LOCAL PRESS

Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Ivanovic should be released (Tanjug)

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija has requested immediate release of the leader of the SDP civic initiative Oliver Ivanovic, who has been in prison for over one year, without any grounds, against all legal logic and international legal standards. The Office recalls in the statement that dozens of witnesses of the prosecution testified about his innocence, which confirms how groundless is EULEX’s fear that he may influence witnesses if he is released on bail. “Legal violence has been already done with the politically motivated raising of the indictment and imprisonment of Oliver Ivanovic and the least the court can do at this moment is to abolish the decision on custody,” opines the Office. It further says that the Serbian government has already given guarantees that Ivanovic will be available to EULEX at any moment and it confirms this guarantee once more. The Office also expects the same decision when it comes to the remaining detained Serbs who are included in this case.

Vukcevic: Recognition of Serbia’s efforts (Danas/Politika)

“The establishment of the court for crimes committed by the KLA is in fact satisfaction for the work of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution in cases where the victims are Serbs that has commenced more than seven years ago,” Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic tells Danas. “This is support to our joint efforts to punish the perpetrators of the crimes against the Serbs, including the organ trafficking because we are often criticized that we haven’t done anything in cases where the victims are Serbs. We will cooperate with this court, just as we have cooperated on all cases where there is any suspicion that war crimes have been perpetrated,” said Vukcevic. “Therefore, this is recognition of our efforts. First we tried to cooperate with the Albanian Prosecution that turned out to be unsuccessful in 2008, then we successfully cooperated with the Council of Europe Special Rapporteur Dick Marty, and later on with the Prosecutor of the Special Investigate Team Clint Williamson, to whom we offered logistic support in interrogating witnesses and who acknowledged our work when submitting reports in Brussels,” said Vukcevic.

Stefanovic: We will submit all documents (Novosti)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic tells Novosti that the Serbian Interior Ministry will do everything in its power to adequately punish all KLA members who have committed crimes: “We are prepared to disclose all documentation at our disposal if we are requested. It is important for the special court for KLA crimes to demonstrate in practice that those who committed monstrous murders will be held responsible and that the adoption of constitutional amendments will not be only a dead letter, since we have seen that the decision of the Kosovo Assembly has followed only after big international pressure. Serbia will carefully monitor all developments and the work of the court whose establishment is only the first step towards punishing the responsible.

UNESCO didn’t receive formal application from Kosovo (Novosti)

UNESCO has still not received Kosovo’s official application for full-fledged membership, Novosti was told by the UNESCO public information service in Paris. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic explained that it does not necessarily mean that countries that recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo would automatically vote for its membership in UNESCO. Dacic expects the UN to reject Pristina’s application because it is legally unfounded and contrary to UNSCR 1244.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Eighty percent would vote in referendum (Euroblic/Srna)

“Eighty percent of the RS citizens would vote in a referendum and 75 percent would vote against the High Representative’s imposed decisions, especially the ones concerning the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office,” the RS President Milorad Dodik told Euroblic. He said that a survey was conducted to assess the validity of the decision to hold the referendum to see how the citizens would react to the issue and added that an enormous number of people would vote against the imposed decisions. “Once the referendum is conducted, you have an absolute will of the people that must be respected. If the will of the people is observed, then you know what has to be done – no more Court and Prosecutor’s Office. If the people say no, then we will say that decisions of the B&H Court and Prosecutor’s Office are inapplicable from that moment on,” said Dodik.
“The constitutional framework is an agreement of the FB&H and RS about whether they want there to exist a legal instrument at the B&H state level. It is not a problem at all for the Court and Prosecutor’s Office to exist at the state level to adjudicate in accordance with the B&H competences, instead of adjudicating on the basis of the laws passed by the RS, as that is how they destroy its judiciary,” explained Dodik.
Commenting on the Serbian prime minister’s appeal to rethink the referendum, Dodik said he was grateful to Vucic for presenting his views on the growing animosity of certain people in the international community, and added that the decision to call the referendum was made by the RS parliament, and that he as the President initiated the idea.
Commenting on marking the Day of Remembrance of the pogrom and suffering of the Serbs from Croatia, Dodik stressed the importance of pointing out that the Serbs had the most victims in the former Yugoslavia. “In the RS there are around 56,000 refugees from Croatia, while the rest fled to Serbia. That date, that huge convoy of refugees dating 20 years back proves that it was necessary to observe the day,” said Dodik.

