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Belgrade Media Report 17 March 2016

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STORIES FROM LOCAL PRESS

• Djuric: No progress in atmosphere of hatred and distrust (Politika)
• Twelve years since the March pogrom in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)
• Selakovic: Hague acts more as political than court of law (TV Pink/B92/Beta)
• Chambers of Commerce request EU to react due to overturned trucks (Beta)
• Brazil not to change stance on Kosovo (Beta)

STORIES FROM REGIONAL PRESS

• Team formed to investigate population census (Srna)
• Cvijanovic not informed on the investigation into the activities related to population census (Srna)
• Determine if there were abuses (Srna)
• Highest level meeting on the Coordination mechanism held in Sarajevo (Srpska)
• Dodik: RS part of international anti-terrorism coalition (Srna)
• Radoncic’s defense requests termination of custody (Fena)
• Mostar 1995-2016: From whole to divided (Patria)
• EU: The accusations of Medojevic against the EU bear no particular weight (Dnevne Novine)
• Montenegro will continue the reforms of its defence system (CDM)

RELEVANT ARTICLES FROM INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

• War Crimes Court Excuses Serbian Seselj From Attending Verdict (RFE/RL/Reuters/AFP)
• Bosnia Serbs Accused of Skewing Demography (BIRN)

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LOCAL PRESS

 

Djuric: No progress in atmosphere of hatred and distrust (Politika)

The pogrom against Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 was to be the last stage in the implementation of an Albanian hegemonistic program of absolute ethnic domination, and the goal for the organizers and instigators of the pogrom was complete ethnic cleansing, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has said. “It was prevented by a delayed but decisive response by the international forces, as well as heroic determination of the Serbs to defend themselves,” Djuric said in an article he wrote for Politika, adding that there was no doubt that only political and security structures stemming from the terrorist KLA could have had the capacity to organize and execute operations of such complexity. Djuric stressed that none of these structures in Kosovo and Metohija had been called to account for any of the crimes committed against the Serbs during the war and after the arrival of the international forces to date. “One cannot provide a solid argument to defend the thesis that a massive attack on Serbs, their property and holy sites was a spontaneous reaction triggered by a revolt over the drowning of two Albanian children in the village of Cabra in the municipality of Zubin Potok, unjustifiably attributed to the Serbs,” said Djuric.

 

Twelve years since the March pogrom in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)

Even after twelve years since the March pogrom in Kosovo, the organizers of the violence have still not been brought to justice. In the three-day violence, launched by a wrong interpretation of an accident in which three Albanian boys drowned, 11 Albanians and eight Serbs were killed. Apart from the 19 victims of the violence, six corpses delivered to the Pristina morgue were never identified, the official version of the events states. Around 900 Serbs, Albanians and members of international missions have been injured. More than 4,000 Serbs have been expelled. More than 800 facilities, including 35 churches and monasteries, were heavily damaged or completely destroyed. According to UNMIK estimates, around 60,000 Albanians took part in the unrests at 33 locations. More than 100 members of KFOR and UN policemen were injured, 72 vehicles of international forces were set on fire. According to UNMIK police reports, several policemen were wounded in the conflicts between the international police and their Kosovo counterparts, but the motives of these conflicts are still unclear, unless they resulted from general chaos.

At the same time, the surge of violence launched a series of political events, such as the report of the United Nations special envoy Kai Eide and the observation of Western officials that the unresolved status was one of the key triggers of the unrest, which was used four years later as an alibi for the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and the U.S. support for this move by the Kosovo Albanians.

The German intelligence service BND claimed from the very start that the demonstrations had been planned in an advance, basing such conclusions on the transcripts of wire-tapped telephone conversations of former KLA commanders.

On the second day of violence, NATO commander, U.S. Admiral Gregory Johnson, arrived in Kosovo and approved the deployment of reinforcement that departed from B&H in the meantime. Due the ungainly reaction to the violence, the United Nations dismissed UNMIK head Hari Holkeri and appointed to his post Søren Jessen-Petersen in May the same year.

Despite spectacular statements by international officials on this being an orchestrated, well-organized and prepared operation, around 260 more or less anonymous participants of demonstrations were detained, on charges ranging from disorderly conduct, theft, to murder.

The then commander of the NATO forces for Southern Europe, which includes KFOR troops in Kosovo, Admiral Johnson, stated immediately after the outbreak of violence that there was a “modicum of organization” behind the violence. Developments in Kosovo over the past days indicate the existence of an organized form in this violence, said Johnson at the time.

