Belgrade DMH 081113

LOCAL PRESS

Dacic, Becirovic: First joint session on 27 November (RTS)

The Serbian Government and the B&H Council of Ministers will hold the first joint session in Belgrade on 27 November during which they will discuss the results and establish the future cooperation between Serbia and B&H, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Denis Becirovic, the Presiding of the House of Representatives of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly. Dacic and Becirovic said that the relations between Serbia and B&H are of central importance for the stability in the region and it is in their mutual interest for bilateral cooperation to improve, the Office for Media Relations stated. The relations between Serbia and B&H are on the rise, the release states, adding that B&H is Serbia’s most important regional partner in foreign exchange and Serbia’s third major export destination after Italy and Germany.

Vucic to Chepurin: I will not allow relations with Russia to deteriorate (RTS)

“The improvement of the friendly relations with Moscow is a priority of the Serbian Government, and I will not allow for the deterioration of those relations,” Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has underlined in talks with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Chepurin. As communicated from the Serbian Government, the discussion was relating to the preparations for the forthcoming visits of Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu and general manager of the Gazpromneft Alexei Miller to Serbia. Vucic and Chepurin have also exchanged views on the elections in Kosovo and Metohija, held last week. The Russian Ambassador has reiterated the support of his country to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

Mrkic: Important that CoE continues neutral status in Kosovo and Metohija (Tanjug)

“It is very important for Serbia that the Council of Europe continues its status-neutral involvement in Kosovo and Metohija,” Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic stressed in talks with Secretary General of the CoE Thorbjorn Jagland in Belgrade. Collocutors assessed that the cooperation between Serbia and the CoE is very good, expressing conviction it will be so in the future as well. Jagland praised efforts Serbia is exerting in the process of internal reforms and European integration, especially Belgrade’s constructive approach to the dialogue with Pristina.

Vulin: International community to guarantee safety at elections (Beta)

Serbia will demand from the representatives of the international community in Kosovo to guarantee the safety to all citizens during the repeated elections in Kosovska Mitrovica on 17 November, and we will do our best to prevent the violence, Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin stated in Kosovska Mitrovica. He said that the state of Serbia cannot do more than previewed by UNSCR 1244, because it doesn’t have its own security forces in the province. The state appeals on everybody to refrain from violence and provocations,” Vulin emphasized.

Ruzic: Great Britain supports Serbia’s admission to EU (Politika)

“Great Britain supports the EU enlargement policy and wishes to see Serbia as a full member of that alliance of nations,” Serbian Minister in charge of European integrations Branko Ruzic stated at the end of his official visit to London. He has stressed that Britain and Serbia are in favor of peace and prosperity in the region, continuation of the processes of European integration and implementation of the Brussels agreement of Belgrade and Pristina. Ruzic has pointed that the association with the EU will have its characteristics, due to the parallel process of implementing the Brussels agreement. It is therefore important that the officials in London have shown a high level of understanding about the steps that will be taken in the forthcoming period, the Serbian Minister underlined, adding that the common goal is to have the inter-governmental conference in January 2014 at latest. During the stay in London, Ruzic and head of the Serbian negotiating team Tanja Miscevic had talks with Secretary of State for European Affairs David Lidington, prime minister’s political advisor Patrick Rock and president of the House of Lords EU Board, lord Boswell.

REGIONAL PRESS

Izetbegovic: We have a model acceptable to everyone, except the HDZ (Oslobodjenje)

The SDA vice-president Bakir Izetbegovic said in an interview to Oslobodjenje that there is a model to implement the Sejdic-Finci ruling acceptable to everyone except the HDZ, which is asking for too much. “According to the model that we have almost defined, every B&H citizen can be a candidate for the B&H Presidency member. That is a good model that meets the requirements of the ruling of the Court for Human Rights, the Venetian Commission, the stands of the parties from the RS, the B&H Federation that support Bosniak voters, and I am certain also the HDZ interests. The problems are in the requests of these parties for some ‘additional mechanisms’ that would guarantee that there will be no imposition of electoral will, i.e. that larger nations will not elect representatives to those smaller nations. I am not sure that it is possible to offer such mechanisms without entering the space of new discrimination, and I’m afraid that we will not complete the job this time as well over the too hard position of the two HDZ parties,” said Izetbegovic. Asked whether there is any kind of European proposal that is frequently mentioned, but which is equally rejected by Fule and Sorensen, Izetbegovic says: “The EU representatives had invested enormous efforts to crystallize a model acceptable to everyone, and I think this model has been established. But this is not their proposal; it is a compilation, an intersection of what we had defined through joint meetings of the seven, then five, and through bilateral talks of party delegations with Fule and his associates. As I said, the model is acceptable to everyone, including the EU, except for the HDZ which is, I am sure, asking for too much.”

