LOCAL PRESS

Vucic doesn’t give any estimate on outcome of today’s new round of Brussels dialogue (RTS/Tanjug)

Vucic said yesterday that the topic of the Brussels talks will be the implementation of what had been agreed on 25 August last year, but didn’t wish to estimate in advance the outcome of today’s new round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. “We are not playing…but we are always ready to talk, since we need to resolve the most difficult situations with dialogue. He recalls that the other side said some ten days ago that it wouldn’t attend the dialogue, but that it was clear that it would.

Nikolic: Serbia should insist on Chapter 35 (TV Pink)
“Serbia should first and foremost insist on negotiation Chapter 35 on Kosovo in its EU accession talks and receive the text of a legally binding agreement in advance,” Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told TV Pink. “We should receive the text of a legally binding agreement so that we know immediately whether or not we will go into that. However, getting into all chapters in order to make our country better is also a good tactic,” he said. Nikolic said that, in the new round of the dialogue with Pristina, the Belgrade delegation should insist on the verdict of Kosovo Serb leader Oliver Ivanovic. Nikolic dismissed the verdict as an absurd attempt of establishing a balance between crimes committed by Serbs and ethnic Albanians ahead of a multitude of trials before a special court for war crimes committed by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army. The Community of Serb Municipalities must also be a topic in the new round of the dialogue to bring a new quality of life and independence to Kosovo Serbs, Nikolic noted.

He said that 24 April is almost the “fixed” date of elections and that the disbanding of the parliament is more probable than the prime minister’s resignation. According to him, the resignation of the prime minister as an introduction to elections is logical when the government has been doing a poor job, or when the opposition proves that conditions have been acquired for early elections. If the elections are slated for late April – and the date will be decided on by Prime Minister Vucic – they are likely to be called in March, Nikolic said, adding that he is confident that the Serbian Progressive Party will continue to lead the government after the elections.

Djuric: Belgrade expects implementation of agreement (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that he expects difficult talks, noting that Serbia has implemented a lot of things that had been agreed. “We are the side in today’s talks that expects the implementation of agreed things,” says Djuric, pointing that this primarily refers to the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO). “Over the past seven-eight months we haven’t seen Pristina implementing agreements into practice and our pressure will be in this direction,” he says. “We don’t see this as a buffet, but a table that has rights and obligations for both sides, and now they owe a lot to the Serbian side,” he says. He repeats that Belgrade expects full implementation of agreement, pointing out that they cannot discuss what had been agreed and that agreements cannot be changed constantly. “There are many open issues in our relations with the southern province, from property to the position of the church, but today we are throwing the light on the ZSO,” said Djuric.

Albanians in southern Serbian wish to take part in Brussels dialogue (RTS/Tanjug)

Albanian political representatives in southern Serbian have requested the Kosovo authorities to include them in the Brussels dialogue with Belgrade, requesting, as they put it, the same rights enjoyed by the Serbs in Kosovo. The President of the National Council of Albanians in Serbia Jonuz Musliu requested in Pristina that the status of the Albanians in the Presevo Valley be resolved in a reciprocal manner, the Pristina media reports. Musliu wondered why the Serbs in Kosovo have all text books from Serbia, but the Albanians in the Presevo Valley do not have this, saying that now is the right moment to resolve this issue. Albanian representatives from the municipalities in southern Serbia met in Pristina with Kosovo Minister of Culture Kujtim Shala with whom they signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sphere of culture. The memorandum envisages for the Kosovo Ministry of Culture to allocate 450,000 Euros to cultural institutions in Presevo and Bujanovac. During his visit to Presevo and Bujanovac early in January, Kujtim Shala announced that his ministry would provide direct funding for the opening of Albanian-language libraries in the two municipalities. After Pristina, the Albanian delegation from southern Serbia will travel to Strasbourg where it will meet on 27 January with the representatives of the High Commission for Human Rights in order to discuss their rights, economic and social status.

Vulin: Serbia an example how the migrant crisis should be resolved (RTS)

Serbian Labor and Social Affairs Minister Aleksandar Aleksandar Vulin has told RTS that between 1,500 and 1,700 migrants are currently moving from Presevo to Sid, but we expect their number to reach last year’s levels with better weather conditions. Vulin says that after the Amsterdam meeting of representatives of the countries situated along the Western Balkans route for migrants he expects the same rules to apply from Greece to the final destination countries for their movement, registration and all other things. “To enter Serbia from Macedonia, you have to be a citizen of Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan and express your intent to seek asylum in Austria or Germany. These are the rules that apply from Greece to Berlin,” Vulin said, noting that the rules had been harmonized, and there should be no unilateral moves. He says that at the meeting in Amsterdam Serbia was given as an example how the migrant crisis should be resolved.

