LOCAL PRESS

Responsible policy of Serbia as factor of stability in Western Balkans (Beta/Tanjug)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic received today US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott, with whom he discussed bilateral relations and other issues of common interest.Vucic and Ambassador Scott noted that bilateral relations between the two countries are on the rise, which is reflected in the increasing interest of companies from the United States to invest in Serbia, citing as an example the signing of the agreement on the expansion of operations of US company NCR on the Serbian market. The two interlocutors examined the situation in the region, highlighting the responsible policy of Serbia as a factor of peace and stability in the Western Balkans. They also spoke about the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Vucic said that Serbia remains committed to dialogue and the Brussels agreement, although the interim authorities of Pristina have made several irresponsible actions in a short period of time, thus hindering dialogue and the implementation of the agreements reached in Brussels.

Visit of Vucic to Moscow proof of improving relations (RTS/Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic received today Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Chepurin, with whom he discussed overall relations between Serbia and Russia, with the conclusion that they are developing well to the mutual benefit. The two interlocutors pointed out that the forthcoming visit of Vucic to Moscow and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be an opportunity to discuss topics of common interest, particularly the economic and military-technical cooperation. Vucic and Ambassador Chepurin noted that the friendly relations between the two countries reflect the improving economic and scientific cooperation, based on the needs of economic progress of Serbia and Russia. Industrial cooperation, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals were identified as the most promising areas of cooperation, as well as the fast-developing information technology.

Serbia grateful to N. Korea for stance on Kosovo (Beta/B92)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Tuesday received the new ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ri Pyong Du. Ri Pyong Du thus officially assumed the office of ambassador on non-residential basis accredited from Bucharest, a statement said. During the meeting, Dacic “expressed his gratitude for the principled position of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regarding the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.”  “Commenting the situation on the Korean Peninsula, he underlined that Serbia advocates the easing of tensions and finding a diplomatic solution through negotiations of the parties in dialogue,” the government said, quoting a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nikolic: Retirement does not mean I will stop working (Novosti/Politika)

Following media reports that he will submit a retirement request on 31 May, incumbent Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told Novosti and Politika dailies his potential retirement did not mean he would stop working. “My formal retirement, if there is one, does not mean that I will stop working. If Serbia needs me I will work for it,” Nikolic told Novosti. He confirmed that he was “seriously thinking of submitting a request for retirement”, since he fulfilled all the conditions for this. As for his political engagement, however, Nikolic said that for the time being there was no agreement with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), of which he is the founder, on whether and which function he would take over after the conclusion of his mandate.

More migrants attempting to enter Serbia illegally (RTS)

An increased number of attempts by migrants to illegally enter Serbia have been recorded these last days, a spokesperson for the Serbian Army and Defense Ministry has said. According to Jovan Krivokapic, joint army and police forces on the country’s borders with Bulgaria in the east, and Macedonia in the south have so far prevented more than 20,000 migrants from illegal entry, and detained 132 smugglers. As weather improves, these attempts are becoming more numerous, but the joint forces are ready to respond to all challenges, Krivokapic told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). “We are fully monitoring the development of the situation. If there are changes on the international scene, that will be a problem for the whole EU, not just for Serbia,” he said when asked whether the army and the police were prepared in case the EU-Turkey deal on migrants collapsed.

REGIONAL PRESS

State-level coalition in B&H in serious crisis (FTV)

Postponement of the session of B&H House of Peoples (HoP) on Monday has deepened the crisis in functioning of the state-level authority caused by revision of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling in the case of B&H’s genocide lawsuit against Serbia. The Decision of three delegates from the Serb Caucus in B&H HoP, Nebojsa Radmanovic (SNSD), Sredoje Novic (SNSD) and Dragutin Rodic (DNS) not to attend the session and thus block the work of B&H Parliament, sparked reactions on Tuesday. Functioning of the state-level coalition and B&H Presidency is in the stalemate as well, although the coalition formally exists. Representatives of the ruling parties in the state-level authority condemned behavior of SNSD and DNS delegates, warning that work of B&H institutions must not be endangered. B&H House of Representatives (HoR) Speaker Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) said that those who take different course must be held responsible for their behavior, noting that functioning of B&H institutions is the top-priority issue related to functioning of the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA).

Commenting on this issue, HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic said that the serious crisis in functioning of all levels of authority is evident. SBB B&H MP in B&H HoR Fehim Skaljic assessed that the state-level coalition functions only formally since there is no work efficiency necessary for productive relations in the coalition, noting that there is no point in maintaining a valueless and unproductive system. SDS representatives deem that blocking B&H institutions is not a solution and similar crises will lead to problems with investors, domestic economy and many other activities that B&H has to implement on its EU path.

