LOCAL PRESS
Jeremic in favor of strengthening UN role (Tanjug/RTS/B92/Beta/FoNet)
The revitalization of the United Nations should be placed at the center of global administration, the Serbian candidate to the position of UN Secretary General Vuk Jeremic declared on Thursday, presenting his program at the headquarters of this organization, FoNetreports. I ask to be honored ones again in serving you, convinced that strong multilateralism is the best protection against global threats that we face, former Serbian foreign minister Jeremic declared, asking for support to UN membership. As a young man, I stood witness to the consequences of diplomatic failure, absence of rule of law and wave of poverty, he went on to say. Jeremic said that securing peace, stability and constant progress of humanity require new global strategies and solutions, as well as a more intense international cooperation. He added that the UN has to be in the center of this task – it has to be unanimously supported, with comprehensive legitimacy and universal membership, but added there is criticism that the UN is inefficient, and the “status quo” approach inadequate to the 21st century.
Miscevic: It is realistic to see chapters opened in June (RTS/Tanjug)
The Head of the Serbian team in EU accession negotiations Tanja Miscevic said that she believed it was realistic to expect Chapters 23 and 24 to be opened in June, although everyone was still waiting for Croatia’s official opinion. “We have done a good job, which was confirmed by 27 member-states who accepted the recommendation of the European Commission. We are still waiting for Croatia’s official opinion on the Action Plan (for Chapters) 23 and 24, although we know the conditions off the record,” Miscevic told a press conference in Belgrade. Asked if the European Commission could react in a certain way, Miscevic pointed out that chapter opening was no longer an issue between Serbia and the European Commission, but rather a matter of discussion between the member-states. Asked if the chapters would be separated, with Chapter 24 opening first, Miscevic said that opening the chapters separately was not on the agenda, reiterating that she believed the chapters would be opened in June. Asked whether the EU Council of Ministers could exert certain influence over Croatia, Miscevic said that discussions on those issues were already ongoing on both technical and political levels.
Joksimovic believes that chapters will be open (Beta)
Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of European integrations Jadranka Joksimovic said on Thursday that she believed that the EU and member countries would support Serbia and that the country would manage to open negotiation chapters. We would certainly not beg anyone because I knew how much work we have done and how successful we were, Joksimovic said. She emphasized that the negotiations were a complex thing and explained that chapters were linked with the certain area that would have to be reformed.
Djordjevic: Serbia maintaining intensive military cooperation with United Kingdom (Tanjug)
Serbian Defense Minister Zoran Djordjevic met with British Ambassador to Serbia Denis Keefe on Friday to recap the good and intensive defense cooperation, which they said is the best part of overall Serbia-UK relations. Djordjevic thanked Keefe for the support in the European integration process, which is strategically important for Serbia, in particular in the upcoming period of opening new chapters in the EU talks, the Serbian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
In this regard, Serbia expresses readiness for capacity and capability building in the national security and defense systems, pursuant to the standards and obligations issuing from the joint security and defense policy, and the Serbian government last year adopted a conclusion on joining the concept of EU battle groups, the statement said. Djordjevic noted that the Defense Ministry is pursuing a balanced foreign policy, working constantly towards enhancing and developing defense relations with all states and international organizations pursuant to the defined national interests. The Ministry also continues its active involvement in security initiatives and organizations in the southeast European region, Djordjevic said.
Jovic: Djuric banned from entering Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug)
“Djuric has been banned from moving freely around Kosovo and Metohija at a time when hundreds of international terrorists, brutal killers and comrades-in-arms of those killing innocent citizens in Paris, Brussels and other European metropolises are walking around it freely,” said Damjan Jovic, deputy head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.
EULEX to stay in Kosovo (RTS)
The EULEX Mission will continue to operate in Kosovo even after its mandate expires on 14 June, the Pristina media report. The EU is not planning to shut down its mission in Kosovo, but it is prepared to halve the staff and retain the redefined mandate. “The Kosovo leadership voiced readiness for EULEX, at worst, to be reduced to an advisory mission for rule of law, police and customs, but also to alleviate the implementation of the Brussels agreements,” a Kosovo government officials told the Pristina media.
