LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic meets Putin (Beta)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on March 10 that he had agreed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Serbia should maintain a military neutral status.

After the talks in Kremlin, Nikolic said to reporters that Serbia could count on Russia’s economic and political support. “I think we completely agreed that Serbia should maintain a military neutral status. My opinion is that the neutrality can be reached by balancing and making agreements with both military alliances, but not joining either of them, using the advantages of them being technically well ahead of us,” Nikolic explained. He thanked for the congratulation wishes, but also thanked Putin himself for making time to meet him. “I am personally grateful for all that you have done last year and all these past several years for Serbia. You cannot imagine how grateful Serbia feels for the two of your acts that concern the future of Serbia and Republika Srpska,” said Nikolic, stating that Russia blocked resolution on Srebrenica in the UN Security Council and prevented Kosovo’s accession to UNESCO. “I know how hard it is to put a veto in the UN Security Council and this step will be remembered in Serbia… I could barely wait to tell you all of this personally and thank you for the support Serbia enjoys in its attempt to stand on its own two feet and join the developed countries,” Nikolic underscored. Nikolic also thanked Putin for his understanding with regard to Serbia’s behavior in international relations, and the courage Russia expresses in its fight against the Islamic State.

Nationwide state of emergency declared due to severe flooding (Tanjug)

The Serbian government declared on Thursday a nationwide state of emergency due to severe flooding, on the proposal of the national emergency situations headquarters. The decision was made as a preventive measure to facilitate and speed up the activities of all national bodies, in their effort to save lives, ensure the security of citizens and their property and repair the flood damage. The Serbian government will hold daily meetings of the national emergency situations headquarters, closely watch the situation on the ground and inform citizens about the latest developments, the government’s press office said in a release. The Serbian government urges all citizens to comply with its decisions and do everything in their power to prevent major damage during the critical period of torrential rains expected to last until Tuesday.

Stefanovic: No migrants enter Serbia after closure of Balkans route (B92)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has said that after the closure of the Balkan route not a single migrant has crossed into Serbia. In an interview to TV B92, the Minister explained that Serbia had to protect itself against excessive migrations, because it possessed neither the financial resources nor facilities to accommodate hundreds of thousands of migrants, specifying that Serbia is currently home to close to 1,200 refugees. Stefanovic was explicit that the migrants could not enter Serbia illegally, and that there were several mechanisms for legal entries, including a decision to seek asylum, which some 285 refugees have made. The Minister also noted that a number of migrants requested to be sent back to the country they were coming from.

Vucic discussed Brussels agreement with Eichhorst (Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met in Belgrade with Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey at the European Union External Action Service, Angelina Eichhorst, to discuss the implementation of the Belgrade-Pristina agreement signed in Brussels, the Serbian government reported in a press release. The cabinet quoted the two officials as saying it was essential to maintain a regular technical dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Djurdjevic: Emergency situation doesn’t interfere with elections (RTS)

Even though a state of emergency has been declared throughout Serbian territory, this doesn’t interfere with the normal work of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) that has permanent contact with the municipal administration, so that the organization of elections is not brought into question, RIK Chairperson Dejan Djurdjevic told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). For the first time in recent parliamentarian practice, the pre-election campaign and a state of emergency have coincided. Over the past two days there has been a controversy between the Serbian Ministry for State Administration and RIK on how many citizens have the right to vote, primarily in Kosovo and Metohija. Djurdjevic points out that the electoral roll is conducted by the Ministry for State Administration. “The total number of voters needs to be determined when the electoral roll is concluded, which doesn’t include people who have residence in some municipalities on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, where elections have not been conducted ever since the bombardment,” said Djurdjevic. According to him, at issue are municipalities such as Djakovica, Glogovac, Kacanik, Drenica, while the number of seven million voters offered by the Ministry is incorrect since this number includes people with residence in these municipalities. “The total number of voters includes persons in municipalities where elections are conducted and it should not differ from the number at the 2014 elections,” he says. The total number of voters at the 2014 elections was 6,700,000. The final number of voters will be published by RIK on 10 April, when the electoral roll is concluded. When it comes to voting in Kosovo and Metohija, Djurdjevic points out that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija is in contact with the OSCE representatives and that the voting will take place the same way as in previous elections. He doesn’t expect any problems in Kosovo and Metohija.

