LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: UNMIK’s engagement of key significance for Serbia (RTS/Tanjug/Radio Serbia)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic received UNMIK Head Farid Zarif within the discussion of the regular quarterly report on UNMIK’s work, to be presented at the UN Security Council session on Kosovo on 26 May. The two pointed to the good cooperation between Serbia and UNMIK. Dacic underlined that UNMIK’s activities were important for Serbia as the UN framework, based on UNSCR 1244, guarantees the status neutrality of international presence in Kosovo and Metohija. Considering the total political and security situation in Kosovo and the continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, emphasis was laid on the significance on UNMIK’s engagement in all the fields important for the consistent implementation of UNSCR 1244. It was stressed that UNMIK should continue being strongly present in Kosovo and Metohija taking into account the trust Kosovo Serbs have in the work of that UN mission.

Brush concerned over the recent incidents in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Jennifer Brush expressed concern over a series of attacks on Serb returnees to Kosovo and Metohija in the past week. During her visit to Klina, central Kosovo, she called on the authorities to immediately launch an investigation so the perpetrators are brought to justice and to take measures to prevent such incidents in future. A Kosovo Serb Bogosav Dabizljevic was attacked in Klina on 11 May and had three ribs broken. The attack on the Dabizljevic family was the third attack on Serb returnees in this Kosovo municipality in the past three weeks. The attack was mounted just two days after a visit to two Serb ministers from the Kosovo government to Klina municipality, on which occasion they talked with the local authorities on the subject of several previous attacks on Serb returnees.

Jablanovic: The case has been fabricated (Politika)

The former minister for return and communities in Kosovo and the head of the Serb List Aleksandar Jablanovic has not decided yet whether to appear as defendant in the Basic Court in Djakovica on 22 May. He told Politika that he saw no reason why he should apply to the summons for the hearing. He stressed that the case he is charged with had been fabricated in order that damage be inflicted on Serbs involved in political life in Kosovo and Metohija and to him as the Serb List leader. Jablanovic said he would present the problem to EU representatives in Kosovo as the problem does not concern him only, but the whole Serb community. He has been charged with instigation to national, racial and religious hatred after referring to Kosovo Albanians who threw stones at a bus transporting displaced Serbs as “savages“, and is being threatened with a sentence of up to eight years of imprisonment.

KLA terrorists preparing incursion in Presevo (Novosti)

Serbia is at risk from terrorist actions in the next twenty days. Around 50 Albanian terrorists are preparing to cross from Kosovo and Metohija into the territory of the Presevo municipality and to act from there. Novosti has learned that this is confidential intelligence data obtained through operational work by the headquarters for Coordination of Security Services of Serbia. According to Novosti, the Serbian state institutions are acquainted with this dramatic estimate and are applying all the necessary measures towards preventing terrorist crimes on the territory of Serbia. According to the data of the operatives, well-trained fighters of the terrorist KLA are among the potential attackers. It is presumed that their center should be in Gnjilane, Drenica and on Bajgora. Serbian services have been examining for a long time all options, including this worse-case scenario that includes terrorist attacks. That is why the level of combat readiness of military, police and intelligence services will be stepped up these days. According to the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun, because of the very fact that there are strong bases of radical Islam, there is also the possibility for them to act on the territory of Serbia proper. He adds that in Kosovo there are returnees from the battlefields who were in the Islamic State and have connections with international Jihadist organizations, which speaks that there are capacities for conducting terrorist actions. “On the other side, the Serbian state controls extremists and this is shown by the fact that there had been no attacks so far. Our services can track the movement of these networks and they should cooperate with the provisional institutions in Pristina and the international community on this issue,” said Drecun. As regards the region in Kosovo and Metohija where the terrorists could ‘close ranks’, Drecun notes that, conditionally speaking, their ‘bases’ are places where radical Islamists are concentrated, and that ‘training camps’ are organized ad hoc, usually in remote villages. These trainings last between ten and 20 days. According to Drecun, the events in Macedonia must be viewed through the geo-political prism, so he recalls the statement of US Secretary of State John Kerry in February that a series of European countries, including Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, are on the “line of fire” when it comes to relations between Washington and Moscow: “Gruevski is obviously turned towards Moscow, because of which all the turmoil in Macedonia, without doubt, can be subsumed under the concept of ‘colored revolutions’. Whether instability will spill over further on will depend on the visit of Prime Minister Vucic to Washington. He will be faced with the difficult question where is he leading Serbia – towards the Euro-Atlantic or Euro-Asian region, and if gives assuring answers, this will be the key for locking the destabilization of the region.”

