LOCAL PRESS

 

Drecun: Passports are Tahiri’s invention (Tanjug)

Kosovo residents may enter Serbia with IDs issued by provisional institutions in Pristina and certificates that confirm their identity, the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told the press in the Serbian parliament. He denied Edita Tahiri’s statement that Kosovo residents can travel with Kosovo passports via the crossings in Serbia, pointing out that this is incorrect information, an arbitrary, evil and deliberate interpretation. “There is no question about any so-called passports of some self-declared state, nor was this discussed nor will this be accepted, it is simply Tahiri’s invention,” said Drecun.

“After all, ask the liaison officer from Pristina, what happened when he tried to pass the Serbian passport control at the airport with the so-called passport of the self-declared state of Kosovo. Of course he couldn’t pass,” he added. Drecun explained that the agreement is that Serbian citizens may travel to Kosovo with IDs issued by provisional institutions in Pristina and only with the confirmation they receive at administrative crossings from members of the Interior Ministry to travel to any border crossing towards neighboring countries and to pass police control. “How will they cross on the other side in neighboring countries and with what document is of no concern for Serbia,” he said.

 

Pavicevic: We are not establishing diplomatic relations with Pristina (Danas)

As of 1 December, permits for visits of Serbian officials to Kosovo and Metohija and of Kosovo officials to the rest of Serbia will not be received via the mediator the EU Office in Belgrade and Pristina, but this will be done directly by the liaison officer. This was agreed last Friday in Brussels at the technical negotiations between the Belgrade and Pristina teams. Belgrade’s liaison officer in Pristina Dejan Pavicevic claims for Danas that all this doesn’t imply the first step towards establishing diplomatic relations with Pristina, as assessed by certain diplomatic circles in Brussels. Pavicevic says that at issue is “debureaucratization of the past procedure from 2009 in order to avoid frequent bans to Serbian officials to visit Kosovo”. Pavicevic explains that, according to the new procedure, Serbian officials will not request permits anymore, but that they will only register their visits for security reasons”. Asked why such procedure if Kosovo and Metohija is part of Serbia according to its Constitution, Pavicevic responds that there has been “a special regime in accordance with UNSCR 1244” in Kosovo and Metohija since 1999. Asked why doesn’t then Belgrade address UNMIK instead of Pristina, Pavicevic says that “things have changed in the meantime”. According to him, they agreed last Friday in Brussels for the regime of freedom of movement, which has so far included two border crossings between Serbia with Croatia and Hungary, as well as the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, to be expanded to six more crossings. Apart from Croatia and Hungary, travelling with Kosovo documents will be enabled towards Macedonia and Bulgaria, as well as through the Nis airport Konstantin Veliki. Pavicevic claims that at issue is not recognition of passports of the self-declared Kosovo state, because citizens are travelling “with IDs and entrance/departure documents”. In regard to the objection that at issue is IDs of the non-recognized Kosovo state in Serbia, Pavicevic responds that this is “the result of the agreement on freedom of movement between Belgrade and Pristina from 2011”.

 

Djuric: There will be no terms of notice for the Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija (Politika)

“There will be no terms of notice for the Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija. The functioning of provisional organs in northern Kosovo and Metohija was not the subject of negotiations during the signing of the Brussels agreement or after. Based on the Brussels agreement, local elections were conducted in northern Kosovo and Metohija, when the mayors were elected. The issue of eventual integration of employees in the local self-administration into municipal structures that would be formed in some future period has not been launched in the course of the Brussels talks,” claims the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric, responding to the question whether as of New Year there will be terms of notice for around two thousand Serbs in northern Kosovo who are working in the local self-administration and companies, but are financed from local budgets, based on the Brussels agreement.

The people in Kosovo say that Pristina isn’t accepting municipal budgets for the following year, and that, thus, it needs to actually reduce the number of employees. Is there a way for the Serbian government to replace the necessary funds so people would not be left without jobs?

