LOCAL PRESS
Nikolic, Dikovic: Campaign against Serbian Army will not shake citizens’ trust (Tanjug)
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Chief of the General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic discussed in Belgrade on Friday on the readiness and modernization of the Serbian Army, noting that the campaign against the Serbian Army will not manage to shake the trust it enjoys with the citizens, the Serbian President’s press service released in a statement. As for the repeated attacks on General Dikovic, the President said that Dikovic is an honorable man, adding that these attacks are obviously an attempt at discrediting and destabilizing the Serbian Army. “The attacks are aimed at undermining everything good that has been done in Serbia in the last two and a half years. The Serbian Army is definitely an institution that enjoys great trust of the citizens. It has established excellent cooperation with armies worldwide, and its members, who are serving in the international missions in numerous countries, are achieving only top results,” Nikolic said. Nikolic underlined that for this reason it is clear “that this insidious campaign against the Serbian Army, which began last year after a major parade marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade in World War II, will not manage to shake the citizens’ trust in their army”. The President said that obviously the fact that Serbia is becoming a modern, developed country is contrary to the interests of certain groups of people that lament for the times when corruption and autocracy were flourishing, because they had many benefits back then, while the living conditions of the citizens worsened. “That is the reason why they want to provoke instability in Serbia at all costs and return it to the chaos from which it has begun to emerge. This is precisely the goal of the orchestrated attacks on numerous state institutions, and now on the Serbian Army as well,” said Nikolic.
Dacic: Attack on General Dikovic aimed at weakening Serbian Army and government (RTS/Tanjug)
Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that political stability was one of the basic conditions for Serbia’s progress and any attempt at damaging the reputation and credibility of the Serbian Army was an act against the prosperity of the country. Dacic said that “perpetuating the never proved accusations against the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Ljubisa Dikovic, causes great harm to the Serbian Army and the government”. “These attacks are aimed at weakening the Serbian Army and the government, and even regional stability,” Dacic said, quoted in a release by the Foreign Ministry. “I have always believed that there is no strong Serbia without a strong, reputable and respected military. The Serbian Armed Forces is one of the pillars of Serbia’s stability, but also an important factor of regional peace and stability,” said Dacic.
Dacic to visit Pristina in March in the capacity of the OSCE chair (RTS)
Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chair Ivica Dacic has visited the OSCE mission in Belgrade and announced that, in February, he would also pay a visit to missions in Skopje and Podgorica and in March, to the mission in Pristina. The OSCE mission in Belgrade is the first Dacic visited in the capacity of the OSCE chair and in accordance with his previous announcement that, in that capacity, he would visit all the OSCE missions in the Western Balkans. Speaking of the visit to the mission in Pristina in March, he said that the visit would not be a status one. I will be at the helm of the OSCE delegation and my visit will not mean any change in Serbia’s stand not to recognize independence of Kosovo, Dacic told a joint press conference with the head of the OSCE mission in Belgrade, Peter Burkhard. Burkhard said that the two had discussed the application of the OSCE mission’s mandate.
Senic: Serbian delegation unilaterally against Russia’s suspension – major challenge for Serbia (Tanjug)
Member of the Serbian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Aleksandar Senic said Thursday that further suspension of Russia’s voting rights in this international body could weaken the position of Serbia regarding Kosovo’s bid to join the CoE.
The 18-member Russian delegation is one of the largest in the PACE. If Kosovo demanded full CoE membership in the absence of Russia, it would pose “a major challenge” for Serbia, Senic told Tanjug. He said that the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy held a debate on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and the role of the CoE. During the debate, a letter written by Abbot of the Visoki Decani Monastery Sava Janjic, on the position of non-majority communities in Kosovo, was read. The former foreign minister of Kosovo Enver Hoxhaj, now serving as head of the Kosovo Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, said that Kosovo will apply for full CoE membership in the coming months, added Senic. The PACE ratified the credentials of delegations from all CoE member states except Russia, whose credentials were challenged by head of the UK delegation. In line with the procedure, the committee sessions to draft a resolution on this matter started automatically.
