LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Romania’s position on Kosovo and Metohija important (Novosti)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic received Romanian Ambassador Daniel Banu and pointed out that cooperation between the two countries was at a high level “The fact that Romania remains firmly at the position of not recognizing Kosovo, as well as the fact that the trade exchange between the two countries has reached nearly one billion Euros at the annual level, only confirm the great importance Romania has for Serbia. Romania’s position in regard to the Kosovo issue is extremely valuable for Serbia, as well as the support to its EU integration path,” said Nikolic. The Ambassador voiced satisfaction with the fact that Serbia and Romania have established excellent cooperation in all spheres and confirmed that his country’s position in regard to Kosovo would not change.

Djuric: Serbia can join EU only as integral country (Politika)

“It is only as an integral country that Serbia can be a member of international organizations, and our stand is based on international law, political and moral reasons,” the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said at the third high-level regional forum. Hus thus responded to the claims that Germany will not ratify the agreement on Serbia’s EU accession until Kosovo becomes a full UN member. “Serbia’s stand regarding membership of our southern province in international organizations has not changed an inch. We are in constant dialogue with officials of EU member states and no official, formal or informal signal has arrived regarding any new pressure over the matter,” Djuric told journalists, adding he does not want to comment on unofficial stands.

Jevtic: Sunny Valley project is no colonization (RTS)

Minister for Returns in the Kosovo government Dalibor Jevtic told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the return of displaced persons cannot be colonization since at issue is the return of those people who had to leave their homes due to given circumstances. During the five months of this year, 101 people have returned to Kosovo and Metohija. Jevtic says this data is the best possible reflection of the situation on the ground. “The number 101 is a small one compared to the number of displaced, which is over 200 000,” says Jevtic. That is why this number is larger compared to the same period last year, but only because of the fact that there was no return in the first five months of last year, explains Jevtic. “I regret that certain politicians, but also the society, welcomed the Sunny Valley project in the manner that can be heard these days,” says Jevtic. According to him, the return of displaced persons is not and cannot be colonization. “The Sunny Valley is a product of the fact that we cannot realize return in the majority of areas where the displaced wish to return, such as Djakovica and in some other parts of Kosovo. Precisely because of this, we had to complete a project that will enable return to the area where a safe environment would be created for their lives. This project is of great importance,” said Jevtic.

In regard to the population census in Kosovo and Metohija, Jevtic says it can be conducted only in conditions of a completely politically stable and socially safe environment, as the Serb List says, adding that it doesn’t accept the Law on Census. “At the meeting we held with Kosovo Serb political representatives together with four north Kosovo mayors, we supported their conclusion – that at present there are no conditions to conduct the census so 2011 would not repeat when the census was held in Kosovo and Metohija that was not successful due to the boycott. We expect to discuss this topic within the Kosovo government and if they accept these stands then I also expect the Law on Census to be withdrawn from procedure,” said Jevtic, adding this is also the interest of the international community.

EULEX mandate extended (Beta)

The European Council extended on Tuesday the mandate of EULEX in Kosovo until 14 June 2018. The Council also approved a combined budget for the mission of 63.6 million Euros providing for the period 15 June 2016 – 14 December 2016 for its operations in Kosovo and until 14 June 2017 for the specialist chambers and the specialist prosecutor office, the statement said.

Zheleznyak: Russia worried about NATO in Balkans – and Serbia in EU (Beta)

Russia will probably be forced to revise a series of agreements with Serbia if the country becomes deeply integrated into the EU, senior official of the ruling United Russia party Sergei Zheleznyak said. “It is completely clear to us that with deep integration of the Serbian partners into the EU, we will most likely be forced to reexamine a series of agreements between our countries in order to protect our economic interests,” Zheleznyak said in an online interview published on the website of United Russia, Beta reports. Zheleznyak, who is also vice president of the State Duma, said that Russia is very concerned by NATO’s attempt to strengthen its position in the Balkans, including in brotherly Serbia. “In Montenegro, we clearly see what kind of deep social rift is brought about by the aspiration to drag that country into the Alliance at any cost, against the will of its own people,” he said.  According to Zheleznyak, that is the reason Russia supports Belgrade’s efforts to preserve its military neutrality, adding that it will continue to implement this policy as an important part of friendly Russian-Serbian relations. “The most important thing is that the ways and methods to further strengthen the neutrality – including the idea of ​​fixing the fact in the Constitution, as a long-term guarantee that Serbia will not join NATO – are determined by Serbian political forces without outside pressure,” he added. Speaking about Serbia’s bid to join the EU, Zheleznyak noted that integration and foreign policy issues are a matter of countries themselves, taking into account the views of citizens. According to him, the main and absolutely unacceptable condition of the EU for Serbia’s accession is to recognize Kosovo. “United Russia is lately firmly adhering to the policy of providing support to our Serbian partners, in the ruling party and in the opposition, in implementing an independent course in the interest of citizens,” said Zheleznyak.

