LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic: Pristina authorities want to throw out UNMIK (RTS)

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Pristina authorities want to throw UNMIK out of Kosovo and Metohija, while Belgrade insists on the UN presence in the province. “Pristina authorities want to throw UNMIK out of Kosovo, they think that the UN should not be present in Kosovo and Metohija, they want the UN Security Council to hold fewer sessions on Kosovo,” Dacic told Radio and Television of Serbia late on Thursday. We insist on the UN presence so we could raise all the issues in the UNSC sessions. The dialogue in Brussels is something else, as it does not address the issues regarding the status, he said. The UNSC will hold a session on Friday to debate the regular quarterly report on UNMIK, noted Dacic and stressed that Serbia is open to the dialogue regardless of the issues. Commenting on the upcoming talks with Pristina authorities in Brussels, Dacic said that Belgrade wants the dialogue to continue where it left off - with the establishment of the Union of Serb Municipalities, and creating a favorable atmosphere for the continuation of the talks. According to Dacic, the decision by Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa to dismiss Minister of Communities and Returns Aleksandar Jablanovic will have a negative impact on the mutual trust. “The main question is if there is the political will to implement what was agreed,” said Dacic.

Kocijancic: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue on Monday (RTS/Tanjug)

The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue at the highest political level resumes in Brussels on Monday, after a long break, said EU High Representative’s spokesperson Maja Kocijancic., The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini will be mediating in talks between Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, said Kocijancic. The agenda will include the establishment of progress in the implementation of the Brussels agreement and further steps to be taken, she said. This is to be the first round of the dialogue since April. Meanwhile, elections have been held in Serbia and Kosovo respectively, leading to changes in delegation members. This will be the first meeting between Vucic and Mustafa in Brussels and the first mediation of Mogherini, who took office from Catherine Ashton towards the end of 2014.

 

Mihajlovic: Pressures on Belgrade before new round of negotiations (RTS)

The Head of the government Office for Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic has told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that all Pristina’s moves are in fact pressure on Belgrade to abandon the Brussels agreement and not to establish the Union of Serb Municipalities. Ukraine is now a burning issue in international relations, and the Albanians are using this. The UN has instruments to blackmail Pristina to respect the agreement, assesses Mihajlovic. He says that all recent events in Kosovo represent only pressure on Belgrade before the new round of negotiations, adding that the UN has instruments to make Pristina respect the agreement. “Essentially, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dealt exclusively with the Brussels agreement. In his report, the Secretary-General reminded that the Brussels agreement must be implemented, and one of the most important points of this agreement is certainly the establishment of a Special Court for war crimes,” says Mihajlovic. He says he expects concrete moves, noting that in the corpus of Albanian pressures are certainly the largest demonstrations where hundreds of civilians and policemen were injured. Still, the situation with Trepca, the announced demolition of the Orthodox Church in Pristina, and then the events with Minister Jablanovic are all acts that do not go in the direction of reconciliation, but towards creating new conflicts, assesses Mihajlovic. He notes that all this can be linked to the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations that are resuming on 9 February. There has been a long break between the two rounds of negotiations, recalls Mihajlovic, adding that Ukraine is now the top topic in international negotiations, and that the Albanians and their sponsors are using the situation. Mihajlovic points out that the Albanians realized that now is the moment to pressure and fulfill their demands, and that their main goal is for the Serbs to abandon the negotiations and give up the Brussels agreement without establishing the Union of Serb Municipalities. It is clear that the Albanians do not want an agreement, because Pristina has obstructed every past agreement, says Mihajlovic. Noting that today is exactly 16 years since the peace conference on Kosovo in Rambioullet, Mihajlovic concludes that there has been hardly any progress in the negotiations since then, and that in the meantime in Kosovo 10,000 people were killed, 220,000 people went missing and several hectares of Serbian land has been usurped.