Through chaos towards achieving goals (Novosti, by Zivojin Rakocevic, writer and journalist)
The outbreak of chaos in the province of Kosovo-Metohija has, for decades, been the most effective product of Albanian nationalism. There is barely any example when demonstrations, chaos, violence and pogroms didn’t bring Albanians some benefit. Yet afterwards, regardless of the time frame, remain those bitter sentences repeated by the weakest: “What will become of us?” and “Nothing is the same anymore!” Last week’s chaos has precisely defined short-term, and generally known Albanian goals. Everything started according to the established model, and yet the meaningless statement of the youthful Minister Jablanovic is the same as the bad student cafeteria food that was used to trigger the demonstrations that shook the foundations of the former Yugoslavia.
Who is now shaking over Trepca?
First of all ordinary people in north Kosovo, because theirs and their family’s lunch is being snapped away from the table; then all Serbs in the province of Kosovo and Metohija, because Serbia is disappearing before their eyes; and, finally, the state of Serbia, to which this represents a millstone on its neck on the road towards the EU.
Each stone from the Pristina streets directly hit the face of these three. The hit and harassed Serbian journalists most directly conveyed this message, and the channeling of chaos reminded the international community that it should not to accidentally find itself standing in the way of the blind force of the masses and to beware of scratches.
Moreover, there is almost no Albanian in the provincial government who thinks differently from those demonstrators on the street. And Thaqi listens more to this sweep of the street and nation than to himself from the assembly platform, because it has been bringing and brings results, so Hashim will use it this time as well.
Panic-stricken international representatives started running around Pristina to convince the demonstrators to seek a positive outcome and transfer Trepca into the Kosovo Albanians’ hands. What does this say? The moment was precisely chosen, and chaos is controlled. They jointly raised, very high, the threshold for the Serbs in the province of Kosovo and Metohija and the state of Serbia at the worst possible moment, and however high over this it jumps, it will not pass without fractures and scratches.
Scary, even scarier, Syriza (Politika, editorial by Nenad Radicevic)
How horrible it must have seemed to the EU leaders when they realized on Sunday night that the Greeks didn’t listen to their recommendation and that the rebellion against the imposed austerity won out.
British Prime Minister David Cameron couldn’t hide his discontent with the victory of Syriza.
And who knows what he was thinking when he saw that Greek Prime Minister Aleksis Tsipras, after he took the oath, first placed red roses on the monument to partisans who were murdered by Nazis before the end of World War II.
Thus, he symbolically sent a message to Germany, but perhaps even more to Great Britain, because precisely Winston Churchill deserves to be credited for the numerous deaths of partisans in 1944. As British historians also determined, Churchill was the one who decided that Yugoslavia can become a Communist state, but that Greece must not. Even at the price of Britain arming Greek Nazis in the fight against the partisans, which it did.
How bristled were the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem when they heard that the new Greek Finance Minister is Janis Varufakis. This is the same person who equalized the austerity measures imposed on Greece with the notorious CIA torture method applied on prisoners in Guantanamo – simulation of drowning through waterboarding.
No better reaction came from the Polish and Baltic leaders. They wholeheartedly support official Kiev and now they will have to sit at EU summits with Tsipras, who said in May that the EU must not “recognize the neo-Nazi government of Ukraine.”
The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini must have been certainly shocked with her first conversation with Prime Minister Tsipras being full of his objections for not being consulted in regard to the tightening of sanctions to Russia. He has announced a veto in advance for each subsequent sanctions against Moscow, while EU diplomats didn’t miss to notice that, after taking office, he first met with the Russian Ambassador in Athens, who personally conveyed Vladimir Putin’s personal greetings.
