LOCAL PRESS

Nikolic: Serbia wishes EU membership, but will never recognize Kosovo (Beta/RTS/Tanjug)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that full membership in the EU was what Serbia was pursuing, but that it would never recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija. “Serbia’s is an uncompromising battle against a clear intent to drive us into regional conflicts again. I am telling you now – Serbia does not want any arguments, conflicts and wars,” Nikolic said at a ceremony to commemorate the victims of the Jajinci camp, during the Second World War. “We are waging battles from day to day, especially the battle for Kosovo and Metohija is important; we should allow the self-declared state of Kosovo to join the United Nations. We will fight again next year for Kosovo not to become an UNESCO member,” said Nikolic.

Nikolic: If we become a funnel, we will have to shut the border (RTS/Beta)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has stated on the occasion of the migrant crisis that Serbia, if it becomes a “funnel from which there is no water leakage because those behind it had shut borders”, will have to also shut borders regardless its beliefs. Nikolic told journalists in the Palace of Serbia that Serbia was facing challenges in the migrant crisis and has been discussing this with Brussels. “We do not need good quality housing capacities for more than five to six thousand people, because it would then mean that someone is planning for these people to stay here,” said Nikolic. “We should react quickly in cooperation with the EU and if Hungary hasn’t angered the EU, then Serbia certainly will not,” said Nikolic. He says that the migrants cannot be registered for the first time only once they enter Serbia. He assesses that this is how the Brussels administration treats Greece and Bulgaria, but wonders whether they are allowed not to register migrants. He opines that we should know who is entering and exiting the country and that there is no obligation if someone decides to return one million people to Serbia.

Commenting the possible elections of a Serb for the head of the Srebrenica municipality, Nikolic said that this didn’t imply any change, especially towards the past events. “A crime occurred, the local self-administration marks it and the fact that a Serb will head the city administration doesn’t mean that we in Serbia will forget what occurred during the war,” said Nikolic. He told journalists that he found it interesting that Dodik’s party won in Herzegovina, which hasn’t been the case so far. He notes this should imply that the entire state policy will be implemented throughout the Republika Srpska (RS) through local self-governments, adding that the job of the local administration is to talk with citizens and to make their lives easier. “I hope that Herzegovina will now become part of the RS in every sense. It seems that it has been neglected so far, that the territory has been emptied and that density of Herzegovina was at issue,” said Nikolic.

Djuric: We have not agreed to telecommunication enclaves for Serbs (Tanjug)

Belgrade has not agreed to establishment of “telecommunication enclaves” for Kosovo Serbs, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, said Friday after the Belgrade and Pristina delegations had failed to reach a deal on the implementation of an agreement on telecommunications following days of talks in Brussels. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Djuric said the Belgrade delegation had not accepted a precedent of Serbian property being presented as property of the Post and Telekom of Kosovo. “We did not agree to establishment of telecommunication enclaves for Serbs – we remain ready for discussions when the EU schedules the meetings,” Djuric said. An agreement can be sought with Belgrade, but not through blackmailing, he said.

30 Days for Kosovo Police Director (Novosti)

The Higher Court in Nis ordered Nehat Tachi, regional director of the Kosovo police for Kosovska Mitrovica, detention for 30 days following his arrest while crossing into Serbia under an indictment for terrorism. “Tachi was ordered into detention because he is a flight risk and faces a possible sentence of 10 years and because there is a danger of harassment of the public,” Higher Court Spokeswoman Iva Popovic said. Higher Public Prosecution Spokesman Vladimir Stanojevic said that the case was taken over the by the State Prosecution for Organized Crime and added that Tachi was arrested under an indictment from 2009. The Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry last week confirmed that Tachi had been arrested under a 2010 indictment on the orders of the Higher Court in Nis. Details of the terrorist acts he was allegedly involved in have not been released.

Zukorlic: I voted for Durakovic (Tanjug/Alo)

The leader of the Bosniak Democratic Community of Sandzak (BDZS) Muamer Zukorlic has stated that he had voted at the B&H local elections in Srebrenica. Zukorlic has dual citizenship, so he is on both electoral lists, in Serbia and B&H. “Even though voting is secret, almost nothing is secret with me, because I am known for transparency in all my stands, I voted for Camil Durakovic. I think that it is good for Durakovic to win, I think it is good for the Bosniaks, but also good for the Serbs,” Zukorlic told Alo. He thinks that the gathering of Serb parties around one candidate “with the intention for a Serb candidate to win at all costs is not politically wise”, because “it is not in the interest of either the Serbs or Serbia for a Serb to rule over the memorial center with over seven thousand graves of Bosniak victims”. “If I was somebody who represented Serbian interests in politics, I would have supported the Bosniak candidate,” said Zukorlic.