 

They wish to remove the Serbs (Novosti, commentary by Milovan Drecun, the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija)

It is obvious that Pristina has been making unilateral and politically very detrimental moves whereby it wishes to remove the Serbs from all institutions or to only have them as a cover. The “Jablanovic” case also shows that there is no essential readiness and true devotedness of Pristina for including the Serbs into the system and respecting their elementary rights, but is only trying to show before the international community how the situation is stable, all obligations fulfilled and now they only need to finalize independence. Pristina is doing everything with the goal of slowing down, hindering and making absurd as much as possible the continuation of the process of normalization of relations and to prevent the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities, as agreed by the Brussels agreement. Will the Self-Determination Movement, every time, whenever Pristina needs to implement something, take out its followers to the streets and exert pressure on the authorities in Pristina? This way, both the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade are put before a fait accompli. Regardless of all Pristina’s obstructions, the Serbs should remain in the Kosovo government, because this is the only way for them to somewhat affect decisions passed and from which their future in Kosovo and Metohija also depends. Belgrade should insist in Brussels for the international community to be also included and to ensure that agreed things are also implemented.

 

Stefanovic: 60,000 Kosovo Albanians apply for Serbian passports (Tanjug)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic has stated that, at this moment, around 60,000 applications had been submitted by Kosovo Albanians for Serbian passports. “We have 60,000 and more applications of Kosovo Albanians for issuing passports of our country,” Stefanovic said after signing with Swedish Ambassador to Serbia Christer Asp the Protocol on implementation of the agreement between Serbia and the EU on re-admission of people who have illegal residence. Stefanovic told the press that he interprets this as their wish for Serbia to be their country. “A large number of Albanians wishes to recognize Serbia as their country. That is how I see it,” concluded Stefanovic.

 

Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija: Letter to Aleksandar Vucic prior to resumption of talks in Brussels (New Serbian Political Thought)

To Prime Minister A. Vucic,

Dear,

With regard to the announced negotiations for 9 February 2015, the deputies and leadership of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija are using the opportunity to point out, once again, that the Brussels agreement represents a serious threat to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, preservation of the Republic of Serbia and its statehood on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija, which can endanger the stay and survival of the Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija. As you know, the Union of Serb Municipalities, according to the Brussels agreement, represents a category of the legal system of the Republic of Kosovo, while the Republic of Serbia has no competency in regard to this Union according to the decrees of the Brussels agreement. This Union has been conceived as a form of minority protection of the Serb people in the so-called Republic of Kosovo, because if this were not so, the Serbs could have never become a national minority in their own state. It is obvious that the Brussels agreement is amending the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in a non-constitutional manner. In this regard, it is necessary for the government of the Republic of Serbia to pass a decision on severing the Brussels agreement. Such a decision is imposed by both the general national interests and the interests of the Serb people who live in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija. We are also pointing out that the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in its basic principles stipulates that no one can usurp the sovereignty of citizens, nor to establish authority against the freely expressed will of citizens. The citizens of the Republic of Serbia expressed their will at the referendum towards confirming the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in 2006. On the other hand, the residents in northern Kosovo-Metohija voted at the referendum held in 2012 against acceptance of the institutions of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, convinced that these institutions cannot guarantee them safety and cannot offer them economic development and prosperity. The turnout at the referendum was 75 percent of the total number of registered people in the electoral lists. Considering that UN SC Resolution 1244 guarantees the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) and a “broad autonomy” for the province of Kosovo-Metohija within Serbia, the announced negotiations in regard to the ownership of Trepca, without mentioning other property in Kosovo-Metohija, are nothing else but a division balance between two independent and sovereign state and receding from UN SC Resolution 1244. As known, one of the main tasks that the Security Council has placed with Resolution 1244 before itself and the international community is safe and free return of displaced persons. At issue are 250,000 displaced Serbs and other non-Albanians. Even after 15 years, return is at a very low level. For these reasons, the position of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija is that the only topic at the negotiations in Brussels should be “sustainable return of displaced and return of usurped property”. Otherwise, it is necessary to terminate further negotiations, because the Albanians have received everything so far, while the Serbs lost everything, which is best confirmed by the announcement of the formation of the armed forces of Kosovo, which would represent an open and flagrant violation of UN SC Resolution 1244.

