LOCAL PRESS

 

Support of Guinea Bissau to Serbia’s territorial integrity (RTS/Tanjug)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke today with the parliament speaker of Guinea Bissau Cipriano Cassama about the possibilities for enhancing bilateral and economic cooperation of Serbia with this African country. Brnabic pointed out that the two countries can base their current and future cooperation on traditionally friendly relations and close relations in the past, which were at a very high level in the former Yugoslavia. Explaining the economic situation in the country, Brnabic said that Serbia has undergone severe reforms in recent years to ensure economic stability and become a competitive market. She stated that Serbia is now a country that is much stronger and more stable, strategically oriented towards the EU, but stable enough to restore ties with traditionally friendly countries such as Guinea Bissau. Cassama stressed that the goal of his visit was to convey the message of Guinea-Bissau's support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and to emphasize the fact that his country fully complies with UN Resolution 1244.

 

Serbia appreciates Ghana’s intention to review recognition of Kosovo (RTS/Tanjug)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke today with the parliament speakerof Ghana Aaron Mike Ocquaye about further improvement of relations of the two countries through economic and cultural cooperation and expressed gratitude to that country on its willingness to review its recognition of independence of the self-proclaimed Kosovo. Brnabic and Ocquaye referred to the traditional friendship and good relations of several decades between the two countries. Brnabic expressed the readiness of the Serbian government to provide scholarships for students from Ghana who wish to study in our country as part of the “World in Serbia” program. Brnabic said that Serbia honestly appreciates positive signals in the direction of reviewing the recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

 

Vucic: Agreement with Albanians in agreement and will of people (Novosti)

 

A broad consensus and the will of a majority in our society must exist for a legally binding agreement with Pristina to be reached, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview to Novosti. “It is in Serbia’s interest to reach an agreement with the Albanians, regardless of whether or not we will become EU member. However, if this were to happen, I am convinced that the doors [of EU membership] will not just stand ajar, but would be wide opened,” he said. Vucic declared that he will come out with his solution of the Kosovo problem “ones he estimates that it would be good for the country and that he is certain that results would be drawn out of it”. “Even if our GDP is five times higher and we become the champions of the EU reforms, at the end they will make Kosovo a final condition… That’s why we want to strike a compromising solution,” Vucic added. He reiterated that it was not realistic for Belgrade to give everything and get nothing in return and that the Albanians had to understand that, “because without the deal they won’t have future either.” Vucic said that “some big international political players” had drafted certain solutions in the “non-paper” form, but added that Serbia could hardly accept them if asked. “Big Western powers’ starting point is that the territorial issue of Kosovo and Metohija has been resolved, by receiving their independence, and they will not give up on that. And it’s our job to try to see what we can get, both for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, but also for Serbia. Many people forget that. It's not only a matter of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. They are most important, their security, safety, life, economic progress, perspectives, future. But that's not an issue only for them, it’s an issue for all those who live in Serbia,” Vucic said. When asked if there is any point in the dialogue with Pristina when the main negotiator on the other side says the talks, and the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) are just a waste of time - Vucic that he sees a bigger problem in that. “For three years I have been saying all the time that I do not believe they will ever implement that, and Pristina has not yet met its sole obligation (from the Brussels agreement. They are not interested in that at all. The problem is that no one else, especially those who mediate in our talks, have reacted, that is, essentially, the problem. But what now? We will not cry or whine, but continue to work and fight. Are we in a difficult situation? We are, but that's how it is,” he said. Regarding the claims of some opposition leaders that he will agree to give Kosovo UN chair, and that he was taking Serbia to NATO by the back door, Vucic said these accusations are made by robbers and thieves who have stolen millions of faiths and who are proceeding from themselves.