Bieber: EU enlargement policy brought into question (Politika/Tanjug)

Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz Florian Bieber agrees with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic that the region of the Western Balkans is facing possible instability. The causes of the current instability have nothing to do with the region, but primarily with the EU’s main topic, the migrant crisis, Bieber told Politika. He believes that Brussels’ focus has shifted away from this region and that the EU enlargement policy has been seriously brought into question. Even though it cannot be said openly, many in Brussels are against admitting new member states, stated Bieber. According to him, the EU is deeply divided over the migrant crisis, Brexit, the economic crisis and the crisis of democratic processes in Poland and Hungary.

REGIONAL PRESS

CEC announced first preliminary incomplete results (Oslobodjenje/Nezavisne)

According to the preliminary, unofficial and incomplete results of the local elections published by B&H CEC, 3,177,249 voters had the right to vote for 119 political subjects and 418 candidates in the local elections on Sunday. By 7 am on Monday, 87.61% (1,471,038) of ballots were processed. 93.97% (1,382,279) of processed ballots were valid and 6.03% (88,759) were invalid ballots.

In Sarajevo Centar, 60,975 voters had the right to vote in 84 polling stations. 70.24% (59) polling stations, i.e. 17,817 ballots, were processed and 94.62% (16,859) ballots were valid. When it comes to results of voting for the Head of Municipality, Nedzad Ajnadzic (SDA/SBB B&H) leads with 5,330 votes (31.62%), followed by Samer Residat (DF) with 18.96%, Igor Kamocaji (SDP) with 14.24%, Damir Niksic (independent candidate) with 11.58%, Reuf Bajrovic (GS) with 10.76%, Admir Bukva (Our Party) with 7.36%, Vlastimir Mijovic (independent candidate) with 3.89%, Safet Baltic (BSP – Sefer Halilovic) with 1.07% and Amer Bekan (Prva Stranka) with 0.53%.

In Tuzla, 113,477 voters had the right to vote in 159 polling stations. 119 polling stations, i.e. 38,786 ballots have been processed. Jasmin Imamovic (SDP) leads with 18,385 (50.72%), followed by Fahrudin Hadziefendic with 29.36%, Alen Gadzo (DF) with 9.43%, Zlatko Berbic (independent candidate) with 4.38%, Amira Malkocevic (Tuzlanska Alternativa) with 2.84%, Adnan Burina (Our Party) with 2.10%, Elmir Mujkanovic (Independent candidate) with 0.64%, Novalija Gavranovic (SBiH) with 0.52%.

In Bihac, 57,002 voters had the right to vote in 90 polling stations. 76 polling stations (84.44%), i.e. 21,650 ballots were processed. Suhret Fazlic (GS) leads with 7,407 (36.68%), followed by Hadis Jusic (SDA/SBB) with 32.29%, Hajrudin Havic (SDP) with 21.26%, Ejub Dizdarevic (independent candidate) with 4.41%, Zlatan Mizic (DF) with 2.73%, Edin Masic (Our Party) with 1.4% and Nijaz Causevic (Nezavisni Demokratski Iskorak) with 1.24%.

In Bijeljina, 107,930 voters had the right to vote in 180 polling stations. 165 polling stations (91.67%), i.e. 58,383 ballots, were processed. Mico Micic (SDS) leads with 27,422 (49.44%) followed by Zlatko Maksimovic (Bijeljina pobjedjuje – Dr. Zlatko Maksimovic) with 48.31%, Damjan Pajic (independent candidate) with 1.48% and Pero Preradovic (PUP) with 0.78%.

In Banja Luka, 189,370 voters had the right to vote in 268 polling stations. 238 (88.81%) of polling stations, i.e. 91.628 ballots were processed. Igor Radojicic (SNSD) leads with 49,211 votes (56.85%) followed by Dragan Cavic (Alliance for Changes) with 39.76%, Slavko Zupljanin (SPAS) with 1.81% and Dusko Tadic (Prva Stranka) with 1.59%.

In Srebrenica, 13,763 voters had the right to vote in 27 polling stations. 21 polling stations (77.78%) i.e. 5,035 ballots were processed. Mladen Grujicic (Zajedno za Srebrenicu) leads with 3,334 votes (67.96%) followed by Camil Durakovic (independent candidate) with 31.76% and Desnica Radivojevic with 0.29%.

Results of voting for Municipal Assemblies/Councils still have not been published.

