LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: UN Security Council session on Kosovo scheduled for 14 November (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that the next session of the UN Security Council at which the report on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija will be discussed will be held on 14 November. Dacic said in a statement to Tanjug that the UN Security Council adopted the program of work for November and that the analysis of the situation in the southern Serbian province has been returned to the agenda of that UN body. He explained that some countries asked that Kosovo not be on the agenda of the session, but did not ask voting on that matter and left it to the president to decide. Dacic expressed his gratitude to China for the extremely important support in putting Kosovo back on the agenda of the Security Council, as well as to Russia and other Security Council members who backed that proposal.

Brnabic: Making Belgrade-Pristina dialogue possible without “red lines” (Beta)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated that Belgrade is ready for a compromise with Pristina, but that that compromise is still very far away at this moment and underlined that no third party should be talking about “red lines” before hearing a possible agreement of the two sides. After the conference of the Blavatnik School of Governance at Oxford University, Brnabic told the press that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is already so difficult, complex and emotional that there is no need to additionally draw “red lines”. She said that it is unbelievable that Belgrade is ready to talk with representatives of the interim institutions in Pristina and that a third party immediately says – you cannot talk about that. Brnabic underlined that it is absolutely not true that Brussels, Washington and everybody else apart from Serbian citizens knows something about that compromise. Everybody knows what Serbian citizens know – that we are ready to make a compromise, the Prime Minister concluded.

General Mojsilovic meets KFOR Commander (Beta)

The chief of general staff of the Army of Serbia, Gen. Milan Mojsilovic, met with the commander of KFOR Salvatore Cuoci in Belgrade, and discussed the current security situation in Kosovo and Metohija and the realization of joint activities of the Army of Serbia and KFOR, it was stated by the Ministry of Defense. The first official meeting of the two generals since General Mojsilovic was assigned to the post of chief of general staff of the Army of Serbia was held in the Topcider barracks in Belgrade. According to the statement, while declaring concern over the recent events, Mojsilovic pointed out that unilateral and non-transparent acts made the situation in the field more complex and that honoring all the agreements that are in effect and of the obligations stemming from them, was fundamentally important for the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija. He stressed that the preservation of security in the zones on both sides of the administrative line was a matter of common interest for KFOR and the Army of Serbia, and that KFOR, as an international factor, was the most responsible for the safety of all citizens of the province, especially of the non-Albanian population.

Beckovic: I am impressed that a poet could endanger safety of a NATO member (RTS)

Poet Matija Beckovic told RTS that he doesn’t know whether the decision of the Montenegrin police refers to him alive or dead since he intends to live in Montenegro once he dies. “This really impresses me that a poet can endanger safety to a NATO member,” says Beckovic. He notes that he is not surprised that he was banned from entering Montenegro, but that he is surprised that certain historians are banned, since this didn’t exist even in the past times, while there were cases in the middle ages for poets to be banned and expelled from their homelands. “I heard that Mr. Antic was banned for life, but I am surprised that they didn’t ban me as well, since this ban would not last long,” said Beckovic.

Antic, Rakovic: Montenegro’s decision, decision of an authoritarian state (TV Prva/B92)

Historians Cedomir Antic and Aleksandar Rakovic on Friday morning spoke for TV Prva about the ban they received on entering Montenegro. Academician Matija Beckovic has also been banned, as well as Serbian politician and lawyer Dejan Mirovic, as they endanger the national security of Montenegro. The Serb intellectuals, that have allegedly been forbidden from entry, were to speak at a celebration of the anniversary of the Podgorica Assembly, marking 100 years since the victory in the First World War, as well as the joining of Montenegro to the Kingdom of Serbia and the unification of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, on December 1, 1918. The event is to be held in an Orthodox church in Podgorica. “This decision is a picture of the contemporary Montenegro, an authoritarian state. We received the information from some honorable people from the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro. It was just an excuse for these people to be mistreated,” said Cedomir Antic. Aleksandar Rakovic pointed out that, based on that list, they would have been be stopped at the airport. “They would stop me at the airport, they would keep me hostage. When I was supposed to buy a ticket, we found out that we were on a blacklist. This is what happens when criminals get a state,” Rakovic said. He pointed out that the problem began when Montenegro started to the path of changing its own identity. “The problem starts at the moment when the leaders of Montenegro moved to change their own identity. They are moving to strike at those in the Serbdom, and we are constantly warning about what is happening in Montenegro,” Rakovic added.