RS aims to solve problem with radical Islam in B&H (Nezavisne Novine)

The President of the Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik said in Moscow that the strengthening of the radical Islam can be seen in B&H and that the RS is opening that question aiming to solve this problem. He added that in the B&H Federation there are 50.000 people who moved from the Arabic world.

Galijasevic: B&H – scene of intelligence operations (Politika’s correspondent in Sarajevo)

“B&H is a scene of major intelligence operations conducted by many countries, especially by Islamic countries, some of them also U.S. allies,” an expert for fighting terrorism, Dzevad Galijasevic tells Politika. Commenting the reports of the British Independent that U.S. intelligence operative centers are in U.S. embassies in European and Central Asian cities, including Sarajevo, Zagreb and Pristina, Galijasevic says the U.S. “certainly eavesdrops intelligence-security services in B&H and monitors their work this way.” According to him, the U.S. controls also militant groups in B&H, some of which have been even created under their supervision and authority. “They are trying to direct these risky groups, such as the Wahabbi movement, remaining mujahidins and active Islamic youth, in the direction of realizing their own interests in the Arab world.” Galijasevic notes that the public knows that the U.S. is eavesdropping, watching and collecting data from all over the world, but warns that collecting data in Germany is not of same significance as collecting data in B&H. “There is no reason for the so-called economic espionage here, but there is for some other security monitoring, special surveillance and control of political processes, public figures and media,” said Galijasevic.

Gavrankapetanovic signed illegal millions-worth contracts (Dnevni Avaz)

Acting director of Health Care Administration of Canton Sarajevo Faris Gavrankapetanovic signed illegal business and in unauthorized manner agreed to contracts worth 34 million KM. This was documented by Esad Radeljas, MP in cantonal assembly.

MP Gruevski hopes Germany to be aware about name issue (Dnevnik)

“It will be good if Germany would be informed in details about the course and the content of the name issue process,” Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said, commenting the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the UN representative Mathew Nimitz, Dnevnik reports. According to the Macedonian Prime Minister, German interference will evaluate the rightness and constructiveness in the stand of the Former Yugoslav Republic. 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Unpredictable future for Serbia and Kosovo (New Europe, by Lana Blagojevic, 8 November 2013)

When Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative who chaired the negotiations between Serbian and Kosovo representatives in Brussels this April, announced that Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi had reached a breakthrough agreement, this was felt as a chance to open a European integration future for both nations.

On this occasion, she said: "It is very important that now what we are seeing is a step away from the past and, for both of them, a step closer to Europe." However, the ray of hope for successful negotiations seems to have faded after this November elections in Kosovo. Namely, the November local elections were planned to be a proof for normalization of the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, but they turned to be fruitless.

The elections were spoiled by low turnout of Serbs and the violence which happened in Kosovska Mitrovica, the second big town in Kosovo, which is unlike Pristina, the Serb-dominated area. Some masked extremists started smashing ballot boxes in the primary school St Sava, so that 16 out of 33 polling stations had to be closed.

It is obvious that the international representatives in Kosovo did not do their job well and allowed extremists to enter the northern part of Kosovo. However, it is known that the extremists were Serbs themselves who wanted to prevent their compatriots to vote. This points out at the deep gap between the Serbian government and the Serbs in Kosovo, which causes the collisions among the Kosovo Serbs themselves.

The leading political party with the vice-premier Aleksandar Vučić, the Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and the Minister responsible for Kosovo, Aleksandar Vulin, claim that voting for local authorities in Kosovo by Serbs who live on that territory means an opportunity for them to establish their own government.

However, by some Serbs from Kosovo it is understood as if the Serbian government had already accepted Kosovo as an independent entity since it allows them to hold their own local elections. It seems that the latter attitude has been the driving force for the Serbian extremists in Kosovo to prevent voting.