B&H Presidency Chairman Mladen Ivanic commented that blockades are not in the interest of Republika Srpska, adding that no one should now pass the pressure on the delegates from the Serb Caucus in B&H HoP, but focus should be put on those who caused problems in the first place – SDA and B&H Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic. Ivanic stressed that the institutions of B&H should certainly function, but Izetbegovic should make the first move when it comes to the work of this institution in particular. According to Ivanic, Izetbegovic should also initiate a meeting of the leaders of political parties that are part of the ruling authority at the state level. Representatives of the opposition parties in the state-level authority emphasized that the current developments are on the verge of violation of the DPA, warning that the ruling coalition is playing a very dangerous game.

SNSD and DNS parliamentarians to continue to boycott sessions of B&H Parliament (Oslobodjenje)

In accordance with the conclusions of the Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly, SNSD and DNS MPs in the Parliament of B&H will not participate in the work of state institutions until the issue of the Law on the Constitutional Court of B&H is resolved, namely the presence of foreign judges, as well as the issue of motion for revision of a ruling in B&H’s lawsuit against Serbia for aggression and genocide. PDP-NDP MP in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of B&H Momcilo Novakovic stated that all the RS parties believe that the Law on B&H CC must get parliamentary support, but he does not like the way some representatives of the RS are trying to achieve that.

Moore criticizes Izetbegovic for not sharing fact about Softic’s status with citizens and coalition partners (Nezavisne)

Head of OSCE Mission to B&H Jonathan Moore commented the fact that B&H Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic knew about the letter by the International Court of Justice to Sakib Softic informing him that he is no longer authorized to represent B&H before the Court.  “A true statesman would share the facts with his people, compatriots and coalition partners and ask for their support, and they would make the decision together,” said Moore. He added that some people possessed certain information, they possessed the letter of the International Court of Justice, but they did not share the information. “I think it would have been better if they behaved in different way. I think that leaders should be honest and open to people in their party and parties in their coalition,” said Moore. He underlined that this issue was not an issue concerning only one party or one people. Moore also stated that changes to B&H Election Law are necessary, and that he is certain that the intention of the authorities is not formation of the third entity.

Federation of B&H HoR adopts resolution that condemns federalization; Croats left the session (TV1)

During a session held on Tuesday, the Federation of B&H House of Representatives (HoR) adopted a resolution that condemns federalization (i.e. the resolution on condemnation of initiatives on federalization and ethno-national divisions in B&H and entities). Namely, 70 representatives voted for the resolution, while Croat representatives left the session saying that the resolution represents a threat against Croats, who are repeatedly outvoted and segregated in B&H. Head of HDZ B&H Caucus in the Federation of B&H Parliament Jozo Bagaric underlined that the resolution represents an attack against Croats, who advocate B&H’s accession in the EU and speak about decentralization and federalization. Bagaric stressed: “Croats are regular targets anyway”. According to Bagaric, everything that Croats propose is automatically seen as an attempt to create a third entity and therefore their proposals are being criticized and annulled. SDA MP Salmir Kaplan responded by saying that the same things are happening to Bosniaks in Stolac, who are outvoted in this Municipality. SDP B&H MP and proponent of the resolution Damir Masic also reacted to Bagaric’s words saying that HDZ B&H should stop fantasizing that they are the only ones who are entitled to represent Croats. Masic underlined that it is final time that the parties start representing citizens in the Federation of B&H HoR. Speaking about this situation, Federation of B&H President Marinko Cavara assessed that this is “total rubbish” that brings no good to anyone in B&H. Head of SDA Caucus in the Federation of B&H Parliament Ismet Osmanovic said that they will still advocate cooperation and joint work with Croats. After representatives from HDZ B&H and HDZ 1990 left the session, Masic assessed their action as pre-election show of HDZ B&H and SDA. Masic concluded by saying that the two parties will eventually find a joint interest that will bring them together again and that is in his opinion, money.

