LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: EU should send clear message to Serbia (RTS)

It would be very good if the EU sent a clear and unambiguous message of support for everything that Serbia has done so far on the European path, by means of opening the first chapters in the accession talks, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said in the talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Belgrade. “For us, citizens of Serbia, that would be a signal that we are on the right track,” the President’s press service said in a release. “We will not suspend negotiations with Pristina, but we would not like that the Brussels agreement be understood as a list of obligations that Serbia has to meet. There are two signatories to the agreement, and up to this moment we have not seen Pristina’s willingness to fulfill its obligations,” said the Serbian President, adding that Pristina will have to do that nevertheless. “One can see that reforms in Serbia are gaining strong momentum and relations between Serbia and Germany are much better now than a few years ago, which is very important. Serbia has met numerous requirements that have been set out. As for the Brussels agreement, we will not allow Pristina to avoid its obligations. I hope that we will soon be able to make some progress when it comes to the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities, in cooperation with partners from the EU,” the German Minister said. President Nikolic and Minister Steinmeier agreed that Germany and Serbia should look to a common future, expressing the hope that the first chapters in Serbia’s accession negotiations would be opened as early as the current year.

Nikolic: I didn’t hear that the chapters will be opened (Novosti)

“Unfortunately, I cannot say that Mr. Steinmeier had clearly told me that the negotiating chapters with the EU would be opened by the end of the year. True, he said that he thought conditions would be acquired for this in the course of the year,” Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told Novosti several minutes after talks with the German Foreign Minister.

What does Berlin specifically demand from Belgrade when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija?

“Minister Steinmeier had conveyed to me that Germany firmly supports Serbia on the EU path, but it demands full implementation of the Brussels agreement.”

Have you reminded him that the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) is also part of the Brussels agreement?

“Of course I did. I told him that the Brussels agreement implies the formation of the ZSO with the envisaged full capacity. The Brussels agreement does not envisage for the ZSO competencies and its formation to be linked to the Pristina legislation, nor to be in accordance with the Serbian legislation. Yet, why would we reject the Serbian legislation and exclusively be guided by what is written in the laws of Pristina? Let them also amend some law if we are already negotiating.”

Did Steinmeier set recognition of Kosovo as a condition?

“I also opened this topic with the German Minister. Steinmeier said there was not a single condition that concerns recognition of Kosovo and Metohija, which would have impact on Serbia not being able to open chapters.”

Nikolic: Serbia will help Republika Srpska (RTS/Tanjug/Beta)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic sent a message to the citizens of Serbia and the RS that they can be at peace and that everything will be done according to the Constitution and laws to ensure safety and peace, noting that the RS is not sufficiently prepared to defend itself from fundamentalism and terrorism, adding it is Serbia’s duty to help it in this. “Neither Serbia nor the RS can influence world events and what poses a threat to the entire world has not been caused by any behavior of Serbia and the RS, but we can obviously be victims or collateral damage so we need to prepared for anything,” Nikolic said after the meeting with the RS President Milorad Dodik, where the situation after the terrorist attack in Zvornik was discussed. “We discussed modalities. It is obvious that all countries in the Balkans must establish better and more specific cooperation, so services must cooperate and exchange information and work together. In the present constitution of B&H, the RS is not sufficiently prepared to defend itself from the increasing danger of fundamentalism and terrorist, because of which Serbia is obliged to help it.” According to Nikolic, the incident in Zvornik shows that the international community has not managed to constitute many things in B&H so it can function. “Right now we’re talking about people who are returning from the battlefield. And the question is whether former, current and future terrorists live in B&H, and whether freely recruit young people,” said Nikolic. He stressed that Serbia does not want to do anything that would jeopardize the survival, functioning, and the future of B&H, but that it also does not want to do anything that would put the RS in danger. “This is a small phenomenon of what lies beneath the surface and swells and is transmitted worldwide. All those who have responsibility will do what is in their power under the Constitution and the law to ensure peace and security,” said Nikolic. He warned that the Balkans is vulnerable even today, 20 years after the Dayton Accord, and the opening of wounds would be imply that all this time has been lost and that this is also the responsibility of those who care about B&H on behalf of the international community. According to Nikolic, Serbia would not protect the RS if it would request more competencies but it wants the RS to be able to exercise its rights.

