LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Serbia has a historic chance of becoming an EU member-state (RTS/Politika)

In a statement for reporters upon the conclusion of the annual summit of the leaders in the Brdo-Brijuni process, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said in Dubrovnik that Serbia has a historic chance to become a member of the EU within a reasonable period of time. Nikolic said that Serbian citizens should not be overly optimistic concerning the deadlines for this, adding that Serbia will need quite a few years to fully access the EU. Still, we will not spend the years simply waiting and instead, the country will be regulated according to the merits of every citizen and in keeping with the EU legislature, Nikolic said. He reiterated that Serbia is committed to the EU accession process but at the same time cannot leave aside the friendships and other interests of the country. The Serbian President noted that the EU is conducting negotiations with the Pristina administration and that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo’s independence. All the same, talks are being conducted and agreements are being carried out to the greatest possible extent so that all Serbian citizens may live better, he said.

Merkel commends Brussels dialogue (Danas)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Dubrovnik that Germany sticks to its promise that it will support the EU integration of all Western Balkans countries, and speaking about certain countries, she especially commended the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. In her speech at the beginning of the meeting, the German Chancellor said the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was successful, and from the historical perspective very important. She said it enabled further progress on the EU path. “An interesting experience is that the success in the dialogue changed the situation for the participants in the dialogue for the better. It didn’t bring advantages only to one side, but to everybody. The Kosovo institutions now operate throughout the entire territory of Kosovo, and the people in the north received, through elections, local authorities that represent their interests,” specified Merkel, adding that in the economic sense the north will profit from this and Serbia will achieve a major step towards the EU. Progress in the Belgrade-Pristina normalization process must continue and must not stop halfway, according to her.

REGIONAL PRESS

U.S. Embassy in B&H: Dodik’s statements not worthy of a response (Fena)

“We believe that the statements by Mr. Milorad Dodik do not deserve a response,” the U.S. Embassy’s public affairs office said in a statement to Fena in response to a request to comment on recent statements by the RS President in which he insulted Nicholas Hill, the U.S. deputy chief of mission. The public affairs office recalls that Hill gave a speech on Saturday at the American University in B&H in Tuzla in which, on the basis of his own experience in the country, he spoke of problems facing the country, especially corruption. “The U.S. government and its representatives constantly say that nationalism and corruption are among the greatest problems in B&H, which is why it is interesting that the statements by Deputy Chief of Mission Hill left such a strong impression on Mr. Dodik and his colleagues. Because of the great interest that exists in the country in the problem of corruption, we certainly greet Mr. Dodik’s engagement in this discussion, and hope that it will result in a more significant effort to resolve this problem,” the statement reads.

Strasbourg: New ruling against B&H (Beta)
The European Court for Human Rights ordered B&H for the second time to amend the electoral system and the Constitution so as to enable citizens to run for the B&H House of Peoples and the B&H Presidency without ethnic discrimination. The complaint was filed by Azra Zornic who didn’t wish to voice her nationality, but presented herself as a B&H citizen, because of which she couldn’t run at the elections since only members of the constitutive nations – Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, can be candidates for the B&H House of Peoples and the B&H Presidency. The Court decided that such a regulation represents discrimination and violation of the right to free elections, but the ruling is not final since the parties have three months to present the case before the Grand Chamber, reads the Court’s statement. The European Court requested this reform from B&H at the end of 2009 in the Sejdic-Finci case, and it is one of the prerequisites for B&H to submit a request for EU membership, which makes it the only country in the region that hasn’t done this. “The established violations in the subject case is a direct consequence of the failure of the B&H authorities to introduce constitutional and legislative amendments towards implementing the Sejdic-Finci ruling, whose execution has been under the supervision of the CoE Ministerial Committee, which is in charge of supervising the execution of the Court’s rulings,” reads the statement. It is stressed that Azra Zornic, born in 1957, resides in Sarajevo and has been participating in the political life of B&H for some time, so she was the candidate of the B&H Social-Democratic Party at the 2002 parliamentary elections.

