LOCAL PRESS

UN SC to discuss situation in Kosovo on August 25 (Tanjug)

The UN Security Council should meet in New York on August 25 to discuss the situation in Kosovo, the UN website has announced. Earlier on, in his latest report on Kosovo, covering the period from April 16 to July 15, 2016, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged leaders in Belgrade and Pristina to continue the dialogue on normalization of relations as well as demonstrate a readiness for compromise to ensure a quicker conclusion of the process to the benefit of all. Commenting on the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Ban said not much progress had been made in practical implementation of agreements but noted that both sides had expressed commitment to continue the dialogue.

Parliament to inaugurate new cabinet this week (Beta)

The Serbian Prime Minister-designate, Aleksandar Vucic, delivered to the Serbian speaker, Maja Gojkovic, the list of nominations for a new cabinet, which will be officially presented at a special parliamentary session on Aug. 9. Vucic listed 19 nominees for his new cabinet, saying at a press conference in the parliament building that “the core of the previous cabinet has been preserved, but persons not affiliated with any party will take over certain departments in the new Government.” “At a session on Aug. 9, Members of Parliament and citizens will be presented with an accountable, comprehensive Government plan to improve the standard of living for the citizens of Serbia,” Vucic said, adding that his inaugural speech might take a few hours, and that he expected the MPs to vote on the new cabinet make-up in the next few days, after a debate. Vucic said that the previous government was to stabilize the country, while the new one was expected to ensure “progress and prosperity.”

Vucic’s presentation to be followed by debate and vote (Tanjug)

The Serbian National Assembly will on Tuesday begin a special session dedicated to electing Serbia’s new Government. The cabinet proposed by PM-designate Aleksandar Vucic will have 19 ministers, including three ministers without portfolio. Vucic’s SNS party will lead the Government, with three ministerial posts going to their coalition partners the SPS. Several non-partisan figures will also be members of the country’s new cabinet. The Government will have eight new names, while six ministers from the previous composition have been left out. National Assembly President Maja Gojkovic expects “a substantial and serious debate” and the election of the proposed Government by the end of the week.

Vucic has announced that he will be presenting his exposé for several hours, followed by a debate on the Government’s program and on its members, and a vote to elect it. The Serbian National Assembly decides on electing the country’s Government in a secret vote, unless a decision is made to vote by roll call. A Government is elected by a simple majority (126) out of the total number of people’s deputies (250). The Government’s mandate starts from the moment the oath of office is taken before the National Assembly. After the oath is taken, the prime minister and the members of his cabinet sign the text of the oath and hand it over to the president of the National Assembly. Vucic on Monday said that he had no plans for now to change the laws on Government and ministries, and announced that, while presenting his cabinet’s program today, he will speak “as much as need, and that will be several hours.” He added that his presentation has been prepared “very diligently and seriously” and that he is convinced that is “our obligation to citizens.” Vucic also revealed that “out of respect for parliament and citizens” he plans to present his Government’s program while standing – and will also be reading out some of it, and delivering the rest “from his head.”

When asked what he would do if the opposition decided to walk out, Vucic said they were free to leave the session if they wanted to – “I neither can nor want to stop anyone.” “Let them do their work, let them walk where they want – to in front of the journalists, to the restaurant,” he said, and announced that he will be “ready to answer every question and objection, will not be scared of curses, insults, slander, fabrication,” and “will not be running out or running away from anyone.” “I’m sure they are of better physical health than I am, but few will be able to stand and work more than I do,” said Vucic.

If elected, his new cabinet will have Ivica Dacic as the First Deputy PM and Foreign Minister, as well as Deputy PM and Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, Deputy PM and Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic, and Deputy PM and Minister of Trade and Telecommunications Minister Rasim Ljajic.

The Government will also include Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic, Minister of Economy Goran Knezevic, Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic, Energy and Mining Minister Aleksandar Antic, Minister of Justice Nela Kuburovic, Minister of State Administration and Local Self-Government Ana Brnabic, Defense Minister Zoran Djordjevic, Education Minister Mladen Sarcevic, Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar, Minister of Labor, Social and Veteran Affairs Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Youth and Sports Vanja Udovicic, and Minister of Culture and Information Vladan Vukosavljevic. Ministers without portfolio will be Jadranka Joksimovic, Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic and Milan Krkobabic.

Dacic: SPS Presidency unanimously for joining Government (Tanjug)

The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) is ready to take its share of responsibility in the new Serbian Government, which must complete internal political and economic reforms and get Serbia into the EU, SPS leader Ivica Dacic said Monday. Ahead of an SPS Head Committee meeting, Dacic said the party’s Presidency had unanimously voted in favor of joining the government and that the matter had been discussed on several occasions, noting that there were no disagreements on this. “Immediately after the elections, we said we wanted to continue the cooperation with the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vucic, which is what we had also said before the elections,” Dacic said, adding that Serbia’s GDP had increased, its public finances recovered and its international position improved thanks to the cooperation.

