LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Importance of responsible public informing about dialogue (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has pointed in the talks with UNMIK Head Farid Zarif the importance of responsible public informing about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, because the messages sent from the participants might either facilitate the normalization of the relations, or hinder it. Djuric has informed Zarif about the course of the dialogue, and the latter has appealed on both sides to maintain the momentum in the Brussels talks and stay loyal to the implementation of what has been agreed so far. The two collocutors have also analyzed the problems in the field, particularly the position of the returnees, as well as the upcoming session of the UN Security Council, on 26 May, where the quarterly report on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija will be presented. Djuric thanked the UNMIK Head for his constructive role in the normalization of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and for the contribution he is making to improving the living conditions for Serbs in the province.

Djuric: No progress in dialogue with Pristina without ZSO (Novosti/Tanjug)

The Serbian officials have sent a clear message that without the forming of the Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) in Kosovo and Metohija there can be no further progress in the normalization of the relations with Pristina, stated the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. He has said that the EU is trying to persuade Pristina to have a meeting on that topic by the end of May. When it was scheduled last time, it ended without results, but my impression is that pressure will be exerted on Pristina to have the discussion on the ZSO again, Djuric explained. He has pointed that one of the main results in those talks should be progress in calming down the attitudes and normalizing the relations. According to Djuric, the Albanian side in the talks held the position that was not oriented toward the finding of practical solutions, but rather it was focused on the matters of status and attempts to seize what is not theirs. We cannot allow for such conduct, as they seem not to be interested in a good and pragmatic solution that would enable both sides to be satisfied, Djuric emphasized.

Drecun: Security in Kosovo and Metohija relatively stable, but tense (Tanjug/RTS)

The security situation in Kosovo and Metohija after the recent events in Macedonia is relatively stable, but also tense, and there is no information that the destabilization could spill over to the territory of Serbia proper, it was concluded at the session of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija. The Committee’s Chairperson Milovan Drecun has confirmed that the session analyzed the security situation in the province, and especially the safety of the Serb people, following the events in Macedonia. The session closed for the public was also attended by police director Milorad Veljovic, Head of the Coordination Body for the municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja Zoran Stankovic, representative of the Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic, and the representatives of intelligence and security agencies. The Serbian Army, police and all other security services are working in coordination, which instills confidence that any kind of destabilization will be prevented, Drecun concluded.

Odalovic: Serbia and Albania can be pivot of stability (RTS)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic has told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the visit of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to Albania is coming at a delicate moment and that it is important for Serbia and Albania to primarily deal with the events in Kumanovo. The operation of some isolated extremist terrorist groups in a fragile region is potentially spilling over to the territory of Serbia and can endanger stability in the Balkans, warns Odalovic. That is why it is important for the two prime ministers to discuss this and harmonize certain stands, policy, and to send messages, notes Odalovic. He says that Serbia has fulfilled all obligations that is had assumed according to the Brussels agreement, and a potential problem is that in some phases certain countries and politicians had been setting new requests, said Odalovic. In comment to the attempt of the Kosovo government to legalize an army and the possibility of the Serbs to be blackmailed to vote for these armed forces if they want the Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), Odalovic points out that these issues have not been the subject of any agreement in either Brussels or anywhere else. The ZSO, according to the Brussels agreement, is the obligation of Pristina and the international community, stressed Odalovic. The Serbs took part in the local, so-called parliamentary elections, believing that out of that would stem the ZSO through which the Serbs would realize collective rights, joint interests in the field of healthcare, education, developing policy, recalls Odalovic. He reminds that Pristina has been insisting for a long time on the armed forces of Kosovo in which, unfortunately, some influential countries are supporting it. The skeleton of these possible armed forces is composed by those who will be most probably processed before the special court that should be formed, points out Odalovic. “They are trying to impose the topic of armed forces of Kosovo, but are silent before the obligation to form the court that should investigate crimes,” says Odalovic. He adds that “those who are today generals and commanders are people who are most responsible for crimes that occurred, who were the commanders of the so-called KLA”.