MP of the Party for Democratic Action (PDD) Riza Halimi rejects the possibility of an escalation of clashes in southern Serbia – in Presevo, Bujanovac or Medvedja. In his opinion, the stories on a ‘Greater Albania’ are exaggerated and represent sensationalism: “There are problems in the Presevo Valley, but the most important thing is that politicians and parties are completely committed to political resolution of problems and dialogue. The unfortunate episode in Macedonia is a reflection of an outdated logic that hasn’t managed to seriously destabilize this country and any neighboring region.”

Stojanovic: Albanians led by one brain (Novosti)

“Along with international extremism and terrorism, the key security risk for Serbia is the realization of the project of a ‘Greater Albania’, The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Security Services Control Momir Stojanovic tells Novosti. He thinks that it is not excluded for the wave of terrorism, launched in Macedonia, to spill over to our country, even though Serbia’s institutions have operatively and intelligence-wise taken all preventive measures.

Where is potentially the biggest risk in Serbia?

“The Presevo Valley, with the Albanian population, is a strategically important point. Through it passes the key road and rail communication, while the Turkish Stream pipeline is also planned. It is possible that those great powers who mind that project have struck at the weakest link – Macedonia. Serbia must be careful not to, while fighting for the north of Kosovo and Metohija, lose the south of Serbian proper.”
Are the speculations that terrorists are planning an attack on Kosovska Mitrovica true?
“Now there is a lot of misinformation that are diverting the attention from the essence. It is true that there is pressure from the Albanians for north of Kosovo and Metohija to receive the same status that is given to the Presevo Valley within Serbia. All those ideas are only stairs to the realization of a ‘Greater Albania’.”

Security information states that the hotbed of the terrorists from Kumanovo is precisely in Kosovo, while traces lead to Haradinaj as well?

“The key positions in Pristina are assumed by former staff and extremists from the so-called KLA. The provisional Kosovo institutions, the government in Tirana and Albanian leaders in Macedonia have constant and continuous communication. So, among the Albanians who quarrel, for example, between Haradinaj and Thaqi, there are no differences when it comes to the goal, and this is ‘Greater Albania’. They will never give up this.”

But Tirana and Pristina have distanced themselves from terrorism…

“All Albanian political leaders in the region are essentially one brain. The division between them is such that one group sends conciliatory messages while the other sends radical and extreme ones. And at the push of a button they are ready to give a nod to terrorists to take action when needed. And that – when they get a nod from the outside.”

Who really controls the terrorists?

“It is no secret that the US, in terms of creating its Western Balkans policy, relies on the Albanian corps. America has no problem with realization of a ‘Greater Albania’ because it is not a threat to their security and their interests. On the other hand, the EU is afraid of it because the project is a source of instability in this part of the world.”

Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (RTS)

The regular spring session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church begins in Belgrade today and the agenda includes topics on the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija and the status of the non-canonical Macedonian Orthodox Church. These talks should be renewed with the mediation of the Russian Orthodox Church, most probably in June, after the spring session. The topics could include the recent terrorist attacks on the police of the Republika Srpska in Zvornik and on the police in Kumanovo. The session usually lasts some fifteen days and is followed by an announcement.

REGIONAL PRESS

Valentin Inzko briefs UN Secretary General on B&H (Srna)

The High Representative in B&H Valentin Inzko met with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to brief him on the situation on the ground in B&H. “The International Community is duty bound to help the forces of positive change in B&H to seize the opportunity provided by the recent EU initiative, to kick start the reform process in B&H”, Inzko told Ban Ki-moon in New York on Wednesday. “Governments are now in place at the State and Entity levels and there is no time to lose to start delivering concrete results that will create new job opportunities, improve the functionality of institutions and advance the Rule of Law.” Full respect for the Peace Agreement not only remains obligatory for all the authorities in B&H, but it also provides the stability that is necessary to advance the challenging reform agenda facing B&H in the period ahead.