This event is strongly criticized by Aleksandar Vulin, who says: "Today, the Serbs were beaten, spat on and threatened. They destroyed their city and also send a bad image in the world". He adds that unsuccessful elections are only good for Hashim Thaçi, Democratic Party of Serbia, right-wingers and parachurch organizations, because the Serbs missed the opportunity to choose their local authorities.

The Serbian government looks for the reasons for unsuccessful elections in Kosovo among Albanian politicians too, claiming that they support some Serbian political parties, contributing to the confusion further on Serbian political scene which is directly mirrored by the disagreements among the Serbs in Kosovo.

So, one can easily conclude that the Brussels agreement for Serbia and Kosovo has been seriously threatened lately. This fact has urged a new session of negotiations in Brussels immediately after the local elections in Kosovo had failed, so that Serbian Minister Ivica Dačić and his Albanian counterpart Hashim Thaçi met with Catherine Ashton to discuss further steps toward normalization of relations between the two nations.

Ashton said that both leaders are determined to continue with the implementation of the agreement reached last April in Brussels and agreed about future steps to finalize the election process.

The Central Electoral Commission in Kosovo said that the elections in three municipalities in northern Kosovo including Mitrovica, will be repeated on November 17. The political campaign has stated and again the Serbs from Kosovo are asked by Serbian politicians to join the elections.

The Serbian Prime Minister warn them by saying: "If Serbs do not vote again, we will have an Albanian mayor in Mitrovica. It can be a cause for future conflicts, maybe even armed conflict." However, there is not a guarantee that the forthcoming elections will be regular this time. It is evident that the politicians have only confused the Serbs from Kosovo so far, so that they are bewildered and uncertain who to trust and which party sincerely represents their interests.

Thus, the success of the local elections in December remains to be uncertain, causing an unpredictable future for the Brussels agreement as well.

Bosnia, the Konjeviæ Polje protest (Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, by Rodolfo Toe, 7 November 2013)

Tens of Bosniak families have withdrawn their children from the schools they were attending in Republika Srpska. They demand their children be taught their own national subjects. Our report

For over twenty days, about forty people - families with their children – have improvised a tent city at the beginning of Zagrebaèka ulica, in front of the headquarters of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). There is a kitchen, where they prepare their everyday meals. And then there are curious passers-by, politicians, reporters, people who just come up and say: “I was born in Konjeviæ Polje too”, sipping coffee and offering their solidarity.

All in all, things have turned out quite well for the occupants: the harsh Bosnian winter remains just a threat, for the moment. Sarajevans still walk around in their t-shirts and for the children, “this situation is not so bad”. So explains to us Muhizin Omeroviæ, one of the leaders of the protest. “We are from the countryside, they have never seen a city such as this. True, they are not attending school, but this does not mean they cannot use their time away by doing something equally constructive: we have already seen a ballet, we have been to the zoo, to visit other schools in Sarajevo, monuments. We parents take turns in being their guide”.

Do they not miss school? “Of course they do. But this is a necessary sacrifice: this fight is above all for them”.

It all started in February, when the families of Konjeviæ Polje gathered to protest against the administration of the local “Petar Koèiæ” school because of the lack of running water in the school. A technical problem due to the cracks in the water network. The problem was solved in September, just in time for the beginning of the school year. By then, however, the mobilization of the families had reached a whole new dimension.

Returning to Konjeviæ Polje

Konjeviæ Polje is a small town on the road leading to Bratunac and thus Srebrenica. The area was stage to a highly violent ethnic cleansing during the '90s war. Today, between an estimated 1,000 and 2,000 people live here, all Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) returned after the end of the conflict.

Though in the past Konjeviæ Polje was raised to the honors of the news for cases such as that of Fata Orloviæ, whose land was expropriated to build an Orthodox church, according to the villagers the place sets a virtuous example from the point of view of refugees returning. Indeed, after the war many decided to come back here, to their hometown, and they get by thanks to agriculture and by selling their products, especially in the summer, on the road from Zvornik to the coast, filled with thousands of people during vacation time.