Gasic to be dismissed by week’s end (Novosti)

Vucic will fulfill his public promise and he will sign by the week’s end the proposal for dismissing Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Novosti learns. According to this information, the biggest chance is that a new minister would not be elected since early elections will most probably be slated on 7 March. According to procedure, the request for Gasic’s dismissal will be forwarded immediately to the Serbian parliament as soon as it is initialed by the prime minister. Serbian parliament speaker Maja Gojkovic is obliged to place this proposal on the agenda of the first following parliament session, but only when at least five days pass after she receives the initiative. Novosti’s sources suggest that this item could be presented to the MPs around 25 February, so in this case a new minister wouldn’t have to be elected since the prime minister has the formal obligation to propose a candidate within 15 days since the dismissal in the parliament, and according to this schedule this would be 10 March.

DS to convene tomorrow (Novosti)

The Presidency of the Democratic Party (DS) will hold tomorrow a session where the main topic will be formation of coalitions before the parliamentary elections. The DS leadership should agree on the list of parties that will be offered cooperation and to present this harmonized proposal to the delegates at the Main Board that is scheduled for 31 January.

REGIONAL PRESS

SBB: Radoncic arrest highly inappropriate demonstration of force (Oslobodjenje)

On the arrest of the President of the Alliance for a Better Future B&H an urgent session of the party leadership was scheduled, after which Mirsad Djonlagic, Vice President of the party, addressed the media. They called the arrest of Radoncic a “highly inappropriate demonstration of force”. “The SBB sharply condemns the arrest of Radoncic, which is a highly inappropriate demonstration of force and an unprecedented attempt to eliminate political opponents by the family-criminal clans of power. The SBB is completely confident that Radoncic is completely innocent, and this is a political montage. It is indicative that at a time when we are witnessing the stabilization of the situation in B&H, when the new coalition started to work on the scene, we have a brutal abuse of the judiciary. We believe in honesty and professionalism in the prosecutor. We are certain that this shameful court will ultimately lead to the dismantling of the criminal ring in the B&H court. This act raised numerous tensions for members of the SBB B&H, we appeal to membership not to undertake any hasty actions,” said Djonlagic. After the SBB president’s arrest, the party earlier released a statement that sharply condemns the unprecedented abuse of the legal state by individuals from the judicial mafia. “Taking into account that this act sparked enormous tensions and dissatisfaction among numerous members of the SBB, their sympathizers and citizens across B&H, we appeal to the membership not to undertake any hasty individual activities, and to monitor the statements and instructions of the party in the coming period,” the statement reads.

Defence in shock: On the way from SIPA to the Prosecutor’s Office Radoncic charged with another indictment (Novi.ba)

Fahrudin Radoncic, President of the Alliance for a Better Future and a delegate to the B&H Parliamentary Assembly, was charged with another indictment. “In addition to the criminal offense of Obstruction of Justice, the B&H Prosecution informed us that Radoncic is charged with another criminal offence for which he was not previously suspected. Additional indictment is related to the affair regarding the appointment to the ambassadorial position in Slovenia.

Izetbegovic: Radoncic’s arrest blow to coalition (Fena)

The SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic told reporters today after he met with the delegation of the SBB that the arrest of the SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic was a blow to the coalition. “We are committed to preserve the coalition,” said Izetbegovic, adding that Radoncic’s contribution to politics is large and that is why it would be good to release him pending trial. “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty by the court. I wouldn’t like this to be pressure on the judiciary, but everyone is responsible for the situation in B&H,” said Izetbegovic, adding the arrest of the SBB leader was not in anyone’s interest.

SDA after the arrest of Radoncic: We are committed to coalition with SBB (Klix)

The arrest of Fahrudin Radoncic represents a serious challenge for the newly established coalition, which can lead B&H to a crisis of functioning of the government with serious consequences, as stated today by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). “We believe that the judicial institutions are aware of these circumstances, and that they will finish their job as soon as possible with strict respect of the Constitution, the laws and their own obligations and responsibilities, and that they will inform the public on their findings,” as said in the statement. SDA emphasized that they respect the presumption of innocence on which no one is guilty until proved otherwise. “We are committed to the preservation of a coalition with the Alliance for a Better Future in the best interest of B&H and its citizens,” reads the statement.

