LOCAL PRESS
Dacic: Serbia devoted to stability and peace in Ukraine (Tanjug/RTS)
The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Tuesday that Serbia as current holder of the OSCE chairmanship was fully committed to working towards establishing peace and stability in Ukraine. “Serbia is doing everything it can to see the efforts made by the OSCE continue in an impartial and transparent manner. Serbia is aware of the fact that the OSCE and the European security are at a critical crossroads and is fully devoted to working together with key actors to re-establish peace and stability in Ukraine,” Dacic said in his briefing to the UN Security Council on UN/OSCE co-operation. “Not so long ago, the Western Balkans was torn apart by conflicts, and now cooperation and peaceful approach to resolving issues prevail. We decided to make efforts to promote cooperation in the Western Balkans a priority of our OSCE chairmanship, which is a clear proof that all obstacles, no matter how difficult they may be, can be overcome by political common sense and good will. Serbia’s has taken over the OSCE chairmanship in times of the greatest European security crisis since the end of the Cold War, Dacic said, observing that the crisis in and around Ukraine still dominated security debates in Europe and that it was now affecting the global situation much more than in the year before. Since taking over the chairmanship of the Organization at the beginning of this year, my agenda has been dominated by the current political crisis and escalation of violence in Ukraine. An increasing number of people there are being affected by recurring violence, while waves of civilians are leaving their homes in desperate need of security. This resulted in more than one million displaced, five thousand killed and over 12,000 wounded. It is therefore high time peace settled in. The package of measures presented in Minsk on February 12 still represents the best available road map to lead to defusing the situation in the east of the country. We hope that the political will be shown by the parties signing the package will prevail and that it will help make the weapons fall silent and ease human suffering. Ukraine is at a critical crossroads and it is necessary to ensure strict compliance with ceasefire conditions in order to enable the implementation of other elements of the package, especially the withdrawal of heavy weaponry and equipment. Resolving the frozen conflicts is high on the agenda of the Serbian chairmanship. All sides should step up efforts within the agreed frameworks to overcome the status quo and to show more political will to make progress towards a peaceful way out of the situation. We believe that small but concrete steps will help develop trust between the parties and pave the way for efficient resolution of the issues between them. The Serbian OSCE chairmanship will also devote a lot of effort to finding ways to fight arrivals of foreign terrorist fighters to Ukraine, and forms of violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism, especially the radicalization of youth, Dacic said. The issue will be dealt with at the OSCE-wide Counter Terrorism Conference, taking place in Vienna on June 30 – July 1. Dacic concluded that the OSCE was devoted to creating new synergies with the UN in key regions of joint interest to the two organizations, including eastern Europe, southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and southern Mediterranean.
Dacic: OSCE and Serbia receive support at UN (Tanjug)
Serbian Foreign Ivica Dacic says he is satisfied with a briefing at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, considering that both the OSCE and Serbia received support. “I am satisfied, because this is an indication that the OSCE, and Serbia as the presiding country, have the right approach and have realized the role to be an objective and honest broker in the fulfillment of what constitutes an agreement,” Dacic was quoted as saying, and adding: “The SC’s support is important, and that we received today, for the functioning of the OSCE and in general our presence on the ground.” He noted that all members of the UN Security Council, 15 of them, “supported and congratulated on the Serbian positions and the chairmanship of the OSCE”, and that this happened “at a time reminiscent of the problems and divisions that existed when the organization was founded 40 years ago”. He added that Serbia recently begun consultations on a new mandate of the monitoring mission in Ukraine, since the current mandate expires at the end of March. According to him, Russia and Ukraine have agreed that the mandate of the new mission should be extended for 12 more months. “That’s a positive change. It will also be considered whether there are a sufficient number of observers, the budget, what technical equipment should be acquired,” said Dacic. He added that he would “continue briefings and meetings in the UN, because the OSCE is an important organization for peace and stability and because it is of great importance that the two organizations act jointly”.
