LOCAL PRESS

Kosovo talks: No agreement after 17 hours of negotiations (B92)

A new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina ended without agreement after 17 hours of talks, a B92 reporter in Brussels has said. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told journalists that the two delegations reached no agreement on any of the four issues they discussed. Vucic said that the delegations were very close to reaching an agreement on the future Community Serb municipalities (ZSO). “The Pristina delegation did not want to accept even those powers for the ZSO that municipalities have, which are powers in the field of urban planning, health and economic development”, said he. Vucic added that progress has been made in connection with telecommunications, but no agreement was finalized. “We have managed to preserve the assets of Telekom (Serbia) and we agreed that calling codes toward central Serbia will not be billed as international,” said Vucic. There has been practically no progress on the remaining two topics – energy and Peace Park on the bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica – the prime minister noted. “I fear that the Pristina side came here not to sign the agreement,” he stressed, adding that the Belgrade delegation had negotiated “in good faith and was ready to reach agreements.” Vucic said he did not know when the next round of the EU-facilitated dialogue would take place. Asked whether the failure to reach agreements on Monday would have repercussions on Serbia’s EU integration, Vucic said he “could not answer” but was willing to “personally assume all the responsibility and all the consequences.” Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa told reporters that progress has been made in connection with the SZO and telecommunications, but that his delegation could not accept the demands of the Belgrade side. “They were asking for executive powers for the ZSO, and it is against our law and constitution,” explained Mustafa. He confirmed that there had been progress on telecommunications and that agreement was reached on the international calling code for Kosovo, but that it was not signed because “the international community wants all four topics to be signed as one package.” Mustafa also said that the date for the next round of the dialogue depends on EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini.

Djuric: It seems that Pristina does not want agreement (Tanjug)

Marko Djuric, the head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), stated that the new round of dialogue on normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations is held in an extremely difficult atmosphere, and added it seems as if Prisitina’s delegation does not want to make any agreement. “They came here (to Brussels) to make no agreement,” Djuric told journalists late Monday, during a break in the high-level talks mediated by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini. He also stated that during the first part of the dialogue, which lasted for eight hours, the atmosphere was “unbearable.” “I would not wish anyone to go through what we, members of the Belgrade delegation, just went through,” Djuric said, adding that the head of the delegation – Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic – was placed under the greatest pressure. The head of the KiM office told how there were different pressures and “going to separate rooms,” and stressed that the exchange of arguments was very often on the verge of provocation and followed by an inappropriate tone of voice. The only issue that was properly discussed was the one on the establishment of the community of Serb municipalities, Djuric noted, adding that, instead of telecommunications and energy, Pristina tried to talk about its status, which Belgrade did not accept.

Outcome of Kosovo talks suits extremists (TV Pink, B92)

Milivoje Mihajlovic says that the latest round in the Belgrade-Pristina talks “yielded no results” because Pristina “does not need any agreement.” Serbian government’s press office head added on Tuesday that he had “expected the West to put greater pressure on the Pristina delegation.” Mihajlovic told Belgrade-based TV Pink that such an outcome of the talks “suits only extremists, who make up for a great part of the Kosovo political arena,” and added that the Albanian side is “playing for time.” He noted that the community of Serb municipalities is the topic that has been in the limelight for months, adding that after it was agreed on in Brussels two years ago, Pristina has been obstructing the realization of this agreement. The Brussels dialogue stands as an opportunity for Serbia to come to an agreement and lasting peace in the Balkans that would be crowned with the historic reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, while Pristina views the Brussels agreement as a burden, Mihajlovic said. The new round of the Belgrade-Pristina agreement ended after 17 hours of negotiations yielding no results, and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told reporters that the two delegations did not come to an agreement on a single issue.

Statement by Federica Mogherini following the meeting in Brussels (B92)

As agreed last week, I reconvened a meeting of the high level dialogue for normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina with Prime Ministers Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa in Brussels on Monday, 29 June. After 16 hours of work we finalized the text of two agreements – on principles of the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo and on the implementation arrangements in the field of telecoms. Final political agreement however could not be reached. We will now reflect on future steps.