Dodik: RS will develop new security strategy (Beta)

The RS President Milorad Dodik told a joint press conference with President Nikolic in Belgrade that the RS would develop a new strategy for its security system, following the attack on the police station in Zvornik. It means the RS will work with security agencies of the Federation of B&H, Croatia and Serbia, because a battle against terrorism cannot be fought in isolation. Coordination and cooperation with all positively oriented agencies is welcome, and we have noticed absolute willingness to cooperate here in Serbia,” he said. He pointed out that his meetings with Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic had included security as a topic, after the terrorist attack in Zvornik. “Serbia and the RS will do everything to fight terrorism, especially since Zvornik is on the Drina River, which runs along the border with Serbia,” said Dodik.

Still waiting for foundation of ZSO (Novosti)

The first test of relations between coalition partners toward the Serb (Srpska) List, which resumed work in the Kosovo institutions after two months of boycott, will be the formation of working groups that need to lay the foundation for the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO). Kosovo Minister for Local Self-Government Ljubomir Maric tells Novosti that the ball is in Pristina’s yard: “The establishment of the working group for legislation that needs to ensure Kosovo regulations for the formation of the ZSO, is an obligation that has been standing ever since the signing of the Brussels agreement. Following the last round of the dialogue, my expectation is that it will be formed soon, and what we need for the working group to start oeprating is political will of the Albanian side.” The main dispute between Pristina and Belgrade regarding the ZSO is whether it will be formed in accordance with the existing Kosovo legislation. This is unacceptable for the Serbian side since the ZSO would not differ in this case from the existing Association of Kosovo municipalities and could not have the agreed competencies. “The Brussels agreement denies the fact that the ZSO will be the same as the Association, since the Association doesn’t have a representative in the central authorities, and this is envisaged for the ZSO,” said Maric.

Joksimovic grants donation to Ukraine on behalf of Serbian government (Tanjug)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic is taking part in the International Conference on Support for Ukraine in Kiev on Tuesday, where, on behalf of the Serbian government, she is granting one-off assistance for the persons that have been displaced as a consequence of the armed conflicts. By the decision of the Serbian government and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, we are here today to give a donation of 100.000 Euros and thus support the country going through the crisis, Joksimovic said in a statement to Tanjug from Kiev. She underlined that Serbia has good relations with Ukraine, and that the government hopes for further improvement in both political and economic relations.
“Ukraine is a country that very principally abides by international law and has not recognized Kosovo’s independence. We respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea,” Joksimovic said.
Stefanovic: Cooperation and prevention in fighting terrorism (Tanjug)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic stated that terrorism is a global threat, adding that only cooperation, modern and trained police and work on prevention can help fight it. Opening the Conference on Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Preventing Radicalization, and Combating Terrorism in the Balkans Region, Stefanovic condemned recent terrorist attack on the police station in Zvornik, adding that Serbia is a reliable partner to the international community in the fight against this “modern evil”. He said that the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) makes concrete contribution with daily exchange of operational data and participation in international initiatives, intensified control of border crossings and financial investigations. A group fighting against terrorism and extremism has been set up within the MUP, and a new strategy for combating terrorism should be adopted soon, he said. “We have no more time to wait, so we need to react quickly in order to make sure none of our countries is a target of terrorist attacks. Thirty Serbian nationals have gone to fight in the zone of armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq, some of whom have taken their families with them. Ten people from Serbia were killed in these war zones.” He noted that in Serbia eight criminal charges were pressed against the people in connection with terrorism, and indictments were raised against seven people, while the court proceedings started for five suspects. The objective is to bring to justice all people who promote radical Islamist ideology, Stefanovic said.
Burkhard: Fight against terrorism – OSCE priority (Tanjug)

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Peter Burkhard said in Belgrade that foreign fighters are recruited around the world, including in Serbia. That is an important fact, even though the number of foreign fighters from Serbia is quite small, Burkhard said at a conference on fighting radicalism and terrorism in the Balkan region. It is a priority issue for OSCE, Burkhard said, noting that boosted cooperation is crucial for confronting such phenomena. We urge stronger cooperation and a better exchange of information, in which the OSCE can be a platform for discussions, he said. He noted that action against terrorism and violent extremism needs to be taken in all dimensions, and that the OSCE particularly encourages the local approach. Local communities can best identify individuals before they carry out terrorist attacks, Burkhard said.
The OSCE Mission head also said that Serbia must provide more support to young people to prevent their radicalization and recruitment.

