LOCAL PRESS

UNESCO Executive Council to examine Pristina’s request for membership (Novosti)

The UNESCO Executive Council adopted yesterday the agenda based on which the voting will take place on 21 October whether Kosovo’s request for membership will be forwarded to the General Conference for decision-making. The representatives of several countries that do not recognize Kosovo lodged their protests yesterday during the adoption of the agenda. The Russian Ambassador to UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova voiced deep disappointment, pointing out that UNSCR 1244 is the essential document: “The debate on Kosovo’s eventual membership in UNESCO is completely unacceptable since there is no legal ground for this. The representative of Cuba also reacted, stressing that including Kosovo on the agenda had occurred in an irregular manner and in violation of international law, pointing out that if an exception is made with Kosovo, all further debates in UNESCO will be difficult to maintain. These speeches were also supported by the Chinese, Argentinian, Brazilian and Spanish representatives. The Spanish Ambassador stated that placing Kosovo on the agenda does not in any way influence the stand of those member states, including Spain, that do not recognize Kosovo. The representative of Great Britain pointed out that this is no precedent, and that it is the “right of every sovereign state to express its stands”.

Dacic: Anyone who doesn’t recognize Kosovo is Serbia’s friend (RTS)

If Kosovo becomes an UNESCO member, the next step could be the request for admission to the Council of Europe, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). He says that Serbia will wait for the session of the Executive Council on 21 October, when the issue of Kosovo’s membership will be placed on the agenda, but, until then, it will continue its activities against Kosovo’s UNESCO membership. Dacic recalls that several big countries have already voiced their, as he put it, principled opposition to non-principled stands. “These are Russia, China, Cuba, Spain, Argentina and Brazil,” says Dacic, adding there are many more countries that oppose Kosovo’s membership as they consider this to be an unnecessary politicization of UNESCO. Still, Dacic points out that the latest request by Kosovo is only a result of what had been occurring over the past several decades, adding it is certain that Pristina will request membership in international organizations with the support of Western countries. “That is why we are working around the clock, contacting our friends that are enduring enormous pressures,” says Dacic, adding he wishes to especially praise Italy that has not sponsored Kosovo’s request. Asked what could be the next step, Dacic responds that if Kosovo is admitted to UNESCO it is possible it will also request membership in the Council of Europe, but he reminds this is not as simple since they need to ensure majority support for this. Speaking about the possibility for Kosovo to become a UN member, Minister Dacic says that all hopes are placed in the right of veto, adding increasing pressure is being exerted on countries that are Serbia’s friends to either abstain or not to be present during the voting in large organizations. “Still, anyone who votes against Kosovo is our friend, because they demonstrate how much they risk,” says Dacic.

Commenting the draft negotiating platform for Chapter 35, Dacic points out it is quite certain there will be changes and that he is most interested whether the EU has forgotten Chapter 32.

“Everybody knows well what Serbia’s limit is. Serbia can go to the line of status neutrality. It was clearly stated that anything that was not agreed in Brussels cannot be included in the negotiating platform. Fortunately, we have the five countries that didn’t recognize Kosovo,” said Dacic. He says that the formal procedure allows all EU member states to voice their stand on the platform, but that it is quite certain that there will be certain changes of this text, and that the European Council and member states need to voice their stand by December. “We are surprised with this approach, because partners from the West are changing the text of the negotiating platform without informing Serbia. We do not have to agree on everything, yet the approach needs to be friendly and partnership and this is what we object in regard to the Western countries that recognized Kosovo, because they are not working in agreement and consent with Serbia,” said Dacic, adding since we are already conducting a dialogue in Brussels then all important topics need to be tackled there. Speaking about the current political situation in Serbia, Dacic says he completely opposes elections, because he has been advocating for 20 years now the introduction of regular political cycles. Still, there is increasing appearance of affairs with the help of which there is an attempt at creating political instability, which can be reason for early elections. Dacic sees another reason for elections in various pressures exerted from the outside, over which the prime minister might request the people to voice their stand and their support. “I hope this will not occur, since Serbia needs stability, but also the entire world, and this is not possible without this region and Serbia in this region,” concluded Dacic.

