LOCAL PRESS

Djuric: Attack on Vucic – attempt to destabilize the region (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric stated that the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Potocari represents an attempt to destabilize the region, adding that no one can now guarantee with any certainty that new incidents are not possible. Djuric believes that the manner in which the B&H leadership organized the gathering was almost scandalous and deserves not only the strongest condemnation, but an investigation and political and criminal responsibility of those who made such mistakes. According to him, it is as if someone wants to create conditions for the new conflict of the Serbs and Bosniaks in this region.

Dacic: Building Helsinki Final Act principles and trust among OSCE member-states (RTS/Tanjug/Politika/Beta)

The Ukrainian crisis has set a challenge before essential security principles and shattered the European security architecture at its very foundations, said OSCE Chair and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at a gathering marking the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. He said that Serbia, as the OSCE chair, together with other OSCE Troika members, was doing everything it could in the reaching of a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis and called on all the sides to respect the truce fully and unconditionally. Dacic warned that the Helsinki heritage had been exposed to risk due to the Ukrainian crisis and called for the restoration of trust among OSCE member-states. The Helsinki Final Act has for years been offering a firm base of security and stability in Europe, stressed Dacic, adding that armed conflicts in Europe have again become reality. The Helsinki Final Act principles are being breached and distrust and tension are growing, he said. We would not be exaggerating if we said that, today, we are fighting the most dangerous threat to European security since the end of the Cold War, said Dacic. We should work together on the building of trust, he said, calling on the states to use OSCE institutions more. That is one of the best platforms for dialogue and joint action and therefore we should work together to strengthen OSCE capacities with a view to building European safety, he said.

According to Dacic, the Helsinki principles are still valid and there is no need to review them – instead, we should work together to confirm and strengthen them. The OSCE reform process should be considered in order to provide the means and mechanisms required for encountering the current and upcoming challenges to European security. Dacic also warned of the possible influence of the Ukrainian crisis on the frozen conflicts in Moldova and the South Caucasus and on global threats such as terrorism, organized crime and climate changes and also the increased flow of migrants and refugees in the OSCE region and beyond.

Pajtic: Merkel praising Vucic only because of Kosovo (Blic)

Compromise regarding Kosovo is the real reason of Angela Merkel’s good mood in Belgrade, and not economic reforms, claims the leader of the Democratic Party (DS) Bojan Pajtic. He interprets totally differently the messages sent by the German Chancellor during her visit to Serbia. According to him, Vucic will be supported not for the economic reforms and austerity measures, but as long as he is cooperative in the negotiations on Kosovo. “Merkel’s praising austerity measures is courteous. Much more significant is the statement that she welcomes Vucic’s readiness for compromise, while it is unclear what kind of compromises has Vucic made in the negotiations with Pristina. Serbia citizens have the right to know. Opening of EU chapters compared to promises and announcements are already late one year. We know about the German conditions and only with the fulfillment of the Brussels agreements will we have the condition to open negotiations precisely with Chapter 35 on Kosovo. In that sense, the German Chancellor is sincere since Germany’s priority is the resolution of the problem of Kosovo.”

Weber: Opening of chapters only if agreement on the ZSO is reached by summer (Kurir)

Senior associate with the Democratization Policy Council in Berlin Bodo Weber said that the opening of the first negotiating chapters might occur this year only if an agreement on the Union of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) statute is reached in Brussels before the summer break and there is little time for that. He said that the fact that Serbia asked Russia to veto the vote on the British resolution on Srebrenica in the UN Security Council will certainly reflect on Serbia’s EU path. He added this will lead to the fact that one part of the EU member states will request earlier opening of Chapter 32 on financial control and insist on earlier harmonization of Serbia’s foreign policy with that of the EU, including the EU relation towards Russia.

Serbia claims Hollywood support over Kosovo (Novosti/Politika)

