LOCAL PRESS

Vucic in Krusedol: You got rid of the Serbs – does this make you happy or successful? (Tanjug/B92)

“The Serbs left, but they hadn’t vanished”, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday night while marking 24th anniversary since the operation “Storm”. “The Serbs have left and it caused tremendous grief and sorrow in the heart of every single Serb. Is Croatia today happier, more successful or wealthier because of it? I have to disappoint you, all of you who glorify and rejoice in the tears of Serbia – the Serbs are not gone. Serbia hadn’t vanished”, said Vucic from Krusedol. As he said, we can see proud people tonight, capable of defending their nation, of keeping their name, people who are baptized in the same church, who love their country and are proud of it, wherever they are. The President said that this does not mean that we cannot respond more strongly as we surely can, but we choose not to, because we have become smarter and learned from our past experience. “I am fed up with the lectures given by international and regional officials, advising us that we should not deal with this, that we should forget the destiny of the whole Krajina region, that it would be good to avoid meeting with Dodik and Zeljko Cvijanovic on a regular basis. Generally, we should take care of everything else, except taking care of the Serbian people”, President of Serbia pointed out. He noted that only the Serbs accepted that some of their people had committed crimes and dealt with them, while all others worked on one thing only – how to blame the Serbs for everything. He pointed out that the “Storm” happened to the Serbian people partly because the Serbs from Serbia, Republic of Srpska and Krajina lacked unity. “It is our responsibility to ensure that this never happens to us again, that we maintain the best relations with Serb representatives wherever they live”, Vucic concluded.

Nowadays, Serbs are united, wherever they reside!

“Today, Serbs are absolutely united and aware of what to do in the future, wherever they live”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said from Krusedol. On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the “Storm” campaign, the President of Serbia emphasized that he is especially proud because Serbs worldwide are united today, wherever they are on the planet. He reiterated that today’s date, 4 August, represents a sorrowful day for every Serb worldwide. He is grateful to Milorad Dodik for the initiative they had launched 6 years ago with the goal to commemorate the suffering of our people and to remember our victims. “The initiative we’ve launched has changed the culture of remembrance, along with Serbia embarking on a different path in future”, he pointed out.

Dacic: Somalia on the way of re-examining decision on independence of Kosovo (TV Pink)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic stated on Sunday that Belgrade’s goal is to lower the number of countries that recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo below 97, adding that Somalia is on the way of re-examining its decision. He recalls that 14 countries have withdrawn their recognitions thanks to Belgrade’s diplomatic activities, and the last one was the Central African Republic. He says there are also countries such as Egypt and Peru whose status is frozen. He says reminds of the situation in Somalia regarding Somaliland that declared independence. “Somaliland is Somalian Kosovo, I told them that by recognizing Kosovo they worked to their own detriment, and they responded they didn’t know,” said Dacic, adding that it turned out at the time that this was done during the technical government. “Somalia is on the way of re-examining its decision,” said Dacic.

Kosovo’s admission into Interpol: Violation of international law (RTV)

The State Secretary in the Serbian Interior Ministry Biljana Popovic Ivkovic has talked with the Slovakian Ambassador to Serbia Dagmar Repchekova about the continuation of cooperation of two countries in the field of internal affairs, as well as about Serbia’s arguments against the renewed examination of the request of so-called Kosovo for Interpol membership. Popovic Ivkovic pointed out that Serbia highly appreciates Slovakia’s principled stand on non-recognition of so-called Kosovo. She stressed that possible admission of so-called Kosovo into Interpol would lead to politicization of this professional police organization and would represent the harshest violation of international law, primarily of UNSCR 1244, as well as of Interpol’s rules.

Djilas will not participate in election dialogue unless it is open to the public (N1)

The leader of the opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas informed Milan Antonijevic and the Open Society Foundation, organizers of the roundtable on election conditions, that he, personally, and the SSP, would not participate in future meetings unless they are open to the public. Djilas recalled that he accepted the rule proposed by the organizer – that no one talks about meeting discussions publicly. He added, however, that what he could not accept was the fact that Antonijevic was not truthfully informing the public that participants of the talks were constructive, that he tended to say that the boycott of the elections had not been mentioned during the talks and that the agreement is around the corner. Djilas recalled that he accepted the rule proposed by the organizer – who did not say what he said at the roundtable held at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade was not made public. He added, however, that what he could not accept was that Antonijevic was not truthfully informing the public that the participants in the talks were constructive, that he tended to say that the boycott of the elections had not been mentioned during the talks and that the agreement had just not been reached. To prevent the public from being presented with a false image of what is going on behind closed doors, Djilas suggested that the meeting be opened to media representatives and that each citizen be personally able to see and hear who is happening and what their views are. Responding to Dragan Djilas’s letter, Antonijevic stated that it is possible to open the introductory part of future meetings of the authorities and the opposition in Serbia, and that after the meeting participants would give statements to the media, but that they would consult with other meeting organizers on this.