Novalic: FB&H PA House of Peoples chose employment and progress (Fena)

The House of Peoples of the FB&H parliament chose a more difficult path, the path of reform, said FB&H Prime Minister Fadil Novalic. However, choosing the path of reform, the House of Peoples ultimately chose employment for young people, improvement of conditions for pensioners, it chose progress. “The labor law is the basis for subsequent legislative solutions in the context of reforms that will follow such as the law on binding past work service, reform of the pension and disability insurance system, first employment, employment after long-term unemployment, etc.,” explained Prime Minister Novalic in a statement to Fena. Novalic stressed that the Government will continue to work on reforms and issues of economic recovery. Currently, he said, the Government is working to develop a system of incentives for first employment to a greater extent than it has been done so far. “We are preparing a decree of the Government that will regulate new and additional incentive program for youth employment, with emphasis on the first employment. The program, which should be worth 50 million annually, will oblige employers for a period of at least two years,” underlined Novalic. He said it would be foolish to speculate at this point what might happen tomorrow at the session of the House of Representatives of the FB&H parliament, but it is important to put things in context of the upcoming reforms. “This law is not a political issue, not a question of opposition or position, but primarily an economic issue,” stressed Novalic. Speaking about the negotiations with union representatives, he said that they did their best to bring the positions as close as possible with those of the union representatives. He stressed that he was shocked by their refusal to cooperate. Commenting on the protest, organized by the Federation of Independent Unions in front of the FB&H Parliament, Novalic said that the workers were manipulated by “a small elitist group.” “The labor law exists for all workers. Unions should represent all workers, and not just individuals and the privileged ones,” said Novalic.

SSS B&H: We seek investigation of constitutionality of labor law adoption (Oslobodjenje)

The Alliance of Independent Trade Unions of B&H (SSS B&H) will launch an initiative to start investigating the constitutionality of the method of adoption and contents of the FB&H labor law, and will request that the FB&H government in urgent procedure start drafting a set of laws like the law to amend the striking law, the law on labor health and safety, the SSS B&H said in a statement. These are just some of the activities the SSS B&H has announced, after both houses of parliament adopted the labor law late last month. The request by the SSS B&H will also apply to the immediate drafting of a law linking services, the law to amend the bankruptcy code, and amendments to the law on mediation in employment and social security for unemployed persons in FB&H.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

EU Kosovo mission accused of trying to silence whistleblower (The Guardian, 3 August 2015)

Maria Bamieh says threat of prosecution by Eulex is attempt to stop her from publishing claims about culture of corruption

Maria Bamieh and her lawyer have been formally warned by Eulex that they could be prosecuted and jailed if they disclose details of her case. The European Union’s biggest foreign mission has been accused of using its powers to try to silence a whistleblower who claims to have uncovered evidence of possible corruption. Eulex, the foreign mission in Kosovo, is being taken to an employment tribunal by the London-based lawyer Maria Bamieh. She claims she was forced from her job as a prosecutor after exposing evidence of bribery among senior staff. But now Bamieh and her solicitor have been formally warned by Eulex that they could be prosecuted and jailed if they disclose any details of her employment case to “non-parties,” including potential witnesses. The prospect of criminal prosecution in Kosovo is particularly serious, given that it would be carried out by Eulex prosecutors and judges. Eulex has the power to apply for the extradition of suspects from the UK or apply for a European arrest warrant. Eulex has cost more than €1bn (£703m) since it was established with a promise of pursuing the “big fish” among Kosovo politicians who were alleged to be involved in organised crime. Bamieh’s claims, along with the appearance of compromising documents in the Kosovan media, have reinforced the impression within the former Yugoslav province that Eulex may have become part of the problem it is trying to solve. In a statement, Bamieh, a former Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, said Eulex’s threat of prosecution was the culmination of a three-year campaign to stop her from exposing what she claims is a culture of corruption and from disclosing her mistreatment. “These latest developments only serve to demonstrate the lengths to which the relevant powers will go to prevent my concerns from being openly discussed,’’ she said. “Despite this, I shall not be cowed and I shall not be intimidated.” Her solicitor, Peter Daly, from the firm Bindmans, said the action sought to stop him and Bamieh from getting in touch with witnesses. “The threats against me and my client – together with the highly unusual request for blanket anonymity and desire to obscure these proceedings from any scrutiny – do not appear to sit comfortably with Eulex’s function as a protector of the rule of law,” he said. Bamieh joined Eulex in 2008 but has claimed she was forced out last summer after attempting to uncover corruption and bribery among senior staff. She claimed that she discovered evidence of corruption after a telephone tap of one suspected criminal, who had been a senior civil servant, aroused suspicions that senior figures in Eulex were taking bribes worth hundreds of thousands of euros. But after complaining to the authorities and asking for a full inquiry, Bamieh said she was victimised, smeared in the press and forced out. Her dismissal followed two years of unfair treatment, including full-scale investigations into her conduct for petty misdemeanours such as parking infringements, she has previously alleged. Eulex has said she was suspected of leaking classified documents. Bamieh denies the accusation, insisting she only went to the press after being suspended. In a further development, Eulex has written to the tribunal seeking blanket privacy and anonymity orders over all remaining stages of the proceedings. This would prevent the media from reporting on any aspect of the case, despite the extensive global coverage that it has already received. Shah Qureshi, head of employment law at Bindmans, said the legal threats were particularly unusual and sinister. “It is a fundamental aspect of a functioning rule of law that solicitors are not threatened with criminal prosecution simply for representing their clients,’’ he said. “The threat made by Eulex’s lawyers contravenes this basic principle.’’ He added: “This is a substantial attack on the rule of law in the UK and we deplore it without reservation. The fact that this attack has been made by an organisation founded to protect the rule of law ought to be the source of deepest concern in Brussels and in Kosovo.” Kosovo broke away from Yugoslavia in 1999 and became a UN protectorate after its bloody war, which pitched the Serb minority against the majority ethnic Albanians. In 2008 the ethnic Albanian-led parliament declared unilateral independence and the UN unit was replaced by Eulex that same year. A spokesman for Eulex declined to comment on the threats of prosecution or the claims of intimidation by Bamieh or her solicitor. “Eulex is currently in the process of defending litigation that has been brought against it by Maria Bamieh,’’ the spokesman said. “Consequently, arguments in those proceedings are ongoing and we will make no comment about them until the proceedings are concluded. Eulex being a rule of law mission gives due respect to the employment tribunal of central London and wishes not to comment [on] the case until the Judgment is rendered.”