Serbian, foreign observers for national minority elections (Beta)

Serbian and foreign observers will monitor the elections for the national minority national councils on 4 November. The Foreign Ministry approved the deployment of observer teams by the OSCE mission in Serbia and the EU Delegation as well as the embassies of Great Britain, Croatia, the United States, Slovakia, Turkey, Germany and the Ukraine for the elections for the highest representative body of the country’s national minorities.  This is the third time that national minority representatives are being elected to the 22 national minority councils by a total of 509,315 voters. The Serbian Republic Election Commission (RIK) has approved 58 lists of candidates for the elections.

REGIONAL PRESS

CEC is torn between legal obligation and constitutional limitations, and is exposed to pressure (Dnevni list)

Regarding the issue of distribution of mandates in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Peoples (HoP), daily notes that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is torn between its legal obligations to adopt a bylaw regarding filling of the Federation of B&H HoP and the existing provisions in the Constitution of B&H and the Constitution of the Federation of B&H. Daily notes that the CEC has an obligation to adopt a bylaw regulating filling of the Federation of B&H HoP after each population census, reminding that the last census took place five years ago and was published in the Official Gazette and recognized by the international community (IC). In this context daily writes that the IC demands that the CEC is resolute and that the CEC should adopt a rulebook on filling of the Federation of B&H HoP. Daily goes on to say that, at the same time, the OHR and the US Embassy in B&H are warning that the CEC, when adopting the said bylaw, must abide by the Constitution of the Federation of B&H. Article reminds that HDZ B&H’s Borjana Kristo has challenged the said provisions in the Constitution of the Federation of B&H, however the Constitutional Court of B&H is yet to reach a decision in the matter, which means the Constitution of Federation of B&H i.e. its parts regarding filling of the Federation of B&H HoP remains in force. Daily further reminds that some CEC members are of opinion that the 2013 census should be used for distribution of the Federation of B&H HoP mandates, whilst some think that the 1991 census should be used. Daily notes that political and analytical circles from Sarajevo are accusing the CEC i.e. members that advocate use of the 2013 census of undermining the Constitution and organizing some sort of a coup, which leads the author to say the accusations are nothing but politicization of the issue. Concluding the article, daily notes it would be fair to let the CEC adopt the bylaw and only then make comments and interventions. “One has to start from somewhere,” argues the daily.

EUD: We reject accusations of pressure on the B&H CEC (Hayat)

After the B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) discussed on Wednesday the issue of formation of the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP) related to implementation of a verdict in case of ‘Bozo Ljubic’, the US Embassy reminded that due to lack of a legal solution, B&H CEC is legally obliged to implement results of the general elections in B&H, including formation of the HoP. The EU Delegation to B&H (EUD) stated on Thursday that claims that Head of the EUD and EU Special Representative in B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark pressured the CEC in any way are totally groundless, adding that independence of the CEC is of crucial importance. EUD rejected the claims of certain B&H CEC members about Ambassador Wigemark exerting pressure over B&H CEC. The Delegation decisively denied the claims, which appeared in the public, about Wigemark urging B&H CEC to use 2013 population census in distribution of mandates for Federation B&H House of Peoples. EUD stressed that B&H CEC’s independence is of essential importance in order to secure the implementation of election process in a transparent and democratic manner. “We reject completely groundless claims that Ambassador Wigemark exerted any form of pressure over Central Election Commission. We deem that CEC needs to act in line with their mandate and existing constitutional framework, in order to secure full implementation of election results. This also includes respecting of legally prescribed deadlines for the election process” said EUD Spokesperson Jamila Milovic- Halilovic.