Respectfully yours,

The Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija

The Vice President of the Assembly

Dobrosav Dobric

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

B&H never to have unique political structure (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said on Friday that B&H will never have unique political structure. Asked whether it is realistic that the trend of left-wing politics will spill over into B&H, Dodik said he did not consider liberal capitalism successful, its failure having manifested itself by the global crisis affecting the whole world. “This global crisis requires political and ideological answers. Consistency in maintaining the concept of neoliberal capitalism will not produce a solution,” Dodik told reporters. He emphasized that the rich in the world are becoming richer, and the poor are becoming poorer. “Someone should respond to these problems and protect the poor and those deprived of their rights,” said Dodik. Dodik stated that the problem relating to the Chairman of the House of Representatives of B&H Parliamentary Assembly, Sefik Dzaferovic, has emerged. “Delegates of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) will not participate in any discussion or decision-making process if Dzaferovic sits in the Collegium of this institution. This was clearly voiced also in a meeting with the EU ambassadors in B&H, and it is not nice that German Ambassador to B&H, Christian Helbach, lectures us in public,” Dodik, who is also the leader of SNSD, told reporters. He underlined that Helbach kept silent on the subject during the meeting with ambassadors. “Ambassadors have this habit of lecturing us. They should say this in their own countries, as it is not appropriate for an ambassador to give us lectures as on who should do what,” Dodik added. German Ambassador to B&H, Christian Helbach, expressed his satisfaction over positive attitude taken by political leaders in B&H toward B&H Presidency’s statement on commitment to the EU integration process, and expects the adoption of the statement at the B&H Parliament as soon as possible. “I will not be happy at all if this whole thing with Chairman of the House of Representatives of B&H Parliamentary Assembly, Sefik Dzaferovic, becomes an obstacle of B&H’s road to the EU. I would not wish that anyone uses B&H Presidency’s statement for internal political purposes,” Helbach said.

 

Possible reorganization of SNSD? (Nezavisne novine)

The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) at a session of the party parliament, which will be held in April, could endure a serious reorganization, and after they elect the President and the Main Board of the SNSD in the foreseeable future new Vice-Presidents of the party will be elected. According to unofficial information, after the party parliament session, one kind of executive secretaries might be elected, for all constituencies in the RS, nine of them that would take responsibility for organizing the work of the party and its activities in those regions.

“Some are saying that there will be a serious and in-depth reorganization and cleaning within the party, or to be more exact in the Main Committee, which will be chosen by the parliament of the party,” tells the source of Nezavisne novine. In the SNSD itself a few officially are willing to talk on the subject of the party parliament session, which is scheduled for 25^th of April.

“The Presidency of the party did not met and discussed on this matter, but on Tuesday we will have a meeting of the executive committee and it will be one in a series of meetings at which they will discuss the preparation of the party parliament session,” said Nada Tesanovic, the Vice President of the SNSD and current delegate this party in the RS Council of Peoples. Tesanovic confirmed that the new Vice-Presidents of the party will be elected this year, because, as she says, a four-year term in office expires for all of them. When it comes to party President Milorad Dodik, he announced his candidacy, while also stressing that he has nothing against if there are more candidates for the position of a party President.

 

Operational Headquarters for possible protests in B&H has been formed (Nezavisne novine)

Operational Headquarters of several police agencies has been formed after receiving intelligence about a possible reunion of citizens who want to mark the anniversary of the protests that happened on 7^th of February last year, when several cantonal government buildings were burned in the Federation, but also the building of the B&H Presidency in Sarajevo. “Headquarters were formed based of the Agreement on mutual cooperation between police agencies, signed in June last year. Headquarters are located at the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, and its aim is to monitor the security situation and cooperation between the agencies,” said the Director of the Directorate for Coordination of Police body Mirsad Vilic. In addition to members of the Directorate, the Operations Staff will have the officers of the Border Police, State Investigation and Protection Agency, Federal Police Administration and Ministry of Interior of the Sarajevo Canton, writes Nezavisne novine. “The Directorate and other agencies have worked diligently on the education of staff and the purchase of new equipment and we are much more prepared now,” said Vilic. Police agencies have collected intelligence data of possible protests on 7 February, in the cities of Sarajevo, Zenica and Tuzla.

