LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Kostic’s opinion contrary to Serbia’s interests (Politika/RTS/Tanjug)

The statement by President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Vladimir Kostic that Serbia has de facto and de jure lost Kosovo is contrary to Serbia’s interests and the belief of most of its citizens, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said. Serbs have been living in Kosovo for centuries, this land is drenched in blood of our predecessors and no one has the right to give up on it, Nikolic said in a statement on Sunday evening. He underlined that Serbia has made no step that could contribute to making the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo become a reality. Serbia is fighting a fierce battle to prove what a crime it would be to snatch Kosovo away, he stressed. We should look to the future, Nikolic said, wondering what would happen if we witnessed the creation of the ISIS before our eyes and if its squads took it to the rest of Serbia. 

Djuric, Drecun: Kostic’s stand contrary to Serbia’s interests (Tanjug/RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric and the Chairperson of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun condemned the stand of the President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Vladimir Kostic on Kosovo, assessing it as contrary to the interests of the state of Serbia and the Serbs in the province. Djuric told the press that any kind of call for the Serbs to leave Kosovo and Metohija is not in favor of the interests of the state of Serbia. He adds that it remains to be seen whether this was a personal stand or the stand of the Academy, stressing that in any case it is not in the interest of Serbia or the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Drecun agreed with Djuirc, stressing that Kosovo is Serbian as long as a single Serb is walking on this territory of the state of Serbia.

Kostic: They cannot determine me what to think (Novosti)

“The journalist who interviewed me was professional and didn’t provoke me to say anything. The statement I gave was my personal opinion and not the position of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It is wrong that people who never heard the integral of what I said to discuss my stands. I will not let someone determine what I may and not say, and what is a unique body of opinion that I need to adhere to. I think it is important for me to state my opinion even when it is not suitable to the collective mind. I am not going to talk about whether I am a patriot. I could have left Serbia 20 times, for a lot of money, but I decided to stay with my children and grandchildren. Let Serbia decide for itself whom to believe,” Kostic told Novosti. 

Djuric: We will continue to finance institutions in Kosovo and Metohija (Radio Belgrade/Beta)

Following the session of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, whose agenda was the report of the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations and which was closed for public, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated that any further procrastination of Pristina in regard to this is unacceptable. He told the press that everything that is happening in the negotiations at the moment doesn’t mean that Pristina’s obligation has stopped and that it needs to adopt most urgently the executive decree on the principles for establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO). “We will continue to finance our institutions, regardless of the stand of certain politicians in Pristina concerning this,” said Djuric.

“According to available information, the final version of Chapter 35 should be known in the following month,” said Djuric. Following the closed session, the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija will also hold an open session that will debate the report of the work of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija from January to June this year.

Any decision on Kosovo must pass referendum (Politika)

Constitutional law experts are categorical that every eventual decision concerning Kosovo and Metohija must pass at the referendum, because the highest legal document prescribes so. “There are issues that can pass without a constitutional referendum, but this issue cannot. Thus, all issues concerning territorial redrawing, form of government, form of rule, require the decision of citizens through direct stands,” says Professor Ratko Markovic, adding that any other decision would lead to a violation of the Constitution. Noting that Serbia is one of the few states that envisages, along with deputies, a referendum and people’s initiative as a completely equal form of exercising authority, Professor Vladan Kutlesic points out that everything concerning Kosovo “is under a referendum”. “Of course, a referendum is not obligatory for all amendments to the Constitution, but in a certain number of cases this is so, and it is precisely the case with Kosovo and Metohija. That is also regulated with the preamble. Some other decrees, for example, are amended by a two-third majority in the Serbian parliament,” explains Kutlesic.

Selakovic: Stands in Chapter 35 subject to correction (RTS)

Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that there is a possibility of withdrawing the amendment submitted by Germany, Great Britain and Croatia to the draft of the negotiating Chapter 35 on Kosovo. He says that he is convinced that what has been published as the draft of certain stands on Chapter 35 is subject to correction. “We heard one side, but not the other. Germany, Great Britain are serious states, as well as our neighbor Croatia, and I think it is realistic that the amendment will be withdrawn, having in mind Serbia’s seriousness and responsibility,” says Selakovic. He says that Serbia’s response will be serious, responsible and that it will be heard in the following days. “Everything concerning Chapter 35 is also linked to the agreement reached in Brussels. If we are devoted to that, we will receive more trust from the key states, primarily Germany,” says Selakovic. When it comes to Kosovo’s application for UNESCO membership, the Minister points out that he expects the states supporting Serbia’s position in UNESCO to point to the shortcomings and difficult position of the Serbian cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija. “I also expect them to point to the desecrations, demolition of churches, monasteries, cemeteries and the world public has the obligation to know this. We will fight to the end and it is our obligation for this intention to fail, but an outcome that doesn’t suit us is also possible,” said Selakovic.

