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LOCAL PRESS

Odalovic: Serbs demonstrated that they trust the state (RTS)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Government Veljko Odalovic assessed that the results of the second round of the local elections in Kosovo have demonstrated that the Serbs in the province trust the Serbian state and that Hashim Thaqi’s party is the biggest loser of the elections. Odalovic told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that all those who had tried to behead the future Union of Serb Municipalities, primarily the Democratic Party of Kosovo headed by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi, have lost at the elections. Odalovic says the focus of attention should be on the central elections in Kosovo, which may be organized in the spring, and for which the Serbs should prepare and turn out for them as strong as possible in order to achieve the best possible results. He says they should also work with other political options of the Serbs that achieved good results at the elections in order to create a united and broad front and to have the best election result. Odalovic assesses problems can be expected with Pristina after the local elections, but nobody can deny any more that the Union of Serb Municipalities will have legitimacy of the Serb community in Kosovo. He recalled that the Serbian (Srpska) Civic Initiative, supported by the Serbian Government, had won in all municipalities except in Strpce. According to him, this means that the Serbs in province trust the Serbian Government, despite some difficult decisions passed and that the results will be a very important moment during the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities and resolution of future problems.

Mihajlovic: Forming of Union of Serb Municipalities most important (TV Pink)

The Head of the Office for Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic has stated the most important task now for the state of Serbia is the forming of the Union of Serb Municipalities. Mihajlovic told TV Pink that it will be a key institution that should guide the Serbs’ interests in Kosovo and it is important that the newly elected representatives have legitimacy in forming the municipal authorities. He has added that if the Serbs are united, they will have 22-24 delegates among 125 members of the Kosovo Assembly, so they could be part of the authorities and could topple the government. It is very important that nine mayors have been elected from the Serbian list, Mihajlovic pointed, adding that Hashim Thaqi’s party was the biggest loser of these elections. Only the vote in Pasjane is disputed after the second round of the elections, since a number of small incidents involving ballot boxes occurred there on Sunday evening, and it is possible for the elections in that Serb settlement to be annulled, he remarked.

Djuric: Conditions created for formation of Union of Serb Municipalities (RTS)

Serbian presidential advisor Marko Djuric has stated that the election day was a great day for Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija and that Serbia had a historic victory in nine municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija, which will have a clear Serb majority. Djuric pointed out that the situation is somewhat different in the Strpce municipality, but that Serb candidates will also head this municipality. “All prerequisites have been created for the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities for achieving the ultimate goals of the state and national policy in Kosovo and Metohija,” Djuric told the Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) news. Without presenting the details of the internal policies of parties operating in the Kosovo region, Djuric says it is now important for the Serbs to gather around the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities. “We have created prerequisites for that, we have mayors in all the Serb regions in Kosovo and Metohija and nobody can stop the formation of the Union any further,” said Djuric. Speaking about the Statue of the Union of Serb Municipalities, Djuric says this document will be written by the municipalities and it is important that they actively participate in the creation of the Statute. The Management Team of the Union is completing the work on the draft Statute. “When the constituent sessions of the municipal assemblies are held in line with the agreement, they will meet and decide the manner in which the Union will be organized. We have daily contacts with our representatives and there are no taboo topics among us,” said Djuric. According to him, it is necessary to establish a structure that will also imply the functioning of the assembly and council of the Union of Serb Municipalities, they will have their president, their headquarters will be in Kosovska Mitrovica and the Union will be the pillar of gathering and survival of our nation in Kosovo and Metohija. Djuric rejected the allegations that the Union of Serb Municipalities will have the status of an NGO. “Unfortunately for Hashim Thaqi and Pristina representatives, and fortunately for us, this will definitely not be the case,” said Djuric.

Pantic: Serbia’s victory (Novosti)

The winner of the elections for the mayor in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, candidate of the Serbian (Srpska) Civic Initiative Krstimir Pantic has stated after the second round of the elections that the victory belongs to the policy of the Serbian Government and the state of Serbia. He also stressed that the victory of the Serbian list in nine municipalities ensures the continuation of the struggle to preserve Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia. We have nine municipalities where the Serbs will be saying loud and clear that we do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, and now the Albanians will not be impeded just by four municipalities in the north, but also another five in the south, since they will be representing the policy of the Serbian Government, as we had been doing for the past 14 years, Pantic underlined. He has added it is now very clear that the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija only recognize the Serbian Government.