Nikolic to meet with ambassadors on Friday (Politika)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has announced that he will have talks on Friday with the heads of states and ambassadors of UNESCO member states and point to them why Pristina should not be admitted to this organization. Politika learns that he will invite to that meeting the heads of all diplomatic-consular offices in order to present them with the arguments against Kosovo’s membership.

Djuric: Unacceptable for Kosovo status to be on the table (Radio Belgrade)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has told Radio Belgrade that the Serbian government will clearly tell the EU that Belgrade finds it unacceptable for the Kosovo status issue to be placed on the table, and not normalization of relations with Pristina. Djuric says there is no doubt that underway is the attempt to link the issue of Serbia’s EU integration with Belgrade’s concession in regard to Kosovo’s status. They are obviously planning to open chapters, but the question is what will be the pace of Serbia’s EU integration, says Djuric, adding there is still time for correcting what will be defined as the content of the accession negotiations in Chapter 35. Announcing tonight’s meeting between Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa in Brussels, Djuric says they will first of all discuss the course of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that Belgrade will present discontent with the problems in implementing the agreed things. We have many objections to what is happening and we will convey to EU and provincial administration representatives some of the objections and views on the course of the dialogue. Pristina is trying to blackmail the EU, since they don’t have support for adopting the Stabilization and Association Agreement. They are blocking the implementation of the first Brussels agreement until their demands are met. They treat this agreement as a buffet, they take what suits them. This cannot go on, says Djuric. In regard Kosovo’s initiative for UNESCO membership, Djuric explains that this is an attempt to resolve outside the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue an issue that is of essential importance for the Serbs. Along with our citizens for whom we are fighting, we don’t have a more important issue in Kosovo and Metohija than the issue of cultural and religious heritage. According to him, if such an issue is resolved behind Serbia’s back and outside the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, then one wonders what the purpose of the dialogue is. Our defeat would be if we would accept the seizure of our cultural and spiritual heritage, but we will never do this. The battle for UNESCO is important, but even if the result is unfavorable, this will not be the end of our struggle for the sanctities in Kosovo and Metohija, said Djuric.

Serbian MPs: No reason for conditioning Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbian MPs have stated today that it is unacceptable for any decree in Chapter 35 to abandon the status neutral framework and that there is no reason for anyone to condition and blackmail Serbia with anything. The MP of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Chairperson of the parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun points out that Chapter 35 should enable Serbia an accelerated path towards the EU, and not to destabilize, but to encourage the normalization process. “It is unacceptable for any decree to abandon the status neutral framework. If someone is trying to force Serbia through Chapter 35 to do something that is directly opposed to the Constitution and for us to communicate with Kosovo as with some state, then this is a very harmful and wrong process,” Drecun told journalists in the parliament building. According to him, the decrees within that chapter should not pre-define solutions and should not impose solutions that are harmful for one side, but it should monitor progress in the negotiations. He hopes that the key decrees that are unfavorable for Serbia will be omitted in the end, and also believes we will not find ourselves in a situation to need a referendum over this chapter and to decide whether we will slate elections.

EC, EEAS recommend opening of accession chapters for Serbia (Danas)

The European Commission (EC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS) put forward the recommendation to the Council of Ministers and the EU Member States to open Chapter 35 in the accession negotiations with Serbia, which refers to Kosovo, said the spokesperson of the EU High Representative Maja Kocijancic. The EC and the EEAS prepared and submitted to the Council of Ministers their assessment of the progress made in the dialogue and recommended to the EU Member States to open Chapter 35, Kocijancic told Danas. The assessment refers to the agreements reached in the dialogue and the open issues in their implementation.  It is now up to the EU Member States to consider the performance of Serbia and decide whether chapters would be opened, said Kocijancic.

Serbian peacekeepers in Lebanon awarded with UN medals (Tanjug)

In the base Miguel de Cervantes in the sector “East” of the multinational operation UNIFIL, a ceremony was held on the occasion of awarding medals to blue helmets from Serbia, Spain, El Salvador and Brazil, the Serbian Defense Ministry announced. In the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, 177 Serbian peacekeepers are currently deployed. It is the most numerous contingent of the Serbian Armed Forces, and their replacement is planned for the end of November.