REGIONAL PRESS

Sarovic: All masks fell off with Izetbegovic’s confession that Dodik and he worked on transfer of competences of RS to level of B&H (BNTV)

After SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic said in an interview for BN TV, which was broadcast on Saturday, 3 August, that SNSD leader Milorad Dodik and his party voted for transfer of competences from the RS level to the level of B&H and that in the Prud Agreement Dodik was ready to accept four regions, which would relativize the entity line in B&H, SDS leader Mirko Sarovic stated on Sunday that all masks fell off with Izetbegovic’s confession that Dodik and he worked on transfer of competences of the RS to the level of B&H. “Last night’s (Saturday night’s) confession of Bakir Izetbegovic that he, together with Milorad Dodik, worked on transfer of competences, or that practically all decisions and transfers of competences in the past he did with Milorad Dodik, and that they agreed on that, and that in the so-called Prud Agreement, Milorad Dodik agreed to four regions and thus agreed to unpacking of the Dayton and changing the borders of the RS – this has great significance, a depth, I would even say that it has historical character, especially given the fact that this is coming from a key political opponent, who presented a fact that a rumor was going on about in the RS in the previous years. I believe that with his statement, completely clear and open, all masks fell off and all those who pointed their fingers at SDS, which is a party of continuity, which did not change its strategy so far and which never took part in transfer of any kind of competences from the RS to the state level and which especially would not be part of the Prud Agreement, have been exposed,” Sarovic underlined.

Sarovic categorically said that SDS will not be part of any kind of Izetbegovic’s political plans. “Bakir always has his interests. He completely clearly stated last night (Saturday night) that as far as he is concerned there should be as much state as possible and for the influence of entities to weaken. Obviously, in the past, he had good interlocutors on the matter. As far as SDS is concerned, that is something that is not part of SDS’ policy and it will not be in the future. I believe that the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) and entity boundaries are quite a good framework for all of us in B&H and that the state is complex and complicated, but everything depends on us,” Sarovic stressed, adding that “there was enough of adventurism in these areas.”

Izetbegovic claims Dodik is conditioning authority formation (BNTV)

Guest of BNTV central news was SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic. Commenting on the current political situation in B&H and process of authority formation, Izetbegovic said that SNSD leader Milorad Dodik is conditioning the authority formation. He said that Dodik does not want B&H to join NATO, while the condition of SDA is to respect the Constitution and rule of law in B&H. Izetbegovic reminded that Article 3 of the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) stipulates that entities will support the B&H level and its authorities in fulfilment of its international obligations. “This means that entities cannot not help, or even command or dictate the state level what to do,” said Izetbegovic. Asked about the offer of SDA involving a reduced Annual National Program (ANP), Izetbegovic reminded that both SNSD and SDS are against the NATO membership of B&H. He stated that there will be no NATO membership of B&H until the opinion in the RS is changed and the Serb politicians agree to this. Izetbegovic reminded that B&H activated the Membership Action Plan (MAP) some ten years ago and Dodik wants to go back. He added that B&H cannot go back to certain phases that it already passed. “We can move forward, the only question is at what speed and what the future ANPs will contain,” said Izetbegovic. He said that the new Council of Ministers of B&H (B&H CoM) will not be formed without a compromise which will encompass both the will of the Serb people and the will of the rest of the citizens of B&H. Izetbegovic said that the violation of laws would move B&H to the past, to the old DPA and even the Republic of B&H. Commenting on Dodik’s statement that certain things in B&H were done under pressure, Izetbegovic said that everything in B&H in the past 30 years was done under pressure. He said that there was the pressure of armies, ethnic cleansing and the pressure of the international community. Asked about the mandatory nature of the Declaration on Military Neutrality adopted by the RS parliament for the representatives of the RS at B&H level, Izetbegovic said that the declaration can obligate them in a political way. He added that it cannot obligate them in a legal manner. Izetbegovic reminded that the RS had many mechanisms of vetoes in order to stop everything in its interest. He stressed that the RS parliament cannot order B&H level of authorities do anything. Izetbegovic reminded that representatives of SNSD voted for many laws and strategies at B&H level which they fight now. Asked about the announcement of HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic who said that the authorities will not be formed before 14 September, when the party congress of SDA will take place, Izetbegovic said that Covic wants to help Dodik and transfer the burden of the crisis on Izetbegovic. Izetbegovic said that he will not go against anything he has been saying the past six months. “If SNSD does not want to form authorities with us, they have an alternative. We only have nine seats in the Parliament of B&H,” said Izetbegovic. He stressed that they are not forcing the Serbs into NATO, but they want to see them respect the law and constitution. Asked about the relation between Covic and Dodik, Izetbegovic said that that is Covic’s choice and he believes that Croats should build better relations with Bosniaks primarily. Izetbegovic also said he does not know why Covic decides to attend 9 January in Banja Luka and not 11 July in Srebrenica. Commenting on media speculation that SDA wants to form authorities with SDS and PDP, Izetbegovic said that it is ridiculous to call President of SDS Mirko Sarovic a traitor of the Serb people. He said that the main interest of Sarovic is the interest of the RS, but there is a difference in the way he wants to obtain those interests. “He is a man who believes the architecture is finished and the RS is dominated by Serbs, and they deserve to relax and stop the fight with neighbors they share B&H and the Balkans with. He wants a better life and the lowering of tension,” said Izetbegovic. He said that this is how he sees the representatives of SDS and PDP. Izetbegovic reminded that Dodik caused crisis and turmoil in B&H five years ago and that is why he looked for an alternative with SDS and PDP. “I think that some part of the Serbs in the RS like his politics. He is capricious, bold and says many things to representatives of the international community. And people might like that. But that is like saccharine, it is sweet but it does not feed,” said Izetbegovic.