Orthodox Church in Pristina desecrated again (RTS)
The Pristina website indeksonlajn has published photographs of two young men climbing a yet unfinished Orthodox temple in that town. Radio and Television of Serbia RTS is quoting local media as reporting that the scene was one of a climbing challenge, to the top of the Orthodox Church in Pristina. The two unknown persons climbed up to the highest dome of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ the Savior in Pristina. Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic strongly condemned this as another in a series of desecrations of the church.
“After many cases of desecration – turning the temple into a public toilet, the homeless living there, inappropriate videos being recorded there, the Temple of Christ the Savior is again the target of those who do not respect holy places. Two men who have climbed to the top of the church, respecting neither it nor Orthodox believers, it’s unlikely they respect their own faith,” Stojanovic said reacting to the incident. He asked the authorities to determine who the two young men are, who dared to, at the time of lent ahead one of the biggest Serbian holidays, commit something like this and whether these were the same people who climbed the same temple slightly less than a year ago. Stojanovic reiterated that the temple of Christ the Savior in Pristina must be secured and that the perpetrators must be punished.
PIK declares final electoral list (B92/Tanjug)
The Provincial Electoral Commission (PIK) has declared the final electoral list for the deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, with a total of 13 parties and coalitions. Unlike the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK), the provincial decision doesn’t have the imperative provision on the deadline for declaring the final electoral list. Hence, PIK harmonized the deadline with that of RIK, so it also declared the final list on 13 April. For the time being the court’s decision on the appeal is awaited, as three lists submitted had been rejected.
REGIONAL PRESS
When will there be a decision on calling local elections? (Klix)
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H, in accordance with the provisions of the Election Law of B&H, at the session that will be held on 4 May, will bring a decision on announcing the local elections in B&H in 2016, according to which elections will be held on 2 October 2016. The CEC announced that at the same session will be adopted the guidelines on the timing and order of electoral activities for the 2016 local elections. They reminded that all the possible candidates, among other conditions that are prescribed by the law, must have registered permanent residence in electoral unit from which they want to candidate until the day of calling the elections.
Decision taken by B&H Court: Radoncic released pending trial (Dnevni avaz)
The B&H Court abolished detention for Fahrudin Radoncic, leader of SBB B&H, as confirmed by his lawyer, Asim Crnalic. This way, the proposal of the defense that Radoncic be released pending trial was accepted. He was detained for two and a half months, and the prohibitive measures were imposed to him. Fahrudin Radoncic left the detention unit, after the Court issued a decision of abolition of custody that he was in for two and a half months. “I’m glad I got out of prison. Due to bad experiences, this time I will not give any statements. It will be done by my lawyers,” said Radoncic. Crnalic then explained what prohibiting measures include in this case. “Leaving the residence – the Sarajevo Canton, ban on meeting with witnesses and travel ban provided that the control measures are a bit softer this time. He should report to the police department every 7 days and with the permission of the Court he may leave the Canton as well. He will be able to do his job because he is practically a free man. It does not matter whether he will stay in the tower or on a family farm,” said Crnalic. He explained that this time he is not under house arrest. “The measures are softer this time. It is important to emphasize that under the terms of the authorization of the Court, he can leave the Sarajevo Canton as well.” Journalists were interested whether Radoncic, given the fact that he is the President of SBB and delegate in the House of Peoples of B&H, will be able to do his job, and the lawyer Muhidin Kapo answered affirmatively: “He will be able to do his job because he is practically a free man within the framework of the Canton Sarajevo. He will have to take into account the measures of prohibition of meeting with witnesses,” added Crnalic. On the question whether they are satisfied with today’s decision of the Court, Crnalic and Kapo said that the detention lasted for too long. “We will do our best to ease these measures, because you know that Radoncic is a politician and that local elections will be held soon and that he should act as a politician, but under these restrictions he is unlikely to be able to work. True, the Court may grant permission but that’s one procedural frustration for a man who should be dealing with politics in a relaxed way,” said lawyer Crnalic.