 

Dacic: We expect new phase of enlargement process (RTS/Tanjug/Beta)

 

On the occasion of the celebration of the Serbian Diplomacy Day, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic expressed his conviction that acting in favor of peace and stability enables the economic development and progress of our country, as well as the well-being of all our citizens. As he pointed out, the Republic of Serbia is continuing its European path as an external policy priority, in order to integrate formally and substantially more firmly into the family of European peoples, where it has always belonged. He added that we are committed to achieving full EU membership, expecting that the process of enlargement enters a new phase, where the Republic of Serbia, as a proven stable and responsible partner, will contribute to the EU becoming stronger. Speaking about Kosovo, Dacic said that Serbia wanted to solve the question through dialogue, without either side being favored. “For us, it is crucial that the process is two-way. We

expect the representatives of the temporary institutions in Pristina to fulfill their part of the

agreement, as an essential precondition for a successful outcome, which we have been striving

toward for years,” he said. The Serbian foreign minister said that Serbia had invested maximum efforts so that relations with neighboring countries are on the highest possible level, adding that it was important to use all communication channels for further cooperation. Dacic cited as a priority of Serbian diplomacy the renewal and restoration of ties with friendly nations, such as Russia, China, the US, India, African countries, Latin American countries and the Middle East. He pointed to Serbia's chairmanship over the OSCE, a diplomatic campaign to prevent Kosovo from being admitted to UNESCO, the withdrawal of recognitions of Kosovo’s independence by a number of states and the organization of the first exhibition on Jasenovac after World War II in the UN as some of the successes of Serbian diplomacy. Dacic said that Serbia, while honoring its past and with a large sense of responsibility toward the future, placed the preservation of peace and stability at the center of its foreign policy.

 

Mali elected Serbian Finance Minister (Beta/RTS/Tanjug)

 

The Serbian parliament on Tuesday voted to elect Sinisa Mali to the post of finance minister, with 154 MPs voting yes and 30 voting against Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s proposal.

Brnabic proposed Mali to replace former Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic who resigned early in May. Mali was named Finance Minister following a heated two-day debate during which opposition MPs accused him of wrongdoing as advisor to then deputy PM Aleksandar Vucic and later as Belgrade Mayor while ruling coalition MPs praised him. Explaining her proposal, Brnabic said last week that Mali was successful in resolving the huge financial and development problems the Serbian capital faced when he took over as mayor in 2014. The Serbian parliament has finished its summer sitting with the election of Mali. Mali told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) on Tuesday that he has big plans but will take care of every Dinar. “The goal of the finance minister is not just to keep the treasury safe but also to secure money for development projects,” he said, adding that money has to be found for infrastructure investments, new factories and new jobs. Mali said the most important thing is for the public debt to drop below the level of 50 percent of the GDP. He said he would continue the government’s responsible fiscal policy and support macro-economic stability. “The government’s responsible fiscal policy leaves room to raise salaries and pensions this year. I think it’s only fair for the people who bore the brunt of the reforms to see benefits from those reforms,” the new Finance Minister said. “The measure of everything we are doing is the quality of life in the country and the increase in the standard of living,” he said. Mali said his goal is to make the Serbian budget as big as possible, adding that “the biggest challenge is to keep the economic growth rate as high as possible”. Brnabic said regarding her nomination of Mali for the position of Finance Minister that she tried to explain in the best possible way, with concrete figures and evidence why her proposal is good, adding that she backed it up with economic indicators, but that she also understands that the opposition is reluctant to accept that. I am sorry about that, because it would be responsible and in the national interest to start accepting some figures. First of all, the results and successes that the Serbian government has not attributed to itself on its own, but objective, rather critical international partners and organizations, she said. Brnabic cited part of the European Commission's progress report on Serbia, which refers to economic indicators and which states that our country has made good economic progress, that the issue of the budget deficit has been solved, and that macroeconomic stability has been preserved. She also assessed that the conditions on the labour market have been improved, and she urged Sinisa Mali to continue to work in such a way as to maintain success and help the Serbian government team to make the citizens live better every day.

 

Mali’s doctorate to be under scrutiny (Danas)

 

The President of Belgrade University’s Council Branko Kovacevic said on Tuesday he did not know of a commission tasked with an investigation into a doctorate of Sinisa Mali, suspected to be a forgery. Kovacevic said that current regulations stipulated that the University could not form such commission, but that the faculty the doctorate had been submitted to should do it.