 

Kristo: Prosecute acts of terrorism (Srna)

The judicial bodies, together with all other relevant institutions in B&H, should finally prosecute terrorist acts in B&H and send a message that a joint fight against such a danger is necessary, said the Deputy Chairperson of the B&H House of Representatives, Borjana Kristo, in a statement for Srna. Kristo said that terrorism is a great danger and evil for every country, particularly for B&H such as it is. “Regardless of the fact that we cannot speak of B&H as a system, B&H has institutions which have jurisdiction to fight terrorism and serious crimes,” Kristo said. She said that relevant institutions in B&H should do everything to prevent and suppress potential terrorist activities. FTV aired photographs from Gornja Maoca depicting flags and other insignia of the Islamic State. Gornja Maoca near Srebrenik is the seat of the Wahhabi community, and its residents have been under investigation of police and intelligence agencies for almost a decade on suspicion that they are linked to terrorism.

 

Klekovski: SDSM has no capacity for putsch (24 Vesti)

In his guest appearance in the show “Analysis” at 24 Vesti, Sasho Klekovski said SDSM currently has no capacity to bring down the government. “The public in Macedonia can be assured that the SDSM has no capacity for putsch. Because you need to rest assured that no one has the capacity to bring down the government. This may be an attempt for such thing, but not complete, because I think SDSM at this moment, has no capacity to perform it. Perhaps intends, but has no capacity to enforce it”, he said.

 

Greek authorities have money and reason to hire people to work against Macedonian interests (Kurir.mk)

Experts and citizens agree that Greece has the highest interest to harm FYROM. Given the fact how powerful Greek secret services are and that have enormous financial, it is well known that they would easily meet their interest. Greek National Intelligence applies for the most powerful in the region. Their potentials are striking. At one point, they can monitor 6,000 phone calls, 60-80 mobile stations from anywhere. In unit time, the Greek secret service can monitor over 2,000 internet connections, SMS, MMS, and faxes. They constantly are buying expensive equipment that only increases their capacity. It is not secret how and where they are functioning. They, themselves are saying that are active throughout most of Europe, and are activated in the region when it comes to national interests. As secret are hidden exact figures how much money Greece is spending on destabilization of entire countries and structures. It is known that in time of Papandreou budget for secret services was increased by staggering 480 percent. Here are the statistics: from 2009 to 2011, were spent 168 million euro! For the same period, the budget of the Foreign Ministry was declined to 60 million euro. Where did the money go? There are informal evidence indicating that this money is spent on lobbying, MFA activities, funding secret police, and heavy investing in technology advancement services. Complete diplomatic circles say that there are goals that are met and that can justify this money. Neither citizens nor the experts do doubt on the question “Which foreign service has most interest to harm Macedonia”. It is clear who has the highest interest of “bomb” with which threatens the opposition leader Zoran Zaev, the fourth suspected in case “Putsch”. Once he admitted that the materials he has received from foreign intelligence service, and they are damaging our country, the general public and analysts point finger towards our southern neighbor. Kurir requested opinion on the subject from the assistant Director in the Administration for Security and Intelligence at the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Zlatko Keskoski. “Greek Secret Service has huge interest to harm Macedonia. We have dispute with Greece over 20 years. This is a particular problem at hand and Greece has never been friendly to Macedonia. In this particular case if it is about the Greek intelligence service then it is normal that all trends aimed at the moment, if are spent enormous resources, definitely has interest, has the capabilities and capacities to make destabilization. According to me, and this moment we have now in the country is destabilizing, and what happens next depends on what are the ultimate goals of the service. If you think about the general political and strategic goals, we have environment that tends to territorial claims towards Macedonia”, said Keskoski. The relationship between Zoran Zaev and Greece is not new. Its parent SDSM often presents views on national FYROM issues same as those of the Greek state leadership. Additionally, the media reported that the leader of SDSM repeatedly on foot was crossing the border with Greece. He stayed there no longer than 24 hours. Zaev’s visits to Greece and Bulgaria grew frequent before the election. Shortly after returning to the country, Zaev discloses affairs “Actor” and “Macedonian Bank”. Greek government bribed journalists to spread anti- FYROM propaganda. In the period from 1989 to 1993 from the secret funds of the Greek Foreign Ministry, led by Antonio Samaras, Greek journalists received 130 million US dollars to promote “Hellenism of Macedonia”. Money for Hellenism of FYROM were paid from secret funds of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who allegedly were intended for outdoor promotion.