SDA, SDP B&H, NB call on CEC to apply results of population census 1991 (N1)

Even though B&H Central Election Commission (CEC) did not reach a decision on the distribution of mandates for the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP), there were reactions, but also warnings of certain political parties. SDA, SDP B&H and DF have asked the B&H CEC to apply the 1991 population census, reminding that this is an obligation from the Constitution of the Federation of B&H. SDA representatives stressed that the CEC has to comply with the Constitution and that besides the principle according to which one must apply the 1991 population census, one must comply with the principle to elect to the Federation of B&H HoP at least one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb from each canton which has at least one such delegate in its legislative body. SDP B&H and DF representatives warned that if the CEC fulfills demands of HDZ B&H and applies the 2013 census, there could be a blockade of formation of the HoP, claiming that they started collecting signatures for convening an extraordinary session of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Assembly. SDP B&H and DF representatives stressed that the B&H Election Law clearly says that filling of the HoP is carried out from all cantons, adding that it would be enough for one canton to fail to do that which would make the process of filling the HoP unfinished. SDP B&H and the Independent Bloc (NB) also stated that in this case, the CEC should apply results of the population census 1991. A statement issued by DF, which reads that members of the CEC, who are under political protection of segregation policies, attempted to carry out a coup and brutally violate the Constitution of the Federation of B&H during Wednesday’s session of the CEC. DF insists that application of the 2013 census would constitute violation of the Constitution of the Federation of B&H.

Dodik announces SNSD will propose Viskovic as RS Prime Minister-designate (ATV)

Newly-elected Serb member of B&H Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik confirmed on Thursday afternoon that SNSD Vice-President Radovan Viskovic will be nominated as the future RS Prime Minister-designate. Dodik said that Viskovic’s name was not mentioned in speculations surrounding the post of future RS Prime Minister-designate, which were made in recent days, underlining that the proposal will be submitted to newly-elected RS President Zeljka Cvijanovic. “We believe that our coalition partners will also support our proposal according to which years-long official of SNSD, Vice-President of our party and Head of SNSD Caucus in the current convocation of the RS parliament will lead the future RS Government” said Dodik. Outgoing RS parliament speaker and DNS Vice-President Nedeljko Cubrilovic said that SNSD has achieved an election result that gives it the right to set certain conditions. Cubrilovic noted that SNSD’s capacity will certainly “dictate certain conditions”. According to Cubrilovic, DNS party bodies will pass decisions on important matters in this regard. ‘United Srpska’ will also join the ruling coalition with three mandates in the RS parliament. This decision guarantees them minister functions in the new RS government. President of PDP Branislav Borenovic stated that it was not important who would lead the new government. He said that the RS government would continue to do the same as before and ruin the RS. Borenovic stressed that the politics of this government would be ruled by the center of SNSD and nothing else was important.

SDS City Board in Doboj accepted SNSD’s invitation to enter authorities – Govedarica reacts (ATV/BN)

SDS Board in the City of Doboj has passed a decision on accepting SNSD’s invitation to enter authorities at all levels. Namely, this SDS Board provided unanimous support to all elected officials. This decision was made after Doboj-based members left last Sunday’s session of the Main Board of SDS, due to which they faced accusations of being traitors. Three representatives of SDS from Doboj will therefore act as the ruling majority in RS parliament.

Mayor of Doboj Obren Petrovic (SDS) accepted the invitation of newly-elected Serb member of B&H Presidency and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik for formation of a Serb bloc in B&H parliament. Leader of SDS Vukota Govedarica reacted on Thursday to conclusions of the SDS City Board in Doboj and stated that those who do not respect decisions of the SDS Main Board are far from the party’s discipline and they undermine unity within SDS. “SDS finds totally unacceptable that city and municipal organizations do whatever they want, not accepting decisions of SDS Main Board. The Main Board is the body that should decide on how SDS will be positioned in terms of politics. A session of the Main Board was recently held and we expressed clear standpoints. Therefore, it is totally unacceptable that people in municipal organizations do whatever they want. I repeat once again; I guess I will receive conclusions from Doboj tomorrow (on Friday) and the party will take appropriate stances in the upcoming period. If MPs think that they should head into their own directions and not into direction set by SDS, it is clear that they will have to face with consequences of their decisions”.

Dodik tells OSCE’s Berton his initial activity at new post will be return of B&H’s internal sovereignty (TV1/ATV)

The RS President and newly-elected Serb member of B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik said during his meeting with Head of the OSCE Mission to B&H Bruce Berton on Thursday that he will work in line with the Constitution of B&H and that his initial activity at new post will be return of B&H’s internal sovereignty, i.e. he will advocate the abolition of the function of the High Representative (HR) and the removal of foreigners from the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H. On this occasion, Dodik announced that he will advocate respecting of the constitution and the Dayton agreement in a way it was written, as well as preserving of peace and visible economic progress. Berton also met with RS parliament speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic on which occasion the OSCE Mission Head said that the OSCE has an excellent cooperation with the RS parliament and other bodies. Berton expressed hope that this cooperation will continue in the future.