Commenting on Brnabic’s statement that the University would name the third commission to scrutinize the doctorate, Kovacevic told Danas, that the Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON) had formed an administrative, but not an expert commission. Following the Council’s request to form the expert body, the Faculty could not do it since there were difficulties in having people on board for the commission. “I don’t know why Mali presents himself as a PhD when he never received the diploma. He has not been promoted at the University and won’t be until the case is resolved. One cannot become a PhD before the promotion, and one can only be a PhD candidate,” he said.

 

Jeremic: Vucic intends to hand over UN seat to Pristina this year (Nasa TV)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is intending to this year “hand over to Pristina a seat in the UN”, after which he will begin work on the lowering of the authorities of the Republika Srpska, and then on the preparation of the terrain for the admission of Serbia into NATO, said the leader of the opposition People’s Party (NS) Vuk Jeremic on Tuesday. In a statement for the local Nasa TV, Jeremic said that Vucic was prepared to do everything “so as to avoid criticisms from abroad over the non-democratic rule in Serbia”. According to Jeremic, Vucic is “by the sale of vital Serbian national interests paying to the West for his remaining in power” and he plans to rule for decades in the manner done in Montenegro by his “political role model and close partner” Milo Djukanovic.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Federation of B&H CC’s ruling opened discussion on equality, cases of discrimination and segregation in entire B&H (FTV)

 

Speaker of the Herzegovina Neretva Canton (HNC) Assembly Vesna Saradzic speaks about the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina which ruled that the Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats enjoy equal status in the Cantons in the Federation, as well as Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian languages, the Latin letter and the Cyrillic letter. Speaking about the significance of the ruling, Saradzic stated: “The ruling really means a lot to all those who were deprived of their rights for all these years in the HNC, the Posavina Canton and the West Herzegovina Canton. The ruling refers to discrimination and jeopardized basic human rights and freedoms. Ruling really gives hope that all those who were deprived of their rights, will become part of the society in an adequate way”. According to Saradzic, Serbs are not part of decision-making processes about important issues such as distribution of budget funds, education and employment. Saradzic added that implementation of the ruling of the CC will create conditions for Serbs to fight for equal life opportunities and employment with other peoples in the aforementioned Cantons. In her opinion, the CC’s ruling opened a discussion on equality, cases of discrimination and segregation in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and not just in the three aforementioned Cantons. Saradzic reminded that amendments to the HNC Constitution on equality of Serbs were sent in the parliamentary procedure two years ago and since then there was no possibility to discuss the amendments in the Assembly. She added that the amendments could not even be put on the agenda of the Assembly’ sessions. Saradzic stressed: “I truly hope that the amendments to the Constitution will be implemented within legally-prescribed deadline of six months. In the meantime, provisions of the Federation of B&H will be in force, which is significant”.

 

Reactions to the Federation of B&H CC’s ruling (Oslobodjenje/TV1)

 

SDA issued a press statement on Tuesday welcoming a decision of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Constitutional Court, ordering the authorities in the Posavina, Herzegovina-Neretva and the West Herzegovina cantons to amend their constitutions and harmonize them with the Federation of B&H Constitution in order to ensure full equality of Serbs in these cantons.

“We expect the cantonal assemblies to amend their constitutions within the six-month deadline, and finally accept what the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H confirmed in 1998 in accordance with the motion of Alija Izetbegovic – all the peoples on the whole territory of B&H are constituent and equal in full capacity,” stated SDA. The party also called on the authorities in Republika Srpska (RS) to finally abolish discrimination of non-Serb population in this entity.

Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic (PDP) stated that: “Seventeen years ago, the decision of the CC of B&H was rendered on this matter. The CC B&H then made the decision saying that the constitutions in the cantons were not constitutional and for seventeen years the Serbs were not constituent peoples in three, before that in four cantons in the Federation of B&H. They were not constituent peoples in cantons where HDZ B&H was part of the ruling coalition. I think that is completely inappropriate. Just imagine the same scenario in the RS. Whole international community would condemn us and call that unprincipled. I do not believe that this decision will have any effect, because you already have the CC B&H’s decision that stipulates that all the peoples in B&H are equal, and that refers to the cantons as well, and it is not respected,” said Ivanic. The Office of the High Representative welcomed a decision of the Federation of B&H CC. High Representative Valentin Inzko called on the cantonal authorities on several occasions to harmonize their constitutions with the Federation of B&H Constitution without delay, as a gesture of good will towards Serbs.