Churkin supports Serbia at OSCE helm (Tanjug)
The Russian permanent representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin has supported OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Russia supports the direction Dacic has taken, towards building trust in order to come up with a new, positive agenda, and believes he will be impartial and respect the interest of all sides, Churkin stated at the meeting on Tuesday, dedicated to cooperation between the OSCE and the UN. He expects the OSCE to go back to the idea of creating a single military, political, humanitarian and economic region between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and added that it was important to start a debate on reforming the UN. The year that marks the 40th anniversary of the OSCE’s establishment is a good opportunity for the members to focus on rebuilding the European security system, he noted. The fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the European Security Charter need reaffirming, while the steps to achieve integrated security need to be defined, along with obligations for countries to avoid strengthening their own security at the expense of others, he stated.
Stojanovic hopes for a reaction from the state over the “red” warrant (Tanjug)
MP of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Momir Stojanovic stated that he had heard that a “red” Interpol warrant had been issued for him, but that he hopes for a reaction of the state of Serbia. I hope I have a state that will decide on this, since issuing such a warrant is aimed at scaring the Serbs from returning to Kosovo and Metohija and at grabbing their property, said Stojanovic, who is the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for the control of security services. Stojanovic explained that issuing a warrant has to do with the UN decision to form a court for the war crimes of the KLA and that the Basic Court in Djakovica, where he was born, launched criminal complaints against 17 Serbs, including him. Stojanovic explained that between 1993 and 1996 he was the deputy head of the security of the Pristina corpus, and its head since 1999. Interpol issued a warrant for Stojanovic for the committed crimes against the civilian population.
Kosovo Serb ministers still waiting for Vucic’s invitation (Politika)
It will be known whether the Serb ministers will return to the Kosovo government and under what conditions by the end of the week after the meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. Nearly three weeks ago Serb representatives in the provisional Kosovo institutions froze their activities as a sign of disagreement with the decision of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa to dismiss Serb minister for returns Aleksandar Jablanovic. Jablanovic told Politika: “Ever since we have not been taking part in the work of the Kosovo institutions, Albanian politicians have tightened their rhetoric, and all that during a period when the ruling majority is weakened with the suspension of Serb personnel and without an idea how to resolve the accumulated problems of citizens.” Kosovo analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu opines that “the Serbs should not hesitate since it is in their interest to be part of the Kosovo system”. “The coalition government has enough votes to pass decisions without the Serbs,” claims Spahiu. To Politika’s remark that certain laws cannot be passed without the majority of Serb votes (inside the ten MP seats), Spahiu stresses: “It is in the interest of both the Serbs and Albanians for certain laws to be passed. Do you think that it is in the interest of the Serbs for the law on a special court not to be passed? Besides, there are many things that concern and are in the interest of the Serb community and all Kosovo citizens.”
UNMIK’s judiciary suspended proceedings way back in 2000, but documents on this appeared only a few days ago (Politika, by Aleksandra Petrovic)
The witnesses who showed up at the trial to Oliver Ivanovic and four other Serbs at the Basic Court in Kosovska Mitrovica are pulling down the prosecutor’s indictment. None of them links Ivanovic with the crimes he is charged with, attorney Nebojsa Vlajic tells Politika. “This shows that people in Kosovo are first arrested, then held in custody, and only then an investigation is conducted and charges filed without any evidence. And not only that. The proceedings were conducted for the same events 15 years ago, while documents on this have appeared only a few days ago, “ says Nebojsa Vlajic, Ivanovic’s attorney. For the unrests in Kosovska Mitrovica in 2000, when ten Albanians died, UNMIK judges and prosecutors conducted criminal proceedings against Ivanovic and another four people who are now tried. They suspended the proceedings since there was no evidence. “The document from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija clearly shows that prosecutor Hartman passed the decision was back in 2002 that charges against Oliver Ivanovic were rejected as unfounded. At issues are charges for the same events for which he is now tried and it is simply amazing that this case is discovered only now,” Ivanovic’s sister Natasa Ivanovic-Ilic tells Politika. The proceeding before UNMIK’s judiciary was completed by a final suspension of proceedings. Nobody appealed the decision.