Everything that Tsipras promised to the Greeks – from stopping austerity and annulling privatization, through free electricity, to increasing salaries and pensions – represents for the EU leading political elite the scariest scenario.
From this EU perspective, Serbia could be perceived almost as a good European pupil, even though, until recently, it seemed to us that it will be in an unenviable position over its closeness with Moscow. Because, Belgrade is doing almost everything opposite to Syriza’s program.
Insisting by the Serbian Prime Minister on fiscal consolidation, austerity measures and structural reforms itches the ears of the European elite, so Berlin and London perhaps realize that it is more useful for them to accelerate Serbia’s EU integration, focusing not only on the province of Kosovo, but giving impetus to Serbia’s internal reforms.
As regards Syriza, it will soon encounter the Brussels tough nut. By 28 February at the latest, when the program of financial aid to the Greek budget expires.
REGIONAL PRESS
B&H Presidency adopts Joint statement on B&H’s dedication to reforms on the path to EU (Srna/Fena)
The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) adopted a Joint Statement on the commitment of B&H to undertake the necessary reforms to establish institutional functionality and efficiency at all levels of government and allow the B&H to prepare for future membership in the EU as a sovereign state that fulfills the conditions and obligations for membership.
Institutions of authority in the B&H will implement all reforms necessary for establishing institutional functionality and efficiency on all levels of authority, and thus enable B&H to prepare for its future EU membership as a sovereign country, meeting all conditions and obligations necessary for the membership, reads the joint statement of the B&H Presidency members. The newly appointed US Ambassador to B&H, Maureen Cormack, said during a meeting with members of the Collegium of the House of Representatives of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly held in Sarajevo on Thursday that the US has a strong interest in B&H and its progress, and emphasized that she expects concrete recommendations as on the ways in which America can assist in the reform process.
Mladen Ivanic on agreed declaration of the B&H Presidency (Oslobodjenje)
How everyone behaves towards the statement that was agreed by the B&H Presidency determines whether he is for the European Union or not, said Mladen Ivanic, Chairman of the B&H Presidency after the members of the Collective Head of the state agreed on a declaration of strategic EU membership and the commitment of necessary implementations on the way. “I’m not for asylum. I am for the European Union,” said Ivanic. He stressed that the statement “has nothing to do with the jurisdictions or to be more exact, that the interest of B&H’s entity Republika Srpska (RS) is preserved”. The statement otherwise, incorporates a provision based on the B&H Constitution and the Dayton Peace Agreement, the provision under which all institutions of B&H, both B&H entities, ten cantons in the Federation and Brcko District are obliged to implement its own reforms in accordance with the statement. “The aim of the statement is that B&H by the end of this mandate, gets the EU candidate status, and shows its European commitment. Agreed statement of the B&H Presidency will be submitted for the approval and signing by the leaders of all 14 parties in B&H and to the B&H Parliamentary Assembly for the adoption. The B&H Presidency Chairman stressed that political leaders can sit down together and sign a declaration, if they wish, and that it would not be bad to do it before the session of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly, as members of the B&H Presidency have no intention of organizing any special session for that purpose. “There is a majority in the B&H Parliamentary Assembly to accept the statement. The SNSD has no ability to stop it, but to boycott the session of the House of Peoples of the PA. But I think they have no argument because the statement included all the things we talked about. The question is whether the SNSD has or doesn’t have influence on it. It may have, because the second phase is far more important, where the entity governments need to implement it, especially the reforms in the field of economy. It is up to the entity governments, the Prime Ministers and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers to manage these processes,” stressed Ivanic.
