LOCAL PRESS

Brnabic, Vucic on verdict to Oric (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has stated that she doesn’t wish to comment court verdicts, but added that the acquittal of Naser Oric for her personally is horrible and devastating. “After everything, there is no justice and nobody is guilty, this is horrible for me,” she said.

“I call the Serbs, over this verdict and after what happened to me in Srebrenica, not to show and not to voice a single hard word against our neighbors Bosniaks, and to build friendship and a future together with them,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in comment to the acquittal of Naser Oric. “The lives of the Serbs are obviously not worth as the lives of others. The Serbian tear doesn’t have a parent. We will have to fight for justice ourselves, and we will have to be ready that only we will be indicted. Neither Haradinaj nor Oric will be guilty ever, if it is according to their courts. No one will ever be guilty, while most of those who died in the territory of the former Yugoslavia are Serbs. Serbs and Bosniaks,” said Vucic.

Vucic said the text of Serbia’s letter to the EU over the Catalan referendum was complete and that he had already signed the letter, but that it would be delivered to Brussels at a later date at Spain’s request for fear of escalating the situation in that country. At a press conference with EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, Vucic explained Prime Minister Ana Brnabic – who will travel to Brussels on Tuesday – would sign the letter after the visit once the government approved it.

Kuburovic: No justice for Serbian victims (Tanjug)

The shameful decision of the B&H Court is one more confirmation that there is no punishment for murderers and criminals such as Naser Oric, and that there is no justice for murdered, slaughtered and tortured Serbian victims, Serbian Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic said in reaction to the court decision to acquit Oric. Does the one who murdered in most brutal ways the civilian population, dug out eyes and slaughtered the Serbs in the village of Zalazje, remains innocent for the crimes he perpetrated? Are not dozens of witnesses to these sad and dark memories sufficient confirmation for murderers and torturers to be punished?” wondered Kuburovic. “The dark truth looked out today – that the name and last name is unknown for the executioners of Serb victims, the names of those who took their lives in the most brutal way. Do not justice and law know murder, rape, digging out of eyes, torturing of elderly and children, only because they are Serbs? Is this reconciliation to which states from the region aspire to,” asked Kuburovic. She stressed that everybody needs to be held responsible for things committed and that Serbia will not give up on this. “I believe that the Higher Court in Belgrade, before which the proceedings for war crimes against Naser Oric are still ongoing for the murder of nine civilians, will continue this case, because the least we owe to Serb victims and their families is the truth from whose hand did they lose their lives,” said Kuburovic. Serbia will not give up from the policy of reconciliation and good-neighborly relations in the region, but all states need to want this and to be devoted to this, the Serbian Justice Ministry quoted as Kuburovic having stated.

Dacic: Is there an end to impudence? (Tanjug)

The acquittal of the war commander of the so-called B&H Army Naser Oric, whom Serbia is wanting for crimes against Serbs, is a message to that there is no responsibility for crimes perpetrated against the Serbs, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said. He told Tanjug that no court will be able to wash Serbian blood from the hands of Oric and other criminals, and that punishment will come to them sooner or later. “Is there an end to impudence, humiliation and injustice towards Serb victims? The decision on acquitting Naser Oric sends a message that there is no responsibility for the crimes perpetrated against the Serbs. Does somebody think that peace, stability and reconciliation can be built in the region this way? Unlike the Serbs, the Muslims,

Croats and Albanians are not prepared to face their war crimes,” said Dacic.

Djuric’s statement following talks with Kosovo Serb representatives (RTS/Tanjug)

Asked to comment the statement by Deputy Kosovo Prime Minister Bexhet Pacolli that Pristina, by giving up from applying for Interpol and UNESCO membership, had sent a “strong signal” to Belgrade that it supports dialogue and wishes reconciliation and normalization of relations, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric wondered whether this was the same Pacolli who claimed several days ago that they had majority for UNESCO and the support of 15 new states. He assesses that it is not good to attempt membership in international organizations without dialogue and agreement, especially since it is no place for provinces in them. “I think that international circumstances are becoming more ripe where this is becoming clearer, not only to us whose stand this has always been, but also to many in the world, and this is why such membership is not possible regardless of whether Pacolli or anyone else wishes it,” Djuric said following talks that Serbian President Vucic held with the Kosovo Serb representatives in Belgrade.