Serbia – B&H: Joint meeting in second half of 2015 (Srna)

A meeting between the B&H Council of Ministers and the Serbian government when several bilateral cooperation agreements are supposed to be signed will take place in B&H in the second half of this year, Council of Ministers Chairman Denis Zvizdic and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic agreed on Wednesday. “We are then supposed to agree the modalities of transport, economic, cultural, security and other kinds of cooperation for the future progress of the two countries,” Zvizdic told a press conference in Sarajevo. He said that they had concluded in the meeting that there were no disputable issues and that, if any, they could be resolved quickly in the time to come. Another topic of the conversation was ways of increasing the scope of economic cooperation, given the compatibility of the B&H and Serbian industries and markets. “We share an opinion that we are prepared to assume responsibility for the future of the two countries and the entire region,” said Zvizdic.  He also noted that the Western Balkans should be observed as a single economic market and that on the basis of cooperation it should be presented as such to domestic and foreign investors. There was talk of the security situation in B&H and the two officials reached an agreement in principle to raise the level of cooperation in that respect to the highest institutional level, that is, to the level of cooperation between the Serbian ministers and the B&H Council of Ministers, which would be the first step of every conversation. Addressing the reporters, the Serbian prime minister pointed out that every new conversation offered a new value and that the two countries were getting closer to creating an even more favorable climate for a more successful collaboration. “We have good trade relations which may become even better but we can also remove some barriers in the meantime and have joint appearances on third markets,” said Vucic. The interlocutors expressed the desire for a more extensive cooperation since there are markets for products from both B&H and Serbia. They also discussed how to improve tourism and together attract tourists from third countries. “We also talked about security issues, struggle against terrorism and strategic political dialogue and resolving of all the remaining political disagreements between the Serbs and Bosniaks from Serbia and B&H. “I think the feeling we share is good and that it should be even better and we truly need to create trust,” said the Serbian prime minister.

FB&H Government session started without Ministers from HDZ (Nezavisne)

The FB&H government session started today in Sarajevo without the presence of ministers from the HDZ B&H, reported Srna. The reason for this absence is not known, but according to unofficial information, the ministers of the HDZ B&H are currently in a meeting where they should decide whether they will join the government session. Ministers from HDZ, who due to the lack of consensus on last week’s agenda boycotted a session of the Federation government, were supposed to attend a follow-up session in its full composition. This was confirmed by Vjekoslav Mandic (HDZ), the Minister of Health in the government of the Federation.

According to unofficial information, on Tuesday the government reached an agreement on the continuation of the session in full composition and of the agenda which was a prerequisite for HDZ ministers attending the session. The agenda is the issue of large public companies in Herzegovina “Aluminium” and HT Mostar. It is the issue of appointing and dismissing the public companies leadership in the Federation that caused the first major crisis of the new executive power. The DF firmly defends the view that ministers are those who have full authority over dismissals and appointments of the leadership, while the HDZ, and lately the SDA advocate that it is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federation government. The largest public companies, energy, industry and mining (excluding telecoms which belong to the ministry of Transport and Communications) are being managed by the DF, a principled commitment for the legality of the Ministers and the Government, as the parties would like to present it, is actually a fight between the Federation partners over the control of cash flows in the most profitable public companies.

B&H security structures: Immediately activate a task and operative force (Srna)

