LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue needs to resume (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric and Finnish Ambassador to Serbia Pekka Orpana agreed that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina needed to resume towards normalizing relations. According to a release from the Office, Djuric spoke to the ambassador of Finland and his deputy Outi Isotalo about the current situation in the province and Belgrade’s expectations concerning the provincial government to be formed, as well as the implementation of agreements reached within the framework of the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. “Full implementation of the Brussels agreement, formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities and resuming the dialogue with Pristina, and also resolving daily problems faced by residents of Kosovo and Metohija, are currently the most important issues for us to focus on.” Djuric said. He said that Belgrade was interested in stability and normalization of relations, for which, as he put it, a constructive partner was needed.

Progress in normalization of energy relations between Belgrade and Pristina (Tanjug)

The operators for electricity transmission systems Elektromreza Srbija (EMS) and Kosovo (KOCTT) reached a turning point in the process of normalization of relations, the European Energy Union stated. Within the implementation of the Brussels agreement, the EMS and KOCTT are conducting negotiations on the management of electricity transmission systems on the territory of Kosovo. Ever since the Brussels agreement had been signed, these negotiations have been conducted in phases and they will continue in the following period as well, until the KOCTT meets the requirements of the European network of transmission system operators. The high-level meeting between the representatives of two operators, the European network of transmission system operators for electricity (ENTSO-E) and the Secretariat of the Energy Union was held on 23 October in Brussels and represents an official beginning of negotiations between the KOCTT and the ENTSO-E on future responsibilities of the KOCTT based on independent management of one part of the synchronized network of energy transmission.

Serbia meets obligations by joining UN Treaty (Tanjug)

Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic said that ratifying the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which the Serbian parliament was discussing yesterday, would contribute to Serbia’s fulfillment of international obligations. “Serbia is among the bigger exporters of defense industry products, and the signing and ratification of the ATT for Serbia means that it will continue to strengthen its overall administrative and other capacities in this area,” Gasic said in the parliament. The ATT was adopted by the UN General Assembly in April 2013. The signing of the treaty started in June the same year. The treaty will enter into force on 24 December this year. It had to be ratified by at least 50 states. Gasic said that Serbia would be among the countries fulfilling their international obligations when it comes to conventional arms transfer, a confirmation that it followed the policies, objectives and standards of the EU in all terms. The Arms Trade Treaty has so far been signed by 121 states and ratified by 54. Serbia signed the document on 12 August 2013.

Five Serb houses torn down in Djakovica (Politika)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric condemned yesterday the tearing down of five Serb houses in Djakovica, requesting the international community and Pristina authorities to prevent such activities and enable safety for the Serbs. “We expect and demand from the international community and provisional institutions in Pristina to prevent that,” said Djuric, recalling that around 12,000 Serbs lived in Djakovica until 1999, and now none of them can return to their homes. Serb houses were torn down on the same day when the Minister for Communities and Return in the Kosovo government Dalibor Jeftic offered full support to the requests of the displaced Djakovica residents and requested the respect of their basic human rights. He pointed out that a disappointing fact is that displaced Djakovica residents cannot visit even their town on a religious holiday, let alone their homes. The displaced Serbs from Djakovica also sent a letter to the U.S. Ambassador in Pristina Tracey Jacobson, requesting protection of their basic rights and property. At the beginning of October, the terrain was searched on the Piskota location near Djakovica, where, according to some indications, the mortal remains of Serbs abducted in this region, could be found. After just one day, the media reported that the mortal remains were not found, but the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution pointed out that the search of the terrain has just commenced, noting that it was risky on the terrain since these activities attracted the attention of former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who had been appearing on the scene.

RIK: Voting to be repeated at four polling stations (Beta)

The Republican Election Commission (RIK) accepted last night the complaints, thus annulling elections for the national minority councils at three polling stations in Tutin and one polling station in the Bujanovac municipality. A total of 33 complaints were submitted, 21 of which were submitted by the list “For Bosniaks of Sandzak and mufti”.

Manzo: Italy proposed opening of first chapter; Belgrade reached historically important agreement with Pristina (Tanjug)

As the chairing country of the EU Council, Italy is ready to help Serbia in opening the first negotiating chapter in the process of association with the EU, stated Italian Ambassador in Belgrade Giuseppe Manzo. Italy has it on the agenda and that topic will be on the table, Manzo said during the debate on the role of the EU Council chairing, held at the EU stand at the Belgrade Book Fair. The Italian Ambassador has stated there is no “fatigue” from the enlargement process, but the timing of opening the negotiating chapters does not depend on Italy, but on the decision of all the member-states, since all decisions on EU enlargement are made by consensus. Manzo has reminded that Belgrade had reached a historically important agreement on normalization of relations with Pristina.