“The money was in black plastic trash bags. There were no checks, cash only. The funds were intended for propaganda against the name of Macedonia, but instead outside this propaganda was placed inside the country”, said Mitsotakis. He claimed that Foreign Minister Samaras distributed the money. Mitsotakis admitted that he personally know journalists who received money from the government. He stated that some of them were paid to build the political image of Samaras. And Samaras publicly admitted that were paid huge sums of money, but claimed that they were useful for national purposes. At the request from Mitsotakis to explain where the money went, Samaras never gave answer. His explanation was that the funds are used for advertising.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbian Church's Fate in Kosovo in the Balance (BIRN, by Una Hajdari, 5 February 2015)

The future of a controversial Serbian church in Prishtina, half-finished under the Milosevic regime, hangs in the balance as arguments continue over whether it is an illegal construct.

Pristina The fate of an incomplete Serbian church in the centre of Prishtina - which has never been used - has again become a topic of debate as Mayor Shpend Ahmeti campaigns to curtail illegal construction. Ahmeti, who pledged to stop the "wild" construction that has become a large problem in the city on taking up office in late 2013, says the fate of the "Sveti Spas" ["Christ the Saviour"] Church needs to be decided with the fate of other illegal constructs. The stance of the municipality is that "this object will be treated in the same way, according to the law for legalization". Ferid Agani, Kosovo's Minister for Environment and Planning, says the question of the fate the church is being dealt with by a special commission, "a supervisory board for implementation and monitoring, which includes the government of Kosovo and EU representatives". Agani says it is a sensitive issue and "should be handled with caution, to prevent additional tensions between Serbs and Kosovars". The issue will be discussed on February 9 by the commission, led by him and the EU Special Representative Samuel Zbogar, he noted. Options include legalizing the planning for the church, whose construction started on the grounds of the University of Prishtina in 1994-1995 and stopped in 1999 when the conflict in Kosovo escalated. The other option would be to put the church on a list of buildings to be torn down, if the necessary documentation is not put forward. This issue has sparked debate between Kosovo's two main ethnic groups, as the country's Albanian majority population associate the building with the hated Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic. For the Church to be legalized, the Serbian Orthodox Church needs to file a legalization request accompanied by documents proving that it received the permission of the University of Prishtina, since the site belongs to the university. The Orthodox diocese of Rashka-Prizren claims it possesses the complete documentation for the construction of the church. However, the university filed a claim against the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo in 2012, accusing the Church of illegally taking over around 4 hectares of university land. During the Yugoslav era, the university was a bilingual institution, catering to the needs of both Albanians and Serbs. However, under the Milosevic regime on the 1990s, Albanians were forced out of the university and classes were only held in Serbian. Since NATO's military intervention in 1999 and the subsequent exodus of most Serbs from Prishtina, the university has operated only in Albanian while Serbian-language faculties have been transferred to the northern half of the divided northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica.

 

Islamic State flags appear, then disappear, in Bosnian village (Reuters, by Dado Ruvic, 5 February 2015)

GORNJA MAOCA, Bosnia - Flags and emblems of Islamic State, pictured on Wednesday on houses in a Bosnian village, disappeared on Thursday under threat of action by police wary of the dangers posed by radical Islamists returning from Syria and Iraq.