Vucic now invited to attend Srebrenica commemoration (N1)

Wartime commander of Muslim forces in Srebrenica Naser Oric will not attend commemorations on the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica crime. That is what head of the Srebrenica municipality Camil Durkovic told the N1 broadcaster, adding that Oric himself decided against showing up – “because the situation is fairly destabilizing” and he did not wish “any provocation on account of his name – that is, does not want citizens to gloat because be returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Oric, wanted in Serbia on war crimes charges, was arrested in Switzerland earlier this month, but was last week extradited to B&H instead of Serbia. Durakovic explained that B&H authorities “took him over” and that “until the case is brought to an end he is not a free man, essentially he has not been freed.” As for the presence of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic – who, Durakovic warned on multiple occasions, was not welcome in Srebrenica as long as Oric was detained in Switzerland – the mayor now says that “an invitation has been sent to him, he can decide for himself.” President of the Mothers of Srebrenica association Munira Subasic, who also spoke against Vucic’s presence unless Oric was allowed to return to B&H, said: “We won’t prevent anyone, nor will we invite anyone.” The committee organizing the commemoration described itself as non-political and said after holding a session that beside the victims’ relatives and friends, “everyone else is also welcome.” It has been announced that 2,000 policemen will secure the gathering, while “600 persons have been accredited for media coverage.” According to N1, these reporters will come from all over the world, as will “three presidents, three prime ministers, and three parliament speakers.” The committee also announced its goal was to prepare the victims’ funerals and commemoration in a dignified manner.

Nikolic: Attempt to mark Serbs as genocidal (Tanjug)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic stated on Monday that the draft resolution on Srebrenica delivered to the UN Security Council by the Great Britain is a disrespectful attempt at labeling one nation as genocidal.  Nikolic noted that the number of Serb victims in two world wars and during the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) 1991/95 by far exceeded those of all other peoples. He said that it is a terrible injustice that Serbs are being denied the right to show respect for their fallen compatriots, while there is also an attempt to mark the Serb people as genocidal.

“Justice has to be the basis of reconciliation, and truth and humanity lie at the core of justice. Not to mention the pain of the peoples, who were also victims aside from Serbs, such as Jews, Armenians and Roma, if Srebrenica becomes a symbol of genocide,” Nikolic said. He noted that the conflict in the territory of B&H caused suffering for civilians of all nations and creed, and warned that the British resolution on Srebrenica will by no means contribute to the reconciliation in the region.  On the contrary, dissatisfaction will escalate, because the victims will not get understanding and moral satisfaction.  Nikolic called for termination of verbal conflicts and initiatives that deepen the wounds of the families of the victims and prevent the reconciliation in the region, reads a statement issued by the Serbian president’s press office.

Albanian jihadists preparing attacks in Kosovo (Tanjug)

Kosovo Police has neither denied nor confirmed the news published by media in Kosovo for possible terrorist attacks in the country. Due to this the traditional concert of July 4th in honor of the United States of America Independence Day is likely to be canceled. Kosovo Police spokesperson Baki Kelani, contacted by Top Channel, through an email has sent a list of the undertaken actions against the terrorism, without giving concrete details of the latest allegations.

“Lajmi.net” sources within the Kosovo Police said that security institutions in the country, including those of intelligence, provided information which concludes that Albanian jihadists based in Syria and Iraq, in coordination with their partners in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and other countries in the region were preparing terrorist attacks. Faced with the created situation, Kosovo Police has according to these sources, raised its level of mobilization at the highest point, paying special attention to institutional facilities, such as the Assembly, the Presidency, the Government and ministries. Meanwhile, young cadets of Kosovo Police and their escorts were seen wearing bulletproof vests.

Collective center for migrants to open in Presevo (RTS, Tanjug)

Serbia’s labor and defense ministers Aleksandar Vulin and Bratislav Gasic on Monday spoke with migrants in Presevo, southern Serbia. They are refugees from African and Asian countries who are arriving in this town after crossing into Serbia from Macedonia. The two ministers announced the opening of a collective center in Presevo to accommodate them. Vulin and Gasic toured a facility that is being adapted to accommodate migrants and spoke with migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and other countries, for whom Serbia is a transit country on their way to European Union.

