LOCAL PRESS

Moro, Valls, Desir congratulate Vucic on election victory (RTS/Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic received on Tuesday French Ambassador Christine Moro, who congratulated him on his party’s recent victory in the snap parliamentary elections, conveyed congratulations from Prime Minister Manuel Valls and gave him a letter from Minister of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir. In his letter, among other things, Desir says that a great majority of Serbian citizens voted in favor of the policy of reform, regional cooperation and EU accession, which Prime Minister Vucic has successfully launched since taking office, adding that France will continue to offer its full support for the policy. Vucic and Ambassador Moro also talked about preparations for the Paris summit which will be held as part of the Berlin process in July this year.

Spindelegger discuss challenges of migrant crisis with Dacic and Joksimovic (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met with Director General of the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Michael Spindelegger on Monday to discuss challenges of the migrant crisis. Minister Dacic congratulated Spindelegger on taking office, underlining the center’s importance in the circumstances of huge migrant inflows to the continent, the foreign ministry said in a release. Spindelegger said the ICMPD, as a forum dealing with the issues of irregular migration, human trafficking, border management, asylum, legal migration and integration, would give even stronger support to member states. Dacic and Spindelegger agreed a common EU decision on how to manage the migrant crisis would be key to solving the current situation, the release reads.

Serbian Minister responsible for EU integration Jadranka Joksimovic and ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger underlined the importance of taking a united stand on migration-related issues, for both EU member states and candidate countries. In a conversation with the Austrian politician, Joksimovic said Serbia was committed to finding a comprehensive European solution, adding that Austria could continue to count on partner relations and Serbia’s responsible approach to the migrant crisis. Migration is yet another reason why the EU should open Chapters 23 and 24 with Serbia, the minister noted. Joksimovic and Spindelegger discussed further concrete steps and the assistance that the ICMPD could provide, notably those that could be taken at local level in an effort to find sustainable solutions for integration.

Djuric: Hunting season on Serbs constantly open (Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has assessed that today’s attack on the TV Most crew in Obilic was an attack on Serbs and freedom of speech, voicing expectation that this event will be condemned by Albanian journalist associations, provincial institutions and the international community. “It is necessary that this condemnation arrives from provincial institutions, journalist association and from representatives from the international community that must not award, with new praises and opening of doors to Pristina in international organizations, the social climate where the hunting season on Serbs is constantly open,” Djuric told the press in Belgrade. Djuric said that the television crew had narrowly escaped lynching, as they had a car with Belgrade license plates and spoke Serbian. He added that at the time of the attack, the crew was filming a news report on an allocation of humanitarian aid to the Branko Radicevic School in Obilic, a Serb school in a town ethnically cleansed of Serbs. “It bothered a small group of extremists who attacked them. One of them even attacked a TV Most cameraman with a spade. All of that was happening only 50 meters away from the local police station,” said Djuric. He said he would inform a team of representatives of EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, who were in Belgrade at the moment to talk about the expert level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, about the latest attack on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

Miscevic: Croatia should approach matters differently (TV N1)

The Head of the Serbian EU negotiating team Tanja Miscevic says that Croatia should not be blocking the opening of chapters in Serbia’s EU talks, but approach the matter differently as it concerns bilateral issues. “We explained to the EU the strategy for processing war crimes, which is one of the more important issues in the negotiations. Croatia demands that we provide guaranteed seats for minority representatives, and we tried to explain that this is a bilateral issue and that it cannot have impact on the negotiations. There was communication with Croatia when we were clarifying the solutions, after which the matter was taken to Brussels, and it is now in the hands of the EU, which is trying to find a solution to overcome the blockade,” Miscevic told TV N1. This is about the beginning of a major negotiating process with the EU and Croatia should approach it differently, she said. For quite a while now, Croatia has been refusing to give the green light – in particular for Chapter 23 – and is raising new issues, Miscevic said. Asked why some countries, such as Montenegro, are making faster progress in their EU talks, Miscevic said that normalization of the relations with Pristina is crucial and that it took two years to open the first chapter – only after the EU had said that everything is in order in the relations with Pristina. “Opening Chapters 23 and 24, as well as Chapter 35, is the most important thing to do until the end of 2016. Those are the chapters we must open first to also open the others we are working on. We are preparing a large number of chapters for the second half of the year,” Miscevic said.

