LOCAL PRESS

Informal invitation for Moscow to veto the Resolution on Srebrenica (Danas)

Resolution on Srebrenica prepared by the United Kingdom, with the assistance of the United States and the Netherlands, for the adoption at the UN Security Council, marking the twentieth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica on July 11, most likely will not find itself in the voting procedure, learns Danas daily from the diplomatic sources close to the Serbian government. Also, Danas was told by the United Nations Headquarters in New York that it is not certain if the Security Council is going to issue its declarations in regard to the Resolution on Srebrenica.

“Persistent placing of a resolution whose text, in earlier consultations, faces the resistance is often not even put in to a vote,” said a source close to the Serbian Government. As Danas learns from the UN, it is uncertain whether the resolution will come before the Security Council or the General Assembly. “The documents adopted by the Security Council have binding force on the member states of the United Nations as opposed to those adopted by the General Assembly,” explains the UN to the daily. However, diplomatic sources from the Serbian government claim that, if the resolution does not appear before the UN Security Council, it does not mean that it will automatically appear at the General Assembly. Serbia has already informally asked Russia to veto a resolution on Srebrenica at the UN Security Council, learns Danas from its sources close to the Serbian Government. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia will send a formal request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation to veto the resolution on Srebrenica genocide in the UN Security Council, learns Danas from the sources close to the Serbian Government. In the letter that will be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Serbian Government opposition to the adoption of the resolution on Srebrenica will be elaborated, noting that such a document does not contribute to reconciliation and stability in the region. In addition, Russia will be asked to veto the Resolution at the UN Security Council. When asked whether the writing of some Belgrade newspapers is true, in which they say that Russia has a list of conditions for Serbia in order to veto the resolution, the interlocutors said that is not true. They argue that Russia would certainly veto the document because it opposes such policies by the EU and the United States.

According to them, even China, the member states of the UN Security Council, doesn’t have a positive opinion on the text of the resolution on Srebrenica genocide. However, as they say, there will be no need for them to react because of the Russia’s opposition, the situation is already quite clear, the resolution will fail to pass the UN Security Council.

Djuric: Proposal for ZSO to be NGO is unacceptable (TV Pink)

Serbia’s delegation in Brussels got a proposal that does not contain any guarantees for the community of Serb municipalities (ZSO), meaning it has been planned that the ZSO becomes some kind of a non-governmental organization (NGO), which is absolutely unacceptable, Marko Djuric, the head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo, said.

Serbia’s delegation in Brussels got a proposal that does not contain any guarantees for the community of Serb municipalities (ZSO), meaning it has been planned that the ZSO becomes some kind of a non-governmental organization (NGO), which is absolutely unacceptable, Marko Djuric, the head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija (KiM), said. The issue of ZSO is the most serious challenge in the dialogue on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, Djuric told Belgrade-based TV Pink on Monday, adding he could not specify any other details from the technical talks in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. However, he said that the ZSO would not be a public institution on a par at least with municipalities, but an organization that should be registered, not established on the basis of law or some other act. “We will not accept that the ZSO becomes a non-governmental organization, this is out of the question,” Djuric said, stressing this is also the message of Premier Aleksandar Vucic. “We want the ZSO to have its president, assembly, clearly defined tasks, goals, organizational structure, employees, administration and to govern our affairs in KiM” he pointed out. Djuric also said that, as Serbia has a great desire to make progress in terms of European integration, some think the country will be ready to accept anything, but such expectations, as he put it, are futile.

Vucic: Serbia won’t allow humiliation of its people (B92)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Brussels that the Serbian government finds an agreement on the Community of Serb municipalities to be essentially important, as well as that on telecommunications, energy and Peace Park, that are being discussed in Brussels, but that Serbia won’t allow humiliation of its people or any undermining of its state interests. Vucic and the members of the government delegation met with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, before the start of a dialogue with the representatives of the provisional institutions of Pristina. Prime Minister Vucic and the head of the European diplomacy Mogherini expressed their common concern for the regional stability in the Western Balkans.

Mogherini first had the bilateral talks with the Prime Minister Vucic, and then with Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that progress in the implementation of the Brussels agreement is of key importance for the continuation of the European integration process.

