Dodik said that it is clear that the announced review is not a question of justice but “an act of hatred by the Bosniaks against Serbs in general”. This shows that they want to achieve two things – they expect to get tens of billions in damages and the second goal is to abolish the RS, Dodik said. He recalled that the meeting which decided on the review was attended by everyone – Izetbegovic and his people, the opposition, representatives of religious institutions and all those brought together by a permanent hatred towards us. He said that the Bosniak representatives want to bring back the story that Serbia, that is the Serbs in B&H “committed genocide which, of course, did not happen”. They want to destroy the complete position of the RS but we are united and the political forces in the RS as a whole are united,” Dodik said. He added that he is convinced that the ICJ will reject the demand to review the law suit but that the primary problem is that someone in B&H can decide on behalf of others “and that cannot happen”.

Dacic: Revision of lawsuit against Serbia is return to past (RTS/Hina)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in Ljubljana that requesting revision is politically damaging. “That is a return to the past, counter-productive and politically damaging move,” said Dacic. Dacic traveled to Ljubljana at the invitation of Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, and met with his counterpart, as well as with Slovenian President Borut Pahor, Speaker of the Slovenian Parliament Milan Brglez, and Prime Minister Miro Cerar. According to the same source, Dacic’s meeting with Slovenian officials concerned promotion of bilateral relations, economic cooperation, succession, European integration, migration, the situation in the Western Balkans and relations with neighboring countries, when excellent relations between Serbia and Slovenia were highlighted, with an emphasis on the economic sphere.

Joksimovic: 284 million Euros from IPA for cross-border cooperation (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Minister without portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic opened today a regional forum on cross-border cooperation in Belgrade. She underlined that the Serbian government invests the same energy and dedication to the part of work related to the use of IPA funds as to the opening of chapters in negotiations on EU accession. Joksimovic, who is also national IPA coordinator, pointed to the importance of the programs of cross-border cooperation for the strengthening of good neighborly relations and regional stability and highlighted the need for a more efficient use of IPA funds intended for those programs. We are working together on increasing visibility of IPA funds and thus making the European path clearer to citizens, she stated. Joksimovic recalled that until 2014 Serbia had programs of cross-border cooperation with eight countries of the region and worked on them with great success. Until 2020 Serbia will have at its disposal 284 million Euros from IPA funds of the EU for programs of cross-border cooperation with B&H, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Croatia and two transnational programs of cooperation – the Danube program and the Adriatic-Ionian program.

Serbs in Bujanovac demand urgent census (Novosti)

Establishing exact data on the number of inhabitants and national structure in Bujanovac is the first request of the Serbs from this municipality, dissatisfied with the treatment of the state towards their problems. The announcement of the arrival of Albanian President Buyar Nishani to their town on 3 March awakens anxiety that the position of the Serbs will additionally worsen. That is why the associations of Serbs demand an urgent census of the population, revision of the electoral list and control of registration of residents of this municipality. They claim this is the only way to establish the exact number of inhabitants of Bujanovac and to thwart a planned increase in the number of permanent Albanian residents. “We requested a meeting to convey to the Serbian Prime Minister information on the position of the Serbs in southern Serbia,” says Aleksandar Popovic from the Bujanovac Homeland Club in Belgrade. “Inter-ethnic relations in Bujanovac are seriously disrupted, while they have been additionally burdened with frequent speculations on exchange of territories with Pristina. This scenario was first publicly mentioned by Fatmir Hasani, who is now MP of the Party for Democratic Action, in 2003, while his initiative has not been officially rejected to this day.

The Serbs in Bujanovac formulated their requests in 10 points, which concern, among other things, the unjust distribution of functions in public companies, stopping the Albanization of the south of the state and departure of the Serbian population. “We request the government to adopt a program for stopping forceful departure of the non-Albanian population from Bujanovac,” says Svetislav Velickovic from the Bujanovac Committee for Human Rights. “Out of the total of 12 leading posts in the town, as many as 11 are occupied by the Albanians. The Cyrillic script has been banished, as well as the Serbian language in the communication with the local self-administration. Toponyms are a special story since a decision was passed in 2014 that banishes from street signs popular names from Serbian history and replaces them with KLA terrorists.

The Serbs in Bujanovac also think that budget funds are received only by the Albanians who are inappropriately spending them solely to the detriment of Serbian settlements.

