LOCAL PRESS 

Xi Jinping: I am ready to raise the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Serbia to an even higher level (RTS/Tanjug/RTV) 

The President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping sent congratulations to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia. “On the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, on behalf of the Government and the people of China and my own behalf, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to you and the friendly Serbian people. Sino-Serbian relations maintain a steady development trend. Mutual political trust between the two countries is strong, cooperation in various fields achieves rich results, and steel friendship is continuously deepening. Together, the two sides face the challenges of the COVID-19 virus epidemic, setting an example of cooperation in the fight against the world’s epidemic. At my invitation, you recently attended the Summit of the Leaders of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and made an outstanding contribution to the successful holding of the summit, which I highly appreciate. I attach great importance to the development of relations between China and Serbia. I am ready to raise the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Serbia to an even higher level with you, within the joint development of the Belt and Road initiative, and cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, to contribute to the well-being of our two countries and nations. I wish your country a lot of prosperity, and happiness and well-being to your people,” reads the congratulation message of President Xi Jinping.

Vucic: Good relations with France important for Serbia (FoNet) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told French Ambassador to Serbia Jean-Luis Falconi on Thursday that good relations with Paris were significant for Belgrade and that he would personally follow the realization of joint projects. According to Vucic’s office statement, the two discussed the President’s recent meeting with the French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris. They agreed the Belgrade underground project was progressing in line with the planned dynamic. On the political side, Vucic reiterated that by accepting the new EU accession methodology, would make progress on its European road. He also said he was glad that Macron would revisit Serbia, since his 2019 stay left a special mark in the history of Serbia-France relationship.

Excellent political, economic relations between Serbia, Czech Republic (Tanjug/Novosti) 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated on Wednesday, after a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, that the two countries have extraordinary relations, which are reflected in trade and economic cooperation, which amounted to €1.2 billion in 2020. She pointed out that excellent relations between Serbia and the Czech Republic are maintained through regular visits and meetings at the highest level, recalling her meeting with Babis in Prague in 2018, then participation in the Visegrad Group meeting in 2019, and the presence of President Aleksandar Vucic at the Summit of the Visegrad Group. She said that the Czech Republic is one of the biggest promoters of the EU enlargement policy when it comes to the Western Balkans, and added that that country has already announced a platform for its EU presidency in 2022, in which enlargement is one of the priorities. Brnabic said that in all bilateral talks or talks with Czech partners on the sidelines of meetings and conferences, she was encouraged by the position of that country regarding the European integration of Serbia and the entire Western Balkans. Babis assessed that the relations between the two countries are friendly and that Serbia is an important long-term partner of the Czech Republic, which supports its EU path. Babis assessed that Serbia should become part of the Schengen agreement before joining the EU. “Illegal migration is a major problem. Serbia is one of four countries which, in my opinion, should be part of the Schengen agreement. The Schengen issue is perhaps more important at this time than the EU enlargement,” Babis told reporters, adding that the EU enlargement had been significantly delayed.

Vucic receives Babis (Tanjug/RTS) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Wednesday to discuss the fight against COVID-19, bilateral relations, Serbia’s European path and the situation in the region. Thanking Babis for the visit to Belgrade, Vucic particularly noted Serbia’s support to the Czech Republic in the fight against the coronavirus. Vucic said he expected the EU to continue to actively implement an enlargement policy despite the challenges faced by all countries, and to confirm its firm commitment to continuing and deepening the cooperation with the Western Balkan region. “We highly respect the Czech Republic’s continued support for accelerating Serbia’s EU integration process – bilaterally as well as within the Visegrad Four,” Vucic said, adding that full EU membership was a strategic foreign policy objective for Serbia. According to an official statement released after the meeting, Vucic and Babis agreed that further strengthening of bilateral relations, which they said were good, friendly and without open issues, as well as continued holding of high- and top-level political meetings, should remain a priority. “Serbia wants to intensify its economic relations with the Czech Republic, which also includes a further increase of trade. We believe that, in addition to the results achieved in external trade between Serbia and the Czech Republic – which reached almost 1.2 billion Euros in 2020 – support for stepped-up economic cooperation and a higher inflow of Czech investments to Serbia should be continued,” Vucic said.