Ministers and directors of security structures in B&H concluded that a task and operative force for the fight against terrorism need to be formed immediately in the full capacity. “All security structures in B&H need to direct their joint efforts to fight terrorism and extremism through a more intensive cooperation and timely information exchange,” say conclusions from a meeting between the Republika Srpska (RS) Minister of Internal Affairs, Dragan Lukac, ministers and directors of security structures in B&H. The participants of the meeting held in Banja Luka agreed that terrorism and extremism represent a threat to the security of citizens and property in B&H. The conclusions say that efforts at prosecuting B&H citizens fighting abroad need to be intensified since their return to B&H represents a real threat. “A great quantity of illegal arms, which easily end up in the hands of potential terrorists, extremists and crime groups, represents a huge problem, resolution of which requires additional efforts in the whole of B&H. The security structures should also focus on social networking websites, since potential terrorists can communicate and be recruited by way of such websites,” say the conclusions. The participants of the meeting expect significant support from the B&H Intelligence-Security Agency (OBA), as a service of all political structures in the fight against terrorism, extremism and all other forms of crime. Ministers and directors of security structures urge for a more severe condemnation of terrorism and extremism and ask all B&H citizens to support security bodies in their work. The conclusions say that activities of security agencies are not directed against any of the peoples, but that political structures are working to prevent extremism, terrorism and all forms of crime, while protecting human rights of all in B&H. The participants of the meeting called on the citizens for cooperation, peace and tolerance and to prevent the spreading of misinformation and reject hate speech. When it comes to security of the upcoming high-risk gatherings, such as a visit by the Pope to B&H and commemoration in Srebrenica, the participants of the meeting agreed that they will intensify cooperation and coordination with political structures in order to eliminate all potential threats to security and to provide security to gatherings in the best possible way.

The meeting was also attended by the RS Police Director Gojko Vasic, the FB&H Minister of Internal Affairs Aljosa Campara, the Director of the B&H State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) Goran Zubac, the Director of the B&H Border Police Zoran Galic, and the Director of the B&H Police Body Coordination Directorate Mirsad Vilic.

Thus spoke (and did) the Izetbegovics (Srna)

“Those who advocate new referendums and conflicts diminish the chances of bringing new investors into the country.” This quote is not from the 1990s and does not refer (unfortunately) to the Bosniak policy from the time prior to the break-up of Yugoslavia. This is a statement of the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic regarding the view of the RS President Milorad Dodik that the RS is entitled to referendum, just as the other nations and Yugoslav republics were. “Thanks to Dodik’s politics, the B&H’s European path has been halted and the RS as well as B&H have been reduced to poverty,” says Izetbegovic. This sentence would have had political, economic or moral interpretation if it were pronounced when it should have been and if it read something like this: “Thanks to Alija Izetbegovic’s politics, B&H’s European path has been halted and B&H as well as Yugoslavia have been reduced to poverty.” Let us recall an offer from the then European Community for Yugoslavia to join and an economically very handsome offer from the US administration (George Bush Sr) which would have been materialized if Yugoslavia had reached a compromise and if it had avoided war. Let us recall the dismissal of the Cutileiro plan, which Bakir Izetbegovic’s father signed and then erased, which could have completely avoided the war. “The region should work together to build infrastructure, industry and agriculture, and we should help each other and go into the EU like that,” Bakir Izetbegovic added. Yes, but with a 23-year delay. Today these statements look like political travesty, parody, or simply put – demagogy. For, when it made sense to say those words and when it was clear that there could be life without war or secession, the party of Mr. Izetbegovic (both senior and junior) chose the path of war – the path of destruction, demolition and economic devastation. “I will sacrifice peace for an independent and sovereign B&H,” said Alija Izetbegovic receiving a thunderous applause from two thirds of the pre-war B&H parliament. Instead of choosing an economic alliance, the Bosniak politicians then chose a war alliance – tying their flags to the Croatian, against the third side (the Serbs). At the time, the Bosniak political elite rejected anything that could be a compromise and dismissed any solution apart from the one that led us to where we are today. By the way, the alliance between the Bosniaks and Croats brought about the Croatian independent state and cantons in the Federation of B&H, including the status of the constitutive people, while the Bosniaks got 33 percent of the B&H territory (44 percent by Cutileiro, just like the Serbs, plus an independent B&H). To accuse others of one’s own political mistakes and wrong assessments is not particularly original, but it is very stupid in a situation when, objectively, you are responsible for only one third of B&H. To what extent Mister Bakir Izetbegovic is ready for tolerance and objective view of things shows his statement that he will make sure that two suspects in a terrorist act case in the territory of RS get (good) lawyers. I am not sure how the word “Machiavellian” is spelled in Mr. Izetbegovic’s mother tongue today, but I do know whose surname comes to mind whenever I realize where I am and know where I might have been.