Matija Beckovic barred from entering Montenegro (Dan)

The National Police adopted decision which bans entry into Montenegro by Serbian intellectuals, including Matija Beckovic. The national border police stated: “Apart from Beckovic, historians Cedomir Antic and Aleksandar Rakovic will also be denied entry at Montenegro border, as well as the Serbian politician and lawyer Dejan Mirovic.” All border crossings in Montenegro received the list of persons who pose a danger to Montenegrin security and to whom entry would be denied. The Serbian intellectuals barred from entering Montenegro were announced as speakers at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Podgorica Assembly. Meanwhile Public Relations Service of the government of Montenegro issued a statement: “Regarding media reports on the ban of entry of certain Serbian intellectuals into Montenegro, the government notes that the development of security assessments related to certain events and activities of individuals that could jeopardize national security and state interests of Montenegro, or harm its reputation and dignity is the security services’ permanent duty. It is our constitutional and moral obligation to protect stability and security of the country from malevolent individuals, as well as the tranquility of all its citizens, including the state-building, patriotic and national feelings of most of them. We are convinced that each responsible government, anywhere in the world, would do the same. In that regard, not only do we understand, but also appreciate when President Vucic and other Serbian officials protect interests and dignity of Serbia. We underline that such an approach has nothing to do with the prohibition of freedom of opinion, but only and exclusively refers to preventing foreign citizens from provoking or inciting intolerance in Montenegro, insulting its reputation or celebrating the violent disappearance of Montenegro.

We also note that there are no lists of people declared persona non- grata, but the competent state authorities in each case assess the individuals whose actions could endanger the protected values ​​and interests of Montenegro and its citizens.”

From now on VMRO-DPMNE will act as a single MP group and will be led by Nikola Micevski (Meta)

At its session, VMRO-DPMNE’s executive committee has passed a decision instead of 10 MP groups, the MPs to act through a single group whose coordinator will be Nikola Micevski, informs the party. This was proposed by Dragan Danev, who withdrew several days ago as a coordinator. “The change of the MP group’s coordinator is not related to the current occurrences within and around the party but it’s directed towards more efficient acting on part of the MP group in the future” announced VMRO-DPMNE. “Regarding the current political situation, it was stated that regardless of all kinds of threats, blackmail and pressures, the party will continue on the same course to protect the country’s highest state and national interests. The party’s acts that were voted at the congresses in Valandovo and Kumanovo, including the election program at which party members, activists and VMRO-DPMNE’s sympathizers and the coalition for a better Macedonia gave their support for not changing the constitution with the purpose of changing the constitutional name, and they remain a basic priority in the future” reads the party’s press release.

Micevski expects that the parliamentary majority will accept the Amnesty law (Meta)

The new coordinator of VMRO-DPMNE’s group, Nikola Micevski said that he expects that the Amnesty Law will be accepted by the majority. “We shall have a coordination within the party as what was offered as a reconciliation is not acceptable since it is selective” said Micevski.

Dragan Danev handed over the coordination position to Nikola Micevski as VMRO-DPMNE’s new coordinator. At the joint press conference, they said that they will be acting as a single MP group and will fight against SDSM’s bad policies. “This decision is personal and I think it’s time to begin anew with a new coordinator. I believe that as an MP I will make a bigger contribution. We had a difficult year and we shall strive to disambiguate SDSM’s policies,” said Danev.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

Serbia’s Albanians Vote Amid Pessimism and Apathy (BIRN, by Nikola Lazic, 2 November 2018)

Elections for seats on the Albanian National Council, which represents the ethnic community’s educational and cultural interests in Serbia, have inspired little hope or optimism in impoverished areas of the country’s south.

