LOCAL PRESS

Agreement on judiciary reached in Brussels (Tanjug/B92/RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa last night in Brussels signed an agreement on the judiciary. “This agreement ensures the participation of Serb judges in northern Kosovo,” Vucic said after the meeting. The Serbian government said on its website that the agreement was initialed. The trilateral meeting of EU High Representative Federica Mogherini with delegations from Belgrade and Pristina was completed shortly after 2a.m. It was the first meeting in the framework of the dialogue since the end of March last year, after a long delay caused by the political crisis in Pristina where a government was not formed for months. The meeting was also attended by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi. Vucic said that the talks were difficult, but that he thought “we got the maximum under the circumstances”. Vucic said that during this round of dialogue the Pristina delegation insisted on topics such as the dismantling of the civil protection in the north and the removal of the Peace Park on the bridge between the northern and southern Kosovska Mitrovica. “We did not want to talk about that, but we wanted to talk about Trepca and the Union of Serb Municipalities,” he explained, adding that the agreement on the judiciary was the only reached during the meeting. Vucic said that the parity of Serb and Albanian judges in southern Mitrovica was 14:11 in favor of Albanians, while the president of the court in the northern part of the town would be a Serb, and that this is a better solution than what is given in the ethnic structure of the Mitrovica region. Vucic added that the court would have an equal number of Serb and Albanian prosecutors, that is, nine each. He announced that the Kosovska Mitrovica court will have branches in Zubin Potok and Leposavic, on which the Serbian side insisted. Vucic said that the talks were extremely difficult and interrupted several times and thanked Mogherini for the shown understanding. “Catherine Ashton wanted to hear our plan, which we remember well, and it seems to me that Federica Mogherini also hold such a position,” explained Vucic. He said he hoped that this progress will contribute to the opening as soon as possible of the first chapter in the accession negotiations with the EU and give new impetus to Serbia’s EU integration. “The behavior Serbia will be welcomed and assessed as serious,” stressed Vucic. He said that due to the difficult talks, the two delegations did not manage to agree on a new round of dialogue, and expressed hope that it will take place soon. 
Dacic: EU should appreciate Serbia’s efforts more (RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic stated on Tuesday that Serbia is ready to open several chapters this year and that the EU should take into account the fact that Belgrade contributed to the normalization of relations with Pristina. During the forum entitled Belgrade Dialogues, Dacic underlined that immense progress has been made compared to 2012 when the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina began. Three years ago, we had road blocks, fires at crossings with Kosovo and various conflicts and incidents, Dacic said. He stated that Belgrade contributed to the normalization of relations with Pristina most and added that the EU should show greater appreciation for this point in the political sense, especially with regard to the opening of chapters. Dacic recalled that Serbia was ready to open Chapter 32 (on financial control) a while ago already and all countries gave their consent for this except Germany which believed that Chapter 23 (on the judiciary and fundamental rights), Chapter 24 (on justice, freedom and security) and Chapter 35 on Kosovo should be opened first. In this year, we want to open as may chapters as possible, including Chapter 35, because I believe that major progress by the signing of the agreement on judiciary (on Tuesday) has been achieved; Dacic said and added that Chapter 32 should be the next one to open. He also expressed the expectation that the possibility for opening chapters 23 and 24 should also be discussed by the end of the year. Serbia is ready to open the chapters in the administrative, political and organizational sense as well, he added.

Mihajlovic: Agreement on judiciary no surprise (RTS)