Serbia may feel it’s short of friends in the world – not counting Russia – but, according to the Serbia media, it has no shortage of allies among Hollywood celebrities not otherwise known for their knowledge of the Balkans. Actor and producer Tom Hanks is only the latest to weigh on Belgrade’s behalf, reportedly telling a television interview recently that Kosovo has always been Serbian and that the Serbs will one day claim back their land. In an interview with E!, an American cable and satellite television, in which he talked about a new film by Steven Spielberg about the history of the state of Israel, Hanks compared the suffering of the Jews to that of the Kosovo Serbs, Politika reported. “Despite everything, they (Jews) have never lost faith in their roots and their hope that they will claim back their lands. We have the same thing happening with Kosovo today,” Hanks was reported to have said. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Serbia bitterly opposes. So far, Kosovo has been recognized by 97 out of 198 UN member states, including the US and 22 of the 27 EU member states. Serbian daily newspapers have linked Hanks’ support for Serbia to his conversion to the Orthodox Christian faith. He joined the Greek Orthodox Church when he married his wife Rita Wilson in 1988. According to Novosti, James Bond star Sean Connery also opposes the independence of Kosovo, apparently because Kosovo should not enjoy what Scotland still lacks. “During its history, Scotland has had far more grounds to be granted independence (than Kosovo), but it was not allowed to secede,” the actor reportedly said. In the past couple of years, other prominent supporters of the Serbian cause in Hollywood included Robert De Niro, George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Richard Gere. As a student, De Niro travelled to Serbia and, according to his own words, spent memorable days among the Serbian farmers in a small village in the central region of Sumadija. According to reports, he named his daughter Drena, after the novel “Bridge on Drina River” by the Serbian writer and Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric, Novosti reported. De Niro is also known as a big fan of Novak Djokovic, Serbian World No. 1 tennis player. According to Novosti, Clooney said that even though he avidly follows world events, he was given no opportunity to hear the Serbian side when it comes to the Kosovo issue. “The Serbian lobby is very weak in United States and all one can hear or read comes from the Albanian lobby and lobbyists,” Clooney was reported to have said. The reports have caused considerable annoyance in Kosovo, prompting counter-claims that comments attributed to Hanks and other US stars have either been taken out of context or are untrue.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H Presidency apologizes to Vucic (Nezavisne)

The B&H Presidency strongly condemned the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Srebrenica and sent an apology. The B&H Presidency thanked Prime Minister Vucic for arrival in Srebrenica, “because he did that in the spirit of reconciliation and with the intention to honor the victims,” statement from Presidency reads. Presidency demands from the police and judicial bodies to urgently carry out a thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators of the attack. The B&H Presidency requests the responsibility of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies of B&H for any possible omission to be determined. Presidency apologized to all foreign delegations for the inconvenience. “The B&H Presidency is committed to continue to work on speeding up the process of reconciliation, restoration of confidence and improvement of relations between B&H and Serbia”, stated the Presidency.

Attack on Vucic will set B&H back for years (Srna)

The Chairman of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic has told Srna that the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic at the commemoration in Potocari will set B&H back for years and it will take a lot of wisdom to calm the situation down. Ivanic has stated he will demand B&H Presidency members to meet on Saturday evening to take a position on this event. He mentioned that he warned Vucic earlier that bad things might happen in Potocari. “It was clear that this event is totally politicized, the event that victims were the least concern. This has turned into a political struggle,” noted Ivanic. According to him, dominant is that the ambience of this type was created by Bosniak political parties and figures. He said it all started with “the famous resolution” and it is evident that still there is no true reconciliation here. Ivanic says Vucic’s willingness to give a hand of reconciliation meant a willingness of someone of the Bosniak side to accept it. “Apparently, no one wanted to truly accept it. This is an event which will set B&H back for years, and hopefully make it grow wiser, particularly the international representatives in order not to play with this country, because here things easily get divided,” said Ivanic. He stressed that now it will take a lot of wisdom to calm situation down, to avoid counter-reactions and to “enter into more or less normal life” for the sake of peace and safety of all people in B&H. “It will be particularly the obligation of us, the political figures,” said Ivanic.

Cvijanovic: Attack on Serbia and its given hand (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic strongly condemned the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic who ‘”came with good indentation to pay respect to the victims of Srebrenica and their families. It was an act of courage and effort to contribute to the building of trust and mutual tolerance in the atmosphere of general misunderstanding in B&H that we all need, which Prime Minister Vucic is much more committed to than those who call for peace and tolerance but doing nothing to make it happen,” said Cvijanovic. She has said that the attack on Prime Minister Vucic is the attack on Serbia and its given hand, on chance to build up the trust, but also the attack on a statesperson and human life that was not supposed to happen.

“It is the attack on the Serb people, as well as a bad message to the RS,” Cvijanovic stated. She expressed her gratitude and praised the members of the RS Ministry of Interior for reacting promptly and their professional attitude. “The RS government requires all competent authorities at all governmental levels in B&H to identify and sanction the perpetrators of this crime as soon as possible. We also demand from institutions of B&H to urgently take all actions to establish the security failures, as well as urgent actions to eliminate the political damage done by this crazy act,” said Cvijanovic.