Galiijasevic: Al Sawah brought back to B&H to set Europe on fire (Srna)

Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al Sawah, who has been extradited to B&H after having spent 13 years in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, is the biggest source of terrorist threat to Europe, especially to the Western Balkans, says counterterrorism expert Dzevad Galijasevic. “The statement by B&H Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak that Al Sawah is not a security threat is just nonsense coming from an ill-informed person and an obvious example of helping terrorists and ingratiating with their patrons in Sarajevo. It is shameful that Crnadak is minimizing the terrorist threat that only deserves contempt and calls for his replacement,” said Galijasevic.

Djukanovic: Who decides what is political corruption? (RTCG)

The deputies in the Montenegrin parliament continued the debate on confidence motion. The assembly should decide upon the initiative of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic today. Responding to the independent MP Neven Gosovic’s comment that the government should fall because its leaders are also leaders of criminal groups, Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said that it would be good if he substantiated his comment by a name. “We’re talking about the ruling party, we are talking about the leaders of the ruling party. Do you have any information that I don’t have? Well, it would be good not to offend each other”, he said. The Prime Minister also asked who is the authority and who has the exclusive right to decide what is the free will of MPs and what is political corruption.

Minister Spasovski meets UN Representative Simona-Mirela Miculescu (MIA)

Minister of Interior Affairs Oliver Spasovski met on Tuesday in Skopje with the Head of the United Nations Office in Belgrade (UNOB) and UN Special Representative, Simona-Mirela Miculescu. The interlocutors in the meeting shared information in line with Miculescu’s term considering the latest political developments in the country and the region and discussed the intentions and prospects of Macedonia, i.e. the Ministry of Interior Affairs, over the possibility to increase its contribution to UN­led peace missions, the Ministry said in a press release adding Macedonia’s contribution within UN frameworks had been praised. “As regards preserving global peace, Minister Spasovski noted the country’s clear determination to set aside all available capacities required for possible participation in UN-led peacekeeping missions in the future,” stated the press release. Both interlocutors, it added, took the opportunity to share views with respect to the refugee crisis and discuss ways to resolve it. “The interlocutors also discussed the maintenance of political stability and consistent observation of the Przino Agreement in order the citizens’ trust in institutions to be restored,” stated the press release.

Hahn: Fairness decisive in Macedonian election, not who takes part (MIA)

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that for the EU it was crucial that the elections in Macedonia were fair, transparent and democratic and that it was not important who took part. The commissioner recalled that an agreement between the opposition and government on solving the political crisis had many elements and that parliamentary elections on April 24 were just one of those elements. The European official said that the EU was working alongside the OSCE, which would send observers to oversee the elections both in the preparatory stage and on the election day.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Bosnian Army Commander Naser Oric Goes on Trial (BIRN, by Erna Mackic, 26 January 2016)

Former Srebrenica commander Oric went on trial in Sarajevo for war crimes, accused of being responsible for killing three Serbs in 1992 – a case which has angered the country’s Bosniaks.