Serbian peacekeepers take part in military parade in CAR (Tanjug)

Serbian Armed Forces troops have taken part in a military parade staged at the M’Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), to mark the declaration of full operational capabilities of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country. The military parade was held on Tuesday, with a Serbian Armed Forces echelon making an appearance among 500 participants in 17 infantry and motorized echelons, the Serbian Armed Forces website said.
The multi-dimensional integrated UN mission has nearly 12,000 military and police troops, including 172 Serbian Armed Forces troops, 68 of whom have established a military hospital.
The basic task of the mission is to protect civilians, stop the hostilities between the former warring sides and create conditions to establish a state system in the entire territory of CAR.
Serbian Defense Ministry and Serbian Armed Forces personnel are also taking part in UN peacekeeping missions in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic, as well as in the Middle East, Lebanon and Cyprus.

REGIONAL PRESS

Bilateral relations between Serbia and B&H at a high level (Srna/Fena)

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, who is also OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs of B&H Igor Crnadak concluded at a meeting in Sarajevo that bilateral relations between Serbia and B&H are at a very high level. Dacic expressed his condolences to Crnadak and to the family of the policeman killed in the terrorist attack on the police station in Zvornik. He said that Serbia and B&H are members of the coalition for the fight against Islamic extremism and added that both countries modified their legislation so as to classify any involvement of fighters and citizens of our countries in armed conflicts on foreign fronts as a criminal act. This terrorist act is one of the indicators that although many of those people are fighting far away from our region, this phenomenon will be felt here too. That is why we have to pay a special attention to it and fight terrorism together, Dacic said. The First Deputy Prime Minister added that conferences will be held in Belgrade and Sarajevo in the coming months at which the issue of terrorism will be discussed. Dacic underlined that Serbia is very interested in the stability and progress of B&H. Crnadak said that it has been decided that the two countries will help each other at all levels and will work together on speeding up their European path. At the meeting it was confirmed that from May to November, when B&H will take over presidency over the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Serbia and B&H will have several joint events and will use this opportunity to intensify their cooperation. On this occasion, a meeting will be held in Brussels on 19 May which will be attended by Crnadak, Dacic, representative of the previous presiding country of the Committee of Ministers and two secretaries-general, of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Dacic also spoke with members of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic and Bakir Izetbegovic who informed him about the current situation in B&H, the process of formation of authorities and the internal and foreign policy priorities of B&H. In addition, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of B&H Denis Zvizdic briefed Dacic about the current political situation in the country, with a special reference on the terrorist attack on the police station in Zvornik. He underlined that B&H is resolute in its fight against terrorism and that it has already adopted legislation on that matter.

Priority is to prevent threat of terrorism (Srna)

The RS top government officials and representatives in the joint B&H bodies have agreed the common views condemning a terrorist act on a police station in Zvornik and made a conclusion that preventing the threat of terrorism is a priority. Participants of a Tuesday meeting organized by President Milorad Dodik have expressed their deepest condolences to the family of policeman Dragan Djuric, who was murdered on Monday while on duty. “This terrorist act is an attack on the institutions of Republika Srpska,” reads a document stating the common views of the politicians. The top officials of the RS government and representatives in the joint B&H bodies agree that terrorism is the biggest security threat in B&H, that it complicates the security situation in the country and that B&H is a fertile ground for the spread of terrorism. “We emphasize the fact that several hundred people from B&H are fighting in foreign battlefields,” read the common views that the officials expressed at a meeting in Banja Luka. They agreed to initiate the application of a law that would ban people from going to foreign battlefields and prosecute those responsible. The meeting voiced full support to the coordination of police agencies and stressed the need for sharing of security information. One of the conclusions is that it is necessary to adhere to the existing framework of police structures in B&H and that there is no need to form more security bodies. Participants of the meeting underlined the need for a stronger political condemnation of terrorism and different organizations with terrorist potential by all political factors in the country. They appealed for peace and tolerance among the citizens of RS and B&H and urged the prevention of misinformation and usage of hate speech. The meeting in Banja Luka was attended by the RS President Milorad Dodik and RS representatives in the B&H institutions. The participants included B&H Presidency Chairman Mladen Ivanic, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly, Mladen Bosic, and Deputy Chairman of the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly, Ognjen Tadic. Other attendees were B&H Security Minister Dragan Mektic, RS Assembly speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic, RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, Interior Minister Dragan Lukac and Chairman of the RS Assembly Security Committee, Milanko Mihajlica.