The village of Gornja Maoca in northeastern Bosnia is home to followers of the strict Sunni Islam Wahhabi movement, and has been raided by police several times over the past decade due to suspected links with radical Islamist groups.

Most Muslims in Bosnia are either secular or practice a moderate form of Islam. But more hardline versions have found a growing following among younger generations, particularly in rural areas, and police say up to 180 Bosnians, including women and children, have left for Syria over the past three years to join Islamic State.

On Wednesday, a Reuters photographer took pictures of Islamic State flags flying from several homes in the village, and symbols painted on a wood shed.

On Thursday, Bosnia's state prosecution said it had ordered security forces to search the village. They came away empty-handed.

"During the activities undertaken, ISIS flags were not found displayed," the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) said in a statement. It gave no further details.

Bosnian state radio cited villagers saying the flags had been erected by neighbours who had since left the community.

"I don't understand why such a fuss was made in the past 24 hours because of a simple piece of cloth," a man, who gave his name as Edis and who wore a long beard and short trousers typical for Wahhabi followers, told Reuters.

Bosnia's Islamic Community has condemned those who leave to fight in Iraq and Syria, and Bosnia last April introduced prison terms of up to 10 years for Bosnians who do so and for those who recruit them.

But there is growing concern over the influence that the turmoil in the Middle East may have on Muslims in Bosnia, particularly against a backdrop of widespread unemployment, poverty and corruption in the Balkan country two decades since the end of its 1992-95 war.

Last month, Friday prayers at a Sarajevo mosque were interrupted when a man in a shirt bearing Islamic State symbols threatened an imam. He was thrown out by worshippers.

(Additional reporting and writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Matt Robinson and Andrew Heavens)

 

Bosnia Protesters Brace For Difficult Anniversary (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, Srecko Latal, 6 February 2015)

A year on from the mass protests that shook Bosnia but failed to bring about lasting change, thousands of people are planning to hit the streets once again.

Sarajevo

One year ago, scenes of violence unseen since the end of the 1992-5 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina briefly drew the world’s attention back to the troubled Balkan country.