Local elections in Stolac halted after incident and assault on members of municipal election commission (TV1)

Local elections in Stolac were halted after an incident took place and members of the municipal election commission were assaulted. The reporter stressed that the situation in Stolac was peaceful and calm in the afternoon. TV1 learned that candidate of ‘Inicijativa za Stolac’ (Initiative for Stolac) for the Head of Stolac Municipality Salmir Kaplan is suspected of assault on chairman of the municipal election commission Ivan Peric. According to the reporter, irregularities began occurring from the start of the elections in Stolac because not all polling stations were opened at 07.00 hrs. The reporter pointed out that Peric removed two Bosniak members of the municipal election commission and replaced them with Croats, after which a verbal dispute started and it turned into physical assault on Peric. The reporter stressed that member of the municipal election commission Mario Raguz was assaulted as well but this happened at another polling station in Stolac Municipality. Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) Board of SDA claims that the incident was caused on purpose because ‘Inicijativa za Stolac’ was among the favorites to win the elections in Stolac. The reporter said that all polling stations in Stolac Municipality were shut down by 16.00 hrs. A number of Stolac citizens gathered at the main square in the afternoon but their gathering was disrupted by the rain. The reporter noted that additional police forces were sent to Stolac from Capljina and Mostar but there was no reason for them to intervene.

Members of the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) held a press conference in Sarajevo on Sunday and confirmed that the local elections in Stolac were halted after an incident occurred. The B&H CEC confirmed that chairman of the municipal election commission in Stolac Municipality Ivan Peric was assaulted and taken to a hospital where he received medical assistance. President of the B&H CEC Ahmet Santic said that one of candidates for the Head of Stolac Municipality came to premises of the municipal election commission in Stolac and physically assaulted Peric but the B&H CEC cannot confirm information that other members of the election commission were assaulted as well.

Coalition ‘Pod Lupom’ monitors local elections (N1)

As many as 2,800 observers of the Coalition ‘Pod lupom’ were monitoring the election process at 2,500 polling stations and 142 local election commissions in B&H. Member of the Coalition ‘Pod lupom’ Jan Zlatan Kulenovic noted that 92 “critical situations” and more than 50 remarks regarding the work of polling station commissions were registered during the election day. He added that certain irregularities refer to intimidation of voters and delays in the opening of polling stations. Director of the coalition Dario Jovanovic reminded that the election observers were obliged to be at polling stations one hour before they are opened. Member of the coalition Jelena Tanaskovic-Micanovic said that 27 incidents were reported while the election observers filed 23 complaints with polling station commissions.

Izetbegovic: SDA is strongest party in B&H (Dnevni avaz)

SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic addressed reporters in a press conference held on Sunday in Sarajevo. According to Izetbegovic, the SDA/SBB coalition won the highest number of Head of Municipality posts in the FB&H, and SDA confirmed its position of strongest party in B&H with largest number of elected members of municipal boards. He noted that even in municipalities where SDA-SBB coalition lost, the victory was taken by candidates who are former members of SDA or SBB. Compared to previous elections, SDA-SBB coalition won posts of Head of Municipality in Centar Sarajevo, Trnovo, Breza, Doboj-Jug, Srebrenik, Sapna and Kladanj. The coalition lost posts in Zenica, Bihac, Vares, Visoko, Lukavac, Zavidovici, Buzim, Vitez, Maglaj and Kalesija. Asked if such results can be considered a great victory, Izetbegovic replied that although this may not be a great victory, it is a victory nonetheless. He emphasized the importance of Sarajevo, where SDA/SBB won in all but one municipality. Speaking about priorities for the upcoming period, Izetbegovic said that it is important to continue strengthening the coalition and to go on with reform processes. He announced large scale infrastructure projects in 2017. Asked to comment the incident in Stolac which resulted with suspension of the election process, Izetbegovic said that relevant institutions will have to establish all facts, especially related to illegal removal of Bosniak members of election boards, manipulation with voter list and voting without valid ID. Asked to comment the election of convicted war criminal Fikret Abdic to the post of Head of Velika Kladusa Municipality, Izetbegovic said that his election cannot have a great impact and that Abdic is an old, weak man.