The invitation to the Albanian President was sent by the Bujanovac municipality, and the visit to Belgrade and meetings with the Serbian leadership has not been planned. The President of the Bujanovac municipal assembly Jonuz Musliu says that Nishani will only meet with the Albanian political leaders of Bujanovac and Presevo.

Danielsson: Serbia to open two more chapters on Monday (RTS)

Serbia will open Chapters 20 and 26 in the negotiations on accession to the EU next Monday in Brussels, Director-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations

Christian Danielsson told Radio and Television of Serbia(RTS). The inter-governmental conference will open Chapter 20: Enterprise and industrial policy as well as Chapter 26: Education and culture which will also be closed preliminarily. Danielsson said prior to his visit to Belgrade that this is an important step and that the speeding up of the opening of chapters is beneficial for Serbia. He also stressed the importance of progress in the field of rule of law. Serbia has opened six of the total of 35 chapters in the pre-accession talks which opened in January 2014. Chapter 29: Customs Union is also ready to be opened but there is no full agreement from EU member states on it yet.

REGIONAL PRESS

Ivanic: Izetbegovic’s behavior – climax of acting outside institutions (Srna)

Chair of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic said Thursday in Sarajevo that a special meeting of the Presidency, which was called at his request, was disrupted, which means, he said, that the decision on submitting an application for launching a revision of the International Court of Justice judgment in the genocide case against Serbia was not made. Izetbegovic left the session refusing to participate in a discussion regarding the decision on submitting an application for launching the revision. After Izetbegovic, Covic also left the session.

Reactions of officials to meeting of Nikolic, Vucic, Ivanic and Dodik (FTV)

Representatives of the opposition parties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have warned that radical statements coming from Banja Luka and Belgrade, regarding the announced revision of the ruling in the case of B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia, could only deepen the crisis in B&H. According to the opposition, it is evident that the most radical statements have been made by Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, who even ended up on the USA’s black list due to such behavior. SDP Political Director Damir Masic assessed that it is even more concerning that officials of the RS seem to be more anxious than official Belgrade itself. According to Masic, they have nothing to be afraid of if they are convinced that the motion for revision will be denied due to the lack of new evidence. DF leader Zeljko Komsic assessed that the current convocation of the ruling authority in Serbia might not be responsible for what happened during the war, but the former governing structures certainly are, so it is impossible to ignore this fact and go on as if nothing has ever happened. SB&H leader Amer Jerlagic warned that this is not the first time that politician from the RS is trying to dispute the continuity of B&H. He stressed that it should be clear to everyone that this is a legal matter and not a political game. HSS B&H leader Mario Karamatic assessed that raising the issue of revision with such delay will only deepen the crisis in B&H. He deems that Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic seems to have lost his policy, as “he is trying to cause a political crisis in order to prevent the amendments to the Election Law on B&H”, which should be adopted this year.

DF: Izetbegovic needed a guarantee for triggering a political crisis (Oslobodjenje)

Secretariat of Democratic Front (DF) wrote that SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic produced – as he said himself, a big political crisis in the country by deciding to submit the request for revision of the ruling in B&H vs. Serbia case before the ICJ at the last minute.  DF Secretariat also recalls of information that Izetbegovic signed work contract with attorney Sakib Softic on May 11, 2016, so it remains unknown why he (Izetbegovic) organized a meeting on this matter only on February 17, 2017, a few days prior to expiration of deadline for submission of the revision request. According to DF, the answer is clear and what Izetbegovic needed was a guarantee for triggering a political crisis and for possible failure of the revision request. Also, reads the commentary, it was clear that the many attendees of this meeting came for their respect for victims and not to express support to such acting by Izetbegovic. On the other hand, goes on the commentary, the Alliance for Changes boycott sessions of B&H Parliament and B&H Council of Ministers, which leads to the question if they are joining RS President Milorad Dodik in his political acting and if they grant him amnesty for all his political moves, including the ones they fought against. DF Secretariat concludes by saying that Izetbegovic must present in public all new facts and evidence in this case otherwise he or anyone else has no right to expose the country to such crisis and blockade. Furthermore, SzP leaders must say if they joined Dodik and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic and his party should explain why they decided to be neutral in this process, concludes DF Secretariat.