Attorney Nebojsa Vlajic points out that the basic rule of the criminal judiciary is being violated – that criminal proceedings for the same subject cannot be conducted twice. The only exemption is if possible evidence appears that justify re-launching of the proceeding, but there is no such evidence in this case. The same witnesses are now showing up at the trial, whose testimonies were insufficient in 2000 to even launch an investigation. “This speaks that the motives for conducting this proceeding are not legal, but exclusively political. This trial is a recycling of an old case that ended 15 years ago,” says Vlajic. Natasa Ivanovic-Ilic says that one witness, a father of a killed Albanian, who is 75 years old, on the way out of the courtroom, waved to Ivanovic, while he said that the signing of the statement during the investigation was planted in his apartment.
The panel received in January the letters of support for Ivanovic from former international officials in Kosovska Mitrovica. Gerard Gallucci, former UN regional administrator, and Jo Napolitano, who was the head of the police in Kosovska Mitrovica, sent letters in which they point out that Ivanovic is not guilty and no one had ever pointed to Ivanovic as the perpetrator or giving orders for the crimes he is charged with. “This is the wrong time and wrong person for the indictment,” says William Nash, former UNMIK regional administrator in Mitrovica. The political motives of EULEX’s judiciary are pointed by Anthony Cleland Welch, former UNMIK regional administrator, Caroline Makol, attorney from Canada, former director of the Mitrovica region in the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, then Iain King, former head of the EU Office in Mitrovica, Michael Kids, former head of UNMIK public information department in Mitrovica, and James Fitt, former UNMIK regional administrator in Mitrovica.
Oliver Ivanovic is in detention in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. He was arrested on 27 January last year. Until 12 March, he was in the detention unit in Pristina, because of which he went on a hunger strike for nine days. Eleven months have passed from the arrest to the beginning of the trial.
Milenkovic: We expect opening of several chapters this year (Danas)
“This year we expect the opening of several chapters. I would be surprised if we don’t open a single chapter considering how much work we have done. The EU negotiating framework for the negotiations with Serbia says that Chapters 23, 24 and 35 must be opened first. Apart from them, Chapter 32 will also be in the focus. On the other side, one should also have in mind the internal procedures in the EU that have their own dynamic. In Brussels I was acquainted in detail with these procedures and they can be sometimes slower and longer than what we would like them to be. We still don’t have a date for the next inter-government conference, but we hope it will be held in the course of this year,” says Ksenija Milenkovic in her first interview for Danas at the post of the Acting Head of the government Office for EU integration.
Will the last agreement in Brussels be enough for the opening of Chapter 35 in regard to the normalization of relations with Pristina? Do we know in what way will this chapter be opened?
“The first reactions to the agreement on the judiciary reached in Brussels on 9 February have been very positive. Having in mind how much has been done within the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, we expect that we will have the opportunity very soon to start with the procedure inside the EU for opening this chapter. It passes through the same procedure as other chapters, but it is specific and a novelty not only for us, but also for the EU. A lot of things are done on the go. We are aware that this might be a hindering circumstance, as well as the fact that the implementation of the already agreed things from the dialogue does not depend only from us, but also from Pristina.”
Germany insists on the implementation of the agreement for opening this chapter?
“It is the right of every member state to insist on fulfilling certain criteria. Two member states may differently interpret whether the criteria has been fulfilled or not. It is up to us to do our part of the job and in the context of Chapter 35 we think we are constructively and consistently implementing the Brussels agreement. Within this agreement, the most important thing for us is the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities, which is of key importance for our citizens in Kosovo and Metohija.”
Will eventual new agreements in Brussels and the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities enable the opening of chapters?
“I hope it will. We think that conditions have been acquired for launching the procedure for the opening of chapters. If the problem has been that there was no dialogue at the highest political level, over the formation of the government in Pristina, now this problem doesn’t exist anymore. Not only did we have a round, but it was also successful.”
Kerry: Serbia also in “line of fire” (Tanjug/Ria Novosti)
The United States believes that some European countries are in the line of fire in the context of the relations of capital of the United States with Moscow, while the White house did not seek game defeat, said Tuesday at a hearing in the Senate U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry. “Whether we are talking about Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and other locations – Georgia, Moldova, Transnistria, they are in the line of fire”, Kerry said, answering the senators’ questions about the growing influence of Russia in Europe. Kerry said in the Senate that Russia had lied several times about its activities in Ukraine.