EULEX Prosecutor: I’ll make an earthquake in the EU (Blic)

Suspended EULEX Prosecutor Maria Bamieh, said that she will publish information on the European Union mission in Kosovo, “which will cause an earthquake in the EU”. Bamieh was suspended after the Pristina daily Koha Ditore published an article about Bamieh’s allegations of corruption of senior officials of EULEX. The decision on her suspension was signed by the EULEX Chief Gabriele Meucci before the daily published an article about corruption affair which allegedly involved Jaroslav Novotny and the President of the Assembly of Judges Francesco Flora, as well as the Kosovo Special Prosecutor Jonathan Ratel. “If I’m suspended and if they want to turn me into a new Julian Assange, I will act in that way,” she said Bamieh. EULEX has refused to comment on the allegations.

REGIONAL PRESS

Secret intelligence agents from Islamic countries all over B&H (Politika’s correspondent in Sarajevo)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) already has 650 members of the Iranian secret intelligence services, but also other Islamic countries, reported the Croatian daily Jutarnji list, referring to the information of Western intelligence services. The text is carried by the Sarajevo media, while Jutarnji list states that intelligence in B&H has 330 additional names of foreign secret intelligence officers, “which means that about 1,000 secret intelligence service members from Islamic countries are currently active in this country”. The whole story, according to the same source, is rooted in the era before the war in B&H when the Iranian authorities established good relations with the political party of Alija Izetegovic, led today by his son Bakir who was elected, for the second time, at the last general election as a member of the B&H Presidency. Iran immediately offered all its services, including the military and intelligence, regardless of the fact that they are a Shiite country, while Bosnian Muslims are Sunni. However, “Tehran then realized that he has a nearly unique opportunity to establish a cell through which it could co-ordinate their operations in this area, in the heart of Europe.” B&H, under pressure from Western intelligence services took steps to alleviate this impact, and has expelled two Iranian diplomats last year, but according to Jutarnji list, the situation has not calmed down. “The Iranian secret service builds strong contacts with the Wahhabi in Gornja Maoca, although they are enemies in their own region.” After the war in B&H ended, the Iranian secret service continued its work by shifting to cultural and religious issues – the most important headquarter points of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in B&H are in scientific and research institutes, “Ibn Sina” and “Persian-Bosnian College” which opened in 1999 in Ilijas, while members of the intelligence group “Vevak” operate through diplomatic channels, reports Jutarnji list. In the following, it is emphasized that the goal is clear: “To maximally strengthen the Bosniak element in B&H in order to ensure their influence via them. In this sense, particularly important is the connection towards Vienna, which has, as repeatedly stressed, became a focal point of action of the radical Islamist option in this part of Europe.” Croatia, too, found itself being a part of that plan, as Iran soon recognized its independence and opened an embassy with a large number of diplomatic staff, disproportionate to the level of relations. In addition to that, a wide network of “humanitarian” organizations was established in Croatia at the time, which offered help to a large number of refugees, primarily from B&H, but it soon became clear that most of these organizations were dealing exclusively with secret intelligence. “Therefore, the government revoked the permission for operating for most of these organizations, but some of them remained active and connected with the operations of arming the Bosniaks with Iranian weapons in 1994, with the participation of the U.S. Ambassador to Croatia who was there at the time, and the silent support of the Croatian authorities,” reports Zagrebacki dnevnik. Member of the expert team of Southeast Europe for fight against terrorism Dzevad Galijasevic stated that the information published by the Croatian newspaper is “clear evidence that official Zagreb seriously takes the risk of radical Islam being spread in B&H”. Galijasevic is not surprised by the facts that “the agents of the Iranian intelligence service are most active” in B&H, and warns of the presence of a large number of Turkish secret intelligence agents. “It would be good to pay more attention to the functioning of the Turkish secret intelligence, because according to reliable data, the number of Turkish secret intelligence agents in Sarajevo is 500,” Galijasevic told the Republika Srpska media.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Prosecutor alleges bribery at EU Kosovo mission (EUbusiness.com, 28 October 2014)

(PRISTINA) – A British prosecutor at the European Union’s police and justice mission in Kosovo on Tuesday accused top officials at the body of taking bribes to halt high-profile criminal cases.

The European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) refused to comment on the allegations but said the prosecutor herself, Maria Bamieh, had been suspended pending an internal inquiry into leaks of confidential documents.

EULEX was launched in 2008 in order to strengthen the rule of law in Kosovo, just months after it broke away from Serbia, and now has 2,000 staff.

Its prosecutors and judges have the power to step in and take on sensitive cases that cannot be handled effectively by the local judiciary.

Asked if EULEX officials were taking bribes to halt some high-profile cases, Bamieh told AFP: “Yes.”

She accuses three senior EULEX officials of taking bribes in 2012 and 2013 from local criminals to drop or obstruct three cases of organised crime including murder.