Kocijancic did not want to speculate on whether they can expect concrete agreements today and how long will the dialogue last. Four topics are on the agenda of talks under the auspices of the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and for Belgrade the most important question is the formation of the Community of Serb municipalities. In addition, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa will talk about the energy, telecommunications and the Peace Park at the bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica. Diplomatic sources in Brussels said that the Mogherini is aware that it is unreasonable to expect that all four complex problems should be resolved at today’s meeting, but that she would insist to reach an agreement on at least two, and a significant progress on other two. The opening of the first negotiating chapters in the process of Serbia’s EU accession depends on the progress of the dialogue, and by Germany’s insistence, the first of these chapters should be the Chapter 35, which refers to the process in the normalization between the Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbia “not to recognize Kosovo by any action” (Tanjug)

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said ahead of the resumption of Belgrade-Pristina talks in Brussels there were “no changes to Serbia’s position.” Speaking in Milan, Italy, on Monday, he added the Serbian side will be constructive but will not recognize Kosovo “by any action.”

“We expect to see progress, but not at the expense of our national interests,” Dacic told reporters during Serbian National Day at Milan Expo 2015. Asked about the “red lines” set out by the Belgrade delegation, Dacic said that everything is open to negotiation “except recognizing Kosovo”. “We have so far thwarted all indirect attempts to use neutral negotiations to promote or define the independence of Kosovo, and we will continue to do so in the future,” said Dacic.

He added that he will travel to Brussels and join Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels. “Serbia will take a constructive approach, as it has been doing so far. Reaching constructive agreements, however, does not depend solely on us, but also on the other side, which refused to agree to certain proposals related to the community of Serb municipalities,” said Dacic, according to Tanjug.

EC “not promoting East-ring pipeline” (Tanjug)

The European Commission (EC) is not promoting the East-ring pipeline project which was first proposed and then withdrawn, the EU Delegation in Serbia has said. A statement carried by Tanjug noted that “the EC is committed to diversification of Serbia’s gas supply sources, especially via the gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria,” and added: “The EC is promoting a plan of gas connection in the central and south-east Europe in which Serbia is actively participating,” states the release and adds that the East-ring project was proposed within this initiative but was then withdrawn.” The statement also said that the Serbia-Bulgaria connection constitutes a project of joint interest for the Energy Community. The statement, published on the Delegation’s website on Monday, is dedicated to energy security and diversification of gas sources as a priority of the Energy Community, and notes that the EU “believes it is in the interest of all sides that Ukraine maintains its position of an important transit country.”

Last week, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said he learned from Russian officials that the EU had plans for a pipeline that would bypass Serbia, criticizing the organization’s treatment of Serbia.

REGIONAL PRESS

If you do not release Oric there will be no commemoration in Srebrenica (Klix.ba, Tanjug)

If former Muslim commander of Srebrenica, Naser Oric is not released from the detention in Switzerland until June 30th, the commemoration in Srebrenica will be postponed. This was confirmed by the President of the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica Hatidza Mehmedovic and the Organizing Committee for the marking of the event. The Committee, reports the portal Klix.ba, asks from B&H authorities to urgently contact the authorities in Switzerland with the request that Oric is extradited to B&H and not to Serbia. Mehmedovic told the Sarajevo-based portal that Oric is not a criminal and that he “only bare handedly protected his people” and that today he is “guilty only for surviving.” She added that Oric should be tried by the B&H authorities if there is a need for that, and not the Serbian courts. The final decision on the postponement of the anniversary of the crime in Srebrenica on July 11, the Organizing Committee will announce on June 30th.

Dodik: 300 million euros to arrive to The Bank of Srpska (Nezavisne, Srna)