Wide disappointments that a meeting of the Central Census Bureau was not held (Srna)
Director of the Federation of B&H Statistics Institute Emir Kremic expressed his disappointment with the fact that a meeting of the Central Census Bureau, which was to address the issues related to the processing and publication of the census results, was cancelled. Radmila Cickovic, Director of the Republika Srpska (RS) Institute of Statistics, has also expressed disappointment that a meeting of the Central Census Bureau was not held, where disputable issues in the process of resident population determination were supposed to be reviewed, and therefore she hopes that the new meeting will be soon scheduled.
Salkic: RS trying to decrease the number of Bosniaks in census results (Radio glas Drine)
RS Vice-President Ramiz Salkic strongly condemned the political attempts by the RS to, as he stated, decrease the final number of Bosniaks in the results of the census from 2013. “In the past several weeks we have been witnesses to the culmination of political dissatisfaction from the RS, with which attempts are being made to manipulate the census results. That dissatisfaction is followed by unlawful activity by the Agency for Statistics of RS, aimed at excluding 120.000 B&H citizens, among whom the majority are Bosniaks, from the final result and thus distorting the real demographic image of B&H. We must remember that ever since the beginning of preparations and implementation of the census the entity Agency has been imposing constant obstructions in order to register the least number of Bosniaks and Croats as possible. This was contributed to by the intensified control of entity authorities during the obtaining of personal documents that had been implemented throughout the entity,” Salkic stated. The exiled Bosniaks had to, Salkic reminds, bring evidence that they own property, that they have a house and an address so that they could register residence, when thousands of houses were burnt to the ground. In addition to such pressures and controls, the RS is now trying to manipulate the number of Bosniaks and Croats with political and demographic engineering, which is absolutely intolerable. “Such intentions from Banja Luka are backed up by concerning inertness and lack of interest with the official Croat politics in B&H in the fate of Croats in the RS. We are aware that authorities from Banja Luka want to present the number of Bosniaks which amounts to under 50% and they want to do it at any cost. Bosniaks and Croats have been exiled from the territory of the present RS and there is no possibility for them to come back to their homes. On behalf of the Bosniaks who live in the RS, I protest in front of the relevant international organizations and demand that the interest of Bosniaks as a constitutive nation is protected in accordance with European norms and the laws of B&H,” said the statement by the Vice-President of RS, Ramiz Salkic.
Ivanic speaks about the Russian debt (Klix)
Member of the B&H Presidency from the RS Mladen Ivanic stated that the division of the clearing debt is defined with the Law on Succession and that there is no discussion about that, because the RS will get the third that belongs to it and there are no conditions for that. Ivanic believes that, regarding the resolution of the issue of the clearing debt of the Russian Federation towards B&H, all national political games regarding the offer by the Ministry of Finance of Russia to pay that debt in cash must be avoided. According to Ivanic, the Presidency of B&H will, if they obtain the information about the Russian debt at all, reach a decision on that, and until that happens the various opposed political attitudes can only jeopardize the offer. “I am not sure there is a need for anyone else to discuss this anymore. However, if this reaches the Presidency of B&H, then that is what we will do,” Ivanic said. He reminded that now it only remains that the two entity governments harmonize with the proposal of the solution and things will develop automatically. “I think that Russia as a serious country deserves to stay out of our internal political conflicts, because they are harmful,” Ivanic assessed. He believes that all the news spreading through the RS lately are anticipatory. “The decision is still very far and I only hope that our internal conflicts will not jeopardize this more than concrete offer by the Ministry of Finance of Russia,” Ivanic said. Furthermore, he invited the relevant political actors to engage again in institutional discussions, instead of using this issue to raise political conflicts. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of B&H Mirko Sarovic earlier stated that the “Serb representatives in Sarajevo will determine for what the 70 million BAM from the Russian debt will be allocated, as well as 200 million BAM from the Central Bank”. Sarovic also said that representatives of the Alliance for Change in Sarajevo will not allow the money from the Russian debt towards B&H to end in the budget of RS.
