LOCAL PRESS

 

Drecun: Thaqi’s statement an insult to victims (Tanjug/RTS)

The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun said the statement by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi that Kosovo would sue Serbia for genocide was an insult to victims. “Kosovo cannot move forward if it does not form a special court urgently within the next few months in order to investigate and prosecute those KLA members who committed horrible crimes mostly against the Serb civilian population, but also against other non-Albanians and members of the Serbian security forces. This requires financial resources in the range of 200-300 million Euros and judges to be in charge of the trials. Thaqi’s statement that Kosovo is going to sue Serbia for genocide is an insult to victims, because it is an instance of someone who is the most responsible for war crimes pressing charges against someone else. The terrorist organization KLA planned their crimes, murdered civilians and committed ethnic cleansing, which could be interpreted as genocidal intent. The court that is to be established will definitely determine whether the KLA committed genocide in Kosovo,” he pointed out. When it comes to Serbia, he stated that its forces defended the entire population in Kosovo from the terrorist activities of the KLA commanded by Thaqi.

Announced lawsuit for genocide against Belgrade a blow on Brussels dialogue (Novosti)

Fearing that he will be under the attack of the law over war crimes, Hashim Thaqi announced a pointless lawsuit against Serbia for genocide. It is not accidental for Novosti’s interlocutors that the Pristina “head of diplomacy” and former war commander had launched the “lawsuit” precisely now when the foundation of a special war crimes court is being announced. Serbian Minister for Labor Aleksandar Vulin requests Thaqi to explain his idea for Kosovo to sue Serbia before the International Court of Justice. “These are dangerous suggestions to say the least. They speak not only of the fact that the government in Pristina is weak and incapable of formulating its policy except on the streets, but also that they wish to avoid the Brussels agreement and the resumption of the Brussels negotiations. Simply, there can be no lawsuit for genocide towards Serbia at the same time of the Brussels agreement. These things mutually exclude each other.” Vulin voices fear that the government in Pristina has decided not to take part in the Brussels dialogue. “We are devoted to these talks, but we are not ready to be ill-treated, humiliated and to always sit at any cost and peacefully listen what the institutions in Pristina will do.” The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun tells Novosti that Thaqi is letting smoke balloons since he himself should be held responsible for the horrors of his co-fighters: “Thaqi’s goal is to destabilize relations with Belgrade, since Pristina is under strong pressure to found a special war crimes court. If someone committed genocide, then it is the KLA members who expelled the Serbs from the province systematically and with a clear plan.” Dusan Kozarev, deputy head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, explains for Novosti: “Thaqi should not be beating the war drums and talk about genocide, but should be dealing with the problems in Kosovo and Metohija and the founding of the international court that should call to account the KLA commanders, the most responsible for crimes. Certain Albanian leaders have been visibly nervous over the past weeks. There is really no need for them to spoil with their personal nervousness the atmosphere for reconciliation, normalization and dialogue.”

 

Agreement on judiciary in Kosovo and Metohija between law and politics (Politika, by Biljana Mitrinovic)

It turned out that the agreement on the judiciary in Kosovo and Metohija, reached after a long break in the talks with Pristina, was too small a step for opening Serbia’s first negotiating chapter with the EU. On the other side, even though state officials claim that the agreement is neutral in status, part of the opposition in Serbia opines that the negotiators made a big step forward outside the law and one more lever of Serbian power had been handed over to Pristina by fitting the justice system into the Kosovo system. The Serbian government didn’t have any doubts, so it adopted immediately the report on the agreement, as well as all other agreements within the Brussels agreement. However, lawyer Branko Pavlovic says that the government decision, the agreement in Brussels or any other reference to the Brussels agreement, cannot regulate the issue of territorial organization, jurisdiction and composition of courts, because, when we speak about the organization and jurisdiction of courts, the substance that is regulated by law, i.e. when we speak about the composition of courts – that is, based on the Constitution and law, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Judicial Council. Pavlovic interprets this thanks to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Serbia to deliver the opinion last year that it is not competent to assess the constitutionality of the Brussels agreement because it doesn’t consider it to be a legal document. “If the Brussels agreement were an international agreement, then the question of its greater legal power from the law would be raised, but then it would also be susceptible to assessment of constitutionality. Since it isn’t, and neither is any other legal act, at least of smaller power from the law, then it is impossible to refer to it when one speaks about these issues,” Pavlovic tells Politika. The Serbian Association of Judges, referring to the conclusions of this Association’s assembly dated 8 December 2013 on the singularity of the judicial system of Serbia and the position of judges in Kosovo and Metohija, has also called the legislative and executive authority and the High Judicial Council to have in mind that “the judicial system forms part of a singular legal system and that it has to be organized in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia”. They warned that “both judges from the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija are guaranteed by the Constitution to have permanence of judicial functions, which cannot be terminated over the abolishment of a court or non-acceptance to perform the judicial function in courts that are outside the judicial system of the Republic of Serbia”. Therefore Pavlovic warns that the agreement on the judiciary has violated the laws of Serbia and that “courts on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija will try in the future as part of the authority of the so-called Republic of Kosovo, under its coat of arms, name, flag and oath, according to its so-called law, and this can be done only by people who have Kosovo citizenship, at least dual”. “No sentence will be ever examined, at least in the final instance, before the court of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. all decisions in the final outcome according to regular and irregular legal remedies will be made by Pristina,” stresses Pavlovic, and points out that fear expressed by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic – that there will not be enough judges, represents the awareness of the fact that judges will not be willing to transfer to try in the so-called Republic of Kosovo and that they will remain to be the judges of the Republic of Serbia. “Their judicial mandate cannot be terminated and they have the right to a judicial salary from the budget of the Republic of Serbia until retirement,” concluded Pavlovic.

