LOCAL PRESS
Vucic: KFOR of great importance for Serbia (RTS)
“Serbia is militarily neutral but it wants to continue the cooperation with NATO because, without it, there will be no regional peace and stability, which are a precondition for Serbia’s progress and economic growth, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He thanked Stoltenberg for respecting the decision of Serbia and its parliament to keep the country militarily neutral. He also thanked Stoltenberg for expressing regret over the loss of innocent lives in NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign, which he said was an important thing for the Serbs, the nation and the country, to hear. Vucic said he and Stoltenberg had discussed all crucial issues – the fight against terrorism, the migrant crisis and Serbia’s participation in peacekeeping operations.
Vucic thanked KFOR commanders in Kosovo and Metohija who had saved the life of a Serb boy from Laplje Selo by transporting him with a helicopter to a hospital in Belgrade. At a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Vucic thanked him as well, saying that this move was a big thing for Serbia and another signal of better and greater understanding between Serbia and NATO. Stoltenberg pointed out that he was very grateful for cooperation between KFOR and Serbia on saving the child and that he was glad to hear that his health condition was stable. This illustrates KFOR’s importance and what the EU Mission is doing in Kosovo and Metohija.
Vucic said that KFOR’s presence in Kosovo and Metohija was of great importance for Serbia and that he had asked the NATO Secretary General and NATO member states for these troops to continue to be present there. “We have certain letter and guarantees for northern Kosovo,” said Vucic, adding that there were Serbs who also live south of the Ibar River and rely precisely on KFOR. “They rely on KFOR and we are grateful to them for this. We have no problem and do not forget – had it not been for their certain guarantees, there would have hardly been the Brussels agreement,” said Vucic, adding that Serbia’s relation towards this issue was absolutely clear.
Serbia is an exporter of stability in the region, Stoltenberg told a joint press conference in Brussels. NATO respects Serbia’s military neutrality, Stoltenberg said, expressing regret over the deaths of the victims of NATO’s 1999 air campaign, when it bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. “The purpose and the aim of the NATO air campaign back in 1999 was to protect civilians and we did so. The loss of innocent lives was a tragedy and I deeply regret it,” he said. “Serbia is at the heart of the Balkan region, which is at the heart of Europe. Serbia contributes in many different ways to regional stability and to international stability,” Stoltenberg said, noting that he had an excellent meeting with Vucic, who he said had also had an excellent first meeting with the Atlantic Council. “I welcome your many different efforts. I welcome the reforms you are implanting at home, we are impressed by the strong economic growth and the strength of the Serbian economy. We welcome your personal engagement in taking the dialogue with Pristina forward and also the way Serbia has addressed and played a key role in addressing the refugee and migrant crisis. And we also welcome the fact that Serbia contributes with troops and peace-keeping missions in Cyprus, in Lebanon and in Africa. So Serbia is an integral part of the European family. We share the same values. Human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” Stoltenberg said.
Hellbach: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue an important factor for Germany’s position regarding Serbia’s EU integration process (Tanjug/Beta)
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday met with Christian Hellbach, the German Federal Foreign Office envoy for southeastern Europe, who said Serbia’s future was in the EU and that it was making significant progress, in particular in the economy. Vucic and Hellbach discussed Serbia’s European integration, regional relations and the common European future.
Vucic briefed Hellbach on the economic reforms conducted by the Serbian government and the business environment, which is changing to cater to the interests of an increasing number of foreign investors. They also discussed the rule of law, the dialogue with Pristina and regional infrastructure projects, which require EU support. Serbia’s future is in the EU – it is making significant progress, which is very evident, in particular in the economy, Hellbach said.
Germany recognizes the progress Serbia has made in overall reforms and the negotiation process, as well as in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, says Christian Hellbach. This will be an important factor in Berlin’s position regarding the continuation of Serbia’s EU integration process, Hellbach said at a meeting with Serbian Minister in charge of EU Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, the government press office said in a statement. She voiced expectation that the new negotiation chapters Serbia is ready for – Chapters 5, 25 and 26 – will be opened by the end of the year. It is important for Serbia that its improvement is assessed through the reforms conducted in all areas and the constructive and important role it plays in maintaining regional stability, Joksimovic also stressed.