“The present situation has not been presented in an adequate way in the article published by your newspaper on Monday. Therefore, we have the Serbian institutions and administration, which remains as it is in the following period. This year for the first time, along with the budget of municipalities, i.e. provisional organs that are financed from the budget of the Republic of Serbia – we also have the budget from Pristina. Pristina insisted in regard to the mayors who were elected according to the Brussels agreement that healthcare and education is also included in their budget, as well as the number of people they would hold on pay. These are actually people who would hold double salaries – both Belgrade and Pristina salaries. (The number of these people is smaller than the number of those who would be receiving only the salary from Belgrade). We think it is necessary to open talks with Pristina on the future functioning of the local self-administration so funds would not be doubled, so that, often, there would not be investments from Belgrade, Pristina and the international community for the same projects, whereby potential for abuse is being raised. Therefore, we are prepared to launch the dialogue with Pristina on the functioning of municipal administrations, which cannot result in any way in dismissals or reducing of jobs for the Serbs in northern Kosovo.”

A “bypass” for 564 employees is mentioned, to distribute salaries for them from a special fund with 10 million Euros. What is at issue, is this acceptable?

“At issue is that Pristina has been trying to conduct negotiations with some representatives of local self-administrations in the north on how to bridge the gap between the number of salaries that they envisaged and the number of salaries that are received from Belgrade, so everyone would be receiving double wages. But these were not official talks nor was the option in these talks to abolish a salary to anyone or to stop financing from Belgrade.”

You were in Brussels on Friday. You agreed there to organize visits of officials to Pristina and Belgrade via liaison officers as of 1 December, instead of via EULEX, as the case had been so far. Are liaison officers thus assuming in fact some ambassadorial competencies?

“Pristina’s liaison officer is an official of the European Commission office in Belgrade, i.e. Belgrade’s liaison officer has the status of an official of the European Commission in Pristina. They don’t have diplomatic status, status of a sovereign or independent state. Their role is to alleviate communication, without formality, between provisional institutions of self-administration and the central government in Belgrade. The key thing here is that this is not an embassy for us, but a provincial institution. We will contact not only with the liaison officer in the future. We will also contact with all provincial ministries. After all, we have daily communication with our ten provincial delegates. Our treatment of provincial institutions is not brought into question, for us they are provincial institutions and nothing else.”

You stated in Brussels that you discussed debureaucratization of citizens’ life and that you touched upon topics of motor vehicles. Could you explain this in more detail?

“People who wish to travel from Serbia proper via Merdare and other administrative crossings in Kosovo and Metohija, and vice versa, those who have license plates issued by provincial institutions who intend to travel through Serbia proper, must pay certain amounts of insurance to insurance companies. For example, if you have license plates from Pristina issued by provincial institutions and you wish to travel to Belgrade, you must pay 110 Euros for one week; and vice versa. Our goal is to find, in agreement with Pristina institutions, a way for citizens to be disburdened of this since there are many citizens of both nationalities, on both sides of the administrative line, who suffer over this, and the only ones who profit from such a situation are insurance companies.”

 

DSS, Dveri form opposition patriotic bloc (Tanjug)

The Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Dveri Movement formed an opposition patriotic block on Monday which opposes Serbia’s EU and NATO membership and advocates economic patriotism, intensification of cooperation with Russia and defense of the Serbian Constitution.
At the first joint news conference in the DSS headquarters, DSS leader Sanda Raskovic Ivic and Dveri Movement leader Bosko Obradovic noted that Kosovo is part of Serbia and Crimea belongs in Russia, and that the government should recognize Russia and its constitutional boundaries. Noting that Serbia and the fight against current government are the most important points for the national bloc, DSS leader Sanda Raskovic Ivic said that the patriotic bloc is ready to discuss cooperation with leader of the Serbian Radical Party Vojislav Seselj, but only after they see the course his policy would take. She said that the patriotic bloc, which also has certain prominent intellectuals as its members, is determined in its opposition to the country's EU and NATO membership and advocates strengthening of economic and political cooperation with Russia. Speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, Raskovic Ivic said that the Serbian Constitution represents the last line of defense from the country’s disintegration.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