For the results achieved in executing the peacekeeping operation, Commander of UNIFIL Major General Luciano Portolano awarded Commander of the Serbian contingent Major Vladan Parezanovic. Medals were awarded to staff officers, members of the National Support Element and Support Platoon by Brazilian Admiral Flavio Macedo, while members of the infantry platoon were awarded medals by Indonesian Colonel Jotanabej Am and Lebanese Col. Talib Hanadeh. Addressing the gathered, Commander of the UNIFIL thanked the members of the awarded contingents on exceptional results in the execution of the tasks, and the governments of their countries on the desire and ability to maintain and strengthen the capacity of the multinational operation. The final part of the ceremony was marked by a parade of units of Spanish, Salvadoran and Serbian contingent, with the sound of our marching step not leaving anyone indifferent. The Serbian tricolor flag was proudly carried by Captain Dalibor Veljkovic, and, in the parade, the infantry platoon of the Serbian contingent was headed by Lieutenant Bratislav Milenkovic. The Serbian flag with the sounding of the Serbian national anthem, on the pole in front of the command of the multinational brigade, was raised by Corporal Dalibor Djokic. In addition to numerous distinguished guests, ambassadors, attaches, members of the Lebanese government and religious leaders, the ceremony was attended by Head of the civilian part of the mission Wolfgang Weiszegger.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Position of EU Foreign Affairs Council – defending previous misdeeds (Srna) 

The Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik told Srna that the position of the EU Foreign Affairs Council – that holding a referendum on judiciary at B&H state level in the RS would be a “challenge to cohesion, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina” – in essence, is defending earlier misdeeds and violations of the international law. Dodik has said that dealing with such issue is the right of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, but making conclusions on the basis of speculations in Sarajevo and “remaining in delusional domain” based on them is inconceivable. “If you read what this is about and what is the (referendum related) issue, you will than realize that this is not the collapse of territorial integrity … But, it is obvious that B&H has a problem with the territorial integrity because everyone is defending it. Therefore when one is defending something strongly, than something is not right there,” said Dodik. He mentioned that the story about the B&H Court and the Prosecutor’s Office is not the new one, but the Europeans have directly interfered in this way. “B&H, which they push to be sovereign or should be on the European path, should have made its own decisions, and should not be treated as a stepchild or as the country that needs the lectures to be given to,” Dodik said and added that Europe itself bears some responsibility when it comes to the problems related to the judiciary at the state level.
Speaking on the assessment by the EU Foreign Affairs Council that the major shortcomings of the B&H judiciary should be solved through the structured dialogue on the judiciary, Dodik pointed out that one country, in order to have a structured dialogue with the EU, must be a candidate for EU membership. “A position that there is no need for a referendum and that something is to be solved via a dialogue, especially structured one, shows that someone here is just practicing on us. If a country had a structured dialogue with the EU that country would be a candidate for the EU membership, and the EU should than give it the chapters in order to negotiate,” Dodik points out. The RS President said that the people in the RS must never lose the right to decide for themselves. “We stand by the decisions issued by the RS Assembly, which is not something that could be minimized in any single thing,” said Dodik.

Dunovic: I will not block SBB joining FB&H government (Dnevni list)

The Vice President of the Federation B&H (FB&H) from the Serb people Milan Dunovic has told Dnevni list that he will not block the SBB to join the FB&H government and will not be an obstacle for creating a stable government regardless of the fact that there is a desire to throw out the DF from the state level. “I stand by everything I said in the past, I will not be an obstacle nor will I block the reconstruction of the FB&H government. The only reason why I would block new appointments is an attempt at introducing the SNSD into the Federation government,” said Dunovic. As regards the B&H Council of Ministers, Dunovic says the DF Minister Slavko Matanovic is doing an excellent job so he has no need to replace him. He recalls that Matanovic disengaged the digitalization process and has no reason for the reconstruction of the B&H Council of Ministers. “From the political point, if there is a parliamentary majority that wants the reconstruction of the Council of Ministers then these are democratic processes that we cannot and do not want to stop,” says Dunovic. Asked whether the DF will be thrown out of the government at the state level, Dunovic says this is difficult to assess and that everything is possible. He notes he will not abuse the post of the vice president of the FB&H over party interests. When it comes to the reconstruction of the FB&H government, he recalls it is necessary to confirm in writing who makes up the parliamentary majority so he can sign new appointments. Regardless of the new coalition in the Federation and the fact that the DF is in the opposition, Dunovic says he will not withdraw from the post of the Vice President of the FB&H.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo opposition tries to overturn landmark deal with Serbia (EurActiv/Reuters, 13 October 2015)