Similar statements were also arriving from the then NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who warned the Kosovo Albanians that they were wrong if they believed they could get from the international community what they want with organized violence.

Commander of SFOR in B&H, General-Major Virgil Packet, whose forces assisted the colleagues in Kosovo, confirmed that the unrest was “very well-orchestrated and organized”, while the commander of the Italian forces in Western Kosovo Alberto Primiseri stated that the “Albanians had a prepared plan to devastate Kosovo”.

Sami Lushtaku was arrested immediately after the unrest. He is the former influential commander of the KLA and the second man of the officially non-existent Kosovo secret service, who was suspected of instigating the 17-18 March violence, but the indictment against him was never issued.

Various organizations were indicated as the main initiators of the violence – KLA veteran organization, Pristina student organization, Albanian national army, as well as two minor political parties – the national movement of Kosovo and the national movement for liberation of Kosovo, but, as Western diplomats state, “it is hard to believe that groups that previously barely managed to gather two or three thousand people, suddenly persuaded nearly 60,000 Albanians to violence”.

The scenography for the destruction was set when the leader of the local branch of the Kosovo Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms Halit Barani announced the drowning of Albanian boys, describing it as an “Attack of Serbian bandits”, which caused rage among the Kosovo Albanians, which nearly 19,000 KFOR members were unable to curb, as it turned out in the following days. Soon after, Barani was arrested on suspicion of organizing the unrest, but was just as quickly released from jail for lack of evidence.

The then UNMIK police spokesperson Derek Chappell denied that two Albanian boys died while running away from Serbs, and assessed that the violence in Kosovo was planned in advance. It was also established that, apart from the boy who testified in front of cameras, two more children escaped death, but their statements have never appeared in the media. Chappell was dismissed from the post soon after the unrest, since the international administration introduced “slightly more restrictive access to information”.

“If it were not for the irresponsible and sensationalist reporting on the 17-18 March events, things in Kosovo could have taken a completely different course,” reads the report of the Pristina OSCE office for media freedom published two months after the March violence.

The worst failures of KFOR are the burning of the churches in the southern part of Mitrovica, as well as the destruction of the villages of Svinjare and Belo Polje, because NATO soldiers were, for the most part, passively watching from their near-by bases the rampaging of demonstrators.

Because of the attacks on Serb enclaves, several thousand people demonstrated in towns throughout Serbia.

On the same day when violence broke out in Kosovo, the mosques in Belgrade and Nis were set on fire, while the headquarters of the Islamic Community in Novi Sad was demolished.

The Army of Serbia and Montenegro raised combat readiness to the highest level, but NATO rejected Belgrade’s offer to engage the army in appeasing violence in Kosovo.

 

Selakovic: Hague acts more as political than court of law (TV Pink/B92/Beta)

Serbia’s principled and clear position on the issue of Vojislav Seselj’s verdict has yielded results, Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic said. “We have not yet received an official note about it. The Serbian government had a clear and principled position in this, we had enough patience and courage to fight for the interest of every citizen and in the end our efforts have yielded results, and the decision was made,” Selakovic told TV Pink.  The Minister added that he does not want to go into what the court’s decision will be, but noted that it often transpired, at least where it concerned Serbs, that the Hague Tribunal acted more as a political, than a court of law.’

The Hague trial chamber voted on Wednesday 2-1 to announce the verdict against Seselj in absentia, having accepted the Serbian government’s explanation, presented in a confidential message, that it was impossible to stop Seselj’s treatment for liver cancer, or continue it in The Hague, Beta reported. The dissenting judge, however, said the Serbian authorities had not done enough to return the accused to the tribunal. Asked how he understood the part of the explanation that said Serbian authorities did not apply adequate mechanisms to force Seselj to attend the reading of the verdict on 31 March, Selakovic said that nobody asked the government of Serbia for any guarantees when he Seselj was sent back to Serbia, except not to issue him with travel documents. Selakovic added he did not think Serbian authorities had their fingers rapped in this context, adding there was a 15 March deadline to send a letter to the Hague Tribunal, and that this was done even earlier. “We have acted in accordance with what was asked by the Hague Tribunal,” said Selakovic. Asked whether this can be considered as Seselj’s victory over the Hague Tribunal, the Minister said he does not know what a victory is – because the leader of the Radicals had spent more than a decade in custody, while his trial would go down in the annals of court proceedings, since it has been an unusual and specific case from the beginning to its conclusion. “I would not go into who defeated whom, what is important for me is that the policy of the government of Serbia and of Aleksandar Vucic has been principled, we have been patient, we were not ready to respond to some kind of pressure, which has led us to this outcome, which is encouraging,” said Selakovic. Speaking about the trial of Radovan Karadzic, whose verdict will be announced on March 24, Selakovic said he does not expect anything from the Hague, whatever decision it makes,” just as he “does not expect anything in the case of Seselj. “There is no legal predictability in the functioning of the Hague Tribunal, the principle they have acted on so far has not been equal. What to expect from a tribunal that freed Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markac and Ramush Haradinaj? The least I can say is that I expect nothing,” concluded Selakovic.