HDZ 1990’s Zelenika: Why are Croat politicians silent about ruling revision (Oslobodjenje)

HDZ 1990 in B&H House of Representatives Diana Zelenika sent an open letter, asking representatives of Croat political parties why they keep silent about the issue of revision of the ruling before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in B&H vs. Serbia case. “I am closer to those comments which say that the court’s decision, no matter what it is, will be introduction to a more quality and permanent peace. I am personally ready to accept any ruling of the ICJ, but I am not capable of understanding the silence of Croat politicians in B&H,” she stressed, adding that someone representing Croats in B&H must not be without comments.

Izetbegovic: Ivanic’s letter is in direct collision to decision of B&H Presidency (FTV)

Cabinet of Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic issued statement on Wednesday, which reads that the letter Chairman of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic sent to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is in direct collision to decision of B&H Presidency to appoint Sakib Softic as B&H agent in case of B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia adopted on October 4, 2002. The statement reads that the aforementioned decision of B&H Presidency does not mention any limitation of Softic’s mandate. “This decision of B&H Presidency was never changed or put out of force,” reads the statement. It further reads that Statute or rules of the ICJ do not require B&H authorities to adopt a new decision on appointment of the B&H’s agent in the case of the revision. The statement also reads that Ivanic’s claims saying that B&H Presidency needs to adopt the decision to launch the process of revision and that without it Softic is not authorized to submit request for the revision on behalf of B&H are legally ungrounded.

Dodik: Indictment will be issued against Ivanic and me in ten days (BHT1)

RS President Milorad Dodik stated that he has information that the B&H Prosecutor’s Office will issue an indictment against him, Chairman of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic and some other RS officials due to holding of a referendum on the RS Day. According to Dodik, the indictment will be issued in about 10 days. The RS President considers this to be “a unique example” in which someone undergoes criminal proceedings due to organizing a referendum. Dodik’s allegations in this regard have not been confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, which so far interrogated several RS officials within the case of holding of referendum on the RS Day.

Montenegrin police extradites Miodrag Jovic to Croatia (Hina)

Montenegrin police reported on Wednesday that they extradited to Croatia Miodrag Jovic (48) from Glina, after whom Interpol Zagreb issued an arrest warrant. Croatian authorities issued the arrest warrant after Jovic because he was sentenced to 15 years for war crimes against civilians in Croatia, the Montenegrin police said in a press release.

Amnesty International warns of nationalist rhetoric and hate speech in Croatia (Hina)

Croatia continues to have problems with discrimination against ethnic minorities and with freedom of the media, while heightened nationalist rhetoric and hate speech during election time contributed to growing ethnic intolerance and insecurity in the country, global human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in its annual report on the state of human rights in the world in 2016/2017. AI recalled that the new, center-right government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was formed in January 2017 after the government led by Tihomir Oreskovic collapsed in June 2016. “The period of political instability around the turn of the year was accompanied by a surge in nationalist rhetoric and hate speech targeting specific groups, in particular ethnic Serbs, refugees and migrants. Civil society groups recorded increased instances of the media and public officials ‘evoking fascist ideology’ from the past by promoting the use of inflammatory iconography and generally fuelling an anti-minority sentiment,” the report said. AI noted that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had raised concerns about the pace and effectiveness of prosecutions by the national courts of crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war.

Montenegro’s claims unfounded (RTCG)

Moscow believes that the allegations of Russian interference in internal affairs of Montenegro are completely unfounded, and that the authorities in Podgorica stand behind the anti-Russian information campaign regarding the situation in the country, said today spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova. “Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic could not resist not joining using thesis that had been widely used in the US and the EU in recent years and he accused Moscow and some of the Russian special services to have interfered in the internal affairs of the country (Montenegro),” Zakharova said at a press conference. According to her, Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic “went a step further, tried to develop the thought, mentioning presence of special forces of Federal Security Service on Montenegrin territory.”

“All this statements have no basis at all, unfortunately, media publish them, in generally not taking in consideration Russian positions. If they actually ever mention Russian position, they do it en passant, and off course, disproportionately to the information which is published,” Zakharova said. Katnic announced that some Russian the state bodies were involved in the preparation of coup in Montenegro, in order to prevent the country’s entry into NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Monday the allegations, adding that it is irresponsible to pronounce such serious accusations without evidence.