Dodik: RS has won twice in seven days (Glas Srpske)

SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that the party has convincingly won the elections. “SNSD has achieved success bigger than the one we achieved when we had just started. Compared to previous elections, we have won in 11 municipalities more,” Dodik said. He added that the RS has shown full democratic capacity, as there were no incidents during elections or referendum organized seven days earlier. “The RS has won twice in seven days,” Dodik said, adding that citizens of the RS should be congratulated. According to Dodik, citizens of the RS do not like betrayal and that is why SDS, PDP and NDP, and especially NDP leader Dragan Cavic, were “dramatically punished”. Furthermore, Dodik noted that SNSD as political party has achieved one of the best results in the region. “People has supported the policy of B&H’s accession to the EU, but citizens have also stated who should participate in negotiations about our status in the Union, which has delegitimized the position of so-called Serb representatives in the B&H Council of Ministers,” Dodik concluded.

Bosic, Pavic, Borenovic, Ivanic on elections (Glas Srpske)

SDS leader Mladen Bosic said that the party has achieved poor election result. “SDS will soon analyze results of elections,” Bosic said, adding that responsible people within the party, including him, would have to bear responsibility. “Lately, SDS has not been conducting populist policy; instead, unlike Dodik, SDS wanted to ‘insert’ real issues and real life into politics, but it obviously did not bore fruits and the party will learn a lesson and decide how to proceed with preparations for general elections,” Bosic said. Furthermore, according to daily, Bosic said that he feels responsible for SDS’ poor election result, but he did not want to say if he would resign as party’s leader. DNS will appoint Mayor of Prijedor and heads of Krupa na Uni, Ljubinje, Ostra Luka and Petrovac-Drinic municipalities; party’s leader Marko Pavic said that he is very satisfied with the election result, adding that DNS has achieved 30-percent growth – which he believes is the result of the fact that DNS’ policy is a “policy of tolerance, discussions and consensus”. Furthermore, Pavic expressed satisfaction with results of SNSD-DNS-SP RS coalition. PDP leader Branislav Borenovic said that the Alliance for Changes will continue to function, adding that thorough analysis of election results will be necessary as well. The fact that PDP has won elections in Kotor Varos and Sekovici, and lost them by approximately 20 votes in Kostajnica, according to Borenovic, shows that PDP is growing. PDP Honorary President Mladen Ivanic said that PDP’s election results will be good, but he expressed disappointment with SzP’s results. “The Alliance for Changes needs to carefully analyze what are the reasons for all of this, why so many posts of municipal heads were lost”, Ivanic said. Both Ivanic and Borenovic congratulated SNSD and underlined the importance of the fact that there were no incidents during elections.

Izetbegovic, Zvizdic, Radoncic, Niksic on elections (BHT1/N1/Hayat)

B&H Presidency Chair and SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic stated that when it comes to reform processes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. B&H Council of Ministers Chair Denis Zvizdic (SDA) said that elected heads of municipalities and mayors should start implementation of projects. Zvizdic said that he expects for everyday issues and topics to be again in focus after the elections, as well as that new municipal heads and city mayors will immediately start the planned implementation of promised projects that are very important not only for local communities but for the whole B&H as well. SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic said he expects a festival of democracy and called on all citizens to vote. Radoncic expressed his expectation that they will elect the municipal authorities and mayors who will be able to lead a unique, successful and prosperous policy in B&H. SDP leader Nermin Niksic said he is sure that their campaign went well, and that citizens regain trust in SDP. Izetbegovic said that progress is already visible when it comes to the reform processes and revival of economy in B&H.

Cvitanovic warns of irregularities in Livno, Neum and Ljubuski (Dnevni avaz)

Leader of HDZ 1990 Ilija Cvitanovic stated on Sunday that his party won the post of head of municipality in Prozor/Rama, Kupres and Domaljevac. He warned of irregularities which were observed in Livno, Neum and Ljubuski. He did not specify details.

Berton: I am impressed by voter turnout (Dnevni avaz)

Principal Deputy High Representative (PDHR) Bruce Berton visited eight polling stations in Foca, Ustikolina and Miljevina. He stated that he is impressed by high voter turnout and good job done my local election boards. He underlined that active participation in democratic processes can make a positive difference in any local community.

Moore: It is very important that people are voting (Hayat/FTV)

During his visit to the polling stations in Bijeljina, Janja, Zvornik, Potocari and Srebrenica, Head of the OSCE Mission to B&H Jonathan Moore said that OSCE did not have its observers in the local elections but that he monitored the situation in the whole country in line with his term. He stressed that he fully trusts B&H institutions. Moore stressed that it is very important that the people are voting, which was the main message to all voters – to elect their local representatives and officials. Moore stated that many problems emerge during elections in democratic societies, and stressed importance of reaction by the Central Election Commission.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Hungary hopes to deploy thousands of ‘border hunters’ in bid to stop migrants (FoxNews, 3 October 2016)