The Head of the government Office for Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the judiciary has been the biggest obstacle to resume the dialogue and that this agreement essentially means bringing justice to Kosovo in all parts where Serbs live. “This agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is no surprise. If we recall, from the very beginning of the negotiations in Brussels coordinated by Catherine Ashton, the judiciary was always mentioned. This topic was one of the biggest obstacles and it was only finalized now. Time will show who received how much and who lost,” says Mihajlovic. He notes that Serbia has always been ready to discuss the judiciary in Brussels adding that the judiciary in northern and southern Kosovo has been working under impossible conditions over the past 15 years, but nevertheless achieved brilliant results. Asked what the next topics on the negotiating table are Mihajlovic points out that this is certainly the topic of the Union of Serb Municipalities, which, he says, is the main stumbling block between Belgrade and Pristina. “That is a topic that should have been completed a year ago, but wasn’t. Pristina will quite certainly wish to obstruct this topic now as well. That is at the same time the most important topic and had this been completed a year ago, everything would have been easier,” says Mihajlovic. He notes that the topics such as the energy are difficult, but it is certainly easier to negotiate on them than on the Union of Serb Municipalities. Recalling that the increasing number of asylum seekers from Kosovo who are trying to cross the border has also been discussed in Brussels, Mihajlovic notes that the Serbian authorities can work only within their jurisdictions adding that the Kosovo authorities had done nothing to prevent illegal crossings. “This is one river that is moving from Kosovo, and at issue are large numbers, even up to 100,000,” says Mihajlovic adding that he can conclude, by reading the Pristina media, that economic reasons are the main culprits of the increasing departures of the population. He recalls that the population is departing mostly from Podujevo, Urosevac and Vucitrn, adding that around 400 pupils left Vucitrn and several thousand students left the southern province in only several days. The people are running away from a situation in which everybody is deceiving and everybody is deceived, says Mihajlovic and notes that the population in Kosovo has been told all the time that Serbia is the main culprit for this situation. The problem of asylum seekers should be resolved by the authorities in Pristina, and Serbia will only assist. Still, the international community bears great responsibility as it brought to all this, concluded Mihajlovic.

Drecun: Progress achieved, without discrimination of Serbs in the judiciary (Tanjug)

The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun has stated that the agreement in Brussels on the judiciary has undoubtedly achieved progress in the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, that the specific nature of the north has been preserved with this agreement, and that it ensures the Serbs not to be discriminated any more in the judicial system in the province. “Despite the announcements that the Pristina delegation will have a firm negotiating position, it turned out that this composition from Pristina is ready for dialogue and compromise, which opens hope that many other problems will be resolved in the following period,” Drecun told Tanjug. This agreement that was reached in Brussels and concerns the seven municipalities, four north and three south of Ibar River, preserves the specific nature of the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica and the Serbs south of the Ibar River will be protected. He assessed that the agreement on the judiciary creates conditions to implement one of the most important parts of the Brussels agreement, and that now remains the implementation of its part that refers to the Union of Serb Municipalities.

Sertic: Trepca should be discussed in Brussels (RTS/Beta)

Serbian Economy Minister Zeljko Sertic has stated that the Serbian government will not allow the Kosovo government to violate with a single act the principle of ownership over property.

“The issue of property cannot be resolved by a unilateral attitude of some individual. Serbia has a way to respond to such attempts,” the Serbian Minister said. He added that the dialogue was the basis of all relations between Belgrade and Pristina whereas the issue of property of the companies in Kosovo would be discussed as soon as possible. “If we want to be part of the progressive world and respect international principles, then the issue of ownership and property is among the fundamental ones,” Sertic said. He added that Brussels was the place to discuss the assets of all companies in Kosovo, including Trepca.

DSS: With Brussels talks Vucic achieved one more big “success” declaring defeat as victory (New Serbian Political Thought)

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has promulgated that he achieved one more big success at the talks in Brussels, declaring defeat as victory. Completely in accordance with the earlier signed Brussels agreement whereby Serbia committed to abolish its institutions in Kosovo and Metohija, this Vucic’s new “victory” is the agreement on the integration of, until yesterday, Serbian judicial institutions into the judicial system of the self-declared Republic of Kosovo. Serbian courts are closed down, and new – Kosovo will be established, personnel will be integrated into the Kosovo system and they will conduct trials according to Kosovo laws. Of course, the representatives of the Euro-vassal Serbian government will be claiming for some time that they will not recognize independence of Kosovo; or, as the Prime Minister said in Davos: “We cannot accept an independent Kosovo at this moment”. Therefore, we will be able at some, later moment, and this moment is quickly approaching with the signing of an agreement with Pristina, such as the latest one. Today’s political actors who are giving up part of Serbian territory and Serbian people, so, as Aleksandar Vucic says, “the first chapters in the accession talks between Serbia and EU would open as soon as possible, and a new impetus would be given to Serbia’s EU integration”, will be written down in history with the darkest letters. Just as all those who are betraying state and national interests for the sake of personal gain deserve.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dzaferovic: Almost certain Zvizdic will be confirmed on Wednesday (Fena)

The decision by the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency on the appointment of Denis Zvizdic as chair of the Council of Ministers will be put to the B&H House of Representatives tomorrow, Sefik Dzaferovic, and Chair of the House of Representatives, confirmed for Fena.