Bill Clinton at Srebrenica commemoration (Klix.ba)

Bill Clinton should this year lead a delegation of his country during the marking of the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Klix.ba is reporting that the former U.S. president will address, via video message, Thursday’s concert in Washington dedicated to the anniversary and organized by the American-Bosnian Foundation. The concert will be held in the atrium of the World Bank in Washington. The website said it is one in a series of events dedicated to Bosnia and Herzegovina organized in that city by the Bosnian embassy, the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS and the American-Bosnian Foundation, with the support of the “BHeart” association.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Former Kosovo Serb Minister Charged with Hate Speech (BIRN, by Una Hajdari, 13 May 2015)

A former Kosovo Serb minister has been charged with inciting ‘national, racial and religious intolerance’ – three months after a wave of protests led to his sacking. Charges have been filed against former government minister Aleksandar Jablanovic at the Basic Court in Gjakova/Djakovica, accusing him of inciting “national, racial and religious intolerance”, as well as for “intolerance”. Jablanovic was told to appear in court for interview on May 11 but did not go because he was on holiday, so he has now been ordered to appear on May 22. The ex-minister said he was a victim of intimidation. “I see this indictment as a means of pressure on the Serbs [in Kosovo] that aims to scare and discipline its political representatives,” Jablanovic said. “We are not guilty of anything and have no reason to prove our innocence, and especially not in front of the prosecution in Gjakova,” he continued, calling the indictment a way to detract attention from the overall treatment of Serbs in Kosovo. Jablanovic was Minister for Communities and Returns until a statement he issued on the eve of Orthodox Christmas about protesters who had stopped Serbs from visiting an Orthodox church in Gjakova/Djakovica. The then minister called the protesters “savages” for throwing stones at the bus transporting the pilgrims to church. He was later forced to resign. Driton Caushi, head of the nationalist Vetevendosje party in Gjakova/Djakovica, which spearheaded the protests, says the indictment would set an important precedent. “This is a good opportunity to prove that such statements are unacceptable,” he told BIRN. However, he said the case was unlikely to succeed. “I doubt this indictment will have any success because of its highly political nature. Our legal system is weak as it is, let alone when politics is involved,” Caushi said. Jablanovic’s statement on January 6 provoked outrage among Kosovo Albanians and sparked protests in various Kosovo towns. The minister apologised for his choice of words but discontent remained high and a rally organised in the Kosovo capital on January 24 was widely considered the biggest protest held since the country declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Another large protest followed on January 27 – marked by higher levels of violence between police and protesters. On February 3, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa announced that he was removing Jablanovic from his cabinet. Dalibor Jevtic has since taken his position. Jablanovic is a member of the pro-Belgrade “Srpska” party, formed before the local elections in November 2013 with the goal of putting forward candidates “on a platform supported by Belgrade”. That fact alone has increased distrust for the party and its representatives amongst the Kosovo Albanian majority.

‘Quasi-state Kosovo West’s only ally in Balkans, SE Europe’ (RT, 14 May 2015)

Albanians are just a proxy for Western intervention in the Balkan area where it is easy for the West, following its goals, to ignite the Balkan powder keg by playing off ancient ethnic discords, Sasha Knezev, Serbian-American author, told RT.

RT: What are the root causes of these riots in Macedonia in your opinion?

Sasha Knezev: It is very simple, they are economical. [Macedonian Prime Minister] Nikola Gruevski and his government have not imposed sanctions on Russia, just like Serbia. Serbia, just north, has not imposed any sanctions on Russia. And you have a dubious Serbian public that is very skeptical of the EU, as in Macedonia. If we look south to Greece – BRICS has just extended their hands to the Greek government. And we see Turkey actually being approached by Gazprom to construct the [Russian-Turkish pipeline project].

The only real ally that the West and the US have in the Southeast Europe and the Balkan area is the quasi-state of Kosovo which is in a sort of grey area of its de facto independence. We already know that the Western powers, the US set a precedent with the violation of the UN’s resolution 1244 in granting them independence. And we also know that the US has their largest military base in Europe in Kosovo, Camp Bondsteel.

