LOCAL PRESS

It is obvious that we do not have a partner in Sarajevo (Politika)

After the President of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic announced that Sarajevo was deliberating on the possibility of setting in motion revision proceedings on the lawsuit against Serbia before the ICJ, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic criticized the mention of such a possibility. “Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the news from Sarajevo. In the first statement upon the passing of the verdict to Karadzic I did not even mention Bakir Izetbegovic, but all things considered, I guessed well that someone does not wish for reconciliation in the region, and that they are going against 35% of the population of their own country and are searching for any kind of sufficient reason for setting in motion a spiral, first of political, and then God knows what kind of violence”, said Vucic and Politikareports.

Vucic: ICTY has not contributed to reconciliation (Tanjug)

The ICTY has not contributed to reconciliation, Vucic said in response to reporters’ questions about the upcoming ICTY verdict for Vojislav Seselj. Despite of billions of UN money spent, the tribunal has not contributed to reconciliation, which had seemed to be its purpose. “Whoever says that it has contributed to reconciliation of any kind, I can say that they do not speak the truth,” Vucic said. The prime minister said that this is all he will say on the matter and that he does not want to speak about the ICTY on a daily basis.

Stefanovic: Seselj verdict will not affect political stability (Tanjug)

Whatever ruling The Hague Tribunal passes for Seselj, it will not affect the government’s work, Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said on Tuesday, guaranteeing that the relevant authorities would not allow for any kind of political instability. He underlined that the ICTY had not had “an exceptionally decent role”, as it had failed to contribute to reconciliation in the region. “As a state, we will not voice our opinion on any verdict of this tribunal,” Stefanovic said.

Ljajic: Solution for blockade of trucks this week (Politika/Tanjug)

During this week and with the intermediary of the European Union, a solution should be found for the trucks carrying dangerous matters which have now been standing for the sixth day at the Merdare crossing, between Serbia and Kosovo, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Telecommunication Rasim Ljajic said. Ljajic explained that Serbia had no interest in entering into an economic war with Kosovo, underlining that the introduction of reciprocity measures would be fatal for the Kosovo side. “We have no interest in entering into an economic war, since we have a significant trade with Kosovo. We place goods on that market in the value of 430 million dollars a year. We want to resolve the problem. If this war continues, it is certain that Kosovo will pay a far greater economic price, but we would be at a loss as well. We are therefore searching for a solution before we decide on introducing additional reciprocal economic measures”, Ljajic said. The Kosovo authorities have violated the CEFTA agreement since they independently issued certificates even though they are not members of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), he said.

The second major mistake of the Kosovo authorities is that they have introduced penalty measures without announcing this possibility to another member country of CEFTA, nor did they undergo bilateral talks to have this problem resolved, Ljajic said.

Djuric: University in Kosovska Mitrovica to remain within Serbian jurisdiction (Politika/Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said yesterday in Kosovska Mitrovica that the University in Pristina with headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica was one of the pillars of survival of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. Stressing that there are no initiatives for its reorganization, about which there had been speculations in public, Djuric said after the meeting with the leadership of the University in Pristina that Serbia would not allow anyone to act negatively towards the university. He said that he would not undertake anything without consensus in the academic community. He explained that an unsigned statement without a stamp was published, which produced a series of speculations, but that the only thing that is correct is that the Office for Kosovo and Metohija had requested the establishment of factual state-of-affairs in regard to the operating of certain segments of certain services at certain faculties.

Debate on disputable issues concerning the University in Kosovska Mitrovica (Novosti)