REGIONAL PRESS
Today meeting of the SDA, HDZ and DF leaders (Srna)
The Representatives of the SDA, DF and HDZ B&H will continue today in Sarajevo, negotiations on forming a government of the Federation of B&H (FB&H) confirmed for Srna the DF member of the Presidency Damir Becirovic. “I expect that the meeting will be a key step towards the rapid formation of the Government of the Federation of B&H,” said Becirovic.
The meeting will be attended by the party delegation led by the leaders of the SDA, Bakir Izetbegovic, DF Zeljko Komsic and HDZ B&H Dragan Covic. The meeting will be held in the afternoon, and the venue has not yet been determined. The leaders of the main political parties in the FB&H reached the agreement on the positions at the federation government level on Sunday, 22 February. The DF leader Zeljko Komsic left the meeting, while the President of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic said that the party and the parties gathered around HDZ will not give up on their demands. “We will try to finalize the talks on Wednesday and we hope to have some concrete results by the end of the week.” said Covic. Covic reiterated that it is inconceivable that the Council of Ministers is form without the FB&H Government.
British Ambassador to B&H: Edward Ferguson-B&H should join the EU and NATO (Nezavisne)
Last week I got back from NATO Headquarters in Brussels. In January, the UK took over from Turkey as the lead NATO Embassy here in Sarajevo, so I went to learn about NATO’s priorities and challenges in our fast-changing and increasingly complex world. There’s a lot on NATO’s plate as it configures itself to respond to an aggressive and expansionist Russia in the east, and to the threat from Islamic extremism in the south. But one thing that struck me is that NATO still has time for the Balkans. There’s an awful lot of goodwill towards this region, and everyone wants to see Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbors inside the Alliance. NATO views this region, and its enduring stability, as unfinished business. And it’s not hard to see why. Look at the map. There are NATO Allies to the north, south, east and west. But there is a hole in the heart of Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is a European country, and it belongs in the European alliance. I know that not everyone in this country is yet fully convinced about joining NATO. Yes, there is history. But if you are prepared to look to the future rather than to the past, then the case for NATO is simple and compelling. I see it like this: NATO is the most powerful and most successful Alliance in the history of the world. It is the ultimate guarantee of a country’s security. When they join NATO, nations make a solemn pledge that an attack on one ally will be treated as an attack on them all, and that they will come to the aid of their ally with all necessary means. NATO means that borders are inviolable, and for a country with a history like that of B&H, that is a guarantee worth having. Once a country has guaranteed its future security through NATO, it can focus on its long-term political and economic stability without having to worry about what goes on outside its borders. And we saw last year in the floods the role that your Armed Forces can already play in helping to deal with domestic crises. NATO can offer expertise to make them even better so that they can act as a modern and effective force for stability. Investors want stability. For many years, B&H has projected an image to the outside world of being unstable and divided. There would be no better signal towards potential investors in this country than progress along the path towards NATO and the EU. Elsewhere in the region, Croatia, Slovenia and Albania are already NATO Allies. But other countries are also moving closer to NATO, including those which, like parts of B&H, have experienced NATO bombing in the past 20 years. Montenegro is close to joining the Alliance. And cooperation between Serbia and NATO is also growing. The Serbian Defense Minister attended last year’s NATO Summit in Wales, and in January Serbia agreed an Individual Partnership Action Plan – the first formal step on the path towards membership of the Alliance. Just as with the EU, B&H risks being left behind by its neighbors. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Progress could come very quickly. The governing coalitions at the State and Federation levels have already agreed finally to implement the ruling of the Constitutional Court and to carry out the formal registration of defense property to the State. If that happens, then B&H would get in return a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) – the next step towards full membership of the Alliance. MAP doesn’t guarantee future membership, on either side, but it would be a fantastic signal that the country is moving forwards after years of stagnation. And there would be other benefits too. Property which is not needed by the Armed Forces could finally be sold off to generate much-needed money that could be used to improve schools, hospitals and roads. Over the coming months, I’ll be making this case for NATO around the country. But I would love to think that the new energy and momentum that we have succeeded in generating around the EU accession process could also help to unblock progress towards NATO. Then B&H would be firmly on a path towards more security, stability and prosperity, for the benefit of all its citizens.
