LOCAL PRESS

Belgrade-Pristina airline on the negotiating table (Danas)

The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue should resume in Brussels on 27 January at a high-level meeting. If the meeting occurs, the official topics will concern the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), license plates and establishing air traffic between Belgrade and Pristina, Danas was told by diplomatic source close to the government. Even though these topics had been agreed at a technical level, in reality Serbia will emphasize topics in regard to the decision of the Kosovo Constitutional Court that the ZSO agreement is not in line with the Kosovo Constitution, and the verdict to the leader of the SDP Civic Initiative Oliver Ivanovic. “If the meeting occurs, the topics will include the ZSO, i.e. the adoption of the executive decree of the government in Pristina on its formation, as a prerequisite for further normalization; then freedom of movement, more precisely – usage of license plates; and finally, the Belgrade-Pristina airline, but not the issue of controlling the lower layer of the airspace since this issue concerns the territorial integrity that has been permanently resolved with Resolution 1244 in Kumanovo, and the verdict to Oliver Ivanovic,” Danas was told by sources close to Serbian government sources. Even though only one day remains until the Vucic-Mustafa meeting, there is still no official confirmation that Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa will arrive in Brussels.

Djuric: Serbian parliamentary elections to be held in Kosovo (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said in Ranilug that the upcoming early parliamentary elections would be held in the whole of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija. He believes that, to honor the spirit of normalization of relations, there should be no obstruction. “I will repeat – as we see it, the elections will be held in the entire Serbian territory. Pristina has no reason to be angry about the elections being held here. It does not mean that we are making them express any political views that may differ from those they are already expressing and that we are aware of and do not agree with,” he said.

Joksimovic: I hope the EU will not allow revision of Brussels agreement (Tanjug)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic assessed today that it is important for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to continue. She says that the formation of the ZSO was the main interest to enter the negotiating process at all. “We hope the EU will not allow the revision of the Brussels agreement, but implementation of what had been agreed with the Brussels agreement,” Joksimovic told journalists at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, underlining that the Brussels agreement has been in a way a political prerequisite for Serbia’s EU integration, but that it is a fact that we haven’t recognized Kosovo and that we are negotiating with Pristina so the people would live better.

Maric: No replacement for Brussels dialogue (RTS)

The ZSO Coordinator Ljubomir Maric has told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that there is no replacement for the dialogue and that the first six points are still Pristina’s obligation from the Brussels agreement. “The two sides committed to implementing these agreements and we have seen that the Serbian government had implemented everything it agreed to,” said Maric. “We expect the implementation of these agreements by the political representatives in Pristina, the adoption of the decree on the ZSO and, finally, the beginning of the process in the Kosovo system, the formation of the ZSO,” said Maric. According to him, this decree was supposed to be adopted on 26 August, but it still hasn’t been and the Serbian side expects this from the meetings in Brussels. The second topic will also be the trial to Oliver Ivanovic: “We see here a political process that is sending a very negative message to all Serbs.”

Kosovo Serbs in CoE Pristina delegation? (Novosti)

In the future, Kosovo Serb representatives might be part of the Pristina delegation in the Council of Europe. Since 2013 Pristina has the right to two political representatives from the assembly who can take part in the work of different commissions with the right to speak, but without the right to vote, while they do not have the right to either speak or vote at the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE (PACE) plenary sessions. PACE started yesterday the regular winter session, with the re-opened topic of whether a shortcut for Pristina to join this institution is being searched. Pristina authorities have been lobbying for a long time to approach the CoE closer, but, for the time being, they are not succeeding. This organization has six observers in addition to 47 members. “Kosovo has not requested to be admitted in the CoE,” Daniel Holtgen, the spokesperson of CoE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, confirmed to Novosti. The outgoing PACE President Anne Brasseur says: “The situation with Kosovo is special, since it is not a CoE member considering the fact that it was not recognized by all member states. But it is good to discuss this since Kosovo belongs to Europe.”