Vukotic arrested after Interpol’s warrant and to be handed over to UNMIK (RTS/RTCG)

In a special operation by the Montenegrin police, Serbian citizen Zoran Vukotic (46) was located near Niksic and arrested. Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest over “the war crime against civilian population”, the police administration confirmed. According to unofficial information, Interpol’s red warrant, which was published on their official website, was issued at the request of UNMIK, for the purpose of criminal proceedings in Kosovo. “Vukotic is suspected of murdering three Kosovo Albanians in Vucitrn in 1999,” Dnevne novine reports. According to the information, Vukotic will be handed over to the authorized investigative judge for the purpose of determining extradition detention, after which it will be decided whether and when he will be extradited to UNMIK, RTCG reports.

Abandoned house of a Serb killed in Orahovac set on fire (Tanjug)

A house of Toma Baljosevic, a Serb that was kidnapped and then murdered in July 1998, was set on fire in Orahovac, the Serbs from this town in Metohija told Tanjug. The house was set on fire during the visit of Kosovo deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic to Orahovac i.e. during the meeting held with the inhabitants of Orahovac and Velika Hoca. Baljosevic’s house was abandoned and its owners and residents were kidnapped during the attack of Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) to Orahovac in July 1998 – including Toma’s son Sasa, wife Slavka, daughter in law Snezana and his one-year old grandson Ninoslav. The two women and the child were liberated from UCK camp after 12 days, while Toma and Sasa were found dead. They were buried at Lesce cemetery in Belgrade and no one lived in the house since 1999.

DSS-Dveri submit electoral list (RTS/Novosti)

Representatives of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Dveri Movement submitted the electoral list “Dveri-DSS-Sanda Raskovic Ivic-Bosko Obradovic” to the Electoral Commission (RIK). RTS reports that the coalition forgot to bring the electronic format of the list. The DSS leader Raskovic Ivic is first on the list, and Dveri leader Obradovic is second. Raskovic Ivic said that the coalition advocates that Serbia doesn’t become a NATO member, and to return the Kosovo problem to the UN.

REGIONAL PRESS

Radoncic still in hospital, plea hearing today (Nezavisne)

President of the Alliance for Better Future (SBB) and B&H former minister of security Fahrudin Radoncic has still not been returned to the detention unit of the Court of B&H, confirmed the Ministry of Justice of B&H in whose jurisdiction is the detention unit of the Court of B&H. Radoncic is still in the Clinical Center University of Sarajevo (KCUS) where he was taken yesterday due to heart problems. It is still not known when he might be returned to the detention unit. The Court of B&H announced the plea hearing today. According to Radoncic’s attorney Asim Crnalic, it is questionable whether the plea hearing will take place at all, given the health condition of the defendant. Crnalic said that one possible scenario is that the Court of B&H postpones the hearing, since it is a type of hearing that can be rescheduled. Furthermore, he stated that he highly doubts that Radoncic will be brought to the hearing and then returned to KCUS afterwards. As a reminder, in the first week of March, the Court of B&H returned Radoncic to detention unit due to violation of restrictive measures. The Court of B&H stated that the detention of the President of SBB might last until 2018. Radoncic is suspected of criminal offenses conspiracy to commit criminal offenses, obstruction of justice, and giving rewards or other kinds of benefits for trade of influence.

Dodik: Coalition at RS level together in upcoming local elections (Fena/Srna)

The SNSD President Milorad Dodik announced in Prijedor that the political parties from the ruling coalition at the Republika Srpska (RS) level will enter the upcoming local elections in B&H together at the RS level as well. Dodik also said that the SNSD is determined to better prepare itself for the upcoming local elections and that the aim is to develop projects and programs that would address the problems of citizens. Ahead of the meeting with the representatives of the SNSD city and municipal board from the election unit One, Dodik said that the discussions between the SNSD Presidency and the Main Boards of the SNSD are going to take place in all the cities in RS, in order to establish clear policies of action before and after the elections.