Distrust and accusations during Vucic’s meeting with Davenport and Scott (Danas)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksadnar Vucic accused the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport of working “against Serbia’s interests” by supporting the NGOs that are organizing anti-government protests. According to Danas’ information from diplomatic circles close to the participants in talks that Vucic held with the EU and U.S. ambassadors, the Kosovo and Republika Srpska topics were not on the agenda at all, but only Vucic’s accusations at his press conferences – that the EU and U.S. are trying to “topple the government in Serbia”. “Vucic’s meeting with EU and U.S. officials passed by in an atmosphere of distrust and mutual accusations, where diplomatic tones were lacking at moments, which has so far not been the practice at these kinds of meetings,” Danas was told by these diplomatic circles. According to them, “Vucic has given up the policy of ignoring the EU Ambassador and the work of the EU Delegation in Serbia” and “launched an open attack, primarily through the media close to the SNS, which has evidently led to a personal conflict with no end in sight”. Danas was told by interlocutors close to the EU Commission in Brussels, that Vucic’s stand towards Davenport has been additionally reinforced with the alleged assessments that the work of the EU Ambassador to Serbia had been assessed in top circles in Brussels as insufficiently successful.

Bundestag MPs contemplating about a new initiative for the Balkans (Danas)

German Bundestag MPs from the ruling coalition CDU-CSU are contemplating on requesting, over the numerous problems they are having with the B&H authorities, from Chancellor Angela Merkel to initiate in European institutions amendments to the Dayton Peace Agreement, Danas learns from a highly ranked interlocutor in this party. “Even before the migrant crisis, Berlin has been highly interested in the Western Balkans. Dayton 2 and a new Constitution for B&H should be passed,” said this official who wished not to be named. Asked whether consultations had begun with the states that guaranteed the implementation of this agreement – Serbia and Croatia, Danas’ interlocutor points out that they haven’t “since this is still being examined”, but that the best thing would be to implement this initiative through EU institutions.

Dikovic, Benko on military cooperation and migrant crisis (Beta)

The chiefs of staff of the Serbian and Hungarian armed forces, generals Ljubisa Dikovic and Tibor Benko, met in Szeged to discuss the current security situation and bilateral military cooperation, as well as the migrant crisis. They agreed that cooperation between the two armies was very intense in terms of the number of activities and content and contributed to developing neighborly relations and strengthening security in the region, a statement from the Serbian Armed Forces said. The two chiefs of staff pointed to joint participation in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, joint exercises as well as cooperation in the area of atomic, chemical and biological protection, military sports and developing the non-commissioned officer corps.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: RS is not ready to sacrifice its autonomy for the European path (Nezavisne)

Republika Srpska (RS) is committed to European integration, President Milorad Dodik stated in Banja Luka on Tuesday. During talks with a delegation of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, which was headed by Gianni Pittella, Dodik pointed out that RS wants to be visible in the process of European integration, which, he said, should comply with the constitutional structure of B&H. He noted that this is particularly important for the coordination mechanism and reminded the European Parliamentarians about the way it was adopted, which resulted with the agreement still not being reached, announced the office of the RS President. “We want to incorporate the best European solutions in to the coordination mechanism, as the other decentralized EU countries did,” said Dodik. He noted that, although the EU is a commitment of RS, RS is not ready to sacrifice its autonomy for the European path, it should strengthen it following that path, reads the statement.

Dodik gave unreserved support to Mostar Serbs in their efforts to get an equal status (Srna)

RS President Milorad Dodik gave unreserved support to Mostar Serbs in their efforts to get an equal status in this city through new legislation on elections which should be adopted by the B&H Parliament, the Coordination of Serb Associations in Mostar told Srna.