SNS and SVM generally establish principles of cooperation in Vojvodina (Novosti/RTS)

The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) on Monday, established the general principles and priorities of their future cooperation in the provincial government in Vojvodina and at the levels of local self-governments, the SNS announced. At this meeting, all the other issues were also discussed which concern the constitution of the provincial and local bodies of government in Vojvodina after, at the April elections in the province, the SNS won the most votes, which marked the end of the 16 years long rule of the Democratic Party (DS) and its smaller allies. It was announced that a high level of agreement was achieved on the need for the swiftest possible constitution of new provincial bodies and the bodies in local self-governments on the basis of the election results.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: Protests organized with the assistance of the UK and Turkey, supported by Izetbegovic (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has stated that he has got information that the protests announced by the opposition are organized with the assistance of the internationals from the United Kingdom and Turkey and that the support of the SDA leader, Bakir Izetbegovic, is also accepted. Dodik has said that there is no need for anyone to fear for safety over of the protests scheduled for 14 May in Banja Luka, because everything will be done that the protests pass calmly and according to the law. Meanwhile the leader of the United Srpska Party Nenad Stevandic has said that the party does not participate in either of scheduled protests, but is not neutral when it comes to the confrontation between the B&H and RS authorities. At the same time the leader of the Socialist Party Petar Djokic considers irresponsible that the representatives of opposition parties again ignored the invitation of RS President Milorad Dodik to attend a joint meeting of the parliamentary parties, and thus showed disrespect to the institution of the President. Marko Pavic from the DNS believes that both the opposition at the protest rally and the ruling coalition at the rally titled “Heart for Srpska”, will demonstrate the dignity and protect RS. The leader of the Serbian Radical Party Dragan Djurdjevic believes that the two rallies of the opposition and the ruling coalition scheduled for May 14 in Banja Luka, will demonstrate maturity of both the political parties and the citizens of RS, as well as the responsibility and the power of the parties.

Pro-Europe that does not violate rights and autonomy (Srna)

The RS President Milorad Dodik said Monday that the Europe of peace after WWII is the greatest achievement of the European nations and that RS supports Great Europe if it does not violate its autonomy and rights. Europe is still a strong guarantee of peace in these parts and should be perceived like that, said Dodik. “We in RS support that global process but we are not prepared to lose our autonomy or rights acquired and verified by the Dayton Peace Agreement,” Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka following a ceremony marking May 9, Victory Day and Europe Day. Commenting on mayoral candidates for Banja Luka submitted to the Main Board of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Dodik said the candidate is known. “I will let the city branch determine that and I will definitely support that proposal,” said Dodik, who is also the chief of the SNSD, emphasizing that the candidate who has the majority support also has the support of the SNSD.

Dizdarevic: Anti-fascism is in the foundation of the state of B&H (Novo vrijeme)