Mayors will be key leaders (Danas)

Official Belgrade has guarantees of the mayoral candidates of all Serb lists that had taken part in the second round of the local Kosovo elections that they will take part in the formation of the future Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija. Allegedly, consent was also given by the Independent Liberal Party (SLS) that is part of the ruling coalition in Kosovo, Danas unofficially learns. These sources speculate that, according to the Statute of the Union of Serb Municipalities, which is being prepared in Belgrade, the mayors, elected directly, will be the key leaders in the future union of Serb majority municipalities. That was the reason, among other things, for the “drama” in Belgrade following the first round of the elections that the mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica could be a Kosovo Albanian or a candidate that is not on the Serbian list. It is speculated in diplomatic circles that Brussels is also preparing, in cooperation with Pristina, its own version of the Statute of the Union of Serb Municipalities.

Petkovic: Kosovo Serbs, unlike the government in Belgrade, didn’t recognize false state of Kosovo (RTS)

The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) has stated that the turnout of less than 15 percent in the local elections in Kosovo and Metohija shows that the Serbs living in the province did not recognize the false state of Kosovo, unlike the government in Belgrade. DSS spokesperson Petar Petkovic told a press conference that the miserably low turnout announced by the Pristina authorities shows a complete defeat of the government in Belgrade. “If the elections had been held in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Serbia and called by the Serbian parliament speaker instead of the false president of the false state of Kosovo, the turnout would have been much higher,” he said. Petkovic accused the current Belgrade authorities of celebrating the killing and destruction of their own country after the elections results were announced, noting that nobody had ever done that before them. He criticized the Serbian presidential advisor Marko Djuric who said that Serbia won a historic victory in Kosovo, and that good results of the local elections ensured all preconditions “for forming a community of Serb municipalities and achieving key objectives of our state and national policy in Kosovo.”
“The Kosovo Serbs have demonstrated that these were not their elections, that they observe the Constitution and the laws of Serbia, and not the false state of Kosovo and its Constitution,” DSS spokesperson said.

Roberts: Permanent solution for Kosovo would be division or exchange of territories (Politika)

Former British ambassador to Yugoslavia, Italy and Ireland, at present the Chairman of Trinity College in Oxford, Sir Ivor Roberts, openly speaks about the necessity to look for a lasting solution for the conflicts in the Balkans that would be reached at an international conference and would necessarily imply the change of borders both in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Unlike the official position of the majority of EU member states, you are proposing change of borders in Kosovo and Bosnia. You are not in diplomacy anymore and you may freely present your personal opinion. What do you think about the Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina and the elections in Kosovo?

“The Brussels agreement was a useful step towards detoxification of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Violence in Mitrovica during the first round of the elections was a negative reminder to the bad days of the 1990s and it doesn’t contribute to the creation of a good atmosphere for Serbia’s EU accession talks.”

Have you changed your stand, do you think that the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is a road towards a lasting solution? Or is it only a temporary respite that occurred through Brussels’ mediation?

“The agreement is a good thing and I think Prime Minister Ivica Dacic deserves congratulations, but a lasting solution is only the one that would be painful for both sides, Serbia and Kosovo. In my opinion, it is achieved by division of Kosovo, perhaps even by exchange of certain territories.”

The EU today doesn’t have a clear answer to the question how to position itself towards new states that may be created following the referendum on independence in Scotland or Catalonia. The new states cannot automatically become EU members because membership belongs to Great Britain and Spain. What does this mean for the entire European project?

“The EU is already sufficiently bulky, but accepting candidacies of a multitude of small countries that separated from their original countries will lead to the system becoming overstrung.”

What do you think about Serbia in the EU?

“From the geopolitical point it also makes a lot of sense for Europe. EU membership of Serbia and other Balkan countries is necessary for the region entering the mode of good behavior and good neighborly relations, just as it occurred at the very beginning of this project with France and Germany that were waging three devastating wars over the past 75 years.”

Western powers support and recognize independence of Kosovo despite the warning that this opens Pandora’s box. On the other hand, everybody agrees that B&H is a non-functional state, but, for example, the Republika Srpska is not allowed to organize a referendum on independence.

“The states that accept and recognize independent Kosovo but reject the right for the residents in the constituent parts of B&H to state whether they wish to be independent or to merge with Serbia or Croatia show that they lack intellectual coherency. It would be logical to allow Kosovo, after territorial corrections with Serbia, to unite with Albania. Likewise, it would be

extremely hypocritical to bloc Serbia’s EU membership before it recognizes independence of its province as Kosovo has not been recognized by some EU countries either. The idea that an unresolved border issue should prevent a country from joining the EU would keep not only Cyprus, but also Britain, Ireland, Spain and Denmark outside the EU.”

Thirteen months ago, in an interview to Politika, you advocated a new Berlin Congress that is, in your opinion, necessary towards reaching long-term stabilization of the Balkans. Do you still expect it and do you think that holding an international conference on the Balkans is a realistic option?

“It doesn’t mean that I think something will really happen in a short period of time, if I say that I think it should happen.  What I think should happen. But, since Kosovo has not yet been recognized as a state by some half of the countries of the world, and since it cannot receive UN membership, and since Bosnia is still a non-functional state, I believe that, not now immediately, but in due time, there will be an understanding for the need to convene an international conference that would finally lead, with the support of the great powers, to the resolution of the whole group of connected problems.”