SNSD: Latest SDA’s offer is nothing new, we do not accept any political blackmails (RTRS)

SNSD reacted to the newest offer coming from SDA according to which leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik was invited to accept a reduced Annual National Program (ANP) for the NATO. SNSD stated that this is nothing new and that they do not accept any political blackmails. The reporter noted that without admitting the guilt for failure to form authorities and unjustified conditioning, SDA is making the aforementioned offer saying that the road to the NATO integration should be the topic of some subsequent negotiations. According to RTRS, it remains unknown whether this is mitigation of conditioning of SDA or repeating what was already stated, because SDA did not reveal what exactly the reduced plan implies. Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Sefik Dzaferovic (SDA) stated: “We said that a new decision of the (B&H) Presidency is necessary for full membership, while no new decision is needed for the ANP, this is a technical issue. The NATO integration commission drafted a plan which was delivered to the (B&H) Council of Ministers (CoM). We are ready to talk about content of this (plan) and the entire content will be put on the agenda anyway, by the moment until B&H should be admitted to the NATO”. SNSD reacted by saying that this is nothing new, but issues that leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic repeated a couple of times in the past few months. SNSD also stated that the RS, Dodik and SNSD will not accept blackmails. Spokesperson of SNSD Radovan Kovacevic stated over phone: “We still consider a thing that they consider compromise as blackmails. Our standpoint is very simple; we do not accept any kind of political blackmails in order to form the CoM. Winners of the elections that have the legitimacy of the constituent peoples should sit and form the CoM and only then, we can talk about all topics that are open issues in B&H, without blackmailing anyone”.

Authority without conditioning (Oslobodjenje)

HDZ B&H issued a press statement on Sunday, calling for urgent formation of the state-level authority without conditioning and speeding up of the European road of B&H. The party stated it is necessary to establish constructive dialogue and announced they will work on harmonization of stances in B&H together with their partners, respecting the stances and interests of the constituent peoples and other citizens in the country. “Promoting implementation of the election results, with respect to the post-election partners on Bosniak and Serb side, HDZ B&H calls for urgent formation of the authorities without further conditioning,” reads the statement.

Doboj used by migrants as flow-through zone (Oslobodjenje)

MEP Erik Marquardt paid a visit to Bihac over the weekend and met with Bihac Mayor Suhret Fazlic to discuss the migrant crisis in the area. “The EU and B&H must work together and create more humane accommodations. The camps in B&H are overcrowded, so one should not be surprised that people continue to run towards Europe. It is not fair to let two B&H towns, Bihac and Velika Kladusa, to deal with this challenge alone,” said Marquardt. The daily noted that when B&H representatives met with the EU officials last month in Brussels, they came back with conclusions it is necessary to urgently open a migrant camp outside the Una-Sana Canton. The MEPs have been showing interest in dealing with this problem, which is why they are planning to send a special representative of the European Commission to B&H in September.

