LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic against sanctions to Russia (FoNet/Informer)

“Serbia should in no way join the sanctions against Russia, since such a move would be disastrous for us,” Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said. Nikolic told Informer that he doesn’t intend to interfere in the government jurisdictions, which includes the foreign policy, but he opines that Serbia should not join the sanctions against anyone, including Russia. According to Nikolic, an eventual conflict with Russia would be the worst possible path for Serbia, FoNet reports. “Introducing sanctions to Russia would have unforeseeable political consequences, such as staying without support in the United Nations Security Council and breaking brotherly relations of two nations for which our predecessors fought,” warned Nikolic. Internal peace and stability would be threatened, noted Nikolic, “while economic damage, which no one could restore to us, would be measured with hundreds of millions of Euros annually.”

Keefe: Serbia can count on London’s support (Radio Belgrade)

British Ambassador to Serbia Denis Keefe has stated that Serbia can continue to count on the support of the British government on its EU path, and that London expects the resumption of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. “We support the dialogue and the Brussels agreement, there are difficulties at the moment over the elections and the change of the government in Pristina, but for us it is very important for the dialogue and implementation process of the Brussels agreement to resume,” Keefe said in interview to Radio Belgrade. Asked whether Great Britain expects Serbia to establish, in the foreseeable future but before joining the EU, some sort of recognition of Kosovo or whether this will be left as an open issue until the end, the British Ambassador said: “We will see. The EU policy is that normalization of relations is necessary. We in Great Britain recognize Kosovo and it is clear that this issue is crucial for the negotiations. These chapters will be very important, but we will see.” Asked whether Britain is Serbia’s ally today, Ambassador Keefe responds positively. “You have our support. My task in Belgrade is simple and for me pleasant – support to negotiations, reforms, Serbia’s positive role in the region,” Keefe pointed out.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Results dispelling myth of KLA’s “just struggle” (RTS)

The results of the EULEX’s Special Investigative Task Force have dispelled the myth of the “just liberating battle” of the KLA, which was used, among other things, to justify the independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo, unilaterally proclaimed by the former leaders of that terrorist organization, stated the Russian Foreign Ministry. In the comment on the preliminary results of the investigation into the trafficking in human organs, presented by Clint Williamson, it is underlined that Moscow expects the culprits for the committed crimes to be punished, regardless of what position they hold today. The statement reminds that Williamson had stated having sufficient evidence to raise the indictments against some of the high activists of the former KLA, for their crimes against the Serbs, Roma and others.

Miscevic: EU membership – strategic choice of Serbia (Beta)

There is no doubt that the Belgrade authorities are clearly committed to Serbia joining the EU, sated Tanja Miscevic, the head of the Serbian team in the EU accession talks. Speaking of the pressure on Serbia in view of the relations with Russia and Ukrainian crisis, she pointed a very good characteristic of the common foreign policy of the EU is that a state may hold on its argument position in some regard. Miscevic has assessed that Brussels will accept Belgrade’s arguments, although it is unsure if the Union will completely like it or not. She reminded that some of the most significant states of the EU had rather good relations with Russia, but the problem is when a crisis emerges and the member-states react in differing ways. Most importantly, there are no differences between Serbia and any of the EU countries on the need to establish peace in Ukraine, as well as in Gaza and other parts of the world, the head of the Serbian negotiating team underlined.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: The West, at some most difficult moment for its full membership in the EU, will require Serbia to recognize Kosovo (Danas)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said that he does not believe the investigation into the war crimes against Kosovo Serbs, led by international prosecutor Clint Williamson, will result in an indictment being issued against Hashim Thaqi due to the insufficient engagement in the past and the passage of time. Dodik said that the only novelty in Williamson’s report on human organ trafficking is the admission from such a high position that there is reasonable suspicion that body organs of Kosovo Serbs were traded in. “It is obvious that there is evidence and that there was evidence. Dick Marty had evidence, but was prevented from conducting an investigation, and Carla Del Ponte also had it. Many Serbs were tried on the basis of supposed collective responsibility. Biljana Plavsic, who had nothing to do with crimes but was in a leading position, was condemned. And now (in case of the KLA) a great quantity of evidence needs to be collected,” Dodik told Danas. Dodik said that the West will try to “soften up” Serbia more and more, so that at some most difficult moment for its full membership in the EU, it will require Serbia to recognize Kosovo. “They are interested in the position of Serbia only in the sense that they want to break it up. They will not allow it to become a member regardless of all the reforms Serbia may implement. I think that even Serbian politicians understand that they will be required to do it regardless of the fact that not the entire EU has recognized Kosovo and that the EU itself is violating its own principles,” Dodik said. Dodik asked how can one explain that the EU is working on a stabilization and association agreement with Kosovo despite five EU countries not having recognized it. “The games of the powerful are clear. Sometimes I don’t understand what their great interest in this is…Today I felt sick to my stomach when I read that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he regretted supporting the bombing of Serbia in 1999,” Dodik said. The President said that the West, just as in case of B&H when it hurried in April to recognize a country that does not exist even today, was too hasty in recognizing Kosovo. Asked how long Serbia will be able to maintain a balance between the EU’s request to change its policy towards Russia and friendly relations with Moscow, Dodik said that the EU is “highly heterogeneous when it comes to this issue.” He is convinced that Serbia will not impose any sanctions against Russia and will not side with the West. “The crisis in Ukraine will pass, but Serbian sanctions would not be forgotten by Russia. It would be too great a luxury for Serbia to impose sanctions against a friendly country such as Russia,” Dodik said. “In any case, they want to challenge Serbia. I think it is not at all easy for the Serbian leadership. The hypocrisy of certain important ambassadors who demand the recognition of a Ukraine with the Crimea – whereas Kosovo is a glaring example of different policy – indicates the hypocrisy of the great powers,” Dodik said.