“Anti-fascism is in the foundation of the state of B&H, and extreme nationalism and clericalism are devastating for B&H society and the state,” said the columnist and journalist Zija Dizdarevic, who was speaker on the session of Circle 99 on the topic “Nazi-fascistic ideologies undermine the foundations of statehood of B&H,” which was organized on the occasion of the Victory Day. “The 9th of May is the Victory Day over fascism and the Day of Europe. Are we in the B&H for celebration on this occasion? We are quite far from Europe, although we have never been closer. And when it comes to the victory over fascism, we are not really for celebration. Not only in this region, but also far beyond, Nazi-fascism reappears in known and new versions,” said Dizdarevic before the start of the session. “We should never forget that the constant aim of Great Serbian and Vele-Croatian nationalism is B&H,” said Dizdarevic. “The Catholic Church in Croatia is with the right-wing stance of HDZ. Part of the priest in western Herzegovina is following this as well. Fortunately, within the Catholic Church in the B&H is strong support to B&H state and normalization of B&H society as well as among the Franciscans and in the top of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna,” said Dizdarevic. He added that “the Serbian Orthodox Church is fully standing with the Great Serbia politics”. “Anti-fascism is in the foundations of the state of B&H, and extreme nationalism and clericalism are devastating for B&H society and the state. Whether some like it or not, modern state of B&H was established as one of equal Yugoslav republics within the anti-fascist National Liberation War, in which participated members of all nations and other ethnic groups in B&H, “said Dizdarevic. He underlined that the slogan of ZAVNOBiH that “B&H is neither Serbian nor Croatian nor Muslim, but Serbian and Croatian and Muslim and all of its citizens” has the same meaning today. “Only accelerated accession to Euro-Atlantic integration gives hope for the stabilization of B&H and society and amortization of Nazi-fascistic ideas. We must believe that democracy in the Member States of EU and NATO will overcome the present nationalism, xenophobia and Nazi-fascistic ideas. After all, the victory over fascism, or antifascism is in the foundations of the EU as well, “concluded Dizdarevic, adding that all of this is only his attitude.

Maric and Sadovic from SDA again proposed dividing Mostar (Vijesti.ba)

Mostar saw continuation of talks among SDA, SBB and HDZ B&H about holding elections and future administration of the city. According to Vijesti.ba portal, during the meeting representatives of SDA Damir Sadovic and Salem Maric insisted upon passing a Law on city of Mostar and dividing the city into two municipalities. SBB and HDZ disagreed with the proposal and reiterated the need for citizens of Mostar to be able to have the elections and for the verdict of the Constitutional Court B&H to be respected. As president of Board of HDZ B&H Damir Dzeba said to Vijest.ba, the only joint conclusion reached at the meeting is that the election should take place this year. Dzeba said that HDZ B&H proposed that SDP and DF are also included in the talks and emphasized that, as far as HDZ is concerned, the proposal of these two parties makes a solid foundation for further talks. The joint proposal of SDP and DF is to have three election units. According to HDZ, that would be in line with the verdict of the Constitutional Court, and would also satisfy the key principle of HDZ to first have the elections in Mostar and then discuss the changes to the city administration.

Montenegro: The first day of the parliament’s session passed in breaks and arguments over the agreement (CDM)

The first parliamentary discussion on the draft law on implementing the agreement on free and fair elections, the government reshuffle and confidence in the Speaker of the Parliament has been finished. The first day of the session passed in breaks – the first one because of the increased number of police officers in the Parliament (they left the building after the break), and the second one because the MPs did not want to take part in the discussion without direct TV broadcast (it was interrupted for a half an hour when the regular news program was aired). The session will be continued tomorrow. At the very beginning of the session the deputy speaker of the Parliament Branko Radulovic required a break until “150 fully equipped special police officers leave the building”.

General election in Macedonia: Lawmaker lists need to be submitted by Wednesday (Telegraf.mk)

The political parties that have signed the Przino Agreement have not voiced one single statement regarding the lists of possible MPs although the deadline for submitting them is Wednesday, Telegraf.mk reads. For now, only ruling VMRO-DPMNE has presented a firm position that it will take part in the June 5 parliamentary elections, while SDSM announced it is not even considering the possibility of participating in the ballot. The conduct of the parties representing Albanian interests is baffling, and particularly that of DUI, which under the US pressure, changed its stance and started issuing statements about postponing the June 5 elections. The fact that DUI and DPA have not flied lists for MPs with their candidates seems to prove the two parties are serious about not running in the elections. The parties have not even submitted lists of electoral boards members, although that does not mean that elections will not be held as their seats can be replaced with employees of the public administration. Whether or not elections will be held, and which parties will participate in them, will be made public on Wednesday, until midnight the latest. By then, the parties are expected to hold intensive talks with the US and EU ambassadors to the country. The position of Aivo Orav and Jess Baily is to be backed additionally by Johannes Heindel, the German diplomat appointed by his government as a special envoy to Macedonia whose aim is to help solve the political crisis. Party sources said VMRO-DPMNE’s and SDSM’s positions are diametrically opposite and that is the reason why it is difficult for them to find a common language. The ruling party believes there is no legal possibility to postpone the elections because the Macedonian Assembly is dissolved, while SDSM considers the MPs’ term lasts until the seats of the parliament’s new composition are filled and that the lawmakers can be summoned. In the talks on the early parliamentary elections, SDSM has not mentioned a date when the ballot could take place. Their representatives demand the revision of the electoral roll, although the State Election Commission has already passed a decision on its propriety, insisting the voter registry does not contain any so-called ‘phantom voters’, as claimed by the main opposition party. However, the general abolition act passed by President Gjorge Ivanov does represent an obstacle for the holding of the elections. SDSM demands its full withdrawal although that condition was not contained in the Przino Agreement.

