Dacic: All international principles undermined in Serbia’s case (Tanjug/RTS)

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today that all principles of the international community had been undermined in Serbia’s case, noting that the world order should be based on principles, and not only on political interests. “The world we live in is very easy to destroy, but it is difficult to preserve and defend its principles. That is the case with Serbia as well, when it comes to its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said, addressing an international conference titled Yalta-Potsdam-Helsinki-Belgrade: In Search of a Secure World Order. Dacic noted that over the course of the same OSCE meeting in Vienna, officials had discussed the Ukraine situation, with Western countries criticizing Russia for violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity, while the ambassadors of Albania and the U.S. requested OSCE membership for Kosovo. “Well, where are the principles here? Or, when it comes to UNESCO, the U.S. opposed four years ago admission of Palestine to this organization, but now they advocated Kosovo’s admission,” the Foreign Minister said. This means, noted Dacic, that there are no more principles, but political interests. “We need to be aware of this and to have the world order be based on some principles. If there are no principles, then we all depend on how much the key actors on the international political scene like us,” said Dacic. He also underlined the high level of Serbia’s cooperation with Russia and Belorussia and thanked for their support in the preservation of Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Stefanovic: Serbia is a stable and safe country (RTS)

In a Radio and Television of Serbia evening broadcast, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said that of the total number of Serbian citizens, who went to fight in Syria, 26 are still there, seven had returned and eight are believed to be dead. He points out that Serbian security structures are keeping track on this. “It is safe and stable in Serbia. There are impulses of instability from the region from time to time, but we want to cooperate with all neighbors and show that we are not against Islam. The Muslims in Serbia must feel safe, while those planning terrorist attacks should be afraid,” said Stefanovic. He says there is increased police presence at borders, as well as intelligence work, because it is important for the security structures to indicate in a timely manner the locations of centers of radicalization so they could be neutralized. Speaking about the situation at the border with Macedonia, Stefanovic says that around 1,660 refugees have entered Serbia over the past 24 hours, and that the same number of them will exit. “We are maintaining complete security and stability, without raising any wires or walls,” says Stefanovic. He explains that Serbia has waited for the reactions of other countries, and only when other states had assured it in written form that they will not be accepting those who do not have grounds for seeking asylum, Serbia has decided not to let them as well. Asked whether safety was under control in the state not only when at issue is terrorism but also when it comes to the attacks on the member of the Anti-Corruption Council and when there are speculations on a coup, the Minister says “various political coups occur and that there are individuals who do not wish well to this state and government”. “Some media published yesterday that there is a plan for toppling Dodik and this is normal, yet when there are more indications for toppling Vucic and his government, then it is paranoia,” said Stefanovic, adding there is “coupling between tycoons”.

Vucic and Mustafa to meet again in Brussels (Danas)

A new round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue in Brussels is planned for the second week of December, when the Serbian and Kosovo Prime Ministers, Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa respectively, should sit at the negotiating table again, Danas has learned from sources in Pristina. However, as this source unofficially adds, the new meeting of the representatives of the two sides will depend on whether they will pre-agree on the topics of the talks, but also on the security situation in Brussels. Nevertheless, this is expected to be one of the hardest rounds of the negotiations, bearing in mind that Kosovo officials sent the agreement on the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities to their Constitutional Court to assess its constitutionality, whereby the implementation of the agreement in the envisaged deadline has been brought into question.

Serbs in Bujanovac point to irregularities in electoral lists (Novosti)

The Serbian government, with the help of local and foreign experts, has estimated that 38.300 people reside in the Bujanovac municipality, and that 41.957 are registered in electoral lists. However, the Serbs in this part of Serbia dispute this data, which had been recently received from the Serbian Ministry for State Administration and Local Self-Administration. Discrepancies between the official number of residents, the situation in electoral lists and the real situation on the ground is one of the main reasons over which the Serb associations from Bujanovac are requesting the state to organize an extraordinary census in this municipality as soon as possible. They claim that several thousand of dead, emigrants and non-existing Albanians are registered on electoral lists. The discrepancy between the situation in the papers and the reality suits the local authority so it can manipulate at elections, the Serbs claim. The government and other state institutions are ignoring this problem, because of which the position of the Serbs in Bujanovac is getting worse. “The Administrative Inspectorate of the Ministry for State Administration conducted supervision in the electoral lists of the Bujanovac municipality and established that 41.957 voters are registered, which is simply impossible. It includes at least 2.000 nearly 100-year-old people and those who went abroad and to Kosovo and Metohija. We have information and data that the real number of the Albanian population is much smaller than the one presented. In support of this argument they cite that the estimate was that 42.330 people resided in this town in 2002, even though the real number was just a little over 30.000. They have a list with at least ten deserted purely Albanian villages, which had at least 3.500 residents 13 years ago. “An extraordinary objective census is the first request of 7.000 citizens in southern Serbia who signed a petition in 2009 and submitted to the government and parliament. We also requested the government to revise electoral lists and check residences. Even though this is the only way of preventing abuses, we are still waiting for the state’s response,” explains Popovic.