Serbia to get first openly gay cabinet minister (B92)

Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday he is aware that Serbia’s future minister of state administration and local self-government is gay, i.e., a lesbian woman. However, the PM-designate said he was “not interested in private orientations.” Vucic said he was instead interested “only in her business results,” adding that Ana Brnabic was welcome in the Serbian Government. “Ana Brnabic and I spoke also about that aspect. She is not hiding it, she speaks about it proudly. She is so nice and charming, and she asked me, she said, ‘if that bothers you – I’m sure everyone will be talking about it now’. I replied, ‘I’m interested in what you can do, and I know how professional and hardworking you are’,” Vucic recounted the conversation during a news conference in the National Assembly on Monday. He added he was “happy to work with someone like Brnabic” and that she a spotless business resume. “If you can tell me something bad about her professional resume, tell me. I’m only interested in what her result will be in the difficult job ahead of her,” the PM-designate continued. Vucic underlined that Brnabic “worked the most” on behalf of NALED Serbia – the National Alliance for Local Economic Development – in order to improve Serbia’s position in World Bank’s Doing Business list. “The woman has exceptional energy and I am very much looking forward to working with her,” he said.

Vucic to travel to Vienna on his first visit as head of new Government (Tanjug)

Prime Minister designate Aleksandar Vucic announced Monday he would travel to Vienna at the end of the week on his first visit as head of the new Serbian Government and that US Vice President Joe Biden should visit Serbia in the days to come. “I expect Biden to arrive in the days to come and it seems it will happen a few days earlier than planned,” Vucic told reporters at a press conference. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven will also visit Serbia, which is a major thing for our country as he is only coming to Serbia and not going on a tour of the Balkans, Vucic said. Vucic said he would be visiting Vienna on Friday, Saturday or Sunday as a guest of Chancellor Christian Kern. He said the visit to Austria would be his first as head of the new Government. Vucic’s new cabinet should be presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday; however, it is already known that it will have six new ministers compared to the current, caretaker Government.

Not much can be expected from the new ministers, say analysts (VIP, Politika)

Not much can be expected from the new ministers in the Government since in “authoritarian regimes the ministers are servants of the authoritarian leader”, and “nothing depends” on them, Professor of the Belgrade Philosophy Faculty and political analyst Jovo Bakic said. New faces are “a mere distraction for the public”, said Bakic, adding that the ministers from the outgoing Government who will remain in the new one were “disastrous”, while the biographies of some of the new ones “do not promise much”. “The ministers who are kept on are for the main part disastrous, such as Stefanovic or Vulin. Among the new ones there are some, to me, unfamiliar people, but their résumés do not promise much and here I am primarily thinking of the minister of culture and education”, Bakic said. “The make-up of the future Government is for the most part expected and the only surprise is the absence of the up-to-now Minister of Justice Nikola Selakovic, said the Professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences Zoran Stojiljkovic. “The absence of Selakovic is a surprise because he belongs to (the small circle) of Vucic’s closest associates… I don’t know how this came about, and all the rest was more or less expected”, Stojiljkovic said. “According to all objective parameters, this is not the case of a new Government but of a reshuffle of medium level. Exactly what he (Vucic) spoke about and which he announced all through 2015, that is until – the excessive and as it turned out groundless fear of the outcome of the local and provincial elections – he decided to go for early parliamentary elections once more”, political analyst and independent MP Djordje Vukadinovic writes in Politika on Tuesday. “Even in Serbian political circumstances, in which nothing is strange or scandalous, it seems almost incredible that the country is held in a semi-state of emergency only so that (…) in the end just a few unimportant ministers are replaced,” he writes. “Personnel solutions are not very important even in terms of this Vucic Government. All the elected ministers will simply be servants, aides or at best aide de camp and spokespeople for the Prime Minister and only minister – Vucic himself,” Vukadinovic said.

Opposition leader: Govt. forming process was “telenovela” (Tanjug)

Democratic Party (DS) President Bojan Pajtic says Serbia’s new Governments will, regardless of its composition, “work as it did before.” “There still exists only one man in Serbia, and his “ministers” are merely carrying out his orders. The Government’s new composition shows that citizens of Serbia will continue to live increasingly worse,” he said in a statement issued on Monday. As he said, Vucic‘s previous Government cut salaries and pensions, and concluded “secret and damaging contracts.” “The Government showed how to abolish the rule of law in the Savamala case, in the investigation into the helicopter tragedy, that (previous) composition tried to stifle the freedom of speech in the media, and the criticism of the government by independent institutions and public figures,” Pajtic’s statement continued. “Yet another telenovela about the composition of a new government, directed by Aleksandar Vucic, is over,” he said, adding: “The new composition will have but one goal – to defend the rating of Aleksandar Vucic, who will still be dealing exclusively with the showdowns with those who think differently.”