“I don’t know what their (EULEX officials) explanations are, but it is my duty as a prosecutor to report this stuff if I come across it. If I didn’t report it, they would say I was involved,” Bamieh said.

“I cannot investigate these cases because now I’m a witness. I can’t be a witness and an investigator, that would be wrong legally.”

EULEX refused to comment directly on the allegations, instead saying that Bamieh — who had a long career with the English Crown Prosecution Service — was suspended last week over the probe into leaks.

“Whistleblowing does not mean you can leak confidential documents to the media, especially when a process has already been taken forward by the organisation,” it said in a statement.

“Suspension is not a sanction, but the mission needed to act expeditiously to protect against the further leak of documents.”

Bamieh, who has been with the unit since it was launched in December 2008 and most recently headed its financial crime team, said EULEX was punishing her as “they have something to hide”.

“They were trying to punish me for what I found out innocently, I am just doing my job,” she told AFP, saying the information she had “should shock the EU”.

“They are wasting the money of the taxpayers, they are doing nothing for the people of Kosovo.”

In Brussels, an EU spokeswoman said that any allegations of wrongdoing “are taken seriously”.

“We’ve seen the report… We are working fully (on it) with our head of mission” in Pristina, Maja Kocijancic, said a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton.

She said EULEX personnel were a “dedicated team of professionals who work in a very hard and difficult environment”.

In June, the EU extended the mission by two years until June 2016.

Kosovo President Ponders Invite to Serbia (BIRN, by Nektar Zogjani, 29 October 2014)

The Kosovo President is mulling whether to attend the Trilateral Commission in Belgrade, amid arguments that she should not attend a conference in a country that does not recognise her own.

Days before she is due to attend a major conference in Serbia, the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, is still mulling whether to attend the event or not.

Presidential spokesperson Arber Vllahiu confirmed that she had received an invitation, but said “the invitation is still being analyzed, including the protocol aspects surrounding it.

“The public will be soon informed about what the answer will be,” he told Balkan Insight.

The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental discussion group founded in 1973. It exists to foster closer cooperation between the Americas, Europe and Asia.

However, the President of Kosovo faces a diplomatic dilemma in going to Serbia because Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008.

“A visit by a Kosovo President to Belgrade… should serve as a concluding act to a process of normalization of relations and peace between the two countries,” a Kosovo international relations expert, Gent Gjikolli, said.

“Otherwise, her visit to Belgrade could serve to justify Serbia’s policy of opposing the legitimacy and independence of Republic of Kosovo,” he added.

A chaotic football match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade on October 14, which collapsed in violence about half-way through, has added to tensions between Albanians and Serbs in the region.

The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has since postponed his visit to Belgrade due on October 22 because of the ugly atmosphere that developed during and after the match.

Gjikolli said the President also needed to remain in Pristina to continue leading talks between political leaders on resolving the political stalemate on forming a new government. “Her participation in this conference would be meaningless,” he maintained.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade has vowed never to recognise the new country.

The countries have, however, been engaged in EU-led talks on the “normalization” of relations and the sides have signed an agreement in April 2013.

A joint report by the Pristina-based Democracy for Development, D4D, and its partner from Slovakia, the Central European Policy Institute, CEPI, presented last week, urged the Kosovo and Serbian governments to revitalize the dialogue.

According to the report, new momentum is needed in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue after the timeout caused by elections in both countries.

Serbia is the ‘Best Pupil in Class’ for EU Accession, says Former Austrian Chancellor (International Business Times UK, by Lianna Brinded, 29 October 2014)

The former Chancellor of the Republic of Austria revealed that Serbia’s plan to become part of the European Union is on track and are, in fact, ahead of other countries that are also trying to become part of the political bloc.

Speaking in London at an investment summit, Alfred Gusenbauer, who is also an advisor to the government of Serbia said the European Commission’s (EC) latest report shows that the country is more than on track to become part of the EU and that implementing tough reforms are paying off.

“One year after the last investment day, a lot of progress has been made in Serbia and the EC selected the country as best pupil in class for EU accession,” said Gusenbauer.

“After nine or 10 months after negotiations begun, Serbia has been selected as top candidate for becoming part of the EU after Prime Minister Aleksandar Vujovic implemented an impressive set of reforms.

“The reforms have been tough and there has been resistance from the people but in the end people understood that it was essential to get the economy back on the right track.”

Seven countries are currently waiting to become part of the EU- Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Turkey, Montenegro, Iceland, and Kosovo.

According to the EC’s report into Serbia’s progress over becoming part of the EU, it says that while it has made great strides politically, a number of key issues need to be tackled, such as corruption.

“Serbia has made some progress in public administration reform. It adopted a comprehensive strategy and strengthened coordination and planning.