Veritas: International community keeps silent as it did 24 years ago (Srna)

The international community keeps silent about the Serbs becoming smaller in number, more disenfranchised and attacked in Croatia as it did 24 years ago, when more than 250,000 Serbs were expelled during Croatia’s military-police operation Storm, while more than 1,800 are reported killed or missing, according to the Veritas Documentation and Information Centre. The Veritas recalls that on 4 August 1995, the armed forces and police of Croatia, with the approval and support of NATO, and in cooperation with the forces of the Croatian Defense Council and the so-called Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, carried out aggression against north Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun and Banija, the then Republika Srpska Krajina. The aggression was carried out despite the fact that the area, “South” and “North” sectors, was under UN protection, as well as the fact that the representatives of the Republika Srpska Krajina had accepted the international community’s proposal for peaceful settlement of the conflict the day before in Geneva and Belgrade. A sevenfold stronger aggressor was against the Serbs, which after a few days of unfair battle quelled the resistance of the Republika Srpska Krajina Army. Then, the Serbs from the western Krajina, based on their experience in history, started the largest migration to the east, to their brothers in faith and nation, reminded Veritas. The statement reads that even after the cessation of any resistance by the Srpska Krajina Army, the aggressor kept killing the people who did not want or could not leave their centuries-old homes, as well as those in refugee convoys, to the Una and across the Una river, deep within the territory of the then Republika Srpska. The Veritas records include the names of 1,869 Serbs either killed or went missing during and after this operation, 1,220 (65 percent) of whom were civilians, including 551 women. The destiny of 1,124 persons, out of the total number of victims, has been known so far, while 745 person are still missing, 565 civilians, including 289 women. Veritas points out that, in addition to delaying the identification of 357 exhumed mortal remains, Croatia also avoids exhumations at known burial sites, where approximately 138 remains lay, mostly buried as “unknown”, which is a unique case across the former Yugoslavia. Some 1,500 members of the Republika Srpska Krajina Army survived the capture, many of whom were sentenced to years in prison for alleged war crimes. About 3,200 elderly and infirm people, who did not want or could not leave their homes, were forcibly sent to the detention camps for civilians, reads the statement. Krajina was devastated, looted, then torn down and set on fire. Ecclesiastical, cultural, historical Serb, as well as anti-fascist, monuments were not spared. The UN Security Council at the time, apart from “a strong condemnation of the large-scale Croatia’s military offensive,” did not issue any punitive measures against the aggressor. Veritas points out that Storm is the only crime qualifying Serb from Croatia as victims that was tried before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Veritas points out that the trial panel initially unanimously found that two of the three indicted Croat generals participated in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at permanently removing Serb civilians from Krajina by force or threatening with force, and sentenced Ante Gotovina to 24, and Mladen Markac to 18 years in prison; but afterwards the Appeals Chamber, by a narrow majority, three to two, overturned that verdict and acquitted them on all counts. So far, only one person has been convicted by the Croatia’s court of Storm, the ethnic Albanian, for the Prukljan and Mandici cases and one Serb for the Kijani case. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina also convicted one member of the 5th Corps of the so-called Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina for war crimes against four members of the Srpska Krajina Army, who, with his consent, were killed by a mujahideen from the same unit upon capture on Suva Medja in the territory of Croatia. Directly related to this operation is the procedure before the Federal Court in Chicago following a lawsuit filed by Serbs of Krajina against the military consulting firm MPRI (claiming that MPRI developed a plan, trained and prepared Croatian forces for Operation Storm), i.e. or its legal successors, which ended in a settlement in the autumn of 2016 after long negotiations. Litigation against Croatia over Operation Storm is also pending before the European Court of Human Rights in form of lawsuits filed by damaged Serbs, who have lost cases before Croatian courts or believe that Croatian authorities failed to conduct an efficient investigation into the deaths of their cousins – civilians killed during or after the operation. The International Court of Justice qualified Operation Storm as ethnic cleansing in the reasoning of its verdict from February 2015. The reasoning of the verdict reads that the Croats wanted the Serb territory without Serbs, expecting them to leave on their own will, not to “destroy them entirely or partially, so in order to force them to flee their centuries-old homes, they were shelling their cities and refugee convoys, killing, physically and mentally abusing the remaining civilians and soldiers, preventing their return.” All of this, however, according to the court, did not reach the level of genocide. Instead of giving up the celebration of “ethnic cleansing and mass crimes” as a double national holiday (“Victory Day and Homeland Thanksgiving Day” and “Croatian Veterans Day”) without the order of the International Court of Justice, the celebration in Croatia turns year by year into the glorification of the Ustasha regime and the outburst of hatred towards the Serbs, Veritas points out.