 

Chambers of Commerce request EU to react due to overturned trucks (Beta)

The Chairmen of Serbian and Kosovo Chambers of Commerce, Marko Cadez and Safet Gerxhaliu, respectively, sent on Wednesday a letter to the EU officials in which they condemn overturning of truck with Serbian goods to Kosovo that happened again, and asking the EU to exert influence on the authorized ones such incidents not to happen again, news agencies reported. They appealed for the condemnation of unilateral moves that obstruct the process of normalization in Serbia-Kosovo relations, where, they stressed, economic cooperation plays a key role. Advisor to the chairman of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for Regional Cooperation Nenad Djurdjevic said that it was the second overturning of trucks with Serbian goods to Kosovo already.

 

Brazil not to change stance on Kosovo (Beta)

The newly appointed Brazilian Ambassador to Serbia, Isabela Cristina de Azevedo Heyvaert, told Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic that her government would not modify its stance on the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. Ambassador Heyvaert voiced the hope that the positive trend in the cooperation between Serbia and Brazil would continue, a Foreign Ministry press release reads. Dacic used the meeting with Heyvaert to voice gratitude for Brazil’s full support to Serbia regarding the question of Kosovo and Metohija, recently confirmed when the country voted against Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Team formed to investigate population census (Srna)

On orders of the B&H Chief Prosecutor, Goran Salihovic, a case was formed and a team of prosecutors and investigators will be assigned to investigate activities in connection with the population census in order to determine if there are elements of criminal responsibility in this process, announced the B&H Prosecutor’s Office.  A team of prosecutors will be formed to investigate if there are elements of a crime which endanger this process. The legal deadline for publishing the results of the census of population and households in B&H, which was conducted in 2013, is July 1, 2016.

 

Cvijanovic not informed on the investigation into the activities related to population census (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said that she has not been informed on the investigation into the activities related to the B&H population census being carried out by the B&H Prosecutor’s Office and stressed that the valid population census is in RS’s best interest and important for future planning. “The B&H Prosecutor’s Office does not inform the Prime Minister on its actions, this is the first time I’ve heard of that. I believe that the conditions for self-publishing the census results will be created in RS. A valid population census is in best RS’s interest in order to have a method for planning certain things; there are a number of important issues in the economic, social or any other aspects” Cvijanovic told the reporters in Sarajevo. According to her, having census results is essential. “If we invested so much and if the job was done long time ago, and if the deadlines are soon to expire, why would not we agree? We should sit down and reach an agreement. I believe the solution will be reached, it does not depend on us,” said Cvijanovic. Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic has said that the politics should not be allowed to overpower the professional matters. “It is about the numbers, methodologies, we have both the law and the recommendations. Everyone must be aware that this document is for further economic and social development, important for planning of macroeconomics of the entire B&H and highly important for the EU questionnaire,” said Zvizdic.

 

Determine if there were abuses (Srna)