Vulin: Serbia most successful country in fight against smuggling on migrant route (Tanjug/RTV/Politika) 

Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Wednesday that Serbia is the most successful country when it comes to fighting smuggling of people on the migrant route, and stressed that the Interior Ministry is making serious efforts to remove irregular migrants from the streets and place them in camps where they are provided with everything they need. Explaining the draft Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Serbian government and the government of the Republic of North Macedonia on Cooperation in Combating Smuggling of Migrants, Minister Vulin stressed that cooperation with neighbors is important and that it is a way to even more seriously and effectively protect our borders, the state and our way of life. “Every person in our territory is protected by law and international law, but on condition that they respect law and international law. Serbia cannot become a parking lot for migrants, a country that will be entered and exited as anyone wishes, and spend time while in our territory any way they want. The state of Serbia cannot and has not allowed that,” he said. The Interior Ministry, as he pointed out, is making every effort to remove irregular migrants from our streets, because they cannot be there without control, and will do everything to ensure that our way of life is not disturbed in any way. Vulin assessed that the migrant crisis that began in 2015, as things stand now, will not end. “As long as economic and political relations are the way they are in the world, as long as the EU is not able to formulate a common policy when it comes to migrants, as long as large and powerful countries fail to reach a common position on the migrant crisis, it will continue,” said Vulin. Vulin also presented to the MPs the Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Serbian government and the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho on Defense Cooperation, pointing out that the agreement was a way to thank that country and show our respect towards it for respecting international law, when it withdrew its recognition of so-called Kosovo. “The distance between Serbia and the Kingdom of Lesotho is not something that should discourage our cooperation, and this agreement shows a relationship of sincere respect for something that the Kingdom of Lesotho did at an important moment, by revoking the recognition of the fake state of Kosovo,” said Vulin. According to him, Lesotho is not a big country, it does not have great potentials that some other, richer and better armed African countries have, but, as he said, it is precisely because it’s small that it has shown the courage to respect international law.

Accusations that Serbia is carrying out hybrid war against B&H (Politika, by Mladen Kremenovic)

Delegate of the House of Peoples (HoP) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Denis Becirovic (SDP) recently claimed that “a hybrid war is being fought against B&H” and he also claimed that Serbia has the goal to gradually disable B&H when it comes to defense of its independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. Becirovic even presented an initiative before B&H HoP, according to which the Council of Ministers (CoM) of B&H should, within three months, prepare an analysis on “waging of a hybrid war against B&H with proposal of measures for a more efficient security activities and strengthening of the state defense capacities”. Becirovic noted that Serbia is carrying out a political, diplomatic, media and psychological war against B&H and added that Croatia’s involvement in this is becoming more and more visible, so he even called the international community to assist B&H. The daily reminded that speculations on the international community’s engagement in constitutional reform in B&H are becoming more and more frequent while representatives of Republika Srpska (RS) argue that there attempts to strengthen bodies of B&H to the detriment of the entities, as in line with proposals of Sarajevo. Sarajevo-based media carried security expert Miralem Kapetanovic who assessed that there is indeed a hybrid war against B&H and claimed that targets include political, security, judicial and economic sector and noted that there are even “attempts of neighbors to jeopardize B&H’s identity”.  Deputy speaker of the RS parliament Milan Petkovic told the daily that Serbia is carrying out a peaceful policy focused solely on assistance to B&H and reminded that Serbia assists both entities in B&H. “Sarajevo is not hiding its strategic intentions related to centralization of B&H. They have been lobbying the whole time and exerting pressures on the High Representative and they want to present Serbs as bad guys,” Petkovic said.  Journalist of Vecernji list Zoran Kresic told the daily that Becirovic’s initiative is a part of ‘Great Bosniak project’ which includes compromising of Zagreb and Belgrade. Kresic also reminded of “the alleged affair, fabricated in Sarajevo, that Croatian services recruited members of the Salaffi Movement to compromise the Bosniak side and poor Salaffis. This fabrication devised by the AID (wartime Bosniak intelligence service), i.e. para-intelligence service in scope of the Intelligence and Security Agency of B&H (OSA) was launched just one day before a visit of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to Croats in B&H. This minor detail proves how obvious this story about meddling is and what it is intended for”. Kresic also claimed that attempts to present Serb and Croat side as Russian agents were devised only “to force the most important world power to disfavor Serbs and Croats and in order to fulfill political goals of Bosniaks”. Kresic concluded by saying that Bakir Izetbegovic’s SDA views these goals through the declaration of Alija Izetbegovic while SDP and other pro-Bosnian parties view them through domination of the majority “so, it all comes down to the same thing”.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Mostar City Council repeats first round of elections for Mostar Mayor (Nova BH)