Economic migrants still blocking railway, seek EU help (Tanjug)

Economic migrants denied entry to Macedonia from Greece at the Gevgelija/Idomeni crossing continued Wednesday blocking the railway along Rail Corridor X, calling on the EU to open its borders to them as it did to refugees from the war-affected areas. Around 500 economic migrants, mostly from Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, Bangladesh, Kurdistan, Nepal and Somalia, have been protesting over the sealed borders since last Thursday. Some are on hunger strike. Others with their lips sewn shut are carrying the banner that reads “Please, open the border”. Migrants told a Tanjug reporter they would stay there until the border opened so they could enter Macedonia, then Serbia, and go to Western and Northern European countries. They are urging German Chancellor Angela Merkel to wield influence on European institutions to assist them and lift the restrictions.

REGIONAL PRESS

Members of the Presidency of B&H in Zagreb today (Klix.ba)

Members of the B&H Presidency attended today in Zagreb the meeting of leaders of “Brdo-Brioni” process. B&H Presidency members attended the gathering upon joint invitation by the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and the President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, as the leaders of the presidential process “Brdo-Brioni”. After the plenary session of the initiative Brdo-Brioni at the Cabinet of the President of Croatia in Zagreb, it was planned that Grabar-Kitarovic and Pahor give statements for the press, as well as the President of the European Council and Vice-President of the USA Joe Biden. The initiative “Brdo-Brioni” gathers former Yugoslavian countries, Albania, and representative of administration of Pristina, so the arrival of the President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga is expected this time as well.

Reception on the occasion of B&H Statehood Day held at B&H Presidency (Novo vrijeme)

The Chairman of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic and the member of the Presidency of B&H Bakir Izetbegovic organized last night at the premises of the B&H Presidency a reception on the occasion of November 25 – The Statehood Day of B&H. The reception was not attended by the member of the B&H Presidency from the Serb people Mladen Ivanic, while Chairman Covic was not able to attend due to preparations for today’s meeting of the B&H Presidency members with foreign officials in Zagreb. After the anthem of B&H; the attendees were addressed by Izetbegovic, who said that he dedicates his address to young people of B&H who will inherit the state. Due to this, Izetbegovic said, he wants to speak more about the future, “in order to open paths to hope, better life and changes and to narrow the paths of anxiety, uncertainty and apathy that burden our youth”. Izetbegovic noted that numerous progresses have been made in B&H during the past year, including the signing of the Declaration of the B&H Presidency on European Commitment, activation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement of B&H and the EU, and the adoption of the Reform Agenda and the new Labor Law in the Federation of B&H. Moreover, Izetbegovic highlighted that the gross domestic product is increasing, industrial growth is also noticeable, especially in terms of export, and that this year tourism in B&H recorded growth by 28 percent. Besides that, more than 10,000 people got employed in B&H until November 1 this year, and such growth of employment has not been recorded in the past decade. Izetbegovic said we are at the historical turning point for the future of B&H. “Let’s all be aware of that responsibility,” Izetbegovic pointed out, saying he is convinced that “We have finally turned towards the goal that brings us all together”. The reception was attended by numerous invitees from public, cultural and political life in B&H, as well as numerous representatives of the international community.

Defense of Naser Oric received a response from Hague Prosecution (Radio Sarajevo)

Defense of Naser Oric received a response from the Hague Prosecution regarding the case against Naser Oric at the B&H judiciary. According to Oric’s attorney Lejla Covic, the Hague Prosecution considers that the charges pressed against Oric in B&H do not include parts of the earlier verdict by the Tribunal which acquitted Oric from responsibility in 2008. “Expected,” Covic added. The plan was to submit a response to the Hague Tribunal by the end of the day yesterday, after which a decision will follow. The Court of B&H shall determine the date for trial to Oric and Sabahudin Muhic after the decision by the court in Hague. Oric’s defense previously requested from the Court of B&H to suspend the process, claiming that it cannot be tried twice for the same offense. According to BIRN – Justice Report, at the status conference yesterday the prosecutor Miroslav Janjic presented plan of presentation of evidence, saying he intends to invite 30 witnesses of which only one will be under protective measures. Oric and Muhic are charged for acting contrary to the provisions of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention, as commander and member of the Army of B&H during the war and armed conflict between the Army of B&H and the Army of Republika Srpska, in the area of Srebrenica and Bratunac.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo Bans 16 NGOs Linked To Jihadists (Breitbart, by Thomas D. Williams, 25 November 2015)