Vucic repeats accusation that Savamala civic protest organizers of trying to topple Government (VIP)

Prime Minister designate Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that the prosecution is conducting an investigation into the tearing down of buildings in Belgrade’s Savamala quarter on election night in April and added that his political reaction will come once that investigation is completed. The public has been waiting for more than three months to find out who is to blame for the illegal destruction of the buildings, detention of several eyewitnesses and several other crimes committed during the incident. Once again, Vucic offered no information which would shed light on the case. “This is not being done by the Justice or Internal Affairs Ministries but by the prosecution which is investigating. That’s what it’s like in legally ordered countries. Perhaps it was the case earlier that ministers decided who would be charged and who would not… I am sure that the prosecution will finish the case to the very end. I will know how to react politically following decisions by the prosecution and judiciary bodies,” Vucic told reporters. Vucic said in May that “complete idiots” were to blame for the destruction – but only because they did the job by night and not by day – and that the responsibility for what was done lies in the top ranks of the city Government. The solving of the case is obviously being delayed so that the findings of the investigation can be made public at the most opportune moment when it will inflict the least damage on the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Vucic himself. Just as he has done since the case surfaced, Vucic twisted things around on Monday: instead of responding to the legitimate concern of the population because of the suspension of rule of law – the most scandalous fact of all is that the Belgrade police refused to respond to calls from people who reported the incident in Savamala – he once again accused the organizers of the street protests which are being held every two to three weeks of trying to topple the Government. Vucic said that “three million” (presumably Euro) were invested into the protest campaign over the tearing down of the buildings in Savamala “in order to portray the Government as criminal”.

“Croatian FM vs. common sense – fight he cannot win” (Tanjug)

Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovac “has started a fight against common sense,” Aleksandar Vulin has said in a statement for Tanjug. But according to the Serbian minister of labor and social and veteran affairs, it is a fight that Kovac “cannot possibly win.” “Mr. Kovac very often enters into diplomatic conflicts with Serbia, and loses them each time, but by taking part in a rehabilitation of Ustashism and justification of the crimes committed against Serbs, he has entered a fight against common sense, and that fight he cannot possibly win,” Vulin said. “If Kovac had spent more time with states people from around the world, he would know how to differentiate between a dignified, peaceful commemoration in Busije, and the Ustasha rampage in Knin,” Vulin continued. He was referring to a state event held on Thursday in Belgrade’s Zemun municipality in memory of the victims of Croatia’s Operation Storm, and the celebration of Operation Storm staged on Friday in Knin, during and after which incidents occurred involving supporters of Ustashism – the ideology of the Nazi allied WW2-era Independent State of Croatia (NDH). “In Busije, you could hear people sharing about their destinies, sharing their pain with the whole world, while in Knin you could hear (pro-Ustasha singer) Thompson, Ustasha songs, fascist greetings, a rampage,” the minister said. Vulin also stressed that Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, who spoke in Busije, “shared his pain, said what Serbia will not accept, and that Storm will never happen again, but he also called for coexistence, peace, forgiveness.” “How much longer will it take for a political leader who will have the courage to say something like that to appear on the Croatian side,” Vulin asked. On Monday, Croatian Hina agency reported that Miro Kovac accused Serbia’s authorities of “still not being free from the virus of aggressive Greater-Serbdom,” nor from “the Yugoslav communist system” – and that, until this happens, “Belgrade will never join the EU.” Kovac also referred to Vucic’s address in Busije, saying that the Serbian prime minister “called Operation Storm – when Croatian army and police liberated the occupied Croatian state” a criminal final solution,” and mentioned “many gouged Serb eyes, and many cut off Serb ears and noses.” However, said Kovac, in his speech, Vucic never spoke about “this being the Croatian state territory, or about the several hundred thousand Croats who were previously expelled, while many Croats were killed and tortured.”

Serbian MUP helping Macedonia in wake of deadly storm (Vecernje Novosti)

The Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) announced on Monday it is assisting Macedonia in coping with the aftermath of a storm that killed 21 people on Saturday. The MUP said that several trucks and other vehicles with the necessary equipment and water pumps have been dispatched to Macedonia, along with about 20 members of Serbia’s firefighting and rescue units. Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic spoke last night with his Macedonian counterpart Mitko Chakov, offering help with protecting and rescuing the people affected by the storm and the flash floods, and with remediation of the area.