Citizens and deputies of the Assembly of AP Kosovo-Metohija file criminal charges against Vucic and Dacic (Fakti)

The citizens and deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province (AP) of Kosovo-Metohija submitted to the Higher Public Prosecutor criminal charges against Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and former prime minister, at present the First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic. Criminal charges were filed over the signing of the Brussels agreement. The same measures will be taken towards the Serbian parliament speaker Maja Gojkovic if she doesn’t slate local elections for the four municipalities in northern AP Kosovo-Metohija where there has not been an interim administration for over a year, even though according to the Serbian Constitution is must not have a mandate for more than six months, the high delegation of the Assembly of AP Kosovo-Metohija told a press conference at the Belgrade Media Centre. It invited the state leadership to repeal the anti-constitutional Brussels agreement. The public was addressed by the vice president of the Assembly of AP Kosovo-Metohija Dobrosav Dobric and members of the presidency of the provincial Assembly Radenko Nedeljkovic and Marko Jaksic, and explained to Serbian citizens that they are sending this information precisely this way as “the available media in the north of the province are completely closed for anything that is not identical to Vucic’s policy”. Dobric underlines that the Assembly of AP Kosovo-Metohija is operating according to the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Serbia: holds sessions, passes conclusions and conducts numerous other activities, so in this sense the decision on collecting signatures of applicants had been brought at the February session of the provincial assembly.

Ambassador Moro: No new conditions for Serbia (Politika)

“Chapter 35 doesn’t contain anything that is already not included in the Belgrade-Pristina agreements. This chapter only takes the elements from the Brussels agreements and I think that it would be good news if it was opened now because it proves that the dialogue has produced results and that Serbia is making progress in the accession talks,” says French Ambassador to Serbia Christine Moro. “We want Belgrade and Pristina to normalize relations, to agree on concrete matters, on economic and cultural exchange, on the life of Serbs in Kosovo.”

Can we stop mystifying things? Is recognition of Kosovo requested?

“Normalization of relations is requested.”

Kosovo is heading towards UNESCO membership. What is France’s stand?

“France recognized Kosovo and therefore it is not opposed to Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO.

By joining UNESCO, Pristina would assume greater responsibilities but also get more funds, which would enable it to protect cultural monuments.”

REGIONAL PRESS

After the agreement between SDA and SBB: HDZ B&H becoming the strongest party? (klix.ba)

After announcing the new coalition at the level of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) out of the agreement between the Party for Democratic Action (SDA) and the Alliance for Better Future (SBB), the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ B&H) might benefit the most. Namely, if the announcements turn out to be true, the HDZ B&H will soon have the most ministers in the FB&H government. According to the reached agreement between the SDA and SBB, all minister positions previously held by the personnel of the Democratic Front (DF) will be taken over by the SBB. Thereby, the new party in the government will take over the Federation Ministry of Energy, Mining, and Industry, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. One of four new ministers that the SBB is to appoint shall also assume the function of the Deputy President of the FB&H government. According to the former agreement between SDA and DF, the Minister for the Issues of Veterans and Disabled Veterans of the Defensive-Liberation War was jointly appointed by these two parties, actually the DF approved the appointing of the SDA staff. It is not known whether there will be changes at the head of this ministry after the agreement between the SDA and SBB. The leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic offered to the Party for B&H (SB&H) to take over the Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, currently headed by the member of SDA Amir Zukic. If the SB&H accepts this offer, the SDA will have only five ministers in the FB&H government (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees, Ministry for the Issues of Veterans and Disabled Veterans of the Defensive-Liberation War, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, and the Ministry of Education and Science). Also, the Prime Minister Fadil Novalic who is a member of SDA is definitely staying at the head of the FB&H government. On the other side, the HDZ B&H, actually the parties gathered around the coalition of the Croatian National Party (HNS), could have the majority in the FB&H government soon. Therefore, the HDZ B&H is to keep all six ministries (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ministry of Physical Planning, and the Ministry of Health), as well as the position of the Deputy Prime Minister. The HDZ B&H will also be in the best position when it comes to the qualitative distribution of ministerial posts. Thereby, the HDZ is to keep the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which are included in the first category of the ministries when the distribution of posts is being made. From this category, the SBB is to get the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry, while the only ministry from this category which is to be headed by a member of SDA is the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry. As a reminder, in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of FB&H the SDA has 29 delegates, SBB 16, and the coalition of HNS 12 delegates.