Responding to claims by Hashim Thaci that he had received promises from US Vice President Mike Pence that the US would join the dialogue, Djuric says that he hasn’t heard this statement and recalled that the EU was a mediator in the Belgrade-Pristina talks. “We would expect the mediator to be engaged on the implementation of the agreement of the Community of Serb Municipalities and many other important issues that exist. In that sense, we expect their active role in implementing what had been agreed,” said Djuric.

Djuric noticed that there are no more institutions in the provincial government that are in charge of the dialogue and he assumes that, as he put it, this is some kind of message, and recalled that talks had been conducted at a high political level in the past. He says that Pristina has on several occasions looked for excuses not to implement the agreed.

Varadi: Parallels between Kosovo and Catalonia will not bring radical changes (RTS)

Academician and professor of international law Tibor Varadi has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that there are many similarities between Kosovo and Catalonia. “There are many similarities, and there are some differences. What is very important is the fact that neither the Spanish nor the Serbian Constitutions allow separation, i.e. secession, neither following referendum nor in another way. Both Kosovo and Catalonia are units in states whose constitutions do not allow that. The Canadian Constitution allows this, and this would also be possible in Great Britain,” said Varadi. He underlines that he doesn’t see the argument that Catalonia is an EU member as legally relevant. When it comes to the argument that Kosovo is sui generis, a special case, Varadi doesn’t believe it is relevant from the point of view of international law. “This argument sui generis is something that has a little more substrate, but I don’t believe it is really relevant from the point of view of international law. This speaks about the fact that, unlike Catalonia, autonomy was abolished in Kosovo, that there was repression and war. However, the big question is whether in this case secession was the only legal consequence and only sanction,” says Varadi. He recalls that almost at the same time with the referendum in Catalonia, a referendum was also held in Kurdistan, where the people also voted for separation. “There have been incomparably more trouble in Kurdistan, bigger tragedies and human sufferings than in Kosovo, yet no international power wanted to recognize the referendum in Kurdistan,” says Varadi.

Asked what is Belgrade’s maneuvering space, Varadi says that the parallel with Catalonia has impact in the direction that those who supported independence of Kosovo without reserve might have some reserve now. He thinks it is not accidental that Spain, which has always been aware of the parallel and comparison with Kosovo, has not recognized independence of Kosovo. “I think there will be no radical changes in viewing Kosovo, but it is very probable that with these new moves regarding legalization of Kosovo, as is for example UNESCO admission, there will be many more of those who will abstain, because this parallel will be more present,” said Varadi.

“I think that there might be more understanding for Serbia’s position, there will be a little more restraint in further recognition of Kosovo, perhaps there will be no new recognitions any time soon. I don’t think the issue will be reversed and return of Kosovo will be put on the negotiating table,” said Varadi.

Asked whether he thinks that some country that recognized independence of Kosovo could now admit that it had mistaken, Varadi says: “It is imaginable, but not likely.”

REGIONAL PRESS

Naser Oric acquitted of crimes in Srebrenica (Nezavisne)

The Court of B&H has released the acquitting first-instance verdict to Commander Naser Oric and Sabahudin Muhic, who have been charged with crimes against Serb prisoners of war in the Srebrenica area in 1992. Oric and Muhic were accused of killing three captured Serbs in 1992 – Slobodan Ilic, Milutin Milosevic and Mitar Savic. Oric’s defense attorney Lejla Covic considers that the Prosecution has failed to prove anything, apart from the fact that it was an armed conflict between the so-called B&H Army and the Republika Srpska Army.

B&H Prosecutor’s Office announced an appeal to the Oric judgment (Srna/Fena/RTRS)

The B&H Prosecutor’s Office has announced an appeal against the acquittal of former military commander Naser Oric. “The B&H Prosecutor’s Office cannot comment on the first-instance verdict of the Court of B&H. When we get a written dispatch of the verdict, we will file an appeal against the acquittal,” the Prosecution announced.

The acquittal of Naser Oric – reactions (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik says it is inadmissible that judging at first instance, the Court of B&H acquitted the commander of the so-called Army of B&H in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, and called on the Serbs working in the State judicial institutions to leave them immediately. “It’s enough for a Muslim to be judged by a Muslim, and he will be acquitted,” Dodik said. He called for the gathering of Serbs and revoking of the legitimacy of the Court and the Prosecution. “This is the time to rehabilitate a referendum on the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office,” Dodik said. This issue with Oric will not end like this, this is a humiliation of the Serb people and proof that this country should not exist,” said Dodik.