REGIONAL PRESS

Izetbegovic claims that issue of Coordination Mechanism is resolved (TV1)

Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic announced in Sarajevo on Monday that the issue of the Coordination Mechanism is resolved. Izetbegovic explained that the objections presented by Croat member of the Presidency of B&H and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic will be accepted and obstacles on B&H’s path to join the EU will be removed. Meanwhile, Covic himself announced that the meeting between representatives of the ruling parties in the Federation of B&H will probably be held next week. The reporter reminded that B&H authorities must inform the EU if the Coordination Mechanism is adopted or not by September 5, while the session of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will be held on September 20. The reporter also reminded that Covic complained that the position of cantons is not strong enough in the Coordination Mechanism agreed by Izetbegovic and RS President and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik. Covic claims that the Coordination Mechanism will be adopted by the Council of Ministers of B&H (B&H CoM) as soon as several corrections are introduced to the basic document. Covic pointed out that there will be no problems if cantons are mentioned wherever entities and other lower levels of the authorities are mentioned in the Coordination Mechanism. Izetbegovic deems that Covic’s objections are not disputable and there will be no problems to mention cantons and the Brcko District in particular if needed. “Therefore, we will be glad to fulfill such formal demand so that we can move on,” Izetbegovic stated. According to the reporter, the B&H CoM and entity ministers are expected to finally adjust the Coordination Mechanism on August 17. Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of B&H Mirko Sarovic assessed that the Coordination Mechanism will be forwarded to the B&H CoM and entity governments in order to adopt the adjusted and uniformed document. However, Izetbegovic stressed that he does not know if he will meet Covic before August 17 but the issue of the Coordination Mechanism is resolved and only details have to be agreed. Izetbegovic said that he did not speak to Covic for 10 days and he wants to believe that there was misunderstanding when representatives of HDZ B&H did not come to the recent meeting with SDA representatives in Konjic. The reporter stated that disputes over the Coordination Mechanism gave way to allegations about possible reshuffling of the authorities but the party leaders claim that the ruling coalition will not break apart. Izetbegovic pointed out that he will wait for Covic to schedule the next meeting of the leaders of the ruling parties in the Federation of B&H. Covic confirmed that he spoke to SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic and the meeting will most likely be held next week. Covic said that he will make an effort to create relaxed atmosphere at the meeting in order to help reduce tensions caused by emotional outbursts in the media. Commenting on the recent meeting between Izetbegovic and Dodik, Covic noted that the decisions regarding issues that are important to entire B&H cannot be made in such manner but they have to be made in institutions and with representatives of constituent peoples.

Izetbegovic and Covic open their cards (Glas Srpske)

“We will wait on Covic to call a meeting, last time I did it, unsuccessfully unfortunately, and I hope that this time it (meeting) is going to be more successful. So, it is up to him now,” said Izetbegovic on Monday and added that the Coordination Mechanism has been determined during his meeting with Dodik and it is going to include cantons in the decision-making process. “What are Covic’s demands? Instead of using the term ‘cantons’, should we name them all – Canton 10, Sarajevo… No problem, if we must meet such formal demand, we will gladly do that and move on,” said Izetbegovic. Commenting Covic’s discontent with his agreement with Dodik and failure to attend a scheduled meeting, “Crucial decisions on Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) cannot be made in such manner, it must be done through the institutions with representatives of all peoples. It would be unprincipled to ignore the issue of cantons. We said where we want cantons and entities to be mentioned. I expect someone to propose the changes and amendments to the document,” underlined Covic. Inset ‘Kristo’ – HDZ B&H Deputy President Borjana Kristo stated on Monday that Covic is open for constructive talks and dialogue on everything in the interest of B&H and its three peoples, and he will not allow marginalization of one constituent people.

US Embassy to B&H: Referendum in RS violates Constitution of B&H (Oslobodjenje)

The US Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) stated for the daily that, just like the OHR previously warned, holding a referendum in the RS on September 25th “which sets the question for which the Constitutional Court of B&H already gave answer”, would be opposite to the Constitution of B&H. “The Constitutional Court is part of the Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Accords and the decisions of this court are final and binding, and they must be respected. Respecting the principle of legality by everyone in B&H is of crucial importance for democratic process. It is impossible to solve economic and political challenges that country is facing, without a functional legal framework and stability that it provides. Holidays and marking them are important part of any culture. Instead of continuing with unconstitutional referendum, leaders should be working on misunderstandings in interest of all citizens. Valuable resources will be spent on the referendum, and it will provide no progress regarding this matter. Continuation of talks on comprehensive state-level law on holidays, which is acceptable within current legal framework, costs nothing and, with some good will, such talk may result in specific results. It is not in interest of citizens of the RS that its leaders continue activities regarding this referendum, just like the others whose goal is to violate the Dayton Peace Agreement or constitutional system, and who therefore pose a threat to security, stability and prosperity of B&H”, reads the statement.

Baralija: Silent agreement of SDA and HDZ B&H to form conflict, pre-election atmosphere (BN TV)

Member of Our Party Presidency Irma Baralija stated that political crisis is a result of “silent agreement of SDA and HDZ to form conflict pre-election atmosphere”. Reacting to media statement by HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) leader Dragan Covic, Baralija said that he should decide if he supports European principles and Euro-Atlantic road of B&H or if he supports collective rights and inter-ethnic walls. She also blames SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic for “promoting a pie”, at the moment when three sessions in legislative authority have been cancelled and when citizens of Mostar are deprived of fundamental democratic right.