Dacic grateful to Madagascar for its principled stance on Kosovo (Tanjug/RTS)
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met with Foreign Minister of Madagascar Beatrice Attalah, before the opening of the 16th Summit of the Francophonie, which in this is being held from 23 to 26 November in Madagascar. The officials estimated that it is necessary to continue the traditional friendly relations in the future, improve bilateral cooperation in economy, academic exchange and cooperation within the ministries of defense. Dacic expressed gratitude for the principled position of Madagascar in relation to the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo. He informed the Foreign Minister of Madagascar on the development of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels, and also appealed to Madagascar to keep the current position on this issue.
Sweden supports opening of Chapters 5, 25, 26 (Tanjug/Beta)
Serbian Minister in charge of EU Integration Jadranka Joksimovic and Anna-Karin Enestrom, Director-General for Political Affairs at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday stressed the importance of the opening of Chapters 5, 25 and 26 in Serbia’s EU accession talks in the upcoming period. Joksimovic and Enestrom spoke about the EU integration process and improvement of bilateral relations and noted that the bilateral relations of the two countries are good but that there is room for further improvement, the government press office said. Joksimovic thanked Sweden for consistently and intensively supporting Serbia on its EU path and in the opening of negotiations chapters. They stressed the importance of the opening of Chapters 5, 25 and 26.
Ivanovic: EULEX strived to improve its standing among Albanians by arresting me (Informer)
My arrest and prosecution is the result of EU mission in Kosovo and of EULEX to improve their reputation among ethnic Albanians, Ivanovic declared ahead of the hearing held on Tuesday. Ivanovic told tabloid Informer that his arrest should be viewed in the light of huge Albanian discontentment because of the formation of the special court for war crimes, which is poised to investigate war crimes committed by members of self-proclaimed KLA during the war in Kosovo. “I believe and I hope that my personal drama will end with acquittal, because that would be the only verdict based on law. I was not even present at the location where the crime for which I have been condemned was committed and have no knowledge of events for which I am being prosecuted,” he said.
REGIONAL PRESS
B&H officials comment on Dodik’s statement regarding return of transferred competences (TV1)
President of Republika Srpska (RS) and leader of SNSD Milorad Dodik stated on Sunday that the RS will demand that all the 83 competences taken away and transferred to the state level be redefined and brought in line with the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA). Commenting on the issue, Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency and leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic stated on Tuesday that something like that is not possible, noting that B&H is supposed to progress further, not go backwards. According to him, Bosniaks could also demand to go back to 1991 and re-establish the Republic of B&H, adding that something like that is not possible and that B&H needs to focus on integration. Chairman and Serb member of the Presidency of B&H Mladen Ivanic stressed that he believes that it is possible, but only if Dodik has support at the international scene or among domestic politicians for such move. In case he does, Ivanic said he would have nothing against return of transferred competences. The Chairman of the Presidency of B&H also noted that, in case this is yet another attempt of the President of the RS to create new tensions, he does not intend to be part of it. Croat member of the Presidency of B&H and leader of HDZ B&H Dragan Covic pointed out that procedures for such move are known, but stressed that B&H should focus on the path towards the EU.
Leaders of ruling political parties in Federation of B&H discuss political crisis (FTV)
Coalition partners in the Federation of B&H, i.e. SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic, SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic met in Sarajevo on Tuesday and stated after the meeting that the coalition is stable in spite of problems in functioning of the Federation of B&H authorities. Izetbegovic said that there are certain problems, but nothing anyone should be worried about. Izetbegovic noted that certain things that pushed them to such situation, such as the law on games of chance, work of the Federation of B&H Parliament and infrastructure projects must be resolved as soon as possible. Izetbegovic added that difficult matters, such as the ‘Sejdic-Finci’ ruling, will not be launched by SDA until a momentum in the work of the coalition is achieved and until active implementation of the Reform Agenda starts. According to Izetbegovic, the main problem lies in the fact certain things have been agreed upon but it has never been defined who should implement the agreement.
SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic addressed reporters and pointed out that strained relations between SDA and HDZ B&H represent the biggest problem when it comes to functioning of the coalition at the Federation of B&H level. “Sometimes I feel as if I support a minority government,” he stressed, noting that agreement between SDA and HDZ B&H was imminent in 95 percent of the cases.
HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic stressed that his party will do everything in its power to prevent anyone from saying HDZ B&H is blocking some processes, despite the fact it is not a case. Covic said that they scheduled new meeting for Monday when clearly defined priorities will be presented. Reporter noted that all representatives of executive and legislative authorities from all three parties will attend this meeting. “Covic insists on resolving of ‘Sejdic-Finci’ ruling, and some frustrations of Croats regarding elections of their members”, underlined Izetbegovic adding that in his opinion resolving of these issues may start once the Federation of B&H authorities start working more efficiently.
Heads of Caucuses in RS Assembly interrogated regarding RS’ referendum case (RTRS)
The B&H Prosecutor’s Office continued to interrogate the persons involved in the “democratic” referendum on the RS Day in Sarajevo on Tuesday. The Heads of Caucuses in the RS Assembly, who were interrogated on this occasion, unanimously assessed that the B&H Prosecutor’s Office leads a political process in this case. Addressing the reporters, Head of SNSD Caucus in the RS Assembly Radovan Viskovic said that he asked Prosecutor Miroslav Markovic how it is possible that more than 80 decisions of the B&H Constitutional Court have not been implemented in the Federation of B&H and yet there are no similar cases in that entity. Head of DNS Caucus in the RS Assembly Spomenka Stevanovic assessed that this process is not legal but political. Head of SDS Caucus in the RS Assembly Vukota Govedarica deems that the case is about an investigation against fundamental human rights and freedoms of one people living in B&H. Govedarica also criticized the judicial institutions at the state level, noting that they are dealing with the referendum issue instead of investigating high-profile corruption cases. Head of PDP Caucus in the RS Assembly Miroslav Brckalo explained that he was asked what exactly he and his Caucus did when it comes to the referendum on the RS Day.
Round table on Croat minority in Serbia and Serb minority in Croatia (Hina)
A round table entitled “The importance of the Croat national minority in Serbia and the Serb national minority in Croatia in the European integration of Serbia and in building stability in Southeast Europe” was held in Zagreb on Tuesday, bringing together academics from Croatia and Serbia and political representatives of Croats in Serbia and Serbs in Croatia, who drew attention to the problems of the minority communities in the two countries.
Tomislav Zigmanov, Serbian MP, said that the transition process in Serbia was not completed yet because the country was the last to join the process of EU membership negotiations. He said that this meant that Serbia had a deficit in respect of minority policy, which also affected the Croat community in Serbia. Zigmanov said that the Croat community in Serbia was facing numerous problems, such as the country’s reluctance to confront its policies from the recent past, adding that there was not a single public monument in Serbia to commemorate the suffering of Croats in Serbia during the war of the 1990s. Zigmanov said that the Croat community in Serbia was excluded from decision-making processes because the issue of their political representation was not resolved yet, as a result of which the Croat community was highly under-represented in state administration. He said that although some progress had been made with regard to the rights of the Croat minority, their rights were still curtailed.
The deputy chairman of the Serb National Council in Croatia, Sasa Milosevic, said that relations between Serbia and Croatia were currently the worst since the 1991-1995 war. Constant fault-finding, lack of understanding and absence of the will to understand the other side are often the main characteristics of relations between the two countries, he said, adding that such relations were produced by politicians and their media and were supported by the pillars of civil society, such as war veterans and the church.
He said that Serbs in Croatia were still discriminated against in many areas and prevented from exercising their minority rights, or the exercise of their rights was reduced and obstructed, such as the use of their native language and script and education in their native language. Many difficult issues stemming from the war, such as the return of refugees, missing persons, property repossession, housing, and prosecution of war crimes against Serbs, have not been resolved either, he added. Milosevic said that Croatia’s accession to the EU had not served as an encouragement to the country to tackle the problems of the Serb minority. The political representation of Serbs at all levels of government has not helped them in resolving their issues and has often been used as grounds for criticism that they are still privileged in Croatia, he added.