Plenkovic and Grabar-Kitarovic: Croatia marks with pride the 24th anniversary of the magnificent military and police operation Storm (Hina)

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Sunday issued a message on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Veterans Day, saying that Croatians today remember with pride and special respect every life given for the freedom of Croatia, a law-based country that will be chairing the European Union in the first half of 2020. By celebrating Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Veterans Day, Croatia marks with pride the 24th anniversary of the magnificent military and police operation Storm. On 5 August 1995, Croatia’s constitutional and legal order was restored in most of the occupied parts of its territory, which brought freedom and peace to the homeland, Plenkovic said in the message. With the self-sacrifice and courage of Croatian defenders, the skill of army and police commanders, the unity of the Croatian people and the wisdom of Croatia’s first president, Franjo Tudjman, in only four days the largest part of occupied areas was liberated. The constitutional order of the sovereign, independent and internationally recognised Croatia was restored in the town of Knin, a center of Croatian statehood, and Operation Storm also put an end to the siege of Bihac and helped liberate a large part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the PM said. Owing to Operation Storm, the country’s then leadership also enabled, with the help of the United Nations, a peaceful reintegration of Vukovar and the entire Croatian Danube region, which in 1998 resulted in the restoration of Croatia’s territorial integrity. Thousands of displaced persons were able to return to their homes, and a lasting peace enabled the country’s reconstruction and revitalization, said the PM. The Croatian government responsibly protects the dignity of Croatian defenders and will continue to work with commitment on improving their social status as well as on continuing the modernization of the army and police forces, which are a guarantee of the security of the Croatian state and its citizens, said Plenkovic. Inspired by patriotism and Homeland War values, we are working with determination on reforms to build a mature, democratic, socially sensitive, economically strong and competitive country, which is worthy of the sacrifice built into the foundations of its statehood, Plenkovic said, offering his best wishes to Croats in the country and abroad, defenders and fellow citizens on the occasion of Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Veterans Day. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, too, issued a message on the occasion of the August 5 holidays, calling for tireless patriotism. The victory in Operation Storm made the Croats’ dream of freedom and independence a reality, enabling the country to become a full member of the international community, she said. “Let us always be tireless in patriotism! Let us build our beautiful homeland in unity, solidarity and respect for each other, so it can become more prosperous and more just, the way previous generations dreamed it would be and the way our defenders wanted it to be,” the President said in her message.

SNV: Croatia must assume responsibility for crimes committed in Operation Storm (Hina)

The Serb National Council (SNV) on Sunday held a commemoration in Donji Lapac, a town in Lika-Senj County near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, with speakers at the event calling on Croatia to face the past and assume responsibility for war crimes committed during and in the aftermath of the 1995 Operation Storm and prosecute those responsible for them.

SNV leader Boris Milosevic said that the commemoration was an act of remembering the military and police operation Storm which 24 years ago “cleansed this area of Serbs” while today’s state protocol did not envisage making any mention of them in political speeches.

“I don’t own the truth but I do know that plunder, arson and murders did happen and that there were no reports about it at the time. The state did not prevent the plunder but rather covered it up, while local authorities issued documents that justified property being loaded onto vehicles and taken away,” Milosevic said. He said that Serb houses set on fire in the aftermath of Operation Storm were described as having been set on fire by “Chetniks who were left behind.”

“The Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights reported that all houses were set on fire except for those marked by the sign ‘Croatian Army, do not touch’. But at the time there were no reports about that or about the killing of elderly, unarmed civilians. And if there were such reports, one of the headlines read ‘Five Chetniks murdered’,” said Milosevic. He cited places where war crimes were committed against civilians who had stayed in their homes, noting that the state had never expressed sympathy for those people and describing it as “a defect in moral values.” The SNV therefore calls for “acknowledgement, respect and sympathy for victims and their families, for all families, including those of Serb ethnic background.” Describing empathy as a moral issue, Milosevic said that by calling for the recognition of Serb victims and sympathy for them, they were asking society to put an end to war and hate, to prevent the stigma of war guilt to be borne by children and to put an end to prejudice against children of different ethnic background. Only that way can we build a better Croatia, because it is our homeland, he added.