Emergency session dedicated to B&H population census scheduled for today (Srna/Fena)

The Chairman of the B&H House of Representatives Mladen Bosic announced that a widened collegium of the House of Representatives decided that upon the completion of a regular session today, an emergency session dedicated to the B&H population census will be resumed. The Deputy Chairman of the SNSD Caucus in the B&H House of Representatives, Lazar Prodanovic, said that the SNSD is of the opinion that the emergency session of the House of Representatives should be completed first, after which a regular session would start. Meanwhile the Director of the Agency for Statistics of B&H Velimir Jukic said that the decision on a single program for the processing of census results in B&H is in accordance with the law, international standards and that the recommendations of the IMO team were respected. The PDP President Branislav Borenovic said that the decision on a methodology for the B&H population census data processing, which was brought without consensus, can have far-reaching consequences. The Minister of Civil Affairs of B&H Adil Osmanovic said that he expected that the results of the census, for the most part, will be published within the statutory deadline of 1 July this year.

Issue of joint bodies resolved (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic has said that the issue of the composition of joint bodies foreseen by the Stabilization and Association Agreement was resolved in a Tuesday meeting on the coordination mechanism on EU-related matters. “Those bodies have been foreseen by the Agreement, but we had to ensure institutional presence of the ones making decisions in the scope of internal coordination in order to be able to communicate via such bodies too,” Cvijanovic told reporters in Banja Luka. She said the part related to the working groups and advisory board of the ministerial conference was also finalized. The RS Prime Minister underlined that the teams had verified what was agreed in the previous meeting and that the officials entered the final stage of the agreement. “We have to go through all those solutions once and again and see if there’s anything there that still ‘sticks out’ but we’ll deal with it,” said Cvijanovic. The Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic and the Prime Ministers of RS and the Federation of B&H, Zeljka Cvijanovic and Fadil Novalic, made a conclusion on Tuesday that visible progress was achieved regarding the harmonization of a coordination mechanism on EU-related matters and agreed to meet again in the coming days to finalize the matter. It was stated during the meeting held via video conference that the coordination mechanism was one of the steps that will help B&H further prepare for the process of EU integration and that it should be efficient and transparent, the Council of Ministers said in a press release. Other participants of the meeting were also B&H Minister of Finance and Treasury Vjekoslav Bevanda, entity finance ministers Zoran Tegeltija and Jelka Milicevic, and Head of the EU Delegation/Special Representative, Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark.

Karamarko to step down as Deputy PM – unofficial sources (Hina)

Deputy Prime Minister and HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko will on Wednesday tender his resignation, sources from parties in the HDZ-led coalition said on Tuesday evening, however, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) did not confirm the information this evening. The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Karamarko had stated that his resignation was a part of the strategy of the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition. He said that he did not want to be a burden on the next government, according to the unofficial sources. Karamarko said earlier on Tuesday the HDZ-led Patriotic Coalition would have the support of 76 lawmakers for a new government and that he expected the Conflict of Interest Commission to hand down a normal and equitable decision in his case on Wednesday. He explained that he expected a normal and equitable decision from the Conflict of Interest Commission. “Which is that I wasn’t nor am in any conflict of interest? I can’t believe that the decision would be different because that would be grotesque.” Asked what would happen if the Commission found that he was in conflict, Karamarko said he would look for other ways to prove the truth and defend himself. The Conflict of Interest Commission will make public its decision on Wednesday concerning allegations that Karamarko was in a conflict of interest because his wife was in a business relationship with MOL’s lobbyist and consultant Jozo Petrovic. The Commission, which is established by the parliament and which consists of independent experts, launched the procedure to establish if Karamarko was in a conflict of interest on 18 May.