Dodik: RS and Serbia one day will be the same (Oslobodjenje)

The RS President Milorad Dodik said that you couldn’t find one person in the RS who does not think it inevitable that one day the RS and Serbia will be the same in state-legal and political terms. “Many think this way. And yet, history and politics of the past 20 years have made it so this is not the case,” said Dodik in an interview with Sputnik. He said that Westerners do not like that the people in the RS and Serbia live as a unified ethnic space, or as a united country. Dodik said that Serbia is a guarantor of the Dayton Accord and shows itself to be a very fair and loyal partner of the RS, while on the other hand, RS has the internal capacity, using international law, to protect its right. Asked whether he is sticking to the referendum on the B&H Court and Prosecution, he said “of course”. “We do not concern ourselves with adventures. We believe that this is legitimate and legal, permitted by law, the RS constitution permits it, the B&H constitution doesn’t prohibit it,” he adds. Asked whether he expects attacks like the British resolution on Srebrenica, since the 20th anniversary of Dayton is approaching, he said that by the same system an attempt will not pass to the UN Security Council. “We are so grateful to those who struggle for international law. We are confident that there are bad intentions by the West toward the position of the Serb people in B&H and certainly its organizational formation, called RS, and we think that it is completely irrational to expect such people and political elite, unrelenting throughout history, to pray with a part on the back and servility,” said Dodik. Dodik said that revision of Dayton has already been done by the High Representatives, and what is now evident is the legalization of violating Dayton. “Dayton has a prescribed mechanism for its possible revision and that is that sides would agree what will come next. And sides are again defined by the Dayton Accord, and these are RS and the Federation,” said Dodik.

B&H becomes part of Interpol’s operational network (Srna)

B&H has become part of the Interpol’s operational network which will enable constant check of persons from all parts of the world who are suspected of dealing with human trafficking or terrorist activities, Izet Nizam, deputy director of Service for Foreigners, told Srna. He added that this decision was made at the session of the Interpol’s General Assembly in France on October 14-16. The focus of the meeting was fight against human trafficking and possible terrorists trying to reach Europe hiding among refugees from the Middle East, Nizam said. It has been concluded that new operational network should be established, to enable every country, which is member of Interpol, to use its base 24 hours a day in order to check all suspects all around the world and see if they are registered as human traffickers or potential terrorists. “B&H can now use that network which is very good from the security aspect, given the flow of refugees,” Nizam said.

Incidents as thousands protest in Montenegro (RTCG/RTS)

Several thousand people on Sunday protested at Podgorica’s Republic Square against Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and his government. The protest was marked by incidents between the protesters and the police. The demonstrators threw rocks at the police near the Assembly building, while the media reported that tear gas was thrown into the mass. RTS said that the headquarters of the ruling DPS party were stoned, and that police cordons were deployed in the streets. Those who gathered chanted, “He is finished”, and referred to the police as “dogs”, and then threw rocks, spray tear gas and flares at a police cordon that did not react. The stewards of the Democratic Front (DF) tried to calm the demonstrators down and prevent them from approaching the police. The rocks they threw also injured some of the demonstrators. Those gathered set an ultimatum for a transitional government to be formed by Saturday. One of the DF leaders, Andrija Mandic, called on the protesters to walk to the Interior Ministry building, in order to peacefully express their dissatisfaction with the reaction of the police the day before, when they disrupted the DF protest in front of the parliament building that had been ongoing for 21 days.

RTCG said police were deployed around government buildings but were “not as visible as the previous night”, and that the protesters were shouting “He is finished”, and “Milo thief”, and calling the police “dogs”, “killers”, and “Ustashas”. The situation was tense in front of the Interior Ministry building, when the police prevented opposition supporters from jumping over a protective fence. Mandic said that unless the ultimatum to form a transitional government was met, “the whole Montenegro would gather in a protest in Podgorica on Saturday”. He added that Djukanovic had “left the country on a plane around 18:30 hours” and asked the participants in the protest to be calm and act in a dignified manner. The police said that the DF organized another protest last night “when the police intervened because the gathered citizens broke several shop windows, threw rocks, tear gas and bottles, after which the police in line with the law used tear gas and rubber bullets”. They previously removed a stage and tents from the St. Petar Cetinjski Boulevard in front of parliament and ended the protest. The police said they intervened against demonstrators of the opposition DF because they tried to break through a police cordon and force their way into the parliament building. Meanwhile, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic expressed concern about the arrests of two journalists covering public protests in Podgorica and urged for “swift and transparent investigations of the cases”.

Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic called for respect of constitutional and public order and peace, and for political issues to be solved in state institutions.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia compares EU demands to Habsburg WWI ultimatum (Reuters, 16 October 2015)

The Serbian president has compared European Union demands of the country in exchange for membership of the bloc to an ultimatum the Austro-Hungarian Empire presented to Belgrade on the eve of World War I. The remark, made to German journalists on Thursday and reported by the Serbian daily Blic on Friday, came after Belgrade accused Germany this week of trying to change the negotiating framework for Serbia’s accession to the EU by seeking more concessions on the country’s former Kosovo province. Germany has dismissed the accusations as “unfounded” and Western diplomats say little is being asked of Serbia that it has not already signed up to under an EU-brokered accord with Kosovo in 2013 that is slowly being implemented. But the rhetoric is feeding an atmosphere of political crisis in Belgrade over Serbia’s EU bid, just as Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic considers whether to call a snap election to cement his grip on power. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after NATO launched air strikes to drive out Serbian forces and halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians during a two-year counter-insurgency war. Kosovo has been recognized by more than 100 countries, including the major Western powers, but not by Serbia or its big-power ally Russia. Conservative President Tomislav Nikolic, an ultra-nationalist during the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia two decades ago, summoned foreign ambassadors stationed in Belgrade on Friday to protest the possibility of Kosovo being accepted into UNESCO, the UN world heritage protector. Some of Serbia’s most important religious sites are located in Kosovo, which many Serbs regard as the cradle of their identity and Orthodox Christian faith. Many have been damaged by ethnic Albanians since the 1999 war. Nikolic told the ambassadors that making Kosovo a member of UNESCO would be like “letting the wolf guard the sheep.” In remarks on Thursday reported in Blic, he criticized what he said were new demands that Serbia file reports to Kosovo’s government regarding funding for ethnic Serb-run bodies inside Kosovo. He likened the situation to the eve of World War One after a Bosnian Serb shot dead Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne, in Sarajevo in 1914. “The Austro-Hungarian Empire, after the Sarajevo assassination, demanded that its police inspectors investigate the background of the killing in the same way that Serbia is asked today to file reports to Pristina regarding the policy and judiciary,” he was quoted as saying. Serbia’s presidency is a largely ceremonial position, but Nikolic is from the ranks of the ruling Progressive Party, now led by Vucic, and has sway over hardliners in the party. On Thursday, Vucic held closed-door talks with Serbia’s Orthodox patriarch and then with Western ambassadors.

Refugees stranded on Serbian-Croatian border (Reuters in Berkasovo, 19 October 2015)

Croatian police hold back migrants as Slovenian efforts to limit the number of arrivals and Hungary’s move to close its border prompts knock-on effects

Thousands of people clamoured to enter Croatia from Serbia on Monday after a night spent in the cold and mud, their passage west slowed by a Slovenian effort to limit the flow of refugees into western Europe. The refugees were held back by police in Croatia, where refugee camps are full to capacity. In western Croatia, up to 2,000 more spent the night on a train stranded near the border with fellow EU member Slovenia, which was refusing entry. With Hungary closing its border with Croatia to migrants at midnight on Friday, the unrelenting flow has been diverted to Slovenia en route to Austria and Germany, the favoured destination for many refugees from the Syrian war. But Slovenia has imposed a daily limit of around 2,500 arrivals, saying it will only take in as many people as can then exit into Austria. Slovenia said Austria was accepting a maximum of 1,500 people, far fewer than were previously entering from Hungary, although the Austrian interior ministry said it could not confirm this. Upwards of 5,000 people are crossing the Serbian-Croatian border daily, from Greece where they arrive by boat from Turkey, into Macedonia and Serbia, which barely the capacity to cope. A Reuters reporter on the Serbian side of the border said there was no apparent police presence to help maintain order. The refugees were cold and tired. They chanted: “Open the gate, open the gate!” The arrival of a projected 700,000 migrants this year to Europe’s shores – fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia by boat across the Mediterranean and Aegean – has exposed deep and often ugly divisions in the EU. Hungary’s rightwing government says the mainly Muslim migrants pose a threat to Europe’s prosperity, security and “Christian values”, and has sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia with a steel fence and stringent new laws that rights groups say deny refugees their right to seek protection.