SDA meeting with DF and HNS: Agreement on government or deeper crisis? (Dnevni avaz)

The delegation of the SDA and HDZ B&H, together with their partners, the DF and the HNS parties, will meet in Sarajevo to continue talks on forming the government in the Federation of B&H. The SDA and HDZ delegations have agreed to host this meeting last Saturday in Mostar and, as said, already agreed on the principles on which to form the government in the Federation of B&H. President of the SDA’s Main Board Halid Genjac said that at the meeting they expect the signing of the programming principles on the establishment and operating of the government agencies. It is interesting that Genjac, who took part in the negotiations, could not confirm whether the meeting would be held today or tomorrow. “I think that the initial document of the SDA and HNS with its programming principles is agreed in whole. Taking into consideration the consultations with the DF, who is also complying with these principles, we have compiled a document called the Agreement on the programming principles on the establishment and operating of the B&H authorities. Electoral facts will be respected, procedures, and there is a commitment between the parties that they will not attempt to block the process of forming the government at any level,” said Genjac. He added that this means the establishing of the government at the cantonal level, reminding that this process has already started. “It is essential to be elected delegate to the House of Peoples of the FB&H Parliament, which is a prerequisite to be appointed in the executive branch of the FB&H,” said Genjac. Nikola Lovrinovic from the HDZ B&H briefly told Avaz that the fundamental things have been agreed and that there should be no disagreements. In Mostar, 80 percent of the things have been agreed on, and those are the principles without too many detail, said Lovrinovic. “The party president Zeljko Komsic will inform the Presidency and more details will be known after the session,” said Podzic.

Genjac confirmed that the SDA wants to establish a Council of Ministers independently from forming the all level government. According to unofficial information, Bakir Izetbegovic is in a hurry because of the upcoming congress of the SDA, where he wants to strengthen his position.

Genjac said that there is no legal or constitutional obligation to wait for the establishing of any government, for them to form the Council of Ministers. He argues that, in FB&H parliamentary majority there will be no SNSD. “I think that cantons will be formed first, than the Government of FB&H and the Council of Ministers, all that with respecting the deadlines. In the RS it is still unclear which block is going to have a majority, but there is no legal authority which connects it with the Council of Ministers,” said Genjac.

 

Progressive Srpska (NS) goes into a new round of negotiations with the parties in the National Assembly of RS (Oslobodjenje)

Coalition SNSD, DNS and Socialist party doesn’t have a parliamentary majority for the election of the new Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Republika Srpska (RS) entity, announced the president of NS Adam Sukalo. When speaking to reporters in Banja Luka, Sukalo said that two members of the Parliament from the NS, that, along with the DNS and the Radical Party started a joint election campaign in the RS, cannot support an agreement on forming a government that was signed by the leading people of the SNSD, DNS, and SP. “The program that is offered is full of platitudes that do not guarantee progress and reform in the RS or stabilization at the B&H level in order to enable its European integration path. Instead, all I see is that because of Serbia we would get a Schengen border,” explained Sukalo. For these reasons, said the newly elected MP from the NS in RS parliament Goran Djordjic, the representatives of the party will open a new round of talks with representatives of the parties in the RS that won the entity parliament seats. “Our requirement to support the election of the new government was not to get ministerial positions. The only thing we require is the delegate seat in the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly in order to prevent the blocking of the RS,” said Djordjic. He stressed that “the NS will not allow being the party that is referred to as the forty-first, forty-second vote in parliament for forming the government.” “We are starting the negotiations and we want to be the first and the second vote,” added Djordjic. Sukalo and Djordjic stated that they will support the political block “which secures 42 votes from the RS parties to form a new government.” They said they are convinced that despite the two opposing political blocks in this B&H entity, this could be accomplished. Sukalo stated that he is aware of the content of the Platform which was signed by the Alliance for Change, SDA and DF over the forming of government at the state level, but that he does not want to comment on it before the talks with its signatories are made.