Kostic: Both EU path and friendship with Russia (Politika/B92)

The President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) Vladimir Kostic has stated that Serbia cannot geo-strategically bring into question its EU path, but at the same time it must not in any way trample the friendship with Russia. Responding to the question as to where is Serbia today and how long will it be possible to maintain the policy both EU and Russia, Kostic told B92 that, despite the sometimes incomprehensible bureaucratic hypocrisy arriving from Brussels, Serbia cannot renounce the EU path. “We are actually surrounded with one such geo-strategic situation that any radical bringing into question our EU path would be terrible geo-political loneliness, which also brings into question, if you like, our elementary survival. We must not be hysterical. Patiently, slowly, without betraying in one step old friendships, but preparing for something that is inevitable. Europe, either way, must be our destiny. We have no other place to go,” said Kostic. The new SANU President stresses on the occasion of the announcement of the amendment of the Constitution and possible erasing of the preamble that states that Kosovo and Metohija is an integral part of Serbia, that our country is requested to violently change the civilization context that exists in this region. “No nation can easily give up the Decani, Gracanica monasteries…Not because this is something we should tell our children, but because part of our ethnos, practically, starts from these frescoes and from this story, no matter how much we have wandered or have gone in this or that direction. If we are cut off from that, we will be someone who starts education in fourth grade high school, without managing to learn one single lesson before that,” said Kostic.

REGIONAL PRESS

DF calls on Financial Police to enter public enterprises (Patria/Oslobodjenje)

We in the DF have decided to call on the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) Financial Police to enter public enterprises and, based on their findings, determine if there is a need for other investigative and judicial organs to examine the operations of public enterprises under majority ownership of FB&H, said Aleksandar Remetic, Minister of Trade in the FB&H government, at a press conference of DF ministers, Patria reports. “We want to identify those responsible for the tens and hundreds of millions in losses. We can’t agree to the appointment of new administrative structures that will, after political instructions, continue to destroy the resources of all FB&H citizens,” said Remetic. Commenting on the situation at the last session of the FB&H government, which because of the removal of the point on Aluminij from the agenda saw the refusal to participate by HDZ ministers, Reuf Bajrovic, minister of energy, mining and industry, said that they fiercely wish to hold to the law and the applicable regulations, because the state is not the majority owner of Aluminij, but rather a 44 percent shareholder. “It was our legitimate right to remove that point from the agenda,” said Bajrovic. He stressed that on Monday he would seek from the Financial Police that they give the results to the public on the status of public companies. Bajrovic said of holding sessions of the FB&H government that they call on those who didn’t come to do so. “Compromise is not a weakness, but compromise cannot always be as one seeking partners. We never put forward an ultimatum. We will respect all decisions of other ministers. It is in the interest of FB&H citizens to see that institutions of the system are working according to the law and it will strengthen the democratic institutions of this country,” said Bajrovic. Given the crisis in the FB&H government reflected in the parliament, Bajrovic said that “no one won 50 mandates” in the elections. “We are ready to talk with everyone,’ said Bajrovic, responding to a question of whether DF leader Zeljko Komsic on Monday would speak with Bakir Izetbegovic (SDA) and Dragan Covic (HDZ B&H). Minister Remetic once again underlined that the focus should not be public enterprises, but rather reforms and resolving pressing problems, and then resolving public enterprises.

“We denounce that our activities are direction against one or another people. Thieves have neither religion nor nation, but are just criminals,” said Remetic.

Izetbegovic condemns death sentence for Mohammed Morsi (Hina)

The Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic has condemned in the strongest terms a ruling by an Egyptian court sentencing to death former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, calling on the international community to prevent his execution and ensure a fair trial for him, Izetbegovic’s office said in a statement. “This is a gross violation of human rights and a demonstration of continued dominance of force over the rule of law, of dictatorship over democracy and oppression over justice. I call on the international community to demonstrate its consistency with regard to respect for human rights and democratic standards and do all in its power to prevent the death sentence from being carried out and ensure a fair trial for Mr. Morsi,” Izetbegovic said. He added that Morsi had been elected lawfully by Egyptian citizens in the country’s first free and democratic elections. The former Egyptian Islamist president, whom the army removed from power in 2013, was sentenced on Saturday to death for violence during the 2011 protests. About 100 other indictees, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, have also been sentenced to death.