The Mostar City Council repeated the first round of elections for the Mayor of Mostar on Wednesday, using the secret ballot method. The first round was repeated after the letter from the OHR in which High Representative Valentin Inzko demanded that the initial first round, which was held on Friday, is annulled as it was carried out through public voting. Inzko specified that the Statute of the City of Mostar only allows a secret ballot method for electing the Mayor.

 Four candidates were nominated for the post of the Mayor, and only HDZ B&H Mario Kordic and candidate of SDA-led ‘Coalition for Mostar’ Zlatko Guzin proceeded into the second round of elections. Kordic won 14, Guzin 12, candidate of ‘BH Bloc’ Irma Baralija (Our Party – NS) two, and candidate – nominated by First Mostar Party (PMP) – Arman Zalihic (SDP B&H) zero votes. Deputy Chairman for the Commission for Appointment and Election Kazimir Milicevic congratulated the candidates of HDZ B&H and ‘Coalition for Mostar’ for proceeding to the next round of elections.

HDZ B&H Municipal Board unanimously adopts decision to boycott early elections for Head of Travnik Municipality (Nova BH)

The Municipal Board of HDZ B&H in Travnik unanimously adopted a decision on Wednesday to boycott the early elections for Head of Travnik Municipality, which are scheduled to take place on 11 April. Namely, the B&H Central Election Commission (B&H CEC) called the early elections for Head of Travnik Municipality, after SDA’s candidate Mirsad Peco died of COVID-19 complications on the day of the local elections, on 15 November 2020, but still ended up winning the elections. According to the decision of the HDZ B&H Municipal Board, the B&H CEC made omissions and passed illegal decisions with regard to the elections in Travnik. HDZ B&H’s stance is that the second-ranked candidate, HDZ B&H’s Goran Pejakovic, should have been declared the Head of Municipality after the election winner passed away. The Court of B&H rejected HDZ B&H’s appeal against the CEC’s decision on calling the early elections in this case, due to which the Municipal Board of this political party announced the intention to file motion to the Constitutional Court of B&H (B&H CC) to assess if the CEC’s decision on the early elections and the decision of the Court of B&H on rejecting the appeal are constitutional. Chairman of the HDZ B&H Municipal Board Bojan Domic stated that refusing to participate in these elections is the best possible decision and response to the CEC’s decision. Domic called on Croats in Travnik not to take part in the elections. Commenting the decision of Municipal Board of HDZ B&H in Travnik regarding boycott of early elections in Travnik, Chairman of the SDA Municipal Board in Travnik Tahir Lendo said that he disagrees with HDZ B&H’s decision to boycott the elections in Travnik, adding that “all peoples should have their candidates”. Lendo added: “Still, we are not surprised by HDZ B&H’s decision, which is actually a reaction to the appointment of the CEC members”. Chairman of the SDP B&H Municipal Board in Travnik Sinisa Dukic stated that HDZ B&H’s decision not to partake in the elections is legitimate, but he criticized that political party for calling on Croats not to take part in the voting. SDA stated that the election will have moral legitimacy even without HDZ B&H. According to the daily, the election will be a tight race between SDA candidates and candidates of the opposition. Surveyed citizens of Travnik all said that they would vote, which is why the daily concludes that the votes of Croat voters could be very significant.