Serbian Exports to Russia Fall Steeply (BIRN, by Sasa Dragojlo, 5 August 2015)

Exports to Russia dropped by a third this year due to exchange rate fluctuations and the decline in the value of the Russian ruble, according to the Serbian Chamber of the Economy

Total Serbian exports to Russia in the first six months of 2015 were 33 per cent lower than the same period last year, according to a report by the Serbian Chamber of the Economy released on Tuesday. Total exports to Russia in the first six months of this year added up to 332 million dollars, while in the same period in 2014, they amounted to 486 million dollars. Dejan Delic, from the Chamber of the Economy’ s Bilateral Cooperation sector, told BIRN on Tuesday that exchange rate fluctuations and the fall in the value of the Russian rubble were the main reasons for the decline in exports. “Trade exchange between the two countries in the first half of 2015 has been followed by exchange rate fluctuations and the rubble drop in the period from September 2014 through January 2015. That caused payment uncertainty, difficulty in planning and consequently a significant drop in trade exchange of exports and also imports,” said Delic. The fall in Serbian exports to Russia is surprising because Serbia is among the few countries in the region which have not imposed sanctions against Russia. In spring 2014 , the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine resulted in the introduction of mutual economic sanctions, but Serbia has not followed EU instructions about sanctions although it is involved in the EU accession process. Last August 22, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that “Serbia will respect the EU’s desire not to give additional subsidies on exports to Russia, but it will not impose sanctions on Russia”. On June 17 this year, the EU extended its economic sanctions on Russia, which will continue at least until the end of January 2016. In response, Russia imposed an embargo on food imports to the EU.

Macedonia NGOs Oppose Govt Plan for Quick Census (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 5 August 2015)

NGOs rejected Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s plan for an instant census ahead of early elections in April 2016, arguing that he has lost the credibility to implement it properly

Over 40 NGOs said they opposed the plan revealed last week by the embattled Gruevski, insisting it would be politically risky to undertake such an operation amid a deep political crisis that revolves around allegations of illegal, government-orchestrated mass surveillance. The announcement is “not serious and just another manipulation and an intentional attempt to deflect public attention [from the crisis]”, the coalition of critically-inclined NGOs, including the Macedonian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and CIVIL – Centre for Freedom, said in a joint statement. Last week Gruevski said that his government is already preparing for the census and would acquire new electronic equipment by the year’s end. Instead of going from door to door and using paper forms, he said he plans to use software that would cross-reference people’s personal data held in various state registers. His announcement came just weeks after he and the opposition struck a deal to end the political crisis by organising snap polls next April. As part of the deal, Gruevski promised to resign at the start of 2016, 100 days before the election, and accepted a revision of the electoral laws and the electoral roll, to eliminate suspicion that he could influence the results. The last attempt to hold a census in Macedonia in October 2011 ended in fiasco, and it was scrapped shortly after it began due to ethnic disputes. Ethnic Albanian parties claimed that the Macedonian majority on the census commission had arranged the criteria in order to underestimate the number of Albanians in the country. Macedonian parties on the other hand argued that the census was being rigged in Albanian-dominated areas in order to exaggerate the true number of Albanians. After spending some 11 million euro, the government annulled the census after the commission tendered its collective resignation. It has not budgeted for a new headcount since. The NGOs’ statement said this was another reason not to let Gruevski implement a new census. “The current government has lost all legitimacy and credibility to carry out a head count because it still did not explain why the 2011 census failed and did not take any responsibility for it,” their statement said. The former deputy head of the electoral commission, Abdulmenaf Bexheti, also said it would be “politically dangerous” if the current government carries out the census before the polls. “If this [census] proves to be a necessity, this operation must be done with planning and monitoring by international institutions,” Bexheti said. The last completed census in 2002 showed that 64 per cent of the population was Macedonian and 25 per cent ethnic Albanian. Roma, Turks, Serbs and other minorities made up the rest. But the lack of any headcount since then means Macedonians have no clear picture of demographic trends in their country. The current crisis in Macedonia revolves around claims of widespread illegal surveillance. The opposition accuses Gruevski of orchestrating the surveillance of over 20,000 people and is demanding that he and his government resign. But Gruevski has insisted that compromising tapes of officials’ conversations, which have been released in batches by the opposition Social Democrats since February, were “created” by unnamed foreign intelligence services and given to the opposition to destabilise the country.