 

Dodik to run for Serb member of B&H Presidency, Cvijanovic to run for RS President (RTRS)

 

The Main Board and the Presidency of SNSD held sessions in Banja Luka on Tuesday and unanimously endorsed nomination of incumbent Republika Srpska (RS) President and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik as a candidate for a Serb member of the B&H Presidency and incumbent RS Prime Minister and SNSD Vice-President Zeljka Cvijanovic as a candidate for the RS President. Dodik stated that, as a part of the B&H Presidency, he will strengthen the position of the RS. He announced the intention to advocate a united performance of Serb representatives in joint institutions of B&H along with institutions of the RS. “The RS will be my priority, and there are no other priorities. I do not want to belong to a generation in the joint institutions that is behind us, which should have represented the RS and our people there but they turned out to represent Sarajevo in the RS instead.” He pointed out that SNSD wants to form a joint list for B&H House of Representatives (HoR) together with its partners. Cvijanovic announced that she intends to advocate the policy of strengthening the RS institutions even at a new function, as the RS President. Cvijanovic said she is proud of the unity in SNSD and its associates. “Now that we have entered a stable financial situation and when we do not face challenges in this regard, I am certain we can completely commit to strengthening of the RS as a society and especially as institutions of authorities,” Cvijanovic noted. Cvijanovic referred to the RS as “the main political goal” and plans to show that she deserves trust of the party and citizens. Reporter noted that SNSD’s election campaign will be conducted under the slogan ‘Under the Flag of the RS’.

 

President criticizes government's demographic policy (HRT)

 

The Croatian President said during her official visit to Rome that has only adopted partial measures in its demographic policy. President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic says that she is yet to receive a response from Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic regarding her call for the two to jointly hold a special cabinet session on the matter of demographic renewal. She added that they had agreed to continue discussing the issue. The President proposed the idea yesterday at a meeting of the National Security Council, and said that along with demographic renewal she also wanted to address the issue of citizens with blocked accounts due to outstanding debts.

Grabar Kitarovic said the proposed joint session proposal should not be interpreted as a criticism of the government's work. "After all, the issue of demographics is not one that has arisen overnight, but it did become more acute at the beginning of the nineties when we note a decline in natural growth, and now a new wave of emigration that is not subsiding. It is an issue that we all need to urgently reach an agreement on, both the government and the opposition," the president said. The President added that it was her intention, regardless of whether a government session is held or not, to present the measures she and her advisors have drafted, with the hope that all of the relevant factors in society and politics will address the issue. "We need a strategy, not partial measures. Unfortunately, we have seen only partial measures from this government when it comes to demographic policy" she stressed.

 

DF post defeat (CDM)

 

The Democratic Front experienced yet another electoral fiasco. They are no longer the strongest opposition structure. Their many supporters took to social networks to demand that leaders leave their comfortable armchairs, resign, and let younger forces lead them into new political battles.