Botsan-Kharchenko says Russia does not approve appointment of new HR in B&H and Germany has intention to harm RS (ATV)

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko said that Russia does not approve the attempt of appointing the new High Representative in B&H, because it is not in compliance with the position of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) and the plan of closing the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Botsan-Kharchenko added that the RS has been saying for a long time now that OHR needs to be closed. The announced arrival of Christian Schmidt from Germany, according to Botsan-Kharchenko, will not make any sense because OHR should have been closed a long time ago. Botsan-Kharchenko said that he believes Germany has the intentions that could harm RS, by centralizing B&H and withdrawing RS’ competencies. Centralization of B&H has been the goal of former High Representatives in B&H as well, according to Serb member of B&H Presidency and the Leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik. The current High Representative Valentin Inzko has already harmed Serb people enough, added the presenter. Dodik stated: “When it comes to the High Representative, SNSD does not support the work of the High Representative, we believe a new High Representative should not come here. This was all said already, what Inzko has been doing, is a blackmailing and a humiliating role towards Serb people by claiming that Serb people are collectively responsible and that Serb people have imposed on themselves collective responsibility.”  Former president of RS Dragan Cavic said he finds the attitude of Russia encouraging. “I also believe that Europeans, aware of the situation in B&H and the progress B&H had, will have measured actions that they will initiate in the coming years,” said Cavic. Former RS minister of Interior Perica Bundalo said it is realistic to expect certain changes and to expect that the new High Representative will treat the entities of B&H equally, at least at minimum level.

Inzko: I would gladly go to Banja Luka to explain what is wrong with awarding of war criminals; I have full support of Germany (AJB)

The High Representative in B&H Valentin Inzko was a guest for Al Jazeera Balkans via video link. When asked what will happen if the RS parliament rejects his request to withdraw awards they have given to convicted war criminals, Inzko replied and said explained as an Austrian, that in Austria, they have condemned many war criminals, and that it is important for all peoples to do the same, for the sake of their future. Regarding any consequences for RS parliament, Inzko pointed out that it is still early to talk about that and that “it is important to start the process of thinking and getting to certain conclusions, and whether it is important for them to have war criminals as heroes.”  With regard to the fact that RS parliament requested a report from Inzko on his work, Inzko explained that he has made many reports and that they are publicly available at the OHR webpage for anyone who wants to read them. Inzko added that it is stated in his mandate as the High Representative to whom he is obligated to submit reports and it is not to individual institutions like RS parliament. Inzko added: “I would gladly go to Banja Luka and tell them what is wrong about awarding war criminals.” When asked if there could be some consequences for RS parliament such as sanctions with which Serb member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik was warned of, when Inzko requested from Dodik to remove the plaque with Radovan Karadzic’s name in Pale student dormitory, Inzko stated that there will definitely be some sort of consequences. Regarding RS parliament’s rejection if his request and whether it would be motivation to impose a Law on Banning Denial of Genocide, Inzko replied that it absolutely would be a motivation for such a law. When it comes to the timing of the deadline he gave to RS parliament Inzko stated: “I said three months, because I have to submit my report in the beginning of May.” Inzko also pointed out, regarding the new German High Representative in B&H Christian Schmidt and said that when Schmidt arrives, there will be consultations several months. Inzko commented: “I am cooperative, Mr. Schmidt I already met before and he is a nice gentleman. He has visited B&H four years ago.” Inzko also pointed out when it comes to Germany: “I have full support of Germany until the end of my mandate.” When asked whether the change could mean a different type of engagement, Inzko answered positively and said that it can be expected, especially since this is US President Joe Biden’s first year of his term. Inzko said that Biden knows B&H well and the Dayton Peace Agreement, and that it is lucky Biden remembers B&H even though there are greater conflicts in different parts of world. “We have (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel’s interest. I think this is the last opportunity to do something” pointed out Inzko. When it comes to Russia and its negative attitude in the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Inzko said: “This is a task for Merkel, for her to find common ground with (Russia’s President) Vladimir Putin. They have other, even more important issues, especially when it comes to gas delivery. OHR is not their biggest priority.” Speaking about his opinion, whether B&H citizens should place their hope in the new High Representative in B&H or the local politicians, Inzko emphasized that they should place their hope in themselves. Inzko gave many examples of achievements of B&H citizens within EU and said B&H has given four Ministers to EU, which no other country did. Inzko said he would like to see such talent at work in B&H as well and that it would make B&H fantastic. Commenting on the election of B&H High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council’s (HJPC) new leadership, Inzko said: “It is all in vain if B&H has no Rule of Law. Schmidt will focus on that.” Inzko warned that if there is no Rule of Law in B&H, then B&H citizens will start leaving the country not just for financial reasons but also because they have no rights. When asked what he would do differently, if he could go back to the beginning of his term as High Representative, Inzko said he would focus on Rule of Law. “I had expected I would be done in B&H in about half a year, but when I saw the situation in B&H I had kept OHR open for B&H’s sake” pointed out Inzko.  Regarding whether Inzko will have any advice and help for Schmidt once he arrives, Inzko said that Schmidt will have the support of the International Community (IC) to use Bonn Powers “when it is necessary, but not for every little thing.” Inzko emphasized that IC needs to be stronger and to act more prescriptively, as a doctor, and that all processes need to speed up, otherwise young people will leave B&H.