Following the acquittal of Naser Oric, RS does not need any referendum on the work of the Court or Prosecutor’s Office of B&H because this is enough to conclude that judiciary in B&H has collapsed, says National Deputy Speaker Nenad Stevandic.

PDP leader Branislav Borenovic says the Court of B&H judgment acquitting Naser Oric shows that a stage of total mistrust in judicial institutions.

The acquittal of Naser Oric is a collapse and twilight of justice in B&H and legalization of crimes against Serbs, says Milomir Savcic, head of the Veterans Association of RS.

Acquittal of Naser Oric is a good signal that RS should definitely hold a referendum on the work of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, says Nedeljko Mitrovic, head of the Association of Families of Captured Persons, Fallen Veterans and Missing Civilians of RS.

Dragan Covic, chairman of the B&H Presidency, commenting on today’s acquittal of Naser Oric, said that the acquittal is a step backwards. “The verdict of Oric will return us somewhat backwards and it will surely cause a negative mutual rhetoric,” said Covic. He stressed that too many issues are burdening the justice system and the security sector. “We have to remove politics from these institutions,” Covic said.

Dodik and Covic assess there is complete halt and paralysis at level of B&H (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik and Chairman of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic, who met in Banja Luka on Monday, assessed there is evident and complete halt and paralysis at the level of B&H, where there is no clear majority in the Parliament of B&H.

Dodik and Covic told the media after their meeting that due to this, reform processes important for the European road have stopped, believing that the Law on Excise Duties should be adopted at the state level. They also discussed the issue of status of constituent people of Serbs in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton.

Covic underlined that there is a very difficult political situation in B&H, especially in the Federation of B&H and within the coalition made of SBB B&H, SDA and HDZ B&H. He announced that he will meet with Presidents of Serbia and Croatia respectively in a few days in order to connect infrastructural projects. Asked to comment on the claims of Serb member of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic about fake harmony between Bosniaks and Croats, that is between Covic and Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic, Covic said that there is no any harmony between him and Izetbegovic adding that they would work intensively if there was harmony between them.

Dodik said that it was concluded at this meeting that the RS is in a better economic situation than it was before. He added that the political situation is stable, institutions function, law is being respected and there is no reason to claim that institutions are endangered. Dodik also said: “We do not give up on the stance that the B&H Constitutional Court has foreigners who should be removed and the policy of removing foreigners should be a permanent task of all institutions. I believe that with its current crisis, B&H is faced with complete halt and it will be difficult to find the way out from this situation. Influence of the international community turned out to be very bad, it has created an image of a failed state which can be unblocked by an internal dialogue only.”

Dodik: Referendum on work of Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH will be implemented if RS opposition publicly expresses support to it (TV1)

Republika Srpska (RS) President and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik addressed a press conference in Banja Luka on Sunday and stated that a referendum on work of the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H will be implemented if the RS opposition publicly expresses support to it. Dodik reminded that the RS Assembly’s decision on calling this referendum was published in the RS Official Gazette and added that the ruling majority is willing to implement it. However, according to Dodik, the referendum cannot be held without political unity in the RS.

SDS leader Vukota Govedarica said that Dodik should not be hiding behind the opposition but rather go ahead with implementation of the RS Assembly’s decision on calling the referendum. Govedarica stressed that the RS Assembly stands behind the decision on the referendum.

Mesic: Cut off Corridor in case of RS secession (FTV)

Former president of Croatia Stjepan Mesic said that if the RS would try to secede the Corridor should be cut off immediately. Commenting recent statement of the RS President Milorad Dodik who said that he trusts that the RS will secede from B&H eventually and that nobody can forbid him to trust, fantasizes and have ideals, Mesic told FTV that Dodik changed his course of action as he came in power. He deems that Dodik honestly thinks that he can divide B&H, but according to Mesic time will make him change his mind, as B&H is undividable.