Oric’s trial opened at the state court in the Bosnian capital on Tuesday with the reading of the indictment accusing him and former Bosnian Army soldier Sabahudin Muhic of killing three Serb captives in the villages of Zalazje, Lolici and Kunjerac in 1992. “The victims were prisoners of war. They surrendered their weapons and were under the control of the Srebrenica Territorial Defence forces. Oric and Muhic knew they were violating the Geneva conventions, because the prisoners were at their mercy,” said prosecutor Miroslav Janjic. According to the charges, Oric killed one of the prisoners of war by stabbing him in the neck after hitting him in the leg. He also hit another prisoner who was then killed by Muhic, while the third prisoner was also killed by the soldier, the prosecution alleges. The trial started despite objections by Oric’s defence which claimed that he had already been tried for and acquitted of the same crimes by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. But the UN court has said the indictment filed in Bosnia and Herzegovina was significantly different from the charges of which he was acquitted at the Hague Tribunal. It said the Hague Tribunal acquitted Oric of command responsibility for the murder of one person at the police station in Srebrenica and six more people in the local municipality building. Oric’s defence claimed that the Bosnian investigation only lasted a month, which was strange for much lesser crimes, let alone a war crimes case. “The prosecution listed five witnesses in their decision to open the investigation. None of them mentioned Oric, or brought him into connection with the crime. So how could the prosecution have decided to open the investigation in the first place?” asked Oric’s lawyer Lejla Covic. Covic said it was also suspicious that the testimony of a key protected witness codenamed O1 surfaced nine days after the investigation was opened. “This seems like the prosecution was psychic, that they knew what would happen,” she said, adding that 01 had changed his testimony several times, so the defence will be able to prove he is not a reliable witness. The prosecution asked for measures which forbid Oric from travelling outside Bosnia’s Federation entity to remain in place, but the defence objected. “The trial has started, so you have control over Oric’s movement. He is attending these hearings. There is no need for the measures,” said Covic. Oric also addressed the court and said that he has not threatened any witnesses and cannot see a reason for further limits on his movement. Prosecutor Janjic argued that these were the most lenient measures and they should remain in place. Oric is also wanted in Serbia for war crimes. In June last year he was arrested on the French-Swiss border at the request of the Serbian prosecution, which wanted to charge him with crimes in Srebrenica. But he was ultimately extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina, not to Serbia. The former Srebrenica commander’s indictment in Bosnia and Herzegovina drew criticism from both Serb victims of the war – who claimed the charges were too modest – and from Bosniak victims of Serb crimes. Before the hearing started on Tuesday, a group of Srebrenica genocide survivors gathered in front of the court building to support Oric, while another group of some 20 Bosnian Serb war victims came to see the trial start. Munira Subasic, the president of the Mothers of the Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves association told media that Oric was a hero because of his role in combatting Serb forces in the years before the 1995 Srebrenica massacres. “We will not allow these charges, which are based on fake witnesses,” said Subasic. But Vinko Lale, the secretary of the Union of Former Camp Detainees of the Birac region, said that he hopes that Oric’s charges will be expanded. “He committed other crimes against Serbs in the Srebrenica and Bratunac regions and I hope that Oric’s accomplices will be caught,” he said. The first witnesses at the trial are scheduled to testify on February 16.

Macedonia Hails Slovene Plan to Stop Migrants (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 27 January 2016)

Macedonia has welcomed Slovenia’s plan for security on Macedonia’s border with Greece to be increased in order to stem the flow of migrants moving towards Western Europe.

Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry told BIRN that the Slovenian initiative, which calls for greater EU support to reinforce the Macedonian border, was a good idea that would relieve pressure on the country, which lies right on the Western Balkan route taken by refugees and migrants. “Macedonia welcomes all initiatives for help and assistance coming from the EU. This crisis with migrants concerns us dearly and we are waiting to see how this plan will be put in effect,” the Foreign Ministry told BIRN. The Slovenian plan essentially envisages that most of the migrants who are now entering Greece would stay there. This would reduce pressure on Western Balkan countries that are on the refugee route and ultimately curb the flow of migrants to countries like Germany and Austria. Amid criticism that Greece is failing to curb the flow of migrants to other EU countries, Brussels has confirmed that it is considering strengthening border controls in Macedonia. The European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, has backed the Slovenian plan to practically move the EU border for migrants from Greece to Macedonia. According to POLITICO news site, in a letter sent on Monday, Juncker gave clear support for the Slovenian initiative. “I welcome your suggestion,” Juncker wrote to Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, assuring him that the Commission supported his plan for all EU countries to “provide assistance [to Macedonia] to support controls on the border with Greece through the secondment of police/law enforcement officers and the provision of equipment.” POLITICO says it saw a copy of the letter. Juncker further wrote that since Macedonia was not an EU member state, EU countries would have to reach bilateral agreements with Skopje to be able to send their own police forces to the border. However, he also urged changing the rules that currently prevent the deployment of EU frontier, Frontex, officers outside EU territory. Germany, Austria and The Netherlands have recently strongly criticized Greece for not preventing the flow of migrants and have threatened to exclude Athens from the passport-free Schengen zone if it fails to do more to control its borders. The member states “gave a clear signal” that if they cannot stop the migrants from reaching Greece, they will consider helping Greece’s neighbour, Macedonia, to better seal its border to slow the movement of migrants to other European countries, Dutch State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff told a meeting of EU ministers in Amsterdam on Monday. Despite the onset of winter, more than 2,000 people are still arriving in Greece daily, mostly through the sea route from Turkey, EU figures show. Athens is under pressure to register and keep those coming in. Macedonian police on Tuesday said that some 2.500 people entered Macedonia on their way towards Western European countries. However, Macedonia, now only lets in refugees from war-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, while keeping the others at bay.