Cooperation between the RS government and the UNDP very good (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic and the UNDP Resident Representative in B&H Yuri Afanasiev concluded on Tuesday that the cooperation between the RS government and the UNDP is very good, expressing readiness to continue the cooperation also on future projects in connection with sustainable development and employment, social inclusion, and the rule of law. Cvijanovic and Afanasiev discussed on Tuesday in Banja Luka the activities relating to the realization of the project on the construction of 150 homes in several municipalities in the RS for families who have been left without permanent accommodation due to floods and landslides. The project is being implemented by the RS Solidarity Fund together with the UNDP. During the meeting, emphasis was put on the fact that concrete steps had been taken towards resolving the biggest problems in RS’s municipalities that suffered in 2014 floods, the RS Government’s Public Relations Office said in a statement. Cvijanovic and Afanasiev discussed possibilities for the development of civil protection sector in the RS, with the aim of creating a more efficient system for fight against natural disasters. In the context of the terrorist attack in Zvornik, the topic of the conversation was the security situation in the RS and B&H.

Cvijanovic emphasized that she condemned the act, and called for peace and tolerance. She pointed out that the government fully supports the Ministry of Interior of RS, and expects the participation and cooperation of all institutions in B&H, with the aim of ensuring a higher level of security for all citizens. The meeting was attended by the RS Finance Minister Zoran Tegeltija and the Head of UNDP Office in Banja Luka Goran Vukmir.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia to Aid Bosnia’s Fight Against Terrorism (BIRN, 29 April 2015)

Following Monday’s attack on a police station in the Bosnian town of Zvornik, Serbian leaders have pledged to help their western neighbour confront the terrorist threat. Tomislav Nikolic, the Serbian President, said that Bosnia’s mainly Serbian entity, Republika Srpska, was unable to fight terrorism on its own, which is why Serbia felt obliged to give it aid. Speaking after the terror attack in eastern Bosnia, he said that “citizens of Serbia and Republika Srpska can be completely calm. The authorities will do everything in their power to ensure the peace, security and safety of citizens. “It is obvious that all the states in the Balkans must establish stronger and more concrete cooperation, that services must cooperate and exchange information,” Nikolic said on April 29, after meeting Milorad Dodik, the Republika Srpska President. Following the fatal attack by an Islamist gunman in Zvornik, eastern Bosnia, Dodik said he had discussed possible exchanges of information on terrorist threats in the region with Serbia’s leaders. “We know this terrorist was a member of one nation but we also know that all Bosniak people do not cherish those values and that we have to cooperate in order to fight extremism,” Dodik said on Wednesday in Belgrade. But he also complained of a lack of political will among Bosnia’s Bosniak [Muslim] politicians to confront religious extremism, saying the fact that Republika Srpska had lost its jurisdiction over the security sector had been damaging. “Our authorities were decreased at the behest of the international community. We plan to develop a new strategy for a security structure and are going to develop what we are entitled to have under the constitution,” Dodik said. On Monday, a 24-year-old Bosniak, Nerdin Ibric, from the village of Kucic Kula near Zvornik, drove his car in front of the police station armed with two rifles and a pistol. He shot one policeman at the entrance and wounded two more inside the building before he was shot dead in an exchange of fire with other policemen. Police said he shouted the Islamist slogan “Allahu Akbar” [“God is Greatest”]. Testimonies from Ibric’s own family suggest he felt motivated by radical Islam, leading officials to declare the attack religiously motivated.

Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, in cooperation with local police over the past 24 hours has raided houses and detained two persons believed to be connected to the incident. Ivica Dacic, the Serbian Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairperson in Office, on April 29 called the attack in Zvornik a blow to the stability of the whole region. Apart from developing closer political cooperation, Balkan states need to strengthen cooperation between their security services, he said. Serbian police raised security measures across the country on Monday following the attack next door in Bosnia. Police in the mainly Bosniak Novi Pazar region in the southwest of Serbia have introduced special measures. “The greatest security challenge is certainly here. We have established priorities and are undertaking the necessary measures,” Novi Pazar police told local Sto Plus radio on April 29.

Serbia Arrests 15 Suspected Migrant Traffickers (AP, 27 April 2015)

BELGRADE, Serbia—Serbian police have arrested 15 people suspected of trafficking more than 200 migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan toward the European Union.

The police said Monday the alleged criminal group smuggled migrants over the border from Bulgaria and crossed them through Serbia aiming to reach Hungary, an EU member. Each migrant was charged 1,000 euros ($1,084) for the trip.

Serbia and the rest of the Balkans have become one of the main transit routes for migrants seeking to reach the 28-nation EU. Officials say people from Africa and Asia most often are trafficked from Greece or Bulgaria north to Hungary.

Rights groups have accused Serbia of harassing migrants who are fleeing wars and poverty.

Serbia has pledged to curb human trafficking as it seeks to become an EU member.