Orepic: Unity solution for migrants; Sobotka: Army to defend borders if necessary (HRT)

Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepic said in Dubrovnik on Tuesday that the only solution to migrant flows was unity among EU member states, while his Austrian counterpart, Wolfgang Sobotka, said migrants should know that the EU would defend its external borders, by force if necessary. Speaking to the press after a two-day conference of the Salzburg Forum, which took place in Dubrovnik, Orepic said the main topics were migrations, border control and combating terrorism. “The solution to all those issues lies in the word ‘unity’. 686,000 migrants entered Croatia and all attempts by countries to find solutions alone failed. Since we started thinking together, the previous migrant flows stopped existing and now we oversee those processes,” Orepic said, adding that Croatia had gone from being a passive position to being an active co-creator of the security policy of the EU and Southeast Europe. Sobotka said the common position was that it was necessary to ensure the protection of EU borders and citizens and that migrants should be given the possibility to find security near their countries. We must shut down smuggling routes, notably during the ongoing European football championship, he said. Sobotka said migrants should know that the EU would defend its borders, with the police and the military if necessary. Migrants should be told that so that they will know from the start that we will protect the external Schengen borders. We can’t depend on third countries. We will ensure that, if necessary with the help of the army. Police cooperation at international level is necessary in the fight against terrorism. That’s how we will identify foreign fighters, that’s how we found the attackers from Brussels relatively quickly, he said, adding that it was important to work on prevention to stop the radicalization of society. Dutch Migration Minister Klaas Dijkhoff said the EU had not handled the migrant crisis well at the beginning. The solution was found when the borders were defended and migrants could no longer seek routes by themselves. That was the first step and the next one was the agreement with Turkey. We must also stop migrants from arriving via the Mediterranean and work on returning them to the countries from which they came, he said.

Ratification process would not last long (Pobjeda)

President of the Montenegrin Parliament Darko Pajovic said that there is no doubt that the process of ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to NATO would be very quick. “Of course, every single individual award in this process adds additional dynamics, and we are very grateful to Iceland, and Slovenia, and Hungary for the support that they provide. We are confident that very soon all the other NATO member states would follow their example,” Pajovic told Pobjeda. He said that the ratification of the Protocol in Hungarian parliament only confirmed closeness and partnership between two countries. Pajovic said that the role of Hungary as a NATO contact embassy was of great importance for the process of Montenegro’s accession to NATO. “First, Montenegro has proved to be a serious partner fulfilling all that is required for membership in NATO, and second, Montenegro’s membership in this great and important military and political family of nations and countries is a clear strategic interest of countries that are members of NATO,” said Pajovic.

Protests resumes in Skopje (Telegraf.mk)

Supporters of the civil movement “Protestiram” (I Protest) took once again to the streets of Skopje on Tuesday. They reaffirmed their demands, namely urgent Constitutional Court’s assessment of the constitutionality of the establishment of the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), formation of an interim government, inclusion of the civic sector in any form of future negotiations and President Gjorge Ivanov’s irrevocable resignation. The protesters also reiterated their support for the SPO -­ the institution tasked with investigating the wiretapping scandal. The “Colorful Revolution” displayed yesterday a 20 meter long sheet across the triumphal arch with a red color subscription ‘Constitutional (Court) for the SPO 4’, which means only four days remain until the expiration of the deadline for meeting of the protesters’ demands.

Macedonia: Parliament continues debate on proposed impeachment of President Ivanov (Telegraf.mk)

Macedonian parliament continues its debate on the proposal by the opposition Social Democrat Union (SDSM) to impeach President Gjorge Ivanov. During the first day of debate on Monday, SDSM representatives were supported by the Albanian DUI party, to ask for impeachment, both falling far short of the two thirds majority in Parliament needed for the vote to succeed. “Violations of the Constitution are violations of the will of the citizens. It is our responsibility to return the principle of responsibility and to show that no­-one is above the Constitution and the law, including the head of the state. This will help return the confidence in the parliament,” said Parliament Deputy Speaker Renata Treneska Deskovska from the SDSM. The SDSM asked for the impeachment over President Ivanov’s decision in mid-April to pardon 56 politicians and their supporters from both the ruling VMRO-­DPMNE party and SDSM. VMRO-DPMNE, which holds nearly half the seats in parliament, announced that they disagree with the President’s decision, but will not support the impeachment, given that it was fully in line with the Constitution. Ivanov withdrew the pardons after parliament amended the laws. “President Ivanov did not violate the Constitution and the laws and was acting within his rights and prerogatives,” said VMRO-­DPMNE member of Parliament Zoran Ilioski. Ilija Dimovski, head of the VMRO-DPMNE group in parliament, reminded SDSM and DUI that Ivanov, who was elected as President twice, won more votes in 2014 than the second, third and fourth placed parties combined, giving him an exceptionally strong mandate, and continues to rank high in public polls.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Interview: Serbia-China friendship as strong as the Great Wall: Serbian president (Xinhua, by Nemanja Cabric and Wang Huijuan, 15 June 2016)