Kovac: Serbia should rid itself of aggressive Greater Serbia virus (Hina)

Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miro Kovac on Monday wrote on his Facebook account that the Serbian authorities had still not “rid themselves of the virus of the aggressive Greater Serbia policy and of the Yugoslav Communist system” and that Serbia would not be able to join the European Union until they did so. “The Croatian public has been lectured on a daily basis by representatives of Serbian authorities who have still not rid themselves of the virus of the aggressive Greater Serbia policy and of the Yugoslav Communist system,” Kovac wrote on his Facebook account. “A day does not go by that statements are not made by representatives of the Serbian authorities who in the 1990s were part of the authorities and/or of the ruling parties, when wars against Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo were launched by Belgrade, wars of conquest that Belgrade lost one by one.” Instead of finally coming to terms with its responsibility for launching the wars, for hundreds of thousands of victims and destroyed lives, the Serbian authorities have been fomenting feelings of retribution, inciting the Serb people against other peoples and preventing it from establishing a long-term good neighborly cooperation in the European spirit, said Kovac. He went on to say that this was evidenced by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic‘s speech on August 4, on the occasion of an event commemorating Serb victims of the 1995 Operation Storm, when he called that Croatian army and police operation that liberated the occupied Croatian territory, “a criminal final solution”. In his speech, Vucic made no mention of the fact that the territory in question was Croatian territory, that several hundred thousand Croats had been previously expelled from that territory and that many had been tortured and killed, said Kovac. “Is that the rhetoric and metaphors that are conducive to building good neighborly cooperation? Is that the rhetoric Serbia believes will take it to the EU? Such a rhetoric, such an ideology, such an approach will bring Serbia no luck. Neither will falsifying facts because it is not true that ‘within one human lifetime’ the number of Serbs in Croatia ‘was reduced by 90%.'” “Serbia will never enter the EU that way. Serbia will need a lot of help, a lot of painstaking reforms to adopt European values, rhetoric and conduct. And that implies that representatives of the authorities, the ruling structures in Serbia, will have to rid themselves forever of the virus of the aggressive Greater Serbia policy and of the Yugoslav Communist system,” Kovac wrote.

Vujovic: If the ‘troika’ leaves the Government, new political crisis will begin (Pobjeda)

Political analyst Zlatko Vujovic thinks that if SDP, Demos and URA leave the Government a new political crisis will be created, which will take us back in time by six months without leaving room for finding an acceptable solution. There is no constitutional option for delaying the elections, so this could lead to unconstitutional actions which would be very similar to what happened in Macedonia, which is something that I believe nobody in Montenegro wants. “However, in order for “troika” to succeed in such quest, they would have to have support from Western partners. But I don’t see any room for this type of support, at this moment, under these conditions”, said Vujovic for Pobjeda. “But we should keep in mind that joining the government was a big move which was obviously not a result of a joint strategy, if not for long term, it should have been at least prepared for until the elections. Lack of the agreement for joint program on the elections opens many issues as the elections approach”, emphasized Vujovic. According to his words it is more than clear that these three subjects have different interests in terms of program, but also in terms of election strategy. From this perspective, as Vujovic emphasized, the move by civic movement URA is not surprising because they need to prepare their position for the upcoming elections, which have been significantly shaken, primarily by the strong campaign of the media close to DPS, but also by insufficiently profiled identity. He said that Demos and SDP will make a decision based on their individual interests, but if any of these two subjects decides the same as URA, than for the third one it will be very difficult to remain. “But if everyone leaves, it will be difficult to explain such decision to international community, but also to contest the regularity of elections”, said Vujovic.

Kosovo Assembly to discuss demarcation with Montenegro today (RTCG)

Foreign affairs parliamentary commission of Kosovo will discuss the draft law on ratification of the agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro at the meeting tomorrow, whereas the Presidency of the Parliament is to decide on scheduling the session at which the demarcation will be discussed, RTCG carried. According to media, the government of Kosovo submitted the draft law on ratification of the agreement on the demarcation to the Parliament at the end of last week and it has already been given to the members of the Parliament of Kosovo. The demarcation agreement and the agreement on the Association of Serb Municipalities have caused a lot of resentment and disagreement among lawmakers of the opposition since September last year. The opposition prevented holding the parliamentary sessions by throwing tear gas. The opposition MPs has been recently joined by some MPs of the ruling coalition. According to current estimates, the coalition lacks at least five votes in order for the law to get two-thirds majority, which is needed for ratification of international agreements. A scientific conference on the demarcation was held in the Kosovo Parliament, which was aimed at harmonizing positions. However, the conference has even more deepened disagreement over the demarcation issue.