Appeals Chamber upholds convictions of five senior Bosnian Serb officials (Fena)
Today, the Appeals Chamber issued its Judgment in the Popovic et al. case, concerning five senior Bosnian Serbian military officials for crimes perpetrated by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, following the takeover of the protected areas of Srebrenica and Zepa. Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara were found guilty of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, violations of the laws or customs of war, and crimes against humanity, through their participation in a Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE). Their sentences of life imprisonment were affirmed. Drago Nikolic’s convictions for aiding and abetting genocide, and crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war through his participation in a JCE were upheld. His sentence of 35 years of imprisonment was affirmed. Radivoje Miletic was found guilty of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war, through his participation in a JCE. His sentence of 19 years of imprisonment was reduced to 18 years of imprisonment. Finally, Vinko Pandurevic was found guilty of aiding and abetting violations of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity. He was also found guilty of failing to prevent and punish the crimes of his subordinates. His sentence of 13 years of imprisonment was affirmed.
During the relevant period the five Appellants served in senior positions in the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). Vujadin Popovic was Chief of Security of the Drina Corps, Ljubisa Beara was Chief of Security in the Main Staff, Drago Nikolic served as Chief of Security in the VRS Zvornik Brigade, Radivoje Miletic was Chief of the Operations and Training Administration of the Main Staff, and Vinko Pandurevic held the post of Commander of the Zvornik Brigade.
The Appeals Chamber dismissed, unanimously or by majority, most of the Appellants’ challenges in the cases of Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara, the Appeals Chamber granted, Judge Niang dissenting, their appeal regarding the killing of six Bosnian Muslim men near Trnovo by the Scorpions paramilitary unit. Consequently, the Judges reversed their convictions with regard to that killing. The Appeals Chamber also granted in part, Judge Niang dissenting, the Prosecution’s appeal to enter convictions for conspiracy to commit genocide against both Popovic and Beara. The Judges then entered, Judge Pocar dissenting, a conviction against the two Appellants for this crime.
Regarding Drago Nikolic, the Appeals Chamber reversed, Judge Niang dissenting, his convictions for the killing of six Bosnian Muslim men near Trnovo. The Appeals Chamber also reversed Radivoje Miletic’s convictions for persecution and inhumane acts (forcible transfer) as crimes against humanity in connection with the forcible transfer of the Bosnian Muslim men who crossed the Drina River, fleeing Zepa. The Judges granted in part his ground of appeal concerning sentencing, recognizing that the Trial Chamber erred in law by considering his use of authority within the VRS Main Staff as an aggravating circumstance. The Appeals Chamber also granted the Prosecution’s ground of appeal regarding “opportunistic” killings in Potocari, and entered, Judge Pocar dissenting, a conviction against Miletic for murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war for these killings. With respect to Vinko Pandurevic, the Appeals Chamber granted the Prosecution’s appeal regarding a variety of incidents, and entered a number of new convictions. Pandurevic was thus found guilty, Judge Niang dissenting, as an aider and abettor or through command responsibility, in relation to various criminal acts, of murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war, extermination as a crime against humanity, and persecution through murder and through cruel and inhumane treatment as a crime against humanity. The Appeals Chamber, Judge Pocar dissenting, entered new convictions for these crimes. The Appeals Chamber also set aside some of Pandurevic’s convictions at trial. In dismissing one of Pandurevic’s challenges regarding aiding and abetting, the Appeals Chamber recalled that “specific direction” is not an element of aiding and abetting under customary international law. Judge Patrick Robinson and Judge Fausto Pocar appended partially dissenting opinions, and Judge Mandiaye Niang appended separate and dissenting opinions. The Popovic et al. case is the Tribunal’s largest completed case to date. Trial proceedings began on 21 August 2006 and concluded on 15 September 2009. The Trial Chamber’s Judgement was issued on 10 June 2010. Trial proceedings involved a total of seven accused, including also Ljubomir Borovcanin, former Deputy Commander of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs Special Police Brigade. He did not appeal the trial judgment and was transferred to Denmark in 2011 to serve his 17 year sentence. Following the death of Milan Gvero, Assistant Commander for Morale, Legal and Religious Affairs of the VRS Main Staff, the Appeals Chamber terminated proceedings against him in March 2013 and held the Trial Judgment to be final in his regard. The Tribunal has indicted 20 individuals for crimes committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. Among these is Radislav Krstic who was the first individual to be convicted of aiding and abetting genocide in Srebrenica and sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment on 19 April 2004. The cases of Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, Zdravko Tolimir as well as Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic are ongoing.