The Kosovar government has banned sixteen non-governmental organisations thought to be linked to Islamist groups, according to media reports from within the country. The Interior Minister of Kosovo, Skender Hyseni, signed an executive ruling revoking the licenses of the 16 NGOs following an investigation by the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, which stated that these NGOs could be involved in the recruitment of young people to fight alongside terrorist groups such as the Islamic state and in disseminating extremist propaganda. Hyseni said Kosovo is taking all the necessary precautions against possible terrorist attacks, but stressed the need to avoid panic. According to the Prime Minister’s security adviser, Edon Myftari, Kosovo is currently threatened by potential terrorist attacks. “Our country is part of the coalition against the Islamic State,” Myftari said, “and it is therefore appropriate to adopt security measures like other countries in the region,” adding that all institutions in Kosovo should increase security measures to prevent any possible attack. Myftari said that the number of people of Kosovo joining the Islamic state has decreased significantly. Kosovo is the fifth country in the world for the number of citizens who have joined the Islamic State, and the second in the Balkans, after Bosnia-Herzegovina. This year 83 Kosovar citizens joined the jihadist organization. The Balkan countries are trying to stem the flow of returning jihadis, who often turn to recruiting militants for the cause when they return home. Kosovo police are coordinating with officials in neighboring Albania and Macedonia where extremist networks are believed to have spread. According to Interior Ministry spokesman Behar Haziraj, the information was classified and thus he could give no comment.

Serbs Skeptical About Patriarch’s ‘Return to Kosovo’ Call (BIRN, by Ivana Nikolic, 25 November 2015)

Serbia’s Patriarch Irinej called for Serbs to return to their homes in Kosovo, but those who fled after the war said Belgrade and Pristina must guarantee their safety first. Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej’s call for a mass return of Serbs to Kosovo is not realistic due to fears about security and poor living conditions, Natasa Scepanovic of the Association of Families of Kosovo Serb Victims told BIRN on Wednesday. “People have lost faith in Serbia and in the [Serbian Orthodox] church. They were saying the same after the war ended in 1999 and many believed them. My parents believed both the state and the church and they were murdered,” explained Scepanovic, who said her parents were killed in their Kosovo hometown Istok/Istog after the war in 1999. Scepanovic said however that her family would gladly return to the north-western Kosovo town if both the Pristina and Belgrade authorities “ensure safety and a normal, better life there”. During a visit to Kosovo’s Visoki Decani monastery on Tuesday, Patriarch Irinej urged all the Serbs who fled Kosovo to go back and continue their lives there in order to safeguard their heritage. “We know they live in hard conditions and circumstances, but the Lord will give them strength to endure,” the patriarch said. “I call on all the former residents of Kosovo and Metohija to return to their homes, temples and cemeteries, and to guard and preserve what they received from their ancestors,” he added. But Olgica Bozanic from the Association of Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Kosovo said that the authorities in Pristina haven’t done enough to ensure the safety of post-war returnees. “We have the right to return. But we also have a request for the Kosovo authorities to promise us a safe return and peace there,” Bozanic told BIRN. She said that many Kosovo Serbs also expected more from the Belgrade authorities, who she accused of not doing much to help them. Following the signing of the Kumanovo agreement that ended the Kosovo conflict in 1999, many Serbs were expelled and their homes were burned. Around 150,000 Serbs left Kosovo after the war, and most still live in Serbia. The overall number of non-Albanian voluntary returnees to Kosovo since 2000 stands at 26,323, according to UN data, and the pace of returns remains slow. A total of 123 Kosovo Serbs returned between July and September 2015, the UN secretary-general’s latest report on the situation in Kosovo said this month. Addressing the UN Security Council on November 19, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that “there still not are basic conditions for an unobstructed and a sustainable return of internally displaced people” to Kosovo. “That is why I appeal to the UN and other representatives of the international administration in Kosovo to help overcome the problems that impede the return of internally displaced persons and that contribute to the difficult situation of returnees who are exposed to constant security incidents, including attacks on them and their property,” Dacic said. The Kosovo Ministry for Communities and Return’s strategy for 2014-18 sets out plans for the sustainable return and reintegration of those who left. According to the strategy, over the past few years, more than 900 houses have been built for returnees, of which around 650 are now occupied. The Kosovo authorities also formed inter-ministerial groups in June this year to ensure the return of Serbs to the villages of Mushitishte in the south and Brdjane and Svinjare in the north. They said that by the end of the year, around more 600 people are expected to return to Kosovo.