He announced a session of the commission that will prepare selections for the Council of Ministers for tomorrow in Sarajevo. “I expect that the commission will consider the decision to appoint and give its opinion to the House of Peoples,” said Dzaferovic, adding that after the commission meets will follow a session of the collegium of the House of Representatives at which they could consider the topic. After the collegium session, he added, a session of the broader collegium of the House of Representatives is planned. “It is almost certain that the broader collegium will make the decision to admit the point of ‘confirmation of appointment of chair of the Council of Ministers to the agenda of the House’s session scheduled for 11 February,” believes Dzaferovic. The chair of the Council of Ministers will take his position after his appointment is approved by the House of Representatives.

Law on public order and peace contrary to relevant international conventions (Oslobodjenje)

Sejfudin Tokic, president of the Bosniak Movement for Equality of Peoples, believes that the adopted law on public order and peace in the Republika Srpska National Assembly (NSRS), which limits fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, is contrary to all relevant international conventions and declarations in this field. ‘The Bosniak people, who in this part of Bosnia have suffered drastic discrimination and systematic attempts at violent “serbianization” and “orthodoxization” have experienced thus far unprecedented shame that in fact their representatives in the assembly caucuses, despite opposition from the entirety of the democratic public in the country and the international community, voted for such a discriminatory law,” believes Tokic. He points out that the current representatives of the Bosniak people in the assembly and other institutions of the smaller B&H entity have been performing these functions for ten to fifteen years, and are responsible for the extremely difficult position of the non-Serb population, especially that of Bosniaks. “Gathered in a kind of ‘oligarchy’ in the past, they on several occasions have directly supported, voted for, or condoned legal solutions that led Bosniaks into a situation of discrimination that does not exist anywhere else on the European continent today,” says Tokic. The Bosniak Movement for Equality of Peoples asks political parties to which these delegates in the NSRS belong to start procedure of determining responsibility for cheating the will of the Bosniak people, doing so with an act of resignation at decades of slavish attitudes toward the pro-Chetnik ruling Serb politicians. “At the same time, the Bosniak Movement will launch wide activity in the next local elections to prevent these and similar politicians from being reelected and create the conditions for our people to finally get true representatives in RS who live, work, and share the fate of their people,” says Tokic, the Bosniak Movement for Equality of Peoples said in a statement. Nasa Stranka believes that the adoption of the amendment to the law on public order and peace in the RS represents a fierce attack on political rights and freedoms in the entity, and expresses particular concern that part of the opposition supported the proposed authoritarian resolutions that arrived from the “cuisine of regulations” of the governing SNSD. “We all know well who Milorad Dodik is, how his relations are to the opposition, civil society, free media, returnees and minorities in RS. Unfortunately, now his attitude has been adopted by part of the alleged opposition in the entity, since the proposed amendments were directly supported by Senad Bratic as the leader of the Homeland coalition. Therefore, part of the SDA together with the SNSD supported a law that is antidemocratic, not in accordance with the standards of the European Union, and contrary to the ideas and principles of the joint statement that was recently issued by the Presidency of B&H,” said Dennis Gratz, president of Nasa Stranka.

Six Bosniaks arrested in US on suspicion of sending money and weapons to terrorist organizations (Srna)