Commenting statements of Mesic, Dodik said that “arrogant peacemaker Stjepan Mesic once again pulled on Ustasha’s suit, which he wears when necessary and only when it is necessary to attack Serbs and the RS or hold Ustasha speeches all over Australia”. As for statement about cutting off of the Corridor, Dodik said that this outdated politicians, “who has been left on junkyard of history  and who obviously has storm in his head, would like to wage wars again, cut off corridors and call on NATO”. Dodik added that even in international political circles, B&H is more and more often mentioned as “failed experiment”, because of which, Serb people, who values freedom above all, simply must not allow to face collapse in failed community. “This is why I think that in such situation rational dialogue on possible peaceful split is the best solution for everyone in B&H”, said Dodik. RS President concluded that advocators of war option, such is one of “gravediggers of former Yugoslavia- Mesic”, are luckily not asked for opinion. “As for Mesic’s like-minded Valentin Inzko and his dreams, I am telling him to go to his own country and dream over there , because I do not know what is he doing here anymore,” said Dodik.

European officials dissatisfied with situation in B&H (RTRS)

European officials are dissatisfied with the situation in B&H. President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Joseph Daul expressed discontent with the situation and warned that the reforms in B&H are at stake. Daul said he is most worried about the “distance between political elites and citizens”, which became deeper over the last couple of years. European Parliament (EP)’s Rapporteur for B&H Cristian Dan Preda said there is no reason to be optimistic, because B&H is not fulfilling its obligations on the EU path. Preda specified that no serious progress has been achieved in the fight against corruption, which affects the country, and the rule of law remains problematic. According to Preda, judicial system and public administration are in need of reforms while implementation of reforms from the Reform Agenda is “painfully slow”. European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn once again called on leaders in B&H to commit themselves to reforms, which includes adoption of amendments to the Law on Excise Duties. In the meantime, Serb parties in authorities at B&H level accuse SDA and HDZ B&H of being responsible for the political crisis.

RS Assembly to discuss Resolution on military neutrality (EuroBlic)

The RS Assembly will discuss on 17 October the Proposal Resolution on military neutrality, announced by the RS President Milorad Dodik. However, another part was added to this document, speaking about protection of constitutional order of the RS. The resolution has nine articles and four of them speak that the RS is dedicated to honor Dayton Peace Agreement and B&H’s constitutional order. First two articles read that DPA is part of the international law and DPA’s annexes can be changed only with agreement of the RS and the Federation of B&H. Further on, it is said that the in line with the Constitution, the RS is integral, undividable constitutional- legal entity, part of B&H which independently preforms its constitutional- legal, legislation, executive and judicial functions, which were not awarded to B&H institutions by Anex IV. The resolution is proposed by SNSD- DNS- SP RS Caucuses in the RS Assembly and the DNS announced additional amendments. It calls upon Dayton division of the territory 49:51 percent in Federation of B&H’s favor. Only fifth Article noted that the RS is dedicated to coordinate every future status with Serbia, as signatory of the DPA. In line with this, RS Assembly enacts decision on declaring of military neutrality of the RS in comparison to current military alliances, until the announcing of the possible referendum in the RS, where final decision on this issue would be reached. Failure to act in line with this Resolution will be sanctioned in line with the law. All RS representatives in B&H institutions are obliged by the RS Assembly to respect this Resolution and act in line with it and the same goes for RS representatives in international organization and forums. In the end, the Resolution annuls all earlier acts enacted by the RS Assembly, which refer to membership in military alliances.

Govedarica, Borenovic, Cavic file criminal report against Director of RS Official Gazette Veselinovic (ATV)

Leaders of opposition parties in  the RS filed a criminal report against Director of the Official Gazette of the RS Dragan Veselinovic with the District Prosecutor’s Office in Banja Luka because of the failure to publish a decision of the RS Assembly on the referendum on the Court of B&H and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H in the Official Gazette of the RS. Representatives of the opposition parties stated that the addressed the District Prosecutor’s Office in Banja Luka seven times already but with no result because all past reports were rejected. SDS leader Vukota Govedarica told press that everything is clear this time because Veselinovic violated the Constitution by hiding the decision. Veselinovic announced that he will prove his innocence before the court and sent a message to the opposition parties that “their judge will be the people in elections”. Veselinovic argued that he is not guilty because he only listened to what “the most responsible persons in the RS” told him. “I am convinced that I worked in the best possible way under given circumstances,” Veselinovic added.