The program director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Nikola Puharic, said that “there is only one final and one non-final court verdict for war crimes committed against around 600 people killed (during and in the aftermath of Operation Storm).” He said that the initiative’s petition calling for an apology to the victims of Operation Storm had been signed by around 1,200 citizens. “By signing the petition together with us, members of the Initiative, citizens are asking also the president and the prime minister to send a message of apology to the victims and their families, because it would be a minimum, symbolic form of reparation considering that the judiciary is not prosecuting those cases,” said Puharic.

Dialogue in Montenegrin way (CDM)

Decision rendered by Democrats and URA Civic Movement was welcomed by the European officials on 2 August. They say it’s a good signal and that they will be monitoring carefully the implementation of the “Brussels plan”. However, the decision has sparked off numerous reactions at domestic scene, especially in the opposition, whose members have used this opportunity to attack each other. CEO of Civic Alliance, Boris Raonic, says that agreement between DPS and Democrats, which was formulated two days ago, is a good thing. “There are shortcomings certainly, from some procedural reasons to concrete solutions, but it could be a basis for future talks. Also, more proactive attitude of the EU regarding the crisis is encouraging. It is necessary for the opposition now to establish serious communication in order to come to the basic idea – creating conditions for citizens to express their free will in the elections. They all have specific strategies now: Democrats see the solution in the amendments to the electoral law and the Law on Public Service, the rest of the opposition sees the solution in the control of the process. Only URA sticks to the agreement signed with the citizens,” says Raonic. He says that it would be good if the US took more proactive role, but without the interference of expert public. “Communication shouldn’t continue through media but behind closed doors,” said Raonic. Political analyst, Sergej Sekulovic, has no doubt that the EU is more active in this process. However, the problem is the fact that opposition is not united. “They are faced with a very important decision-making process. Regardless of political points, I think that the dynamics of the process will require serious engagement of every party. Another scenario is possible too – the second part of the opposition boycotting the activities of the Working group and Democrats giving up on the achievement of their objectives. I believe that public interest has to prevail. We’ll see”, says Sekulovic. Touching on the theme of joint actions of the opposition, Sekulovic thinks that it’s not in their own interest. “There are at least two blocks in the opposition, maybe even three. There’s a high level of animosity within opposition and lack of trust and it interferes with any coordinated action. I believe that in this process, reform of electoral legislation, strengthening institutions, assuming responsibility and control mechanisms over specific processes should be more important than anything,” concludes Sekulovic. Political analyst, Ranko Djonovic, thinks that agreements really are necessary. “Members of the opposition should be aware that, so far, they have caused so much damage to themselves,” says Dlonovic in his statement. Talking about the current affairs, Djonovic thinks it would be strange if Democrats dwelt upon a devastating politics. “If they are determined to change policies, they shouldn’t think about the rest of the opposition. If they persist with what they started, Democrats could actually be the biggest winners. They could be part of the government”, points out Djonovic. He firmly believes that Democrats will take over a great part of electorate thanks to this new political course. However, he doesn’t believe they will be able to withstand the pressure exerted by the rest of the opposition. “If Democrats and URA became part of government, the rest of the opposition would just be out. We’ll see if they will figure that out,” concluded Djonovic.

Tug of war between Serbia and Kosovo after Macedonia arrests a war crimes suspect (Republika)

Kosovo warned that relations with Macedonia will suffer over the case of former UCK/KLA fighter Tomor Morina, who was arrested by Macedonian police on war crimes charges brought against him by Serbia. Morina’s extradition would violate his human rights and is completely illegal and unacceptable. It mustn’t happen, because it would not only damage his rights but also the relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of “North” Macedonia. We would not want such events to possibly damage our ties, said Kosovan Ambassador Gerg Dedaj.

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, on the other hand, said that Serbia expects that Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will hand Morina over for trial for the war crimes he perpetrated against Serbian civilians in 1999. Serbia used Interpol to ensure that Morina is arrested. Zaev said that his government will respect international law and that can only mean that Morina will be extradited to Serbia. We await that Zaev’s words become reality, Stefanovic told the B92 station. The court rejected a request from Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani and Deputy Interior Minister Agim Nuhiu to visit Morina in prison because they are not close family members. Both DUI party officials have called on the court to release Morina.