EU Delegation: To finalize population census without further ado (Fena)

The population and household census should be finalized as soon as possible and the results should be published without further ado, the spokeswoman for the EU Delegation and the EU Special Representative to B&H Jamila Milovic-Halilovic told Fena.

PM: Croatia supports Bosnia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations (Hina)

Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said on Thursday that he strongly supported B&H’s Euro-Atlantic future and that he expected equality for Croats in relation to the other two constituent peoples in that country. Oreskovic added that the Croatian government would offer political and technical support to the B&H Council of Ministers and provide know-how, experience and expertise gained during Croatia’s negotiation process with the EU. “An agreement on European partnership has been prepared and will soon be signed between the Croatian government and the B&H Council of Ministers,” Oreskovic added. He announced stronger economic cooperation, particularly in the fields of agriculture, transport, energy and cross-border cooperation. Oreskovic announced that he would visit Sarajevo soon and stressed that the position of the Croatian community in B&H was among priority issues. “Relations with B&H are exceptionally important to us, not just because of good neighborly relations but… because of the Croatian people, who are one of the constituent peoples in B&H,” Oreskovic said.

Parliamentary dialogue important for Montenegrin future (RTCG)

Parliamentary dialogue is important for Montenegro and its future, said an official of the European Commission (EC), Dirk Lange, stating that the electoral legislation should be applied adequately. Lange, who is Head of Unit for Montenegro in the Directorate General for Enlargement of the European Commission, said, after the meeting of Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security, that Montenegro is now at the phase when the implementation of action plans is shifted towards concrete results. According to him, parliamentary dialogue is important for Montenegro and its future. He also said that at the Sub-Committee meetings new electoral legislation was discussed, whose application should be provided in an appropriate manner. Commenting on charges of high corruption, Lange noted the positive steps that have been made in this area, stating that it must now go a step further.

European Parliament adopts its resolution on Macedonia (MIA)

The European Parliament assembled in Strasbourg voted on Thursday with 404 votes in favor, 74 against and 29 abstained to adopt the latest Parliament resolution on Macedonia. The resolution, submitted by the country rapporteur Ivo Vajgl, recommends that Macedonia is allowed to open accession talks, conditioned on the successful organization of the elections on 5 June and on implementing reforms. The resolution calls for the need to hold elections under the highest international standards. It also expresses its support for the work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office and calls for improvement in the media scene. The Parliament expresses its concern over political influence in the public administration and asks for increased professionalization of the service and its independence. On the issues that have blocked Macedonia from opening accession talks in the past seven years, the report welcomes efforts to improve relations with EU neighbor Greece and also with Bulgaria. The resolution condemns increased political pressure over the media in Macedonia, the instances of hate speech, the continued polarization, the lack of independence and pluralism in the media and the cases of violence and threats against journalists. The Parliament is also concerned about the increase in Macedonia’s debt levels and calls for a balanced budget.

Tense at Tabanovce: Migrants threatening to go on hunger strike if not let to enter Serbia (MIA)

The situation at the reception center at Tabanovce is becoming tense. The refugees who have been stranded there for two weeks are threatening to go on hunger strike and they are demanding to be let through so they can enter Serbia. They are becoming increasingly agitated due to the bad weather conditions and heavy rain falls.  The living conditions in the center are unseemly, there is mud everywhere and the tents are filling with water. Part of the refugees has been posting photographs on social networks which show how they wash their hair in the puddles of rain. The migrants have announced that they will undertake even more radical measures like block the railway and enter forcibly into Serbia. Currently, there are about a 1,000 refugees at the Tabanovce reception center. Most of them are from Afghanistan, but there are also a lot of people from Syria and Iraq. They were not allowed to leave Macedonia because the Balkan refugee route was closed after an agreement was reached at the EU-Turkey summit. Macedonian authorities still have not decided what to do with the refugees at Tabanovce and with the ones stranded at the reception center in Gevgelija.