Poll: HDZ and SDP declining, “Nobody” still most popular politician (T portal)

The latest poll is here. If the parliamentary elections were conducted in early October, HDZ would be the relative winner of the elections, with a support of 33.5 percent of respondents (34.0 percent in September). The leading opposition party, SDP, also recorded a drop in election support to 22.1 percent (down from 23.1 percent in September). MOST are third with 7.8 percent (7.7 percent in September), followed by Zivi Zid with 6.6 percent (6.1 percent in September).

The four major parties are followed by HSS (2.9 percent), the Bandic Milan 365 party (2.3 percent), Independents for Croatia (2 percent), Pametno (1.5 percent), HNS and IDS (1.3 percent each), and HSP AS (1.1 percent).

The top of the rankings of the most popular politicians is again held by “Nobody” (no politician), with the “support” of 21.7 percent of citizens (23.3 percent in September). The second is President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (15.3 percent), followed by Prime Minister Plenkovic (11.2 percent), Member of Parliament Anka Mrak Taritas (7.2 percent), and SDP president Davor Bernardic (3.9 percent).

The list of the most negative politicians is led by Prime Minister Plenkovic (18.7 percent), followed by “All Politicians” (16 percent), former Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic (9.3 percent), Serb minority leader Milorad Pupovac (10.1 percent), and President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (3.4 percent).

The direction of the country is supported by just 17.9 percent of citizens (18.1 percent in September), while 74.4 percent of respondents believe that Croatia is on the wrong track (73.4 percent in September).

The level of support for government’s policies in the twelfth month of its term is at 35.2 percent (36 percent in September), while 52.6 percent do not support them.

Djukanovic: Dialogue with opposition only on OSCE’s recommendations (Pobjeda)

The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) leader Milo Djukanovic said that a dialogue with the opposition was only possible regarding the OSCE observer mission’s recommendations. Djukanovic thus denied media speculation on alleged DPS’s readiness to offer a date for snap elections by the end of 2018. Prime Minister Dusko Markovic also offered a dialogue on OSCE’s recommendations but that initiative was rejected by the majority of the so called civic opposition.

Sabovic: Fair elections to be organized by a technical government (Dan)

The opposition must be united in the boycott of the parliament, it cannot stop nor give up on the conditions it set at the beginning, said MP and SDP official Dzavid Sabovic. “The boycott shall continue, and DPS must accept our conditions”, Sabovic said speaking to Dan daily. He said that the new elections must be organized by a different government, one that had nothing to do with electoral rigging and abuses. The new government should consist of non-party individuals.

Pacolli: Kosovo does not want Montenegro’s territory (Dnevne novine)

Kosovo foreign minister Bexhet Pacolli believes the demarcation between Montenegro and Kosovo must be resolved. He said that the contract had been signed, and Montenegro had ratified it. Therefore, as Pacolli said, the issue was de jure a done deal. “I have no problem with this, as I believe that the agreement should be respected. We do not have any conflict with Montenegro, but our public is divided on this issue. This can be seen in the Kosovo parliament. As far as Montenegro is concerned, the case is closed, so we should see how to solve the issue”.

Pacolli also added that he did not believe “Montenegro wanted to take Kosovo’s territory or that Kosovo wanted to take the territory of Montenegro”.

Xhaferi announces elections (MIA)

Macedonian parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi has signed a decision to call local elections for members of the municipal councils and councils of the capital and for mayors of municipalities and the city of Skopje, which will be held on October 15. The campaign in Macedonia will officially begin 20 days before the election. The parliament will not hold plenary sessions in that period so that it cannot be abused in the election campaign.

Rape attempt at the headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE (MIA)

In the premises of the election headquarters of the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, in the village of Trebeniste, in the south-west of Macedonia, a party “colleague” on Saturday tried to rape a candidate for a counselor in that municipality, the Ministry of Interior confirmed.

Rama reveals names of new deputy ministers (ATA)

Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed Saturday at the SP Assembly the names of new deputy ministers. While speaking about the selection of deputy ministers, Rama said: We have engaged in a 2-month process to choose the right people for these positions. The Ministry of Finance and Economy will have four deputy ministers: Erjon Luçi, Albana Shkurta, Dajna Sorensen and Elton Haxhi.

Deputy Ministers at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure will be: Enis Aliko, Altin Bonati, Dorina Qinari, Artan Shkreli.

The Ministry of Interior will have four deputy ministers: Rovena Voda, Julian Hodaj, Romina Kuko, Besfort Lamallari.

The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs will have three deputy ministers: Klea Maliqi, Artemisa Dralo, Etien Xhafaj.