SPS-PUPS-JS might break up before elections (Novosti)

The formation of the traditional pre-election coalition between the SPS and the United Party of Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) and United Serbia (JS) will not go so smoothly this time since the SPS is not ready to give the same number of mandates to the PUPS as they did at the previous elections, Novosti learns. The talks of these three parties will begin at the end of this week. These same sources claim that there is still a chance for the PUPS to take part in the upcoming elections on the SNS list. The SNS leadership is not excluding this possibility either, but they claim they are yet to have talks with all potential pre-election allies. For the time being, the SNS is certainly in coalition with Ljajic’s SDPS, Vulin’s PS and New Serbia.

REGIONAL PRESS

Decision on referendum at the next assembly session (Srna)

The President of the Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik believes that the discussion regarding the decision to call a referendum in connection with the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court on RS Law on holidays will be held at the next session of the RS Assembly. Dodik said that the intervention of foreigners and dealing with internal issues of B&H exceeded all measure and that he rejects any kind of threats. Dodik stressed that the RS and the Serb people are going to affirm their rights to a referendum, and that the series of referendums are going to be implemented on various issues continuously, regardless of whether someone likes it or not. “We will start this year,” said Dodik, adding that the question of the RS status is going to be resolved one day by referendum. He said that the RS does not want to alter the B&H Constitution, but that it wants the law on the B&H Constitutional Court. “The law should have been passed 15 years ago, but there was no consensus. We want to expel foreigners, because they are pests that undermine the democratic and civilizational achievements, and most of all B&H,” said Dodik. He finds it disappointing that the B&H Constitutional Court delivered its decision to the RS written with Latin alphabets and on Croatian language, and added that this represents the undermining of law and the equality of the Serb people. Dodik noted that, according to the UN Charter, the peoples have the right to autonomously make their own policy decisions, but that there are “political thugs” from the international community that dispute this right to us.

Fahrudin Radoncic apprehended on orders of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office (Fena/Dnevni avaz/Klix)

Acting on orders of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office, police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), apprehended Fahrudin Radoncic, said the B&H Prosecutor’s Office in its press release. According to a statement issued by the B&H Prosecution, Radoncic was arrested in Sarajevo for allegedly “interfering in the work of the judiciary”. Confidential sources in the B&H Prosecution say that Radoncic is suspected of the witness tampering, but declined to say in which case. According to Sarajevo-based website Klix, police have raided the premises of Dnevni Avaz, the newspaper owned by Radoncic. The Alliance for a Better Future (SBB) strongly condemns unprecedented abuse of the rule of law by individuals in the judicial mafia. The arrest of the president of SBB Fahrudin Radoncic is extremely inappropriate demonstration of force and an unprecedented attempt to eliminate political opponents by family – criminal gangs and rogue power centers, stated the SBB press service. “We are convinced that Fahrudin Radoncic is innocent and that this is just a political fabrication aimed at the destabilization of the Bosniak political bloc and the whole of B&H,” reads the statement. The editorial board of Dnevni Avaz also released a statement calling the raid on its premises a brutal attack on media freedom. Following the information published by some media that the investigators of SIPA within the framework of the operation searched the business premises of Dnevni avaz, SIPA issued the statement in which it emphasizes that “the object of the search was not the media house, but only the premises used by the suspect F.R., which are located in the same building”.

Djukanovic: One cannot be both the government and the opposition at the same time (RTCG)

Montenegrin Parliament began debate on confidence motion, initiated by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. Before the beginning of the debate on confidence motion in the parliament, a session of the Collegium of the President of the Parliament Ranko Krivokapic has been held. In his opening address, Prime Minister Djukanovic said that the initiation of the confidence motion is not something unexpected. He recalled that disturbance in the functioning of the ruling coalition were visible since the presidential elections in 2013. The consequences of a misunderstandings between the coalition partners jeopardized the realization of the vital national interests of Montenegro. “They primarily reflected in the postponement or cancellation of a number of agreed investment arrangements. Subsequently, it caused loss of hundreds of jobs in tourism,” said, among other things, Djukanovic. Prime Minister recalled the creation of the new majority in parliament, which caused the enactment of number of electoral laws, increase in budget spending, and has created expensive social and protecting rights. “Also, the government’s proposals for the implementation of development projects, which would mean valorization of unused resources and the opening of high-quality jobs were rejected,” said the prime minister. Djukanovic said that he reiterated many times that he tolerated inconsistent operation of government only because of the expectation of the NATO membership invitation for Montenegro.