Montenegro replies to Zakharova (CDM)

Montenegro replied to the statement of Russian official Maria Zakharova who said that Moscow believes suspicions of Russian involvement in Montenegro are completely unfounded and that authorities in Podgorica are behind anti-Russian campaign. “This is one of many attempts from official Russian address that responds without arguments to our information about Moscow continuous involvement in Montenegro’s interior matters. This activity was especially pronounced before 16 October and there is no need to prove that irrefutable fact,” they said in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro. Meanwhile, Moscow was meeting with representatives of Montenegrin opposition. Moscow supported their idea of organizing a referendum of NATO membership that goes against Montenegrin Constitution. “Does that constitute involvement in our interior affairs? When a spokesperson of Russian ministry decides on interests of Montenegrin people? Our investigation leads to names of two Russian nationals – does Moscow want Montenegro to keep silent on that matter or would it be in “the spirit of eternal tradition of close Montenegro – Russia relations” that Russian institutions cooperate in this investigation,” the Ministry asked. The government of Montenegro refrained on comments about deteriorating relations with Russia. “We do not wish to resolve our issues on press conferences nor in media. We are open to conversation with Moscow on all the matters that weigh on our relations, based on arguments and good will, with respect to each country’s rights to choose their own foreign policy path,” the Ministry said. Instead of dialogue, Moscow sends instructions and advice on Montenegrin matters. “This manner brings serious damage to our relations. We invite Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be patient and refrain from unsubstantiated statements,” the Ministry stated.

Parties to solve crises by themselves (Dnevne novine)

The EU and NATO want to calm tensions in Montenegro and in this regard they will encourage dialogue in the country, but it is difficult to expect a wider international initiative, said the MEP, Jozo Rados. As he said, Montenegro is in the process of accession to the EU and NATO and it is expected that the two organizations operate in terms of calming the internal tensions and improve dialogue among political actors in Montenegro. “However, it will happen at the level of calls, advice and encouragement, not in the sense of imposing some solutions,” Rados said told Dnevne novine, commenting on the recent visit of the leader of the Movement for Changes Nebojsa Medojevic to Berlin, where he sought the help of the international community to resolve the crisis in Montenegro. Rados said that it would be the best that the parties in Montenegro solve the political crisis in the country by themselves. “It is hard to expect a wider international initiative, primarily because of the conflicting views of the main actors of international politics. In any case, it would be the best that the political parties in Montenegro find their own way of cooperation,” he concluded.

Serbia rejected the request for extradition of Ristic (MINA)

The Appellate Court in Belgrade rejected the request for extradition of Serbian national Nemanja Ristic to Montenegro. He is under suspicion of taking part in planning of election-day terrorist attempt in Montenegro. Appellate court confirmed the verdict of Special court in Belgrade, which rejected the request because the conditions for extradition were not present. The statement mentions that vice Prosecutor for organized crime spoke before Appellate Court, confirming that there were no conditions for extradition. Ristic is suspected of actions performed on Serbian territory, and the Contract between Serbia and Montenegro from May 29th 2009 states that there can be no extradition if acts in charge were performed on the territory of country in question, Appellate court reminded. Montenegro also asked for Predrag Bogicevic’s extradition, on same charges. His case was transferred from Kragujevac to Special court in Belgrade. Appellate court in Kragujevac put a veto on verdict of High court of Kragujevac that found conditions for extradition of Bogicevic. Bogicevic is still in remand, while Ristic waited for the verdict as a free man. Montenegro is looking for extradition of Ristic and Bogicevic in investigation of criminal organization and terrorism. They were arrested in Kragujevac and Belgrade on January 13th based on Montenegro’s warrant.

Zaev: New government led by SDSM in 10-15 days (META)

Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) decided to give us the signatures to get a mandate to form a government that will be formed in the first half of March, said SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, during his visit to Sarajevo, on a joint press conference with the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Niksic. “I believe that Macedonia will have a new government led by SDSM in some 10-15 days,” said Zaev. He said that early parliamentary elections in Macedonia were the result of persistent struggle of the opposition in providing conditions for regular, fair and democratic elections, which he said had not been totally fair and democratic, but there was no forgery.