Komsic: I call on Covic to sue B&H in Strasbourg if he thinks Croats are endangered (Klix.ba)

The member of the B&H Presidency Zeljko Komsic said that the story about the Law on Elections of B&H has two segments. Namely, the first segment is related to technical changes such as the way of voting, ballots counting, introduction of technical aides etc., whilst the second, political segment is more important. Komsic stated that the policy of HDZ B&H, with the support coming from Zagreb, is to change the Law on Elections by bypassing the Constitution of B&H and create ethnically clean constituencies in order to carry out HDZ B&H’s policy i.e. that each people vote for their own. Komsic went on to say that he is advising (HDZ B&H leader) Dragan Covic to address the court in Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) is he thinks that Croats are endangered. “So, if the European Court of Human Rights says he is right, we have nothing to comment. But he will not do it because he cannot get one such decision in Strasbourg because what he requests is in collision with the concept of fundamental rights of individuals and the whole of Europe is based on that. B&H must go in direction of civic state, whether somebody likes it or not,” said Komsic.

HJPC holds session to appoint new leadership; Lagumdzija elected as new President, Gorusanovic- Butigan, Simeunovic elected Vice- Presidents (Nova BH)

The new leadership of the B&H High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) was elected on Wednesday. Namely, judge of the Court of B&H Halil Lagumdzija was elected President of the HJPC, and he won only one vote more than the second-ranked candidate, judge of the District Court in Banja Luka Srdjan Forca. Judge of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo Sanela Gorusanovic-Butigan and prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H Biljana Simeunovic were elected Vice-Presidents of the HJPC. Judge of the Basic Court in Brcko District Selim Karamehic was also elected member of the HJPC Presidency. Lagumdzija has more than 30 years of experience in judiciary, but he has no prior experience in being a part of the HJPC. He was elected in a rather uncertain election. Namely, Gorusanovic-Butigan, who has performed the function of the Interim President of the HJPC since Milan Tegeltija’s resignation to that post was accepted, had been perceived as a serious candidate for the post of the President. However, on the day of the election, she confirmed that she has decided not to be a candidate for the post. On the other hand, Simeunovic was the candidate for the post of the President, but did not end up winning enough votes. HJPC member Berina Alihodzic expressed discontent with the procedure of election of the HJPC leadership, saying that the candidates did not present themselves properly, and she found it difficult to vote as she was unfamiliar with the candidates’ background. In a phone statement to Nova BH, Tegeltija claimed that all decisions that the HJPC passed since his resignation were illegal. “The sessions they held were illegal, because they were not convened by the President,” he noted. Journalist Avdo Avdic assessed for Nova BH that everyone, including the state officials and the international community (IC), had their favorites in the process of election of the HJPC leadership. “There has been lobbying. Lagumdzija has been elected President, even though this is the first time he came to the session of the HJPC,” Avdic stated.