Amnesty International: Serbs in Croatia still suffer discrimination (Srna)
Discrimination against the Serbs and Roma continues in Croatia, while the number of investigations and verdicts in war crime cases is still on a low level, reads the report of Amnesty International. Serbs in Croatia still suffer discrimination in relation to employment in public sector and face problems in reinstating occupancy rights, which they lost during the past war. The report also mentions last year’s decision of the Constitutional Court declaring unconstitutional the referendum issue of the so-called Headquarters for Defense of Vukovar on Cyrillic alphabet, which demanded limiting the use of the language of the minority to local communities with a minimum of one half of the population belonging to the ethnic minority, and with an accent on Serbian language in Vukovar. The Roma, as stated in the report, still live in isolation and with a limited access to water, electricity, and health institutions. They face discrimination in employment, many of them unemployed, while a large number of Roma children attend separate classes at schools. Amnesty International points out that progress has been made in the sphere of LGBT population, through passing of the law granting equality to same sex partnerships. The report reads that Croatia still delays passing of a law to regulate the status and compensation for damage to all civilians victims of war, and that the state still needs to ratify the international Convention on Protection of All People from Enforced Disappearance, since, due to the lack of legal regulation, the rights of the families of the missing are still unclear.
Kitarovic next week in B&H (Beta)
The Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic will visit B&H in following days, announced in Zagreb a member of the B&H Presidency and President of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic. “I had a coffee with our President. I believe that in the next few days we will host an official visit of the Croatian President to Sarajevo,” said Covic. As reported by Sarajevo media, Members of the B&H Presidency stated that the visit of the Croatian President is to be expected next week. Covic said that the other two members of the B&H Presidency have asked him, that during his visit to Sarajevo, he arranges the visit of the new Croatian President to B&H, saying that her visit carries too important message for all. Covic is in Zagreb at a joint session of the Croatian HDZ and HDZ B&H. Before the meeting with the President of HDZ Tomislav Karamarko, he laid wreaths on the grave of the first Croatian and HDZ President Franjo Tudjman and Defense Minister Gojko Susak. “I still cannot talk about the dates. My wish is to visit B&H first, and then the other neighboring countries, including Serbia,” stated Grabar Kitarovic to journalists in Zagreb. She then confirmed that the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who was on her inauguration, called in his and the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic’s behalf to invite her to visit Belgrade.
FYROM: Widespread anger at the media close to the SDSM, funded by Soros (MIA)
There is widespread anger at the media close to the SDSM, funded by Soros and journalists who defend policies of Bihakjka. Faced with the fact that citizens do not approve created scenario of Zaev and opposition, they resort to explicit hate speech and brazen attacks on personal basis.
Visible are the manipulative texts filled with anger and hatred, placed in all media that are paid by Soros. The battle that they run on behalf of SDSM has crossed borders in several foundations and has become ring where they struggle with harm to individuals. Those who repeatedly demand freedom of speech and freedom of the media have become the first that with cruel insults and harsh untruths are trying to fight with opponents. Thus, taking high fees from Soros, they first seized the freedom of expression of the individuals who attacked. Igor Mickovski, man who is daily changing political stance, fiercely attacked the opposition and then defends the writer and director Aleksandar Rusjakov says is part of the executioners of freedom and human dignity and called Nazi. “Associations for Defense of Macedonia, or those of Rusjakov or the Macedonian manifesto, which in the past have proven their infantilism and destructiveness are proof that adult “small mea” have problem with excess adrenaline, testosterone and hormonal imbalances. If they were in Syria or Iraq, I am sure they would be recruited by ISIS, if they were in democratic country, would certainly be Nazi thread that yells against blacks and immigrants. However, what we have collective misfortune they are born and live with us, in Macedonia and here are the servants of the Nazi-regime of Gruevski. The fact that they are not killing us is not mitigating circumstance, but it is part of the executioners of freedom and human dignity. However, there is logic behind this is the same everywhere with the “small man”, wrote Mickovski.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
‘Kosovo exodus – lesson for West not to meddle in other countries’ affairs’ (RT, 24 February 2015)
Kosovo was used as an instrument of the West, which caused problems for all the sides in the conflict, says political analyst Aleksandr Pavic. The key lesson is that every country should mind its business and respect international law.