The University in Pristina with temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica and all faculties individually, apparently, will operate as before. The Rector of the University, Professor Srecko Milacic claims for Novosti that the idea on abolishing the faculty and integrating the university originates from the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. Milacic says that he had acted on behalf of the government, yet the government knew nothing about this. Rector Milacic claims that it is not the idea on affiliation with the institutions in Pristina that is hiding behind the plan on integrating the University, but some other private interests of certain individuals. Marko Djuric sent his idea to Serbian Education Minister Srdjan Verbic, also attaching the proposal that the technical government should adopt. Since an opinion is necessary for integration, but not the permission of the University, Verbic ordered the faculties and the University to voice their opinion within ten days. However, both professors and students protested even before the official stand. Djuric also reacted, claiming that the fate of the University is not threatened, while he also met with Rector Milacic. “I am glad that all disagreements regarding the letter sent by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija to the Education Ministry have been resolved and that agreement on acting together in the future has been reached,” said Milacic. The President of the Student parliament Milan Savic said that the joint stand is that “they do not accept any kind of change of statute and status of the University”. Before the meeting, the Rector told Novosti that the allegations from Djuric’s letter to Verbic were not correct. The letter reads that there are no managing bodies and that the University’s integrative function is not realized, as well as that the situation at the University “doesn’t enable the realization of goals of higher education, that it harms students, the Serb community in Kosovo and Metohija and the entire system of higher education”. “It is very strange that Marko Djuric is working on his own. I know for sure that the prime minister has not been informed about this. The only complaints that exist are the complaints to the dean of the Medical Faculty. The other nine faculties operate very well,” Professor Milacic stresses. The Education Ministry tells Novosti that they acted according to the Law on higher education. “After we received the initiative and opinion of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija on the status change of this University, we acted in accordance with the law and requested an opinion of the University’s management, certain faculties and the National Council for higher education,” Assistant to the Education Minister Milovan Suvakov said.

Ristic: Vucic and his associates wish to drown the University in Pristina into the education system of the so-called false state of Kosovo (RTV/NSPM)

The vice-president of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and Serbian MP candidate Slavisa Ristic assessed that the proposal of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija on the so-called integration of the University in Pristina with temporary headquarters in Kosovska Mitrovica was only the first step towards the final integration into the Kosovo education system. At an extraordinary press conference of the Patriotic bloc for Kosovo and Metohija, Ristic said that even though the Office for Kosovo and Metohija and its Head Marko Djuric deny the abolishment of this institution, the fact is that they had requested the Serbian Education Ministry to conduct the so-called integration of the University in Pristina. He says that integration would practically mean that all faculties in the region of Kosovo and Metohija would lose the status of a legal entity and that this institution would continue to operate within the integrated university.

REGIONAL PRESS

B&H experts studying Karadzic verdict for possible review of lawsuit against Serbia (Srna/ Hina)

B&H legal experts are studying the guilty verdict handed down by The Hague war crimes tribunal last week in the case of former B&H Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic to see if it contains any new elements based on which B&H could launch a review of a genocide suit against Serbia, the chairman of the B&H Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, said in Sarajevo on Monday. B&H had sued the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that is Serbia as its legal successor, before the ICTY in The Hague for military aggression and genocide committed during the 1992-1995 war in B&H. Izetbegovic said that the legal representatives of B&H before the ICJ were now analyzing the Karadzic verdict, which the ICTY delivered on 24 March. “They will study the verdict and we will see if there are any new elements. If there are, we will not shun them. We will not ignore the suffering which the peoples of this country endured. We will launch a review, but we need new evidence,” Izetbegovic, the Bosniak (Muslim) member of the collective Presidency, told the press. He added that it would be best for the Serbs and the Bosniaks to carefully read the entire verdict and try to mend their relations based on the facts confirmed by the court. The Croatian member of the Presidency, Dragan Covic, said he did not believe the Karadzic verdict contained prerequisites for a review of the ICJ ruling. He said it was bad that every court ruling, and especially those by the ICTY, was politicized. In February 2007 the ICJ dismissed B&H’s suit against Serbia as unfounded, but left open the possibility of B&H initiating a review over the next ten years if new evidence emerged to back up its claims. The deadline for initiating a review expires in February 2017. The Defense team of the first President of RS, Radovan Karadzic, will thoroughly investigate every single incident mentioned in the indictment, not only because of the first-instance judgment, but because it is essential for the history of the Serbs and should be a national interest of both RS and Serbia, said head of investigations, Milomir Savcic.