The round table was organized by the Institute for Migrations and Minorities and the Croatian Heritage Foundation under the auspices of the Government Office for Croats outside Croatia.
US extradites to Bosnia ex-HVO member suspected of war crimes (Hina)
American authorities on Tuesday extradited to B&H a former member of the Croat Defense Council (HVO), Azra Basic, suspected of war crimes, the B&H Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed. Basic, born in Croatia, is suspected of participating in war crimes in 1992 against ethnic Serb civilians in the Derventa region in B&H. The state prosecution has charged Basic with killing one civilian and participating in the physical and mental abuse of a larger number of ethnic Serbs who were detained in a Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) barracks in that town. The prosecution added that after the war Basic immigrated to the United States. Thanks to the joint efforts of the B&H and US judicial authorities, Basic was located, arrested and tried for immigration fraud, giving false information to the US authorities about her participation in the war in B&H.
New Montenegrin government by Monday (CDM)
The session of the Montenegrin parliament, expected to elect the new President and other executives who will subsequently assemble the new government of Montenegro, will start working on Thursday, CdM has learned. According to our information, the session will take three days – Thursday, Friday and Monday. It is clear that the government of Montenegro will be constituted of DPS (36 seats), SD (two seats), BS (two seats), the list of Albanian parties (one seat) and the HGI (one seat). DPS successfully concluded its negotiations with the BS and is now continuing to negotiate with the SD.
CDM reports that the Bosniak Party finally made a deal with the DPS regarding their future positions in the new government. This was confirmed by DPS officials. According to information received, the President of BP, Rafet Husovic, will remain deputy prime minister, while Mr. Kemal Purisic will become the Minister of Agriculture and Mr. Osman Nurkovic the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare.
In the previous election, BP won three seats but got only two posts – Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy President of the Assembly. This time around, however, with only two seat won, Bosniaks will get an additional two functions – running two important ministries.
DPS will today reportedly continue to negotiate with the Social Democrats who are allegedly looking to acquire the ‘executive vice president of government’ function and the post of the Minister of Transport.
Prosecution seeks extradition of three Serbian nationals (Pobjeda)
The Ministry of Justice of Montenegro sent on Friday to their colleagues in Serbia a request for extradition of Serbian citizens Predrag Bogicevic, Nemanja Ristic and Milos Jovanovic, accused of being part of an organized criminal group that was preparing terrorist attacks on 16 October, writes Pobjeda. The same day, a request was sent to colleagues in Russia for the hearing of two of their nationals, Eduard Vladimirovich Shirokov and Vladimir Nikolayevich Popov, charged of leading the criminal organization whose aim was to cause bloodshed and permanently destabilize Montengero. According to Pobjeda’s sources, both Serbian and Russian investigators are aware of the charges by the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office in Montenegro against their nationals.
Montenegrin prosecutors asked that their Russian colleagues inform them of their investigative steps, in order to be able to attend the hearing of the aforementioned Russian nationals, specifying reasons why it is important to them to be present during questioning.
The Prosecution is also expected to identify the person from the Democratic Front which, as stated in the extended investigation report, was supposed to invite supporters to violently enter the Assembly building. The Prosecution also said it had intelligence that “this person was supposed to assume command of DF supporters once they take the building and clash with police officers”.
PACE expects fair and democratic elections in Macedonia (MIA)
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki met Tuesday with delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that assesses the election campaign and political climate ahead of the early parliamentary elections on 11 December. The PACE delegation that carries out pre-electoral visit to Macedonia on 21-22 November is headed by Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC). The meeting focused on exchange of opinions on upcoming elections and expectations arising from them. They expect a good election process and underlined the importance of holding fair and democratic elections. Poposki reiterated positive experiences from election monitoring of numerous election cycles in the past by relevant international organizations and in this context underlined the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
EU Refugee Policies Place Asylum Seekers at Risk, Avoid Responsibility (Sputnik, 23 November 2016)
MOSCOW — EU migrant and refugee policies place those seeking asylum in the bloc at risk and aim to outsource accommodation responsibilities to third countries, a prominent international human rights watchdog said Wednesday.