Protesters and police fought running battles in Kosovo yesterday (12 October) after the arrest of a prominent opposition politician behind a campaign to overturn an EU-brokered landmark deal with Serbia. Cloud of teargas filled streets in central Pristina as police drove back several hundred protesters lobbing stones and concrete at the main police station to demand the release of Albin Kurti, a member of parliament and founder of the opposition’s Self-Determination party. A Reuters reporter saw several vehicles belonging to state authorities torched. Kurti was later released. His arrest followed an incident in parliament last week in which Kurti opened a tear gas canister, forcing the evacuation of MPs in protest at a European Union-brokered deal to give more local powers to Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 with the backing of the West, almost a decade after NATO undertook 11 weeks of air strikes to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians by Serbian forces trying to crush a guerrilla insurgency. It has been recognised by over 100 countries, but not by Serbia or Russia. The EU sees the 2013 deal, still being implemented, as a way to cement stability in the former Yugoslavia, but Kurti – who was jailed by Serbia for agitating against Belgrade’s rule of majority-Albanian Kosovo during the 1990s – says it represents a threat to Kosovo’s hard-won sovereignty. As the violence subsided, Kurti appeared outside parliament to address supporters, accusing police of “being in the service of daily politics”. “I call on you not to stop until we prevent the creation of the ‘community,'” he said, in reference to an association of ethnic Serb municipalities in Kosovo that will have greater control over local affairs. Ninety percent of Kosovo’s 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanians. Kurti’s party, which he no longer formally leads, has been disrupting the work of parliament in protest at the accord. Last Thursday, he calmly opened a teargas canister on the floor of the assembly, kicking it around and causing two deputies to faint.

EU Refugee Crisis In Serbia: Quota A Condition Of Pending European Union Membership, Will Turn Country Into ‘Immigration Colony,’ Official Says (IBTimes, by Bruce Wright, 12 October 2015)

As many as 7,000 refugees were expected to arrive this week into the Serbian town of Bujanovac from neighboring Macedonia. Serbia’s candidacy to join the European Union depends on the number of refugees it agrees to accept, according to a Serbian politician. The Balkan country could become a vast camp for refugees, who are largely Syrians fleeing the civil war to seek asylum within the EU, said Bosko Obradovic, chairman of the Devri faction, reported Sputnik News. “Serbia must oppose the dictate from Brussels that plans to turn Serbia and other Balkan states into the largest refugee reception point, an immigrant colony, as it might thus become another condition of Serbia joining the European Union,” Obradovic said.As many as 7,000 refugees were expected to arrive this week into the Serbian town of Bujanovac from neighboring Macedonia, Serbia announced this weekend, the Mehr News Agency reported. About 172,000 migrants have already arrived in Serbia and been processed in the refugee reception camp in the town of Presevo. The 28 countries already belonging the EU have been mandated to accept set numbers of refugees, a quota that is being resisted by Eastern European members. Under that quota, 20 Eritreans were flown to Sweden from Rome this weekend as the first group of refugees assigned to a particular country, the Guardian reported. A total of 160,000 refugees are expected to be distributed under the quota. The refugee quota, which was decided by a majority rather than a unanimous vote, has divided EU countries. Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia all voted against it. “Only the future will show what a mistake this was,” Czech President Milos Zeman said last month, according to the BBC. “There is an unwritten plan to redirect a refugee flow through non-members of the European Union, such as Macedonia and Serbia, instead of allowing asylum-seekers to continue their journey to Western Europe through EU member states such as Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania,” Obradovic said, according to Sputnik.

Montenegro Gay Pride Postponed Amid Political Turmoil (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 13 October 2015)

The third LGBT Pride march in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica, due to take place on October 18, has been postponed after anti-government protests erupted in the city centre