Galijasevic: “Vijestiummeta.com” site close to Islamic community in B&H (Srna) 

Counter-terrorism expert Dzevad Galijasevic has stated that the “vijestiummeta” web site, where commentators made death threats against the Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, is close to the Islamic Community in B&H, and noted that the message is dramatic. “The fact is that ideological and organizational formations of Al Qaeda are using assorted web sites to send certain messages. The most radical web portals are ‘Balkanski Emirat’ (the Balkan Emirate), ‘Put Vjernika’ (the Path of the Faithful) and ‘Vijestiumeta.com’,” Galijasevic told Srna.“It is a special message that needs to be read carefully. Security structures are underestimating such calls for murder, and this is a call to all lunatics, sick people, fanatics, to kill or punish Dodik if given the opportunity,” Galijasevic said. He says that certain web sites, including ‘Balkanski Emirat’, are conveying messages from war zones in Afghanistan and, partially, from Iraq. “’Put Vjernika’ provides news from the war zones in Syria and on the activities of Al Qaeda. This web site published an interview with the commander of Al Qaeda in that country, Mohammed Jawlani,” Galijasevic said. He said that the security structures in B&H must take the activities of web sites that advocate radical Islam more seriously.

Ivanov requested Merkel to assist parallel settlement of name dispute (MIA)

The presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Brdo-Brioni Process leaders’ meeting demonstrates EU’s interest in our region, said President Gjorge Ivanov, MIA reports from Dubrovnik. “Merkel’s messages were very optimistic, saying Macedonia must join EU and NATO, whereas a solution to the name dispute must be found, since this is a burden for them as it is for us”, said Ivanov. The President briefed the Chancellor on the consequences of the current status-quo in Macedonia’s integration process. “I stressed this situation does not benefit anyone and requires broader engagement in order to come to a solution”, said Ivanov. He highlighted the positive regional experiences of parallel settlement of issues between Slovenia and Croatia, as well as Belgrade and Pristina. “Chancellor Merkel said they will continue to assist the process and seek for a solution”, added Ivanov. Merkel stressed Europe’s policy is solution through compromise and talks. “I told her that we do not have an interlocutor, since all our initiatives and invitations have been rejected. There is no partner from the other side, other than UN Envoy Matthew Nimetz, to talk towards finding a solution”, said Ivanov.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo Village Searched For Remains of War Dead (BIRN, by Behar Mustafa, 16 July 2014)
Forensic experts are hunting for evidence at a grave site in the Kosovo village of Rezalle, where 42 Albanians were allegedly killed by Serbian forces in April 1999.
Prenk Gjetaj, the chief of Kosovo’s missing persons commission, told BIRN that the search in the village of Rezalle in the Skenderaj/Srbice municipality of northern Kosovo was launched in the hope of finding evidence that will help identify bodies which later reburied in a hidden location in Serbia.
“We are searching for human remains here, because [the bodies] were initially put in a grave here and later recovered and transported to another location,” Gjetaj said.
The remains of the 42 Kosovo Albanians who were allegedly killed by Serbian forces during an attack on the village on April 5, 1999 have not yet been found.
A Human Rights Watch report in 2001 suggested that the month after the killings, “the bodies were dug up with bulldozers from the shallow graves in the field” and the human remains were replaced with the carcasses of dead cows, according to testimony from Kosovo Liberation Army fighters.
The Kosovo authorities believe that the three of 50 bodies of Kosovo Albanians that were recently exhumed from a mass grave at a quarry near Raska in southern Serbia could be the remains of some of the people who were killed in Rezalle.
Forensic evidence from Rezalle could help to identify more of the bodies found at Raska, the authorities hope.
Thaci’s thirst for power is harming Kosovo (EUObserver, by Jeton Zulfaj, 16 July 2014)
LUND – For about three weeks after the recent elections, Kosovo saw a heated debate on who has the right to form a government.
The snap elections were held on 8 June after parliament was dissolved in May due to a crisis of confidence in Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, whose coalition had lost the majority in parliament and become dysfunctional.
He had been criticised over high unemployment, corruption, and his increasingly authoritarian style. But the trigger was his failure to secure the vote from Kosovo’s minorities on the creation of the Kosovo Armed Forces.
In order to fight the June election, Thaci’s PDK party teamed up with a mixed bag of political groups, including the religious Justice Party, and The Movement for National Union, which advocates unification with Albania.
Turnout was low and the results changed little.
PDK came top with about 30 percent. The Kosovo New Alliance party of plutocrat Behxhet Pacolli, a Thaci ally, did not get back into parliament. But a new faction, the Initiative for Kosovo Nisma, got in just three months after its launch.
Normally, the side which comes first – winning 61 or more out of 120 seats – forms the government.
Thaci cobbled together 37 seats. But an LDK-AAK-Nisma coalition, formed just two days ater the vote, got 47.
In Kosovo, 20 seats are reserved for minorities, which always side with whoever can get them into power, giving LDK-AAK-Nisma a clear majority of 67 seats.
That should have been that. But Thaci claimed that since his party came top, only he had the right to form a government.
Causing a mess
According to Kosovo’s constitution, the president gives the mandate to the side which can deliver a majority in parliament. Kosovo is still a new and fragile democracy – its institutions are not strong enough to resist the mountain of influence that people like Thaci can move on their own behalf.
But this is why the president failed to assert her authority and, instead, asked the constitutional court for a verdict. And this is why the court gave a confusing decision.
It said the party which came top can propose the government.
It also said that if this government fails to win majority support, then “it is at the discretion of the President of the Republic, after consultations with the parties or coalitions, to decide which party or coalition will be given the mandate to propose another candidate for prime minister”.
Its reasoning was blurry and controversial.
One judge even opposed the decision. In his dissenting opinion, American jurist Robert Carolan said the constitution gives the president “broad authority in nominating a candidate, who would have the best chance of obtaining the approval of the majority in the assembly”.
The parties accepted the ruling, however.
Thaci is still trying to forge a majority coalition even though it is crystal clear he won’t make it – the only party he can turn to, Vetvendosje, has vowed to shun him. If, or rather when, he fails, the president is expected to turn to LDK-AAK-Nisma.