The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun does not have any dilemma whether this agreement violates Serbian laws, because he points to the “specificity” that we cannot implement Serbian laws in Kosovo and Metohija, not only because of the unilaterally declared independence, but also because of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. “If we refer to Resolution 1244, then Serbian courts or any other Serbian institution can’t be present in Kosovo and Metohija, then it is the violation of this resolution,” Drecun told Politika, stressing that the Brussels agreement is neutral in status. In response to the ascertainment that there are opinions that the agreement on the judiciary is illegal from the standpoint of the Serbian legislation, Drecun says it is true that the judiciary will operate within the Pristina legal framework, but reminds that Serbian laws are not implemented in Kosovo and Metohija and that, according to Resolution 1244, we ceded this territory to UNMIK for administration. “Violent secession was carried out, which we cannot undo with our will and now we are establishing cooperation by treating these institutions as provisional institutions of self-administration in order to bring them in line with Resolution 1244, protecting our own people from the arbitrariness of these courts that are operating there,” concluded Drecun and called all those who oppose this stand to “go to Kosovo and Metohija and protect, with laws they refer to, the Serbs who are tried and who will be tried”.

 

Joksimovic: We expect an objective EP report (RTS)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of European Integrations Jadranka Joksimovic has told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that she hopes the report of the European Parliament (EP) about Serbia’s progress in EU integrations will be objective. Commenting the request for full implementation of the Brussels agreement, Joksimovic pointed out that Serbia started the implementation in all spheres, either through action plans or through agreements. “The Brussels agreement has always been difficult to implement, it was difficult to reach the agreement on the judiciary, this is the most difficult item of the Brussels agreement. We have invested a lot of effort and hard work to reach this agreement and I think that the people in the EU value this in the right way and I believe this will mean an open path for opening Chapter 35,” said Joksimovic, adding that the issue of the Union of Serb Municipalities will be the topic in the next round of the dialogue.

 

Vukadinovic: Kosovo’s lawsuit against Serbia futile (Radio Serbia, by Djuro Malobabic)

The announcement of the self-proclaimed Kosovo state’s head of diplomacy Hashim Thaqi that Pristina is working on the preparations for the lawsuit against Serbia for genocide is in the realm of fantasy, and at issue is the case of Thaqi and his peers from the so-called KLA avoiding the responsibility before the future special war crimes court in Kosovo, political analyst Djordje Vukadinovic told Radio Serbia. “Despite the occasional open partiality in one segment of the international community when it comes to the policy of the interim institutions in Pristina, the insisting on the alleged genocide over the Kosovo Albanians during the armed conflict 1998-2000 has no ground in either substantial or formal reasons,” Vukadinovic claims categorically. He says that the crimes, which were committed by both sides, according to the regulations of the international law and verdicts of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and those of the Hague Tribunal do not meet the criteria to be declared genocide. On the other hand, he reminds, for the formal and essential reasons, Kosovo may not submit the lawsuit, since that rights belongs exclusively to the member-states of the UN. “There is a possibility of another country filing the suit on behalf of Kosovo, but I do not believe someone would dare making a move that is obviously futile and condemned to fail,” our collocutor emphasized. Vukadinovic believes that the latest initiative from Pristina will not affect the dialogue in Brussels and the implementation of the hitherto attained agreements. According to him, aside from avoiding the command responsibility, Hashim Thaqi is presenting himself as the foremost proponent of Kosovo’s interests, and seeks to secure the support of a part of the provincial public prior to some future elections. “In the process that is underway in Brussels the key position belongs to the international actors, so the statements from certain important participants from Belgrade or Pristina are losing steam once the international mediators appear and conclude they need to see some progress in the process. There are only two ways to really jeopardize the Brussels dialogue – one, if some of the involved sides would go too far in their demands, as frequently done by Pristina; or two, if the international mediators would decide at some point to give up on the entire process. But so far, there have not been any such indications,” political analyst Djordje Vukadinovic concluded.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Composition of B&H Council of Ministers agreed (Srna)