Mediator Vanhoutte: There are no conditions to resume media talks (MIA)

It is not possible to resume media talks in the same format they have been held, when we attempted to reach consensus in different draft-amendments, said Peter Vanhoutte, mediator of work groups of the Przino Agreement, in a written statement. In any case, Vanhoutte pointed, there are different alternative options to reach an agreement between the relevant parties. Mediator Vanhoutte informed that this statement is due to the public’s interest for the media negotiations.

United Macedonian Diaspora strongly supports Macedonia’s candidate Kerim for UN Secretary-General (Telegraph.mk)

The United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD) announced today its strong support for the Republic of Macedonia’s candidate for the post of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Dr. Srgjan Kerim. Kerim, who served as the President of the 62nd UN General Assembly (2007-2008) and Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000-2001), among other distinguished positions in public life, is one of the top candidates to replace current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Kerim is the first recipient of the UMD Macedonian Heritage Public Service Award at the 1st UMD Global Conference in Washington, D.C. in 2009, and keynoted the opening plenary of the 4th UMD Global Conference in Skopje in 2013. UMD strongly believes that the UN Security Council and Member-States will follow the model of rotation and select the next Secretary-General from the Eastern European Group – countries that never in the UN history have held this post. UMD is certain that all global diaspora organizations that have a working relationship with UN bodies will find a friend and vocal advocate for improving civil society engagement with the UN in Kerim, and thus, encourages their support of his candidacy.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Putin Promises Serbian Leader Russia Will Back Claim To Kosovo (RFE/RFL/dpa/Interfax/TASS, 11 March 2016)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to continue supporting Serbia’s territorial integrity, including its claim on the disputed region of Kosovo, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic says. “Putin said clearly that Serbia can count on Russia everywhere that Serbia is defending its territorial integrity and independence, especially in Kosovo,” Nikolic said after meeting with Putin in Moscow on March 10.Serbia, which has long enjoyed close relations with Russia, relies on Moscow’s support in its diplomatic fight to prevent Kosovo, a former province that declared independence in 2008, from joining the United Nations.Putin and Nikolic also discussed Serbia’s recent agreement to allow NATO personnel to maintain a presence in the country.Nikolic said the deal was mostly to enable the troops to destroy weapon stockpiles. He said Russia was not alarmed by the deal and “Putin said he understands what we signed.” Nikolic’s visit came as Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic seeks reforms that will put the Balkan country on the path to joining the European Union.Nikolic is an openly pro-Russian leader who frequently speaks out against closer ties to NATO and the EU.

Kosovo Jails ISIS Recruit for Three Years (BIRN, by Liridon Rama, 11 March 2016)

A court in Kosovo jailed a young man from Gjilan for three years after he pleaded guilty to joining ISIS in Syria in 2015.

A court in Kosovo on Thursday jailed a 19-year-old from the town of Gjilan in eastern Kosovo for three years for joining ISIS in Syria. Florent Bajrami was found guilty of having participated in ISIS formations during February to May 2015. Bajrami pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court, saying that he soon realised the reality of life under ISIS and genuinely regretted his poor decision. “When I arrived there [in Syria], I realised that I had made a bad decision and immediately attempted to return to my family in my country, but it was impossible,” Bajrami told the court. Bajrami’s statement echoed those of other Kosovar terror suspects, who have told prosecutors that ISIS commanders did not allow them to return home. According to prosecution indictments, which BIRN has seen, several suspects have told authorities that despite their wish to return to Kosovo after becoming disillusioned, ISIS commanders imposed a minimum service time of three months. Bajrami is one of some 50 suspects arrested in Kosovo in the last two years, most of whom are or were accused of having been part of ISIS and Al Nusra in Iraq and Syria. Early in 2015, Kosovo adopted a new law that forbids its citizens from participating in wars overseas, stipulating prison sentences of up to 15 years. Bajrami was sentenced under the existing criminal code, which foresees a minimum prison time of five years for terrorism-related crimes. Judge Emine Saliu said the court gave Bajrami a reduced sentence because he had pleaded guilty and clearly felt remorse.