Ethnic conflicts new name for terrorism? (Srna)

Sponsors of terrorism in B&H and Macedonia will still try to portray eventual future terrorist acts in these two countries as “violence based on disturbed ethnic relations,” generated by alleged violation of human rights of Bosniaks and Albanians, security expert Predrag Ceranic told Srna. “This is a political approach with an unchanged goal, where terrorism will only “change its clothes” and will be renamed as ‘ethnic conflicts,’” Ceranic said. He said that terrorist attacks in Zvornik and Kumanovo are a confirmation of the said claim, which is absolutely absurd. “When it comes to B&H, some are trying to transfer the “ball” to the war heritage, which allegedly caused trauma in the attacker Nerdin Ibric. A testimony by Ibric’s mother, published by a number of media outlets, was convincing, and those who tried to rename the terrorist attack in Zvornik as vendetta failed,” Ceranic said. He says that certain political circles, even some security agencies in B&H, are visibly distancing themselves from the term “terrorism” since it creates a clear association to the idea of the Islamic State, so that it is more acceptable for sponsors of terrorism and those who protect them, and it is more suitable for the West, to portray this global menace as “ethnic conflict”. “Terrorist acts will certainly continue to be used with a view to realizing war-time goals of Bosniaks in B&H, and in Macedonia and the Presevo Valley with a view to realizing the known motto “one people, one country, one dream”, which practically means the implementation of a Greater Albania project,” Ceranic said. What can be expected, he says, is that the designers of a Greater Albania will require federalization of Macedonia, which would mean autonomy for parts of the country populated by the Albanian majority. “The same recipe is planned for the Presevo Valley and a part of Montenegro bordering with Albania, where also Albanians are a huge majority,” Ceranic said. Regarding the decision of the Banja Luka District Court to release from custody most of the people arrested in the Ruben police operation, Ceranic says that the decision was made even though computers, tablets and cell phones, seized in the operation, have not yet been examined, without which one cannot bring a final judgment on intentions of persons arrested in the operation. “This made the job of law enforcement bodies more difficult and helped those who are illegally procuring arms, military uniforms and bullet-proof vests since their plans have not been fully revealed,” Ceranic said. He said that political sponsors of terrorism in B&H, as well as those in Macedonia, will use this decision of the Banja Luka District Court with a view to redirecting attention from a terrorist threat to something completely different – alleged violation of human rights, that is, rights of Bosniak returnees. “This in fact is the real face of a B&H counterterrorism strategy, which is only in words and is burdened by mutual mistrust between law enforcement agencies,” Ceranic has concluded.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Leaving Serbia and Kosovo to settle things themselves? (TransConflict, by Gerard M. Gallucci, 18 May 2015)

The EU may just leave it to Serbia and Kosovo by sorting out their economic relations – opportunities exist for Serbia to play a significant role via the eventual settling of competing claims – and to Kosovo Serbs by somehow leavening Kosovo politics by working with moderate Albanians.  Could this work?