The leaders of political parties comprising a majority at the B&H level have reached an agreement on the composition of the B&H Council of Ministers, today in Sarajevo. According to the agreement, in addition to the chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers, the SDA will get two ministerial seats and two seats of deputy ministers, the DF will get one ministerial seat and one seat of a deputy minister, and the HDZ B&H will get three ministerial seats and four seats of deputy ministers. Parties gathered around the SDS will get three ministerial seats and three seats of deputy ministers. The SDS president Mladen Bosic said that one SDA minister will be from the Republika Srpska (RS) having in mind that according to the law four ministers should be from the RS. In addition to Bosic, the meeting was attended by the SDA Deputy-President Bakir Izetbegovic, HDZ B&H President Dragan Covic, PDP President Mladen Ivanic, NDP President Dragan Cavic, DF President Zeljko Komsic and HSS B&H representative Mario Karamatic.

 

Bosnian parliament adopts statement on EU (Beta)

Both houses of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly have adopted a statement on reforms and the country’s EU orientation. This statement is in accordance with the requirements of the British-German initiative on Bosnia’s progress towards the European Union. This initiative from November 2014 suggests to EU countries “a new approach towards B&H”. It also asked local politicians to make a written statement committing themselves to the implementation of institutional reforms at all levels of government, to agree on a roadmap with the EU and implement broad economic and social reforms. The B&H Presidency adopted and signed the statement on January 29. The document was later signed by leaders of 14 political parties. Today’s verification in the assembly gives the statement "full legitimacy and is binding for the signatories."

 

No agreement on FB&H Government: Komsic leaves discussions for “urgent call” (Oslobodjenje)

The first part of the discussion by political party leaders on forming a new Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) Government concluded last night, and will continue on Wednesday in the presence of the Democratic Front leader Zeljko Komsic, who had to leave last night’s part of the discussion. This was relayed to reporters by one of the participants in the talks, Bakir Izetbegovic, Vice-President of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). Party representatives presented their views on the distribution of positions in the future FB&H Government, to some extent bringing their stances closer together, and discussions are going in the right direction, Izetbegovic said. Dragan Covic, leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), also said that discussions are taking place in the desired atmosphere, and that participants have agreed thus far not to make party presentations in public with respect to ministerial positions. Covic confirmed that the parties of the coalition gathered around the HDZ want six ministerial positions. Sifet Podzic, Secretary-General of the DF, said after the meeting that the party would be maximally cooperative with respect to forming a new Federation Government and those discussions are taking place in a very positive atmosphere. Zeljko Komsic, leader of the DF, had to leave the last night’s meeting because he received a sudden call, said Podzic without sharing any further details.

 

Mogherini: There is no time for repeating mistakes of the past (Fena)

The EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said today in Sarajevo that we must make concrete steps in order to bring ourselves closer to the European Union and that we should not repeat the same political mistakes.

While addressing delegates at the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H PA)’s second emergency session, which was attended by 12 delegates from the House of Peoples, she announced that today a historic decision for B&H was adopted, but also noted that now they should head strongly in to reforms, adding that it is a decision that is in the interest of the B&H citizens. “The B&H is a country of incredible diversity, rich history, and a country of tolerance, but also a country that has deep divisions of what it requires from our part. The tragedy of the nineties should not be an obstacle to progress,” she said. She believes that the time has come to make a better use of many resources that the B&H has, as citizens of this country want a stronger economy, connecting roads and railways, a better future, which Mogherini will support strongly. However, she stressed that the changes are under the State Parliament’s jurisdiction, but a certain responsibility lies with the entity parliaments, noting that the next steps require coordination at all levels. “The new EU initiative provides an opportunity for B&H to move closer to the EU, but you have to agree on that path and act concretely, that's the answer to why this is a historic decision of delegates and ministers,” she explained. She reiterated that the EU implies freedom, human rights and equality, and respect for the rights of minorities, and said that there is no doubt that B&H will give its contribution to the EU efforts to end the division at the European continent. She expressed satisfaction that she attended the adoption of this decision, announcing that this moment will be noted and that she’s personally going to inform the foreign ministers of the EU countries about it, which should be followed by the European Council’s consideration of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) entering into force. The politicians in B&H, she stressed, will now have to focus on the urgent economic and social reforms, particularly due to the difficult economic situation in B&H, because unemployment is a major problem in B&H which is why it is important to start opening the jobs. As priorities, she pointed out health reforms, reforms in education and the social sector, the establishment of a functioning market economy, establishing the rule of law and the strengthening of administrative capacity in order to strengthen the effectiveness of institutions at all levels. She pointed out that the establishment of an effective mechanism of coordination remains crucial for successful interaction for future membership. “The implementation of reforms is the key to all of this, so the next step is the implementation. These priorities are not final, there will be other reforms concerning the citizens of B&H,” explains Mogherini. She concluded that the EU is strongly committed to this country, adding that its presence confirms this commitment since she visited B&H twice in past three months. The Statement on European commitment and the necessary reforms of B&H on its path towards the European Union (EU) signed by the Presidency and the Presidents of 14 political parties was adopted earlier today by the delegates too, at separate emergency sessions. The Presidency of B&H adopted and signed the statement on January 29^th on the initiative of the United Kingdom and Germany, which later became the EU initiative. As previously announced by the European Union, the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), which was signed in 2008, should now come into force. Today’s session of the House of Representatives of the State Parliament was attended by members of the B&H Presidency, the Council of Ministers and leaders of political parties and numerous guests from international organizations in the B&H.