EP Rapporteur for Montenegro: I will carefully monitor the vote of confidence in the government (Mina)

The Parliament shall, as a democratic institution in Montenegro, declare itself on confidence in the government and all should respect that decision, Charles Tanok, the European Parliament Rapporteur for Montenegro, said. He added that he was still concerned about the current polarization of the political scene, and especially because of the boycott of parliament by part of the opposition. I will carefully monitor the vote of confidence in the Government, but I do not think it is useful to speculate about the outcome of the voting. Parliament, as a democratic body in Montenegro, will express its opinion and everyone should respect the decision of the Parliament, Tannock said in an interview with agency Mina. He believes that dialogue is welcome, having in mind how the parliament is divided. “As the key electoral laws apply and having in mind fact that we are in an election year, we believe that we should welcome all efforts to overcome the current political stalemate. We’ll wait to see what will happen after the vote of confidence in the government,” Tannock said.

Parties meet Vanhoutte once again: SEC awaits approval for Electoral Roll revision (MNA)

After several days break, the work group of the four parties met with facilitator Peter Vanhoutte. The topic of discussion was the revision of the Electoral Roll. Monday afternoon the parties discussed the methods for revision of the Electoral Roll. The situation may complicate again, after SDSM said on Sunday that the party demands a complete revision of the Electoral Roll. That attitude is completely opposite of the one of the State Election Commission (SEC), that by revising the roll, only the suspicious voters will be checked when comparing data of the state institutions. Prior to this, PM Emil Dimitriev convinced the members of the Commission that there will be fair and democratic elections. VMRO-DPMNE believes that it is illogical that the opposition that hold both the Interior Ministry and SEC in their hands, and that by Law and Constitution are the only institutions that can organize elections, to claim that fair and democratic elections cannot be conducted. SDSM opposes the date of the elections as well, although April 24 was the date supported by USA and EU also. Leader of VMRO-DPMNE said the date remains April 24. “That is the date when Macedonian nation will show everyone who is who in this country, and whose country Macedonia is. In April, the people of Macedonia will take the partially seized authority, and by voting massively, will kick the artificially appointed officials and will send several messages,” Gruevski said. Before the meeting Vanhoutte said there are proposals on the media and the purification of the voter lists by VMRO-DPMNE as a response to previous proposals by the SDSM. Vanhoutte did not comment on the proposals and said they are yet to be reviewed because he has not yet seen them. The meeting was attended by the representatives of VMRO-DPMNE, SDSM, DUI and DPA, as well as international representatives.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbian Fighters Deny Killing 118 Kosovo Civilians (BIRN, by Marija Ristic, 26 January 2016)

Eleven Serbian ex-fighters pleaded not guilty to war crimes in the Kosovo villages of Ljubenic, Cuska, Pavlan and Zahac in 1999, but anger erupted in the courtroom after the prosecution changed the indictment again.