While not the most unstable region in the world, the non-EU Balkans is in pretty bad shape right now.  Edward Joseph has just suggested that soon, the EU and US may be forced to account for “losing” the region.  At the core of the problems are three factors: unsettled status issues, troubled economies mired in inefficiency and corruption and the utter bankruptcy of EU and US efforts since 1990 to help resolve these matters.  Nowhere is this more true than in the tangled realities of Serbia and Kosovo. US policy toward the looming break-up of the Balkans in 1990 was conflicted.  Washington pursued three incompatible objectives:  the continued territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, support for “democracy” in the form of urging Belgrade to allow increased republic autonomy and support for “human rights” of Kosovo Albanians.  With the determined efforts of Slovenia (supported by the newly uniting Germany) towards independence, the end of the League of Communists as an integrating force, the rise of nationalist leaders in Croatia and Serbia, and Milosevic’ reckless efforts to beat reasonable Kosovo Albanians into nationalist separatists, this was doomed to failure.  Thereafter, US policy was to leave the problems to the Europeans and locals as much as possible.  (Thus the late rise to do anything preventive vis-a-vis the various Balkan conflicts of 1991-99.) The EU’s policy was first to claim a certain form of leadership – led by Germany – in quickly recognizing Slovenia and Croatia – and eventually by gleefully accepting the handover of the UN’s rule of law mandate for Kosovo in 2008.  To make a long story short, the EU proved feckless and left messes behind in Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo.  (An interesting question might be to ask why Europe was quick to bring in the non-Ottoman parts of the former Yugoslavia while hanging the others out to dry.)  The EU’s fallback approach was to muddle through. In part to erase the stain left by letting the UN flounder in Bosnia, the US led NATO into the 1999 bombing of Serbia to end Milosevic’ effort to retain Kosovo.  But few in the US government actually foresaw that the end of the process would leave behind an “independent” state with the UN and NATO left holding the bag.  But the Kosovo Albanians were determined and ready to push the internationals when necessary.  “Standards before status” went overboard after the clearly planned violence of March 2004. By 2008, Washington was glad to leave Kosovo to the EU after leading the territory to “independence.”  But the EU (and its Rule of Law Mission, EULEX) failed to settle the status issue with Serbia or to improve governance and economic sustainability.  So the US assisted in NATO/EULEX efforts to attempt to subdue the northern Kosovo Serbs through force.  This would have resolved “status” by delivering all of Kosovo to Pristina and appeased the Albanians.  (Appeasing the Kosovo Albanians was long a US method of retaining enough influence to be able to “control” them.)  By 2013, it was clear that would not work.  The EU then went into gear by making it clear to Belgrade that it stood no chance of getting into the EU – a seeming economic necessity for a Serbia still emerging from the wreckage of the Yugoslav economy – unless it gave up Kosovo.  The “Brussels dialogue” with Pristina would be the mechanism for easing Serbia toward that goal. Now the end of that dialogue may be approaching.  The current Serbian government – descended from Chetnik nationalists – has used the dialogue to channel its actions to turn over the Kosovo Serbs to Pristina in phases.  The southern Kosovo Serbs had nowhere else to go and made their peace already.  The northern Kosovo Serbs will be pushed into an Association of Kosovo Serb municipalities that has little real commitment from Pristina.  (Belgrade appears to have little interest in negotiating the details of the Association.  Some Kosovo Serbs also fear Belgrade plans to cut off their funding even though it would be allowed under the Ahtisaari Plan.)  Nothing much has been said about the various economic issues such as what happens to Gazivoda or Trepca or about settling land and boundary issues. By the end of this year, Serbia may have met all the EU’s requirements to “open chapters” in EU membership talks by cutting links to Kosovo.  (The chapters are still “closed” as the EU keeps the pressure on.)  But in truth, the EU will be in no hurry to bring Serbia forward (or Bosnia, Macedonia or Montenegro).  Germany wants no more problems.  This would be bad for Serbia not only economically but politically as well.  All mainstream Serbian parties now support the EU option.  Should that not materialize even after surrendering Kosovo, to where would the political center shift? The ultimate irony may be that Serbs may be left with the responsibility of somehow making Kosovo work.  Kosovo is not a self-sustaining entity.  Left to itself, it will require continued economic assistance and political mentoring.  Without, Kosovo will serve as an engine for exporting people, jihadists and regional violence (as recently in Macedonia).  The US has lost major patience with the Kosovo Albanians.  It will not tolerate any who seek to stir instability elsewhere and will continue to play a role in ensuring a moderate government in Pristina.  But it will look to the EU to provide the economic assistance (and to absorb those who migrate).  The EU may just leave it to Serbia and Kosovo by sorting out their economic relations – opportunities exist for Serbia to play a significant role via the eventual settling of competing claims – and to Kosovo Serbs by somehow leavening Kosovo politics by working with moderate Albanians.  Could this work?