The Deputy Speaker of the RS Assembly Nenad Stevandic told Srna that one should determine if anyone attempted to project a national and political goal in the B&H population census. “The B&H population census should have been a parameter for future economic development of the country. Unfortunately, for some in B&H, this is a parameter for domination of one people,” Stevandic said, commenting on the statement of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office that a team of prosecutors will be formed to investigate if there are elements of a crime which endanger the population census. He says that one must know what kind of criminal responsibility the B&H Prosecutor’s office refers to. “We must know why the investigation has been launched since it is possible that the population census process is procrastinated by way of a court,” Stevandic said. The head of the SNSD Caucus in the RS Assembly, Radovan Viskovic, feels that the Federation of B&H is seeking all possible ways not to publish results of the population census in keeping with the earlier agreement reached by all in B&H. “The B&H Prosecutor’s Office should do its job, but what have they been waiting for almost three years since the population census was conducted. I am against an investigation which would postpone the publishing of the population census results,” Viskovic said. Dragan Cavic, an NDP member of the RS Assembly, said that he supports the investigation of the B&H Prosecutor’s Office in case it will determine if there were abuses in the population census. “There are indications that people falsely registered at certain addresses. But, if the investigation will put pressure on the Statistics Agencies, then everything is completely wrong,” Cavic says. On orders of the B&H Chief Prosecutor, Goran Salihovic, a case was formed and a team of prosecutors and investigators will be assigned to investigate activities in connection with the population census in order to determine if there are elements of criminal responsibility in this process, announced the B&H Prosecutor’s Office.

 

Highest level meeting on the Coordination mechanism held in Sarajevo (Srpska)

At the invitation of the Chairman of the &H Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdic, a meeting at the highest level on the Coordination mechanism was held yesterday in Sarajevo. The meeting was also attended by the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic and Finance Minister Zoran Tegeltija. The RS political parties did not give any prognosis regarding a success of a meeting on the Coordination mechanism, but they agree that talks on this issue are necessary, reports Srpska online. Following the meeting, Chairman Zvizdic said that a part of the solution had been agreed at the meeting, but did not specify what solutions. RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that a new meeting will be held on 21 March, at which the continuation of the discussions on all the Coordination mechanism details is expected.

 

Dodik: RS part of international anti-terrorism coalition (Srna)

The RS President Milorad Dodik told Srna that it is crucial that the RS is part of an international anti-terrorism coalition, adding that it is very dedicated to it and that it wants the world, region, B&H and the RS to be safer. “We are part of an anti-terrorism coalition. The RS and its security structures are taking part in the fight against this great danger for all. We are very dedicated to this issue. The recent trip of Internal Affairs Minister Dragan Lukac to London was dedicated to these issues and this is, in a way, recognition of the role and importance of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs in this fight,” Dodik said. The RS President feels that it would be wrong to conclude that all Muslims are participants in this plague, but that it is true that a significant number of Muslims are members of the Islamic State. We demonstrated last year in Zvornik that we have abilities to quickly react and this was a proof of our determination to oppose it,” Dodik said. Asked to comment on information that terrorism in B&H enjoys the support of the Sarajevo political elite, Dodik said that there wouldn’t be so many members of radical movements in B&H had it not been for such a political environment. “But we can see that a significant number of people publicly speak against such a behavior,” Dodik said. The RS President said that without a wide and determined international coalition there cannot be a fight against terrorism and that radicalism, which resulted from interventions conducted to allegedly bring democracy, brought terrorism, which can be seen all over the world, particularly in the Middle East.

 

Radoncic’s defense requests termination of custody (Fena)

Lawyer Asim Crnalic, who is defending the President of the Alliance for a Better Future of B&H Fahrudin Radoncic at his trial, requests the termination of custody and submitted the proposal, which was dismissed by the Constitutional Court of B&H at the session of the Grand Council. Following the hearing, the President of SBB, Fahrudin Radoncic pleaded not guilty before the B&H Court.

 

Mostar 1995-2016: From whole to divided (Patria)