Food, medicine and other necessary aid has been provided to migrants, and another temporary collective center – that will accommodate around 300 refugees, who are arriving on a daily basis – will be ready by Friday, said Vulin, who heads a government work group set up to deal with the issue of migrants. By late Sunday, security services, border police and the Gendarmerie turned away 520 people who had attempted to cross the border illegally in 17 groups, Vulin said. At the same time, 170 asylum seekers in Serbia have received their documents and police procedures have been expedited, Vulin said. Gasic said that members of the Serbian Armed Forces and other security services are engaged in Presevo, most of all, in providing health care. The minister said that the Nis military hospital has set up a triage and emergency medical assistance checkpoint in Presevo. While in Presevo, Bratislav Gasic said that citizens of Serbia have no reason to be concerned about the increased number of migrants. “All Serbian security structures absolutely guarantee the safety of all citizens of Serbia and also, of course, of all those who enter the country,” Gasic told reporters. The minister pointed out that the government set up a special team in charge of the migrant issue, which is led by Gendarmerie Commander Goran Dragovic.  The first migrants who made their way to the border crossing Presevo, south central Serbia, and sought asylum were registered back in 2009, “but they were only isolated cases,” Tanjug said, adding that there are now more than 3,000 people from Syria, Jordan, and Iraq fleeing conflicts in their countries and hoping to reach western Europe. The trend of increasing number of refugees entering and passing through Serbia will continue, said UNHCR Representative in Serbia Hans Friedrich Schodder.  In an interview to Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) late on Sunday, Schodder said that Serbia can rely on the assistance of the international community in addressing this problem, stressing that it is important to keep the borders open to migrants. The majority of refugees only pass through Serbia on their way to Western and Northern Europe, and only a small number choose to stay in the country, the UNHCR representative in Serbia said. He pointed out that compared to other countries; Serbia has raised its capacities for the registration of migrants, issuance of travel documents and distribution of humanitarian aid. On the other hand, procedures for those who want to stay in the country need to be improved and these persons should be granted refugee status as soon as possible, said Schodder.

Dodik informes the UN SC that the resolution on Srebrenica is unacceptable (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has informed the UN Security Council that the resolution on Srebrenica, proposed by the Great Britain, is unacceptable for RS because it does not contribute to the reconciliation and its adoption would make Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) more unstable.

A letter to the UN Secretary General, a chairman and the members of the UN Security Council, reads that the institutions of RS, in full compliance, state that Srebenica is to be declared the place of crimes committed against both Serbs and Bosniaks, in order to pay tribute jointly to the victims and pass a message to the world about the atrocities that took place during the tragic conflict in B&H.

Upon the initiative by the Great Britain on the resolution on Srebrenica announced in the UN Security Council, the letter reads that it is necessary to form an International Expert Commission to identify and establish all the events occurred in Srebrenica in the period from 1992 to 1995.

The letter also recalls that the Serb nation was on the side of progressive, libertarian forces of anti-fascism during two world wars, but this resolution and strong media campaign label the Serb people as perpetrators of severe crimes punishable under international law.

“The imposition of a collective guilt and responsibility on the Serb people is attempted by the resolution, even though the Serbs always participated in defensive wars and were on the side of the progressive forces. The proposal for this resolution represents a part of persistent efforts to destabilize this area and to direct it towards the centralization of B&H”, reads the letter by the RS President.

The letter further on reads that the RS institutions are committed to the European future, dialogue and cooperation, democratic system, efficient and functional bodies and institutions of B&H as well as to full respect for the General Framework Agreement for Peace in B&H and its Annexes, which unequivocally confirms and guarantees the constitutional position of RS.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Parliament to decide on referendum (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has announced that he will require convening a special session of the RS National Assembly in order to issue a binding decision to call for a referendum on the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has stated that he will inform the representatives of the political parties in the National Assembly of RS on Tuesday on his intentions to require a special session of the Parliament. Dodik has stated that a referendum on the question: “Should the laws imposed by the High Representative in the past, especially the Law on the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), as well as the decisions by the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office, be accepted in RS?” “I expect a major `no`. I expect that people will vote in a referendum against it, because the judiciary practice in B&H, established unconstitutionally, disallowed these judicial authorities to live on, at least in RS” Dodik told the reporters in Banja Luka. He stated that everything these institutions did was against RS’s interests and stressed that they primarily ruined constitutional order, they failed to be objective or to be involved in the trials of crimes against Serbs. “The most obvious example is that the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of B&H protected crimes against Serbs,” said Dodik. He has reiterated that he will require convening a special session of the RS Parliament in which a report on work performance and the constitution of B&H Prosecutor’s Office, that is unconstitutional and not in compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, will be reviewed.

Dodik has assessed the practice of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office as absolutely unacceptable and imposed by the High Representative.

Covic: Next ten days for negotiations on FB&H majority (Osobodjenje)

Dragan Covic, president of the HDZ, said today in Sarajevo after meeting with Bakir Izetbegovic, president of the SDA, that in the next 10 days they will follow negotiations with other parties interested in establishing a government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H).

Covic said that they discussed the establishment of a government in FB&H and the cantons, and then on the functioning and dysfunction, and agreed that the story of Mostar and the formation of a government for Herzegovina-Neretva Canton must be completed “this week.”