 

MUP RS: Zeljka Cvijanovic unauthorized tapping (Dnevni avaz)

Criminal Police Directorate of the RS Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUPRS) filed today to a Special Prosecutor in RS a report against the unknown perpetrator or more of them for the criminal acts of unauthorized wiretapping and audio recording, as announced, of several private conversation of the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic. Statement issued by MUPRS says that “on 15^th of November, a number of electronic media published mounted, compromising recording of a private conversation by the RS Prime Minister with specific technical, sophisticated means of audio and video recording in which individual statements of Prime Minister are taken out of context and mounted to create seemingly actual conversation between the Prime Minister and unknown person – participant”. “This offense is committed in a way that in the previous period repeatedly or continuously unauthorized sound recording-intercepting was conducted against the RS Prime Minister,” said the statement of MUPRS. In this regard, unknown person or persons “who committed this crime, as well as persons who in an illegal manner came into possession of a recording and published the same may be considered as co-perpetrators of this crime.” The Department of Criminal Police and RS will continue to work on the case with the RS Special Prosecutor.

 

Consequences of Russia’s sanctions on EU evident in B&H (Oslobodjenje)

After the assertion by dairy farmers that the import of milk and dairy products from the EU has increased as a consequence of the one year ban on export of these products from the EU to Russia, the same story is being repeated with meat, which is confirmed by the fact that the B&H Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations is carefully monitoring and analyzing data on imports. The problems of B&H producers are a direct consequence of EU-Russia relations, and Russian media is also reporting this. As Voice of Russia states, B&H is becoming a victim of the EU’s attempts to export goods stopped by Russian market countersanctions at any cost. Due to the Russian counter-embargo, import of food products into B&H could escalate to unimaginable proportions, because EU countries are seeking opportunity in third markets. “Retailers in B&H, behind which stands EU capital, are causing domestic producers to lower their prices if they want their products to be on the store shelves,” writes the Voice of Russia, and as an example cites Holland, who exported food products valued at €530 million to Russia and is now trying to find a new market. They emphasize that the formation of an agricultural budget for EU members in Brussels would mitigate the consequences of the prohibition of export of products of animal origin from the EU to Russia that provoked a great influx of these products on the B&H market at extremely low prices.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Merkel alarms on Russian influence in Serbia (turkishweekly.com, 18 November 2014)

Talking about Ukraine crisis German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned on Russian influence in Serbia, Moldavia and Georgia, German media report. Merkel said that Ukraine crisis “is not just a regional problem, it affects all of us”, Tanjug news agency quoted her as saying.

„It’s not just about Ukraine. It also affects Moldavia, Georgia and if it continues to go further… Than one have to ask about Serbia, Western Balkan countries”, Merkel said in Sydney where she held a speech at the “Loui” Institute for International Politics.

According to German Chancellor Russia acts alike Soviet Union, treating Ukraine as its influence sphere and trampling on international law.

„After the terrors of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War this puts at risk European peace project“, Merkel said alluding to European Union.

Merkel stressed she doesn’t want the renewal of GDR times when a single action was not possible without consent of Moscow. She added that EU is not GDR which has been “ducking” before the Moscow.

„Otherwise, one might say – we are too weak, watch out people, we cannot accept anyone (into EU membership) any more, and we have first to ask Moscow if this is possible. This is how it used to be for 40 years and I really don’t want this again”, Merkel underlined.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin strategy in the Balkans has alarmed the government in Berlin, German weekly Spiegel reports. It stresses that Merkel’s cabinet is disconcerted due to Moscow’s “aggressive anti-Western” politics in the Balkans.

Spiegel reveals a confidential document which states that Kremlin is trying to bind Serbia through military cooperation and gas supply.

“Gas for Serbia, pressure on Bosnia-Herzegovina – Berlin is concerned over Russian power policy in the Balkans. President Putin obviously strives to distance this countries from the EU”, Spiegel reports on document of the German Foreign Ministry.