Nimetz: No progress in name talks (Republika)

“There is no progress in the name talks,” said UN envoy Matthew Nimetz after Wednesday’s meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. Nimetz communicated his impressions from the meetings in Skopje, whereas Venizelos reiterated Greece’s position and asked the UN envoy to resume with his efforts towards finding a solution. He said no proposal was put on the table. “I have presented ideas in the past, some accepted by one or the other side. I believe this is an issue that everyone wants to see resolved. Considering the mutual wish for a solution and the fact there are ideas that could serve as a foundation for such solution, I believe this issue can be settled”, stressed Nimetz. Asked when was the last time he spoke with the Greek President of Prime Minister on the issue, he said President Papoulias was never part of the talks. “As far as I know, the Greek President is not involved in the issue. I have talked with PM Samaras in the past. I know his positions, we have had direct talks. Discussions with the foreign minister give me a clear picture of the PM’s position”, said Nimetz. He recalled on the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over this issue, adding he is in contact with other governments showing interest in the problem. “This is an issue many governments want to see resolved. Merkel and the German government are in the category of those wanting to solve problems that have been on the table for a long time”, said Nimetz.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

War Veterans Condemn EU’s Kosovo Crimes Report (BIRN, by Edona Peci, 30 July 2014)
Kosovo’s War Veterans Association said that a new EU report stating that senior Kosovo Liberation Army officials will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity was “ridiculous”
The War Veterans Association on Wednesday condemned the EU Special Investigative Task Force report into alleged crimes committed after the 1999 conflict, calling it “illogical, ridiculous and tendentious”.
The association said that the report represented “the continuation of a special war against freedom fighters and against the Kosovo Liberation Army due to the interests of Serbia and the enemies of the Albanian nation”.
The report published on Tuesday said that unnamed senior KLA officials will face indictments for crimes against humanity.
The task force’s lead prosecutor Clint Williamson has urged the authorities in Pristina to help establish a new Netherlands-based special court with international judges which will prosecute crimes related to the Kosovo war “as soon as possible”. The court is expected to start work next year.
But the War Veterans Association said it “will protect anyone who might be accused by this political court”.
The non-governmental Humanitarian Law Centre in Pristina said however that it supported the EU Special Investigative Task Force report.
It said that the task force and the new court had the potential to remove obstacles faced by previous UN and EU mission in Kosovo and convince the public “of the need to prosecute KLA members who killed Serbs and Roma”.
South Stream: A Bridge Between East and West (Natural Gas Europe, 31 July 2014)
On 2 July in Vienna, Austria, Mr. Zeljko Sertic, President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, announced that his organization, along with the Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria and Hungary, had signed a cooperative agreement whose name had been changed to the Danube Energy Initiative (DEI), an agreement towards formal cooperation on economic development and energy security. The DEI, he said, would coordinate communications between governments, businesses and civil society to ensure more coordinated energy policy in Southeast and Central Europe.
He explained, “The idea of defining an effective model of regional energy community with a view to the stability and security of the energy sector market, mutual exchange of information and the benefit of a cheaper product for the end-user was initiated on the basis of common aspirations and launched 3 months ago in Varna in Bulgaria,” he recalled.
Mr. Sertic said that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, in cooperation with the Chambers of Commerce of Bulgaria and Hungary, had recognized the need for an association, an energy community that was regional, specifically involving representatives of companies potentially interested in one of the related areas of the functioning of these countries’ regional governments.
His organization, he recalled, had organized in Belgrade in late May an expert panel which had drawn over 100 representatives of relevant institutions, like media, diplomats and interested parties in the regional energy market in order to define a common approach to energy policy in Southeast Europe.
“The energy sector is one of the strategic areas of mutual development of Serbia and the region,” he explained. “Energy developments are reflected in the monetization and privatization of electric power plants and construction of new ones, based both on conventional energy sources and renewable.”
One of the biggest investments in the region in the last several decades, he noted, would be South Stream, to the tune of EUR 70 billion. Mr. Sertic commented, “It will bring direct and indirect benefits to the regional economy, attracting investors and encourage job creation. Benefits for Serbia and the regional economy will be visible from the first phase which will engage thousands of people and many more workers from construction companies, equipment manufacturers as well as companies from the service sector.”