A New Clandestine Crossing Into The EU, Via Serbia (Worldcrunch, by Maryline Baumard, 28 April 2015)

At the border between Serbia and Hungary, the number of illegal arrivals has increased dramatically over the past few months. Syrians and Afghans who take the road in the Balkans cross paths with migrating Kosovars.

SUBOTICA — At regular intervals, thick smoke emerges from the fire and interrupts the sleepy atmosphere. Eyelids open and words are exchanged to forget, if only briefly, the weariness that fills the brickyard. This abandoned factory in the Serbian town of Subotica is shared by Afghans, Pakistanis and Syrians traveling through the Balkans, and is used as a resting place before entering the Schengen Area, represented by the 26 European countries that have abolished passport and any other type of border control at their common borders. On this day, about 30 Syrians and Iraqis are trying to warm up around a fire alongside 20 Afghans. People check their flashlights while awaiting a text from the smuggler. “Taxis are waiting for us on the other side of the border, and we are going to Austria,” says Nabil, a 46-year-old Syrian man, adding that the passing and the drive will cost around $1,500 per person. Predrag Sarac knows the scenario by heart. He is responsible for security along the 174.6 kilometers of the Serbian-Hungarian border, and his mission is to reduce the number of illegal crossings. His area is the third entry door for illegal arrivals in the Schengen Area (there were an estimated 37,000 illegal crossings in 2014), after the central zone of the Mediterranean Sea (174,000 illegal crossings last year) and the Western Mediterranean Sea (50,000 illegal crossings last year). As executive director of Frontex, the European agency monitoring external borders, Fabrice Leggeri is worried because illegal entries into the European Union increased by 250% in the first two months of 2015 compared to the first two months of 2014. And he says that “a significant influx” is coming from the Balkans. Sarac explains why. “We are on Passageway 10, the shortest way between the Thessaloniki region and Austria. Migrants arrive here from Greece, hidden in trains and in cargo wagons, but they also arrive by car or by foot. And then, Kosovars add up.” In Kosovo, more than half of the working-age population is unemployed. It took more than five months to form a government, between July and November 2014. The dire situation has led many in this small country, which became independent in 2008, to flee to the West. Of 1.7 million residents, some 130,000 to 140,000 have left, says Ilir Deda, the country’s opposition deputy.

Massive influx

The belief that Europe needed laborers and that customs officials would let migrants enter the territory increased the emigration frenzy at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. At first, this travel was possible because of the free movement agreement signed between the EU and Serbia in 2013, and also thanks to cheap transportation. It costs only 21 euros ($23) to take a bus for the 700 kilometers from the Kosovo capital of Pristina to Subotica in Serbia. “This flight started in the summer of 2014,” Sarac explains. “First, we caught Roma. Then, since November, very poor people, before seeing middle-class people arrive. We could catch families with children as well as groups of men alone, aged from 18 to 30 years old. We are still very attentive, but it looks like the wave has passed.”Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis make up three-quarters of the people caught on the Serbian or Hungarian side of the border, the Frontex numbers show. Between March 1 and March 12 alone, Sarac’s teams intercepted 536 people from those countries compared with just 33 Kosovars. At the peak of the exodus, the numbers had been more balanced, forcing customs officers to adapt and choose different modi operandi. Syrians and Afghans, who usually cross the border by foot, are now being dropped off by taxis just 300 meters away from Kosovar passengers heading to Hungary. Nuri Sejdiu, 39, is an unemployed tiler who left Kosovo on Dec. 11, 2014, with his wife and their three children, aged 2, 10 and 12 years old. “I borrowed 1,000 euros ($1,080),” he says. “We took a bus to Subotica. For 250 euros per person, a taxi dropped us off on the side of the road and smugglers guided us by groups of 50 people. Once we arrived in Hungary, customs officers arrested us and locked us up for two nights in a center.” He still can’t believe that he and his family were then freed to resume their journey, even if he’s had to return to Kosovo since then.

Customs reinforcement

On the Serbian side of the border, he was safe. “A Kosovar can move around in Serbia,” Sarac explains. “We can only catch the ones who admit they want to cross the border.” As part of an agreement for normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the EU forced Serbia to give Kosovars freedom of movement. And that is believed to be partly responsible for the wave of arrivals in the West. And it could also explain why it took a very long time to react. “We had to wait until the international community started worrying about the increase in requests for asylum from Kosovars before anything happened,” one local observer says. Adds Serbian Interior Secretary Nebojsa Stefanovic, “I re-deployed 100 police officers to other places on the border and rallied 50 police forces. Additionally, 20 German police officers patrol with us and let us use their equipment,” he adds. Germany is the favorite destination for people coming from the Balkans. Since the stream of Kosovars has dried up, but the number of other migrants has grown so dramatically, there is some question of whether the traditional Balkan path will be closed altogether, which would force migrants toward Romania. On this day, Zoran Vorkapic, a young customs officer, patrols with two Germans. “Here, there was some activity,” he says, pointing towards the trodden grass. On the previous night, 16 Afghans were arrested. This also means that the 30 Syrians from the brickyard walked through here and might already be long gone.