Since its establishment, the Tribunal has indicted 161 persons for serious violations of humanitarian law committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 2001. Proceedings against 146 individuals have been concluded, and are still ongoing for 15 Accused, with four at trial stage and 11 before the Appeals Chamber.
Russia asks Bosnia to stop sending arms to Ukraine (Fena)
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appealed on B&H to stop arms shipments to the Ukrainian military. The ministry’s website said Moscow was reacting to statements that ammunition made in Bosnia was used in the war in Ukraine. “We are concerned that these are used by the Ukrainian security forces to bombard cities and kill civilians. The results of such inhumane moves are seen in many cities and villages in southeastern Ukraine,” a statement said. Besides this, the ministry appealed on the authorities of B&H to abandon their intention to send weapons to Kiev. “Such plans are contrary to international standards and obligations of OSCE member-states. Such a move, especially at this time when violence has escalated in southeastern Ukraine, will not help find a peaceful solution but will lead to new civilian victims,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Putin “winner” of elections in Greece (Politika, correspondent in Athens Jasmina Pavlovic Stamenic)
Athens – At is first session, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s new cabinet has set specific tasks and objectives, and stressed that the priority is softening the economic and social crisis by fulfilling the promises made to electorates. Also, the governing of the more active foreign policy, which includes raising a Greek veto when it comes to sanctions against Russia. This is the message with which the new Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kocijas departed to Brussels for a meeting of EU ministers.
The first sparks happened immediately after the formation of the new government, following the announcement that the EU’s 28 member countries have agreed that Russia bears responsibility for the rocket attacks on town of Mariupol in Ukraine’s breakaway Donetsk region and that, accordingly, the EU should consider introducing the new set of sanctions towards Moscow. The Prime Minister Tsipras warned Federico Mogherini in a telephone conversation that the EU’s making of such decisions, without prior consultations with all the member countries, is impermissible and that Greece is distancing itself from such an opinion.
This means, according to Kathimerini newspaper, that the new Foreign Minister Nikos Kocijas – who stands for closer relations between Russia and Greece, and who advised Tsipras, in the spring of last year, to visit Russia at the peak of the crisis with Ukraine – stated on Thursday at a meeting in Brussels that he has complete freedom to use the Greek veto in regard to the introduction of new sanctions towards Russia.
For this reason, the first analyzes of the possible consequences of the democratic change of government in Greece speaks volumes about relations between Athens and Moscow. There are also conclusions being drawn that Russian President Vladimir Putin is actually the biggest winner of parliamentary elections in Greece held on Sunday 25 January.
At Tsipras’s meeting with the Russian Ambassador in Athens immediately after the victory, the Ambassador forwarded the congratulations of President Putin, in which he emphasizes the need for further strengthening cooperation in all fields, especially in solving the current European and global problems. This meeting, which was immediately characterized as the turning of Greece towards Russia, is in the new government’s ranks accepted as a normal continuation of the familiar pro-Russian orientation of Prime Minister Tsipras and his Syriza political party. However, it is obvious that this kind of politics seriously concerns the EU in its policy of sanctions against Russia, which already, in the first days, have resulted in sparks with Athens.
Prime Minister Tsipras’s view, that policy of sanctions against Russia, which is directly linked to the crisis in Ukraine, brings most harm to Europe, is known, and according to him it is “shooting itself in the foot”. “On the other hand, as Tsipras said, “Greece and Russia are connected by the tradition of a common struggle of the people, the general religious beliefs and political and cultural roots.”