There is a special Annex to Dayton Peace Accords concerning the city of Mostar. The Annex as such has definitely set the ground for political future of this city on Neretva River, defining it as whole and complete, with territory as before the war of 1991, with a joint city administration, organized through 6 multiethnic municipalities. In 1996, the international representative at the time, Hans Koschnick brought about a Transitional statute of the city. That statute divided Mostar in 6 municipalities – 3 of those with Croat majority and 3 with Bosniak majority. The goal was to take a first step towards overcoming division of Mostar on western part with majority of Croats and eastern part with Bosniaks as majority. 8 years later, in 2004, the High Representative Paddy Ashdown imposed a new Statute. The new Statute confirmed one municipality, while ethnic municipalities were made election units, which gave Mostar special election rules integrated in the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Those rules were meant to prevent from ethnic election rule that would confirm results of ethnic cleaning done during the aggression. At the time, Croat parties complained to the Constitutional Court of B&H that rights of Croats were being violated i.e. that one Bosniak vote in Mostar is worth several Croat votes, because some of former Bosniak municipalities had only a few thousands of voters, while one of Croat ones had over 20.000; yet, they gave the same number of councilors to the City Council of Mostar. Following the decision of Constitutional Court of B&H at the end of 2010, which accepted the complaint by the Croat parties, the question of election rules for the forthcoming local elections in Mostar was raised. The Constitutional Court of B&H instructed Parliamentary Assembly of B&H to change the Election Law of B&H. The City Council was instructed to adjust the City Statute with the Constitution of B&H. Since then, nothing has changed. The Election Law as far as Mostar has remained the same, as well as the City Statute. Even six years ago, the most powerful political parties in Mostar, SDA and HDZ B&H were unable to agree on solution that would be acceptable to all. HDZ insisted that Mostar become one election unit based on the principle one vote – one person, while SDA requested 6 election units. Valentin Inzko, the High Representative at the time, reacted by proposing that Mostar acquires 3 election units, but this was unacceptable to both political parties. Last time local elections in Mostar were held was 2008. Currently, there is no City Council, and all the power is in the hands of Mayor Ljubo Beslic. As local elections are nearing, so is discussion about how to handle them in the city on Neretva. SDA has now proposed division of Mostar into two municipalities. Exactly like postwar HDZ led by Franjo Tudjman and Mato Boban wanted. At the time Tudjman and Boban had the same vision and proposal, SDA struggled heavily against such proposal and fought for one complete Mostar. Today, things have completely changed. According to the new proposal by SDA, Mostar would be divided in two municipalities. Each municipality would control its territory, finances and construction resources. A city budget would formally exist which would technically constitute a simple sum of city budgets with a symbolic amount of money needed for maintaining the city administration.

In the framework of territory of City of Mostar defined by law, two city municipalities are constituted. City Municipality Old City consists of city area: North, Old city, Southeast and Central zone. City municipality Novi Grad is consisted of city areas: West, Southwest and South, says the proposal by SDA for Mostar.  This proposal of local SDA has been endorsed by the SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic.  A unit would be formed within that structure which would be helping Bosniaks and Croats to become a part of local self-governance they are interested for, which would be acceptable to HDZ and to SDA, said Izetbegovic. Concerning the proposal for modification of Election law of B&H relating to Mostar, according to the latest proposal by Croat National Assembly, mayor of Mostar would be elected in the City Council as before, and the existing election units would be maintained. According to the proposal of political parties related to HNS, number of mandates which certain election units give would be changed, which is the essence of the decision of the Constitutional Court of B&H relating to the election rules for City of Mostar. A compensation mechanism for share of mandates would be introduced based on the election legislation of Federation B&H. There would be a total of 35 seats in the City Council as is currently the case, and as regards quotes, the minimum of 3 representatives has been proposed, while maximum would be 17, which would provide for a structure of City Council that fits population structures. SDP, DF and Nasa Stranka fiercely oppose the proposals by SDA and HDZ B&H for they trust such move would only confirm the division of Mostar, which would eventually lead to division of Federation of B&H but also the state. So far, SBB has not responded on this matter.

 

EU: The accusations of Medojevic against the EU bear no particular weight (Dnevne Novine)

Reacting to the statement made by the leader of the Movement for Changes (PzP) Nebojsa Medojevic that “corrupt lobbyists in Brussels administration are working for the dirty and bloody money of Milo Djukanovic, lying about the situation in Montenegro”, the spokesperson of the European Commission (EC) Maja Kocijancic said that if Medojevic had any evidence of the EU lobbying, as he called it, he should submit them to the EU. “The accusations of the leader of the Movement for Changes (PzP) Nebojsa Medojevic against the EU bear no particular weight assessed the EU officials.” She said that the EU was taking no sides in internal Montenegrin issues, but emphasized the need for all political forces to engage in a constructive dialogue in order to overcome the current political situation. “If Mr Medojevic has information about any illegal activities of ‘European lobbyists’, we are calling on him to submit it to the relevant EU authorities,” Kocijancic told Dnevne Novine.