Grueling journeys

“The taxi to Vienna is a madness, because Hungary is a dangerous step,” observes

a migrant named Mohamed. “We have to leave really quickly, before they take our prints and send us back here when we will ask for asylum somewhere else.” The Syrians have experienced several difficult adventures. In Macedonia, they were attacked by an armed group. “To reach the brickyard, we traveled 20 days from Turkey,” Nabil says. “We took the bus when we could, but we also followed rails and used the GPS on our telephones to find them.” The worst was “walking for 30 hours without drinking, eating or sleeping,” Nabil says. “We were soaked, freezing, exhausted. We were like robots. But if we had stopped, we would have caught a cold. And then the police could have sent us back to Greece. This already happened to me in Macedonia.” Even if their path is shorter, the Kosovars also experienced difficulty. When Nuri Sejdiu was freed in Hungary, he spent the last of his savings on train tickets to Berlin and accidently traveled to Slovakia. At the border, his family was arrested and detained for two months. He volunteered to return to Kosovo and has to live there, ashamed of his failure. And he doesn’t know how he will repay his 1,000-euro debt.

Balkan States to See Stable or Higher 2015, Central Bankers Say (Bloomberg, by Gordana Filipovic, 27 April 2015)

Economic growth will stabilize or accelerate in four former Yugoslav republics in 2015, central bankers said today, with Macedonia leading the way with a 4 percent expansion.

Croatia’s central bank will raise its growth forecast for this year from 0.2 percent next week, the regulator’s head, Boris Vujcic, said at a conference in his country’s coastal city of Rovinj. He didn’t elaborate on the higher forecast, which if fulfilled would be the first growth for the Adriatic state in six years after a 0.4 percent contraction in 2014, according to a preliminary estimate from the stats office. Slovenia, the only euro area member among the former Yugoslav republics, will expand between 2 percent and 2.4 percent, according to central bank Governor Bostjan Jazbec, following growth of 2.6 percent in 2014. Bosnia, which is recovering from devastating floods last year, will advance 2.6 percent, according to central bank governor Kemal Kozaric. His Montenegrin counterpart Milojica Dakic said his country’s economy will increase by at least 3.25 percent, up from an estimated 2 percent in 2014, as works on new highway, tourism, energy and agriculture projects begin. Macedonia, whose growth rates have outpaced those in the region, sees the economy advancing by 4 percent amid heightened political and fiscal risks, central bank governor Dimitar Bogov said. Fiscal consolidation is “a great challenge” after years of tax cuts for investors boosted public debt. Growth and investment will depend on how quickly the authorities overcome months of political crisis between the ruling and opposition parties, he said.

Two arrested after attack in Bosnia and Herzegovina (APA, 29 April 2015)

Baku-Two people have been arrested up to now after an attack which occurred in Zvornik in the entity of Republic of Srpska (RS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), it was reported Tuesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua. The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) held in custody Avdulah Hasanovic and Kasim Mehidic, who are related to radical Islamist groups in BiH and with Nerdin Ibric who committed the attack on the police station on Monday evening, leaving one policeman killed and two others wounded. According to SIPA, Ibric had been in contact with both Mehidic and Hasanovic in the last 24 hours. Hasanovic had once been arrested in September 2014, together with the leader of radical Salafi movement in BiH Bilal Bosnic, on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Reports said Hasanovic had been living in Syria until 2014. Mehidic was arrested by members of the joint investigation team in the city of Kalesija in the entity of Federation of BiH. The Council of Ministers (CoM) has entrusted the Ministry of Security of BiH to prepare a comprehensive report within seven days to the Council and to propose operational measures to ensure efficient operation of the relevant institutions in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. The CoM also requested accelerated pace of implementation of the decision on the development of strategies for preventing and combating terrorism for 2015-2020. Governments of the both entities of BiH have decided to declare April 29 as a day of mourning.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to meet Bosnian politicians (World Bulletin, 29 April 2015)

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Bosnia- Herzegovina on Wednesday and Thursday. A statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry released on Wednesday said Cavusoglu would meet members of the Presidential Council, the head of the Council of Ministers and lawmakers. As well as Turkish-Bosnian relations and regional issues, the meetings will also focus on economic ties and Turkish investment in Bosnia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to visit the country in the coming weeks. According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s website, trade between Turkey and Bosnia exceeded $363 million in 2012.