The mobilization that has led to the boycotting of the start of the school year began when the families started claiming a level of importance, in grade school, in line with their demographic presence in the area. The paradox, indeed, cannot go unnoticed. It is, moreover, worsened by the complicated school structure of Bosnia Herzegovina. In a municipality where 100% of the population is Bosniak, teaching goes according to the Serbian ministerial curriculum. Students have a right to study the subjects of their own national group (namely, history and language) according to the curriculum decided by the Tuzla Canton only from their 6th year onwards. From the 1st to the 5th year, classes are taught in Cyrillic, according to the subjects and books decided in the Republika Srpska.

“This is unacceptable”, Omeroviæ summarizes to Osservatorio. “We asked for the name of the school to be changed. I have nothing against Petar Koèiæ, but he is not a Bosniak. We also demand that our national subjects be taught and that teachers be of our same nationality. The present teacher, who should teach Bosniak, speaks Ekavian [editor's note: a variety of the languages of the Southern Slavs, widespread in Serbia] and she is Serbian. Unbelievable!”

The families of Konjeviæ Polje decided to boycott the beginning of the school year starting from the first day of classes. Children will not be going back to school until these issues are settled. And they are not the only ones. The same situation of Konjeviæ Polje is taking place in Kotor Varoš also.

National subjects

At the end of September, the families of Konjeviæ Polje met with the Republika Srpska Minister for Education, Goran Mutabdžija. A mediation, however, was impossible to reach. There is no legislation regulating the subject definitely; it is thus necessary to refer to a memorandum signed in Banja Luka in 2002 by the representatives of the Federacija BiH and the RS, the two entities that make up Bosnia Herzegovina. Only classes with at least 18 students belonging to a minority group are entitled to the teaching of national subjects. The classes in Petar Koèiæ school do not have enough children from the 1st to the 5th classes. Even if number requisites were met, though, the Minister for Education would have no obligation: the choice of introducing national teaching would be discretionary.

Having clarified this, the solution proposed by Mutabdžija is a compromise that does not meet parents' satisfaction: adding lessons, outside the school hours, for children between the 1st and the 5th classes. “Unacceptable”, Omeroviæ cuts short. “We want our children to exercise these rights in their school, regularly”.

Having reached a dead end, in October the families moved to Sarajevo, setting up their tents and demanding the OHR intervene. However, the High Representative, Valentin Inzko, does not seem too inclined on making a statement on the issue. In a meeting with the families, he suggested they “turn to the OSCE, as they have more staff. This problem does not fall under our range of competencies”.

This position was reinstated to Osservatorio by Inzko's spokesman, Eldar Subašiæ, who underlines how “For the OHR, the controversy can be settled only through an agreement between the parties”.

Therefore, no solution will be imposed from the top. The moral is simple and sounds more or less like a 'settle this between the two of you'. Among the camping families, everyone tries to play the failed meeting with Inzko down: “We're going to have to move the tents in front of the OSCE”, they smile.

In the meantime, time goes by. A solution will have to be found before November 25th, as underlined to Osservatorio by Savo Miloševiæ, Petar Koèiæ's director. “Otherwise, according to the law, the children will have to be failed this year”.

Eyeball to eyeball

Miloševiæ has tried to tackle the issue in the most pragmatic way possible. “Even though - he underlines disheartened - with my last name, this is certainly not easy”. According to him, the entire issue is simply the first act of the campaign in Bratunac in view of the next elections. “Omeroviæ is a close collaborator of Durakoviæ's, the mayor of Srebrenica. He is a smart man and I would not be surprised if he were trying to pave his way into being elected to the Republika Srpska National Assembly, running with the SDA. The law on the school's curricula is clear and I cannot do anything about it. We commenced procedures to change the school's name, but it is going to take time. It is bureaucracy. I really do not know what to do with the families, they have not been collaborative”.

According to Miloševiæ, in its own way the issue of the language is illustrative: “Our teacher of Bosnian language has all the necessary qualifications, in line with the law, to also teach in the Tuzla Canton. The only problem is that her name is Mirjana. She graduated twenty years ago, when Yugoslavia still existed, in literature and Serbo-Croatian language. What should I do? At the time, there was no teaching Bosnian, you could not graduate in Bosnian”.

Once again, an eyeball to eyeball confrontation has been chosen in Bosnia Herzegovina. The decisive date of the 25th of November might mean a break through.

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and its partners and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.