Gerard M. Gallucci is a retired US diplomat and UN peacekeeper. He worked as part of US efforts to resolve the conflicts in Angola, South Africa and Sudan and as Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council. He served as UN Regional Representative in Mitrovica, Kosovo from July 2005 until October 2008 and as Chief of Staff for the UN mission in East Timor from November 2008 until June 2010. He has a PhD in political science, taught at the University of Pittsburgh, University of Arkansas, George Washington University and Drake University and now works as an independent consultant.

Macedonia’s massed protesters turn heat on PM Gruevski (BBC News, by Guy De Launey, 18 May 2015)

At first it seemed that the protest movement, building in Macedonia for months, was heading for an anti-climax on what was supposed to be its big day. Zoran Zaev, leader of the opposition Social Democrats, had talked up the possibility of a crowd numbered in six figures angered by covert recordings that appeared to show ministers plotting vote-rigging and covering up a murder. But half an hour before the start, only a few hundred people had gathered in front of government headquarters. Then, with just minutes to go, the influx began. They came from all directions – over the Stone Bridge in front of Skopje’s controversial new neo-classical riverfront; past the main post office, a brutalist 1960s lotus flower overseen by Japanese master-planner Kenzo Tange. There were curious juxtapositions in the crowd as well. Not just in the mix of young and old or male and female – but in the collection of flags the participants were waving. The Albanian eagle flew next to the Macedonian sun; the Turkish crescent alongside the spoked wheel of the Roma people.

Standing together

Macedonia’s ethnic groups have not always rubbed along happily. A brief but violent insurgency in 2001 resulted in improved rights for the country’s large ethnic-Albanian minority. And a deadly shoot-out earlier this month between police and an armed ethnic-Albanian group in Kumanovo, Macedonia’s third city, was an unwelcome reminder of those times. But, by standing together at the rally, people from different ethnic groups were sending a message that they were united in their aim to force the resignation of long-serving Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. “No matter what religion or political party, we’re here – to give support to the opposition and people who think about more than money,” said Vladimir, a young protester who had travelled with his friends from Valandovo, a small town about 130km (80 miles) from Skopje. They held small placards printed with articles of the Macedonia constitution, which the protesters claim the government has violated. “If we claim to be democratically-conscious citizens, then it’s our responsibility to protest against a non-democratic and criminal government,” said Ivana, a protester from Ohrid. “We don’t protest only for them to resign, but because we want criminals to go to jail.” Placards portrayed Mr Gruevski behind bars or crossed out in red, like a prohibitory traffic sign. Some simply read: “Goodbye, Nikola.” But the prime minister has so far shown no willingness to leave. His responses to the protests and the scandal caused by the release of the covert recordings have been defiant, promising to “face down” demonstrators, who he says are trying to destabilise a democratically-elected government.

Long-term solutions

The authorities made a point of their own on Sunday by allowing the rally to go ahead in front of government headquarters, complete with temporary stage, big screen and massive sound system.

Policing was restrained and no serious incidents were reported. “It’s a democratic right to assemble and protest, a constitutional right to express your views – and when that happens in a non-violent manner it’s very good, because that’s how democracy works,” Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki told the BBC. But he insisted that the governing coalition had won last year’s general election fairly – and should not be expected to stand aside because of the protests. “We gained a strong victory at the election – people put their trust in us to run the country and we have to follow that path. The opposition’s job is to challenge the government – but it has to be within institutions and in a peaceful manner.” The government is planning a rally of its own on Monday evening – an attempt to show that the protesters do not speak for everyone in Macedonia. Meanwhile, a number of anti-government activists are planning to camp out in front of government headquarters until the government resigns. Whatever happens to Mr Gruevski, long-term solutions for Macedonia remain elusive. A seemingly farcical dispute with Greece over the very name of the country has had serious consequences: Macedonia’s bigger neighbour has repeatedly vetoed its prospects of joining the EU or Nato. Diplomats acknowledge that is a disincentive to make reforms – for whichever party takes power in the future.