“The year 2016 stands out as a time when the EU decided to shut the door to refugees, and make life harder for those already here… The rush to make the EU a hostile environment and keep people away at all costs belittles the enormous often life-endangering risks people take to escape conflict, persecution and human rights abuses,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) Europe and Central Asia Director Judith Sunderland was quoted as saying in a statement after the watchdog released a new report on EU refugee policies. The report, titled “EU Policies Put Refugees at Risk: An Agenda to Restore Protection,” analyzed various aspects of EU migration policy, including the EU-Turkey deal, the EU relocation plan, the Mediterranean rescue operations and cooperation with third countries.
Current policies focus on preventing refugees from entering Europe as well as restricting the movement of refugees inside the bloc and placing a disproportionate burden on countries of arrival, HRW said, noting that just a few percent of over 100,000 refugees in southern Europe chosen for relocation have been moved to other EU countries.
HRW called on the European Union to focus on rescuing migrants arriving by sea as well as opening up broader legal migration channels, improving asylum procedures and pressing ahead with the relocation plan. Europe’s refugee crisis escalated in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa headed for perceived as wealthy EU member states. Some 1.8 million illegal border crossings were detected by the EU border agency Frontex in 2015. Thousands have drowned in the Mediterranean while attempting to cross from Turkey and Libya.
Russia Snubs Croatia’s Peace Initiative on Ukraine (BIRN, by Sven Milekic, 23 November 2016)
Russia has unambiguously slated the Croatian Prime Minister’s proposal to use a Croatian peace agreement from the 1990s as a model for a similar peace agreement in eastern Ukraine.
Russia on Tuesday flatly dismissed a call by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for Russia and Ukraine to draw on the experience on the peace agreement signed in Croatia in the 1990s. Plenkovic floated the idea while visiting Ukraine on Sunday and Monday, saying that Croatia was ready to help Ukraine peacefully reintegrate eastern parts held by pro-Russian rebels through sharing its own experience of peaceful integration. Plenkovic said that both countries had been “victims of brutal military aggressions” – by Yugoslavia in Croatia’s case and Russia in Ukraine’s. The Croatian leader was referring to the so-called “Erdut Agreement”, named after a village in eastern Croatia, signed between Croatia and rebel Croatian Serbs, in 1995. The UN-sponsored agreement terminated the conflict in Croatia and peacefully reintegrated the remaining slice of rebel-held territory in the east into Croatian government hands within two years. Russia – which has no intention of re-integrating either Crimea or rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine back into Ukraine – reacted with predictable iciness. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that “the ‘price’ of Croatian reintegration of its territory was the persecution of 250,000 Serbs in the [Croatian military] operations ‘Flash’ and ‘Storm’”. The two Croatian army operations in May and August 1995 brought most Serb rebel-held parts of Croatia back under government control. According to the UN and other NGOs, over 200,000 Croatian Serbs fled Croatia in 1995 and over 600 Serb civilians were killed in the operations. The Russian Ministry further called on Croatia to deal with the problem of “breaching the rights of Serbs and other minorities”. Russia – a staunch ally of fellow Orthodox state Serbia – in June 2015 accused Croatia of converting Orthodox Serb believers to Catholicism and pointed to the much reduced size of the Serbian community. According to the 1991 census, taken before the conflict in Croatia started, 580,000 Serbs then lived in Croatia. The 2011 census listed only 186,000. On his visit to Kiev, Plenkovic reiterated that Zagreb “supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and the implementation of the policy of not recognizing the illegal annexation of Crimea”. The Russian ministry called this “absurd”, insisting that the “unification of Crimea and Sevastopol with the Russian Federation was based on the free will and legitimate declaration of the population”. Since he became Croatian Prime Minister, Plenkovic has involved himself closely in the situation in Ukraine, heading a delegation of the European Parliament in talks with Ukrainian officials in late September.