Elmar Brok, head of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee and member of Merkel’s CDU, claims that Putin puts pressure on Balkan countries to distance themselves from the EU or to take pro-Russian positions as the EU members.

Christian Schmidt, German Agriculture Minister who recently visited Bosnia says that it seems that Russia is trying to affect the country via Republika Srpska, a Serb entity in Bosnia which has strong links with Moscow. This also complicates Serbian path to EU, Schmidt explains.

 

Bosnia's new three-member presidency pledges to push the country toward EU membership (Associated Press, by Aida Cerkez, 17 November 2014)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Newly-elected members of Bosnia's tripartite presidency pledged Monday to end the years-long political stalemate and revive reforms that would bring the country closer to EU membership.

The presidency was the first institution to be formed in Bosnia after last month's elections and the representatives of Bosnia's three groups — Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs — promised during the inauguration ceremony more "agreements and cooperation" that will end the political quarrels which have resulted in economic stagnation, unemployment and brain drain.

Bosnia got stuck on a long path toward desired EU membership seven years ago because its leaders couldn't agree on how to change the constitution so it would allow equal rights to minorities and strengthen central institutions to make the country more functional.

"In the next four years, I expect the presidency to be a strong engine driving this country forward on the path of reform toward reaching our most important goal — to become a rightful member of the union of free and democratic European nations," said Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniac member of the newly-inaugurated presidency and the only member who was re-elected.

The new Serb member of the presidency, Mladen Ivanic, said "people in Bosnia-Herzegovina are exhausted and tired of quarrels and confrontations, trapped in a vicious circle of economic crisis, enormous unemployment. They are depressed from a lack of ideas on how this situation could change."

"This must change," he said, adding that it is in everybody's interest in Bosnia to cooperate well with both the U.S. and Russia.

However, this may be a challenge because the U.S. and the EU favor Bosnia's path toward EU and NATO membership while Russia, which has close ties to Bosnian Serbs, opposes the country's NATO membership and has recently been reserved about the country's EU future.

 

Russia Bans Meat Imports From Montenegro Over Re-export From EU: Watchdog (Sputnik, by Elizabeth Azarova, 18 November 2014)

Meat import from Montenegro to Russia was restricted due to numerous cases of illegal re-export of EU meat

MOSCOW, November 18 (Sputnik) — Russia has temporarily restricted imports of meat and livestock from Montenegro due to illegal re-exports from the European Union, a spokesperson for Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

“We have expressed our mistrust of the veterinary service of Montenegro due to numerous cases of EU meat being re-exported [to Russia from Montenegro]. The restrictions target all meat and livestock and are coming into force on November 18,” Alexei Alexeyenko said.

Russia banned imports of finished meat products from the country following an inspection on October 13. Up until today, three companies in Montenegro were authorized to deliver meat to Russia.

Rosselkhoznadzor has previously stated that it may impose a ban on fruit and vegetable imports from Albania and Macedonia due to possible re-export from the EU. The Russian agricultural watchdog limited fruit imports from Ukraine in late October over the same issue.

On August 7, Moscow issued a ban on the import of certain food products from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway in response to several rounds of sanctions imposed on Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

 

Vojislav Seselj's ghost of the future past (Al Jazeera, by Zorana Suvakovic, 18 November 2014)

Seselj's return to Serbia does not bode well for the country's EU-bound path

Hundreds of Serbians gathered at the airport in Belgrade last week to welcome a ghost from their recent past. Vojislav Seselj, leader of the former ultra-right-wing Serbian Radical Party, came back home after spending more than 11 years in the detention unit of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The Tribunal based in The Hague announced that Seselj was conditionally released for humanitarian reasons before getting a sentence; he is to be treated for metastasised colon cancer. No Tribunal official has been able to say when they would be handing down a sentence; the most optimistic estimation (by outsiders) has been 2016. The ICTY is at risk of having yet another defendant die before being sentenced when its credibility is at an all-time low. Not even those who enthusiastically supported it in the past believe today in its ability to bring justice for war crimes.