He added that the subject of discussions with Izetbegovic was agreement on with which parties they would consider and what they could do as a part of the parliamentary majority in FB&H.

“For me these are two or three small parties. These parties already showed interest in being part of the parliamentary majority in the Federation. Among them is the Party for B&H,” said Covic.

He announced that they would certainly discuss with the SBB, because the party was “most desirable as a partner because we would then have a strong parliamentary majority.”

Asked to say how long the Federation would wait for a new parliamentary majority, he said that it could surely be September, because he says “it is not possible to form it before then.”

Dodik informes the UN SC that the resolution on Srebrenica is unacceptable (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has informed the UN Security Council that the resolution on Srebrenica, proposed by the Great Britain, is unacceptable for RS because it does not contribute to the reconciliation and its adoption would make Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) more unstable. A letter to the UN Secretary General, a chairman and the members of the UN Security Council, reads that the institutions of RS, in full compliance, state that Srebenica is to be declared the place of crimes committed against both Serbs and Bosniaks, in order to pay tribute jointly to the victims and pass a message to the world about the atrocities that took place during the tragic conflict in B&H. Upon the initiative by the Great Britain on the resolution on Srebrenica announced in the UN Security Council, the letter reads that it is necessary to form an International Expert Commission to identify and establish all the events occurred in Srebrenica in the period from 1992 to 1995. The letter also recalls that the Serb nation was on the side of progressive, libertarian forces of anti-fascism during two world wars, but this resolution and strong media campaign label the Serb people as perpetrators of severe crimes punishable under international law. “The imposition of a collective guilt and responsibility on the Serb people is attempted by the resolution, even though the Serbs always participated in defensive wars and were on the side of the progressive forces. The proposal for this resolution represents a part of persistent efforts to destabilize this area and to direct it towards the centralization of B&H”, reads the letter by the RS President. The letter further on reads that the RS institutions are committed to the European future, dialogue and cooperation, democratic system, efficient and functional bodies and institutions of B&H as well as to full respect for the General Framework Agreement for Peace in B&H and its Annexes, which unequivocally confirms and guarantees the constitutional position of RS.

Italy issues terror-related travel warning on Serbia, Montenegro… (Vijesti)

Italy’s Foreign Ministry has issued a travel advisory to its citizens intending to travel to Western Balkans countries, a Montenegrin daily is reporting. The reason, the Vijesti newspaper is reporting on its website, are possible terrorist attacks in the region. An interactive map, originally published by the Corriere website, shows the Balkans marked as “yellow.”  The map has the following categories: “travel with caution” (yellow), “don’t travel unless necessary” (orange), “not recommended” (red), and “no special risk” (green).  Besides this, the Italian Interior Ministry said Montenegro was a potential point of entry for terrorists wanting to reach Italy. Since September, 200, Italy has added about 13,000 locations to its list of potential terrorist targets, said the paper.  Italian ports of Ancona and Bari have been listed as potential targets of “terrorist attacks” and “entry of terrorists from Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro – that is, the hub of the route used by newly recruited terrorists headed for war zones in Syria and Iraq.” The article also quotes a Libyan government adviser who recently told the BBC that “Islamic State extremists are reaching Europe in boats used to smuggle migrants via the Mediterranean, since European police do not know who is a member of the IS, and who a refugee.” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has also warned that Islamic extremists “might reach Europe under the guise of migrants,” the daily said.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Bosnian Serb Leader: Drop Srebrenica Genocide Resolution (Reuters, June 29, 2015)