Reiner: Bosnian Croats must have cultural and national autonomy (Hina/Vecernji list)
Members of the European Parliament, during a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, called on B&H to persist in implementing reforms on its path towards EU membership. Meanwhile, Croatian Parliament Speaker Zeljko Reiner said in an interview with the B&H issue of the Vecernji List daily that B&H’s stability and membership of the EU and NATO was in Croatia’s critical interest, adding that Croats in B&H must have national and cultural autonomy.
Croatia, Albania will prevent new migrant route across Adriatic (HRT)
Croatia and Albania will prevent a new migrant route from opening across the Adriatic Sea, the defense ministers of the two countries, which could be hit my migrants after the closing of the Balkan route, said in Zagreb on Thursday. Ministers Josip Buljevic of Croatia and Mimi Kodheli of Albania talked about cooperation between their armies to prevent a new migrant route from opening across the Greek-Albanian border and the Adriatic Sea. Albania borders Greece, where tens of thousands of migrants are stuck after the closing of the Greek-Macedonian border, and could become their alternative route towards Western Europe, which over a million refugees reached last year by the Balkan route. “We have agreed a constant exchange of information on the movement of migrants, a constant contact between the two armies… and to jointly intervene and respond to any question,” Buljevic told a joint news conference. He said the police were controlling the Croatian border and that, under a recently amended law, the army could only assist them in doing that. “However, in preventing a migrant flow we can do a lot and we mostly talked about how to prevent a situation which would be very unfavorable for us, if migrants entered Croatia in the south. I think it won’t happen because we will do our utmost to prevent it.” Kodheli said in Albania the army only assisted the police in dealing with migrants and security. “In any case, we will be part of a European solution to the problem which isn’t easy, but we can succeed by cooperating.”
Croatian ruling coalition’s party: Vesna Pusic doesn’t have our support for the UN job (Hina)
The ruling coalition’s Croatian Party of Rights Dr Ante Starcevic (HSP AS) on Thursday distanced itself from Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic’s statement that the government supported Vesna Pusic’s candidacy for the post of UN secretary-general, saying that the person who stated that “Croatian authorities led a war of aggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina” does not deserve the party’s support.
Djukanovic: We are close to signing the agreement – misunderstanding will be overcome (Radio Tivat)
The Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Milo Djukanovic expects the agreement on free and fair elections to be signed in the coming days. “We are close to signing the agreement between the government and the opposition. DPS has been an initiator of the entire project and provided all necessary elements in order to reach the agreement. For the sake of that very policy, I offered the opposition a very generous package for cooperation in the future. I believe we have made a serious progress in this area”, said the prime minister in Radio Tivat’s program. The fact that the opposition has conditioned the agreement signing with the resignation of the public broadcaster RTCG’s director Radojka Rutovic, Djukanovic explains in this way: “There’s one more issue about which there is a misunderstanding between the government and the opposition. I expect this problem will be overcome very soon and that a political agreement could be signed within a few days in order to create conditions for free and fair elections”, Djukanovic said. He pointed out that part of the opposition was trying to influence the editorial policy of the public broadcaster in an irresponsible way through blackmail. “The opposition’s insisting on changes in the public broadcaster is a serious blow to the achievements of democratic development. We have not agreed on a formulation offered by the opposition in the political agreement. Thanks to the opposition’s political fuss and the media uproar, one may get an impression that the public broadcaster is some dark corner of Montenegrin media scene. I have a totally opposite opinion. I think the public broadcaster is the most professional media outlet in Montenegro – the most objective and opened one. Its door is not closed to anyone. Today, when I look at the public broadcaster compared to other media, I’m very proud of the RTCG’s work”, the prime minister said. He said that the media in Montenegro often offered no room for representatives of the government. “Some of them who prefer to call themselves independent media would like the single-mindedness of these media to be transferred to the public broadcaster”, Djukanovic said. What have we done poorly and what have we missed? Speaking about what could be better in Montenegro, Djukanovic commented on education and health. “I think it is necessary to immediately work on the high quality reform of the education system. I think it is the most important task, Montenegrin society is facing. I think that it is also necessary to work on improvement of health care system”, Djukanovic said, adding that it would be the government’s priority. What is Montenegro’s position 10 years after restoring independence? “In these 10 years we have not lost anything”, said Djukanovic, adding that we are leaders in the EU and NATO integration, but also that we have a lot of economic progress. Djukanovic said that there were significantly fewer objections against Montenegro’s foreign policy.