President of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik said on Tuesday at a press conference that the Western partner is going to invest 300 million euros of capital in to the “Bank of Srpska”, which will help the RS to service its obligations and reduce its dependence on the IMF. As reported by the journalist of Nezavisne novine, Dodik said that the reform agenda promoted by the IMF is not good for Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) because it only takes into account the interests of foreigners which is why it is important for the RS to achieve financial independence. He added that in the coming period, the financial institution from the west will recapitalize 74 percent of the Bank of Srpska ownership. Dodik has announced that the consultations with the representatives of RS in common institutions and with the parliamentary parties from RS are going to be held early next week, in regard to the resolution on Srebrenica proposed by the Great Britain, which is as Dodik said harmful for the interests of Serbs and the RS. He said that on the same topic will be discussed at the joint session of the RS government and Serbia, on Friday. Speaking about the announced price increase of the electricity in RS, Dodik said that the move is necessary for many reasons, but agreed that the decision is to be suspended since the mandate of the Regulatory Commission has expired. He said that this issue should be considered at a session of the RS National Assembly after the adoption of the new law on electricity, and after the election of new members of the regulatory agency. Dodik said that the B&H will lose over a billion B&H marks because of the entry of the Stabilisation and Association agreement in to force and criticized the EU, which, as he said, prints the Euro without the coverage and requires from B&H that the convertible mark is covered by euros, in line with that B&H could print an additional two billion marks because, as he explains, B&H has a billion euros more than what is covered with marks. Responding to a question about the Bosniak language in primary schools in RS, Dodik said that Bosniaks have the right to call their language Bosnian, but they do not have the right to impose on Serbs to call that language Bosnian. He additionally explained that everything that has the prefix Bosnian must obtain the consent of all three constituent peoples in B&H. In addition to all, Dodik said that the Russian Federation has not given up on the loan for the RS, adding that the political decision has already been made, now they are looking for the technical ways to implement it.

Hellbach: B&H still far from reconciliation (Oslobodjenje)

Christian Hellbach, Germany’s ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), said Monday evening in Sarajevo that what B&H needs at the moment, and is not undertaking, is a reckoning with the necessity of reform and reconciliation. He said that on the eve of the anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, he is under the strong impression that B&H is still far from reconciliation, and that people still don’t understand that reconciliation will not happen if they themselves do not make an effort, which means initiating contact with the other side and not always insisting on their own stances and expecting others to compromise. Ambassador Hellbach said that reforms in B&H are essential for young people to see their chance and future in the country, for which primarily economic and social reforms are needed. He added that the European Union is trying to assist B&H on the reform path, and it seems to him that a critical moment has been reached when it comes to the reform agenda, for which he hopes that very soon the government will sign it at all levels.

EU foreign ministers will adopt conclusions on Macedonia (MIA)

European Union foreign ministers are expected to adopt their conclusions about the political situation in Macedonia on Tuesday, after discussing them on Monday, MIA correspondent reports from Luxembourg. The conclusions, which are expected to call for implementation of the agreement reached on 2 June and for speedy normalization of political relations, will then be given to the state leaders meeting in the European Council at the end of the week. According to EU foreign and security policy Chief Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign ministers have broadly discussed the Macedonia developments and the conclusions. “The Council of Foreign Ministers endorsed the Council’s conclusions that will be adopted tomorrow in the General Affairs Council (GAC), encouraging all the parties in Skopje to implement the political agreement reached on 2 June, in particular in working on implementation of reforms, early elections and transition that can bring faith and trust in the institutions by the people in the country,” Mogherini stated. On Tuesday, the EU General Affairs Council is expected to adopt conclusions on Macedonia according to which the Council in April expressed “deep concern about the deteriorating situation in the country, particularly in the sphere of rule of law, fundamental rights and media freedom.” It is expected all parties to be called on to take responsibility and take urgent measures aimed at securing a lasting solution and engage in a constructive manner so as to restart political dialogue and restore trust in the institutions. The leaders of the four largest political parties in Macedonia reached an agreement, brokered by Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, to normalize the political situation, with return of the opposition SDSM party to Parliament, institutional handling of the wiretapping affair initiated by SDSM, reforms in the rule of law, media, security services and election legislative, and holding early elections by the end of April 2016. The agreement briefly floundered, after SDSM initially refused to participate in a follow-up meeting in Brussels on 10 June, but last week the parties recommitted to implement the agreement. Besides the talk about Macedonia, the Council on Monday adopted a key set of conclusions on launching a NAVAL operation against human trafficking in the Mediterranean, resumption of the sanctions imposed on Russia due to the situation in East Ukraine and EU’s partnership with the UN, which was discussed together with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki­-moon.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Belgrade and Pristina know they may float or sink together (New Europe)