Macedonia marks first anniversary of Kumanovo’s Diva Naselba shootings (Telegraf.mk)

Eight members of the security forces lost their lives in the anti-terrorist action that occurred on this day of last year in the Kumanovo settlement of Diva Naselba. Twenty-nine persons were arrested in the action, which are currently detained and tried for committing terrorist acts. Kumanovo citizens were woken up by gun shots, detonations and helicopters early in the morning at about 04:00 am on May 9. Nobody knew what was going on. The Interior Ministry issued a brief report that the police had started an action against an unidentified armed group in Diva Naselba and that it would later report the details of the action. Police presence in Kumanovo was boosted, while the citizens remained in their homes in panic and fear. The shootouts lasted all day, and around 10 policemen were wounded. The information about policemen being wounded was published early in the morning, and during the day there were announcements that there were police force victims. The population massively evacuated, and the city resembled a war zone. The police were transferring people to safety, and the sight was terrifying- there were crying children, old fragile people and scared women and children… In the police action, part of the last armed group members were eliminated, and around 30 turned themselves in. The police units fought tactically against the well organized group. The policemen worked in stages and freed one house at a time. Furthermore, the people in the area were evacuated by police vehicles. The special tactical unit and the special operations unit “Tigar” also took part in the action. The action claimed the lives of 14 terrorists, and most of the others were arrested. After the police action finished, the Interior Ministry reported that the group was in fact one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the region, which had been involved in numerous attacks and its members had been internationally wanted for committing serious criminal acts. The shootouts which lasted 28 hours had a tragic outcome because 8 policemen died and 37 were injured in the action. The tragic events of May 8-9 claimed the lives of 8 policemen. Another 37 of their colleagues were seriously wounded. The government decided to financially aid the families of the police forces in the amount of EUR 70,000 per family. Financial aid will be also allocated to those that were wounded in the action. On February 9, the trial against 29 terrorists started. After a several month investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for prosecuting organized crime and corruption filed charges against 29 persons from Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo in November of last year. The defendants are charged with Criminal affiliation and terrorism. The public prosecutor Naum Panovski stated that the attack on the watch tower Gosince on April 21, 2015, prompted a thorough investigation and searches in relation to people who were suspected of partaking in the attack. “On May 9, members of the tactical unit team were acting in accordance with a search warrant in relation to terrorism regarding the Gosince watch tower. A hand grenade was thrown at the Special Unit Team while they were getting close to the object, and some policemen were injured. Then the armed group started shooting with automatic weapons and snipers, the shootouts lasted throughout the night and the next day. The next day, the group was taken in, 18 members wore Kosovo Liberation Army uniforms,” the prosecution said. All 29 of the defendants said that they do not feel guilty. More than 10 hearing were held, at which several witnesses were questioned. Most of the witnesses are from Diva Naselba, or they are relatives of the defendants. The last few hearings have been closed to the public because protected witness is supposed to testify. Eight persons were arrested under the Thunderbolt case for acting as logistical support of the Kumanovo group charged for the attack on the police station in Gosince and the attack in the Kumanovo settlement of Diva Naselba. The suspects had concrete tasks such as providing support to the Kumanovo group, and providing an illegal passage so that the Kosovo members of the group can enter the country, finding accommodation for the group in objects and houses in Kosovo and Macedonia, gathering information about the movement of Macedonian police units and observing specific locations and objects. The trial against them still has not started yet, but at the assessment of the indictment in April, all of them pleaded not guilty.