PM Gruevski to meet opponents as protests continue over Macedonia wiretapping

(Reuters/AFP/dpa/AP, 18 May 2015)

Macedonia’s main political leaders will meet in hopes of resolving a deadlock that has roiled the country. Thousands have taken to the streets followed by opposition reports that the government spied on citizens.  Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Social Democrat head Zoran Zaev (pictured) and two ethnic Albanian leaders – Ali Ahmeti, who heads a coalition partner to Gruevski’s VMRO, and Menduh Thaci, leader of an opposition party – planned to meet Monday. Reports that the government had wiretapped 20,000 people plunged Macedonia into its deepest standoff since the country gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. “Gruevski managed something that no one other Macedonian politician did in the past 24 years of Macedonia’s independence,” a protester told DW on Sunday. “He united the people against him.” On Sunday, people traveled to the capital, Skopje, from across Macedonia to express their displeasure with Gruevski, who said over the weekend that he would not resign or accept a transitional government. There were also several reports of would-be protesters stopped by the police and not allowed to join the demonstrations, which were attended by some regional and European politicians.

‘Until Gruevski resigns’

Twenty-thousand protesters marched through Skopje on Sunday to demand that Gruevski step down, accusing him of corruption, mass wiretapping and of fomenting ethnic tensions to hang onto power. According to the opposition, hundreds slept in a protest camp outside the offices of the embattled prime minister. In power since 2006, Gruevski expects thousands of his own supporters to turn out for a counterdemonstration 2.5 kilometers (1.5 mile) away at the parliament building Monday night. The opposition leader Zaev has called on demonstrators to stay on the streets in front of the government’s neoclassical headquarters “until Gruevski resigns” and makes way for a technocratic government that would oversee a fair vote. Zaev’s Social Democrats have boycotted parliament since the 2014 elections, which the party accuses the VMRO of rigging. Since early March, Zaev has been releasing recorded conversations and other material that has suggested massive wiretapping, widespread corruption, and interference in the judiciary and the media by Gruevski and his government. Flags taken up by those who have heeded Zaev’s call include the banners of Albania – up to 30 percent of the country’s 2.1 million people are ethnically Albanian – Macedonia, Roma and many of the nation’s various other ethnic communities. Some members of the opposition have also accused the regime of politicizing a “terrorism raid” on an ethnic Albanian district that left 30 people dead earlier in May. Macedonia’s interior and transport ministers resigned as part of the fallout, as did the intelligence chief.

Russia Accuses West of Trying to Destabilize Macedonia (Reuters, 17 May 2015)

Russia accused “Western organizers” on Saturday of trying to foment a “color revolution” in the troubled former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, where political tensions are building ahead of an opposition rally on Sunday. “Color revolution” is a term often used to describe popular uprisings in the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine, where Moscow also accuses the West of deliberately meddling in local politics to further its interests. In a statement on the Macedonian crisis, Russia’s Foreign Ministry cited Serbian media reports about the arrest of a citizen of Montenegro accused of helping what Moscow called “Albanian extremists” operating in Macedonia. “[This is] convincing evidence … of attempts to push the country into the abyss of ‘color revolution,'” it said. “This is also evidence that Western organizers of such catastrophic scenarios prefer to realize them with the hands of others,” the ministry said, drawing a parallel with Ukraine. Moscow accuses the West of helping to engineer the overthrow of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych after mass street protests in early 2014. He then fled to Russia. In Macedonia, opponents of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski plan to hold a rally on Sunday to demand his resignation over wire-tap disclosures that appear to indicate widespread abuse of office by senior government officials. The small Balkan state is also reeling from a bloody gun battle last weekend during a police raid on an ethnic Albanian neighborhood of northern Macedonia that left 18 people dead — 10 ethnic Albanians described by the government as “terrorists” and eight policemen. The European Union and NATO have called for a transparent investigation into last week’s killings. Russia has often been critical of Western policy in the Balkans. It strongly backed the Serbs — fellow Orthodox Christian Slavs — in their conflict with their mainly Muslim ethnic Albanian minority in the 1990s. Moscow opposed granting independence to Kosovo, formerly a Serbian province with a mainly ethnic Albanian population. Macedonia, just to the south of Kosovo, is also home to a large ethnic Albanian minority.