Six persons were arrested in the US on suspicion of sending money and weapons to a terrorist organization Islamic State who fell out of “the umbrella’ of Semsudin Mehmedovic and were marked by a radical Islamist stamp of Al Qaeda, said an expert on counterterrorism Dzevad Galijasevic. “They have arrested Mehmedovic’s people. These arrests are directly linked with the operating of Al Mujahidin, para-police and para-intelligence forces at the time, as well as of the actions of Semsudin Mehmedovic in Tesanj and Sefik Dzaferovic as a Chief of Security in the Zenica municipality. There will be more arrests of Bosniaks that have ties with Al Qaeda Front, Al-Nusra Front or with the Islamic state,” said Galijasevic. He said that the arrested Ramiz Hodzic, called Siki, is originally from the Tesanj’s village of Jelah, and that arrested Sedina Unkic is also from the same area. “Their link with the Al Qaeda, i.e. Al Nusra Front and the Islamic state was Abdullah Ramo Pazar from the village of Kamenica, near Tesanj,” said Galijasevic. He added that the Ramo Pazar was registered in the Ministry of Interior of the RS as a risk to the security and has been placed under the surveillance. “His recruitment and mobilization of Bosniaks in the region of Tesanj and Teslic has been reported by the RS Ministry of Interior. Pazar was killed last year on the Syrian front. He was the link between these people, through which they financed the Al-Qaeda, Al Nusra Front and the Islamic state,” said Galijasevic. He reminded that Tesanj is the place where Al Qaeda has been formed and where it had its first combats marked by the first ritual beheadings, the brutal manner that is used today by the Islamic state. “Between Tesanj and Teslic, three RS soldiers were killed by brutal decapitations, following the decapitation of a Serb civilian, two days later,” said Galijasevic. “The arrested people are the product of the SDA. In America they had a connection, the so-called ‘cell’ of Al Qaeda in San Diego California. From this cell came Adis Medunjanin, who is already sentenced to serve several life sentences for planning and execution of the terrorist attacks in New York subway,” added Galijasevic. “There will be more of these arrests abroad, especially in the Western countries. In Bosnia such an atmosphere has been created where the Islamic state is not being prosecuted, not even properly condemned. Here you have people every day walking in the shirts Islamic state, at Sarajevo’s Bascarsija,” pointed out Galijasevic. He explained that the criminal political organism called Islamic state has identified itself with the Islamic faith and abused the holiest Islamic sacredness, which it puts on its black flag, which symbolizes the total war – a war of extermination by brutal means. The US Department of Justice announced that six persons originating from B&H have been arrested in the US on suspicion of sending money and weapons to a terrorist organization called Islamic State.

VMRO-DPMNE: Zaev continues to sink in compiled scenario against Macedonia (Kurir.mk)

Zaev yesterday started with the announcement of the various materials for which he had inform the Prime Minister that are acquired in cooperation with foreign services, and that is started procedure against him especially for this event, in which part of the suspects already have admitted working for money for foreign services, it is said in the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity’s (VMRO-DPMNE) reaction to the press Zoran Zaev’s conference. “With announced press conference of this kind, Zaev with frivolous and irresponsible attitude is accepting to be tool and pawn of the foreign service, he obviously with pleasure continues to be part of the created scenario, which is in the interest of third party that does not wants good for Macedonia. Zaev only continues to sink, full of contradictions and nonsense, wants to make the entire Macedonian public, including his fellow party held hostage, and the public is under blackmail and is defocused from the real issues and needs of citizens. Zaev has obvious, transparent, and superficial intention to present himself as victim and that in a situation when he is nothing but puppet, who works and acts following aims and foreign interests. The scenario will not pass and institutions within its legal and constitutional responsibilities need to determine this, all the facts and circumstances, motives and goals, inspirers, supporters and perpetrators of this scenario. VMRO-DPMNE again urges Zoran Zaev if there are any material to which it is claimed that point to possibly illegal conduct of any person to submit them to the competent authorities for further legal action and finish transparent and legal procedure”.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo and Serbia Reach Key Deal on Judiciary (BIRN, by Una Hajdari and Gordana Andric, 10 February 2015)