If Kosovo authorities had taken into account the practice of well-established democracies we would not be in this mess.
Lesson from Luxemburg
Last year, the then Luxembourg prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, also called early elections.
His CSV party won 23 out of 60 seats, but despite coming first, three other parties – DP, LSAP and the Greens – created a coalition and left Juncker in the same shoes as Thaci.
Juncker also claimed the right to form a government. But the coalition’s candidate for PM, Xavier Bettel, said it is the parliamenary majority which counts. Green party leader, Francois Bausch, argued that “two-thirds of the voters did not vote for CSV … [so] it has no majority”.
Unlike Thaci, Juncker bowed out gracefully, even offering advice to Bettel on how to choose his cabinet.
The Luxembourg example should have showed Kosovo’s politicians, its president, and its court how to proceed.
The fact the president and the court fudged a decision in Thaci’s favour casts doubt on their competence in protecting Kosovo’s unity and democracy.
The biggest test of democracy is the peaceful transfer of power by the will of the majority. Coalition rule is an expression of that will, not of force.
But Thaci has proved he has little respect for democratic values. He wants to rule no matter what. And the guardians of Kosovo’s constitution have proved they are willing to serve power and influence instead of the law.
The writer is a graduate from Lund University, in Sweden, with a masters in European Affairs
Bosnian Croat Fighters Indicted for Multiple Rapes (BIRN, 16 July 2014)
Four former fighters were charged with crimes against civilians, including multiple rapes, torture and humiliating sexual abuse of Serb women, in the Odzak area in the summer of 1992.
The Bosnian prosecution on Wednesday indicted Marijan Brnjic, Martin Barukcic and Pavo and Ilija Glavas, all wartime members of the 102nd brigade of the Croatian Defence Council in Odzak in northern Bosnia.
According to the indictment, they seized their Serb victims from various locations in the Odzak area and then raped, beat, abused and humiliated them.
The indictment has been forwarded to the Bosnian court for confirmation.
Court: Dutch not liable for most Srebrenica deaths (AP, 16 July 2014)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A court has cleared the Netherlands of liability in the deaths of the vast majority of the 8,000 Bosnian Muslims slain in the Srebrenica massacre 19 years ago, but says it has to compensate the families of more than 300 men turned over to Bosnian Serb forces and later killed.
The decision Wednesday was a victory for only a fraction of the families of men and boys slain in the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.
In an emotionally charged hearing at a civil court in The Hague, judges said Dutch U.N. peacekeepers should have known that more than 300 men deported from the Dutch compound by Bosnian Serb forces on July 13, 1995, would be slain.
The court did not say how much compensation the families should receive.
The Macedonian Revolts: A Dangerous Development (Daily Sabah, by Nedim Emin, 16 July 2014)
Last weekend, large crowds took to the streets of Skopje to protest a Macedonian court’s decision to hand down life sentences to six individuals of Albanian origin. The protests revealed that the delicate balance of power between various ethnic groups is hanging by a thread. Meanwhile, clashes between demonstrators and security forces resulted in injuries and mass arrests, as participants objected to a number of practices.
Noting that they did not recognize the court decision, the masses accused Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of implementing nationalist policies. The Albanian minority, however, also targeted the Democratic Union of Integration (DUI), a coalition partner and successor of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a guerilla organization which clashed with Macedonians during the 2001 insurgency. The Albanian community maintains that Gruevski, whom they perceive as an ultra-nationalist politician, seeks to eliminate the influence of the Albanian members of his administration.
As such, many Albanians today believe that the DUI falls short of protecting their rights adequately. The developments give rise to increasingly harsh criticism that there is a growing gap between the Albanian community’s demands and the narrow channels of political representation in the country.
What Angry Demonstrators Want
The demonstrations in various Macedonian cities mobilized Albanians as a Macedonian court sentenced six Albanians to life in prison for the murder of five Macedonians despite a lack of concrete evidence. The main reason that disagreement with the court ruling evolved into a full-blown uprising, however, was that the Albanian community have grown distrustful of the criminal justice system and government institutions in recent years. The intense rhetoric of Macedonian nationalism and the government’s discrimination against Albanians under Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski continue to erode the Albanian community’s confidence in the state. Furthermore, there is widespread concern that Prime Minister Gruevski’s government seeks to slow down the ongoing process to grant broader minority rights to the Albanian community and to facilitate the country’s domination by ethnic Macedonians. As such, the most recent wave of anti-government protests do not merely represent a popular reaction to a controversial court decision but indicate that the grievances which accumulated over the years have become explosive.