UN decries stopping refugees at borders (EurActiv/Reuters, 25 November 2015)

The United Nations yesterday (24 November) condemned new restrictions on refugees that have left around 1,000 migrants stuck at the main border crossing into Macedonia from Greece, denied entry due to their nationalities in violation of international law. “Profiling asylum seekers on the basis of their alleged nationality infringes the human right of all people to seek asylum, irrespective of their nationality and to have their individual cases heard,” U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said in a statement issued by his press office. He urged nations to “respond with compassion, solidarity and shared responsibility.” Balkan countries have clamped down at their borders recently to stem what has been an anarchic, largely unchecked stream of humanity into Europe this year. But there were signs on Tuesday that the tide was starting to ebb somewhat – although relief officials cautioned that it was too early to declare a trend. “Talk about a sharp drop in the number of refugee arrivals to Greece may be premature. UNHCR staff on Lesbos (island) report that over 40 dinghies carrying an estimated 2,000 refugees and migrants arrived last night (Monday) and today,” UN refugee agency spokesman William Spindler told Reuters. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported earlier that the number of refugees and migrants reaching Greek islands, the most common entry point to Europe, fell to 155 on Sunday while 478 arrived at the ports of Athens and Kavala – far fewer than the daily average for the past few months. “The drop is significant given that, according to IOM estimates, some 100,000 migrants have crossed into Greece since the beginning of November – averaging around 4,500 crossings per day,” an IOM statement said. There have also been no migrant boats landing in Italy, the other main gateway into Europe, since 19 November, it added. Increasingly stormy winter weather is making crossings by sea to Europe more dangerous, and refugees trekking northwards through the Balkans are now exposed to freezing cold and snow. Traditional refugee haven Sweden announced it will tighten border controls and asylum rules to stem the flood of asylum seekers into the Nordic country and force other EU nations to accept a bigger share of refugees. A popular backlash against refugees is intensifying in the country that has taken in the majority of asylum seekers – Germany, while it has become harder to cross borders along the main Balkan corridor toward Western Europe. Macedonia’s refusal to admit 1,000 migrants was part of a new policy by Balkan states to filter the flow by granting passage onwards towards western Europe only to those fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, who are seen as genuine asylum seekers rather than “economic migrants”. UN officials said the new, uncoordinated obstacles that have stranded migrants on several frontiers in the Balkans threatened a “new humanitarian situation” that required urgent attention given the onset of winter. “The new restrictions chiefly involve people being profiled on the basis of their claimed nationalities,” UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.

Blocked migrants on hunger strike

Nationals of countries other than Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are being stopped, leading to protests by about 200 people, mainly Iranians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, with about 60 now on hunger strike, Edwards said. “All people have the right to seek asylum, irrespective of their nationality and to have their individual cases heard. Proper information needs to be provided to people affected by decisions at border points, and proper counselling needs to be available,” he said. About 30 people are marooned at Macedonia’s northern border with Serbia, mostly Nigerians and Moroccans, Spindler said. UNHCR had no information on whether the border curbs were linked to security fears over reports that one of the Islamic State militants who attacked Paris on 13 November, killing 130 people, may have entered Europe posing as a migrant. “Nonetheless, the environment has significantly worsened for people seeking asylum and that’s a very major concern,” Edwards said. There have been no migrant deaths reported in Greek-Turkish waters since 17 November, “so we’re hoping this is showing a trend where things are starting to fall off with the winter,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman said. “There has been no landing in Italy since the 19th of November. We don’t believe that this many days have gone by without an arrival in almost two years, so that’s kind of significant.” Millman also cautioned against jumping to conclusions. He cited Turkish Coast Guard exercises as another possible reason for the sharp drop in migrants leaving the country for Greece. “Although we do note a sharp decrease, we’re wondering if it’s going to start ticking up again,” he said. About 858,805 refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia have arrived in Europe so far this year by sea, while 3,548 have died or gone missing, according to IOM figures. Only 148 refugees have been relocated from Italy and Greece to other EU countries under a plan for transferring 160,000 agreed by EU leaders in September, Edwards said. Al Jazeera has published photos of refugees at the Greece-Macedonia border who have sewn their lips together to protest against the restrictions placed on their movement.