Europe against Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUinside, by Adelina Marini, 26 January 2016)

The parties in power in Bosnia and Herzegovina are fully unanimous on the country’s European perspective and are totally serious in their will to file an application for membership in the European Union. This is what European Parliament’s rapporteur on Bosnia and Herzegovina Cristian Dan Preda (EPP, Romania) told me in last week Strasbourg. This week there already is a date for sending the application – February 15th. The EU has warned BiH several times not to rush the application, for it is important that it is credible. According to Cristian Dan Preda, filing the application has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that thus the Bosnian authorities demonstrate ambition. He believes this ambition is fully serious. On the other hand, however, this is something that caused resistance in Brussels, including in member states like Germany and Great Britain. Gaining candidate country status is no joke, but a very serious task, he said in an interview for euinside. There is a risk that BiH’s application is forgotten and receives no answer for months. The official bestowing of candidate country status to a country takes time. He feels it is very risky to file an application, which will remain with no reply for months. This is why it is important to use the additional time until February 15th to advance on outstanding issues, like the coordination mechanism, adaptation of the trade part of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement following Croatia’s accession to the EU and continue implementing reforms, so that this application is deemed credible. An adversary to the Bosnian European integration is Republika Srpska’s President Milorad Dodik. In Preda’s words Dodik is an instrument of Russia. The referendums he organises are instruments for blocking Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European perspective. Word is of the referendum, which questioned the authority of the national court and prosecution in the Serbian entity of BiH, as well as for the demanded plebiscite against the ruling of BiH’s Constitutional court, which named as unconstitutional the celebration of January 9th as the Day of statehood in Republika Srpska. On this date, in 1992, it announced its independence from BiH. According to Milorad Dodik, no one can forbid the Serbs in the entity to celebrate their independence. The Constitutional Court demanded that Republika Srpska chose a different date, for January 9th is also a Christian Orthodox holiday. The court believes that this holiday discriminates against the Roman Catholics and Muslims living in the entity. Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić also arrived in Banja Luka for the celebration. Cristian Dan Preda thinks that the role of Serbia in BiH is ambiguous. On one hand, the Serbian PM states that he does not support the referendums, but he appears at the controversial celebration in Banja Luka. The relationship between Banja Luka and Belgrade is very strong. Dodik is convinced he owns a country, but it is a part of BiH. The Romanian MEP finds the ambiguity in the relations between Vučić and Republika Srpska strange. It is easier to work between Belgrade and Sarajevo, than between Belgrade and Priština, he said. “We cannot accept to have two different attitudes – relations between Belgrade and Sarajevo and another one between Serbia and Banja Luka. Banja Luka is not a capital. It’s a municipality of BiH, so I think that Vučić has to understand this”, added the Rapporteur. He finds it very important that Serbia has started negotiations thanks to the progress it made in the negotiations with Priština. This, however, is a challenge for Kosovo as well, for the current opposition there is against the deal with Belgrade. It is important that Kosovars see that there is progress in the relations between Priština and Belgrade. At the moment the environment in Priština is bad. If the situation improves, it will be beneficial for the Kosovars. Cristian Dan Preda agrees with the Croatian MEPs’ argument that a possible BiH EU membership application will strengthen BiH’s cohesion, but dismissed any conversations about an upgrade of the Dayton peace agreement, which Croatian politicians are demanding, especially from the ranks of the right-wing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which formed a government with the new party Most. At this stage it is important to work for BiH’s European integration and any conversations about the future of Dayton are not on the agenda, as the Bosnian politicians also agreed, added the MEP. At the moment, it is important that the country transformed into a European one, not re-negotiating Dayton. Despite the many challenges and hardships, he is convinced that BiH is not a special case. There are other countries as well, which need political reforms. It is true that BiH has a complex constitutional architecture, but the country already has experience in reaching compromises. This is a democracy based on a compromise, he said. If we are to start with the idea that making politics is not possible, then there can be no success, the BiH Rapporteur believes. He admits that at the moment the atmosphere in the EU is very tough, making the task of the countries striving for European membership much more difficult. BiH needs to be innovative and creative. The landscape today is very different than it was in 2004 when The Netherlands last presided the Council of the EU. Back then enlargement was a major priority, for the accession of ten more countries was coming. Today, the word does not even exist in the programme of this year’s Dutch presidency, noted Cristian Dan Preda. “I mean the enlargement doesn’t exist for the presidency of [the] Netherlands. This is the reality and we have to understand this.” This is why it is important that Sarajevo has courage and imagination. The new candidates need to be very original, also thinks the Romanian MEP.

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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.