Albanian President to Parliament: Election Decrees Constitutional, Should be Enforced (Exit.al/ADN)

On Friday, Albanian President Ilir Meta sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruçi arguing that his decrees related to the local elections–the first canceling the elections scheduled for 30 June 2019, and the second setting 13 October 2019 as the new elections date–were issued within his constitutional powers, remain valid and should be implemented. He added that only the Constitutional Court can review their validity. The Socialist Party are now attempting to impeach the President. President Meta moved to cancel the elections amidst an intense political fight between the Socialist majority and the united opposition, and after the latter decided to boycott the local elections completely. In February, the Opposition had resigned their parliamentary seats accusing the government of vote-rigging, state capture, and links to organized crime. Meta argued that he was forced to cancel the elections, which would be divisive and undemocratic without the opposition, to give a chance to both parties to find a solution to the political crisis and agree on a new elections date. However, Prime Minister Edi Rama denounced President’s decree as unconstitutional, and the Central Election Commission, controlled by the socialist majority, rejected President’s decree and decided to go ahead with the 30 June vote. Presidential decrees are subject only to the Constitutional Court review, but Albania has remained without it for more than a year, due to a badly implemented judicial reform, which has paralyzed the judicial system. Disregarding the decrees, the Socialist majority organized and held the local elections were held on 30 June. The opposition boycotted elections, and Socialist Party candidates ran unopposed in 31 out of 61 mayoral races. In 21 others, Socialists ran against candidates from Bindja Demokratike, a newly founded party, which was allowed to run in the elections, although it was not yet legally established by the election registration deadline–a clear violation of the Electoral Code and the Law on Political Parties. Socialist Party achieved victory in all mayoral races–but the elections were criticized by the international monitors. In its preliminary report, the OSCE noted that elections were held without respecting the President’s decree, pointing out that only Constitutional Court could review it. Responding to the parliamentary inquiry, today President Meta stated that the decree to postpone was necessary in order “to defend the democratic values and principles set enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Albania; to reduce the social tension; to guarantee constitutional order and democracy; […] and give political parties time to […] solve the severe political crisis, which are part of the essential duties and responsibilities of the President in a Parliamentary Republic”. In his arguments to parliament, the President noted that his decrees were issued in a context where there is clear contempt by the political elite towards democracy, free elections and political pluralism, which lie at the foundations of country’s constitutional and political order.

The President criticizes, what he calls, the “legitimization and revival” by the Prime Minister of a state based on unchecked majority rule, the same standard used by the communist regime to brutally crush any opposition to the one-party rule. He drew a clear distinction between what a “majority rule state”, where only the majority has rights, and a state based on the rule of law, which “guarantees the rights of the minorities and the opposition, in particular, [and] respects the fundamental human rights and liberties, [including] the right to choose and not just to vote” without having a choice. According to the President, it is this “grave and unacceptable misunderstanding between the ‘rule of the majority and the ‘rule of law'” are at the core of Albania’s current deep constitutional, institutional, and representation crisis. Therefore, the President clarified, he used his constitutional powers to put a hold to a “fake electoral process”, which would undermine all democratic principles, by reducing elections to a one-party vote, and push the parties to find an agreement to guarantee free, fair and democratic elections, in a safe environment. In his letter, the President also stated that his actions are based on precedent, referring in some detail cases when elections were postponed elections, in order to solve political crisis and enable the opposition to participate–in 1991, when general elections were postponed to give time to the recently created non-communist parties to participate in the first pluralist elections, immediately after fall of communism; in 2007, when local elections were postponed, at the request of Edi Rama, then the leader of the opposition, to solve a political crisis; in 2017, when local elections in Kavaja were postponed due to the unsafe environment for voting; and again in 2017, when general elections were postponed to accommodate a political agreement reached between Prime Minister Rama and the leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha, which ended a protracted political crisis. None of the above presidential actions was challenged by any political force, least by Rama who was a sponsor of such actions in the three last cases. Based on legal arguments and precedent, President Meta called the voting process of 30 June an “unconstitutional, faux and undemocratic process with no legal consequence.” He reiterated that the decree setting October 13th as the new local elections date is still valid and should be enforced by the Central Election Commission and all relevant institutions. He stated that whatever decision the Constitutional Court might take in the future regarding his two decrees, “it will be effective only for the future and may influence the behavior of the President in similar situations, but never can this decision have any retroactive effect to legitimize the process of non-official voting, with only one candidate as it has already done on 30 June 2019.”