Dikic should have handed the phone over to a DF politician? (Pobjeda)

Cooperating witness Alexander Sindjelic told yesterday in the Special Prosecutor’s Office that the former head of the Serbian Gendarmerie Bratislav Dikic should have submitted an encrypted phone to a politician from the Democratic Front, who speaks Russian, on order to command the action of forced entry into the building of the Parliament on 16 October last year, writes the Pobjeda. According to the information of the newspaper, Sindjelic during a hearing stated that the management of DF, during the visit and talks in Moscow, insisted that on the day of parliamentary elections an armed action must be taken, because there is no other way to bring down criminal regime of Milo Djukanovic. According to his testimony, it was planned that as many as 500 people, activists of various Serbian patriotic organizations, from several directions, enter Montenegro and participate in actions which supposed to destabilize the government and remove from power then Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic through violent mass demonstrations. Sindjelic stated that he had received a list of people who were supposed to be liquidated, noting that among them first in line for liquidation was, as he said, Montenegrin controversial businessman Brano Micunovic. The testimony of cooperating witness in the prosecutor’s office lasted 12 hours.

Husovic: DPS-BS coalition doesn’t need to last forever (Dan)

The coalition agreement with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) may be terminated in the same way it was concluded, said the president of Bosniak Party (BS) Rafet Husovic. In an interview with Dan newspaper, he pointed out that the Rules of Procedure, the Statute and other legal acts were breached when Adnan Muhovic was dismissed from the position of the Petnjica Municipal Assembly chairman, although BS sought to reach a compromise. “I regret that the coalition has never started functioning in the true sense of the word. However, it is obvious that the coalitions and parliamentary majorities are changing at both local and state levels and that is perfectly legitimate. Otherwise, we were advocating reaching a compromise in order to keep the coalition, to find solutions to problems and to complete the term of office in Petnjica. The issues in coalition functioning cause problems for all citizens of Petnjica and affect everyday life in the municipality,” Husovic said. A few days ago, a prominent BS official Orhan Sahmanovic was sentenced to a year in prison by the first instance court. Husovic believes that a draconian punishment was imposed against Sahmanovic. “Commenting on first instance court rulings is not characteristic either for BS or for me personally. We do not want to influence the judiciary, but we are following this process for sure. First of all, it is necessary to wait until the ruling becomes final. What is obvious at this stage of the case is that the High Court imposed draconian punishment which does not correspond to the guilt the accused is charged with. I believe that no trial or sentencing should be politically influenced. If necessary, BS will provide legal assistance to the party’s executive committee member Orhan Sahmanovic,” he said. He is convinced that in both cases – Muhovic’s dismissal and Sahmanovic’s sentence, the final legal epilogue will be significantly different.

Radunovic: There is no crisis in DPS-BS coalition (Pobjeda)

The coalition of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and Bosniak Party (BS) is not in crisis, DPS caucus chairman Miodrag Radunovic told Pobjeda newspaper. Asked whether Adnan Muhovic’s dismissal from the position of Petnjica Municipal Assembly chairman and the first-instance verdict against the president of Municipality of Plav Orhan Sahmanovic would affect relations in the coalition, Radunovic said that these events would not influence the coalition relations. “I believe the DPS-BS coalition at the state level cannot be compromised due to current developments at the local level. Cooperation between the two parties is developing in accordance with the signed the coalition agreement and party agendas,” said Radunovic.

Relations between DPS and BS have become topical after Adnan Muhovic’s dismissal as the Petnjica Municipal Assembly chairman. Muhovic was dismissed on 17 March upon the initiative of DPS, Social Democrats (SD) and Social Democratic Party (SDP), due to his statement that Montenegrin poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos was “the greatest executioner of Bosniaks and Islam”. DPS had earlier stated that Muhovic harmed Petnjica and people of Petnjica a lot by his statements that “Montenegrins were a small nation” and that “Njegos was a genocide author”. Muhovic then said that the coalition with DPS in Petnjica would be broken if he was removed from office. Local DPS committee stated that they did not want to terminate the coalition with BS although Muhovic was dismissed.

SDSM leader expects government mandate, resumption of parliament’s work (MIA)

The process for coming out of the political crisis must be accelerated, every lost day is harmful for Macedonia, its citizens and its European prospect, Johannes Hahn, EU’s Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, and three MEPs, told Tuesday to SDSM leader Zoran Zaev. “The messages of the EU Commissioner and MEPs are clear…We must hurry up. We (SDSM) will keep directing with utmost care the democratic processes in the country by electing a parliament speaker…The program of the future government has been presented already and we expect for the process of forming a new government to be completed” Zaev said.

Zaev said that Hahn and MEPs expressed readiness to speed up Macedonia’s EU-integration process if the country conducted successful reforms. He expressed belief for the parliament to convene a session by the weekend, elect a Speaker and for the President ‘to play his ceremonial role’ and entrust him with the mandate to form a new government.