You are proving something that has been highly debated in Serbia – that former Yugoslav borders must not be respected?

“Borders would be redefined at this conference in order to create long-term stable states. I would tell those who say that this is regression and concession to nationalism that this is what belief in self-determination has given in this concrete case. It doesn’t seem reasonable to allow self-determination to Kosovo, but not to the Serb and Croat parts of Bosnia.”

Jurisic sentenced to 12 years prison, again (RTS/Tanjug)

The War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court sentenced again on Monday former commander of the B&H police Ilija Jurisic to 12 years in prison for ordering an attack on a Yugoslav army convoy in Tuzla in 1992, which killed 51 soldiers. Jurisic did not show up for the sentencing, because he was in hospital in Tuzla, where he was admitted on 28 November, his lawyer Djordje Dozet stated. This is the second sentence against Jurisic by a trial court, since the first one, which was also 12 years in prison for war crime, was annulled by the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial before a new chamber of judges. The court found Jurisic guilty because he, as the officer on duty at a Tuzla security outpost, ordered the attack on the Yugoslav army convoy pulling out of its base, even though an agreement had been reached between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and B&H to let the troops leave peacefully.

REGIONAL PRESS

Fauske: B&H potential threat to international peace (Oslobodjenje)

“If we look at the United Nations Security Council resolution from several weeks ago, it recognizes that the situation in B&H could potentially represent a threat to international peace and stability,” said NATO Staff Deputy Commander Ole Fauske in Sarajevo at the regular session of Circle 99 on the topic “Either B&H in NATO or potentially NATO troops in B&H!” One of NATO’s and other international organizations’ main goals, Fauske pointed out, is not just trying to maintain peace and stability in the country, but in the region and in the world.
“The world wouldn’t sit peacefully and do nothing if there really was a threat to international peace and stability. But it is important to underline the fact that we are here to work with the B&H authorities, and especially the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces, in order for us to develop structures and functions of the country that enable B&H, I hope in the near future, to be qualified to be invited to NATO. It is very difficult to make any predictions on the future, but I really believe that some of the issues that led to the last war are no longer the same as they once were and they aren’t there anymore. I think that the majority of issues that should guarantee a secure and stable environment in B&H are internal, which should be resolved inside B&H,” said Fauske. Of key importance for B&H’s success is that it participates in all international organizations like NATO, the OSCE, and others that are present in B&H, Fauske believes. He added that B&H politicians alone should resolve the demands posed by the 28 member states before B&H, and that is the registration of military materiel, in order to activate the MAP. “There are still challenges and the majority of them are on the political level. When it comes to the Armed Forces themselves, we are very satisfied with the progress made, and with the fact that B&H now actively participates in peacekeeping missions in the world. All reports that we receive speak to the fact that B&H soldiers are doing an excellent job,” said Fauske. 

International community pushes Greece for Macedonia’s NATO membership (Utrinski Vesnik)

Whether NATO members will pressure Greece during NATO summit in 2014? According to Greek Kathimerini daily, Athens has noticed certain motion in terms of Skopje membership in the Alliance and concern from the great powers such as France, Great Britain and Germany, Utrinski Vesnik writes. Despite international attempts for softening the Greek red line, Athens has sent signals to the international factors that it will not support Macedonian EU and NATO integration until solving the name issue.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo returns to polls after violence-marred election (AFP, 1 December 2013)

Kosovo voters cast ballots under a heavy police presence Sunday in round two of local elections seen as a test of stability in the troubled, Serb-majority north of the territory.

The election is part of a historic deal brokered by the EU to normalise ties between Serbia and Kosovo after the breakaway territory proclaimed independence in 2008.

Some 1.3 million voters are called to elect mayors including in the capital Pristina, and four northern municipalities including the flashpoint city of Kosovska Mitrovica.

Round one of the vote, on November 3, was annulled in Mitrovica due to violence by Serbian extremists. Repeat elections were held two weeks later under police watch.

On Sunday two Serb candidates -- one backed by Belgrade and an independent -- were running for mayor in Mitrovica.

"All polling stations opened at 0700 am (0600 GMT) and so far no incidents were reported," the head of Kosovo's electoral commission Valdete Daka told reporters.

Police, peacekeepers from the NATO-led force KFOR and the EU mission were deployed once again near polling stations to ward off any threat of violence.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's independence but has urged the ethnic Serb community to vote and have their say in local institutions.

Officials elected in the vote are to form an "association of Serb municipalities" to replace Belgrade-elected institutions in northern Kosovo that both Pristina and the international community deem illegal.

About 120,000 ethnic Serbs live in Kosovo, whose 1.8-million-strong population is mainly Albanian.