SDA condemns attack on Vucic: Desecrated act of brutality, disgraced Bosniaks (Oslobodjenje)

The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) sharply condemns the attack on Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, which took place at Saturday after the commemoration of the victims of genocide at the Potocari Memorial Center. “Those who caused the incident did not just attack Prime Minister Vucic, they distorted the very act of the brutality and disgraced Bosniaks who in their tradition always cherished hospitality,” the SDA press office said in a statement. The SDA sincerely regrets that in this way a shadow was cast on the observation of the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica and the burial of 136 innocent victims of the genocide, and asks the relevant agencies to perform an urgent and efficient investigation that will result in uncovering the truth about the perpetrators, as well as possible security lapses. Such actions of individuals must not influence the process of reckoning with the truth, nor additionally complicate reconciliation, coexistence and tolerance among the peoples of B&H and the Balkans, the statement reads.

Moore and Mogherini condemn attack on Vucic (Oslobodjenje)

Ambassador Jonathan Moore, OSCE Chief of mission for B&H, sharply condemned attack on Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic at Srebrenica. “It was a great honor to lead the OSCE delegation to the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide. The fact that a few people chose to attack the prime minister of Serbia during the funeral is an insult to the victims and the survivors, as well as the guests. I am thankful to the Mothers of Srebrenica, Mayor Durakovic, Reis Kavazovic, and Prime Minister Vucic, for their messages of respect and tolerance,” Moore said, adding: “Despite the enormous pain caused by the war, across B&H there are many shining examples of coexistence. This attack will not change that. Thanks to the efforts of the mayor and deputy mayor of Srebrenica, and many others, much has been achieved in this city. Twenty years after the genocide, at a time when Serbia presides over the OSCE and the B&H over the Council of Europe, it is more important than ever to affirm and encourage such positive examples.” The OSCE mission in B&H, through its extensive network of field offices, remains a partner of Srebrenica and all of B&H, every day of the year, Moore said. Federica Mogherini, High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, commenting on the attack on Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic at Srebrenica that happened after the commemoration of 136 victims of genocide, said that this is contrary to the spirit of remembrance. “The fact that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia, who made the historic decision to participate in the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica, was forced to leave the commemoration is contrary to the spirit of memorial. It shows that we must all redouble our efforts to overcome hatred and persist in reconciliation across the Western Balkans and beyond. Today is a day for reconciliation, dignity and respect. The European Union will continue to support efforts in this direction. We expect the B&H government to conduct a full investigation of this incident,” said Mogherini.

Serbs in eastern B&H remember their victims (Glas Srpske/B92)

A day after the commemoration in Potocari held for the Bosniak victims, Serbs were on Sunday remembering their victims in nearby Bratunac. 69 Serb civilians and soldiers were killed by Muslim forces led by Naser Oric on July 12, 1992. The murders coincided with the Feast of St. Peter and Paul (Petrovdan) a major holiday celebrated by Orthodox Serbs. Saturday’s incident when Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic was attacked in Potocari raised the question of whether the two peoples can put their conflict behind two decades later. Danilo Stevic, a local Serb who lost his son, says that reconciliation is the only way out for Serbs and Bosniaks, adding: “It will be difficult, but there’s no survival without it. Those who don’t know how to forgive and forget are in for a hard time. Therefore, it must be done, that’s life.” According to him, individuals, and not whole peoples are to blame for the suffering of Bosniaks and Serbs. More than 3,500 Serbs were killed during the war in B&H in the wider area of the Drina Valley – 1,200 in the Bratunac municipality alone. Dozens of families gathered at the local cemetery on Sunday, although the memorial service was served several days earlier. Bratunac Municipality President Nedeljko Mladjenovic said that “ordinary citizens contribute to reconciliation more,” and added: “I live in the country, in a multi-ethnic village where there are Serbs and Bosniaks, there had been many victims in many families. Even those families are overcoming it more quickly. However, the mid-Drina Valley is being used for high politics.” 23 years later, the list of Serb victims is not final as many are still listed as missing. The Memorial Room in Bratunac display images of 804 victims, among them whole families. “The youngest victim was five years old… the case of an old man, Petrovic, is particular – he and his five grandchildren were all killed,” Neboja Lukic, head of the local veterans’ association, explained. The memorial center in Potocari, where the Muslim victims are buried, is located only five kilometers from here. Even two decades later, the distance between the two peoples who for a long time lived together is much greater.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Srebrenica Ceremonies Marred by Attack on Serbia’s Premier (AP, by Aida Cerkez, 11 July 2015)