Squabbles Over Data Put Bosnian Census at Risk (BIRN, by Rodolfo Toe, 11 March 2016)

Bosnia’s first postwar census risks being declared null if the country’s three statistical agencies cannot resolve their differences on how to treat the data.

Members of the three statistical agencies of Bosnia, the state agency and those of the two entities, have been unable to agree on the methodology to elaborate the results of the coungtry’s first post-war census, raising fears that publication might not be possible by the July 1 legal deadline. Fadil Fatic, deputy director of the state statistical agency, told N1 television on Thursday that the three sides had not changed their positions but another meeting is scheduled for Monday. “If by Monday we don’t reach an agreement, some other institutions with greater influence should solve this situation,” Fatic said. “The best option would be…to charge the international monitoring team from Eurostat to complete the work,” he noted, adding that “it would be a pity to waste 50 million marks [25.5 million euros]”, referring to the total sum spent on holding the census back in 2013. The Central Census Bureau, which groups members of the three statistical agencies, discussed for four hours on Wednesday, seeking a compromise to end the impasse that has impeded publication of the results. As Balkan Insight reported in the past, the statistical agencies cannot agree on the criteria to be used to calculate the number of Bosnian residents. The statistic bureau of Republika Srpska, the majority-Serb entity, insists on determining residence by place of work or education. According to Fatic, this is contrary to Article 7 of the Law on the Census, which states that persons who were absent or plan to be absent for less than 12 months should be considered “temporarily absent” and included as residents. Early in February, members of Eurostat had a meeting with the three statistical agencies where they fixed a roadmap that should be respected to allow publication of the results in June. However, existing divergences has not been settled as yet. The Central Census Bureau will now have to approve a document containing the shared methodology before March 15 in order to proceed with publishing the data by July 1, the final deadline set by law. “If a solution is not found and the results are not published on time, the risk is that the census will be declared null,” Adil Osmanovic, Minister for Civil Affairs, warned last week.

Germany, EU have failed us, Macedonian president says (DW, 11 March 2016)

President Gjorge Ivanov has said Balkan countries like his are victims of a “failed refugee policy” by Germany and Brussels. He said if he had relied on the EU, Macedonia would now be flooded with jihadis. In a hard-hitting critique of the 28-member EU and its wealthiest member state, Macedonian President Ivanov told German newspaper “Bild” on Friday that while the Berlin government “had acted with humanity” in accepting so many refugees, it had failed to properly manage the security of the country. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had offered to exchange of information about Islamist militants plying the main migrant routes through the Balkans, he said in an interview with the mass-market daily, but neither Berlin nor Brussels had responded. “Security issues relating to the refugee crisis have been completely forgotten,” Ivanov said. “If I had waited for Brussels and had failed to react [to protect the border], we would have long been flooded with jihadis.” In recent months, Macedonia has allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to transit through the country from Greece northwards to Germany and Scandinavia. Thousands of people are stranded in makeshift shelters on the Greece-Macedonia border. But Skopje has now severely restricted access under pressure from Austria and other Balkan countries, leaving tens of thousands of refugees stranded on the Greece-Macedonia border. Ivanov also used his interview with the German daily to hit out at Greece, which is the first landing point for many migrants traveling to Europe. He said Macedonian border police had registered 9,000 refugees carrying counterfeit passports and travel documents.

Greece ‘too lenient’

“So-called refugees travel with false identities throughout Europe,” he told “Bild,” “and Greece just gives them a stamp allowing them to continue their journey.” Ivanov said it could be assumed that many radical fighters have used the main refugee routes through Greece and the Balkans to reach Europe, and most had carried false documents. Ivanov said that despite being a non-EU country, Macedonia had protected Europe on behalf of Greece, an EU member. Over the past decade, Macedonia has been attempting to join the EU, as well as NATO, but negotiations have stalled due to a veto by Greece. Ivanov denounced how Macedonia had “always been a victim of the EU institutions,” claiming that “for 25 years we’ve been lied to and manipulated.” “Macedonia had achieved nothing out of the European Union, no EU membership, no Schengen zone and not NATO,” he said. “Nobody wants us.”

* * *

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.