Veljanoski slates early parliamentary elections (MIA/Tanjug)
Macedonian parliament speaker Trajko Veljanoski slated today early parliamentary elections that will be held on 5 June despite calls from the opposition to postpone them. “Based on constitutional and legal jurisdiction, I signed today the decision on calling elections on 5 June this year,” said Veljanoski in a statement. He believes that “everybody included in the electoral process will contribute to holding elections in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere and that everybody will use their right to vote on 5 June”.
More than 15,000 people protest for defense of Macedonia (Telegraf.mk)
We have not come to break and burn. There somewhere people are gathered for who the foreigner is dearer than the brother. We are here to put an end to this hatred, to lead our country in progress. We are here to say NO to the criminal who wants to lead this country. This was said by Toni Mihajlovski who is part of the Civil Movement for Defense of Macedonia, the organizer of Thursday’s rally in which citizens gave support to the government and the President Gjorge Ivanov and asked for elections on 5 June. This protest gathered more than 15,000 citizens of several cities in the country. They first gathered near the Macedonian Red Cross, after which they peacefully marched to the headquarters of SDSM. Earlier the crowd was addressed by the members of Civil Movement for Defense of Macedonia, as well as our artists and athletes. They are against the decision of President Gjorge Ivanov, which pardons the opposition party SDSM leader Zoran Zaev and Zoran Verusevski, both of which suspects in the case “Coup”. The crowd sought for the Przino agreement to be fully respected, elections to be held on 5 June and to allow the people to decide who will run the country. “Macedonia is the world for us, Macedonia is all we have. We cannot accept people who destroyed Macedonia, people who are struggling to destroy it even more. Such are those people now standing in front of the temple of democracy. They are mercenaries paid by foreign money to destroy Macedonia, to bring it to its knees. We have not let them, and we will not let them,” Aleksandar Pandov, a member of Civil Movement for Defense of Macedonia said. He announced that they will hold the rallies every day. “We will do this every day. It must be clear that nobody managed to come to power in Macedonia through force. We are all here to express our support to the government, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, they struggle to maintain democracy in the country. Also we oppose the decision to put equality for those who are stained with crime, with those who worked honestly in the state. These are people who dare to spy and tarnish the country. We will not allow it to happen now, nor in the future,” Aleksandar Pandov added. He also stressed that they give great support to the security forces and noted that, if necessary, they themselves will make a human shield in front of the state institutions to prevent further demolition. The crowds were addressed by Bratislav Dimitrov, who said that all should be united for Macedonia. “I am convinced that we give an example of democratic and civilized behavior,” Dimitrov said. Aleksandar Dastevski said that a further demolition of state institutions should not be allowed. He noted that the goal of the opposition is the destabilization of Macedonia and changing the country’s name. “Yesterday they broke the institutions of the system. These are objects that belong to all citizens of Macedonia. The goal that their president said is now coming true, breaking down the system, the state and cooperation with foreign services and in order to change the name of Macedonia. We will fight for our freedom. We have no other country. This is our country. If they want let them move. We will fight to the end and finally on 5 June will show that the people are the strongest and on which side they stand. Macedonia is held hostage by a few people who want to overthrow the state and the name to change, want to tear down everything sacred in Macedonia,” Dastevski said.