As acrid smoke billowed from burning government buildings and as demonstrators clashed with police forces, many thought the events would change the country forever. A year on, citizens, experts and foreign diplomats alike see little or no such change. General elections last October enthroned some old and some new political elites. Old or new, they seem equally determined to carry on the same old rhetoric and zero-sum political games that have brought the country of the verge of bankruptcy and breakup. The protests last year convinced international officials to launch a new approach, aimed at jump-starting Bosnia’s stalled reforms process and bringing the country back onto the EU path. However, the new EU initiative has run into obstacles from its onset, revealing flaws similar to those that doomed earlier international initiatives. “Compared to the last year, the only thing I know is that the situation is even worse. Poverty is worse, the suicide rate is rising, the percentage of young people who want to leave this country is growing, it is hard to find jobs, and the salaries are miserable,” Esad Bajtal, a sociologist, psychologist and political analyst, told Balkan Insight. “This situation would cause a tsunami of protests anywhere, but here, people are fighting for plain bread and are far from dreaming about milk and honey,” Bajtal added. No one knows whether - or how many - Bosnians will go out on the streets over the weekend to mark the first anniversary of the February 7, 2014 protests. A few thousand Bosnians on social networks declared willingness to get out on the streets in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar and other towns on Saturday, to mark the anniversary and raise their voices again against what they see as the irresponsible politics ruining the country. Yet, the anniversary holds uncertainties. While some security officials fear new demonstrations could turn violent again, some demonstrators fear only a handful of people will turn up – deterred by heavy-handed police or by expected bad weather. While some Bosnians have prepared their winter gear as well as posters and whistles for a protest on Saturday, it was far from clear that society had digested all the implications of last year’s shaking events. Many participants in last year’s protests, as well as local and international security experts stress, that the protest rallies should be seen as a separate phenomenon from the acts of violence that occurred on the fringe. The first events gathered mixed groups of youngsters, people without jobs and pensioners. The violence occurred later and involved adolescent men, mostly hooligan members of local football fan clubs. Security experts told Balkan Insight that much of the violence – burning of selected government buildings and attacks on local police – appeared orchestrated and well organized. Police eventually arrested more than 70 people many of whom were charged with damaging state property or attacking police. Police also compiled extensive documentation, including audio, video and photo material that was supposed to shed more light on the events. Although this material was passed on to the prosecution last summer, there has been no further public mention of it, security officials and experts told Balkan Insight. Many Bosnians see this as a proof that the violence was deliberately instigated by political circles, to halt the demonstrations and force peaceful protesters to withdraw from the streets. Last year’s demonstrations also showed that Bosnia’s problem is not only the politicians but a divided population and a lethargic civil society. Many citizens have adapted to a corrupt system, rather than striving to change it. Meanwhile, civil society groups seem focused on winning international donations for projects - ignoring the feeble impact of these projects on the population. It was because of this stale atmosphere in society that demonstrators in February 2014 established plenums – mixed and constantly changing groups of people without any clear chain of command or prevailing political or ideological agenda. They started meeting on a daily basis to discuss the demands they would put to governments. Local and international experts as well as diplomats hailed their appearance, calling them peoples’ assemblies and a welcome sign of street democracy. The hope was that they would evolve into a movement that was massive enough to force the politicians into behaving more responsibly. Initially, plenums were established in more than 20 towns and these groups tried to communicate and coordinate moves. Yet, over the course of several weeks, the movement fizzled out. Numbers fell to a few hundred and then few dozen people, meeting on irregular basis. Many former plenum members blamed this on individuals who tried to use the plenums for their personal interests as well as for political or ideological agendas. Another reason was that most plenums rejected any interaction with opposition parties and local NGOs, which reduced their channels of communication and their possible influence on key decision-makers. The international community has spent millions of US dollars on strengthening civil society in Bosnia in recent years. “We have been financing local NGOs to develop civic activism and then when it finally happens, the NGOs are kicked out of it,” a Western ambassador told Balkan Insight recently. “We woke up to the harsh reality that most local civil society is focused on its own interests and is as alienated from the citizens as the politicians are,” the ambassador added. An even bigger factor behind the eventual weakening of the plenums was what many plenum members called police oppression and judicial prosecution. Dozens of last year’s protesters have claimed that the authorities have tried to intimidate them by bringing them before courts under charges of breaking different laws during the demonstrations, from rules on public peace and order to blocking traffic. Fedja Fajic, a participant of the plenum in the southern town of Mostar, said anniversary protests would certainly go ahead in Mostar on February 7, but he did not expect major turnout. “There was police and political repression. People were getting threats that they would lose their jobs or be kicked out of schools and faculties,” he told Balkan Insight. In the northern industrial town of Tuzla, which was the main basis for protests by workers over the past year, demonstrations on Saturday will be massive, despite strong pressure from the governments, police and political parties, Sakib Kopic, president of the Solidarity Union in Tuzla, said. “On February 7 we will mark the anniversary of the protests to show the authorities we are here and are watching what they are doing,” Kopic told Balkan Insight. He said he was among those who were arrested last February for participating in peaceful protests. Kopic said he was fined 150 euros, which he has no intention of paying. Sarajevo Canton Interior Minister Nermin Pecanac told Balkan Insight that the police were doing their job in charging citizens who broke traffic laws during the protests. Public gatherings must be announced beforehand to the police, who can then issue a permit, he added. According to the Cantonal Interior Ministry, police in that canton alone filed 74 criminal cases and 41 misdemeanor cases related to the last year’s protests. “This is not intimidation, this is sticking to the law,” Pecanac said. “The traffic was blocked for a month there. “We were implementing the law, that is not pressure. The court will determine the facts,” he added. However, many people and local experts complain that instead of starting acting more responsibly, local authorities have concentrated on prosecuting protesters and on better preparing the police for future demonstrations. According to research by “Zurnal”, an online magazine in Bosnia, the country’s governments have spent 12 million euro since last February on better equipping riot police with new helmets, batons, rubber bullets, masks, protection uniforms and other equipment. Many protesters say they will not be intimidated by prosecutions, intimidation or by freshly equipped police. “Until we all rise up, there will be no changes,” Kopic, the protester from Tuzla, said. “We have a judicial mafia, an inspection mafia, everywhere you look, a mafia,” he added. “The protests will now be peaceful and we are giving the new government a hundred days,” he continued. “After that, the protests will be radical.”