At the first meeting of the ‘government without neckties’, as local press dubbed Tsipras’s cabinet, which is also by its dress code and completely informal image, different than the previous one, the Prime Minister stressed that Greece will not abandon its commitments regarding the debts in respect of the loan. Prime Minister Tsipras stressed that the government that firmly holds the position that new, fairer terms of debt repayment and exiting the crisis are required, is open to any kind of negotiations with international creditors and stressed that it welcomes the arrival of the President of the European Parliament and of the Eurogroup.
New Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis believes that privatization of the Greek power company should be immediately suspended, because, as he said, it is not the way to fill the deficit in the budget. The Minister announces reduction in tariffs for electricity and free electricity for 300,000 households that were disconnected because of unpaid bills.
Minister of Labor Panos Skurletis in his first interview for the local TV channels, announced raising of the minimum wage to 751 euro and the help for pensioners with the lowest incomes in the form of the Easter bonuses.
Giorgos Katrougalos, Minister of Administrative reforms, promises to resolve the issues of reopening the state owned TV ERT and the return to work of all those who have been laid off and unlawfully forced to take leave of absence.
The new government intends to audit some of the large contracts with foreign investors. Among them are those related to the sale of the internal airports, but also the further privatization of Piraeus port where the Chinese company “Cosco” already has a large percentage of shares, but the contracts signed with the previous government. The Chinese side is a major investor to Greece because it is the cargo port of Piraeus that represents “the door to Europe” to Beijing, and how the turnover of goods to the rest of the West is achieved. It is symptomatic that, immediately after Russia, China was the second country to congratulate Tsipras on his victory. The Chinese Ambassador Zou Xiaoli forwarded congratulations from the Chinese Prime Minister in which he expresses huge importance of the further cooperation strengthening between Athens and Beijing.
Most attention is caused by the new Finance Minister Yanis Varufakis, who is a proponent of “hard stance” in relation to the method of the debt repayment and negotiations with creditors. It is this 53 year-old professor, who was often derided as a “dissident economist”, which Prime Minister Tsipras expects to protect the interests and plans of the government in all negotiations on the international scene. It is this radical professor who adores the “casual” style of clothing, leather jackets, jeans and a dark shirt, who has studied in England, worked in Australia and the US, and who left his job at the University of Texas because he could not resist the invitation of his old friend, Tsipras, to join him. He insists that the Greek oligarchs should be “debunked”, humanitarian crisis ended and the “mountain of debt”, which, as he says, clouds the country’s sight should be brought down.
All eyes are fixed on him because his first debut during the visit of the President of the European Parliament and of the Eurogroup to Athens.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Vucic and and Kurz: Serbia’s EU path is clear (Journal of Turkish Weekly, by Hamdi Fırat Büyük, 29 January 2015)
Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic recently paid an official visit to Austria in which topics were discussed such as the Serbian-EU integration process, Serbian-Austrian bilateral relations, the joint fight against radicals, and most importantly, ways to facilitate cooperation in the two countries’ upcoming assumption of dual chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2017.
Both Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and Serbia’s Vucic remarked that Serbia’s EU path is clear and free of doubt.
Minister Kurz stated that PM Vucic’s visit to Austria reflects the close ties between Serbia and Austria, adding, “Our relations are intensive and good, not only economically but also humanly”.
Kurz also underlined that Austria is the largest foreign investor in Serbia and that his country hosts one of the greatest portions of the Serbian diaspora.
PM Vucic said that Serbia’s top strategic goal is deeper integration with the EU, however, he also made it clear that the country wanted to foster friendly relations with Russia.
According to Vucic, Serbia is a key country in the Western Balkans that helps to protect regional stability. In response, Kurz articulated that Austria is an advocate of a speedy start to EU accession talks with Serbia and in favour of the European prospect for the entire region.
After the meeting, Kurz and Vucic joined a reception organized by the Serbian diaspora in Vienna.