Serbian government donates €100,000 for renovation of Count Jelacic’s birth house (Hina)

The Serbian government has donated €100,000 to the Croat National Council (HNV) for the renovation of a section of the birth house of Count Josip Jelacic, the Ban (governor) of Croatia (1801-1859) in the town of Petrovaradin, the HNV said on Wednesday. The renovation work will be done in the basement, on the ground floor and the first floor of the building purchased by the Serbian government for the HNV. The work should start in about two months and if everything goes well, it will be completed in mid-2021, said Darko Polic, who runs the foundation “Count Josip Jelacic Memorial House”. The HNV recalled that the Serbian government purchased a part of the building for €600,000 and returned it to the ethnic Croat community so that it could own it again after 75 years. At the official opening of the house in October 2020, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic promised further investments in the renovation of the building and assistance in the development of the HNV and Croat community’s infrastructure. The local Croat community has expressed hope that this year a Croatia House will be built in Subotica and that offices given to the Croat community in Belgrade for use will be renovated.

Ratko Mladic Street in Montenegro (CdM)

If the councilors of the Berane parliament persisted in their intentions to name one of the streets after Ratko Mladic, this would be the name of a street. After the first attempt to cover up and divert attention from Nebojsa Babovic of the Democrats, and from URA on Twitter, public pressure forced local and state officials to distance themselves from this decision of the local Street Naming Council. After that, the Democrats and URA clearly said that they would not support this name, because for them Mladic is a war criminal, while the Municipality of Berane and its mayor (for legal puritans, the president of the municipality) Dragoslav Scekic said that they were doing it because the legal conditions were obtained for such a thing. In other words – not because Ratko Mladic is a criminal, but because he is still alive. Reactions to the announcement of the possibility of naming a street in the north of Montenegro after Ratko Mladic came from various addresses. The HRA and CGO responded in a joint statement, detailing why this must not happen: “Mladic is responsible for killing about 8,000 Bosniaks in Srebrenica, the youngest of whom was only 11, and also for persecuting civilians, Muslims and Croats, throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina, for shelling and sniping of Sarajevo citizens for three and a half years, as well as for taking UN hostages. He was convicted in the first instance for ten of the eleven counts of the indictment. He was not convicted, they add, only on charges of being responsible for genocide in six Bosnia-Herzegovina municipalities during ’92. (Prijedor, Sanski Most, Kljuc, Kotor Varos, Foca and Vlasenica)”. The CDT says that if that happened, “Montenegro will definitely erase itself from the map of civil and enlightened societies, and join the ranks of pro-fascist societies that celebrate criminals”. Ana Pisonero, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, pointed out that glorifying war criminals cannot be a European value. Political adviser in the Helsinki Commission of the American Congress Robert Hand also recalled why this is a problematic move. Reuf Bajrovic, co-chairman of the American-European alliance based in Washington, saw “the beginning of the process of annulling the independence of Montenegro” in this announcement. A group of activists and intellectuals, including myself, wrote to the Chief State Prosecutor’s Office about the more frequent and increasingly blatant manifestation and celebration of extreme right-wing and fascist ideas, as well as the spread of hatred.

Fatic: With a Chetnik woman in government, it is no wonder that we have Mladic in Berane (Dnevne novine)

The proposal that one street in Berane bears the name of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic did not appear just like that. It was preceded by an action of erecting a monument to the Chetnik duke Pavle Djurisic in Gornji Zaostr, holding rallies at this place, writing graffiti of fascist contents during several years in several locations in the city… All these are attempts to dismantle the civic concept of the state, create a feeling of endangered security, and thus disrupt the centuries-old interfaith harmony in Montenegro, says in an interview for Dnevne Novine Bogdan Fatic, MP and the president of the Berane DPS committee.