BELGRADE — The long-awaited visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Serbia will reveal a new chapter of Serbia-China traditional friendship, and offer a chance of further economic cooperation, said Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic in an exclusive interview with Xinhua ahead of Xi’s visit. Nikolic first emphasized the profound and decades-old friendship between Serbia and China. He said the friendly bilateral relations are important to both countries and their people. “The everlasting friendship cannot be influenced by changes of presidents or prime ministers,” he added. Nikolic said that he has always been paying great attention to relations with China ever since he was elected president in 2012. He expressed great expectation to Xi’s upcoming visit, believing this visit will strengthen and promote the comprehensive development of bilateral relations. Serbia and China signed a joint declaration on strategic partnership in 2009. During President Xi’s visit, the two countries are expected to further enhance political and economic ties, according to Nikolic. In past years, bilateral relations have been developing comprehensively, political and economic cooperation has also helped Serbia to elevate its international importance, said the Serbian president. Serbia and China support each other’s positions on issues concerning their core interests, he said. In economy, the two countries have cooperated in many infrastructure projects with the help of Chinese loans and implementation, including highways, bridges and thermal power plants. “Serbia has a tradition of production. The country gives high subsidies to investors and it has duty-free markets across the world. These are extraordinary reasons why Chinese investors should build their factories here — we should jointly make products here and sell them in international market,” Nikolic noted. He suggested Chinese businessmen consider investing in Serbia’s industry and food sector, as they are two very promising and fast-growing areas. He also hoped the two nations can enhance communication and cooperation in science and technology, culture, and art. Talking about China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the “16+1 Cooperation” mechanism, Nikolic said that Serbia fits in the strategies and can play a very active role in them. “We are on the route of ‘the Belt and Road’, and we also belong to the 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Yet our bilateral relations will go beyond them,” said Nikolic. “Serbia can become China’s partner in the entire region.” The Serbian president said he was happy to see that bilateral cooperation is going on so well. “Friendship cannot be measured by money, but by time and history. Our friendship is as strong as the Great Wall of China,” he concluded.

Xi’s visit to enhance Sino-Serbian ties: ambassador (Xinhua, 15 June 2016)

BELGRADE — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Serbia is of great significance and will surely raise Sino-Serbian relations to a new high, the Chinese ambassador to Serbia said. Political contacts between China and Serbia have been frequent in recent years and bilateral ties have grown steadily, Li Manchang said in an interview with Xinhua ahead of Xi’s state visits to Serbia, Poland and Uzbekistan on June 17-22. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli visited Serbia in late 2014 and in mid-2015 respectively, while Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic attended China’s landmark parade marking the 70th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War victory in September 2015. Ambassador Li believed that the frequent exchange of high-level visits may reflect the constant growth of relations between the two countries.

Serbia built a strategic partnership with China in 2009. It is China’s first strategic partner in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). On the Sino-Serbian relationship, Ambassador Li quoted Serbian Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic as saying that “Serbia is always China’s reliable friend and partner.” The Chinese ambassador noted that China and Serbia firmly support each other on issues related to their own core interests and have become real strategic partners. Both sides support and help each other on the basis of equality and mutual trust, and jointly maintain international fairness and justice, he said. Sino-Serbian cooperation has set an example for China-CEE cooperation and boosted China-Europe relations, the ambassador said, citing the first China-built railway bridge in Europe, highways and hydro power stations as results of such cooperation. Sino-Serbian cooperation have expanded constantly in recent years, from infrastructure construction to the realms of energy, iron and steel, telecommunications, and finance, and from loans to investment and joint ventures, Ambassador Li stressed. China and Serbia signed a memorandum on jointly promoting the “Belt and Road” construction in 2015, he said, adding that Serbia has offered strong support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He noted that during Xi’s upcoming visit, China and Serbia will sign a series of political and economic agreements, map out blueprints and plans for the future development of the two countries, and further enhance bilateral relations.