 

Macedonia Must Handle Coup Charge With ‘Integrity’, Melia (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 5 February 2015)

As tension escalates in Macedonia over an alleged coup attempt launched by the opposition leader, US State Department official Thomas O. Melia tells BIRN that legal standards must be observed.

In the interview with BIRN, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor said Washington supports Macedonia’s stability and prosperity.

However, none of this can be secure without a functional democracy and independent judicial bodies must be allowed to do their job. “We think that only if the institutions work, only if rights of individuals are respected, and only if there is a serious process with integrity that will investigate potential problems will the country continue to be strengthened and be a better security, economic and political partner,” Melia said. “We hope that Macedonian authorities will make good decisions about how to strengthen the institutions of the nascent democracy that has been emerging here in Macedonia, and so, to process serious investigations of alleged or potential crimes.” Melia was referring to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s weekend TV address in which he laid grave charges at the door of opposition Social Democratic Party leader, Zoran Zaev. Gruevski said the Social Democratic leader threatened to publish compromising data involving top officials unless he agreed to the formation of a caretaker government that included his party. The police have taken away Zaev’s passport and arrested three other persons in relation to the case they codenamed “Coup”, or “Putsch”. The Prime Minister promised a fair trial. “It’s certainly not clear to me yet what crime may have been committed or is alleged to have been committed,” the US official said. “We look forward to learning more about this and we hope that there will be respect for due process. Let’s talk about evidence first, and maybe charges later, if they are warranted, and see whether the institutions function as they should,” Melia said. The state prosecution on Tuesday meanwhile warned journalists not to touch “material that may become subject of further criminal procedure”, as this is “forbidden and punishable by law”. Critics of the government have called this an attempt to prevent the release of any material that may come from the opposition concerning alleged government wrongdoings, by making them classified information. Melia also questioned the prosecutor’s warning, which he said would be difficult to follow. “It’s going to be difficult for journalists to know in the future what will become subject to a criminal investigation,” he ventured. “So, I am not sure how one could abide by that guidance even if one wanted to,” he told BIRN. “It’s certainly the American inclination and definitely the policy of the United States government to support independent media and the rights of journalists to do their jobs.” Asked about whether he expected the opposition leader to get a fair trial from the courts, Melia said concern was justified. “That is something that is very important and very credible and I think that people should take that very seriously. The friends of Macedonia want these institutions to be strengthened,” he said, referring to the courts. He also said Macedonia would be wise not to ignore expressions of concern, either from home from rights watchdogs abroad. “When people point out that they are disappointed or frustrated that something is not working, that there is a problem in the democratic procedures, it’s not because they are hostile to Macedonia,” he said. “It is because they are friendly to Macedonia and they want this place to succeed. I would take very seriously the opinions of an independent group like Freedom House, which puts out its assessments each year and expressed some concern this year about trends in Macedonia. “I would not complain about the messenger. I would say, let’s look at the issues. I would do similarly with the ODIHR assessment of the election environment, Melia told BIRN. In its “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013”, the US State Department said the Macedonian government had “used political pressure and intimidation to influence the judicial branch”. The report also noted credible claims that it "interfered in high-profile cases involving abuse of office or misuse of official position to coerce officials or party members or intimidate key opposition leaders”. Melia noted that the United States would soon put out a fresh annual human rights report based on developments in 2014. “You will see in that, just as you saw a year ago, our best understanding of what developments are here. We don’t put numbers on it but I think it will be very clear what our assessment is,” he said. “We support Macedonia’s European aspirations and we would urge all Macedonians inside the Macedonian government and outside to look to those European standards because they have done well for many of your neighbors and in fact for most of Europe,” Melia concluded.