Mladic Witness: Bosniaks ‘Wanted to Leave’ Eastern Bosnia (BIRN, 29 April 2015)

The former commander of the Birac brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army told Ratko Mladic’s trial that he helped organise the ‘removal of Muslims’ from eastern Bosnia, but insisted they wanted to go. Testifying in defence of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic at the Hague Tribunal on Tuesday, former local commander Svetozar Andric said that in the end of May 1992 he ordered the “removal of the civilian Muslim population” from the territory under the control of the Birac brigade in eastern Bosnia. But he said this was done “in an organised fashion”, insisting that the order only applied to those Bosniaks “who wanted to leave”. Andric rejected a suggestion from prosecutor Alan Tieger that the Bosniak population was persecuted as a result of the order. He also explained that the decision to move the Bosniaks out of the area that was affected by fighting actually saved their lives, as they needed protection from Serb refugees. “That order saved thousands, as many would not have survived,” said Andric. He said that the Bosniaks also needed to be sent away from the area to avoid paramilitaries, who were a “threat to Muslims and Serbs”. During cross-examination, Andric confirmed he ordered a setting up of a camp to hold Bosniaks in Vlasenica, but insisted it was done in accordance with humanitarian law. He explained that the camp temporarily held Bosniak men if they had not participated in the fighting. After being checked, they were sent to Bosniak territory, the witness said. Andric said he did not know about the killings of Bosniak men in the Susica detention camp in Vlasenica in September 1992. He blamed paramilitaries for most crimes committed in eastern Bosnia in 1992. “The blame lies with paramilitaries in the Birac region,” he said. He added that at the time, however, he did not know about the crimes committed by paramilitaries like the Yellow Wasps in Zvornik. He denied that the Yellow Wasps were under the command of the Bosnian Serb Army, although he admitted they fought alongside him in Kalesija. Mladic is on trial for the persecution of Muslims and Croats which allegedly reached the scale of genocide in several municipalities – Zvornik in the Birac region being one of them. He is also on trial for genocide in Srebrenica, taking UN peacekeepers hostage and terrorising the population of Sarajevo. The trial continues.

Montenegro: Zvornik Attack Threatens Regional Stability (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 29 April 2015)

Montenegro’s Foreign Minister said Monday’s attack by an Islamist gunman on a police station in Bosnia posed a wider threat to the region in general. Montenegrin Foreign Minister Igor Luksic on Tuesday said the terrorist attack in Zvornik in eastern Bosnia posed a threat to ethnic relations in the region and to the stability of the Western Balkans. He condemned the attack on the police station in Zvornik on Monday, which left one police officer killed and two others wounded. The attacker, who was identified as Nerdin Ibric, a Bosniak born in 1991, was also killed in the shootout with police officers. “Such a brutal attack, motivated by political and religious radicalism, not only endangers the citizens of one state but also could be a threat to the entire region,” Luksic said. The chair of parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, Mevludin Nuhodzic, said the security services in Montenegro had no information on similar attacks planned for Montenegro, but that this not mean “that we shouldn’t be careful. “The terrorist attack in Bosnia and Herzegovina sends a warning that Bosnian institutions must act decisively when it comes to the threat of terrorism because the virus can be spread to other countries,” he said. Human rights organizations and opposition parties also condemned the attack in Zvornik. Some said that powerful forces aimed to inflame ethnic tensions in the region and stop the democratization process in the Balkans.

New Data on Eavesdropping Aired in Macedonia (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 29 April 2015)

Social Democrats reveal new taped telephone conversations and alleged police documents of surveillance targets, which it says confirms its claims about massive illegal surveillance.