He added that a number of experts would be hired for maintaining the pipeline.
The project, he said, connected not only the physical sense the Balkan countries, but also to the leading gas producer and to the developed countries of the EU. He offered, “It can be said that these countries represent a bridge between East and West which gives them special importance and a strategic position in the future relations of the region, Europe and Russia.”
According to Mr. Sertic, the financial gain and benefits would be felt by all citizens, creating new investment possibilities in energy and the chemical industries.
“Regional networking and cooperation between enterprises is reality and it’s very important for the implementation of such projects, both in the construction phase and during operation.”
He contended that without an association of institutions and stakeholders of the energy infrastructure, there would be no economic recovery, prosperity or investment.
Imre Toth, Honorary President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, also offered his thoughts on the Danube Energy Initiative’s efforts, which would be pleasing the thousands of enterprises in the region. He stated, “Energy security is of great importance to industry because it increases investment, boosts GDP and could increase our competitiveness.”
Mr. Toth added that he liked the more central route recently unveiled for South Stream’s path through Hungary that would reach the Baumgarten natural gas hub in Austria.
Explaining that he was supportive of the DEI, he said he believed it would speed up implementation of the project. “Let’s continue this discussion in September in Buapest,” suggested Mr. Toth, referring to the next event in the Gas Dialogues series this year.
Mr. Vasil Todorov, Secretary General and Member of the Executive Council of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he was glad to see the numerous representatives of governmental bodies, business and energy experts who he alleged had one and the same goal: ensuring Europe’s energy future.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, he said, had endeavored to broaden awareness of business and citizens on the construction of the South Stream pipeline and development of the Balkan energy market.
“Among our priorities is the diversification of energy sources; this is related to the need for coordinated action by the states in Central and Southeast Europe, establishing a competitive market, lowering prices and energy costs, improving export as well as opportunities for the diversification and effective use of renewable energy sources,” offered Mr. Todorov.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said, stood for the development of any energy project that addressed transparency and visibility. He explained, “This means public discussions, open procedures with real rules and conservation of rules of competitiveness and competition.
“Secondly, indisputable and visible benefits for business and citizens; third, diversification of energy sources, suppliers, etc.”
According to him, initiatives for connecting Europe’s gas networks remained a priority as Europe was currently focusing significant effort and investments toward this objective. “The expectations for these projects are associated with a sharp increase in the efficiency of the energy system, including generation and transmission, which is of medium importance for the Balkan energy market,” he said.
Mr. Todorov opined that all countries in the region faced the problem of developing alternative energy sources and related provision of local sources of energy commodities, plus the need to reduce energy imports. “This requires a proactive approach to creating the conditions for exploration and production of natural gas and other energy resources.”
Of the DEI, he said, “I’m convinced that with constructive conversations as we’re having today, the benefits of diversification of the Balkan energy market and the Central European energy market will be reviewed and explained, all stakeholders reaching consensus and defining the goals of the future energy market,” concluded Mr. Todorov.
Finally, Mr. Sertic revealed that the DEI plans on expanding its members with Chambers from other countries in Southeast and Central Europe, to discuss new specific energy projects going forward.
Drew Leifheit is Natural Gas Europe’s new media specialist.
Serbian Ambassador Praises ‘Freedom Fighter’ Gavrilo Princip (BIRN, 30 July 2014)
The Bosnian Serb assassin who shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and helped spark World War I was seeking the liberation of his people, said Serbia’s ambassador to Canada.
Princip’s assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 was an attempt to liberate his country from Austro-Hungarian rule, the Serbian ambassador to Canada Mihailo Papazoglu wrote in an article for Canada’s National Post on Tuesday.
In the article, timed to mark the centenary of the outbreak of armed hostilities between Serbian and Austro-Hungarian forces on July 28, 1914, Papazoglu did not praise the killing but said that many Serbs at the time shared “the same dream of freedom”.
“To many of his countrymen [at that time], he is a freedom fighter. A tiny few consider him a terrorist,” Papazoglu wrote.