DF leaders remain silent. The leader of the New Serbian Democracy, Mr. Andrija Mandic, did not even appear, nor did he announce a word to his electorate. The leader of the Movement for Change, Nebojsa Medojevic, stayed true to his signature finger pointing – this time blaming the American embassy as well. Unable to see any responsibility on his part, or at least muster some courage to call to protests, he did manage to invite Becic and Abazovic to do so. Mr. Becic has already stated that he will not indulge Mr. Medojevic with a reaction to this invitation. There was only one bearer of the DF-SNP list in Podgorica, Mr. Slaven Radunovic, who had the courage to admit that this was the worst failure of the opposition since the 90s. He said everyone is obliged to investigate into this “general opposition failure in all municipalities and to find their share of responsibility – including DF”. “We all knew there would be the usual abuses of state resources, blackmailing with jobs, buying of personal documents and using ‘state-conscious’ mafias and thugs on the election day; these are the obstacles that were so much anticipated, that it is almost unreasonable to use them as justification. We had to count that, as long as DPS and Milo Djukanovic are organizing the elections, this is the name of the game. And that’s why we had to focus on other things, and there are many reasons why we have failed. The most important of them is that our leaders simply failed to find the way to the electoral body”, Mr. Radunovic wrote on Facebook. He added there are new political options – young, courageous and aggressive – who also failed terribly for the same reasons. “Why? Because we were so focused on taking down the dictator, we forgot we needed the votes of those who are usually abstaining. Our brave and unwavering supporters were not enough, and we failed in convincing the abstains to go to the polling stations. And this was not the problem of our electoral programs or lists – they were simply disappointed with the inter-relationship of the opposition. It is entirely our fault that the voters did not believe that the opposition is united enough to win,” he wrote. Mr. Radunovic added that DF entered this election with a difficult financial situation and exhausted by the long-standing struggle on the street and in the courtroom. “If the enormous money and energy invested in the project “Coalition for the 21st Century” were aimed at demolishing the regime – the project completely failed, because DPS is stronger than ever,” he concluded.

While DF is preparing new excuses, and the only real question that remains is whether young people in the opposition ranks have the guts to take leadership from the hands of Mandic, Medojevic and Bulatovic, and start a new political battle – this time, a serious one. Because the changes are healing, and any government is better with a strong opposition able to put argumentative pressure and force the ruling party into action. Until then, DPS won’t be bothered. On the contrary, they are rubbing their hands. They are getting stronger.

 

President Ivanov asks to be briefed on the name negotiations process (MIA)

 

President Gjorge Ivanov has not received any information on the agreed framework for the name dispute resolution that FM Nikola Dimitrov referred to on Monday, states a press release from the President’s Cabinet. Neither was the proposed name Ilinden Macedonia submitted to his Cabinet, even though President Ivanov had asked for a written report on the latest developments in the name dispute negotiations. The press release says that Ivanov had requested documentation on the negotiations many times before, including the draft bilateral agreement on the name dispute submitted by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The President, the release concludes, has been briefed selectively. “I expect to see at least the document the proposal was built on, which is the draft produced by the Greek side, so that I know which issues are being discussed,” President Ivanov said ten days ago following a meeting of top state officials. “I have been principled, and I remain loyal to the values held by previous presidents of Macedonia.”

 

Zaev: No name agreement yet, principles defined (MIA)

 

There is still no agreement over the name, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said during a press conference on Wednesday organized to mark the first year of his government's work.

"There is still no final agreement" but "an agreement on the principles, and the formal and legal aspect of the agreement." "We have never been closer to finding a solution to the name issue than we are today, while friendship between the peoples of the two countries is stronger than ever. The agreement confirms the existence of a Macedonian language and shapes the identity, Zoran Zaev noted. He reiterated that the solution to be promoted would be put to a referendum in his country, which he placed near the end of September and early October. Asked about why the Macedonian parliament should ratify the deal with Greece before the referendum, Zoran Zaev noted that this is necessary for Greece to send a letter to NATO and Skopje to receive an invitation to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Asked to respond to the "Northern Macedonia" name, Zoran Zaev did not want to comment on this, and noted that this is a difficult negotiation, which has not yet been finalized and there is no definitive agreement yet, as its legal aspects are being examined. He announced he will have a conversation with the Greek Prime Minister, who, he said, expects to make a significant step forward. "Today, tomorrow, until Friday there will be a conversation with Alexis Tsipras from whom I expect to make a very important step forward. Once we have something more specific, it will be announced publicly," Zaev said. PM stressed the need to promote his country's European and Euro-Atlantic prospects and stressed that by resolving the issue of the name, the door to NATO will open.

 

Katrougalos: Name agreement requires bold decision by Zaev (MIA)

 

Constitutional revision and a name solution for all uses requires a bold decision by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, says Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos, MIA reports from Athens. "In fact, the ball in the court of the other side. A bold decision is required by PM Zaev on both issues we have discussed - constitutional revision and a name for all uses - in order to solve the problem," Katrougalos told Greek radio News247.

According to him, the name agreement is a package and therefore nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. "We are very close to a solution, and the 100 meters that the PM referred to in Sofia have now been cut to 50 meters. However, there is still no final agreement," underlies Katrougalos.