The organisers of the Pride march confirmed on Monday that it will be postponed due to the current protest rallies against alleged government corruption, which have been going on for over two weeks. One of the organisers, Danijel Kalezic from the NGO Queer Montenegro, told BIRN that the LGBT community does not want to “influence or interfere in the current political and party dynamics”. Montenegrin opposition and several civic and student organisations have been protesting in the centre of Podgorica, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic’s cabinet and accusing the government of widespread corruption, undemocratic practices and election fraud. Most of the opposition parties are also boycotting parliament. The anti-government rallies are being held at the same location in the city in which the previous two gay parades were staged. Kalezic said that the LGBT community was currently “unable to adequately present its problems” because of the public focus on political issues. “We want to take the streets for those who are forced to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity,” he said. He added that the organisers would choose a new date for the march by the end of the week. Last year’s Pride parade in Podgorica passed off peacefully as some 200 gays and lesbians and their supporters were protected by hundreds of riot police. Highlighting good cooperation with the police and state authorities, Kalezic said he did not expect problems this year either. “Things have moved on for sure, people probably realised that we do not pose a threat to society,” he said. During the first Pride march in Podgorica, in October 2013, more than 500 protesters, mostly football hooligans, hurled rocks and bottles at the marchers who only numbered several dozen. Twenty police were injured in the affray, one of them seriously. Among the 60 people detained, a third were under 18. Homosexuality remains a hot issue in the socially conservative country, as it does elsewhere in the Balkan region. Some surveys suggested that 71 per cent of citizens in Montenegro consider homosexuality an illness, and every second citizen agrees that homosexuality is a danger to society and that the state should work to suppress it. The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, the most powerful religious community in the country, remains firmly opposed to gay rights. According the same surveys, 67 per cent of people believe the church’s stand against homosexuality is correct.

Montenegro: Using journalists as political pawns undermines the role of the media (Index on Censorship, by Ilcho Cvetanoski, 13 October 2015)

Smear campaigns mean more journalists are exiting the profession, leaving a vacuum to be filled by those who work for lower pay and to lower standards

While the physical safety of Montenegro’s journalists is far from guaranteed, a more troubling trend toward using media professionals to settle professional or business scores is undermining the country’s news outlets. Describing mass media in Montenegro, Marijana Camovic, a journalist and head of the Trade Union of Media, says the deep-rooted division between pro-government and pro-opposition media has now reached a completely new level. Television news and newspaper front pages are filled with the “dirty laundry” of journalists that work for competing outlets, she said. As a result of the smear campaigns, more journalists are leaving the profession. “Before, journalists would consider leaving the job only after they found a new one, but not anymore. Nowadays there are a lot of displeased and disappointed journalists who are quitting without thinking twice.” These departures leave empty spaces that are filled by people who are willing to work for lower wages and compromise on journalistic integrity by publishing what they are told to publish. Ethical and professional journalism is becoming scarcer, according to Camovic. Without proper media ethics and professional solidarity, journalists are often manipulated by politicians and businessmen to advance the cause of interests contrary to their own or the public’s, says Camovic. “Media workers are being used as a tool for political pressure and the elimination of other political affiliations.” At the same time, there has been a drastic decrease in circulation, lower advertising income and growing debts for outlets. Camovic said the Montenegrin media’s catastrophic economic condition can no longer be denied. Camovic points out that the main issues affecting media professionals are no longer impunity or physical assaults. Today, the major areas of concern include a lack of respect for media workers’ rights and falling salaries; fair remuneration for freelancers; and the rights to unionise and collective bargaining. However, this is not to say that journalists’ safety is no longer an issue. Take, for example, the case of Tufik Softic, who has been under constant police protection since February 2014. In November 2007, Softic was brutally beaten in front of his home by two hooded assailants wielding baseball bats, and in August 2013, an explosive device was thrown into the yard of his family home. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sent an open letter to Filip Vujanovic, president of Montenegro, in June this year expressing their “regret that no concrete action has been done to bring the perpetrators, who are behind these attacks, to justice”.

As Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project highlights, the tactics of intimidation have shifted. Between February 2014 and October 2015, there were 23 verified media violations in Montenegro. Most of those incidents involved attacks on journalists’ property, with cars being a popular target. Last year, Human Rights Action (HRA) outlined in a report that there were 30 instances of threats, violence and murder, as well as attacks on media property between May 2004 and January 2014. “I think that everything should be changed – from the approach towards journalism to the dynamics inside the guild,” she says. But the biggest mistake, Camovic emphasises, is that journalists are taking part in the blackmailing game, which has resulted in the absolute collapse of professional standards. Camovic points to the almost uninterrupted 24-year political rule of Milo Dukanovic, the passivity of Montenegrin society and the absence of the rule of law as contributing to the dire situation.

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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.