Hungary closes its border with Slovenia, after fencing out Croatia and Serbia (NEOnline, 17 October 2015)

First Hungary erected a wire-fence along the border with Serbia. Then, Hungary impose border controls vis-à-vis Croatia. Now, the border with Slovenia has also been sealed. A new border has been erected on the border with Croatia. Following the closure of the Hungary-Croatia border on Friday night, refuges started diverting to Slovenia. Now, Hungary has closed the Hungary-Slovenia border as well. The Slovene army has since intervened to help the police. The first bus with refugees arrived at the Slovenian-Croatian border on Saturday morning. According to government statements in Budapest, the country is protecting its prosperity, security, and Christian values. Slovenia is trying to delay the flow of refugees, by cutting rail traffic with Croatia. It is still possible to travel by bus. The country will allow up to 8,000 people a day travelling towards the border with Austria. Apparently, the border con

Meanwhile over 40 buses packed with refugees were stacked up at Serbia’s border with Croatia. The country allowed only five buses to enter in the morning. In addition to sealing off its own border, Hungary wants the union to protect its external borders, particularly with Greece, where the majority of asylum seekers arrive before heading north through Macedonia and Serbia. Meanwhile, an Afghan migrant was shot dead by border guards, while trying to enter Bulgaria from Turkey on 15 October.

Clashes as thousands call for resignation of Montenegro government (Deutsche Welle/AFP/AP/ Reuters, 19 October 2015)

Several thousand protesters have marched through the streets of the Montenegrin capital, demanding the resignation of PM Milo Djukanovic and the formation of an interim government. Police responded with tear gas. Police in Podgorica said they were forced to respond to protesters outside the parliament building on Sunday evening after members of the crowd started to throw stones and flares. The unrest took place in front of the building, which some of the protesters tried to enter after breaking through a fence. Officers used tear gas to try to keep the protesters back. “We seek the resignation of the government and formation of an interim one,” said Andrija Mandic from Montenegro’s main opposition bloc, the Democratic Front, which organized the protest. He urged the demonstrators to refrain from violence, but also urged them to persist.

“If the left-wing government does not resign by Saturday, even bigger protests will be staged, said Mandic. “This is an ultimatum and it is irrevocable.” The country’s ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, and opposition parties on Sunday agreed to call an extraordinary session of the parliament’s security committee on Tuesday, to examine whether police had used excessive force at an opposition rally a day earlier.

Tents removed over state threat

Democratic Front supporters set up tents outside parliament three weeks ago, but these were removed by police on Saturday morning. Some 11 people were detained, including opposition lawmakers. The removals took place after the National Security Council concluded that “there were activities that threatened the constitutional order, stability and security of the citizens and their property.” Montenegro is a candidate for European Union membership and is also awaiting an invitation to join NATO later this year. Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) has accused the Democratic Front of trying to destroy the country’s “constitutional order and stop it in its aim to join NATO,” it said in a statement on Sunday. Demonstrators have called for a transitional government in place of Djukanovic, who has been at the center of power since the early 1990s.

Protesters in Podgorica Demand Resignation of Montenegro’s Government (Novinite, 19 October 2015)

Several thousand people continued their protests in the capital of Montenegro on Sunday, calling on the government of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic to resign. Tensions ran high as the security measures were heightened after violent clashes between protesters and riot police had taken place on Saturday, Balkan Insight informs. The anti-government protests are organised by an alliance of several opposition parties, styling itself as the Democratic Front. The organisers threatened to hold fresh protests across the whole of the country if the government does not resign by Saturday. The government has been accused of corruption, undemocratic practices and election fraud. The demonstrators, who have held protests since the end of September, call for the resignation of the government and the holding of early elections. At least three opposition leaders, several MPs and journalists were injured during the clashes on Saturday. A 24-hour demonstration was first launched in September, with protesters demanding the creation of an interim government to oversee the country’s “first free and fair elections”. The protests follow months of heightened tension over the new election legislation, which is seen by opposition parties as a threat to the fairness of the forthcoming general elections scheduled to take place in the spring of 2016. Some opposition leaders said Djukanovic had left the country by plane, but such claims were dismissed by his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). DPS accused the Democratic Front of attempting to destroy the constitutional order of the country and hamper the accession of Montenegro to NATO. According to unofficial police estimates, there were 5000 participants in the demonstrations, while the organisers claimed the figure was close to 10 000. Several opposition parties, NGOs and student organisations, which have not previously supported the Democratic Front, joined the ranks of the protesters on Sunday. Djukanovic has been in power as either prime minister or president almost without interruption since the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He served successively as prime minister from 1991 to 1998, then as president from 1998 to 2002 and then two more terms as prime minister from 2003 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2010. Currently, he is serving his fourth term as prime minister, having held the position since 2012.