Ahmeti: We are part of the majority and we will not breach the agreement (Meta)

We are part of the majority and we will not breach the agreement, said DUI’s party leader Ali Ahmeti, after the meeting with the EU’s Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations and the three EU MPs, Ivo Vajgl, Eduard Kukan and Knut Fleckenstein at the parliament. “We gave our signatures for a parliamentary majority and we don’t plan to breach our promises,” said Ahmeti, stressing that a care must be taken in order the political crisis not to turn into an ethnic crisis. He said that he hopes VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM will settle their differences and in the interest of the state they will find a solution for the institutions in order to continue functioning. “We are not rebels so we can conquer institutions. I hope that an acceptable solution will be found in a peaceful way – said DUI’s leader after the meeting with Hahn.

BESA leader: Hahn asks for state interests to prevail towards settling the crisis (MIA)

State interests should be put above the ones of individuals, parties for the country to come out of the crisis and return on the road to the EU-integration process, Johannes Hahn and three MEPs, told Tuesday to BESA Movement leader Bilal Kasami. “Commissioner Hahn supports our initiatives that lead to forming a government, electing the Parliament Speaker and reiterating the request to President Gjorge Ivanov to hand over the mandate for the negotiations on forming the new government to be launched so that it may start realizing the program that will enable the country to return on the road to the EU-integration processes,” Kasami told reporters after his meeting with Hahn. BESA, he said, always puts the state interests above the ones of the party. It has also put the party’s platform on hold, Kasami said. “The BESA Movement’s platform calls for a redefinition of the state. We are in a serious crisis at the moment and the party wishes to contribute to its resolution, which will enable for a broader debate on the platform the party has offered to citizens to be launched,” Kasami said. There is no “Tirana platform”, but only a declaration of the ethnic Albanian parties for issues that have been existing for the last 20 years and should be resolved in line with Macedonia’s Constitution and laws, the BESA leader said.

Solution to political crisis lies in the institutions, says party leader Sela (MIA)

With Commissioner Hahn, we’ve agreed that the only way out of the crisis is the institutional one, the leader of the Alliance of the Albanians, Zijadin Sela, said Tuesday after his meeting in Parliament with the European Commissioner Johannes Hahn. “I believe this society needs debates, instead of lies and disinformation. For me, no topic is banned to be debated in Parliament, to be discussed and decisions to be made jointly for the future of all the citizens of Macedonia. All those who are against this form are anarchists that put the lives of the citizens at risk,” stated Sela. Asked whether Commissioner Hahn, who is accompanied by three MEPs, had conveyed any suggestions on how to settle the crisis, Sela said they had told them a government should be formed as soon as possible in order the country to get back on the track to EU and NATO membership.

Referring to President Gjorge Ivanov, Sela said he had no right to a personal view when it came to granting a mandate. Asked whether the EU Commissioner had discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions, Sela said the Alliance of the Albanians was not part of those that were deepening the crisis. “I see no reason why Hahn would discuss sanctions with us. I think he should be talking about sanctions with those trying hard to ignite a crisis here. I have asked Hahn that the EU should not give up on Macedonia, because the only good way for us is the path towards EU and NATO,” concluded the leader of the Alliance of the Albanians.

Protesters told Hahn that he is not welcomed and voiced anti-EU slogans (MIA)

Rallies of the “Civic Initiative for United Macedonia” resumed Tuesday in Skopje, across the country, with protesters voicing their strong opposition to the “dissolution of the country”.

They also thanked President Gjorge Ivanov for giving up his scheduled meeting slot with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn to representatives of civil movement “For Joint Macedonia”.

Gjorge Ivanov is a person of integrity and doesn’t award the government mandate to politicians who fail to reject the platform, said Bogdan Ilevski, one of the rally organizers. The time has come for Hahn to know why the Macedonian people have been protesting for over 20 days.

Earlier today, the initiative’s supporters gathered in front of the EU Office in Skopje, when Commissioner Hahn was present in the premises. Protesters told Hahn that he ‘is not welcomed’ and voiced anti-EU slogans. The “Civic Initiative for United Macedonia” organized rallies in about 30 cities across the country.