There’s no giving up, Luksic and Jeremic to stay until the end (Pobjeda)

It is very important that Igor Luksic and Vuk Jeremic remain in the contest until the end, not to withdraw but to continue to promote their countries, said political analyst Dusan Janjic while commenting the second round of voting for general secretary of the UN. He said that chances for win of any of the candidates from the region are very small. “When Igor Luksic applied for this position we knew that we shouldn’t expect that he can win, but it is very important that he promotes Montenegro. At the same time, I don’t expect Vuk Jeremic can win either but this is important promotion of both these men and their countries and I think they should remain in the race until the end”, said Janjic. “I think it’s still too early to say who will be elected. Of course that former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres and minister of foreign affairs of Argentina Susana Malcorra have bigger chances, but there’s some sort of a political commitment for the candidate to be from Eastern Europe. To me is unexplainable how is Lajcak so low, and obviously it will all clear out once the system of vetoes and conditioning of permanent members begin”, emphasized Janjic. He explained that Irina Bokova was mentioned as one of the strongest candidates, but now Malcorra from Argentina has taken the lead and it remains to be seen what happens. After the second round of voting, Antonio Guterres still has the biggest chances to succeed ban Ki-moon as the general secretary of the United Nations. Montenegrin candidate Igor Luksic is on ninth place with two encouraging, nine negative and two “no opinion” votes.

EU Civil Protection Mechanism activated to support Macedonia following deadly floods (MIA)

The European Union Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated and the first EU experts are deployed onsite in Macedonia following flooding, the European Commission said Monday in a press release. Today Macedonia has activated the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism following recent flash floods and landslides that caused multiple casualties in the outskirts of its capital city Skopje. A team of technical experts will be deployed on 9 August to assess the damage caused and to provide recommendations to the national and local civil protection authorities. “The EU stands ready to support the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at this time of need. Right now we are in contact with the national authorities in Skopje and the other participating states in the Mechanism to coordinate a swift response to the request. We are already sending a humanitarian expert today and a civil protection team will follow as of tomorrow. I encourage offers of assistance to come in as quickly as possible. We’re also prepared to provide humanitarian assistance in case needed” said EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides. The Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is coordinating assistance through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism to assist Macedonia. In addition to the deployment of experts, the Commission also provides Copernicus satellite imagery to the emergency services operating in the affected areas. On 6 August, Macedonia was struck by major flash floods. 93 mm of rain fell in Skopje in the storm ­ more than the average for the whole month of August. The flash floods caused 22 deaths and many injuries. Homes and key infrastructure are severely damaged and over one thousand people had to be evacuated. Humanitarian partners of the Commission are present in the country to support the EU response and to further assess humanitarian needs. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 34 European states (28 EU Member States, Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). These participating states pool the resources that can be made available to disaster stricken countries all over the world. When activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the Mechanism through its Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). Macedonia was already badly hit by flooding in August last year and received assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Albania’s Government earmarks EUR 100,000 in relief to flood-affected regions in Macedonia (MIA)

Albania’s Government has earmarked EUR 100,000 in relief aid to flood-affected regions in Macedonia, Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said Monday. Albania’s Government will remain in touch with Macedonia’s authorities to get information on damages in order to grant additional assistance, Bushati said. On Sunday, Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama, Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta and Bushati extended condolences to the families of the victims of the storm in the western and northwestern parts of Macedonia.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo genocide suit against Serbia “likely to fail” (BIRN)

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci’s proposed plan to bring a genocide lawsuit against Serbia at the International Court of Justice for atrocities during the 1998-99 war has little chance of success, experts suggest.

Hashim Thaci’s announcement that Kosovo will sue Serbia for genocide and win reparations for Belgrade’s actions in 1998-99, will not likely come to fruition, analysts told BIRN.

For the lawsuit to be successful, Kosovo first needs to become a UN member, but also to have support for its case from previous court rulings, meaning that genocide should have previously been proven in court. However, the few members of Serbian forces who have been prosecuted so far have been tried for war crimes during the Kosovo conflict and not genocide. In an interview last week with Serbian newspaper Danas, Thaci said his country has been preparing for several years to file a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice, claiming Kosovo Albanians were the victims of genocide committed by Serbia as a successor of Yugoslavia, which led during the war by President Slobodan Milosevic. But experts argue that there are many obstacles Kosovo could face on its way to the courtroom at the ICJ. The first obstacle to Thaci’s case is that UN membership is necessary to file a lawsuit to the ICJ.  “President Thaci’s suggestion of a Kosovo complaint against Serbia in the ICJ is not very realistic in light of the fact that Kosovo is neither a member of the United Nations nor a party to the ICJ statute,” said Mitt Regan, a law professor and co-director at the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at Georgetown University Law Center.