 

All name options still in play (MIA)

 

All options regarding the name issue are still in play, MIA cites government sources. None of the name proposals is favored and discussions are ongoing, the sources told MIA. The date of the crucial meeting between Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras will be specified in the coming days. As already announced the final stage of the process will begin with a vote on the agreement in the Macedonian Parliament, followed by Greece notifying NATO over its approval of Macedonia's accession to the Alliance. Next comes the date for the start of EU accession talks at the European Council meeting on June 28-29 and the official NATO membership invitation at the July 11-12 summit in Brussels. Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told reporters in Brussels that the name negotiations ‘are in the final stage’. Hence, Dimitrov said, there is a possibility for a solution to be found by the start of EU Summit on June 28. Greek media reported Thursday that if the Macedonian, Greek PMs Zaev and Tsipras respectively, agree in the next few days on a solution to the name issue in the key phone conversation and convene a meeting in Prespa to make it official, several phases would follow until the parliaments of two countries ratify the deal. Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos commended the significant progress made at the meeting of foreign ministers of both countries in Brussels.

‘The foreign ministers have made great progress, one might say that we are on the final stretch, but no one can anticipate the outcome in such a complex negotiation. Still, I am very optimistic and we are anticipating the next moves and the next stage of negotiations, given that it will probably be the final one,’ Tzanakopoulos said Tuesday in an interview with national ERT.

According to Greek Alternate FM Giorgos Katrougalos, the name agreement is a package and therefore nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Festival Aims to Bridge Kosovo-Serbia Divide (BIRN, by Ivana Nikolic, Filip Rudic, 30 May 2018)

 

The annual Miredita, Dobar Dan! Festival presents Kosovo Albanian films, exhibitions and theatre plays in the Serbian capital in a bid to rebuild relations between the two peoples.

A four-day arts festival, whose name means Good Day in Serbian and Albanian, will present the Kosovo Albanian cultural scene to Belgrade audiences from May 30 to June 2. Sofija Todorovic, from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, one of the NGOs organising the festival, said that the Serbian police had guaranteed them protection from nationalists who announced they would interrupt the event. "They said that we have no cause for concern and that the police will do everything as it should," Todorovic told BIRN. The ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party sought a ban on the festival earlier in May for "treating Kosovo as an independent state", and said that it would disrupt the event otherwise. The organisers, however, said that the festival will take place.

On Tuesday, Serbian Interior Ministry said it had banned rallies that the Serbian Radical Party planned during the festival, but the radicals said they would hold it, reports regional broadcaster N1. The ministry said it had banned the rallies for “security reasons, public health, moral and the rights of others.” At the festival, which has been running since 2014, there will also be discussions about the future of relations between Serbia and its former province, which declared independence in 2008 – a move Belgrade has vowed never to recognise. Apart from presenting contemporary Kosovo art and culture, “the aim of the festival is to initiate changes and create a tradition of cooperation through meetings between the Serbian and Kosovar social and cultural communities”, the organisers said in a statement. They believe the festival can contribute towards the permanent normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Miredita, Dobar Dan! opens with a Blert Zeqiri’s film Martesa [The Marriage], which won two awards at the Tallin Black Nights film festival in Estonia last November. Visitors will also have a chance to see Eliza Hoxha’s exhibition of photography and installations, Between Dream and Reality, a theatre play about how memories are processed, CopeCope ([Bits and Pieces], as well as a debate entitled: "Kosovo and Serbia: What are we to each other?" According to Todorovic, the play CopeCope deals with the topic of violence against women. Martesa follows the story of Bekim and Anita, a couple arranging their wedding while Anita awaits news of her parents who were declared missing in the 1999 Kosovo war, and Bekim's gay ex-lover returns from France. "It's a very human rights [oriented] film that touches on topics that are delicate in both Serbian and Kosovo societies," Todorovic said. The symbol of and inspiration for Miredita, Dobar Dan! is Bekim Fehmiu [1936-2010], a Kosovo Albanian and Yugoslav actor who also achieved international renown. The organisers describe him as “a symbol of the joint past, together with all of its challenges, achievements and misunderstandings”. Fehmiu, who was born in Sarajevo and educated in Belgrade, shot films all over the former Yugoslavia, as well as in Italy and the US. He retired in 1987 in protest against the Yugoslav authorities’ anti-Albanian actions. Fehmiu is also known for his memoirs Blistavo i Strasno [Shiny and Frightful], in which he explored relations between Serbia and Kosovo, among other things. He died in Belgrade in 2010.