Parties agree number of seats in the Committee on Elections and Appointments (MIA)

Political parties in the Macedonian Parliament reached an agreement on Tuesday to determine the number of members in the Committee on Election and Appointment Issues. VMRO-DPMNE will have six seats in the Committee, SDSM will have 5 and the DUI and BESA parties will have 1 seat each. At a consultative meeting between the representatives of the parties, it was agreed to continue discussions in early afternoon on the actual members of the Committee. With this, the parties opened a door to continue the inaugural session of the new Parliament that was interrupted nearly three months ago, as it became clear that there is no majority in Parliament to elect the new Speaker. Once formed, the Committee can initiate the election of a new Speaker. It is widely expected that the Speaker’s seat will be part of negotiations in future coalition making, which was delayed by the introduction of the Tirana platform, and the refusal of President Gjorge Ivanov to award the mandate to the SDSM party because of the platform. The meeting in Parliament was held as European Commissioner Johannes Hahn and several members of European Parliament were also present in the building to try and mediate between the political parties.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

EU to Macedonia: ‘Stop playing with fire’ (EUobserver, by Andrew Rettman, 22 March 2017)

The EU has once again urged Macedonia to let Albanian parties join a new government and to stop “playing with fire” on ethnic hate speech. “In a democracy, everyone must acknowledge parliamentary majorities … We therefore encourage the president to reconsider his position urgently”, EU enlargement and neighbourhood commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Tuesday (21 March) in Skopje. He said that anti-Albanian protesters had the right to freedom of assembly and expression, but said those rights “come with responsibilities”. “No one should be tempted to play with fire. We are deeply concerned about tensions and hate speech,” he said.He also urged people to stop “negative rhetoric targeting the international community”, which, he said “undermines the country’s standing internationally”.Hahn spoke after meeting with Macedonia’s political leaders in a bid to end a political crisis that erupted after elections in December.

The ruling party, the VMRO-DPMNE, of former leader Nikola Gruevski, which has held power for over a decade, won the most seats, but failed to get a majority. The opposition SDSM formed a coalition with Albanian parties on condition of making Albanian an official language.

But the ethnic Macedonian president, Gjorge Ivanov, refused to endorse the new government, saying it would harm the country’s “territorial integrity and independence”, while pro-Gruevski crowds took to the streets to support their man, who risks going to jail over a corruption scandal if his side is ousted from office. Hahn’s visit came amid a 50,000-strong pro-Gruevski rally in the capital on Tuesday. Gruevski, who wants new elections, said over the weekend: “We are left alone to defend the country. The people will have to defend the country”. Some participants at another rally on Saturday had chanted “death to Shiptari!”, using a pejorative term for ethnic Albanians. Participants at previous events had also chanted anti-EU and anti-US slogans, while earlier this month vandals threw molotov cocktails at a museum of the Albanian language in the town of Manastir in south-western Macedonia. Albanians make up a quarter of the population in Macedonia, which narrowly avoided an ethnic conflict in 2001. Hahn told Macedonian TV that he was encouraged by Tuesday’s talks in which, he said, everybody pledged to respect the constitution. But Ivanov declined to meet Hahn, while the EU commissioner declined to meet with leaders of the pro-Gruevski NGOs behind the protests. Hahn added that the country needed to resolve the crisis for the sake of its “euro-atlantic integration” and because the deadlock was “damaging the … economy”. The EU has said there would be no more enlargements in the next few years, but EU leaders at a recent summit reiterated that all Western Balkan countries had a European “perspective”.

Wider tensions

The Macedonia crisis comes amid a wider flare-up in nationalist and ethnic tensions in the region, including in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia. EU leaders, including Britain’s Theresa May, also voiced concern over Russian attempts to destabilise Western Balkan states. Britain said that Russia was behind last year’s failed coup in Montenegro, which, the UK said, was designed to stop it from joining Nato. The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said in a letter to Senate leaders on Tuesday that it was “strongly in the interests of the United States that Montenegro’s membership in Nato be ratified”. “Montenegro’s participation in the May Nato summit as full member, not as an observer, will send a strong signal of transatlantic unity,” he added, according to the Reuters news agency. The US leader, Donald Trump, who has been accused of shady ties with Moscow, is to attend the Nato event in his first state trip to Europe.

Russia, Bosnia sign deal settling Soviet-era debt (Associated Press, 21 March 2017)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnia and Russia have signed an agreement to settle Moscow’s $125 million Soviet-era debt to the Balkan country. Bosnia’s finance ministry said the deal signed Tuesday in Moscow will make Bosnia the only ex-Yugoslav republic to collect the debt in cash. The full amount is expected to be transferred by the end of May, but the timing depends on how speedily the Bosnian parliament ratifies the deal. In 2003, Russia took over the responsibility for the Soviet Union’s debt to the former Yugoslavia estimated at $1.3 billion. The debt arose mainly from business deals under which communist Yugoslavia provided the Soviet Union with consumer goods. Moscow has cleared the portions of debt claimed by other Yugoslav successor states, repaying them in goods and services.