At its 27th press conference on the issue of illegal surveillance in Macedonia, the opposition Social Democrats on Tuesday presented what they claimed were secret police spreadsheets containing data about more than 20,000 eavesdropped persons. “The data about the illegal surveillance originate from the existing communications surveillance system of the Secret Police, UBK… No foreign services [were involved], no surveillance vans, no espionage and no coup attempts”, the opposition leader Zoran Zaev said, referring to the government’s claims that the tapes came into the opposition’s hands via outside intelligence agencies. Journalists were handed samples of the lists that contain telephone numbers, alleged police aliases of the targeted persons as well as in some cases home addresses. Zaev said the documents contain the names of the police operators tasked to follow their communications, which have not been published, but were handed last week to the prosecution together with all the rest of the material. “We are talking about material of over 10,000 pages that has been handed to the Public Prosecution,” Zaev said, adding that the evidence cannot be treated as classified because of the nature of the surveillance that was conducted illegally. The documents say that the police pseudonym for Zaev was “DS Zeko”. The former President of Macedonia and former opposition leader, Branko Crvenkovski, was tagged “Cross”. The current Transportation Minister was nicknamed “Tutin”, ruling party MP Silvana Boneva was tagged as “Bosli” , the editor-in-chief of the pro-government TV station Sitel, Dragan Pavlovic–Latas, was nicknamed “Talas” while the former Prime Minister and opposition leader, Vlado Buckovski, was “NDS Buva”. Last week, the opposition gave the prosecution more than 100,000 transcripts of allegedly wiretapped conversations, more than 18,000 SMS messages in transcript, and more than 12.000 telephone numbers that were eavesdropped. They say more evidence will be submitted later. At the same press conference, the opposition aired additional 13 telephone conversations that Zaev said “show how the government has been protecting the surveillance system that exists in the secret police”. Several aired conversations between what seems to be Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska and parliament speaker Trajko Veljanoski, as well as between Jankuloska and secret police chief Saso Mijalkov, refer to their attempts to prevent the adoption in 2012 of an article in the new Law on Surveillance of Communications, which would allow the opposition-run parliamentary commission for control over the work of the secret police to conduct unannounced checkups. “We should first try and prevent them from coming at all,” Jankuloska’s voice tells Mijalkov, “We should keep it the way it is right now”. As a last resort, both interlocutors agree that they should at least try to limit the number of announced visits to a few times per year. Jankuloska later explains to Veljanoski that if the commission is forced to schedule its visit, “You buy at least one day.” According to the opposition chief, these conversations took place in September 2012, when the European Commission was pressing the authorities to adopt the Law on Communications Surveillance, which needed a two-third majority, and thus needed opposition votes. The law was adopted later that month. Another tape contains the voice of secret police chief Mijalkov telling what appears to be the owner of the pro-government TV station, Kanal 5, Emil Stojmenov, that he will check out a person for him and that all he needs is a name and a telephone number. Zaev said the opposition plans to stage mass protests in Skopje with the aim of toppling Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski who has been in power for almost nine years. “This scandal surpasses the US Watergate affair, which ended the Presidency of [Richard] Nixon. In Macedonia, three months after the opening of the affair, the bosses Gruevski and Mijalkov stay glued to their chairs that bring them money and power,” Zaev said. The Social Democrats started releasing secretly recorded tapes of official conversations in February. It claims they show Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski orchestrated the illegal surveillance of some 20,000 people, adding that the material comes from sources in the Macedonian secret services. Gruevski has insisted that the tapes were created by unnamed “foreign secret services” in collaboration with the opposition in order to destabilise the country.

German Ambassador to Macedonia also Calls for Gov’t Resignations (Novinite, 28 April 2015)

Germany’s Ambassador to Skopje has urged the Macedonian cabinet to make sure that accusations hurled by the opposition are followed by resignations. “In line with all European standards, [after] such accusations there should be political consequences, which means resignations,” Christine Althauser, the top German envoy to the Southeastern European nation, said during an event dedicated to EU integration and organized by the German non-profit Konrad Adenauer. In her words, quoted by Macedonian daily Utrinski Vesnik, EU governments have been “naïve” to think that state interests could be put before those of parties. “Our Western belief that in the political dialogue interests of the state should overcome party politics, it seems, is naïve with regard to political culture here,” Althauser stated. She added she found “irritating” what she described as lack of “adequate” response on behalf of the government. The country has been rocked in the past few months by a political scandal, with socialist opposition leader Zoran Zaev unveiling series of what he calls “evidence” of interference in the media and judiciary on behalf of the executive, and also of massive wiretapping committed by PM Nikola Gruevski’s government. Gruevski has systematically rejected calls by Zaev to step down and give way to an interim government. In January, Zaev was charged with an attempted coup d’etat which Gruevski claims was inspired by a foreign intelligence service. Her remarks come after several Western states and officials from NATO and the EU have repeatedly voiced their concern over the developments. Last week it was the US Ambassador to Skopje, Jess Baily, who called on authorities to resign, echoing a statement by UK envoy Charles Garrett who urged the creation of an interim government. Althauser also made a reference to Ambassador Baily’s comments, adding she supported his belief there should be an “independent investigation”. The international community is “losing patience” in the situation, Utrinski Vesnik summarizes.

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