To join the UN, nine of the 15 members of the UN Security Council are required to vote in favor, without any dissent from the five permanent members. But two permanent Security Council members, Russia and China, support Serbia’s claim to have sovereignty over Kosovo and have prevented Pristina’s petition for membership from being reviewed by the UN General Assembly. If Kosovo could overcome this obstacle, it would need a two-thirds majority vote from the General Assembly to be admitted. Currently, 109 out of 193 UN member states recognize Kosovo’s independence, which is about 56 percent. The legal avenues for Kosovo to establish its lawsuit are limited because the ICJ does not have compulsory jurisdiction, which means that it can only hear a case if both accuser and accused agree. An exception to this is for members of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, CPPCG. Article IX of its statutes grants compulsory jurisdiction for crimes defined in the genocide convention; this would be the legal basis for Kosovo to bring its case before the ICJ.

When Serbia signed up to the convention in 2001, it added a reservation which states that it does not consider itself bound by Article IX, and Belgrade must explicitly consent to the court’s jurisdiction in each case. But the ICJ will probably find that Serbia is subject to the court’s jurisdiction as one of the successor states of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was bound by the provisions of the CPPCG. Kosovo’s proposed suit will also face obstacles based on the court’s precedents, as genocide is very difficult to prove. The ICJ has only recognized genocide once – the murder of some 8,000 Bosniaks from Srebrenica in 1995.  “The chances of the ICJ finding that genocide was committed by any of the two sides during the Kosovo war are almost zero considering that nobody was even charged, let alone convicted, for genocide in Kosovo by the ICTY or another court,”Milica Kostic, the legal director at the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade, told BIRN.

When Slobodan Milosevic was indicted for crimes committed during the Yugoslav wars by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, he was charged with genocide in Bosnia, but not in Kosovo. Many experts believe that if the international community believed that genocide had been committed in Kosovo, charges against Milosevic would probably have been filed at the time. No court in Serbia or Kosovo has ever qualified what occurred during the Kosovo war as genocide.

In light of the difficulties facing Kosovo’s potential lawsuit, the motivation for Thaci’s threat could be seen as political.  According to James Ker-Lindsay from the London School of Economics, the suit “in part, may be an attempt to quell nationalists’ voices in Kosovo”. “There have been a lot of complaints about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue [to normalize relations] and many feel that the government has ‘gone soft’ and is selling out Kosovo’s interests to Serbia, for example over the Association of Serb municipalities. This may be an attempt to show that this is not the case,” Ker-Lindsay told BIRN.

The suit may also be motivated by the potential indictment of senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures by the soon-to-be-established Kosovo Specialist Chambers which will address human rights abuses committed between 1999 and 2000. “Many in Kosovo are deeply unhappy at this prospect as they believe that it will call into question the righteousness of their armed campaign for independence. This may be an attempt to shore up the justification for the conflict by showing that Serbia had been engaged in a systematic campaign of violence,” suggested Ker-Lindsay. In a report published by the Council of Europe in 2011, Thaci is named as a political leader of the paramilitary group that was responsible for violations of human rights law, including torture and organ trafficking. A lawsuit successfully brought before the ICJ would undoubtedly strain the Brussels-backed talks between Belgrade and Pristina.  “Belgrade will not take well to such a move. However, I don’t think it would do irreparable damage. Neither side can afford to walk away from the dialogue,” said Ker-Lindsay. In spite of efforts to improve relations, if Kosovo successfully files a case at the ICJ, Serbia may decide to retaliate with a counter-suit.

The director of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Marko Djuric, responded to Thachi’s threat by stating that “if anyone committed genocide in Kosovo it was the KLA and its commanders”. Kostic suggested that this rhetoric hints at a possible retaliatory suit by Serbia.

The outcome of Kosovo’s suit will probably be similar to those in the competing genocide claims filed by Serbia and Croatia at the ICJ, which took several years to resolve, were extremely expensive and had unsatisfactory results for both countries. According to Croatia’s justice ministry, the country spent 3.7 million euro on their suit against Serbia, while the Serbian foreign ministry said that Belgrade spent 800,000 euro on its unsuccessful case. Ker-Lindsay argues that filing a lawsuit filed is not the most efficient way for Kosovo to address past atrocities. “There certainly does need to be a full examination of what took place, and those responsible for crimes need to be held accountable. However, pursuing these cases at the ICJ, rather than cases against individual perpetrators, is really not the best way of approaching the issue,” he said. Kostic also believes that Kosovo’s suit would not be a productive use of time or resources and would delay efforts to improve relations with Serbia. “Serbia and Kosovo need to speak about their wartime pasts and strive to reveal the facts about the conflict and the crimes committed, instead of wasting energy on futile actions, which can only spur further tensions,” she said.