 

Pre-Election Frenzy Threatens Bosnia’s Institutions (BIRN, by Srecko Latal, 30 May 2018)

 

The stability of government institutions and the country’s security, judicial and financial systems is increasingly being threatened by the destructive divisiveness of Bosnian politicians’ escalating pre-election campaigns.

After blocking reform of the country’s broken election law, Bosnian politicians' clashes and zero-sum games - which have continued to intensify as October’s general elections draw closer - now start threatening the country's security and financial stability. Bosnia's security system, which has been struggling for years under growing political pressures and influences, over the past few weeks has been shown to be incapable of dealing with the escalation of the migrant crisis in the country. Faced with a looming humanitarian disaster involving thousands of illegal migrants who have over the past few months gathered in the capital Sarajevo, where have been living in parks and abandoned buildings, Bosnia's Ministry of Security and Office for Foreigners at the beginning of May scrambled together a plan to move a few hundred of them to temporary accommodation. Government officials’ first choice was an abandoned military barracks in the eastern part of the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, RS. But this plan was thwarted by the reaction of the RS government, which on May 13 held an urgent session dedicated to the migrant crisis, at which the government stressed that it will not allow the accommodation of any migrants in the entity.

 

Migrant crisis reveals breakdown of security system

According to government sources, it was clear that the RS authorities were ready to deploy police and even use deadly force if necessary in order to prevent any transportation of migrants to the entity. Unwilling to risk a potential conflict between different police forces, state institutions switched gears and decided to move the migrants to another centre in Salakovac near Mostar on May 18. Although this plan was announced in advance to all police and security institutions, the transportation was abruptly blocked by a special police unit of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton near Konjic after the local police received a phone call from one of the leading Bosnian Croat politicians - who is also close to one of the leading RS politicians. After several hours, the tense situation was resolved after a series of frantic phone calls between police, top government officials and US and EU diplomats, after which the migrants were eventually moved to the Salakovac centre. But few days later, on May 24, the Croat member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Dragan Covic, who heads the ruling Croat party, the Croat Democratic Union, HDZ, had a meeting in Mostar with Croat prime ministers, interior ministers and police chiefs from predominately Croat cantons (Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, West Herzegovina Canton and Canton 10) as well as two mixed Bosniak-Croat cantons (Central Bosnia and Posavina Cantons), at which they stressed that the security situation in the country’s Bosniak and Croat-dominated Federation entity was "solely" cantonal responsibility. They added that no further action related to migrants - nor any other security-related operations - would be allowed without direct cantonal and municipal consent. Many local and international officials saw this statement as a "small coup" and a major threat to the constitutional and security integrity of the Federation and Bosnia as a whole.

 

Looming crisis over the Criminal Procedure Code 

The security situation in Bosnia is further threatened by the unresolved problem with the broken Criminal Procedure Code, which could undermine the future work of the police, security and judicial institutions in the country. In June 2017, Bosnia's Constitutional Court ruled that some provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and of Bosnia's Law on the Intelligence-Security Agency are not in accordance with the country's constitution, and instructed Bosnia's parliament to fix the problem within six months. Although the deadline has passed, the Constitutional Court has so far refrained from deleting the problematic provisions, since that would create a legal vacuum that would thwart Bosnia's institutions in fighting organised crime and corruption.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Bosnia's House of Peoples has so far still failed to address this problem and vote on the changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, which have been already adopted by the House of Representatives. The delay came as HDZ officials in the House of Peoples requested the postponement of the parliamentary session due to religious holidays.