Some 40,000 ethnic Serbs, who have recognised neither Kosovo's independence nor the authorities in Pristina since the end of the 1998-1999 war, form a majority in the north.

Authorities on both sides of the border hope that a peaceful and successful election can boost their hopes of joining the European Union.

Russian Diplomat’s ‘Monkey’ Jibe Angers Montenegro (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 29 November 2013)

Montenegro has condemned the Russian ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Chepurin, for likening its aspirations to join NATO to a monkey running after a banana.

The Foreign Ministry in Podogorica said the Russian ambassador’s statement was “absolutely unacceptable, irresponsible and contrary to the standards of diplomatic and interstate communication”.

The ambassador was speaking at the Belgrade Academy for Diplomacy and Security two days ago when he made the off-the-cuff remark.

Responding to a former mayor of Cetinje in Montenegro, Aleksandar Aleksic, who asked whether Montenegro's accession to the alliance could be stopped, Chapurin remarked that there were “monkeys in politics, like everywhere else”.

“Firstly, somebody does it on purpose and then there appear many running after him, hoping to get a banana,” Chepurin replied, adding that he did “not have anybody particular in mind, just a principle”.

Three years ago, the then Russian ambassador in Podgorica, Jakov Gerasimov, warned that Russia would reconsider its traditionally warm relations with Montenegro if it joined NATO.

On Thursday, media in Podgorica reported that Savo Kentera, from the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, has demanded an apology from the Russian Embassy in Belgrade regarding the latest statement.

Kentera stressed that Montenegro is not a province of Russia, nor will it ever be, and that Russian officials should really "watch their language".

Embassy of the Russian Federation in Montenegro has not officially spoken regarding Chepurin's diplomatic failure in Belgrade.

Serbia Has No Choice But to Build South Stream (Natural Gas Europe, 30 November 2013)

The official inauguration of the launch of the South Stream gas pipeline construction took place in Serbia on 24 November. This was one of the recent moves made by Gazprom aimed at promoting this project (a similar event was held at the beginning of November in Bulgaria). An agreement on investment financing and a transit agreement were also signed. The Serbian government granted a permit for the construction of the pipeline on 14 November.

The construction of South Stream is the only opportunity available to Serbia to diversify the routes of its gas supplies, since Serbian companies have no funds to implement infrastructural projects, and Serbia is not taken into account in any EU projects aimed at diversification. Furthermore, South Stream, if implemented as planned, will allow Serbia to become an important hub from which gas will be sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Moreover, South Stream is one of the few foreign direct investments made in Serbia recently, which gives the Serbian government hope that new jobs will be created and for accelerating economic development (the value of investments in Serbia is expected to reach around 1.7 billion euros).

Russia, capitalising on Serbia’s dependence in the energy sector, forced Belgrade to accept rules for the implementation of the investment that will be unfavourable for Serbia (total dependence on Russian gas supplies; Russian companies own the only gas storage facility and the petrochemical company NIS). Another element of Moscow’s pressure on Belgrade is the debt owed by the state-controlled corporation Srbijagas to Gazprom (approximately US$80 million) and to NIS (approximately 225 million euros). Furthermore, Serbia also signed an unfavourable long-term gas supply contract (in effect until 2021), under which gas supplies will be at a level double that of Serbian demand (Russia could enforce payment for undelivered gas). As a consequence, Serbia is the only country along the South Stream route to have agreed to offer the Russian side a majority stake in the company in charge of implementing the investment (51% Gazprom and 49% Srbijagas). It should also be noted that this company was registered in Switzerland. The investment is to be financed by the Russian partner, and the Serbian contribution is to be paid using income from transit. The lack of effective supervision over the company in charge of the investment may cause that company to generate only debts for Serbia. All Serbian attempts to introduce rules of co-operation based more on partnership (eliminating agents in gas trade, increasing the royalties and reaching an agreement on the development of NIS fuel corporation, 56% of the shares in which are held by Gazpromneft) have been rejected by the Russian side.

In the longer run, implementing the investment on the present terms could turn out to be detrimental for Serbia. Firstly, its dependence on Russian oil and gas material supplies will become more entrenched (what will change is the route, and not the source) and Russia’s dominance in the Serbian energy sector will gain strength. Secondly, it is difficult at present to estimate the costs Serbia will incur in connection with the construction of South Stream. Furthermore, Belgrade has not been given any guarantees that the interconnectors with the neighbouring countries will be built, which is the necessary condition for Serbia to play the role it aspires to on the regional energy market. The investment is also problematic from the point of view of EU regulations (non-compliance with the third-party access rule).

Marta Szpala for the The Centre for Eastern Studies. The Centre for Eastern Studies is a research institution dealing with analyses and forecast studies of the political, social and economic situation in the countries neighbouring Poland and in the Baltic Sea region, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia.