LOCAL PRESS

Belgrade accepting Pristina’s entry into international organizations? (Danas)

Sources of the daily “Danas” from the EU headquarters say that the continuation of the talks between Belgrade and Pristina has been announced for August 25th, and it could result with a signing of four new accords. These sources say that the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo, Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa, are supposed to sign agreements on energy,     telecommunications, Community of Serb municipalities and a document concerning the principles of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, for which it is still uncertain whether it will be the second Brussels accord. That “paper”, supposedly, should contain a review of previous accords, as well as topics that still need to be discussed: property, financial flows, requests from both sides, the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church and rights of the Serbian community, encouragement of cross-border cooperation and cooperation within international institutions.

“Danas” was unofficially told that the most problematic issue is cooperation within international organizations, because if that were to be part of the accord on August 25th it would automatically render meaningless Belgrade’s diplomatic action against the self-proclaimed state of Kosovo’s membership in UNESKO. Simultaneously, in Belgrade’s influential political circles there are stories that the UNESKO issue has been forced. The main diplomat, Ivica Dacic, and the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, as well as the Serbian Orthodox Church, want to prevent Vucic from putting his signature on the new “principles”. Brussels has stated that talks on mutual non-interference regarding membership of Belgrade and Pristina into international organizations have been going on for some time, but that only one provision on regional organizations was made part of the first Brussels accord. Diplomatic sources claim that signing these accords is important for Belgrade due to opening up of chapter 35 in the EU accession process, but also because of the Vienna conference scheduled for August 27th when the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, should crown her engagement on the advancement of cooperation between the West and the Balkans. Pristina has announced that, aside from the topics mentioned, the two Prime Ministers will discuss in Brussels the fate of the “Peace Park” in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica. The park’s relocation has been announced to happen once agreement on Serbian Community Municipality has been signed. Even though new accords are being planned, those that have been signed are not functioning as they should. The Memorandum on Security, which began to function only after the second try on August 12th, will most probably end in a new accord on car license plates. However, in July when the commencement of the implementation of this accord was delayed, both Pristina and Belgrade claimed these were two different topics of discussion.

Edita Tahiri, Minister without portfolio in the Kosovo Government in charge of technical negotiations with Belgrade, stated for the Pristina daily “Zeri” that “in September Kosovo will place test license plates on vehicles coming from Serbia, if until the end of August Serbia doesn’t abolish the rule that vehicles marked RKS coming into Serbia must receive test license plates which have to be paid five Euros per day”. Earlier, Tahiri stated for “Danas” that Pristina has requested from the EU that a meeting be held regarding license plates in September. Diplomatic circles speculate that the whole story regarding license plates may result in the abolition of Serbian license plates in northern Kosovo. According to the technical Accord on Freedom of Movement from 2011, “all owners of cars who live in Kosovo are to use RKS and KS license plates”. Pristina should have “extended the time period for how long the KS license plates remained valid to five years, after which both negotiating parties would reconsider this issues with EU as intermediary”. Borislav Stefanovic, the former main negotiator from Belgrade in technical dialogues with Pristina, earlier explained for “Danas” that “the part of the accord regarding license plates does not apply to northern Kosovo, and that everything else is just Pristina’s interpretation”. During the weekend, media in Pristina have reported that Pristina has, after years of activity, submitted a request for “full membership in Interpol, and that this membership should be discussed in November at the 84th session of the General Assembly of this organization. The Kosova Minister of Internal Affairs, Skender Hiseni, acknowledged that the submission was made and that he expects a “positive reply, even if there is a stipulation that Kosovo must first fulfill standards regarding legislation”.

Batakovic: Withdrawal from the Brussels discussions because of UNESCO (Dnevnik)

The steps which remain in the procedure for allowing Kosovo into UNESCO are not really dependent on Serbia. Great force may determine new rules which in time become a part of international law. Therefore, I am very skeptical regarding the whole process that is in full steam for Kosovo’s admission into UNESCO.  The steps which remain in the procedure for allowing Kosovo into UNESCO are not really dependent on Serbia. The only real way to prevent it is to seriously, and not just formally, threaten that Serbia will withdraw from the Brussels discussions – Dusan T. Batakovic, a diplomat and historian, also Director of the Balkan Institute SANU, stated for the Novi Sad daily “Dnevnik”.

Belgrade: Pristina’s Interpol bid “not acceptable” (Tanjug)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has said that full-fledged membership of Kosovo and Metohija in Interpol is not acceptable to Serbia. He added on Monday that his ministry (MUP) and the state will therefore “make use of every diplomatic means to fight against this initiative” – announced earlier in Pristina. The MUP said in a statement that Kosovo and Metohija, as an integral part of Serbia, cannot be represented in Interpol autonomously. “According to our information, this request is not yet on the agenda of the Interpol general assembly that will be held in Rwanda, but we will certainly inform secretary-general of this international institution and all members why we consider this initiative to be damaging and not legitimate,” Stefanovic stressed. Referring to Kosovo, the minister added that this is about a territory “from which came certain terrorist attacks” and from which “tens of thousands of Serbs” have been expelled. “That is why the state will, in the coming period, with an active campaign, show that admitting Kosovo and Metohija is not in the interest of international investigative institutions, and it would not be good for relations between Serbia and Interpol, either,” Stefanovic said.

Vukcevic: Progress in investigation into Bytyqi brothers case (Danas)

Serbia’s war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic has said that progress has been made in the investigation into the murder of the three Bytyqi brothers and that their murder was a “state crime.”

“Many suspects still occupy very important positions in the government or around it,” Vukcevic told Belgrade-based newspaper Danas, pointing out that the Bytyqi brothers case was “the number one case at the Prosecutor’s Office.” “There is progress, but that is all I can say at this point without jeopardizing the investigation. I can only say that Prime Minister (Aleksandar) Vucic has mobilized all relevant ministers, organizations and individuals who can help the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office and the Interior Ministry solve this dramatic crime,” said Vukcevic. Agron (23), Mehmet (21) and Ylli (25), American citizens of Kosovo-Albanian origin born near Chicago, were killed at a police training camp in Petrovo Selo, a village in eastern Serbia, shortly after the end of the Kosovo conflict. The Bytyqi brothers were members of the so-called Atlantic Brigade which operated as part of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a former paramilitary organization. The bodies of the Bytyqi brothers were found together with the bodies of another 67 men and seven women in a mass grave in Petrovo Selo in 2001.

Former commander of Serb forces in Croatia dies in prison (RTS, B92)

Former commander of the Serb Army of Krajina (SVK) Major General Mile Mrksic has died in prison in Portugal. He was incarcerated their after being found guilty by the Hague Tribunal. The state will organize the transport of his remains and pay the expenses of the funeral, B92 has learned.

Mile Mrksic’s daughter Marija said in a letter to the media said earlier that her father was in transferred to the prison on July 22 for asthma and physical exhaustion, but that once hospitalized, it was discovered he was ill with lung cancer, Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS reported. She claimed her father’s medical condition was in a state of obvious neglect and that the doctors confirmed the situation was critical, and that Mile Mrksic could die at any moment.  Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajic said on Saturday he would on Monday request that Mrksic is immediately released for medical treatment in Serbia.  Mrksic was born in 1947 in Vrginmost, Croatia, and as a Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) officer took part in the battle for Vukovar in 1991. After the battle he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and later became the commander of the army (SVK) of the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK) in May 1995. He retired after the defeat of the Krajina army in August 1995. Mrksic was accused in 1995, together with Miroslav Radic, Veselin Sljivancanin and Slavko Dokmanovic, by the Hague Tribunal as responsible for the mass murder of more than 260 persons at Ovcara, near Vukovar. He surrendered voluntarily in May 2002 and was transferred to The Hague the same day. The trial began in October 2005 and in September 2007, the Trial Chamber of the Hague Tribunal sentenced Mrksic to 20 years in prison for aiding and abetting torture, cruel treatment and murder of 194 Croatian prisoners at the Ovcara farm on November 20, 1991.

Erdogan “launders millions by building mosques in Kosovo” (B92)

Millions of euros are flowing from Turkey to Kosovo “through illegal routes, bypassing banks,” according to the Pristina-based Albanian language daily Zeri. Moreover, this media outlet said that Recep Erdogan‘s authorities are using this to “launder money.” The paper says millions are arriving in Kosovo “but not as investments or to help the economy, or fund projects, but to rebuild religious structures.” “Most of the investments undoubtedly expose Erdogan’s major money laundering via Kosovo,” writes Zeri in an article it said is being published “after a two-month investigation.”

Dozens of new mosques in Kosovo “as well as the renovation of all the existing ones built during the Ottoman Empire” are financed through one big donor, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), states the paper, and points out that the agency was established by the Turkish government, and is directly managed “by the embassy in Turkey.” “TIKA keeps its finances secret in most cases, since there is no official data on how much money is being invested. There is suspicion that the money is being brought in illegally and not via bank accounts,” said the article, and added that a list the daily’s reporters had seen at the Central Bank of Kosovo showed TIKA has invested less than three million euros in Kosovo from 2009 until 2014 – out of that 1.2 million in the Sinan Pasha mosque in Prizren alone. From 2011 until now TIKA and several other Turkish investors also renovated about 30 mosques and religious structures “from the Ottoman period.”  The paper adds that TIKA is exempt from paying taxes in Kosovo and employs only workers from Turkey.  Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Kosovo, and Erdogan has been on several occasions reported as openly “lobbying for Kosovo.” Also, the Turkish president caused a stir two years ago in Prizren when he said that “Kosovo is his second country.” The then Turkish prime minister said that the cultures of Turkey and Kosovo may be different, but that their citizens belong to the same country.  This was followed by a harsh reaction from the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the public in Serbia, but Erdogan’s cabinet announced that there will be no apology and that his statement was “misinterpreted.” It was announced later that the the statement was incorrectly translated and that Erdogan did not say that “Kosovo is Turkey, and Turkey is Kosovo.”

REGIONAL PRESS

Ferguson: B&H is a country with two entities and will remain so (Nezavisne)

British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), Edward Ferguson, said that under the Dayton agreement, B&H is a country with two entities and it will “remain so”. Answering the question of whether the change to the Dayton Agreement could come “through an action outside of B&H” Ferguson said that “the constitution can be changed only in a constitutional way,” and “not by the international community” and “not through an illegal referendum.” Ferguson said for “Nezavisne” daily that by the constitutional procedure Serbs, together with Croats and Bosniaks have not only voice, but also the right of veto. “That is why I get frustrated when politicians talk about threats to the existence of Republika Srpska (RS). There are no threats,” said the British diplomat. Ferguson said that the idea of ​​the referendum on the High Representative-imposed decisions, particularly on the Court and Prosecution, is “unnecessary and unconstitutional”.

“We recognize and fully agree that there is a need to improve the judicial system at all levels and my embassy is deeply involved in this work. But the right way to do that is through constructive dialogue and partnership, not through unilateral attempts to impose changes outside of the constitutional framework, “said the British Ambassador to B&H. Speaking about the possibility of B&H not activating the NATO Action Plan this September and about the reserves that the Serb people have regarding this issue, Ferguson said that he understands the reserves “that some Serbs have towards the NATO”, and said that they must “look more in to the future, and less in to the past.” “The decision of whether you will join the Alliance is yours, not mine. However, other countries in the region, with a similar history, including Serbia and Montenegro, are approaching NATO and I do not want B&H to be left out,” said Ferguson, adding that the action plan “does not seek a decision on possible membership in the NATO,” but “provides a framework for improvement of the Armed Forces”. “That would also send a nice message about the stability here, to the rest of the world, including to the potential investors, that the B&H is progressing on its Euro-Atlantic path. I wish for B&H to receive MAP at the NATO summit next year, but for that to happen, the certain steps should be taken ASAP, “added Ferguson. Answering the question of whether it was necessary to submit for the approval, “the resolution on genocide” in Srebrenica at the UN Security Council (UNSC), when the international courts already ruled on that issue, the British Ambassador to B&H said that “we should start with understanding of how important the Srebrenica is to the UN as an institution.” “Srebrenica was under the protection of the UN, but the UN failed to prevent the massacre. There was a very strong support within the UN for the resolution that would honor the victims and that would ensure that the lessons for the future are taken the tragedy that has happened the past “said Ferguson.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Montenegro, Bosnia to Sign Border Agreement (BIRN)

Montenegro and Bosnia are to sign a historic demarcation agreement by the end of August, having agreed to bury their recent dispute over the Sutorina area. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic on Sunday said Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the first ex-Yugoslav republics to sign a border demarcation agreement. After meeting the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, in the town of Tivat, Vujanovic said the agreement would be signed by the end of August in Vienna. “The agreement with Montenegro is of special importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina since it will be the first one with one of our neighbors,” Covic said. Negotiations on 268-km-long border line between the two countries started in 2008. Vujanovic said that the issue that caused a slight delay in the reaching a border deal between the two countries, the disputed Sutorine area, had now been “archived”. The dispute erupted in November 2014 when Denis Becirovic, an MP from Bosnia’s opposition Social Democratic Party, SDP, proposed a resolution calling for Bosnia’s parliament to reject the prepared draft border agreement with Montenegro and establish a commission on the Sutorina area. Some Bosnian officials and intellectuals maintain that the small area was “illegally” grabbed by Montenegro in 1945 – and should have been returned to Bosnia since the subsequent border changes were never ratified. However, relations between the two neighbours started returning to normal after Bosnia’s parliament rejected a resolution claiming a slice of land around the village. The agreement will be signed by the two governments in Vienna during a summit of the “Balkan Six Process”, which was launched by Germany last year. Austria is hosting this year’s meeting which will be devoted to promotion of European integration and regional infrastructure projects.

EU provides civil protection experts to former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia following recent floods (EU Reporter)

The EU and its member states are sending an expert team through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism to assist the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with assessing the damage caused by recent floods and mudslides.

Six technical experts coordinated by the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre, such as civil engineers for assessment and early recovery of critical infrastructure, will be deployed from 13-24 August. “The EU stands by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to help in the response to this natural disaster. We have coordinated and responded in full solidarity to their call for assistance. I am grateful to all participating states for their reaction that made the deployment of the team possible. We remain in close contact with the relevant authorities in Skopje,” said Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) on 6 August, to request assistance following the recent floods and landslides in the country. Eight Participating States of the EUCPM (Austria, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom) offered experts to undertake these tasks.

In early August, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was struck by a major storm causing floods and mudslides. The rivers Pena and Porojska, both tributaries of river Vardar, overflowed in Tetovo municipality, in the North Western part of the country. The flash floods killed six people, including three children. Dozens have been injured and severe damages are caused to hundreds of homes and key infrastructure. Mudslides have engulfed local roads and cut off a number of mountain villages. In addition to the deployment of experts, to further assist the disaster response, the Commission has also been providing Copernicus satellite imagery to the emergency services operating in the affected areas. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 33 European states (28 EU Member States, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Montenegro and Serbia). These participating states pool the resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. When activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the Mechanism through the Emergency Response Coordination Centre. On March 19 2015, the European Commission already allocated €84,236 through the International Federation of the Red Cross to assist the population mostly affected by the heavy flooding hitting parts of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia this winter. The EU-funding supported the response of the local Red Cross to the floods. The aid was used for distributing food and other essentials such as hygiene material, clothes and blankets. It benefited almost 1,000 families equaling around 4,000 people.

Bosnians Deny Youth Radicalization Claims (OnIslam)

CAIRO – Amid series of media reports spreading misconceptions about Bosnian Muslim youth, young Muslims have denounced claims that their villages have become a hotbed for recruiting ISIL members, asserting that they reject the deviated teachings by the militant group. “It’s the law of the strongest. The media have the right to say whatever they want about us and we cannot do anything about that. They call us terrorists to tarnish the image of Islam,” Edis, a resident of Gornja Maoca, told Gulf News in frustration. He then used quotes from the Qur’an: “Produce your proof if you are truthful. But where is their proof? As soon as the tension goes down in the country, they try to increase it again.” Edis is one of the few residents in the Bosnian village of Gornja Maoca who accepted to speak to media men after losing faith in journalists. His village, like small communities spread across Bosnia, have been at the centre of a string of controversies in the national and international media, claiming that they serve as recruiting grounds for terrorists. The latest bout came in July 2015, when the British Daily Mirror alleged that Osve village ‘has been used for Daesh training camps and could be a base for devastating terror attacks on the West.’

“We think Daesh has deviated from mainstream Islam,” he says in a mixture of Arabic, Bosnian and English. “There are hundreds of isolated villages like Maoca in Bosnia, there is nothing special about us, really,” another Gornja Maoca resident who wished to remain unanimous revealed.

The claim was also denied in 2014 by the Mufti of Sarajevo at the entrance of Sarajevo’s 15th century bazaar. “The issue of radicalism in Bosnia is often blown out of proportion and used for political purposes to portray Bosnia as a threat to Europe and a breeding ground for terrorism,” he said.“They make a very limited phenomenon appear much bigger than it actually is,” he said.

Many Bosniaks are frustrated by the constant hype in the media reports which try desperately to link Bosnia with ISIL.“Everyone seems to have an interest in depicting Bosnia’s Muslims as terrorists,” a friend from Kozarac put bluntly.” “I consider the biggest threat for peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be the economic crisis, a world-wide economic crisis that has deeply affected our country,” Bosnia’s Minister of Defence, Marina Pendes, told Gulf News.

She explained further that post-war Bosnia has an incredibly inadequate legislative system that prevents it from operating as a fully functional state. On the other hand, some saw the phenomenon of linking Bosnian Muslims to terrorism as creating more rooms for politician who wish to play the nationalist card. As unemployment soars above 60% among the youth and averages 43% among the active population, the vast majority of Bosnians from all walks of life happen to agree. “Nationalism is definitely a bigger threat than radicalism in Bosnia,” Professor Jasmin Jahic, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies at Sarajevo University.

Bosnia has taken measures to combat radicalism by introducing new laws that punish anyone who leave and fight in a foreign war, he added. “However, to this day, publicly glorifying the (Serbian) Chetnik or the (Croatian) Ustasha movement isn’t punishable, nor is denying the genocide in Srebrenica.” In 1995, Dayton peace accord ended the war by splitting Bosnia into two ethnically-based autonomous regions, the Muslim-Croat federation and the Serb Republic.