DUI accepts SDSM Albanian language law proposal, other issues to be raised on Friday (Republika)

Spokesman Bujar Osmani confirmed that the Central Committee of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) accepted a text proposed by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) of a law about the official use of the Albanian language in Macedonia. Another meeting is expected to be held on Friday in the DUI headquarters in Mala Recica, near Tetovo, where the party will discuss on other issues that will affect their decision on forming a coalition with SDSM. “All arguments about the proposed law on the language were exhausted, and we unanimously decided to approve the text of the law. We completed this portion of the debate, and tomorrow we begin with other elements of the possible harmonization of a platform for joint rule. There are other issues that need to be discussed for the possible harmonization of platforms, which will be raised on Friday. It is important that today we completed a significant phase of the process,” said Osmani.

DUI have 10 votes in Parliament and SDSM leader Zoran Zaev asked them for their signatures, in order to be able to claim a mandate from President Gjorge Ivanov to form the next Government. DUI said that it wants to see the law adopted in parliament before the new Government is formed.

SDSM and DUI would have 59 votes, and will need the support from the Alliance of Albanians with three votes, or some other party, to reach the required 61 votes to form a new Government. VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski, whose party has 51 seats in Parliament, said that they will not allow SDSM to continue undermining the national interests. Details on the law were not made fully available by the two parties, except for the fact that they will try to make it fit the current Constitution, considering that SDSM and DUI would not have the required votes in Parliament to amend the Constitution. It is believed that it will mean official use of the Albanian language in all central institutions, including their local branches in areas that have little to no Albanians, and having Government sessions and court hearings conducted in Albanian.

DUI’s Rafiz Aliti said that the text of the law on the Albanian language may not be perfect, but the party decided to go ahead with it. “In principle, we supported the draft language law. It is now up to our leader and his negotiating team to meet with SDSM representatives”, Aliti said.

Gruevski vows VMRO-DPMNE to keep on defending state and national interests (MIA)

SDSM and DUI are trying to belittle Macedonian people. Judging from what is happening now, SDSM is strongly committed to re-defining Macedonia. But I must stress that VMRO-DPMNE and its coalition “For Better Macedonia” in any possible scenario is relentlessly determined to defend the country and its national interests, Nikola Gruevski said Wednesday commenting on the ongoing negotiations between the two parties to form a new government in Macedonia. Warning all those who are willing to gamble state and national interests away, the VMRO-DPMNE leader said there are people in Macedonia who are prepared to fight for these interests. This is an attempt by SDSM and DUI, he stated, to ‘de-factorize’ Macedonians, the Macedonian people, and all other ethnic communities in the country, including Turks, Serbs, Vlachs, Romas, etc. “We won’t allow this to happen. One must wonder what it takes for SDSM to stop giving in to every demand of the Albanian parties. Will the party ever stop from giving everything away until there is nothing more to give in the country and until everything gained through hard work is lost,” Gruevski told reporters. “They (SDSM) plan on breaching the Constitution despite asserting they will act in line with it. As regards (the Constitution), we will keep on defending state and national interests in any form, in any given situation,” said the VMRO-DPMNE president.

Albanian opposition to boycott parliament, defying EU appeal (ADN)

Albania’s opposition leader announced a boycott of parliament on Wednesday, defying an appeal from the European Union not to disrupt parliamentary approval of judiciary reforms vital to starting EU accession talks. Several thousand members of the Democratic Party and its lawmakers have camped out since Saturday in an 800 square meter tent in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office, demanding a technocrat government to set the stage for free elections. Albanians will vote in parliamentary elections on June 18, four years after Rama’s leftist coalition ousted the Democrats. The ruling coalition has since won all local elections, but the Democrats have complained they were cheated out of victory and are pressing for reforms to guarantee fair elections. The opposition boycott of parliament will effectively stall the creation of bodies that would vet 750 judges and prosecutors, a stepping stone to creating an independent and clean judiciary able to fight endemic corruption. Rama said the Democrats called for free elections to hide their real intention of defending corrupt justice officials. Should the judiciary reform produce results by September, the EU has told Albania it would consider starting accession talks with the NATO member and former communist state. The standard of its June parliamentary elections will also matter, the EU has said. Expressing his regret for the boycott, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said: “The political debate should not take place outside, but inside the parliament. In particular, it is of utmost importance to maintain parliamentary continuity in a time where substantial reforms are on the agenda of the parliament,” Hahn said in a statement. As well as setting up vetting bodies for the judiciary, the reforms include implementing recommendations from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in order to ensure “free and fair elections later this year”. “These reforms are crucial for Albania to move forward on its EU integration path,” Hahn added, urging cooperation.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Vucic-Nikolic ‘Pact’ Hides Serbian Leaders’ Bitter Rivalry (BIRN, by Milenko Vasovic, 23 February 2017)

Serbia’s President and Prime Minister may have sealed a ‘non-aggression’ pact, but their relationship is not an alliance of friends but a deal reflecting pure mutual interest.