After changing the indictment several times over the past six years since the trial of 12 former Yugoslav Army troops charged with killing more than 118 Kosovo Albanians in 1999, the Serbian war crimes prosecution office issued another new indictment on Monday, sparking angry outbursts from some of the defendants. War crimes prosecutor Dragoljub Stankovic said he decided to change indictment and make so the court could follow the proceedings. “It is not a completely new indictment, it is just more comprehensive and without any substantial new details. I just wanted to make this process easier for everyone,” Stankovic explained. He said that another reason for the latest change was to combine two initial indictments that were launched at different times, tackling the same events – attacks on the Kosovo villages of Ljubenic, Cuska, Pavlan and Zahac in April and May 1999 when the Kosovo Albanians were killed. However, his decision to issue a new indictment sparked protests from some of the defendants. “You are accusing me of everything. We have been here for six years and you cannot prove anything, and that is why you are changing it all the time, you are just inventing things,” Srecko Popovic, one of the defendants, told the court. He then started shouting that the case was a great injustice, causing the judge to remove him from the courtroom. The new indictment also angered defendant Abdulah Sokic who was also removed by the judge for offending the prosecutor. All the other men pleaded not guilty. The indictment accuses the 11 former fighters of killings, looting and torture in the four Kosovo villages, with the aim of permanently expelling the ethnic Albanian population from the area. The initial trial started in December 2011 when 12 men were accused of murders and looting in just one of the villages, Cuska. It later expanded to cover the crimes committed in the other three villages – Ljubenic, Pavlan and Zahac. In 2014, the prosecutor issued one more indictment against three more people for the killings in Ljubenic. In the same year, the first group of defendants was sentenced to a total of 106 years in prison. But the Belgrade-based appeals court annulled the verdict last year, calling it “incomprehensible and contradictory”, and sent the case for retrial. At the retrial, in order to speed up the procedure, the prosecution combined the two indictments, making it into one case. However, over time, the defendants also changed. One of the defendants become a protected witness. He is currently living in Germany and is about to testify in the case. Radoslav Brnovic, who was initially acquitted, died, so the case against him was terminated. The case against two other defendants was also separated from the others. Dejan Bulatovic, who was sentenced to 20 years, fell ill, so the case against him will continue when he is capable of attending the trial. Ranko Momic, initially given 15 years, is currently on the run and so cannot yet be tried. The case is considered one of the largest ever relating to Kosovo war crimes in the Belgrade courts, with hearings in the initial trial lasting for several years. The attack on the four villages and the subsequent cover-up attempts attacks were explored in a recent BIRN documentary, ‘The Unidentified’. In August 2014, the Serbian war crimes prosecution also launched an investigation into Dragan Zivanovic, the former commander of the Yugoslav Army’s 125th Brigade, for allegedly doing nothing to prevent the murders of the Kosovo Albanians and the destruction of homes and property in the four villages. He is the first general in Serbia to be investigated for war crimes. So far however, no indictment has been issued. The trial resumes on February 22.

Police arrest Bosnian tycoon-turned-politician (Reuters, 26 January 2016)

SARAJEVO – A Bosnian tycoon and head of a party in the ruling coalition was arrested on Monday on suspicion of obstructing justice, just weeks before the Balkan country is expected formally to apply for European Union membership. Fahrudin Radoncic is a former owner of Bosnia’s largest newspaper, Dnevni Avaz, and leader of the co-ruling Union for Better Future (SBB) party. His arrest follows that of two other SBB officials this month on suspicion of intimidating a witness in the high-profile trial in Kosovo of accused Balkan drug lord Naser Kelmendi. Party officials said the arrest, in connection with the same trial, was carried out by individuals from a “judicial mafia”. It was unclear what ramifications his arrest might have for the ruling coalition, which is just weeks away from applying for Bosnian membership of the European Union, two decades after the end of a 1992-95 war. The fall-out might be limited if he is freed from police detention after 24 hours of questioning, before any trial sometime in the future. The prosecution could ask for one month’s detention, as was the case with other two officials arrested. Kelmendi was arrested in Kosovo in 2013 on a Bosnian warrant over his alleged involvement in organized crime and the 2007 killing of former Bosnian warlord Ramiz Delalic but was not handed over to Bosnia because of the lack of an extradition accord between the two countries. He is on trial in Kosovo on charges of trafficking drugs, organized crime and the murder of Delalic. Police said they raided several other locations for evidence, including the building where the Dnevni Avaz offices are located. The newspaper’s editors condemned the raid by armed police as “a brutal pressure on media freedom and an attempt of intimidation”. The State Investigation and Protection Agency said the target of the raid was not the newspaper but offices used by Radoncic in the same building. Several high-ranking Bosnian government officials have been tried for organized crime and corruption but there have been no convictions so far.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alison Williams)

Montenegrin Government Facing Confidence Motion (AP/Reuters, 25 January 2016)

Lawmakers in Montenegro are debating a confidence motion in the government of the Adriatic state after an invitation to join NATO sparked pressure from pro-Russian opposition. Addressing parliament deputies on January 25, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, who is in a dispute with one of the seven parties in the coalition, said that “those who want to be both in power and in opposition” should be excluded from the cabinet. Meanwhile, several hundred opposition supporters have rallied outside the parliament building chanting antigovernment slogans. Djukanovic’s move to call a confidence vote is viewed as a political maneuver ahead of parliamentary elections this year. The country of 650,000 people is due anyway to hold regular parliamentary elections late this year. The confidence debate may last several days. Some parts of the opposition oppose Montenegro entering NATO and accuse Djukanovic of allowing organized crime and corruption to thrive in the years since the collapse of federal Yugoslavia in the 1990s, a charge he denies.