 

Montenegro will continue the reforms of its defence system (CDM)

A meeting with the NATO team in order to harmonize the package of Partnership Goals 2016, has been held yesterday and today at the Ministry of Defense. The participants agreed that the significant progress was made in implementing the previous Partnership Goals package and achieving interoperability of the Armed Forces of Montenegro with NATO forces, in the following fields: defense planning, training and participation of the troops in international operations, communications, sea surveillance, CBRN protection, standardization and security cooperation with NATO. Chief of general staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, Admiral Dragan Samardzic, said that the implementation of Partnership Goals 2016 would be the main instrument for improving military capabilities and interoperability, necessary for commitment to the full membership in NATO. Final harmonization of Partnership Goals 2016 will be made at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, in May 2016.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

War Crimes Court Excuses Serbian Seselj From Attending Verdict  (RFE/RL/Reuters/AFP, 17  March 2016)

United Nations war crimes judges will deliver their verdict against radical Serb leader Vojislav Seselj in his absence for medical reasons, the court announced on March 16. The firebrand nationalist had refused to return to The Hague under an earlier compulsory court summons, so the court’s decision averted a potential confrontation between the European Union and Serbia that could have led to EU sanctions. Seselj is accused of inciting persecution and ethnic cleansing by Serbs during the wars that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia. He remains popular among some of the right-wing government’s supporters. The Hague judges said they received confidential information on Seselj’s health from Serbian authorities which led them to lift their order for him to be present for his verdict on nine charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity on March 31. “It appears…that the medical treatment can neither be interrupted nor carried out in The Hague,” judges wrote. In 2014, the court released Seselj to undergo cancer treatment and he has refused to go back. He says he is planning to run for parliament in Serbia’s April elections as leader of the Serbian Radical Party.

 

Bosnia Serbs Accused of Skewing Demography (BIRN, by Rodolfo Toe, 17 March 2016)

Republika Srpska decision not to consider people who do not work or study in the entity as permanent residents is an attempt to skew Bosnia’s demographic picture, an expert says.

The decision of the authorities of Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, not to consider people who do not work or study as permanent residents may have a major impact on Bosnia’s demographic profile, experts claim. “The RS authorities are preventing some 300,000 to 400,000 mainly Bosniak residents from being registered as residents, which could have a big impact on Bosnia’s demographic picture,” Tanja Topic, an analyst from Banja Luka, told BIRN on Wednesday. “The decision not to include these persons as permanent residents is important, especially if it prevents Bosniaks from becoming an absolute majority in Bosnia,” Topic noted.

“If Bosniaks succeed in proving that they make up more than 50 per cent of the total population, this will probably lead to them questioning the current legitimacy of the [1995] Dayton deal,” Topic argued, referring to the agreement that split the country into two entities. Disputes on the methodology used to determine the number of the permanent residents in Bosnia have been one of the main reasons for delaying publication of the results of the first Bosnian census, conducted in October 2013. Authorities in Republika Srpska insist on considering as permanent residents only those who work or study in a specific place, contradicting article 7 of the law on the census. While this decision will affect the demographic picture of the country, it will have only a limited impact on individuals who declare themselves residents of the RS, without working or studying there, especially when it comes to their right to vote. “People who are not considered residents in a specific place will still be allowed to vote there, since the register of voters and the census are separate lists,” Dario Jovanovic, project manager at the coalition Pod Lupom, which deals with monitoring the electoral process in Bosnia, told BIRN. March 15 was considered a key date to approve a shared methodology to assure the publication of the census before July 1, which is the legal deadline for the release of the data. However, no agreement has been reached so far. Mirsada Adembegovic, spokesperson of the Bosnian Statistical Agency, told BIRN that the three agencies involved in compiling the data will intensify talks during the coming weeks. If still no compromise is found, the Statistical Agency will seek the intervention of the Council of Ministers – the government. “We still hope the results will be published on time but if we don’t find an agreement, our agency will ask the Council of Ministers and [the EU statistics agency] Eurostat to find a solution,” Adembegovic said. Sources from the EU delegation in Bosnia told BIRN on Wednesday that EU representatives are engaged in talks, hoping to reach a compromise and finally release the data. On Wednesday, the Bosnian Prosecution announced an enquiry to assess whether any officials working on the data bore any criminal responsibility for the delays that have occurred. “The census is a project worth 50 million marks [25 million euros] and if it fails … we will investigate whether there is any criminal responsibility on the part of the persons who have been involved in the process,” the Prosecution said on Wednesday. In an interview with the RS news agency, SRNA, on Tuesday, the President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, said that if no agreement is found, the entity may publish its own results. “We will find a way to publish those data in future only for Republika Srpska – we’re not interested in what Bosnia does,” Dodik said.

 

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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.

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