“However, continued efforts are needed to ensure an effective, independent judiciary. Key pieces of legislation remain to be adopted, such as the law on free legal aid, the law on whistle-blowers, and the law on conflicts of interest.

“Corruption remains prevalent in many areas. Serbia needs to build up a track record of concrete results in the fight against corruption and organised crime. Fundamental rights need to be fully respected in practice, including protection of the most vulnerable groups.

“There are concerns about deteriorating conditions for the full exercise of freedom of expression. Weaknesses in public administration need to be addressed. Findings of independent regulatory bodies need to be better followed up. Economic reforms are also essential to generate growth and tackle high unemployment.”

Serbia’s economy grew 2.5% in 2013 as exports rose. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts an average annual economic growth of 3.6% in 2014 to 2018.

EU accession negotiations began in January 2014, but membership is not expected before 2020.

EU calls on Bosnia parties to form government quickly (World Bulletin, 28 October 2014)

Peter Sorensen calls for rapid formation of government after presidential and parliamentary elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

​​The European Union Special Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina Peter Sorensen has called on all parties in Bosnia to form a government quickly following the release of final results from parliamentary and presidential elections.

Speaking at a farewell press conference in Sarajevo on Tuesday, Sorensen said that Bosnia and Herzegovina belonged to the European bloc.

He said: “Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European country, a European country which belongs to the European Union and is also part of our family.”

“To enter the EU, the country has to comply with the many reforms we have worked on over the previous three years.”

He went on: “I think this is a good time to say goodbye to this country because someone else will replace me and have the opportunity to work with the newly elected government.”

“Comparing to previous elections, we now know exactly what tasks should be completed.”

The representative said he believed it was likely a new government would be formed quickly following the elections.

“I do not believe that Bosnia can have the luxury of wasting 11 months in forming a government as was the case after the previous vote. This time I see a change and a really different political atmosphere … so I think that’s going to change this time,” he said.

Sorensen is due to leave Bosnia on 31 October to travel to Geneva, where he will assume the position of Head of the EU Delegation to the United Nations.

Official election results 

His comments came a day after the Central Election Commission (CIK) announced the official results of the presidential and parliamentary elections for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is comprised of two separate entities; Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both of which have representatives at the state level.

The Democratic Action Party (SDA), founded in 1990 by the first chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic, gained the most seats in the Parliament of Federation of BiH, winning 110 out of a possible 518.

The Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BIH), the biggest political party among Croats living in Bosnia, followed with 69 seats.

The Association of Better Future (SBB), led by former Defense Minister and media mogul Fahrudin Radoncic, won 56 seats.

The Democratic Front Party (DF) – founded last year by former Croatian member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Tripartite Presidency, Zeljko Komsic – got 46 places.

The elections’ biggest loser was the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which previously was in power in the federation, which got 43 parliamentary seats.

The Independent Social Democratic Union Party (SNSD) from Republika Srpska got 38 seats in parliament within the entity of Republika Srpska.

Presidential election results 

The SDA candidate Bakir Izetbegovic, standing for the Bosniak membership of the Tripartite Presidency at state level, was the winner of the presidential elections with 230,069 votes.

HDZ BIH candidate Dragan Covic, standing for the Croat membership, won 120,502 votes while the Serbian Democratic Progress Party (PDP) candidate Mladen Ivanic, standing for the Serb membership, was elected with 285,105 votes.

According to the Bosnian law, the members of the Bosnia Herzegovina Tripartite Presidency serve four-year term.

The member with the most votes directly becomes chairman of the presidency, but the seat is rotated every eight months to ensure national equality.

The two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina were formally established under the Dayton peace agreement signed in 1995 following the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

‘Projectiles’ Hit HQ of Macedonian Government (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 29 October 2014)

Two projectiles, most probably grenades, hit the roof and walls of the government building in Skopje at around 10pm on Tuesday night, the police said.

Unknown assailants fired two projectiles at the building of the Macedonian government on Tuesday night, police said.

One exploded on the roof while the other exploded on one of the exterior walls, the police said. Nobody was hurt in the blasts that took place around 10pm.

“We are still conducting a forensic examination of the parts found at the spot, but most probably we are talking about grenades,” police spokesperson Ivo Kotevski told BIRN.

The two explosions disturbed locals living in the vicinity of the government building.

The police did not say who the attackers might have been or where they fired the projectiles from.

However, suspicion will likely fall on members of the country’s large and disaffected Albanian community. A number of Albanian Muslims have joined radical Islamic groups fighting in Syria and Iraq lately. Relations between the Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority have traditionally been fragile.

In July, several thousand Albanian protesters clashed with police in Skopje after courts jailed ethnic Albanian for the murders of ethnic Macedonians in 2012.

The government building is currently undergoing a makeover as part of the state-sponsored revamp of the Macedonian capital known as Skopje 2014.

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.