The storm over the decision of the Council that one street in Berane should bear the name of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic is still not calming down. Reactions came from all sides, including the Brussels administration. What is the situation in Berane today?  

Fatic: I am completely convinced that in Berane, the majority of citizens today are dominated by the idea of anti-fascism and tolerance and that such intentions are doomed to defeat. The Democratic Party of Socialists is doing its best to keep multinationalism a basic feature of Berane.

The international community condemned the proposal, and how did the Berane government react? 

Fatic: It is true that all relevant international factors reacted, condemning this proposal, and that fact is gratifying. At the same time, the fact that the leaders of the Berane local government are clumsily making statements from which their intentions are clearly recognized is worrying.

The Berane government is also made up of Democrats, who convince the citizens of Montenegro of their civic orientation. However, their representative also voted for the scandalous proposal. How do you comment on that? 

Fatic: It seems to me that the Democrats representative, in his way of voting at the session of the Council and supporting the mentioned proposal, legitimized his party in a way. It is obvious that it is their covert program commitments that have come to the fore this time and that they clearly show that they are a civic party only when it brings them a certain political benefit.

It was not only Ratko Mladic who was on the list of proposals for naming streets in Berane… Pavle Djurisic was also mentioned. Is that right? If so, how is it possible for such proposals to be the subject of discussion and decision-making in a country that inherits anti-fascism, which was recognized for its multiethnic and multi-religious harmony? 

Fatic: It is true that among the proposals there are those names that were collaborators of the occupiers in World War II. It is also true that the ruling parties supported such proposals. Members of the Council, from the ranks of the Democratic Party of Socialists, have repeatedly warned of violations of the Law, specifically Article 10 of the current Law on Memorials. It is particularly disappointing for every civic-oriented individual, the fact that the Minister in the government publicly declared herself a “Chetnik woman”. This, of course, as the strongest opposition party, does not discourage us from continuing the fight not to allow convicted war criminals and fascist collaborators to get their streets in any city in Montenegro, let alone in Berane.

Can this proposal be seen as a kind of test balloon that would lead to changes in the Law on Memorials? Would such a proposal surprise you, considering who makes up the new majority in Montenegro? 

Fatic: If we keep in mind the way the state government functions, I would say that these decisions look like coordinated ones! I am convinced that we have the strength to defeat these ideas. I believe that it is clear to everyone that the majority of Montenegro will never support such proposals! In all this, I would say, not only political but also civic ignorance, the reaction of the leader of the “civic movement” URA is most surprising.

We also have new cases of introducing fear and threats among national minorities, such as graffiti on the mosque in Niksic… 

Fatic: The shameful graffiti that appeared on the mosque in Niksicas well as the desecration of the Osmanagic mosque in Podgorica, are an attempt to dismantle the civic concept of the state. I expect that the perpetrators and those who ordered such acts will be found, prosecuted and convicted.

Berane has long been exposed to provocations from the minority population. A Chetnik rally was held in that city last year, attended by some of the local government leaders, and a day later portraits of Draza Mihailovic and Pavle Djurisic appeared in settlements with a Bosniak-Muslim population. Why is this happening to Berane? 

Fatic: Lately, unfortunately, various influences have been used to recompose the history of Berane. Our city is characterized by a historical duration of coexistence and tolerance. But from time to time, some tend to disrupt it. In recent days, it has come from those who do not recognize Montenegro, Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Muslims or Croats, and who want a mono-ethnic environment of their own.

The local elections in Niksic are in focus on the Montenegrin political scene. According to media reports, Niksic is literally under siege by the Serbian Orthodox Church, pro-Serbian parties, government officials in Serbia and the Republika Srpska, agents of their security services… Many analysts from both Montenegro and the region warn that the situation smells of more serious incidents 

Fatic: The current socio-political image of Niksic obviously represents a training ground for creating an uncontemporary political struggle with various para-political structures, not only from Montenegro but also from the surrounding countries. Following the current events in Niksic during the previous period, it can easily be concluded that not only Niksic is under siege, but above all, the independent Montenegro! I do not believe that in any developed country of the world, party activists from other countries can actively participate in elections. As a man who has spent years in politics, I believe that the residents of Niksic will know how to adequately respond to attempts of those trying to take their own city from their hands and put it in the hands of interested structures that come from outside the borders of Niksic and Montenegro.