A crowd of furious Bosnian Muslims jumped over fences and attacked Serbia’s prime minister with stones and water bottles on Saturday, marring the 20th anniversary commemorations of the Srebrenica massacre. Aleksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist during the Balkan wars but who is now a moderate with a pro-Western stance, escaped serious injury. He said he was hit in the face with a rock as the crowds chanted “Kill, Kill” and “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” The scenes overshadowed what was supposed to be a day of reflection and remembrance for the 8,000 Muslim men and boys slaughtered at the hands of Serb forces in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Two U.N. courts ruled that the killings constituted genocide. Vucic is among the most hated individuals for Bosnian Muslims, with some viewing him in worse terms than late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. During the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Vucic was an ultranationalist politician in opposition to Milosevic, criticizing the Serb leader of leniency toward Bosnian Muslims. Many Bosnian Muslims also still remember Vucic’s incendiary statement during the Balkan wars that for every dead Serb, 100 Muslims should be killed. Some in the crowd held a banner with the quote to remind him of his past. Vucic’s security detail rushed him away, trying to protect him with bags, umbrellas and their raised arms from the projectiles raining down. His guards shoved through the angry crowd before pushing the prime minister inside an armored vehicle. “We were attacked from all sides. It was well organized and prepared,” a visibly shaken Vucic said upon his quick return to Serbia. He blamed hooligan soccer groups from Serbia and Bosnia for initiating the attack. “I heard Muslim people telling the attackers ‘why are you attacking him? It is not his fault. He had not done anything here.'” He added: “Except for my glasses, I’m missing nothing else.” Vucic, who came to represent Serbia at the commemoration in an apparent gesture of reconciliation, said after the attack that, “Today we are talking more about a bunch of fools rather than about the innocent victims of Srebrenica.” He added that his “arms of reconciliation remain stretched toward the Bosniaks.” Serbia’s foreign ministry sent a protest note to Bosnia, saying the attack was a murder attempt against Vucic and urged that the culprits be caught. Although the crowd booed Vucic’s arrival, Srebrenica widows and mothers welcomed his presence. “Only on truth we can build a future. You cannot deny the truth,” Kada Hotic, who lost her son and husband in the massacre, told Vucic before the ceremony. The Muslim Bosniak mayor of Srebrenica, Camil Durakovic, apologized to Vucic, saying he was “deeply disappointed” about the attack. Tens of thousands of people came to the commemorations marking two decades since Europe’s worst massacre since the Holocaust. Foreign dignitaries urged the international community not to allow such atrocities to happen again and to call the crime “genocide.” Serbia and Bosnian Serbs deny the killings were genocide, and claim that the death toll has been exaggerated. Dozens of foreign dignitaries — including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Britain’s Princess Anne and Jordan’s Queen Noor.

Balkans: Serbia calls for investigation of violent Srebrenica snub (morningstaronline.co.uk, by James Tweedie, 13 July 2015)

SERBIA has demanded an investigation after Prime ¬Minister Aleksandar Vucic was attacked at the 20th anniversary commemoration of the ¬Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia on Saturday.

Mr Vucic was forced to flee as a crowd of protesters climbed over barricades and pelted him with stones and bottles, chanting: “Kill, kill” and “Allahu akbar.” Bodyguards protected the prime minister with umbrellas, bags and raised arms as they rushed to an armoured vehicle. Mr Vukic, whose glasses were broken when a stone hit him in the face, said the incident was premeditated, blaming football hooligans for the violence. “We were attacked from all sides. It was well organised and prepared,” he said. “I heard Muslim people telling the attackers: ‘Why are you attacking him? It is not his fault. He had not done anything here’.” A Serbian diplomatic ¬communique accused the protesters of trying to assassinate Mr Vucic. “Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has shown by his presence the readiness to bow his head to Srebrenica victims and stepped forward to improve relations both with the region and the whole country,” it read. “We expect public condemnation from officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina of Serbia’s prime minister’s attempted assassination.” Although the crowd booed Mr Vucic’s arrival, some Srebrenica widows and mothers welcomed his presence. “Only on truth we can build a future. You cannot deny the truth,” Kada Hotic, who lost her son and husband in the massacre, told Mr Vucic before the ceremony. The Muslim Bosniak Mayor of Srebrenica Camil Durakovic apologised to Mr Vucic, saying he was “deeply disappointed” by the attack.