European parties add fuel to fire in Macedonia (EurActiv, 18 May 2015)

As the crisis in Macedonia deepens, the two largest European political families – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (PES) – have added fuel to fire by stirring up antagonism between their parties. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Macedonia’s capital Skopje on Sunday (17 May), waving Macedonian and Albanian flags in a dramatic display of ethnic unity against a government on the ropes after months of damaging wiretap revelations. Against this background, the EU’s largest political forces appeared to be largely out of sync, with the EPP desperately supporting the discredited rule of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and the PES sending its leader to Skopje, in an effort to derive score points in the standoff. Observers are equally pessimistic about a scenario which would give more time in power for Gruevksi, or a less likely political alternative, with Social Democrat Union leader Zoran Zaev gaining the upper hand. Western diplomats appear to push toward forming national unity government in which the two political parties would keep a low profile until early elections are held. The crisis rocking Gruevski’s nine-year conservative rule is the worst since Western diplomacy dragged the country from the brink of all-out civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001, promising it a path to European Union and NATO membership.Since February, Gruevski has faced a wave of embarrassing revelations about his government, from wiretaps which expose tight government control over journalists, judges and the handling of elections. Zaev says the recordings, which he has dubbed “bombs”, were made illegally by the government, part of a mass surveillance operation targeting 20,000 allies and opponents alike, and leaked to him by a whistleblower.

Conflict in the Balkans Makes Moscow a Player (New Europe, 18 May 2015)

Only few days away from the East Partnership Summit in Riga, Moscow emerges as questioning EU’s primacy not only in the post-soviet space, but also in the Western Balkans

Over the weekend, the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, issued statements of support in support of the government in Skopje and went on to praise Serbia’s Presidency of the OSCE as “committed to values” and, therefore, impartial. This follows a familiar narrative of support for Serbia and FYROM, especially in cases of a standoff with ethnic Albanians. Few hours ago, the Foreign Minister of Serbia, Mr. Dacic, wondered what would happen if he were to say that “all Serbs will unite under an EU flag.” He was referring to the resurgence of calls for a greater Albania, especially following the bloody confrontation between Kosovar Albanian KLA militants with the police in the town of Kumanovo last weekend in FYROM. Few months ago the Prime Minister of Albania called the unification of his country with Kosovo as “inevitable,” opening in principle the issue of changing borders in the Balkans. Whilst not interfering with the domestic affairs of another country, Mr Dacic said, he noted that in dealing with terrorists, Brussels did not exhibit the resolve he expected: “there cannot be two sides when dealing with terrorists,” he noted. Meanwhile, he dismissed accusations that Serbia is “sitting on two chairs” when it comes to policy towards Moscow.  While committing Serbia to the objective of joining the EU, FM Dacic was also swift to note that this “… does not mean it {Serbia} should break up relations with friendly countries, and here I am primarily referring to Russia.” The President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, was one of the few European leaders that accepted to join President Putin at the podium of the May 9 “Victory Day” military parade in Moscow and to send Serbian troops to march along. Symbolically, the alliance was sealed during the Kosovo bombings by NATO forces in 1999, when Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia turned his plane around whilst flying on his way to Washington upon hearing of the new that the campaign had started. Since, for every violation of sovereignty in the East Partnership region (Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova), Russia has evoked the Kosovo precedent. Recently, Russia has been advancing the Turkish Stream Pipeline project to replace the abandoned South Stream project. The idea is to proceed with a pipeline that will go through the Greek-Turkish border, bypassing Bulgaria, to enter from Greece and via non-EU and NATO member states (FYROM, Serbia) reach Hungary.

Bosnia activists alarmed by “Putin’s bill” on foreign-funded NGOs (Reuters, 15 May 2015)

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia – Activists in Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic voiced alarm on Friday over a draft law they nicknamed Putin’s Bill, which seeks to put foreign-funded non-profit groups under government control and calls their members “foreign servants”.