Karadzic’s Defense to appeal to all Counts (Klix)

Legal advisors to Radovan Karadzic, Peter Robinson and Goran Petronijevic, announced the submission of the appeal to the Appellate Chamber of the Hague Tribunal on all counts that Karadzic is charged with. Given the scope of the case, evidence and current practice of the court, a second instance verdict can be expected in 3 years. Considering that the first-instance verdict to Radovan Karadzic is extremely extensive and explained on 2,600 pages, Karadzic’s legal advisers believe that 30 days will not be enough to submit an appeal, and will ask for extension of that deadline. “We will probably request the longer term, because we will complain on all counts of the verdict. The Prosecution will be, certainly, also complaining, and I assume that the Appellate Chamber will request additional deadlines for the consideration of complaints. All in all, it will take up to 3 years to pronounce new verdict to former President of Republika Srpska,” said Petronijevic. The overall outcome of the appeal could significantly change the verdict. This is confirmed with the previous experiences of Appellate Chamber of the Hague Tribunal, when some prison sentences pronounced in the years were commuted to lifelong sentences and vice versa. Legal expert Kasim Trnka said that it would be good if the appeal process was carried out more quickly, given the age and health condition of Karadzic. “If Karadzic does not make it to the second instance verdict, opponents of this process could state that Karadzic was never convicted, which would impact on the interpretation of the war in B&H,” said Trnka.​

Izetbegovic not entitled to launch review of court case against Serbia on behalf of B&H (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik told Srna that initiation of judicial review of B&H lawsuit against Serbia, as announced by B&H Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic, was out of question, noting that, primarily, the lawsuit against those who were shooting at their own people at the Markale market should be reopened. Dodik points out that Izetbegovic is not B&H thus is not entitled to either do or launch anything on behalf of B&H. “No one on behalf of RS or the Serbs would join his request to reopen the lawsuit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” said Dodik. Commenting that reopening of any lawsuit on behalf of B&H would mean the consent given by RS, respectively a Serb member of the Presidency of B&H, Dodik has stressed that he is fully convinced that neither Mladen Ivanic nor anyone else would give the consent to it.  Dodik has said that the timely reaction and the position of the RS Government in connection with the ICTY’s judgment against the first RS President, Radovan Karadzic, have obviously irritated Izetbegovic, who needs to know that he can only keep that anger for himself and not speak on behalf of B&H. “This is an attempt and a proof that they want a conflict not only with the Serbs in RS, but now with the Serbs in general. Such Bakir Izetbegovic cannot be a factor of stability and peace,” said Dodik. He has said that Izetbegovic is trying to agitate the regional stability with his delusions and dreams, adding that the policy practiced by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic demonstrates the policy of peace and stability in the region. “Izetbegovic is a bad phenomenon for the Serbs in general. He contributes nothing good in terms of reconciliation. He speaks on behalf of the radical Muslims in B&H who are constantly after the conflicts,” said Dodik. The RS President points out there are no elements for reopening B&H’s lawsuit, what is also shown by the Karadzic judgment, which Izetbegovic keeps referring to. “Reopening of the lawsuit is not an option. It is not on the agenda. “B&H will never be able to find strength and procedural moves that could lead to the lawsuit against Serbia,” said Dodik.

Dodik: Lawsuit against those who were shooting at their own people at the Markale market should be reopened (Srna)

RS President Milorad Dodik told Srna that the lawsuit against those who were shooting at their own people at the Markale market should be reopened. “If anything should be reopened and sued, then the lawsuit should be restored against those who fired at their own people at the Markale market committing such a scene of the massacre that later served to demonize the Serbs and to introduce sanctions against Serbia,” said Dodik. He has stressed that the exempted opinion of an ICTY judge speaks the best about it. “Though there were many of those who, as soldiers serving in the international forces, had earlier emphasized doubts about the event itself,” said Dodik. However, Dodik says, there was a need for the propaganda that led to the victims of the Markale market who were killed by the Muslim forces, and to the victims at the Tuzlanska kapija, who were killed by a grenade that was not fired from the Serb positions. Dodik believes that somebody has to be held responsible for such crime, deception and fraud, instead of placing the story about re-opening of B&H lawsuit against Serbia on the basis of the first-instance judgment against Karadzic. B&H Presidency Chairman and a Leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic has said he had not read the entire judgment against the first RS President, Radovan Karadzic, thus he does not know what the claims of the Trial Chamber in The Hague that the Bosniaks in Sarajevo shelled their own people and international organizations, are based on.