BANJA LUKA, BOSNIA— A top Bosnian Serb politician urged the United Nations on Monday to abandon plans for a British-drafted resolution on the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, saying its adoption by the world body would only deepen ethnic divisions in Bosnia. Britain has drafted the resolution at the U.N. Security Council to mark next month’s 20th anniversary of the killing of around 8,000 Muslims in Bosnia, aiming to encourage reconciliation among Bosnia’s Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks. But the draft, mentioning genocide at Srebrenica, has only angered Bosnian Serbs and Serbia, who branded it as “anti-Serb”.  Serbia has already sent a protest letter against the resolution to the United Nations. “Nearly half of Bosnia’s citizens are against this resolution and I … request that it is not adopted at the United Nations,” Mladen Ivanic, the Serb chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite inter-ethnic presidency, said in a letter to the Security Council. On July 11, 1995, towards the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, Bosnian Serb forces swept into the eastern Srebrenica enclave, a U.N.-designated “safe haven.” There they took 8,000 Muslim men and boys and executed them in the days that followed, dumping their bodies into pits in the surrounding forests. The Serbs acknowledge that a “grave crime” took place at Srebrenica but reject the genocide label, while the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague has ruled that the massacre – the worst mass killing on European soil since World War II – constituted genocide. “There is full unity of Serbs in Bosnia that this resolution is anti-Serb,” Ivanic said. “Thus its possible adoption will not have positive effects but will additionally divide the Bosnian society.” Ivanic, who is seen as a moderate politician, said he had sent the letter in his own name because the presidency’s Serb, Muslim Bosniak and Croat members could not agree on the issue. Local media reported on Monday that Russia, a traditional ally of Orthodox Serbs, had filed a counter-resolution on Srebrenica at the Security Council in an apparent attempt to thwart the British resolution. Political quarrels over the resolution followed the recent arrest in Switzerland of Srebrenica’s Muslim wartime commander, Naser Oric, on a warrant issued by Serbia, which again stirred ethnic tensions in the region. Twenty years after the war, Bosnia remains a fragile state reliant on external aid, with economy hobbled by a complex and unwieldy power-sharing system and persistent tensions between its two constituent regions, the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Bosnia rape victims may claim compensation for first time (The Guardian, by Julian Borger)

Bosnian courts to decide on financial compensation for victims of rape and sexual violence during 1990s war but concerns over who will pay

A British-backed legal initiative in Bosnia has opened the way for thousands of rape victims from the conflict there to claim compensation for the first time, but has raised fresh concerns about who will pay to settle the claims. On Monday, a former Bosnian Serb soldier was sentenced to eight years for a rape in 1993 and ordered to pay €15,000 (£10,600) to the Bosniak woman he attacked. The case and a similar landmark ruling last week marked the first time Bosnian war crimes victims had ever been awarded compensation for their suffering. In the past, victims had been told by the state war crimes courts to seek compensation through civil cases, a prohibitively expensive and cumbersome procedure, despite provisions in Bosnian law allowing for awards via the criminal courts. Many victims have endured more than two decades seeing their attackers remain at large with apparent impunity. “This is an important decision which should bring some hope to the 50,000 women who experienced rape and other sexual violence during the war in Bosnia,” said Lydia Gall, a Balkan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The ruling makes clear that Bosnian courts can decide on financial compensation for victims during criminal proceedings, which is safer and easier than doing so through separate civil claims.” Jasminka Dzumhur, the head of the Bosnian ombudsman’s office, said: “This decision sends a clear message that a provision of the criminal law related to compensation is not a ‘dead letter’ and can be used in practice.” In both landmark cases, the victims’ cases were pursued by a Swiss-based advocacy group, Track Impunity Always (Trial), which received a £80,000 grant from the UK’s Foreign Office for its work in Bosnia, as part of the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative launched by former foreign secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie. “This ruling is a vindication for the victims of sexual violence in Bosnia. The UK is proud to have funded support to survivors pursuing this landmark case. It is a victory for justice and a warning to perpetrators of this appalling crime: the world will not forget,” said Baroness Anelay, a foreign office minister and the UK’s special representative on the issue.

Trial hopes that last week’s judgment will encourage more victims of wartime rape to come forward. “There are many women victims of torture and rape, and victims of war crimes in general, who want to use this opportunity and they will pursue criminal proceedings, but they will need legal aid from the state,” said Adrijana Hanusic, a Bosnian legal adviser to Trial. She added that the group was also trying to change the culture among Bosnian war crimes prosecutors so that they pursue compensation as a matter of course. If more wartime victims come forward with claims, however, it is unclear where the funds would come from for compensation payments in cases where the perpetrators cannot or will not pay. If the Bosnian state took over the debt, it could represent an open-ended liability for an already cash-strapped country. Madeleine Rees, the secretary general of the pressure group Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), argues that war crimes victims should receive a one-off cash payment, funded by international lenders. “It would end the competition between the different groups, the camp survivors and torture victims and others, and would unite them,” Rees said. “Every time the welfare budget is cut, it’s survivors of violence, and particularly the women survivors of sexual violence, whose payments are slashed the most. A one-off payment would take them out of the welfare payments, which would mean they could no longer be so easily manipulated by nationalist politicians.” Nela Porobic Isakovic, WILPF’s Bosnia coordinator, said that such a reparations fund would also ensure that compensation would not depend on conviction of a perpetrator. “We should also not forget the fact that many of the survivors of wartime rape (or war crimes in general) will unfortunately not see their perpetrators being brought to justice,” Isakovic said.