After a prolonged halt to their talks, Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels have signed an agreement on integrating the courts in Serb-run northern Kosovo into the Kosovo judicial system and agreeing on their ethnic structure. Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, signed an agreement on the judiciary in Brussels, as the dialogue on normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina resumed following a ten-month standstill. The two leaders closed “a critical chapter of the implementation of the Brussels Agreement that will substantially improve lives of people on the ground,” Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative, wrote in a statement. Mustafa said the agreement would enable the justice system to operate over the entire territory of Kosovo. Vucic stated that the agreement included the two sides agreeing on the ethnic structure of judges and prosecutors in northern Kosovo. The president of the court in Serb-populated northern Mitrovica would be a Serb, he explained. According to the agreement, the court, which covers seven municipalities – including the Serb-majority municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavic and Zubin Potok – would have nine Albanian and nine Serbian prosecutors. “The talks were tough, but I think we got the maximum in the given circumstances,” Vucic said. Mogherini stated that Vucic and Mustafa had held a comprehensive discussion on the full spectrum of issues in the EU-led dialogue and assessed the remaining work. “The two Prime Ministers exchanged views on the way forward and confirmed their commitment to continue to make progress in the normalisation of relations,” she stated. Following the meeting, Mustafa said the priority now was “the undoing of the [Serbian-run] parallel structures in the north”, starting with the Civil Protection Forces. These comprise ethnic Serbian police in northern Kosovo responsible to the Serbian Interior Ministry. Pristina considers them a threat to its sovereignty in the north. Under an earlier agreement reached in Brussels on police, about 500 Serb policeman have joined the Kosovo Police – a step towards the integration of these forces in the Kosovo structures. Serbia’s Prime Minister, on the other hand, said the Civil Protection Force was not the priority but the future of the Trepca mine – a subject of hot dispute between the two governments – and the planned establishment in Kosovo of an Association of Serbian Municipalities with autonomous powers. The agreement on the judiciary is thought to be a keystone for the creation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities. The latest negotiations in Brussels were the first to be held since March 2014. The high-level talks halted for ten months, mainly because Kosovo was experiencing political turmoil over the formation of a new government following snap elections last June. However, talks on a technical level continued. Supporters of the opposition Vetevendosje [Self-Determination Movement] party in Kosovo staged a small protest in Brussels ahead of the Mustafa-Vucic meeting against the continuation of EU-facilitated talks. The protesters showed dissatisfaction with messages such as “Sovereignty is non-negotiable!” and “Stop tolerance towards Serbian expansion!” Serbia does not recognise the independence of its former province. However Serbia and Kosovo signed an agreement on the “normalisation” of relations in April 2013 in Brussels. Belgrade obtained EU candidate status in March 2012, but talks on membership have not started yet, as one of the main conditions for the opening of the talks is to implement the Brussels agreement in full. Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for regional policy, told the Belgrade-based CorD Magazine on February 2 that “all existing commitments” under the agreement need to be implemented before Serbia’s EU talks may open.

Serbia Hopes For Progress On EU Bid As Talks With Kosovo Resume (RFE/RL, 10 February 2015)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic voiced hope on February 9 that his country could make progress soon in its bid for EU membership ahead of talks in Brussels on resuming efforts to normalize ties with Kosovo. Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, which split from Belgrade in 2008. But the two sides reached a deal in 2013 on improving relations — a precondition for closer ties with the European Union. However, 10 months have passed since the last round of EU-brokered talks. Talks on February 9 were the first between Vucic and new Kosovar Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. The bloc opened membership talks last year with Serbia and struck a deal with Kosovo on closer EU ties. “We hope that Serbia will see some [negotiation] chapters opening very soon,” Vucic said, referring to the 35 areas in which membership hopefuls must fall in line with EU standards.

‘Strained’ Serbia-Kosovo Talks Results in Justice Deal (Sputnik, 10 February 2015)

EU High Commissioner Federica Mogherini has hailed the deal as a “great result” of the dialogue between the two sides after a break of almost a year.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic and Kosovan Prime Minister Isa Mustafa have signed an agreement on the composition of the legal system in Kosovo, which grants greater judicial representation to the Serbian minority in the region.

Premier Vucic told Tanjug News that in the South Mitrovica area of Kosovo there will be 14 ethnically Albanian judges as well as 11 Serbian members of the judiciary, and that the president of the judiciary in North Mitrovica will be a Serb, which he declared a better solution than drawing representation along the ethnic lines of the Mitrovica region. Vucic also added that an even number of ethnic Serbian and Albanian prosecutors, nine each, will work in the courts.

Mitrovica, a municipality in the north of Kosovo, became a symbol of the region’s ethnic divisions in the aftermath of the 1999 Kosovan war. The Ibar River serves as the dividing line between predominantly Serbian North Mitrovica and majority-Albanian South Mitrovica.