CEC meeting failed, Mediu asks dismissal of four members (ADN)

Leader of Republican Party (RP), Fatmir Mediu asked the dismissal of four members of Central Elections Commission (CEC) who didn’t participate on Saturday’s meeting. CEC should have held a meeting this Saturday to discuss on the request of Democratic Party (DP) allies, who stated that CEC should start preparing for holding elections of 13 October 2019, as decreed by President of the Republic, Ilir Meta, but the presence of only head of CEC, Klement Zguri made it impossible to hold the meeting. According to Mediu, the absence of four members in the meeting is the gravest precedent ever since the establishment of CEC, so they should be dismissed. “There is no Constitution, no state, no institutions. Socialist Party boycotted the elections and institutions through the refusal to participate in CEC meeting. Today, they have not only violated the Presidential Decree in force and haven’t respected their constitutional and legal obligation to organize elections, but they have also broken their oath of office taken before the parliament. This is the reason for their immediate dismissal,” declared Mediu.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Serbia slams Israeli envoy for celebrating Croatian ‘pogrom’ (The Times of Israel, by Raphael Ahren, 5 August 2019)

Congratulating Zagreb on its Victory Day violates ‘basic human principles of modern societies,’ Belgrade’s ambassador in Tel Aviv fumes

Serbia on Monday slammed Israel for congratulating Croatia on the occasion of Victory Day, which marks a bloody battle Serbs consider a pogrom. “What happened to the Serbs in Croatia, who lived there for centuries, during the Operation Storm on August 4 in 1995 is unfortunately the biggest exodus of one ethnic group in Europe after World War II,” Serbia’s ambassador to Israel, Milutin Stanojevic, told The Times of Israel. “To congratulate this pogrom to those who celebrate it every year as ‘Victory Day’ or ‘restoring sovereignty’ is against the basic human principles of modern societies. Coming from an Israeli representative, [it] is more than ironic and sad,” he added. Earlier on Monday, Israel’s envoy in Zagreb, Ilan Mor, had published a congratulatory tweet in honor of Victory Day. Efraim Zuroff, a Jerusalem-based Holocaust historian who has long been critical of Croatia and other Central and Eastern European countries for what he says is a refusal to come clean with their respective roles in crimes against Jews, said the Israeli diplomat’s comment was uncalled for. “This is a very unfortunate statement in very bad taste given the fact that there was a mass expulsion as part of Operation Storm, close to 200,000 Serbs were expelled from their homes,” Zuroff told The Times of Israel. “This is a not conflict that Israel should get involved in.” The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem did not provide a comment by the time this article was published. Jerusalem has solid diplomatic ties with Belgrade, but relations with Zagreb appear to be stronger. In late July, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović came to Jerusalem for an official state visit. “I strongly believe that there is a bright future for the partnership between us. But a bright future must be based on a clear understanding of the past,” President Reuven Rivlin said at a state dinner in her honor, referring to the “crimes” of Croatia’s wartime Ustasha regime. The Israeli ambassador’s tweet is not the first time the Jewish state has waded into the same controversy. Last year, Israel’s military participated in a parade celebrating Croatia’s victory. Hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced during Operation Storm. Almost the entire Serb population of the area was removed from their homes by military force during the operation. The IDF was the first foreign army to participate in Croatia’s victory celebration, according to the Serbian ambassador. At the time, Croatian media showed photos of at least two Israeli F-16s flying over the city of Knin, between Zagreb and Split, together with Croatian MiG-21s. According to a Croatian website, Brigadier General (Ret.) Mishel Ben Baruch, who heads the defense ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, said it was “an honor to be able to participate” in the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm. The IDF defended its participation in the 2018 event, saying in a statement that the jets were deployed in Croatia as part of a military cooperation arrangement, and that participating in the event was part of that “strategic cooperation between both countries.” The statement also noted an impending Israeli-Croatian arms deal. “For the Croatian side, maybe these are days of triumph, but for the Serbian side these are days of mourning,” Stanojevic told The Times of Israel at the time. “We mourn the exodus. More than 2,500 people died. The resting place of many is not known. More than 250,000 people fled Croatia, mostly civilians. This is not the time or the place where another country should be involved.” The exact number of the dead and displaced is a matter of dispute. While Croatia hailed the offensive as a flawless military victory that reunited the country’s territory and ended the war, Serbia mourned the victims of the attack. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said last year that “Hitler wanted a world without Jews; Croatia and its policy wanted a Croatia without Serbs.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.