As a result, the House of Peoples will not be able to fix this issue before the next plenary session of the Constitutional Court, scheduled for May 31, which opens the doors for yet another potential major crisis which could throw Bosnia's security, police and judicial system into disarray. This series of crises in Bosnia's security and rule-of-law systems comes on the top of several other recent episodes which raised concerns about the growing troubles within the country's security system. These included the reorganisation and new armament of RS police forces, reports about Bosniak and Serb youth militant training camps, as well as the increased use of security and judicial institutions in recent power struggles between and among Bosniak, Croat and Serb politicians. All these episodes indicate that Bosnia's integrated security and rule-of-law apparatus - which over the past two decades has been meticulously overhauled under the auspices of UN, US and EU experts and police officials - is now dangerously slipping back towards the ethnically- and politically-divided security systems that existed during and immediately after the war.

 

Two entities spar over distribution of revenues

A different but similarly dangerous crisis was revealed on May 24, when the RS Ministry of Finance ordered the entity’s banking agency to block the accounts of Bosnia's Indirect Taxation Authority in RS banks - although it is still unclear whether the RS banking agency actually has that power. The blockade was officially explained as RS's retaliation for the Indirect Taxation Authority’s repeated failure to identify a mechanism for the settlement of the debt which the Bosniak and Croat-dominated Federation entity owes to RS, according to a controversial 2015 ruling by the country’s state court.The obligation derives from unpaid interest on a 7.5-million-euro debt from 2009-2010, which the Federation settled in 2011, although penalty interest gradually snowballed to the current total of 15 million euro. But the blocking of the Indirect Taxation Authority’s accounts by RS had another, even bigger reason behind it, BIRN’s sources say. Since the beginning of this year, the Federation has been blocking the disbursement of revenues from fuel excises, which were increased by 15 euro cents per litre according to a law which was passed late last year under strong EU pressure, and became effective on January 1. Increased excise revenues were supposed to serve as collateral for the continued funding of highways and other key infrastructural projects by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank. While the EU pressed hard to force local politicians to adopt the controversial law, it failed to make sure that the law also had a functional excise allocation formula. The Federation currently receives 59 per cent, RS 39 per cent and the Brcko District two per cent of revenues, despite the fact that the Federation on average collects between 66 and 70 per cent of the revenues, RS between 29 and 33 per cent while Brcko collects little more than one per cent. For that reason, and in an attempt to force RS and Brcko into accepting a new reallocation formula, the Federation has been blocking the distribution of excise revenues since the beginning of the year - some 50 million euros have been collected so far but have been sitting unused in Bosnia's Central Bank. Determined to get a hold of their share of the funds and use them in pre-election campaigns, the RS government has decided to invoke the old dispute over the repayment of revenues from 2009 and 2010. The fact that these moves hurt both entities, the entire country and all its people seems to be utterly lost on Bosniak, Croat and Serb politicians alike. But this is not the end of the potential problems with the country's increasingly fragile financial sector. A possible crisis over the formation of the Federation government - due to problems with the broken election law which currently lacks mechanisms to elect the Federation House of Peoples - could lead to the financial collapse of the city of Mostar, the Federation entity and even Bosnia's default on its foreign debt by the end of the year. Experts and officials say that a serious crisis will emerge by the end of the year if a new Federation parliament is not elected, and if that new or the outgoing parliament fails to adopt a new Federation budget for 2019 before the October elections, or at least temporary financing for the first three months of 2019, as well as a budget for the city of Mostar. Furthermore, Bosnia could also default on its foreign debt if the payment order is not signed either by a new or by the outgoing finance minister, a post currently held by Vjekoslav Bevanda from the Croat Democratic Union. According to various local and international sources, the kind of problems seen in the security, rule-of-law and financial systems can also be seen in almost all other sectors, including health and education, where political appointees from different parties block, ignore or openly undermine existing systems, procedures and mechanisms in what seems to be an all-out political war ahead of the October elections. In a situation in which literally all political parties seem ready to further escalate crises in order to use them for their respective pre-election campaigns, and in the absence of any stabilising domestic or international authority, Bosnia seems to be heading towards its biggest post-war crisis and the beginning of collapse of its institutions, most pundits agree – although they as well as international officials still have no clue what could be done about it.