So it is very easily to ignite the Balkan powder keg by playing off these ancient ethnic discords that have gone on for centuries. I believe that this is an attempt by the United States government, and actually we have Macedonian intelligence implicating Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasia, in trying to do exactly what they did in Ukraine.

I think it is economic. Just north of Serbia we have Hungary that has been very stalwart and standing up to the IMF’s structural reform. And if you have all those countries in Southeast Europe, than you are at the gateway of Central Europe going to the West. And it is purely economic, in my estimation.

RT: The US doubts the country’s commitment to democracy and Britain has said Macedonia should be looking at a transitional government. Do you think this is unnecessary interference?

SK: Absolutely. Look at the Middle East… How many governments have been overthrown on the US behalf and the West behalf?… We also know that the US itself is suffering tremendous economic crisis and it does all add up…

We also have to understand that Kosovo is used. I feel bad for the Albanian people because they are just a proxy for Western intervention in the Balkan area. And I do believe that this is just an attempt to further destabilize the area for political gains, for economics mostly. If Greece leaves the EU … and they start a sort of domino effect, this could really spell a catastrophe for not only for the US but the EU itself.

RT: With the pictures that we’re seeing in Macedonia, you can certainly entertain the idea that the people have a genuine discontent with the people that are governing their country, can’t you?

SK: Yes, absolutely. The Gruevski government has its share of problems, no doubt. There is structural corruption in several areas of the government. However, that being said we should be seeing this play out itself during so many so-called colored revolutions of George Soros and the West. We’ve seen that in Ukraine. We’ve seen that in the Balkans. We’ve seen that in Greece. So, it is really difficult to determine.

That is not to say that the people themselves don’t have genuine discord in the general state of the economy and the standard of living in Macedonia which is bad, as is all of Southeast Europe, as is all of Europe in general. We see that reflection in the US as well. But that it is always used. It is very easy to … use different ethnic backgrounds in inner turmoil to balkanize nations and to provide sort of dialectic alternatives that ultimately end up benefiting other greater forces.

We had that in Baltimore, right here in the US, where the media attempts to place it black against white or between different ethnic backgrounds. But in actuality we have a systemic police corruption that is applicable to all America; they are violating all our rights. And collectively, we should address this issue- what they are doing to all of us. But instead the media tries to play it one against the other: gender, race, ethnic. This is an old tactic that unfortunately seems to work every time.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

West pushes Macedonian government, opposition towards crisis talks (Reuters, by Kole Casule, 14 May 2015)

Western diplomats pressed the leaders of Macedonia’s four main parties to meet on Thursday for talks to resolve a deep political crisis that has raised fears of instability in the ex-Yugoslav republic. Political tensions in Macedonia are building towards a rally on Sunday called by opposition Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev to demand conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski resign over wire-tap disclosures this year that appear to point to widespread abuse of office by senior government officials. The government says the wire-taps were made by a foreign spy service, and that their content has been doctored. Zaev has been charged with trying to topple the government. The standoff has already boiled over once into street clashes, raising concern in the West over the stability of the impoverished Balkan state 14 years after NATO and EU diplomacy pulled it from the brink of all-out civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency. A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was tentative agreement on a meeting between Gruevski, his ethnic Albanian coalition partner Ali Ahmeti and opposition leaders Zaev and Menduh Thaci. “It’s an initiative by the international community,” the source said. A spokesman for Ahmeti said the meeting would go ahead at 2.30 p.m. (1230 GMT), and would be chaired by the ambassadors of the United States and the European Union. There was no immediate word from Zaev’s Social Democrats as to whether he would attend. Last weekend, a police raid on an ethnic Albanian neighbourhood in northern Macedonia left 22 people dead – 14 ethnic Albanians described by the government as “terrorists” and eight police officers – and deepened impressions of a country on the brink. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska and Macedonia’s intelligence chief, Saso Mijalkov, resigned, saying they hoped the move would help end the crisis. The two have been at the centre of the wire-tap scandal. Gruevski’s conservative VMRO-DPMNE party offered on Wednesday to create an ad hoc parliamentary committee to probe the allegations of wrongdoing – on condition the Social Democrats end a boycott of parliament in force since an election in 2014 that Zaev says was rigged. Zaev says he will not stop until Gruevski steps down.