Serbia and Kosovo are under pressure from Brussels to progress on their bilateral agenda if they are to continue to stay on an EU-integration track. The chief of the EU External Action Service, Federica Mogherini, has a central role in these negotiations, as indeed her predecessor Baroness Ashton. The discussions today will focus on infrastructural cooperation, particular on energy and communications, as well as the status of Mitrovica and the Association of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo. Serbian authorities want a strong public administration with as much executive autonomy as possible. Authorities in Pristina seek to curtail whatever may appear as infringement on their sovereignty. The bridge uniting the Serbian section of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, on the border with Serbia, is a theme featuring high on the agenda. Initially, barricades barred access to vehicles passing from the Albanian to the Serbian sector. Serbian authorities have since replaced rumbles with plants, creating a so called “park” in the middle of the bridge. EU mediators want to take barriers off the bridge, but it is widely understood that the blockade of vehicles from northern Mitrovica will be sustained. Both sides are well aware that unless negotiations progress, their EU membership aspirations will be shelved. The European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia, David McAllister, as well as several European Commission officials have made comments to the same effect. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has publically acknowledged that dialogue with Kosovo must progress. Two years ago, on April 2013, Catherine Ashton sealed a first 15-point deal between Belgrade and Pristina. This settled the composition of the police force on the basis of precedents in Bosnia-Herzegovina, that is, an ethnic composition reflective of the ethnic structure on the ground. In addition, it provided for judges coming from the Serbian minority. However, the agreement made on the governance of Serbian dominated northern municipalities in North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok has been the source of underlying tension. And the economic situation has not markedly improved. The difference today is the realization that Enlargement fatigue is threatening to derail the process of European integration for the Western Balkans as such.

Bosnia asks Swiss to hand over wartime defender of Srebrenica (Reuters)

Bosnian Muslim Naser Oric (R) and his lawyer Vasvija Vidovic sit in the courtroom of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as he waits for the judgment on his appeal against his war crimes conviction in The Hague July 3, 2008.

Bosnia asked Switzerland on Monday to hand over the wartime Muslim defender of Srebrenica and not extradite him to Serbia, in a row that threatens to overshadow the 20th anniversary of the massacre. Naser Oric, a hero to many Bosnian Muslims, was arrested by Swiss police last week on a warrant issued in 2014 by Serbia accusing him of war crimes against Bosnian Serbs in the Srebrenica region during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. A Bosnian army commander at the time, Oric was in charge of organizing the defense of Srebrenica, a designated United Nations “safe area”, from Bosnian Serb forces. The town fell to the Bosnian Serbs in July 1995 and more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred in the days that followed. It was Europe’s worst mass killing since World War Two. Serbia said on Sunday it had filed an extradition request.

Bosnia’s state prosecutor’s office, in a statement on Monday, said it had filed its own request for Oric to be returned to Bosnia, arguing that his extradition to Serbia would jeopardize a separate case against him in Bosnia. Oric stood trial at a U.N. court in The Hague for crimes against Bosnian Serbs and was acquitted of all charges in 2008. A spokesman for the Swiss justice ministry said the formal Serbian request arrived on Monday. Geneva prosecutors would question Oric about it and then the ministry would decide how to proceed based on this and any comments from his lawyer.

The Bosnian request had not yet arrived, he said. A European accord spells out how to handle conflicting claims for extradition and Swiss authorities would have to consider all the circumstances, he said.

“If the request is based on the same crimes, then the place the crimes were committed plays an important role in deciding to which country to extradite,” the Swiss spokesman said. The possibility of Oric’s extradition to Serbia has angered Muslim Bosniaks and may yet derail plans by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to attend a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia on July 11. “We appeal to Bosnian politicians to end diplomatic relations with Serbia and demonstrate that we will not stand silent while innocent people who defended this country get arrested,” said Munira Subasic of the Mothers of Srebrenica association.