President Vladimir Putin approved a bill in 2012 obliging foreign-funded groups deemed to be engaging in political activity in Russia to register with the Justice Ministry as “foreign agents” and submit to monitoring and regulation. Dragana Dardic, executive director of the Helsinki Citizens’ Parliament, a non-governmental organisation, said legislation due before Bosnia’s parliament next Tuesday was very similar. “That’s why we call it ‘Putin’s law’.” “If this law is passed, it will mean the end of any critical activity in the Serb Republic and will close the circle of limitations for public and free civic expression,” Dardic told Reuters. The government, viewed with suspicion by opponents for its efforts to strengthen ties with Moscow, says the bill answers a justifiable need for financial transparency in the work of both government and non-government agencies. “We all have to be equally transparent,” said Serb Republic Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, commenting on the criticism. The law introduces tight control of non-government organisations (NGOs) financed from abroad. It also envisages bans and fines for those seen as “politically engaged”. Activists say the bill, along with another that introduces stricter terms for public gatherings, aims to choke civic criticism. In February, parliament passed an amended law on public order, introducing fines for social media posts deemed offensive or disruptive, despite warnings from watchdogs and embassies that it would further curb freedom of speech in the region. The Bosnian branch of the Transparency International corruption watchdog asked the regional constitutional court this week to examine the validity of the law on public order. It also said that putting under control only foreign-funded organisations was discriminatory and “clearly shows the authorities’ intention to restrict the work of organisations that criticise the government”.

(Reporting by Gordana Katana, writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic and Ralph Boulton)

Party Battles Threaten Bosnia Federation Govt (Turkish Weekly, 15 May 2015)

Turf wars over the control of lucrative public companies prompt Bosnian Croat officials to walk out of the Federation entity government session and create a new political crisis. The coalition government of Bosnia’s Federation entity was on the brink of collapse on Friday as the main players battled over control over lucrative public companies. “Collapse in the government of BiH Federation,” the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz reported on Friday, referring to the decision of the ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, to walk out of an entity government session in a dispute about the control of public companies. The five HDZ ministers already boycotted the previous government session for the same reason. After negotiations, the party leaders indicated that a compromise had been reached but that proved not to be the case. “We would have to turn both blind eyes to be able to say that the [Federation] government is functioning,” Federation premier Fadil Novalic said after the abortive session on Thursday. The problem emerged during negotiations on the formation of new governments in Bosnia and involves personal animosities as well as conflicting ideological views between the HDZ and the civic-oriented Democratic Front, DF. Both the HDZ and the [Bosniak] Party of Democratic Action, SDA, want to distribute control over key public companies among themselves and then appoint new management – which is the usual practice in Bosnia after elections. The DF has rejected this and wants the current managements to finish their legal mandates. The HDZ insisted that the Federation government on Thursday discuss the case of Aluminium, Bosnia’s main export company, which has been under HDZ control but allegedly faces bankruptcy due to poor management. The DF objected and eventually had this issue removed from the session agenda, after which the HDZ ministers left. Bosnian Croat officials and media represented this as another example of how Bosniaks [Bosnian Muslims] want to dominate over the Croats. “Croats played again: because of broken agreement Croat ministers did not participate in session,” the Bosnian issue of the Croatian daily Vecernji List reported on Friday. “I have a feeling that we have entered a serious crisis,” Dragan Covic, the HDZ leader and the Croat member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, said later on Thursday. However, DF officials told Balkan Insight they would not allow personnel changes in Aluminium until judicial bodies had investigated the company and determined the exact situation. “Both the HDZ and DF are stubbornly maintaining their maximalist positions,” a Western diplomat told Balkan Insight. “If these two parties do not come off their war path soon, they risk toppling the ruling coalitions in the BiH Federation as well as at the state level,” the diplomat added. Novalic, who comes from business community, said he had the asked political parties to “take this issue out of the government”. The Federation Minister of Transport and Communication, Denis Lasic, from the HDZ, said the HDZ ministers would not be returning to government sessions until the replacement of managers in Aluminium and other two companies – which the HDZ wants to control – Power company of Herceg Bosna and Croatian Telecom – are on the session agenda. “No one knows how will this end. There is no more faith in the government, and no more trust among the (coalition) partners,” Dnevni list quoted Lasic on Friday as saying.