Pristina wants “completely different format” of dialogue (Radio Free Europe)

Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa has said that Pristina will “complain” to the EU over Belgrade’s behavior in the Kosovo dialogue. This is what Pristina-based Albanian language daily Epoka e Re reported on Monday, quoting a statement he made for Radio Free Europe.

“We must have a clear agenda, and also, there must be a time limitation for the dialogue to end. We cannot be wasting our time in dialogue with Serbia endlessly,” he said. Mustafa also said that the EU-sponsored negotiations, held in Brussels “must be taking place in a completely different format and concept in future.” The reason, the Kosovo prime minister said, is that Belgrade “lacks the readiness and seriousness when it comes to solving some issues – and the dialogue in its current format is not yielding results.”

Serbia braces for PM’s marathon speech (BIRN)

Serbia is awaiting Prime Minister’s Aleksandar Vucic speech outlining the new government’s agenda on Tuesday, which will apparently be more than 400 pages long.

Serbia’s PM-designate Aleksandar Vucic has warned the public that he is compiling an expose of his new government’s program which runs to several hundred pages. “I think I will read the most parts of the expose, and the other parts I will just say by heart. I have been specially preparing to read it,” Vucic said on Monday. The Serbian parliament will have a joint session on Tuesday at which Vucic, after months of delays, will present the new plan. The formal unveiling of his new cabinet is expected by the end of the week. “I will not prevent anyone from leaving the chamber during the reading. However, I will try to stand up while reading for all two, three, or six hours,” Vucic warned. Opposition politicians and part of the public took Vucic to task for his last lengthy expose in 2014, which lasted for hours and was judged the longest-ever in Serbian history. Awaiting an even longer marathon speech, Serbian MPs and others have not been slow to offer their own advice about what it should contain. “I think he is a megalomaniac to make an expose of 300 pages or more. It is also no guarantee of success, since the last time we had a long expose, almost nothing that was written was actually done,” Borko Stefanovic, former MP and leader of the Serbian Left, told BIRN. He also said the new agenda for the Government should focus on the rule of law, which Stefanovic said was in jeopardy in Serbia. “He should write that he will obey the law, that those who break the law will be punished and that those without a livelihood will be provided for. Also, that he will leave the media alone”, Stefanovic advised. Stefanovic further said that the PM-designate should not need hours but minutes to declare that the rule of law and economic and social justice is what people need now.

The leader of the “Enough is enough” movement, Sasa Radulovic, meanwhile told BIRN that Vucic should simply put the program of “Enough is Enough” in his speech.

The leader of the right-wing Dveri (Doors) party, the MP Bosko Obradovic, equally thinks that his own program should be incorporated into the PM’s expose. “We have a program of 10 key points, and we think that it should be in the expose,” Obradovic told BIRN. However, he also added that a priority for any new Government should be reversing the current negative birthrate in Serbia.

“I think the new expose should contain [yet] more Chinese wisdom and quotes from Churchill, Roosevelt and Max Weber,” the editor of the liberal newspaper Danas and satirist Dragoljub Petrovic said, referring to the 2014 speech, when Vucic inserted quotes from the wartime British leader and other great historical figures in his speech. “However, since quotes are not edible, people should also hear what could be eaten over the next four years,” he quipped. “Maybe he could also put in his expose some recipe from Jamie Oliver or Steva Karapandza [a famous Yugoslav chef].”

Petrovic also said that the rule of law should be also the priority on the new government’s agenda.

“There should be some description of how the state should react when people come at 2am and demolish your house – is that legal or not? For now, it looks like that kind of activity is legal. So, the most important things in expose should be the rule of law and food on the table,” Petrovic concluded. He was referring to the night-time demolitions in Belgrade’s Savamala district on April 24/25 when masked people with bulldozers tore down a number of residential and commercial objects to the horror of on-lookers. During the demolitions, witnesses to these events were tied up, mobile phones were taken from them and other were prevented from entering the street.

In June, Vucic said that top city officials were behind the demolitions – but no one has been held accountable.

Russia “counts on practical Serbian help in Aleppo” (TASS)

The Russian Defense Ministry “counts on practical assistance from the Chinese and Serbian military in conducting a humanitarian operation in Syria’s Aleppo.”

“Alongside the interested response from international humanitarian organizations there have been specific proposals for the participation of the defense ministries of a number of countries in extending humanitarian assistance to Aleppo,” the Russian MoD said in a statement on Tuesday, carried by TASS. “The Russian Defense Ministry is grateful to the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia, who were the first to come out in support of the Russian-Syrian initiative for conducting the humanitarian operation. We count on further practical steps by these countries’ defense ministries in support of the Russian efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of Aleppo,” the statement added. The Russian agency noted in its report that “official invitations to join the operation have been dispatched to the U.S. military and to most European and Asian countries,” and that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “declared the beginning of a major humanitarian operation in Aleppo on July 28,” as “several humanitarian corridors have been opened for the city’s civilians and militants prepared to lay down arms.”