Candidate for the UN General Secretary: Genocide must not remain unpunished (Patria)

Candidate for the UN General Secretary and former President of Slovenia Danilo Tirk stated that, through the verdict for Karadzic, the international community sent a clear message that crimes such as genocide must not remain unpunished. “The verdict for Karadzic is of historical importance. At last, the verdict has unambiguously shown the depth of hardest crimes committed on the territory of B&H during the conflict. Anything other than punishment is not acceptable. The verdict for Karadzic proved that justice can be achieved in legal and judicial sense. The verdict is important for B&H and for the entire region, for families of the victims in particular, and for the world. I would like this to be a catharsis for all of those who saw all that was happening in B&H 20 years ago,” said Tirk. He reminded that Srebrenica genocide is recognized in the world as one of the biggest crimes that happened after the World War II, so it is no wonder that the verdict for Karadzic was today one of the main topics even in Washington.

Orucevic’s Center for Peace offers a solution for Mostar (Patria)

Intersectional Group of the state Parliament recently announced that their work was done and that they did not receive one single proposal for changes to the Election Law of B&H in the light of verdict of the Constitutional Court of B&H for method of elections for City of Mostar. Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation from Mostar reacted to this by offering their own solution to the problem Mostar for All Times. President of the Center is Safet Orucevic, the former mayor of Mostar. Text of the proposed solution is available to all representatives of political parties and delegates in Parliament of B&H via website of the Center for Peace. The proposal “Mostar for All Times” is offering a full equality of all peoples and ethnic groups in Mostar – Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Others. It is also offering a solution for Sejdic – Finci issue and the wholeness of City of Mostar. The main principles of the new Statute of Mostar City include implementation of the verdict of Constitutional Court about balanced value of vote in electoral units, the issue of equality of citizens of central zone in the election process, as well as direct election of mayor and two deputy mayors in the election process. Direct election of mayor and deputy mayors which have to come from different ethnic groups or others, would be carried out according to so-called presidential model. That would secure legitimacy of each elected bearer of executive power of Mostar City. City Council of Mostar, as has been so far the case, would have maximum quote of 15 and minimal quote of 4 councilors from each constitutional group, and at least 1 representative from Others. All decisions deemed vital for the City and citizens of Mostar would be brought by 2/3 majority with obligatory affirmation votes of at least 1/3 of clubs from all constitutional groups and the Others. This proposal excludes any form of domination of one group over other two, or two groups over the third. The proposal also stipulates connecting of city administration with the citizens by virtue of offices in City areas and local communities.

Djukanovic visiting Brussels, meeting top EU officials (CDM)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic will pay a two-day visit to Brussels starting today. As announced by the Government, Djukanovic will meet top officials of the European Union – President of the European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and the EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini. “The visit to Brussels represents a continuation of regular communication at a high level with the EU, which is an opportunity to exchange opinions on the current processes in Montenegro and the dynamics of the negotiations, as well as developments in the region,” the government stated.

Macedonia extends state of emergency on borders until December 31 (MIA)

The Macedonian parliament voted Monday to extend the state of emergency enforced in the areas on the southern and northern borders until December 31, 2016 as a result of the migrant crisis. Speaking in parliament, Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski said the motion on amending the decision approving an extension of the state of emergency came as a result of the growing number of migrants entering and passing through Macedonia. The objective is to secure continuity of the execution of tasks by the army and security forces of the Interior Ministry in an attempt to guard and protect the state border. VMRO-­DPMNE Parliament Member Vlatko Gjorcev welcomed the decision. “Engagement of members of the army and security forces on the southern and northern border is necessary because of the scope of the (migrant) crisis,” he stated. The draft decision on extending the state of emergency was not endorsed by DUI. “A decision on state of emergency to be in place until June 15 has been adopted and a fresh decision needs to be adopted by the new parliament. Until then, institutions can act in line with their legal possibilities,” DUI MP Talat Xhaferi elaborated. The Macedonian government declared a 30-day state of emergency on the southern and northern border due to the migrant crisis in August 2015. The following month the measure was extended until June 15, 2016.