Hungary is recruiting thousands of so-called “border hunters” to patrol its razor-wire boundary fence, planning to equip the special unit with night-vision goggles, riot gear and dogs in an effort to keep migrants at bay, The Washington Post reported. The nation is hoping to attract 3,000 border hunters to support the 10,000 police officers and soldiers already trying to keep migrants – many of whom have come from war-torn Middle Eastern countries such as Syria and Iraq – at bay in Serbia, the BBC reported. Hungary hopes to have the hunters in place by May. Recruits must be 18 and pass a psychological test. They will be trained for six months before going on duty. “Hungary does not need a single migrant for the economy to work or the population to sustain itself or for the country to have a future,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. “Every single migrant poses a public security and terror risk.” Those in favor of strict border control have strongly tied migration to an increased threat of terrorism. A series of billboards around the country notes the November terror attacks in Paris “were carried out by migrants.” The ads also say that “since the beginning of the migration crisis more than 300 people died in terrorist attacks in Europe.” Opponents, however, say the anti-migration platform is rooted in racism. “They have launched this extremely vile campaign to portray migrants as rapists and terrorists who can only be stopped if we put up walls to protect our Christian identity,” Hungarian Helsinki Committee Co-chair Marta Pardavi told The Post. “To them, it doesn’t matter that it’s not true what they’re saying. They have created a great opportunity for racists.” More than 100,000 migrants remain holed up in Greece and Italy, the countries where most asylum seekers begin their European trek. The European Union has said all of its countries must help with resettlement, but Hungary is one of several countries suing the E.U. in an attempt to overturn that edict. Voters in Hungary on Sunday cast ballots on a referendum about establishing future migrant quotas, however, turnout failed to meet required thresholds for the measure to pass.

Macedonia Ruling Party Ducks Questions About its Wealth (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 3 October 2016)

Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE party has declined to answer questions about a recent media investigation, which suggested it has become one of the richest parties in Europe.

The head of communications for Macedonia’s ruling VMRO DPMNE’s party, Ivo Kotevski, has declined to confirm whether the party owns some 60 million euro of real estate, as an investigation by SCOOP-Macedonia published last week claims. “I suppose that it [the media report] is commissioned [and based on a] lump assessments,” Kotevski said. He added that “it would take some time to conduct an assessment of the entire party’s property”, so that it could clarify how much it is worth. The SCOOP investigation, published in video format on YouTube, says the party, which has held power since 2006, has accumulated tremendous assets in real estate, more than some much more prominent parties in Europe, in much richer countries. According to the investigation, the party legally owns 33,000 square metres of office space, farmland and pasture spread across 93 sites. The total market value of the portfolio is estimated at 60 million euros, SCOOP said, adding that only the new party headquarters in Skopje alone cost some 40 million euros. This puts VMRO DPMNE, in wealth terms, way ahead of the Centre Party in Sweden whose property is estimated at 53 million euros and Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, CDU, in Germany, which owns property worth some 50 million euros. The UK’s main opposition Labour Party owns property worth only 9 million pounds. Ana Janevska Deleva, head of Transparency Macedonia, an NGO, says the ruling party’s wealth should have been investigated long ago. “The Public Prosecution and Anti-Corruption Commission have legal authority to ask the party to prove the origin of the money it used to buy property. But in our conditions, it is hard to expect this to happen,” she said. The Public Prosecution and State Anti-Corruption Commission on Friday did not reply to queries from BIRN about whether they would investigate the claims about the party’s wealth. The second largest party in Macedonia, the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, according to the same investigation, has 14 registered properties and owns a total of 4.120 square metres. In 2014, in the wake of that year’s early general and presidential elections, the SDSM accused the ruling party of launching a property-buying spree using illicit funds. The SDSM presented documents from the land registry that it said showed that over only three months in 2013 VMRO DPMNE purchased over 20 apartments, office spaces and building worth some 1.6 million euros. In its reply, VMRO DPMNE did not deny the purchases but said there was nothing illegal in buying real estate to use as party headquarters. No investigation was launched into the case. According to SCOOP, VMRO DPMNE’s property portfolio boomed from 2006 onwards, after it took power under its current leader, the former Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski. The former leader of VMRO DPMNE from 1990 to 2003, Ljubco Georgievski, on Friday said he was surprised by the alleged hike in the wealth of his former party. “We left several offices in Skopje and in some other towns,” Georgievski recalled about the time when he stepped down. “But if these numbers are correct, it is certain that there was a drastic increase in the [party’s] capital.” The ruling party’s webpage provides no insight into its finances, nor into the amount and value of its properties.