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s Prime Minister – but then the deputy head of the Serbian Progressive Party – certainly voted for Tomislav Nikolic, then leader of the Progressives, in Serbia’s presidential elections in 2012. Back then, the two men were running in tandem as a winning combination. But will Nikolic, now President, vote this spring for Vucic to succeed him as Serbia’s next head of state? He may not. He may relish his small act of revenge. Even if he does vote for him, the two of them will no longer be in tandem but merely signatories to a “non-aggression pact”. A necessary evil for both of them, this pact buys time for Nikolic while allowing Vucic to anaesthetise a potential opponent. Nikolic will surely want to forget the events of February 14, 2017, when the presidency of the Progressive Party unanimously voted to adopt Vucic as the party’s presidential candidate. Nikolic’s own hopes of running as the party candidate were buried that day. The following day, on February 15, Serbia’s Statehood Day and Nikolic’s 65th birthday, media reports said Nikolic had decided to run for another term in any case, as Vucic’s opponent. A couple of days later Nikolic told the media outlet Sputnik that he had asked Vucic to choose whether to either support him as the Progressives’ candidate, or – if Vucic was to run – hand the presidency of the party to Nikolic and offer him a mandate to form a government. However, after the Progressives’ main committee approved the decision to nominate Vucic as the candidate on February 17, only three tense days later, Nikolic announced he had given up plans to run for another term following a meeting with Vucic. “We have agreed to continue leading the state together. We are going to discuss posts after our victory in the elections,” Nikolic told the daily Kurir after this tete-a-tete. Thus ended a silent trial of strength between two most powerful figures in the Progressive Party that had long been taking place outside the public eye. Vucic had been preparing for this duel ever since Nikolic took up the post of President of Serbia in May 2012. After the Progressives won the general election held at the same time, Nikolic’s victory in the presidential election – over the Democrats’ Boris Tadic – brought both the Progressives and Vucic to power. Had Tadic won, his Democrats would have formed another government alongside Ivica Dacic’s Socialists and with the likely support of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. Nikolic’s victory in the presidential race, however, raised the Progressives to the heights and Dacic opted to form a government with Vucic instead. At that moment, Nikolic was the most popular figure in the Progressives. But, after taking over the post of President, he had to relinquish the presidency of the party and his deputy, Vucic, took over this post.

The trickeries started as early as May 2012, little by little fraying Nikolic’s success in the presidential election. In a column for the daily Blic, published mid-last year, journalist Olja Beckovic, recalled that back in 2012, when she was hosting the well-known politics programme “Utisak Nedelje”, she had asked Vucic to ensure the appearance on her show of the new President, Nikolic. Vucic had apparently agreed, saying Nikolic was interested in guesting on the show – but not that week, but the following week. And he was the guest the next week.

But, as the show opened, Nikolic told Beckovic it was not fair to invite him on the same evening when a major football game was on TV and when many people were watching the game instead the show. Beckovic was surprised. Nikolic was equally surprised by the games his political “son” was already playing. Even then, it seems, Vucic was thinking about how to reduce Nikolic’s visibility. Many recognised similar handwriting in other situations. During the terrible floods that hit Serbia in 2014, one of the Belgrade newspapers ran a hostile article, accusing Nikolic of making light with the tragic situation under the headline: “While Serbia was drowning Nikolic was making brandy.” Who did that tip came from? Vucic’s close associates never passed up an opportunity to tarnish Nikolic’s image, which could not have been done without his knowledge.

Of course, Nikolic himself often give an excuse for this with his many comments, statements and actions that didn’t befit his presidential role. Skilful in manipulation and marketing, Vucic never spoke badly about the President in public, however. In public, he supported him and claimed that they met frequently and talked about everything. Nikolic behaved likewise, even if their faces suggested the opposite.

Nikolic now has no choice but to come to terms with the fact that he is not going to be the presidential candidate. And he has to keep silent. If he enters open conflict with Vucic, who is too strong, he risks everything: his future career, the career of his son, Radomir, now mayor of Kragujevac, his properties, investigations into the finances of his wife’s foundation, the appointments of his friends in diplomacy … In any open conflict he can only be the loser.