There are about 40,000 ethnic Albanians in Serbia who are eligible to vote in the elections on Sunday for seats on the Albanian National Council, ANC, but observers and potential voters agree that there is little enthusiasm for the polls among the people of Bujanovac, Presevo, and Medvedja, the three municipalities at the country’s southern border with Kosovo and Macedonia where many Albanians live. “That is because in their campaigns, the politicians are not promising citizens jobs in municipal institutions or to sort out the infrastructure, because this is not in the jurisdiction of national councils,” said Arber Pajaziti, the Alternative for Change party’s ANC presidential candidate. Valjon Arifi, a civic activist from Presevo, thinks that since 2010, when first elections for the ANC were held, the council has done very little for the ethnic Albanian community in Serbia. “It’s pitiful that the ANC, one of the most important institutions for the rights of Albanians in Serbia, is greatly influenced by [political] parties and politicians. Up to now, they have done practically nothing for citizens, which explains the lack of interest in these elections, especially among the youth,” Arifi told BIRN. There are a total of 20 ‘national councils’ that represent Serbia’s various ethnic minorities, like the ethnic Albanians’ ANC, but according to the law, they are only responsible for education, culture, information and the official use of language, alphabet and national symbols – not economic matters. Arifi meanwhile argued that the ANC has lacked any coherent strategy so far, which is why ethnic Albanian children still have to study in poor conditions at school, don’t have books in their mother tongue, and are not completely integrated into state institutions. “This situation will continue because in the campaign up to now, no party has put forward specific ideas about how the ANC will solve the accumulated problems of Albanians, but their campaigns boil down to trashing each other and collecting political points,” he claimed. Nedzat Behljulji, the owner of Bujanovac-based, Albanian-language channel TV Spektri, also believes that the reasons for the lack of motivation among potential ANC voters is because the council hasn’t achieved much since it was founded eight years ago. “The issue of using the Albanian national minority’s flag has still not been resolved, or the official use of the language and alphabet and textbooks in the mother tongue. Apart from that, no cultural institution in Albanian has been founded, like a theatre for example,” Behljulji said. He pointed out that in the last elections for the ANC, just over 15,000 ethnic Albanians voted, and a similarly poor turn-out is expected this weekend too. Six electoral lists are competing in Sunday’s ballot for the 15 seats on the ANC – Alternative for Change, the Democratic Party, the Party for Democratic Action, the Reforms Movement, the Democratic Albanians Party and the Albanian Forum for Economic Development in Serbia association. At first glance, there are two surprises. Firstly, the Democratic Progress Movement formerly led by Jonuz Musli is not on the list. Musli was the president of the ANC up to his death in January 2018. The Democratic Progress Movement party said it did not manage to prepare for the elections after the death of its leader. A potential surprise candidate could be Muharem Saljihu from Medvedja, who has been building a successful business career in Italy over the past few decades. Saljihu told BIRN that his motive for running is the desire to help the region of his birth so that all ethnic communities in the south of Serbia can start live better. “The ANC has up to now been a bad copy of political parties and I want to change that,” said Saljihu, who opened a sock factory in Medvedja and hired 200 workers. According to local analysts, no single list will be able to win an absolute majority of eight seats on its own, and thus get the right to elect the ANC’s president. Analysts also suggested that the keenest struggle for power on the ANC will take place between the two lists spearheaded by the mayors of Bujanovac and Presevo – Shaip Kamberi, leader of the Party for Democratic Action, PDA, and Shqiprim Arifi, leader of the Alternative for Change, AFC. “The PDA is the oldest party bringing together Albanians, and it has committees and voters in all three municipalities. On the other hand, the AFC is a party which stripped the PDA of its primacy at last year’s local elections in Presevo, and its electorate mostly consists of young people who are eager for changes,” said Behljulji. The impoverished south of Serbia is still recovering from an armed conflict between state security forces and the rebel Albanians of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, which lasted from late 2000 to June 2001. Since then, ethnic Albanians have been dissatisfied with their situation in Serbia, so their leaders are united in the desire for the Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja municipalities to become part of Kosovo. The hope that this could happen was intensified in recent months when political leaders in Belgrade and Pristina started mulling the idea of border changes as part of a deal to normalise relations. But local Albanian political leaders have recently “dropped the talk” about joining Kosovo, Behljulji claimed. “They turned to the National Council elections because that’s where the money and power are,” he insisted. The ANC gets about 100,000 euros a year from the Serbian state budget for the activities and salaries of its employees. It can also raise money by applying for funding for projects to state institutions and ministries both in Serbia and Albania, and to international donors. “There are three main reasons behind political parties’ great interest in power on the ANC. These are money, political influence and the verification of trust with voters for the local elections, which are to take place in a year and a half,” Behljulji said.