The revolts also attest to the widespread frustration among ethnic Albanians that the DUI, which they have steadily supported since 2002, failed to formulate an adequate response to the political maneuvering of Prime Minister Gruevski. Often accused of turning a blind eye to the Albanian community’s discontent and sensitivities, the DUI leadership’s passive stance on a number of issues paves the way for a crisis of representation for its supporters. This situation, in turn, makes it more likely for the underrepresented groups to voice their demands through violent means.
A remake of the 2001 insurgency?
Although the ethnically-motivated insurgency of 2001, when Macedonians clashed with Albanians, ended with dialogue, the underlying elements of the event remain largely intact. The Ohrid Framework Agreement, which sought to guarantee the rights of all minorities, alleviated ethnic tensions to some extent, but these steps proved inadequate to persuade citizens to operate within the country’s multi-ethnic order. It takes a lengthy and trying process, after all, for a country to heal the wounds of ethnic conflict. Addressing such explosions, therefore, inevitably requires a sign of sincerity from the authorities regarding peace between various ethnic groups as well as concrete practices rather than formal agreements. Left untreated and ignored, ethnic problems have the potential to place the country’s stability at risk and to cause even more serious troubles down the road.
The current crisis in Macedonia is directly related to Prime Minister Gruevski’s growing influence over the nation’s politics and bureaucracy as well as his ever-apparent lack of interest in the Albanian community’s demands. What distinguished the most recent confrontation from its predecessors, however, is that the general population now perceives that the Albanian political elite is no longer able to respond to the Prime Minister’s challenges – which, to some degree, is reminiscent of the early stages of the 2001 ethnic crisis. At the time, violent clashes had shaken the legitimacy of Albanian political parties among the people and the Albanian community turned to extra parliamentary methods in pursuit of their rights. Even if the conditions today are entirely different, in order to avoid a similar crisis, the Gruevski administration and the DUI leadership must reassess the factors at play and revisit some of their current positions.
* Research Assistant, SETA Foundation Ankara
Slovenia’s next prime minister (The Economist, by T.J., 15 July 2014)
MIRO CERAR looks a little like a man in shock. On June 2nd the mild-mannered, 50-year old academic formed a political party named after himself. On July 13th Miro Cerar won more than one-third of the votes in Slovenia’s general election, which means that Mr Cerar (pictured) is almost certain to be Slovenia’s next prime minister. His victory was not much of a surprise. Opinion polls had predicted a crushing victory.
Mr Cerar will have 36 seats in the 90-seat parliament. He will spend the next few weeks in talks to build a government. Only one party is ruled out, he says, namely the conservative Slovenian Democratic Party of Janez Jansa, the former prime minister, the second-largest party in parliament. Mr Jansa was jailed for corruption on June 20th. Peter Suhel, an official of the Slovenian Democratic Party, claims the trial was politically motivated.
Mr Cerar’s coalition will probably include the pensioners’ party, which came third in the election. Mr Cerar will also be talking to a new left-wing coalition, which did surprisingly well. He will consult with the Social Democrats, who suffered a humiliating defeat, as well as the new party of Alenka Bratusek, the outgoing prime minister. Ms Bratusek formed her own party after falling out with Zoran Jankovic, the leader of Positive Slovenia, which won the election in 2011, but has now been chucked out of parliament.
Mr Cerar is not unknown at home. When the last government of Mr Jansa collapsed in February 2013, the idea of an interim government of technocrats was mooted and Ms Bratusek asked Mr Cerar, who has been advising parliament for almost a quarter of a century on constitutional affairs, whether he would become prime minister. Mr Cerar turned down the offer because, he says, he realised he would be powerless without his own political party.
With a group of up to 80 people, Mr Cerar then began working on a political programme. The idea was to form a party in time for the next election, but they had not anticipated it would come so soon. But when Ms Bratusek’s government resigned in May, he says, “we realised it was now or never, even though we were not really ready.” Mr Cerar is opposed to the confrontational style of Slovene politics, which has become the norm in the last few years, but which many believe does not suit the country’s political culture.
Mr Cerar is likely to form a left-leaning cabinet. He says he is against the privatisation of assets of strategic importance. His government will look at how far the sell-off of Telekom Slovenije and Ljubljana airport has advanced. If he finds that it is too late to halt or modify those sales, Mr Cerar pledges they will go ahead because “we must preserve the credibility of Slovenia as a state”.
Mr Cerar is the son of distinguished parents. His father was a well-known Olympic gymnast and his mother was Slovenia’s prosecutor general and a minister of justice. Many of his campaign promises seemed rather bland. According to Tomaz Saunik, an analyst, this blandness was the best way to gather many voters who are disgruntled with the main parties and politicians they perceive as corrupt. “He is introverted, modest and traditionalist,” says Mr Saunik. His attraction lies in the fact that this is how many Slovenes see themselves.