Israel’s Tense Trip to Bosnia (VICE, By Raphael Gellar)

Israel played a competitive soccer match against a nation with a large Muslim population for the first time in more than a decade when it faced Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 12 in a vital 2016 European Championship Qualifier. Security was an immediate concern. At a pro-Palestinian rally in Vienna last April, media reports spread that dozens of Bosnian football fans, who were in the country to support their national team playing Austria in a friendly, started chanting “kill the Jews” in Bosnian. A video emerged which confirmed the report and showed Bosnian fans waving Bosnian and Palestinian flags and chanting “kill the Jews” over and over. Israel determined that they needed a high level of security for the European qualifier. Israel was welcomed into Sarajevo on June 10 by dozens of policemen, who looked more like SWAT officers and were equipped with automatic weapons and pistols. Their goal was to intimidate as much as protect. Later, reports surfaced in the Bosnian media that snipers watched the Israeli team while they practiced. As is often the case with Israeli security measures, the intense security and intimidation sent a complicated message to the locals—people all too familiar with the consequences of ethnic hatred. As my cab driver navigated the 50 miles from my hotel in Sarajevo to where the match was played in Zenica—an industrial city near the Bosna River—I saw not only the picturesque mountains mentioned in every tourist guide, but hundreds if not thousands, of white, worn down looking graves jumbled together on the side of the road. The more we drove, the more graves we passed. The graves were not in traditional cemeteries. They were behind houses, next to work buildings, basically anywhere there was a large enough space of grass to put them. My taxi driver noticed I was looking at them and explained that to this day, people are still missing. Bosnia’s declaration of independence in 1992 following the fall of Yugoslavia led to a war fought among three large ethnic groups: the Croats, Serbs, and the Muslims. Approximately 50,000-100,000 Bosnians were killed in the conflict, which lasted until the winter of 1995. On July 11, 1995, the Republika Srpska army led by Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, entered the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Over the next 48 hours, 8,000 Bosniak—Bosnian Muslim—men and boys were slaughtered by Mladic’s army simply for being Bosniak. To this day, it is considered the single largest massacre in Europe since the end of World War II.

“We try and live every day happily,” my young, laid back and optimistic cab driver said on the drive to Zenica. “We are very open people and believe that everyone should be treated equally. But at the same time we must never forget what happened.” One very friendly and chatty coffee shop owner was puzzled by the amount of security surrounding the Israeli team. “The amounts of weapons we are seeing on the streets of Zenica are reminders of the war and that is something no one in this country ever wants to feel again,” he said. “Why do they need so much security?”

Once I arrived at the stadium, I was told that the ultra-supporters of the Bosnian national team, the BH Fanticos, had begun marching in the streets of Zenica chanting, “Palestine, Palestine, Palestine.” Regrettably, things would only get worse. Boos and whistles kept the Israeli players from hearing their national anthem. Also, according to FARE—an organization driven to combat inequality in football and to use the sport as a means for social change—several monitors on the ground reported hearing anti-Semitic chants.

“Fare can confirm our observer at Bosnia vs. Israel reported several clearly anti-Semitic (not anti-Israel) chants during the match. “It’s definitely not an anti-Semitic country,” said a member of the BHDragons—an English-language forum for Bosnian fans—who wished to remain anonymous. “We are not aware or have heard these ‘chants’ but we also heard rumors. The majorities of fans simply support Palestine and wanted to vocalize this, maybe there was one or two idiots but this is normal in any scenario, they don’t represent an entire nation.” Despite the behavior of some of the fans, the majority came to the match to support their national team and not deal with the politics.

Nearly all 13,000 Bosnian fans stood on their feet and chanted in support of their team for the entire match. This was a type of intensity rarely seen at a soccer match. Sasa Ibrulj, a prominent Bosnian journalist, tried to explain why the Bosnian fans are so passionate. “People are proud of their team and glad to be identified with it,” he said. “After years of being famous by a bloody war, people started to recognize us through football. Ask any British football fan about Bosnia and he’ll tell you about Edin Dzeko first, not the war.” Immediately after the match, Israel national team manager Eli Guttman told the small Israeli press corps that Bosnian Football Federation officials apologized for the fans’ behavior. Also, he said that Bosnia manager Mehmed Bazdarevic personally apologized to him. Despite the apologies, UEFA began a disciplinary proceeding against the Bosnian Football Federation, which was charged with disrupting the national anthem, setting off of fireworks, and for general racist behavior. Bosnia & Herzegovina won the match 3-1. The final fallout resulting from the match is not so clear.