RT:Kosovo’s biggest daily newspaper has published a full-page appeal from Austria not to waste time and money trying to get asylum in the EU. What do you make of that?
Aleksandr Pavic: That is just a continuation of the real Western hypocrisy over Kosovo, and not just Kosovo. Kosovo is maybe the most flagrant example. They encouraged independence of a territory which absolutely cannot sustain itself. They encouraged civil war within the country. They did all that and gave those people false hopes, and now they are turning them back. It’s really cynical.
And now what? They [Kosovans] lived much better in one country when they were part of Serbia. [Now] their living standards are about 10 times worse. But now Serbia is supposed to take care of them, but Austria and Western countries were encouraging them to secede from Serbia.
RT: Austria and some other Western countries gave a green light to Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. So why does the West refuse now to take responsibility for their actions?
AP: Austria is afraid of people who have become absolutely desperate; people who since their so-called independence was declared in 2008 have lost all hope, because Austria as well as other Western countries gave power in Kosovo to the mafia, to terrorists. Ordinary people who just want to live a normal life have absolutely no chance to earn a living whatsoever. There is no industry in Kosovo: whatever worked has been destroyed either in the war or afterwards during the so-called privatization transition, a similar type of transition that took place in other countries. And as a result – you have desperate people who are just trying to make a living, and Austria doesn’t want to provide for them. It shouldn’t have been offering them false hopes to begin with.
RT: We see the similar situation happening in Ukraine right now. Shouldn’t there be any lessons learned after conflict in Kosovo?
AP: The lesson that should be learned here is that one should not meddle in other countries’ affairs. I think there is no country in the world that is perfect, every country has problems. It’s enough for each country in the world to take care of its own problems. When you start meddling in other countries’ problems you cause problems for that country and for your own country as well.
Serbia is just one example, and Kosovo is just one example of a territory that has been instrumentalized for the purposes of others. We have a similar example now in Ukraine. Whatever dire straits they may have been in before 2014 it is nothing compared to what it is now. We had a coup that was Western sponsored in Kiev in February 2014. Look at Ukraine now. I don’t think that Ukrainians if they were to choose what country they would like to live in, they would choose today’s Ukraine over Ukraine before other countries meddled in their own affairs and cause a civil war like it was caused in Serbia and in Kosovo. So, the key lesson is: mind your own business, don’t meddle in other countries’ business, respect international law, and respect other countries and other people.
RT: What do you think is the best way to resolve the long-running complex situation in Kosovo?
AP: The best way to resolve the situation is to give up on the project of so-called independent Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians and Serbs lived in the same country for decades, they lived peacefully, and it was a prosperous country compared to what it is now. If they stopped with the project of independent Kosovo and just told the Albanians that if they want to live peacefully they should make arrangements with their neighbors, with Serbia and just not interfere. And I’m sure that Serbs and Albanians would much more quickly come to an understanding – as would Ukrainians and Russians – without outside meddling. So just give up on your own projects that serve your own interests and let other people settle their difference between themselves.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
Serbia respects Bosnia’s territorial integrity but prioritizes Republika Srpska (Journal of Turkish Weekly News, by Hamdi Fırat Büyük, 24 February 2015)
The Serbian government supports the Dayton Agreement, which created Bosnia’s complex state system, and it absolutely recognizes the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, not surprisingly, in a statement in Republika Srpska’s capital of Banja Luka on Saturday, Serbian Labour Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said that Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS), which is Bosnia’s Serb entity, will always be at the top of Serbia’s political and foreign policy priorities. Vulin went to Banja Luka to attend the signing of an agreement on the electronic exchange of data in the field of pension and disability insurance. The agreement was signed by Director of the RS Pension and Disability Insurance (PIO) Fund Mladen Milic and Director of the Serbian PIO Fund Dragana Kalinovic. Vulin said that the agreement would help beneficiaries exercise their rights faster, and step up the efficiency of the funds, while at the same time leading to considerable spending cuts. Vulin added that this is an obvious example of how Serbia sees cooperation with RS – through the resolution of everyday problems of citizens. Vulin’s statements follow his cabinet chief and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s recent statements that Serbia respects Bosnia’s territorial integrity and that it is one of the biggest supporters of the Dayton Agreement, which allots half of Bosnian state territory to the unique Serb-ruled, nearly autonomous Republika Srpska governance unit. After the victory of the Serbian Progressive Party in the snap elections in March, 2014, Vucic, as the newly elected prime minister, made his first official visit to Bosnia and RS’s capital of Banja Luka, where he told the press that Serbia loves RS but that it respects Bosnia’s territorial integrity even more. This statement was the first sign of Serbia’s changing policy under Vucic’s rule. Nonetheless, besides Vucic, the current Serbian government’s cabinet has always shown this this type of attitude toward Bosnia and RS.