“The negotiations were difficult, but I think we have got the maximum out of the given circumstances,” Tanjug reported Vucic as saying after the negotiations, which continued into the early hours of Tuesday morning. The issue of the justice system was one of several which the two sides brought to the table on Monday, the first meeting between representatives of Serbia and Kosovo since elections were held by the respective sides last year, resulting in new governments. Serbian politician Marko Duric told B92 that “the atmosphere at times was fairly strained,” and stressed that Serbia’s aim was to increase the number of Serbs in the region’s judicial system, who he said have been underrepresented since 1999. After meeting on Saturday with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Premier Vucic had articulated his anticipation of a difficult time at the negotiating table: “A long night awaits us,” he told Radio-Television Serbia. “We are facing many challenges, and one of them is the continuation of dialogue with Kosovan Albanians.” In April 2013 Serbia and Kosovo signed an agreement on the normalization of their relations, a key point of which was the integration of judicial authorities into the Kosovan legal framework, but with the establishment of a majority Kosovan Serb appeals court to deal with issues from Serbian areas. Serbians constitute an ethnic majority in seven of Kosovo’s 38 municipalities.

Macedonia opposition leader says PM ordered ‘massive wire-tapping’ (Reuters, by Kole Casule, 9 February 2015)

SKOPJE – Macedonia’s chief opposition figure accused Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Monday of wire-tapping journalists, religious and opposition leaders, deepening a scandal that has engulfed the European Union candidate country in recent weeks. Zoran Zaev, leader of the opposition Social Democrats, told a packed news conference in Skopje Gruevski and his counter-intelligence chief, Saso Mijalkov, had orchestrated the wire-tapping of more than 20,000 people for “at least four years”. “Gruevski and several people around him are behind this operation. The material we have shows that illegal wire-tapping was under direct orders from Saso Mijalkov. This kind of massive wire-tapping can be done only by a domestic service.” Gruevski, who has ruled the landlocked Balkan country of 2 million people since 2006, was not available for immediate comment. Police charged Zaev on Jan. 31 with conspiring with a foreign intelligence service to topple the government. Gruevski said Zaev had tried to blackmail him into calling a snap election during face-to-face talks last September and November. He said Zaev had threatened to use anti-government intelligence gathered with the help of a foreign spy service. Zaev denied the charges and said the authorities were trying in vain to prevent the publication of the evidence he had. Zaev, appearing at the news conference, played excerpts of what he said were illegally taped conversations, some involving Zaev in talks with journalists and members of his family, others including a conversation between the current finance and interior ministers. Leaders of ethnic Albanian political parties were also wire-tapped, Zaev said. “We call on the international community to carefully follow what we publish and to take an active part in this process,” Zaev said. Zaev’s Social Democrats have been boycotting parliament for nine months, after alleging fraud in a parliamentary election last April that gave Gruevski a third straight term in office. For months, Zaev had been threatening to publish what he said was incendiary evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the Gruevski government, including accusations he said could harm ethnic relations in Macedonia. Macedonia wants to join NATO and the European Union but progress has been stalled by a dispute with neighbouring Greece over Macedonia’s name. The country narrowly avoided civil war in 2001 in clashes between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas. Ethnic Albanians make up at least 25 percent of the population and a party of former guerrillas shares power with Gruevski.

(Reporting by Kole Casule; Writing by Zoran Radosavljevic)

Macedonian officials accused of spying on 20,000 people over four years (engadget.com, by Mariella Moon, 9 February 2015)

Macedonia’s* Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski along with secret police chief Saso Mijalkov have been spying on, well, just about everyone important in the country except themselves, according to the opposing political party. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev from the Social Democratic Party has accused the two of ordering constant surveillance on him for at least five years in a press conference earlier — years longer than the 14-month max duration of any court-sanctioned eavesdropping. But it’s not just Zaev himself: he says the other members of his party and (in a perfect example of what happens with unchecked government surveillance) even Gruevski’s own allies are targets of this politically motivated surveillance program. In fact, he says the program has been spying on roughly 20,000 people for at least four years, and authorities did so with cooperation from mobile providers. “Gruevski and several people around him are behind this operation,” Zaev claims. “The material we have shows that illegal wire-tapping was under direct orders from Saso Mijalkov. This kind of massive wire-tapping can be done only by a domestic service.” The prime minister has recently accused Zaev and the opposition of planning a coup against the government, charging them with espionage, which has led to five arrests thus far. Zaev maintains that Gruevski did that to shut them up, which clearly didn’t work if that’s the case. During the press conference, the Social Democrat Party played some of Zaev’s phone calls, which were allegedly recorded by government spies, along with a call between two known Gruevski allies.