The damage that he can potentially inflict on Vucic and the Progressives is also small. He knows well that the media close to Vucic can chop down anyone, including him, in days. He also knows that the party apparatus has been elected in accordance with Vucic’s wishes, so that even those who might have liked to support him cannot do so in public. Therefore, just as he said, he will not form his own new party or enter the presidential race independently, if Vucic is the Progressive candidate. However, this does not mean that Nikolic is harmless for Vucic. It is possible that Nikolic has compromising photographs and documents on Vucic’s associates, or on Vucic himself, that he could leak. And Nikolic, not a man to easily forget, will not forget who tripped him up. Vucic also knows that he must fulfil the terms of the non-aggression pact. The most powerful man in Serbia knows he owes part of his power to Nikolic, firstly because Nikolic did not slow his rise, and secondly because Nikolic was the founder of the Progressive Party – not Vucic.

Back in August 2008, it was Nikolic who quit the parliamentary caucus of the Serbian Radical Party and formed a new club in parliament. And while Nikolic was announcing the formation of the new Progressive Party, Vucic was avoiding journalists. He only joined Nikolic two months later. While Vucic still wore a T-shirt with the face of Radical leader Vojislav Seselj on it and waited to see what to do, Nikolic was securing key financial support for the Progressives from Miroslav Miskovic, owner of the industrial giant Delta Holding and one of the most powerful men in Serbia. Significantly, Vucic did not hesitate to arrest Miskovic the same year the Progressives came to power, despite knowing all about the good relationship between Nikolic and Miskovic. With one stroke he clipped the wings of both men and showed who the head of the household was. Neither Miskovic nor Nikolic used the aces they surely had up their sleeves at that time, perhaps fearing that Vucic might not stop at just one arrest.

So, what could the current “non-aggression pact” involve? Vucic wants to obtain Nikolic’s loyalty and to get this loyalty he will not spare the means. Nikolic will not have to worry about his finances and will probably receive an assurance that his son, Radomir, will make speedy progress and that no investigations will be initiated into his relatives. But Nikolic also knows that Vucic is easy on words, that today he says one thing and that tomorrow he may do another. The public often heard him saying he would not run in the presidential election and what was the result? Therefore, Nikolic will want to secure everything in advance, including a position for himself. Although in a recent interview, Vucic said he loved Nikolic and planned to work closely with him, it won’t be easy for him to find the right position for Serbia’s ex-president. The two powerful chairs will be unavailable for Nikolic, even though these are precisely what he asked for. One was the post of Prime Minister and the other was post of president of the Progressives.

As head of the Progressives, Nikolic grabbed the bigger part of Seselj’s party when he left the Radicals in 2008. Vucic will not want allow this risk to himself, even though the Progressive Party infrastructure is completely in his hands at the moment. So, Vucic will likely give Nikolic an offer he cannot refuse, set him up in a position from where he can control him, perhaps as his advisor for something or other. Vucic will probably win the presidential elections. But his victory will not be convincing as the current polls suggest, as most of them were commissioned with only one goal – to discourage Nikolic from running himself. As for the claims that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would support Nikolic’s candidacy, these were “blanks” fired in Vucic’s direction. Now comes the return to reality for both of them. In time, it may prove better for Nikolic than it does for Vucic.

Milenko Vasovic is a renowned Serbian journalist and an editor at daily Danas.

The opinions expressed in the comments section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.

Bosnian Genocide Case Revision: Chances Minimal, Political Matter (European Western Balkans, by Miloš Hrnjaz, 21 February 2017)

Initiation of revision of the judgment in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro) is becoming more apparent. The judgement was rendered on 26 February 2007, and with it, shortly, Serbia was acquitted of genocide committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that it has been conspiring the execution of this crime and that it has been complicit in genocide, but it was held responsible for failing to take all reasonable measures to prevent the crime of genocide, and responsible for not arresting and extraditing Ratko Mladić, accused of the crime of genocide in Srebrenica.