Bosnians Argue Over Claim to Slice of Montenegro (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, 24 February 2015)
Bosnia’s parliament held a public debate to work out an agreed position on an old-new territorial dispute with neighbouring Montenegro over the Sutorina area
Experts, professors, intellectuals and politicians met in the Bosnian parliament on Tuesday to debate what the country should do over the issue of Sutorina – a coastal area in southern Montenegro that some Bosnians say should belong to Bosnia. The debate was organized by parliament’s Constitutional-Legal Commission after a House of Representatives MP, Denis Becirovic, proposed a resolution that would reject the current border agreement with Montenegro and demand the return of the territory. Bosnian experts say the area around Sutorina belonged to Bosnia until 1945 and was “illegally” grabbed by Montenegro later on during the Yugoslav era. The debate reflected strongly conflicting opinions among different officials and academics on this issue. According to one school of thinking, Bosnia cannot now start disputing the country’s borders after the Badinter Arbitration Committee, addressing legal questions in former Yugoslavia, ruled in 1991 that the internal republican borders of the Yugoslav federation should not be changed. The borders were also confirmed by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the 1992-5 war in Bosnia, as well as the country’s new constitution. Zeljko Obradovic, from the Civil Affairs Ministry’s Border Commission, said that there were no grounds for Bosnia to claim the territory of Sutorina and that such ideas were dangerous. “I think we don’t need this,” he said. “The agreement we made with Montenegro is fair, we worked on it for 13 years. Historical right is irrelevant here. Yes, Sutorina was once a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina until 1945 but all documents after that treated it without Sutorina.” Obradovic said he feared that opening up the Sutorina dispute could open a Pandora’s Box of unresolved issues among Balkan neighbours and harm their mutual relations. However, a group of politicians, professors and experts said the border in the area of Sutorina should be returned to where it used to be until 1945. They said the area was traded in line with an agreement of the former Yugoslav authorities, but that the change was never ratified by any assembly. “We will stand for the issue of Sutorina in a peaceful way,” Becirovic said. “Bosnia and Herzegovina has historical and geographical facts [as arguments].” Some members of this group want the dispute to be resolved through international arbitration. “The issue of Sutorina is not an invented matter, it is a forgotten matter,” Professor Suad Kurtcehajic said. “If Montenegro is to get Sutorina, the International Court in the Hague should give it to it, not our own parliament.” The transcripts, documents and suggestions presented at Tuesday’s public debate will be sent to the House of Representatives of parliament, which will then vote on the resolution tabled by Becirovic. Zeljko Komsic, President of the Constitutional-legal Commission, said that many of the arguments were worth hearing. “I will read some of the things presented here with interest,” he said. “If there is argumentation, then we must not run away from it. That is our obligation. Politics are one thing but facts are another thing.”
Juncker cancels meeting with Macedonian PM over tensions (EurActiv, 24 February 2015)
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was due to meet with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Thursday in Brussels. However, a Commission spokesperson announced Monday (23 February) that the meeting has been cancelled. The Juncker-Gruevski meeting was announced in the Commission’s calendar of meetings published on 20 February. Juncker deputy spokesperson Mina Andreeva said yesterday that “Because of the evolving situation on the ground, there was an agreement that it is not opportune to hold this meeting right now.” The situation in Macedonia remains tense, after opposition leader Zoran Zaev published audio tapes on Sunday (15 February) that he said demonstrated the government’s total control over the judiciary. The authorities accuse Zaev of conspiring with an unnamed foreign intelligence service. Zaev denies it.
* * *
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.