Kerim presents his program for UN Secretary General (Telegraf.mk)
Macedonia’s candidate for the UN Secretary General Srgjan Kerim presented his program titled as “New Horizons”. Addressing the assembly of the world organization, Kerim stressed that his agenda includes the priorities of the Organization. “My agenda stems from the priorities of the organization and its Member States. Those are the management reform as a top priority, sustainable development, climate change and development finance, architecture of security, human rights and citizen participation, gender equality, migration and most importantly, how to achieve these goals. This means that we need adequate tools to achieve this and these tools are mediation, promoting multilateralism and partnership,” Kerim said.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Kosovo Flexes Muscles by Banning Serbian Politicians (BIRN, by Sasa Dragojlo, Erjone Popova, 15 April 2016)
Ban on entry of the head of Serbia’s Kosovo Office – one of several recent bans – is designed to remind Belgrade that Kosovo does not want the Serbian election campaign conducted on its territory, experts say.
A series of bans on Serbian politicians from entering Kosovo is a tactic of the Kosovo government, designed to show that it controls the whole of Kosovo’s territory, according to experts. The latest was imposed on the head of Serbia’s Kosovo Office, Marko Djuric, who was prohibited from entering Kosovo on Wednesday. Pavle Dimitrijevic, head of the Belgrade-based Bureau for Social Research, BIRODI, told BIRN that the decision was probably connected to his electioneering speeches delivered on Kosovo’s territory. “Pristina probably did this because Djuric campaigns for his Serbian Progressive Party in Kosovo very often. The authorities in Pristina do not have power to ban [Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar] Vucic from coming since that would be controversial, but Djuric is not so high profile,” Dimitrijevic said. Djuric, a member of the main board of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, reacted defiantly on Twitter. “My message to my colleagues in Pristina is what I always say in this type of situation – see you in Kosovo and Metohija,” Djuric posted on Wednesday. Serbia faces a general election on April 24. Serbian elections cause tension in Kosovo as Belgrade does not recogise Kosovo’s independence and insists on the right of the Serbian minority in Kosovo to vote in its own elections. Kosovo disputes this and its Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri, on Tuesday repeated that Kosovo will not allow Serbian elections to be organised in the country, accusing Serbian politicians of making nationalistic statements during rallies held in Kosovo. Previously, the acting Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Petrit Selimi, banned Serbia’s Army chief, Ljubisa Dikovic, from entering the country. Selimi wrote on Twitter that ban was in line with Brussels agreement and fair as Dikovic is accused of war crimes. The Serbian-based NGO, the Humanitarian Law Centre, has alleged Dikovic of committing war crimes in Kosovo in the 1990s. He has not been accused of such crimes by the prosecution in Serbia or Kosovo, however, and has denied any involvement in war crimes. Bosko Obradovic, leader of the Serbian right-wing party Dveri, on Wednesday, claimed that he had also been not allowed to enter Kosovo. Ten days ago, Pristina also banned the leader of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Seselj. The Hague war crimes tribunal, the ICTY, recently acquitted him of charges of war crimes in former Yugoslavia. Imer Mushkolaj, a Pristina-based political analyst, told BIRN that these decisions are aimed at reminding Serbia that the Kosovo government controls the territory. “These decisions of the Foreign Ministry are meant to throw dust in someone’s eyes because of the Serbian elections in Kosovo. The idea behind these decisions is to tell that Kosovo is a real country – which unfortunately it is not, because we see daily visits by other Serbian officials,” Mushkolaj said. Mushkolaj added that the ban on General Dikovic would be hard to enforce. “If he can’t come by overland, he will come by helicopter,” Mushkolaj said. Dikovic has held regular meetings with the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, most recently in Pristina, which enraged victims of the war for independence in Kosovo in the late 1990s. Although Serbia has vowed never to recognise the statehood of its former province, Belgrade and Pristina concluded the so-called Brussels agreement in April 2013, which obliged both sides to normalize relations under the supervision of the EU. While the Kosovo constitution provides dual citizenship for the Serbian community, in previous Serbian elections the Kosovo government did not allow the Serbian Election Commission to organize elections within the country. Instead it allowed the OSCE collect the votes cast by members of the Serbian community and transport them to Serbia for the count.