VMRO-DPMNE to start collecting signatures – every citizen against the political census will be able to sign the initiative (Republika)

VMRO-DPMNE maintains the position that the government wants to conduct a political census. Parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi returned the initiative to collect signatures because the name the Republic of Macedonia. The party announced that they will conduct the procedure themselves. Despite such institutional obstacles, VMRO-DPMNE will start the initiative of collecting signatures from all citizens, a non-partisan initiative where every citizen who stands for a fair European and credible census, every citizen who is against such a political census that leads to falsification can sign it, said Antonio Milososki. VMRO-DPMNE announced that it will start collecting the necessary 10 thousand signatures at points on squares and markets in cities and villages, which it plans to submit directly to parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi as a proposal for nullifying the census law.

Zaev: Census must be conducted, the state can’t work in the dark (Republika)

Answering a reporter’s question about the importance of the census and the possibility of postponing it, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia Zoran Zaev pointed out that all issues can always be resolved through an inclusive process and when there is room to reach a consensus. He stressed that Macedonia has not conducted a census for 20 years. “Here in the government, at the local level, the mayors, all public state, local enterprises, all private companies, and even all our people, we work in the dark, we do not know the numbers. We do not know how many we are, where we are located, what are our industrial parameters, what are our basic resources and where it gives serious indications for increasing the economic growth of the country,” said Zaev. The census is a statistical operation that we must carry out, it’s our duty, he said.

Another vaccine fail – Serbian donation called off (Republika)

Macedonia was supposed to receive its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine – a donation of 8,000 Pfizer vaccines from Serbia. A hand-over ceremony was planned at the Tabanovce border crossing at 14h, where Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was supposed to meet with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. It would’ve announced the start of even token vaccinations of healthcare workers and at risk-elderly citizens, after the Zaev regime failed to buy the vaccines, get in through Covax, announced then canceled a Bulgarian donation and ignored offers from China and Russia only to finally cave and order 200,000 Chinese vaccines. But yesterday evening the government announced that the delivery of the Serbian donation is being canceled. The reason – lack of paperwork. We inform you that due to the need to adjust technical documentation for the delivery of the vaccines, the event planned for 11 February at the Tabanovce border crossing is postponed for a date to be determined, the government said in a press release. Once the Serbian donation was first announced, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic did warn that Macedonia needs to accept a number of legal clauses. It was reported that Macedonian Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce insisted that a Macedonian company acts as importer of the vaccine, while the Serbian branch of Pfizer asked that they are approved as the direct exporter. At the moment it is not clear what is the reason for this latest delay, but it exposed Zaev and Filipce to criticism of acting as amateurs in a matter of critical importance. Social media exploded when the news of the delay was announced, especially as it came at a time when the Healthcare Ministry revealed a website and is urging citizens to register to take the vaccine. “Register for what?”, people were asking on the social media.

”A temperature drop”, Rama responds to the relations with Russia (Radio Tirana)

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama considered the relations between Albania and Russia as a “temperature drop”, as the two countries mutually expelled the secretaries of their embassies, first in Tirana and then in Moscow. “Don’t worry! There’s just a drop in temperature! No problem!” he answered the question whether the relationship with Russia is endangered.

At the beginning of the year, official Tirana expelled a Russian diplomat, because according to her she violated the anti-cash rules. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry expelled the first secretary of the Albanian embassy in Moscow, accompanied by a strong reaction. Earlier, the two countries had exchanged tense statements. An invitation from the Russian embassy in Tirana for Albania to benefit from the distribution of Russian vaccines to fight the coronavirus, Prime Minister Rama responded with rejection, calling it a “ridiculous provocation”.