My two main arguments concerning the possible revision of the judgment are:

1. Chances of BiH for revision of the judgment are indeed minimal;
2. Initiation of dispute settlements before international judicial institutions is always a political matter, and because of that countries sometimes initiate proceedings before the Court even if they know that the chances of winning a legal dispute are minimal.All three attempts of revision were unsuccessful. The statute of the International Court of Justice stipulates in its Article 61 has very strict requirements for the revision process. This is because Article 60 of the same Statute provides that judgements of the International Court of Justice are final and without appeal. The only exemption to this rule is that the parties, under the conditions laid down in Article 61 of the Statute, may initiate a revision process. That exemption should be interpreted very restrictively, as it shows the text of the Article 61 and the previous practice of the Court in this matter.
3. These are the conditions which must be met to possibly carry out a revision of a judgment:
4. Why BiH chances for the revision of the judgment are minimal? Although the International Court of Justice and its predecessor will mark 100 years of history, revision of a judgement was initiated only four times, with the fact that the last one is not yet adjudicated (the case of Malaysia and Singapore twenty days ago).

1. An application for revision of a judgement may be made only when it is based upon the discovery of some fact
2. Discovered fact must be of such a nature to be a decisive factor for the outcome of a judgment of which revision is requested
3. The fact was unknown to the Court, as well as to the party claiming revision when the judgement was given (if such ignorance was not due to negligence of the party that asks for a revision)
4. The application for revision must be made at latest within six months of the discovery of the new fact

1. No application for revision may be made after the lapse of ten years from the date of the judgementLet’s start from the end: what kind of fact could BiH possibly discover in the last 6 months, which could be a decisive factor for the outcome of the 2007 judgment? It has been more than 6 months since the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) delivered the judgement in the cases against Perišić and Karadžić, so these facts are inadmissible. The media also mentioned the proceedings before the ICTY against Ratko Mladić and the closing arguments in this proceeding which were presented at the end of the last year. However, we must note the following: the closing arguments, as a rule, do not serve to submit new facts but to sum up the existing ones. Likewise, in the 2007 judgement, the International Court of Justice was very careful in using the new facts that are not determined in the judgment, but only in the indictment, so it remains an open question whether they would be accepted in this type of process.This is the main reason why the possible revision process will likely be declined.At the end, I would like to briefly point out something about the second argument I made – processes before the International Court of Justice are sometimes initiated even though there are slim chances of getting the case (one of the examples is Serbian lawsuit against some NATO member states in 1999 due to illegal intervention). One of the reasons for this kind of political decision is that there is an unrealistic expectation of domestic public opinion regarding the matter of the dispute and politicians are trying not to damage their political image and (or) to be marked as traitors. Another possible reason is that the politicians want to use the Court to make the wider public aware of the facts for which they think are important, even if they know that from the standpoint of the case those facts are not relevant. I believe that all of this is relevant for BiH, too.
2. Finally, at the present moment, there is no good decision for those who are considering whether to initiate the revision process or not. If they initiate the process, they will probably lose the case and in the Bosniak part of society in BiH that could further reinforce dissatisfaction with the international community towards events which happened during the armed conflict. If they do not initiate the process of revision, a considerable part of society in BiH will say that they betrayed the state, national interest and that they have forever buried the chance for the truth to be found out about the role of Serbia in this crime. But that should have been considered before. As for Serbia, although the chances of revision are minimal, it should make thoughtfully preparations for this entire process which is of a great importance.
3. The next question regarding this issue is who in BiH could start this process. Serbian member of BiH Presidency has repeatedly stated that he will not support initiation of the revision process, he also insisted that such a decision cannot be passed without him and that the BiH representative Sakib Softić has no authorisation for this process. On the other hand, the Bosniak member of the Presidency argues that there is no need for a new power of attorney. I would rather not address this issue in detail, because it partially concerns the national law of BiH, and because I have never seen such power of attorney. However, I must admit that initiation of the revision of a judgement is a political decision which someone should make, so even if Mr Sakib Softić is the legal representative, it is difficult to accept the argument that it is up to him to make this kind of decision.
4. The media also mention the possibility of ‘assembling the puzzle of facts’, in other words, using a larger number of facts which were supposedly “culminated” in the final say in the case against Mladić. It seems to me, however, that the chances for accepting this creative solution are slim, given the fact that the Court in its previous practice has very narrowly interpreted the question regarding what can constitute a new fact.
5. In other words, BiH would have to deliver the Court a new fact which would have to be a decisive factor for the outcome of the 2007 judgment, moreover, nor BiH nor the Court were aware of this fact in 2007. BiH would also have to submit the application for revision until 26 February 2017 and to demonstrate that the new fact became known in the last 6 months.