“Why did it all happen? Simply because he refused to go from being a Turkish Ottoman subject to an Austro-Hungarian subject, from a Middle East model of apartheid to a Mitteleuropa one,” he added.
Princip died in custody in 1918, six months before the war ended.
“An underage self-proclaimed freedom fighter, he never got to see the armistice, and the liberation for which he gave his life,” the ambassador wrote.
While some Serbs see Princip as a hero, others in the former Yugoslav region consider him a terrorist, and schools in former Yugoslav countries teach different histories about the causes of the 1914-18 war, reflecting more recent conflicts in the region, as a recent BIRN investigation showed.
At a ceremony to mark the centenary on Monday, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic also praised the “heroism” of the fight to liberate the country from Austro-Hungarian rule during World War I.
However plans to unveil a new monument to Princip in Belgrade were shelved.
More muddling through in Bosnia and Herzegovina? (TransConflict, by Dr. Valery Perry, 31 July 2014)
Constitutional reform is never a “panacea,” in any country. However, by engaging citizens, creating opportunities for litigation and targeting constituencies ready and able to demand accountability in targeted areas, the language of reform can at least be normalized and, perhaps even democratized
In his recent blog post Florian Bieber used two recent initiatives to frame his contention that constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) should not be prioritized by the international community, seemingly arguing in favor of maintaining the current and ineffectual policy of muddling through.  In a piece published on TransConflict on July 9, I preemptively explained why this approach will not lead to stability, change or results. However, a few points deserve renewed emphasis.
First, it is useful to briefly note the different characteristics of the two recent constitutional reform proposals he mentions. The International Crisis Group (ICG), in its most recent – and allegedly final– report on BiH provides a lengthy diagnosis of BiH’s political and constitutional problems, and then suggests (among other things) reforms that would essentially institutionalize the political party cadre known as the “sextet”, replacing the three constituent peoples with three (seemingly identical) “language communities,” and seeking additional mechanisms to ensure Croat control over Croat-majority areas. By building the parties into this reform, and essentially reverse-engineering the constitution to fit the political reality, ICG presumes that the institutions of BiH could secure the 28 votes needed to get such a reform through parliament.
Coalition 143 (K-143) proposes a fundamentally reformed governing and constitutional structure through changes that would strengthen municipalities, create direct links between local constituencies and state-level parliamentary representation and render the middle layers of government (cantons, entities) unnecessary. To get to the necessary 28 votes, K-143 proposes to build a constituency of support from the ground up through civic outreach to dissatisfied citizens, as well as from disempowered mayors who often get the blame for poor local governance, but now have neither the authority nor the funding to create sound local policies.  (Consider, for example, the recent flood preparation and response debates.)
Second, Dr. Bieber’s fairly minimal reference to engaging citizens in the development of any constituencies of reform seems to suggest a trust in reform through institutions and procedures without the requirement that institutions be truly and directly accountable to the citizens they should represent.  In a June posting, he noted that the 2014 plenum phenomena had mostly “run their course,” while admitting that for a short time the plenums had frightened political elites and showed that there are some new ideas.  His most recent posting notes, however, that “there is little to show that Bosnian citizens have a shared political project,” while then averring that a demand for change by voters in October could lead to new policies.  While putting the onus for the country’s political morass squarely on the shoulders of voters is often favored by domestic and international actors, it is difficult to see how the menu of candidates for the upcoming general elections could lead to transformative change. Who are the candidates offering such a platform? Who are reform-minded citizens interested in a “new political project” supposed to vote for? In the absence of a significant and active protest vote by citizens ready to show their dissatisfaction with the entire political system, expecting meaningful change through the ballot box is an irresponsible pipedream.