State Election Commission: Names of disputed voters from site inspection to be publicly announced (MIA)

The names of persons from the Electoral roll for which the site inspection started on Monday will be published on the website of the State Election Commission (SEC). This decision was adopted at Monday’s session of State Election Commission with 5 votes “for” and  4 “against”. The proposal, the names of 87,362 persons to be published, was submitted by the member of the State Election Commission of DPA Bedredin Ibrahimi, which was supported by his colleagues proposed by VMRO-DPMNE Silvana Boneva and Saso Srcev, from DUI Subhi Jakupi and members from the experts Recep Prekopuca. Ibrahimi said that citizens should be informed of the site inspections and that pollster and observers will come, but still he emphasized that despite such inspection the outcome will be institutional. The right to publish this data, as he said, he draws from the Constitution. “Everything that is not forbidden is allowed,” Ibrahimi said. According to him, the process must be transparent for which the political parties also advocate. He and several other SEC members spoke about allegations that they took data from inconsistent records on CD indicating that they are entitled to it. Silvana Boneva from VMRO-DPMNE believes that only by publishing the names of these persons, as she said, that seeding fog that Macedonia has 300,000 phantom voters will be prevented. According to Boneva, all this is in the interest of restoring confidence among citizens in the Electoral roll. According to members of the SEC from the SDSM, Violeta Duma and Igor Milev the proposal is not legally established or is neither in accordance with the Election Code nor under the methodology adopted by the political parties. Milev believes that the process of field verification is already mined claiming that someone went and investigated citizens and that some names are published in the media.​

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Lunacek: Serbia cannot enter the EU without recognizing Kosovo (Independent Balkan News Agency, by Elton Tota, 28 March 2016)

Republic of Serbia cannot be part of the European Union without recognizing the independence of Kosovo”. This was declared by the deputy president of the European Parliament, Ulrike Lunacek in a conference in Berlin, dubbed “The holding of relations between Serbia and Kosovo”. In this conference, which saw the participation of the German expert for the Balkan, Bodo Veber and the mayor of Pristina, Shpend Ahmeti, Lunacek declared that she “constantly demands the five remaining EU countries to recognize the independence of Kosovo.”

Meanwhile, Bod Veber said that “Serbia’s accession in the EU will not be permitted to take place before Kosovo, because nobody would then guarantee that Serbia would not block Kosovo’s accession”. On his part, mayor of Pristina, Shpend Ahmeti declared that “Self Determination is not against dialogue with Serbia, but it’s against dialogue without principles”.

In his address, he declared that “Serbia is not treating Kosovo as an equal partner in the talks and that so far it has taken no responsibility for the crimes committed in 1999 in Kosovo”.

Election Deal Talks to Resume in Montenegro (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 28 March 2016)

Montenegro’s political leaders are to resume talks on resolving the crisis that has kept the country at boiling point for months.

Montenegro’s leaders are to meet yet again next week to try to resolve the crisis in the country following the failure of a no-confidence vote in the government in January. The crisis, Montenegro’s worst since it gained independence in 2006, revolves around opposition claims that the government has no legitimacy to organize general elections planned this year. The opposition accuses the government led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic of election fraud and misuse of state funds for party purposes. It demands the formation of a “government of electoral trust”, oversight over the National Security Agency, the ANB, the National Election Commission, the Department of Employment, the Anti-Corruption Agency and the public broadcaster, RTCG.

Talks between Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, and opposition parties have become stuck over who should control the public broadcaster. The opposition seeks the dismissal of the director and editorial team of the television news programs, whom they accuse of biased reporting. The opposition also wants the post of chief inspector of the National Security Agency.

Both the public TV and the security agency are considered vulnerable to abuse during election campaigns but Djukanovic’s party is not ready to give up its influence on them. The speaker of parliament and leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Ranko Krivokapic, said an agreement on conditions for organizing free elections could be reached this week if the DPS signs up for it. “Now it’s take it or leave it,” Krivakapic said, although he did not disclose the latest opposition offer to Djukanovic. For Djukanovic’s party, however, a key condition for resuming negotiations on the elections is the dismissal of Krivokapic as speaker of parliament.

A close ally for 18 years, Krivokapic’s Social Democratic Party party joined the failed no-confidence vote in the government in January. The ruling DPS and its allies among the ethnic minority Bosniak, Croatian and Albanian parties, then submitted a motion to remove him. Refusing to resign as speaker, Krivokapic on Wednesday canceled a parliamentary session where MPs were to vote on his dismissal. A new one has not been scheduled yet. The current government was elected in December 2012 and the next election is planned for the autumn of 2016 – but the exact date has not yet been agreed.