LOCAL PRESS
Ivanovic goes on hunger strike (Tanjug)
The leader of the SDP civic initiative Oliver Ivanovic went on hunger strike at the Kosovska Mitrovica prison demanding to be released pending trial. His wife Milena Popovic Ivanovic told Tanjug that her husband made the decision after reflecting on it for a long time, and added that he simply cannot understand the injustice that is happening to him. “He decided to start a hunger strike because he thinks it is the only way to draw attention to himself. His health is now good, he expects the doctors that will examine him, and he will be under medical supervision,” Popovic Ivanovic said. His party has also confirmed the news, saying that Ivanovic wants to point out to the inhumane and unjust stance EULEX has toward him. A statement issued by the SDP said that Ivanovic made the decision because this politically rigged trial has, after hearing 47 witnesses, arrived to a point when legal arguments no longer exist, instead there are only political, that we have been pointing out to since the beginning.
Djuric disappointed with extension of Ivanovic’s detention (RTS)
The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric expressed his deep disappointment and revolt over the court decision to extend the detention for Oliver Ivanovic, and qualified it as yet another proof that the case against Ivanovic is politically motivated. According to Djuric, this decision is a bad signal for the overall political climate and the rule of law in Kosovo and Metohija. It is inconceivable that in making this decision the court failed to take into account the testimonies of dozens of witnesses for the prosecution who in effect testified on Ivanovic’s behalf, or the guarantees offered by the Serbian government that Ivanovic, if released pending trial, will remain available to EULEX at all times, Djuric said in a written statement to the media. The damage has been done not only to Ivanovic and his family, but also to the political life and the process of normalization of relations in Kosovo and Metohija, because Ivanovic is a politician deeply committed to democracy and one of the fiercest critics of all forms of political extremism, said Djuric.
Selakovic: Serbia will help Ivanovic as much as it can (Tanjug)
Extension of detention for Oliver Ivanovic is scandalous and Serbia and the Serbian Justice Ministry will do everything to help his defense as much as this is possible, Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said. “Unfortunately, not much is possible and we have to be aware of what we can do. The Ministry is constant communication with the Office for Kosovo and Metohija when it comes to the flagrant violation of human rights of Oliver Ivanovic who has been in detention for such a long time just because he is a prominent Serb from northern Kosovo,” said Selakovic. Asked what the Justice Ministry can do in regard to this, Selakovic said: “What do you think we can do. We are in a situation when our hands are tied when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija and when de facto we don’t have sovereignty in the judiciary, so we can help in defending him as much as we can,” said the Minister. “I don’t expect the Kosovo Albanians to release him and admit the mistake, but it is scandalous that Ivanovic is still in detention,” said Selakovic in Star Pazova.
Serbian blue helmets complain about Minister Gasic’s decision to reduce salaries (Danas)
The Serbian contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) threatens to leave this country over the dissatisfaction with the decision of Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic to reduce their salaries. A well-informed source told Danas that Gasic had recently signed an order on reducing the risk factor for 72 members of the medical mission of the Serbian Army within MINUSCA. The dissatisfaction with the Minister’s decision is even greater because it was signed, according to Danas, “based on the information from the UN analysis dated several months ago” and under the influence of certain “colonels careerists who would like to become generals”. Dissatisfaction also derives from the fact that they didn’t consider that a curfew was in force in this country, which was announced to the peacekeepers at a review, together with the decision that their movement was limited, as well as from the fact the security estimates, based on which the decision was passed by Gasic, were obsolete.
REGIONAL PRESS
Cavara signs labor law (Fena)
The President of the FB&H Marinko Cavara signed today the labor law, after which it will be submitted to the secretariat of the FB&H government, it was confirmed at the cabinet of the FB&H President. This is the prerequisite for publishing this law in the FB&H Official Gazette. The labor law will enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette.
Covic meets with Croatian President Grabar-Kitarovic (klix.ba)
The Chairman of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic met with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic within the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Operation Storm. They discussed the significance of the urgent improvement of the good-neighborly and friendly relations, with the aim of strengthening the mutual cooperation in all fields. The collocutors agreed that, for achieving that goal, the key is the process of reconciliation based on truth, historical facts and verdicts of the international judicial instances, as well as on sincere compassion for all the victims of the past war. In this regard, the regional leaders have a great responsibility of promoting the truth in order to successfully terminate the reconciliation process and create preconditions for uninterrupted development of cooperation in all fields relevant also for the process of integration of the countries from the region in the EU. Covic informed the Croatian President on the current political relations, activities related to the implementation of economic and social reforms in B&H within the European path, and about the accompanying challenges and difficulties. In this part, the socially-political implications related to the recently adopted labor law, which represents one of the most demanding reform laws, were considered with special attention, as well as the urgency of the soonest possible amendments to the electoral law which is especially significant from the viewpoint of improving the rule of law.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Serbia, Croatia in Diplomatic Row Over Operation Storm (BIRN, by Ivana Nikolic, 7 August 2015)
Belgrade and Zagreb exchanged diplomatic protest notes, accusing each other of hate speech and ethnic intolerance during this week’s 20th anniversary of the Croatian military’s Operation Storm. Serbia’s foreign ministry sent a protest note to the Croatian embassy in Belgrade on Thursday after anti-Serb slogans were chanted during a nationalist concert in the Croatian town of Knin, the closing event of the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of Operation Storm.
In the note, Serbia accused Croatia and officials who attended the concert of hate speech and issuing a “call to attack and destroy Serbs”. “This behaviour is absolutely contrary to civilisation and European values as well as to the anti-fascist tradition of the European Union and represents the roughest violation of human and minority rights… Such actions encourage renewed killing and persecution of Serbs in Croatia,” the foreign ministry said. Many in the 80,000-strong crowd at the concert chanted “Kill a Serb” and the slogan of the WWII-era pro-fascist Ustasa movement, “Za dom spremni” (“Ready for the homeland”). Others sang Ustasa songs and wore the nationalist movement’s insignia. Belgrade’s move came several hours after the Croatian foreign ministry sent its own protest note, saying it was outraged by the burning of the Croatian flag in front of the country’s embassy in Belgrade by Serbian nationalist leader and war crimes defendant Vojislav Seselj on Wednesday. “This once again shows that the accused war criminal’s statements… harm Serbia, harm regional cooperation and harm relations among states in the region and their European path,” the Croatian foreign ministry said. This is the second time that Seselj, who is standing trial at the Hague Tribunal but is currently on a temporary release for cancer treatment, sparked anger by burning the Croatian flag. The last time he did it was on April 1 in front of Belgrade’s Higher Court. In its protest note, Zagreb also criticised Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic’s statement that the anniversary of Operation Storm – which saw Croatian forces crush Serb rebels – represented the restoration of a state dating back to the fascist regime in Croatia during World War II. Croatia said Nikolic’s comment was “completely inaccurate, offensive, unacceptable and irresponsible”. After the exchange of protest notes, relations between the two countries “are not good”, admitted Mate Granic, an advisor to Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic. “Now there are not good conditions [for Croatia to pay tribute to Serb victims of Operation Storm], but the time for that will come. Conditions for the creation of normal relations should be created with quiet diplomacy,” Granic told TV N1. This week, both countries marked two decades since the Croatian military offensive in August 1995, when Zagreb’s forces regained control of 18 per cent of the republic’s territory that had been held by the rebel Croatian Serbs since 1991. In the operation’s aftermath, 600 mostly elderly Serb civilians were killed and more than 200,000 Serbs fled the country. The 20th anniversary highlighted the differing perceptions of Operation Storm, which have long been a bitterly divisive factor in relations between Croatia and Serbia. Croatia celebrated the anniversary with a showpiece military parade in Zagreb and a series of commemoration events in Knin, the town which was the stronghold of the rebel Serbs until August 1995. Serbs commemorated their victims with a day of mourning in both Serbia and Bosnia’s Serb-led entity Republika Srpska, with Serbian officials describing Operation Storm as the biggest example of ethnic cleansing since WWII.
Bosnia Sacks Convicted State Security Chief (BIRN, by Srecko Latal, 6 August 2015)
Bosnia’s state government unanimously agreed to dismiss the head of the country’s security agency after a court upheld his conviction for failing to assist police colleagues during unrest last year. Goran Zubac, the director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, was dismissed from his position by the state government on Wednesday after the appeals chamber of Bosnia’s state court confirmed a ruling that he was guilty of refusing to dispatch his units to support other police agencies during violent protests in February 2014. Bosnia’s Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic told media that the decision was made at an urgent session of the state government, the Council of Ministers, which was held on Wednesday over the telephone. “Within the capacity of its authority, the Council of Ministers request the independent committee [of Bosnia’s state parliament] to immediately initiate procedure for the selections of the new [SIPA] director,” Zvizdic told media. He added that until the new security chief is appointed, SIPA will be managed by its deputy director, Djuro Knezevic. The state court in March this year found Zubac guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended for a probation period of two years. Both defence and prosecution appealed against the verdict, but both appeals were rejected and the sentence confirmed on Monday. During the protests, government buildings in Sarajevo and several other cities were ransacked and partially burned, while dozens of protesters and policemen were injured in clashes. Other police agencies requested support from SIPA, but Zubac ignored their appeals, despite the fact that it is a key part of SIPA’s mandate to back up other police bodies and protect state institutions. Zubac’s attorney Dragisa Jokic told media after the ruling that he and his client were not satisfied and will appeal to the state constitutional court. But the appeal will not postpone the implementation of the verdict, Jokic said. The Bosnian parliament’s independent committee now has 60 days to come up with a list of candidates for the position, which will then be given to Bosnia’s Minister of Security, who will select the best candidate and propose it to the Council of Ministers for final approval.