Austria is one of the top investors in the Western Balkans. Unlike other Western countries, Austria has sought to avoid becoming embroiled in the political discussions and crises of the region, however, it continues to invest there. Recent figures show that Austria is the second largest investor in the region just behind Germany.
29 January 2015
Mahmoud Abbas rival given Serbian citizenship, documents reveal (The Guardian, by Ivan Angelovski in Belgrade and Lawrence Marzouk in London, 30 January 2015)
Observers say Mohammed Dahlan could be planning to use country as base to launch leadership challenge against Palestinian Authority leader
Serbia’s government has quietly granted citizenship to Mohammed Dahlan, a key rival of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and adviser to the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
Dahlan, his family and five key political supporters were all granted citizenship between February 2013 and June 2014, according to documents from the state’s official gazette analysed by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).
The government is able to grant citizenship during closed cabinet sessions to foreigners deemed to have served “state interests” without offering any detailed public explanation.
Dahlan is credited with facilitating Abu Dhabi’s promised investment of billions of euros in Serbia. However, the government in Belgrade has refused to explain whether this is the reason for granting citizenship to him and 11 other Palestinians in the past two years.
Seasoned Middle East observers have suggested that Dahlan could be planning to use Serbia as a base to launch his leadership challenge against Abbas, the current Palestinian Authority (PA) leader.
Dahlan, a former PA security chief, was seen by many as Yasser Arafat’s likely successor but lost out to Abbas. The latter accused him of corruption and he was kicked out of the political party Fatah in 2011.
The PA launched a defamation action against Dahlan, then living in exile in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), after he criticised Abbas’s leadership and PA security forces in the West Bank. He was given a two-year jail term in March 2014 following his conviction in absentia.
Thousands of Dahlan’s supporters took to the streets of Gaza in December to protest at the opening of another court case against him, this time on charges of corruption.
Dahlan has publicly denied the accusations but refused to respond to questions sent to him by BIRN. His backers dismiss the court cases as nothing more than politically motivated show trials, while Abbas and the PA claim to have produced extensive reports on his alleged wrongdoing.
A spokesman for Abbas said: “According to all national and international rules, when somebody wants to take a passport from another country, they [the government] should check to make sure that they have a clean file and clean history and not just give it. They have not asked the Palestinian side about their history or whether they are criminals or not.
“We will send a letter to the Serbian president and prime minister to stop that.”
BIRN reveals that Dahlan is renting a luxurious villa in an exclusive Belgrade neighbourhood favoured by diplomats. Until recently the home of former Serbian president Boris Tadić, the villa’s security was beefed up before Dahlan’s arrival in Belgrade.
The Serbian government has refused to respond to requests from BIRN for an explanation of why it has granted citizenship to Dahlan, his family and supporters.
However, Dusan Simeonovic, former ambassador to Egypt and Palestine, told BIRN the move was “clearly a sign of gratitude for Dahlan’s role in implementing investments from the UAE”.
Bypassing the standard naturalisation process, the government can grant citizenship to an individual if it is deemed that doing so is in Serbia’s national interest, according to the country’s citizenship law.
Under this system, a minister puts forward a name, which is then voted on in a closed government session. The decision is signed off by the prime minister or his deputy and published in the official gazette.
This process has attracted controversy on a number of occasions, including last year when Sergey Kurchenko, a Ukrainian businessmen facing EU sanctions, was also made a Serbian national following a government decision. The Serbian interior minister declined to confirm earlier media reports that Kurchenko’s citizenship had been revoked after the outcry.
This system has been used 52 times in the past five years, most often to grant passports to musicians and sportsmen and women.
Many EU countries have schemes in place to naturalise top sportsmen and provide citizenship or permanent residency to major foreign investors. These, however, are usually subject to a number of strict criteria – such as not being under criminal investigation – and handled by officials rather than politicians.
Serbia’s position differs in that the government can approve citizenship as long as it serves the “state interest”, irrespective of any other conditions.