Back in 2003 before he flew to The Hague, Seselj announced he was going there to destroy "that anti-Serbian political institution". And he succeeded. Many Serbians, even those who do not lean right, see him as someone who came home a winner, as the man who brought the Tribunal down to its knees.

And as officials in The Hague contemplate the future of the ICTY, Serbia will have to deal with the resurrection of Seselj which threatens to stir simmering tensions within a society tired of endless transition.

Seselj's revenge

Back in 2003, current Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic saw off Seselj on his way to The Hague with tears. Back in the 1990s they were both close associates of Seselj - the number two and number three in the Serbian Radical Party, one of the largest political parties in Serbia at that time. When Seselj went to the ICTY, Nikolic assumed the leadership of the party.

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As members of parliament, Nikolic and Vucic wore Seselj's image pinned on their lapels, promoted his ideas of a Greater Serbia and declared all steps taken by Serbia towards Euro-Atlantic integration betrayal.

In 2008, the two of them, along with 20 other radicals, abandoned the ultranationalist cause. They formed the new Serbian Progressive Party and made an ideological u-turn. Their party now supports cooperation with the US, rapprochement with Western Europe, and EU accession.

But unlike other countries from the region which negotiated their way into the EU, Serbia's accession path is complicated by tough demands from the EU, including normalisation of relations with Kosovo, and renunciation of Serbia's "neutral foreign policy" on the Ukraine issue and introduction of sanctions towards Russia.

The Serbian government conceeded to signing an agreement on the normalisation of relations with Kosovo which was negotiated and signed in Brussels under the auspices of the EU. This move was not well-received by nationalists.

One of the first statements Seselj made after stepping on Serbian soil was that he is now seeking "revenge" against all those who had betrayed him - an uncanny reference to Vucic and Nikolic. He went on to call for establishing a close alliance with Russia (even suggesting what he called "integration") and abandoning the negotiations for accession to the EU and any cooperation with western countries

During the welcoming rally for Seselj in the centre of Belgrade, the media, under the influence of the ruling party, only took pictures of older, unkempt and bearded ultranationalists who looked like extras from an old movie. The media tried to ignore the presence of young men and women who were only children when Seselj went to The Hague.

These young people might not remember the politics of the 1990s, but they are disappointed and bitter about their lives in the 2010s. They cannot see a tangible benefit from Serbia's re-orientation towards Europe and Nato. They are young, angry and in need of a charismatic figure to worship. Seselj could be the catalyst to ignite their discontent and lead them to become a strong factor in Serbian politics.

We no longer have citizens in Serbia, Ratko Bozovic, a sociologist and professor tells me; we have only "partocrats". People go from one party to another without paying any attention to ideas; they just go with those in power. With the reduction in salaries and retirement compensations which will take place before Christmas, there will be further citizenship attrition. Bozovic says that if Seselj's health does not fail him, he is well-positioned to win many more followers for the ultra-right cause in Serbia.

Vucic and Nikolic are well aware that they have limited space for manoeuvre in complying with western demands. In the weeks leading up to Seselj's return, Belgrade hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for a short visit, welcoming him with a military parade and decorating him with the Order of the Republic of Serbia. While Seselj was welcomed at the airport, Russian and Serbian troops conducted a joint military exercises in the north of Serbia. Clearly, Vucic and Nikolic cannot risk giving Seselj more political capital for his revenge.

Were it not for this geostrategic labyrinth and an EU accession process made too slow and difficult, Seselj's return to the immature political scene in Serbia would have not created so much confusion. Had The Hague Tribunal efficiently and impartially done its job and justly sentenced or acquit those suspected of war crimes, Seselj and his rhetoric would have been forgotten.

With the current geopolitical circumstances, Seselj's presence on Serbian soil will only create more tension and instability and will be a constant reminder of our war-torn past.

Zorana Suvakovic is a Belgrade-based journalist, columnist and editor, working for the Serbian newspaper Politika.

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The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

 

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.