Albanian protests in Skopje: Flags of EU, US, Albania, but not Macedonia (Telegraf.mk)

Several thousand Albanians on Monday gathered outside the government in a peaceful protest on the anniversary of the action in Kumanovo. With flags of Albania, the US, EU and not one Macedonian flag they sent a message that they want to stop the terror against Albanians in Macedonia and according to them, the set up trials that are in process, such as “Monster”, “Sopot”, and Kumanovo. They are not satisfied with the treatment of Albanians and the attitude of the government led by VMRO-DPMNE and DUI, which ruling as they stated is coming to an end. The participants say they cannot speak of equality between the Albanians in Macedonia and that it will come to that when an Albanian will become head of state, prime minister or foreign minister. Protesters started their gathering in Cair through Bit Pazar, Mavrovka, bridge Goce Delcev and ended in front of the government where a stage was set up. The slogans that were inscribed at the transparents of the attendees were “against state terror”, “Black-Red revolution”, “Justice, Democracy and Dignity”. They sent a message that the place of the Albanians is in the EU and that the government should not even think to have close ties with Russia. They are angry with the DUI leader Ahmeti and they repeatedly shouted “Ali traitor”. They believe that DUI is not conducive to improving the rights of Albanians. The gathering began with the playing of the Albanian national anthem and shouting “UCK” and representatives of the association “Besa” addressed the gathering, as well as the writer Kim Mehmeti. As noted by the team of Telegraf.mk, the protest passed without any incidents and participants dispersed peacefully.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Defectors Form New Civic Party in Bosnia (BIRN, by Srecko Latal, 9 May 2016)

As Bosnia’s two main ostensibly civic and multi-ethnic parties continue to implode, two former prominent members, Reuf Bajrovic and Emir Suljagic, plan to set up a new party.

Two prominent defectors from Bosnia’s two main non-ethnic parties – the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and Democratic Front, DF – plan to set up new party, the Citizens Union, holding a founding congress in Sarajevo on May 21. The party will be ready to participate in Bosnia’s upcoming local elections on October 2, Reuf Bajrovic told BIRN. The Citizens Union – Gradjanski Savez – hopes to attract people who in the past were not directly engaged in politics. Bajrovic and Emir Suljagic were seen as playing a major role in the SDP’s victory in the 2010 elections. After leaving the SDP following a spat with its former president, Zlatko Lagumdzija, they joined another SDP renegade, Zeljko Komsic, in forming the Democratic Front. They helped the Front score solid results, only a few months after the new party was established, in the 2014 elections. But the two then clashed with Komsic and left the Front as well. Bajrovic is expected to be the first president of the Gradjanski Savez. Suljagic will officially not be a party member, but will sit on its political council, Bajrovic told BIRN. The new party aims to tap into a growing mass of dissatisfied former SDP and Democratic Front voters. Many experts – and voters – accused the two parties of relying mostly on Bosniak votes and of focusing on the distribution of seats and on political plots instead of on serious reforms. After becoming the single strongest party in Bosnia in the 2010 elections, the SDP shed almost 80 per cent of its voters by the time of the next general elections in 2014 thanks to its self-serving politics and Lagumdzija’s egocentric behaviour. Komsic and his Democratic Front followed a similar path after the 2014 elections. Since then, the SDP has changed its leadership but maintained the same political path, while the Democratic Front has effectively fallen apart after many of its members left the party, disgruntled with Komsic’s leadership. Polls indicate that these two parties will continue to wane and could even disappear in the next few election rounds. Their decline has boosted the prospects of the main Bosniak national party, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, led by Bakir Izetbegovic, and the Alliance for a Better Future, SBB, led by the tycoon Fahrudin Radoncic. This situation is also expected to increase the number of people who will boycott the next elections, feeling they have no satisfactory political representative on the scene. “The SDP and DF have wiped out the civic political option in Bosnia and Herzegovina at least for another six to eight years,” Bajrovic told BIRN. “So we have decided to do something about it.”

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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.