Journalists at the event were handed even more material — CDs with 11 taped phone conversations and their transcripts — which the party says came from “brave people” within Macedonia’s intelligence agency. The opposition has promised that those materials will be released, as well, but for now, you can listen to the calls played during the conference… if you understand Macedonian.

Bosnia presidency names PM-designate four months after election (Reuters, 9 February 2015)

SARAJEVO – Bosnia’s three-member inter-ethnic presidency named a prime minister-designate on Monday, in the first step towards forming a national government needed to push through economic reforms sought by the European Union. Bickering over jobs has slowed the formation of governments at different layers of Bosnia’s complex system since an October election despite appeals from the European Union for swift action. The EU has promised to unblock Bosnia’s stalled bid to join the bloc in exchange for reforms. Bosnia’s unwieldy system of power-sharing is the legacy of a peace accord that ended its 1992-95 war and split power along ethnic lines. This has slowed reforms, stifled development and left Bosnia trailing its ex-Yugoslav peers on the road to EU membership. The Serb Republic, one of Bosnia’s two autonomous units alongside a Bosniak-Croat federation, formed its own new government in December. But the nomination of architecture professor Denis Zvizdic was hampered by procedural delays in forming the new authorities in the Bosniak-Croat Federation. Parliament’s approval of a new president and two vice-presidents for the Federation on Monday paved the way for the formation of governments in the region and at the state level. Zvizdic, 50, who has previously served as the Sarajevo cantonal premier and as the Federation’s parliamentary speaker, was nominated by the largest Muslim Bosniak party, SDA, as part of the ethnic power-sharing deal. Critics say his track record is poor and have voiced doubts about his ability to lead Bosnia decisively along a reform path. Adding to Zvizdic’s difficulties, Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik has often warned that his SNSD party will oppose any national legislation it sees as undermining the authority of the Serb Republic. Dodik has sought to nurture ties with Russia.

Croatian Medal for Bosniak Ex-Leader Angers Serbs (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, 10 February 2015)

Serb organisations criticised outgoing Croatian President Ivo Josipovic for awarding a medal to former Bosnian presidency member Ejup Ganic because he was accused of war crimes against Yugoslav troops. The president of the War Veterans’ organisation in Bosnia’s Serb-led dominated Republika Srpska, Milomir Savcic, told media on Tuesday that the awarding of the medal to former politicial leader Ganic who is now an academic, showed that Croats and Bosniaks have always been in an alliance against Serbs. “At the end of his term, the Croatian president has confirmed what we knew all along,” Savcic said, alleging that the medal was “a contribution to their alliance and a recognition of their fight against the Serb people”.

Ganic, who was awarded the honour by Josipovic on Monday for his contribution to Croatia’s independence and development, is accused by Serbia of being responsible for a deadly attack a Yugoslav People’s Army military column that was withdrawing from Sarajevo in May 1992.

The President of the Organisation of Families of Fallen and Captured Soldiers and Missing Civilians of Republika Srpska, Nedeljko Mitrovic, said that the honour was another act against the Serb people, 20 years after the end of the war. “This is something most horrific that could have been expected from Josipovic, who was constantly presenting himself as a democrat and an unbiased man,” Mitrovic said. Miodrag Linta, president of the Coalition of Associations of Refugees in Serbia, which represents Serbs who fled from Croatia and Bosnia during the war, also condemned the award. “During his mandate Josipovic did nothing to start resolving the numerous problems of the Serbs who were expelled as well as those who remained in Croatia,” Linta said. Ganic said after receiving the award that he supported Croatia’s fight for independence, while Serbia was responsible for attacking Bosnia. “This country needs to adapt to common European values. They are not the heirs of Yugoslavia; they are the destroyers of Yugoslavia,” he said. The wartime member of the Bosnian presidency, who is now the rector of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, was arrested in March 2010 in London, on the basis of a war crime warrant issued by Serbia for his alleged role in the attack on the Yugoslav People’s Army. The British authorities released him after several months, finding no basis for the warrant.