The Ministry of Defense will have one deputy minister: Petro Koçi.

The Ministry of Justice will have two deputy ministers: Toni Gogu, Teuta Godo.

The Ministry of Health will have four deputy ministers: Bardhylka Kospiri, Mira Rakacolli, Ilirjana Bajraktari, Ardiana Jaku.

Deputy Ministers for Education will be: Besa Shahini, Ervin Demo, Kostandin Shkurti, Shpati Kolgega.

Deputy Ministers for Tourism and Environment will be: Ornela Çuçi, Hajrulla Çeku.

Deputy Ministers of Agriculture will be: Dhimo Kote, Ermira Rusi, Ilir Halilaj, Roland Kristo.

Deputy Minister of Culture will be Valbona Shajaku.

Rama outlines platform for co-governance with citizens: Each person should stand up for his complaint (ATA)

Prime Minister Edi Rama has unveiled the platform of co-governance with the citizens. Making the case for this initiative, Rama said that anyone who joins the platform should stand up for his complaint. Behind this screen is an entire team of people who will follow up any opinion, request, complaint and make a double check within a deadline for complaints about individuals or institutions. The person who will file the complaint will take an active role working in a certain office to change the approaches to cases, provided the complaint is based on exact evidence, Rama said. He said that it’s a screen for anyone who uses it, but behind the screen there is a whole team. Who are these people and how they will be organized. They have been selected after a public call two months ago. Of the 800 applicants who submitted the files, a pre-selection phase has qualified about 50 people to filter 25 people who will be on standby as of Monday. The latter will be divided into groups, a central team at the Prime Minister’s office and other groups at each ministry. For each case, the solution will be given by the head of the relevant institution and each member of the government will be responsible for whatever response and have to report on everything addressed and registered. Furthermore, Rama said that there is section that includes public consultation, the interpellation, allowing the ordinary people to call the prime minister and the ministers in a questions and answers session on some conditions such as:  a certain number of members. The platform will have its own screen for interpellation according to the topics and concerns brought up by the registered citizens.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Srebrenica commander acquitted of war crimes (AFP, 9 October 2017)

A Sarajevo court on Monday acquitted Naser Oric, a commander revered by many as the defender of Muslims during Bosnia’s 1990s conflict but viewed as a butcher by Serbs, of war crimes charges. The ruling sparked outrage from Serbian leaders and victims’ groups while it was hailed by Bosnian Muslims in the country deeply divided along ethnic lines since its 1992-1995 war. Oric, 50, was a bodyguard to former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and is one of only a few Bosnian Muslim commanders to have faced trial for atrocities committed against Serbs. He was acquitted of killing three ethnic Serb prisoners in 1992. Another Bosnian army soldier, Sabahudin Muhic, was also found not guilty. The testimony of a protected witness, key for the indictment, lacked credibility and was contradictory, the judge ruled. “The testimony of witness O-1 … cannot serve as a credible basis to conclude that Naser Oric committed this murder,” judge Saban Maksumic said. Oric defended the eastern town of Srebrenica, where 8,000 Muslim men and boys were eventually massacred by Serb forces, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. But in 2006, Oric was sentenced by a UN war crimes tribunal to two years in prison for not doing enough to protect Srebrenica’s Serb population during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war. He was acquitted on appeal in 2008, a ruling that angered Serbs, who accused The Hague-based court of “partiality.”

– ‘Jeopardising peace’ –

Monday’s ruling again exposed grievances. The verdict “is proof that in Bosnia there is no punishment for criminals (committing crimes) against Serbs,” Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said. “A Muslim (judge) tries a Muslim,” he said, suggesting that the ruling would pave the way for a referendum on ethnic Serbs’ participation in Bosnia’s judicial bodies. In the past Dodik was repeatedly threatened with an independence referendum for his entity of Republika Srpska, which along with the Muslim-Croat Federation makes up post-war Bosnia. In Belgrade, Serbian Defence Minister Vulin slammed Oric’s acquittal. “The court which could free a proven criminal, a butcher, Naser Oric, is a court which jeopardises peace, security, trust, reconciliation in the whole Balkans,” Vulin said in a statement. Oric’s acquittal will “radicalise the situation on the political field,” Vinko Lale, head of an association of Serb prisoners of war, told AFP.