Macedonian Opposition Leader Refuses Participation at Reconciliation Meeting (Novinite, 14 May 2015)

The Macedonian opposition SDSM leader Zoran Zaev refused to participate at the reconciliation meeting between the four largest parties, which was reportedly scheduled to take place on Thursday. According to media reports, Zaev would accept a meeting with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski only in the presence of international mediators and representatives of the international community. The opposition leader dismissed the possibility of Gruevski heading a broad coalition government. Zaev called for the establishment of an interim government, which should prepare Macedonia for the holding of free, fair and democratic elections. The SDSM leader ruled out the participation of the incumbent prime minister and other people involved in crimes in an interim cabinet. Following the resignations of the interior and transport ministers on Tuesday, Zaev announced on Wednesday that his party would not return to parliament. The opposition leader released the latest in a series of wiretapped conversations, which according to him, demonstrated the misuse of public tenders by government officials, including PM Gruevski, who was accused of purchasing a luxurious Mercedes for his own needs with the illegally acquired funds.

Erdogan Calls for Dialogue to Calm Macedonia (BIRN, by Besar Likmeta, 13 May 2015)

in the light of the recent violence seen in Macedonia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking in Tirana, said dialogue was needed to restore peace in the region. Turkish President Erdogan told a joint press conference with Albanian President Bujar Nishani in Tirana that dialogue was the only way to restore calm in Macedonia. In the aftermath of the violence seen in Kumanovo, Macedonia, where eight policemen died at the weekend, he said: “There are people in the Balkans that threaten peace and that’s why we put so much importance on the stability of the Balkans. “We would like to see the strife created in Macedonia resolved through dialogue and the guarantees inherent in the Ohrid agreement,” he added. Armed conflict erupted in Macedonia in 2001 between ethnic Albanian rebels and the security forces, which ended with the signing of the Ohrid peace accord. The deal granted greater rights to Albanians who make up a quarter of the country’s population. Erdogan was on Wednesday in Tirana, where he met with President Nishani, Prime Minister Edi Rama and inaugurated the start to the construction of the city’s new grand mosque, which is being financed by Turkey. At meetings with Albanian officials the Turkish President underlined the warm ties and the strategic partnership between the two countries. “Albania’s hospitality makes us feel as we if we were in our second home,” Erdogan said.  “The solidarity between Turkey and Albania is very important,” he added.

Macedonia factfile (DW, 14 May 2015)

Recent events in Kumanovo have brought the media’s attention back to Macedonia, a small landlocked country of two million in the southern corner of Europe’s Balkan Peninsula.

After declaring its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the multi-ethnic country managed to escape the bloody conflicts that raged through the region. As a result of Greece’s objection to the use of the name “Macedonia,” the country was finally admitted into the United Nations in 1993, but under the provisional name “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, abbreviated as FYROM.

What’s in a name?

Athens claims that the use of the name “Macedonia” implies territorial ambitions toward the northern Greek region of Macedonia (or Makedonia). The dispute with Greece is still unresolved, and 24 years later, both countries are still negotiating a solution under UN mediation. In 2001, Albanian rebels staged an uprising, demanding greater rights for their ethnic minority, which comprises about 25 percent of Macedonia’s total population. After months of violence, the conflict ended in August that year under the watchful eye of EU and NATO mediators, who had a leading role in helping to reach a peace deal.

Turning to NATO and the EU

In 2008, during a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, Greece blocked Macedonia’s invitation to join NATO because of the dispute. In 2011, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Greece had no right to block Macedonia’s NATO bid, after Skopje sued Athens. Apart from the diplomatic victory for Macedonia, the decision by the court did not bring any progress in the dispute. Macedonia has been an EU candidate country since December 2005. The start of accession negotiations with the EU was also prolonged because of objections from Greece, and lately because of the country’s democratic deficiencies.

Growing autocratic rule

The conservative VMRO-DPMNE has been in power since 2006. Its leader and the country’s prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, has portrayed himself as a technocrat with an economic background, promising to revive the economy in one Europe’s poorest countries. Now, almost ten years later, many critics consider him an autocrat and populist.