Third, while Dr. Bieber rightly addresses the difference between a “big bang” and incremental approach to constitutional reform, he makes the same mistake that many observers make in viewing constitutional reform as being primarily about high-level representation and electoral issues (Sejdic-Finci, the number of representatives in the House of Peoples, etc.).  Such a focus makes sense from the perspective of local actors interested in maintaining the status quo because it is difficult to build a grassroots constituency of citizen support for reforms that are, to be honest, legalistic, technical and divorced from the realities of day to day life. A more meaningful effort at incremental reform should be built on understandable and achievable constitutional reforms (state-level competencies in agriculture, a single economic space, stronger local governance, energy and environmental policy, etc.) that could win broad-based civic constituencies of support. This kind of targeted and sector-specific approach could achieve two main purposes: 1) address the need for streamlining and practical reforms made so painfully evident since the February protests and the May floods; and 2) demonstrate to civic constituencies that they can mobilize and even get to the 28 votes needed to make reforms a reality. There is already at least one such effort taking place at present through a cross-entity civic movement to establish state-level agricultural competencies and polling strongly suggests that citizens are ready for such targeted common sense reforms. Should such existing efforts be supported, or be dismissed as unrealistic?
Fourth, Dr. Bieber notes the need to engage more effectively with BiH institutions through a “procedural approach” to constitutional reform, presumably within parliament and other governing institutions. He does not note, however, that this has been both tried before and continues today through technical and expert support programs, workshops, training sessions and study trips, but with no evident results. The Sejdic-Finci debacle demonstrates the inability of parliament to solve problems or even to identify reasonable solutions.  Their failure – and their passing of responsibility back to the parties – shows that the institutions do not and cannot in fact work outside party agendas. (From this perspective, the ICG report is at least honest in proposing to institutionalize the parties.) The UNDP in BiH, with support from UN experts, has been seeking to engage parliamentarians, and, to a lesser extent, activists, in procedural and technical approaches to constitutional reform through workshops and consultations for over three years, but with no signs of progress. The EU had allocated IPA funding of some one million euro to support a procedural/institutional approach to constitutional reform. This money was reallocated when talk of constitutional reform beyond Sejdic-Finci became verboten. Other donors have funded multiple efforts to professionalize the parliaments, provide them with technical support and create public-consultation mechanisms between citizens and parliament for well over a decade. None has created a fertile environment for reform, and there is little evidence to suggest that yet more procedural support in the absence of a system built on accountability would work either.
Finally, constitutional reform is never a “panacea,” in any country; I noted this on July 9. However, by engaging citizens, creating opportunities for litigation and targeting constituencies ready and able to demand accountability in targeted areas, the language of reform can at least be normalized and, perhaps most importantly, democratized.
The talks that Dr. Bieber noted in Berlin that spurred his commentary are very likely grounded in the international community’s – and, in particular, Germany’s – desire for “stability” in BiH. However, just as one should not confuse support for the status quo political system with neutrality, one should not conflate stagnation with stability.  The notion that nothing can be done, and that muddling through is the best option, can be a comforting policy recommendation for decision-makers distracted by crisis spots around the globe and serious issues at home. It is always bureaucratically the easiest thing to do. However, any approach that does not address the root problem in BiH politics – the lack of any political, democratic accountability – will ensure that the entire post-Dayton investment remains on increasingly fragile foundations.
Dr. Valery Perry has worked for organizations including the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR), the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI) and several NGOs. She worked at the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo from 2004 – 2011, as Deputy Director of the Education Department, and Deputy Director of the Human Dimension Department. She recently served as Chief of Party for the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) in Sarajevo, implementing a project to increase civil society engagement in constitutional reform processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is currently a PILPG Senior Peace Fellow and a Senior Associate in the Democratization Policy Council. All opinions are her own.
6 jailed in Macedonia over murder trial riots (AP, 31 July 2014)
A court in Macedonia has sentenced six ethnic Albanian men to three years in prison each for their participation in violent protests triggered by a murder trial that fueled ethnic tension in the former Yugoslav republic.
The men, convicted Wednesday, were arrested this month during extensive clashes with police outside a court following the trial of suspects for the so-called Smilkovci Lake killings in 2012, when five ethnic Macedonian fishermen were shot dead.
The government had described the killings as part of an attempt to destabilize the country by militant separatists from the ethnic Albanian minority, and six other suspects were jailed for life following an 18-month trial.
Critics of the government described a police crackdown following the murders as excessive and said authorities had failed to prevent sectarian rioting.