As a young police officer, Oric was a member of a Belgrade unit tasked with protecting Milosevic, who led the former Yugoslavia’s bloody collapse in the 1990s. Some 130,000 people were killed in the wars that raged on the former federation’s territory between 1991 and 1999. Bosnia’s conflict claimed 100,000 lives. When the war between Bosnia’s Croats, Muslims and Serbs started, Oric was in his native town of Srebrenica and organised its defence from April 1992. However he was withdrawn from Srebrenica with several other officers for military training three months before it fell on July 11, 1995. In Bosnia, many have questioned whether the move was a sign that the authorities had decided to abandon Srebrenica to its fate. Unhappy with Oric’s acquittal by the UN court, Belgrade in 2014 launched an international warrant accusing him of leading “several attacks against Serb villages in the Srebrenica region, to empty them of their Serb population by intimidation, torture and murder.” The victims’ associations estimate that 2,428 Serb civilians and soldiers were killed in the area during the 1992-1995 conflict.

– Expected verdict –

Oric was arrested in Switzerland in 2015 on a Serbian warrant but extradited to his country to face charges. “I have nothing to say, the court said what it had to say,” Oric briefly told reporters after leaving the tribunal as he was welcomed by supporters. “We were expecting such a verdict since this man is not guilty,” Kada Hotic, whose son, husband and two brothers were killed in the massacre, told AFP Monday. After Bosnia’s war, Oric kept a low profile until his arrest and transfer to The Hague in 2003. In 2009, he was sentenced to two years in prison in Sarajevo for illegal arms possession, but was pardoned by the presidency.

Serbian Court Dismisses Strpci Train Massacre Charges (BIRN, by Filip Rudic, 9 October 2017)

A Belgrade court dismissed charges against five Bosnian Serb ex-fighters accused of killing 20 passengers abducted from a train in Strpci in Bosnia in 1993, saying the indictments were incorrectly filed.

Belgrade Appeals Court on Friday dismissed the charges against five former Bosnian Serb Army troops for torturing and killing 20 non-Serb passengers seized from a train in Strpci, Bosnia in 1993, because the indictment was not filed by the authorised war crimes prosecutor. The court said it threw out the charges because the war crimes prosecutor’s seat was vacant at the time they were filed. It previously threw out war crimes charges for the same reason in the case against eight former policemen charged with a massacre of Bosniaks from Srebrenica in the village of Kravica in July 1995. In that case, however, the new war crimes prosecutor Snezana Stanojkovic filed a motion to continue the trial, which was eventually accepted. It remains unclear whether Stanojkovic will file a similar motion in the Strpci case. The Serbian war crime prosecutor’s office issued indictments in March 2015 against Gojko Lukic, Ljubisa Vasiljevic, Dusko Vasiljevic, Jovan Lipovac and Dragana Djekic, all former members of the Bosnian Serb armed forces, for their involvement in the abductions and killings of the civilian victims. The case remained in legal limbo for over two years, as the Higher Court repeatedly requested that the prosecutor’s office fix flaws in the charges against the ex-soldiers. The charges were finally confirmed in May this year. Ten more former Bosnian Serb fighters who were also arrested at the same time in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina went on trial in Sarajevo for the Strpci crimes in October 2015. On February 27, 1993 a group of fighters led by Milan Lukic, the chief of the ‘Avengers’ paramilitary unit, ordered the local station manager in Strpci to halt an express from Belgrade which was heading to the Montenegrin coastal town of Bar. The fighters then forced 20 of them to get off the train. Most were Bosniaks who lived in Serbia or Montenegro. There was also one Croat who was travelling to Montenegro to visit his son, and another man who was never identified. They were taken by truck to a school in the village of Prelovo near Visegrad, where they were robbed and beaten. They were then taken onwards to the nearby village of Musici, where they were killed and their bodies thrown in the Drina River.

The remains of three of them have been found in Lake Perucac near Visegrad, while the other bodies are still missing. Milan Lukic was sentenced by the Hague Tribunal to life imprisonment for wartime crimes in Visegrad, but not for the abductions in Strpci. A court in Montenegro did however jail a former member of Lukic’s unit, Nebojsa Ranisavljevic, for 15 years over the Strpci case. During his trial it was proved that there was an advance plan for the abductions and that the Serbian Railway Company had informed the Serbian interior ministry and the Yugoslav Army about the possibility of seizing the passengers.