Attack shows Balkan wounds still deep (Agence France-Presse, 13 July 2015)

BELGRADE: The attack on the Serbian prime minister on Saturday in Bosnia that marred Srebrenica massacre commemorations exposed the deep divisions still lingering decades after the Balkans’ interethnic wars ended.

Regional leaders and media condemned the attack which saw premier Aleksandar Vucic chased from the memorial for the 1995 slaughter of some 8,000 Muslims, by a bottle and stone throwing mob. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Sunday that the incident recalled the run-up to the bloody 1990s conflict in Bosnia that killed 100,000 people. “No one should remain indifferent towards the savagery of this incident which recalls those of 1992,” Nikolic said in a statement. Nikolic added Vucic was attacked because he came “with his hand extended in a gesture of reconciliation.” The premier earlier told reporters in Belgrade he was not hurt by a stone that hit him in the mouth and that only his glasses were broken in the attack. Vucic had just laid a flower at a monument for thousands of the massacre victims buried there when the crowd started to chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great) and began hurling stones, forcing the prime minister to run for cover shielded by his bodyguards. Serbia’s Vecernji Novosti daily wrote on Sunday that the “stone that hit Vucic in Srebrenica only further deteriorated already fragile ties between Serbia and Bosnia.” Meanwhile Bosnian papers condemned the incident, saying that it overshadowed the commemoration of the massacre, the worst in Europe since World War II. It “caused irreparable damage to those who least deserved it – Muslim victims of a genocide,” commented the influential Dnevni Avaz daily. Bosnia’s Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic voiced hope that despite the attack the Serbian prime minister would continue to act for “needed reconciliation between Muslims and Serbs, and turning of a new page” between the two peoples. Vucic had earlier condemned the “monstrous crime” in Srebrenica, where the thousands of Muslim boys and men were murdered by Serb forces who had captured the eastern Bosnian town in July 1995 as the war neared an end. However, the form ultranationalist who turned into a pro-European advocate stopped short of calling it a genocide, as the killing has been described by international courts. Serbia and Bosnian Serbs have refused to call the massacre a genocide. Earlier this month Western powers clashed with Russia on the topic when Moscow – after lobbying by Serbia and Bosnian Serbs – vetoed a draft UN resolution submitted by Britain which called for the Security Council to recognise the Srebrenica mass killing as genocide. The angry reaction in the crowd of mourners on Saturday may also indicate that Vucic’s ultranationalist past has not been forgotten. In the 1990s he told Serbian lawmakers that “for every Serb killed we will kill 100 Muslims.” A giant banner bearing those words and Vucic’s name was visible in the crowd.Belgrade labelled the attack an assassination attempt and Nikolic said it “clearly shows the opinion of Serbs held by certain Muslim politicians and religious leaders.” The confrontations also did nothing to strengthen the fragile interethnic relations within Bosnia, which remains deeply divided along ethnic and religious since the 1990s war. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik slammed the “attack against Serbian people.” Bosnia’s presidency strongly condemned the attack and apologised to “all foreign delegations,” while EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said it “went against the spirit of this day of remembrance.”

Nuland: Macedonia, Bosnia to Toe US-EU Line or Face Decades in Isolation (Sputnik, 11 July 2015)

The US government has told Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to sign up with the European Union (EU) on its terms, or be isolated in Europe for 20 years, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Nuland acknowledged that Bosnia-Herzegovina is seriously seeking association status with the EU and in June “activated its SAA [Stabilization and Association Agreement]” with the 28-nation Union. “The United States joins the EU, the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and the World Bank in urging Bosnia-Herzegovina’s leaders to make crucial reform decisions now, or risk being left behind for another twenty years,” Nuland said in prepared remarks delivered in Dubrovnik, Croatia on Friday. “Our message to Macedonia is equally tough,” Nuland said. “[T]he major political forces must stop squabbling and get on the path to democratic reform sketched out by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn with US support, and then move on to settle the name issue with Greece.” However, Nuland continued, “politicians continue to put ethnic and party interests ahead of the basic social, economic and political reform needed to advance.” For EU as well as NATO membership, Macedonia has already satisfied the conditions to begin membership negotiations. However, the main reason negotiations have not started is the demand by Greece for Macedonia to change its name — a unique condition that many in Macedonia say was put forth to negate the Macedonian national identity, which is why the Macedonians have almost universally rejected over potential EU membership. Nuland is a former chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott under US President Bill Clinton. She also served as principal foreign policy advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney and then as US ambassador to NATO.

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