China’s Xi to sign trade, aviation deals on eastern Europe visit (Reuters, 15 June 2016)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to sign a series of agreements in areas ranging from trade to civil aviation during a visit to Serbia and Poland starting this week, diplomats said on Wednesday, as China looks to bolster its presence in central and eastern Europe. Central and east European countries are competing for Chinese investment in everything from banking to beer, looking to lure firms in need of new markets while securing a foothold for their own products in the huge but difficult Chinese market. Xi is expected to sign agreements in education, finance and technology, among other fields. Chinese foreign direct investment to Europe hit a record high in 2015 of around 20 billion euros ($22.45 billion), a 44 percent annual rise. Germany, Britain and France accounted for almost half the total, according to a report by Germany’s Mercator Institute for China Studies and the U.S.-based Rhodium Group. Only snippets of investment went to central and eastern Europe, but as Chinese firms look to diversify as the economy slows, volumes are growing, thanks to deals in infrastructure, energy, finance, real estate and travel. Firms are finding a warm welcome in central and east Europe. In Hungary, the Chinese have a currency clearing center. Hungary and Serbia have signed a deal with China to build a high-speed railway from Belgrade to Budapest. Hungary has also issued bonds in the Chinese currency. In April, China’s Hebei Iron & Steel Group signed a 46 million euro deal to buy a Serbian steel plant. Also in April, China Everbright Group, a state-backed financial firm, bought into Albania’s international airport. In Germany by contrast, there are political concerns about losing key expertise to China as a growing number of Chinese companies seek to buy German industrial technology. “This (visit) shows the great importance China’s leaders and government place on the development of China-Europe relations,” said Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Haixing in a briefing. “We believe this visit will push forward the development of China-European relations to a great extent.” The Chinese have also created a “16+1” forum – their way of communicating with multiple central and east European states, with a total population of around 120 million. But the relationship has not all been plain sailing. Ahead of Xi’s visit to the Czech Republic in March, unknown activists defaced dozens of Chinese flags with black paint. Police also arrested 12 people who replaced Chinese flags with Tibetan ones along the main route from Prague’s airport. Xi will also visit Uzbekistan, where he will attend a summit of the Chinese and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Bosnia Herzegovina: the rebellious Muslims (Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, by Andrea Oskari Rossini, 14 June 2016)

The terrorist risk in the country is rooted in the war of the Nineties, and in the presence of groups assessing themselves as alternative to the official Islamic Community

This article is part of a collaboration between Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and the Istituto Affari Internazionali

On 18 November 2015, a few days after the Paris attacks, Enes Omeragić entered a betting shop in Rajlovac, in the outskirts of Sarajevo, and opened fire on two Bosnian soldiers, killing them. Police traced him down a few hours later in his apartment, in the same neighbourhood. Omeragić, a man in his thirties, then blew himself up with a hand grenade.

The episode was hardly noticed by mainstream European media, still under the shock of the Paris events. It represents, however, the umpteenth attack attributed to Islamist terrorism occurring in the Balkan country since 2010.

In January that year a bomb exploded outside the Bugojno police station, in central Bosnia. A policeman, Tarik Ljubuškić, died, and six of his colleagues were wounded. The following year, in Sarajevo, Mevlid Jašarević opened fire with a Kalashnikov against the US embassy, injuring a policeman. Last year, on April 27, Nerdin Ibrić attacked with an automatic rifle the police station in Zvornik, in the part of the country with a Bosnian Serb majority, shouting “Allah Akbar” and killing agent Dragan Đurić before being killed himself.

The type of assaults taking place in Bosnia Herzegovina1 are different from the massacres perpetrated by Isis in Europe’s big capital cities. Those being hit are foreign targets, or representatives of the local security forces, the military or the police. Up until now civilians have not been involved, which leads one to presume a different strategy for the radical groups in the Balkans. Single individuals come out in the open sporadically, but the main role assigned to the region seems to be logistics, for example for the transfer of men or weapons, and to serve as a base to recruit foreign fighters.