Dahlan was instrumental in forging new diplomatic and economic ties between Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi and the Serbian government. He was decorated by President Tomislav Nikolić with the Medal of the Serbian Flag in April 2013 for his role in “the development and strengthening of peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between Serbia and the United Arab Emirates”.
The president’s office refused to elaborate on this when questioned by BIRN last week, adding only that Dahlan was “a close associate of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed who had contributed to investments from the UAE”.
Serbia opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi in August 2013. This blossoming relationship played a key role in finalising a series of intergovernmental deals signed between Serbia and Abu Dhabi, promising billions of euros of investment through companies connected to the ruling family.
But the deals have proved controversial.
Etihad Airways bought 49% of shares in the airline JAT in 2013, although concerns have been raised about whether the Serbian taxpayer received value for money from the sale of almost half of the state-owned firm.
Al Dahra Agriculture was due to invest €150m through state-owned farms, according to a pre-contract agreement signed with the Serbian government. But, after the deal sparked protests, the Abu Dhabi firm decided to buy a stake in a firm owned by Serbian tycoon Vojin Lazarević instead.
Other huge deals related to agriculture, arms, electronics and ports have been signed with firms linked to the royal family, according to statements by the Serbian government. A €2.8bn real estate project called Belgrade Water, a joint venture between the Serbian government and a Dubai-based firm, has also been announced.
Despite the impressive proposals, little concrete investment has been visible on the ground. Officials from the UAE embassy in Belgrade insist that delays with projects of this scale are normal and that investments will follow.
This article was written by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network as part of a project funded by Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). The content does not reflect the views and opinions of the ADC.
Bosnian presidency adopts plan on how to get closer to EU (AP, 29 January 2015)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnia’s Presidency has adopted a document approving a reform plan that would unblock the country’s path toward EU membership.
The document has now to be endorsed by the country’s parliament and signed by the leaders of all 14 parties that won seats in October’s elections, in order for the EU to release financial aid to the troubled Balkan country and upgrade its status with the bloc.
The EU previously said the plan of social, legal and economic reforms, developed by Germany and Britain, was the country’s last chance to move forward.
The chairman of the three-member Presidency, Mladen Ivanic, said Thursday the Presidency’s move is just the first step on a path that will allow Bosnia to acquire EU candidate status within four years.
Bosnians split over sale of weapons to Ukraine (AP, by Aida Cerkez, 29 January 2015)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — A Bosnian arms exporter has threatened to sue government officials who are blocking a 5 million-euro deal his company has with Ukraine because of objections from Russia.The manager of the UNIS-Group, Suvad Osmanagic, said Thursday the deal is legal and that he is still negotiating with the authorities in hopes of clearing the export.Bosnia’s government is made up of officials from all three main groups living in the country — the Bosniaks, the Croats and the Serbs. Pro-Russian Serbs in the government object to weapon exports to Ukraine.The minister of trade, a Bosnian Serb, resigned last week over the issue, saying he refused to clear a deal that would jeopardize relations with Moscow.His non-Serb successor has said she needs time to study the case and will decide whether to issue the clearance by the end of the week. Ermina Salkicevic-Dizdarevic said in a statement she only took over the post of minister on Monday, and is not familiar with the case, from which previous minister Boris Tucic had “completely excluded” her although she was his deputy.Tucic’s decision to resign in order not to give the clearance was supported by the government of the Bosnian Serb region.”We object to any distribution of weapons from Bosnia to areas where wars are being fought,” said the president of the region, Milorad Dodik.Russia on Thursday called on Bosnia not to supply Ukraine with weapons, arguing that they would be used by the Ukrainian armed forces “to continue firing on populated areas and murdering civilians.”But Osmanagic warned new minister Salkicevic-Dizdarevic UNIS Group will sue her too if she does not issue the clearance. He emphasized Ukraine was not on any international list of countries to which arms export is banned and all other Bosnian institutions required to clear the deal have done so.