According to Vlado Azinović, a Sarajevo University Professor who recently co-authored, with Muhamed Jusić, the report “The call to war in Syria: the Bosnian contingent of foreign fighters”, between 2012 and the end of 2015 some 250 Bosnians left the country to go fight in the Middle East. The number itself isn’t particularly relevant in absolute terms, if compared for example with that of the foreign fighters coming from France, Belgium, the UK or from Germany2. In relative terms though, considering the total size of the population (about 3,800.000), it is not insignificant. Bosnia Herzegovina, furthermore, has some specifics, from a terrorism risk profile, that distinguish it from other European countries.

The first is the fragmentation of the country’s several security agencies, in the context of the complicated institutional structure defined by the Dayton Accords. Uroš Pena, Vice-Head of the Directorate for the Coordination of the Bosnian police forces, recently told local media that “Sharing information is a big problem. Each agency holds on to the best information. They all have obligations to share information but this is not done… We do not have clear definitions of jurisdiction, so we always have problems3.”

The second element of risk, for Bosnia-Herzegovina, is the relative ease with which, twenty years after the war, it is still possible to find weapons. When the peace accords were signed, in 1995, many people decided to keep the weapons, unsure of the future. Those weapons can now end up in the wrong hands in many different ways, sold in the black market even so as to temporarily adjust the family budget.

The fact instead that about half of Bosnia Herzegovina’s population is of Muslim faith, culture or tradition3, a circumstance usually underlined by European media dealing with terrorism in the country, doesn’t seem to represent a risk factor whatsoever. The local Islamic community (Islamska Zajdenica, IZ) has always strongly denounced terrorism and violence, calling its followers to stay away from the radical groups that are trying to subvert the rules upon which Islam rested for centuries in this region.

These groups, according to OBN TV journalist Esad Hećimović, author of “Garibi – Mujadeddini in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1999”, began to show their presence in the country as of 1992, the year in which war started in Bosnia. A few hundred fighters4 from Arab countries, or Afghanistan, joined the “El mujahid” brigade of the Armija BiH5, or other minor formations, fighting along with Bosnian Muslims. The Mujaheddins not only brought to Bosnia their own will to fight, but also a very different interpretation of Islam than that of Bosnian Muslims. After the war, the influence of extremist groups continued in different ways, through the work carried out by preachers, financial assistance or the creation of an alternative welfare system.

Today, twenty years after the end of the war, it is difficult to evaluate their influence throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Given the structure of the country, their presence is mainly in isolated villages, in mountainous or rural regions, where the groups asserting themselves as alternative to the official Islamic community carry out a sort of parallel social and religious life. Not all, of course, are tied to international terrorist networks, neither do all believe in the use of violence for the political or religious struggle. It is a very diversified universe whose more representative figures were believed to be, in the past, Nusret Imamović, today probably in Syria, and more recently Husein Bosnić (Bilal), convicted on 5 November last year by the Bosnian judicial system to 7 years of imprisonment for recruiting young people for the wars of the Middle East.

The official Islamic community (IZ) of Bosnia Herzegovina appears therefore to be a sort of “dike” against these groups, and IZ itself recently provided some data regarding the presence of these rebel communities, defined by the local media as “paradžemate”, counting 64 of them in different parts of the country. The highest ranking Islamic authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the reis ulema Husein Kavazović, on more than one occasion harshly accused these “para-communities”, exhorting the Bosnian authorities to prevent them from exercising their activities. In the past months, an interesting confrontation between IZ and the “paradžemate” took place in Sarajevo, far from the indiscreet eyes of the media. The official Islamic community defends its right to choose the spiritual leaders (Imams) and to educate believers, and reclaimed the rebel communities within its own jurisdiction. The difficult process though, according to what Islamska Zajednica declared, did not amount to great results and, at the end of talks which lasted weeks, only 14 of the 38 who participated in this process accepted to come under the authority of the official community.

1 In this text also referred to as “Bosnia”, “BiH”

2 See the statistics reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty  and Foreign Fighters: An Updated Assessment of the Flow of Foreign Fighters into Syria and Iraq, The Soufan Group, December 2015

3 Scale of Balkan Jihadist Extremism ‘Underestimated’, compiled by Anita Rice from BIRN journalists’ reports, Balkan Insight, Sarajevo, 30 Mar 2016

3 43,47% according to the 1991 census. Recent estimates vary

4 Half of the “El mujahid” brigade, who had some 1,800 soldiers, were foreigners

5 The Army of Bosnia Herzegovina