 

FYROM’s new scandal - Recorded video revealed trade with MP seats (MIA)

The video that emerged yesterday at video service YouTube opened new mega trading scandal with MPs seats and directly engaged journalists from media under the control of the opposition. Opposition journalists are treated as goods on the market for getting discounts for advertising.

Video footage from which it is clear that Boskoski illegally took money for illegal financing of his campaign for the 2011 elections and thus, in return for illegal money he took promised the mediator change of the country the name if he came to power are not only scandals revealed with video footage. At the video footage, Boshkoski publicly says that in exchange for lower price for ads on A1 TV, he will put journalist as parliamentary candidate for the second position at the list of his party in the fourth constituency. The trade with seats is arranged in way that Boshkoski will put journalist from Velija Ramkovski at the MP list and in turn, the TV will charge ads at preferential prices or minimum.

Lube: Yes, yes, yes, you only have to see, now with the money when we have to pay them and other media to be able to advertise on Sitel, Telma of the A1 I will put one man of them, a journalist who runs show Index.

Mediator: Aha.

Lube: Probably. She is recommended by Velija.

Mediator: Aha, aha.

Lube: Even if she is at second place in 4 constituencies. By this, will pay the minimum to A1. Otherwise, they are the most expensive, in minutes.

After this recognition of Boshkoski, the question arises whether SDSM received discount from Velija Ramkovski to advertise at A1, having in mind that the two journalists from this TV, Safet Bisevac and Lenche Nikolovska as representatives of the United Opposition led by SDSM and part the opposition coalition “Alliance for the Future” managed to fight for seats, which according to Boskoski brought minimal payment to advertise A1. Opposition that all the time was talking about freedom, rights of journalists to electoral rules, is revealed see the way they have acted. Journalists are treated as goods on the market for getting discounts for advertising. In this way were violated all electoral norms trade seats and by cheating the rules of fair advertising through direct coupling with the owner of the television. At this point, it remains unclear for what kind of coupling opposition media accuses the Government, when these videos clearly show how their functioning with the mega coupling with media.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Kosovo’s Thaci Criticised for Genocide Suit Threat (BIRN, by Petrit Collaku, 23 February 2015)

Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci’s threat to sue Serbia for genocide at the International Court of Justice has been criticised for being legally impractical and a potential misuse of resources

Thaci has been accused of a political gaffe after saying at the weekend that Kosovo is considering suing Serbia for genocide committed during the 1998-99 conflict with Belgrade’s forces. “Serbia definitely committed genocide in Kosovo. We have evidence, we have testimony and the entire world knows,” he told Turkish news agency Anadolu. Thaci, who is also the deputy prime minister of Kosovo, said that he could say exactly when the law suit would be launched, but added that Pristina would apply to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after evaluating “internal and international circumstances”. He said that Kosovo was looking for ways to find legal grounds to sue Serbia at the ICJ, as the country is not a member of the United Nations and so faces obstacles to bringing a case at the UN court. But MP Vjosa Osmani, who was part of Pristina’s working group at the ICJ when the UN court ruled in 2010 that Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia was legal, said such a case was currently impossible. “Kosovo is not member of the United Nations, it’s not a party to the ICJ statute, and has not undertaken measures to accept jurisdiction of this court,” Osmani told BIRN. Bekim Blakaj from the Humanitarian Law Centre in Pristina said that even if Kosovo had the chance to sue Serbia for genocide, it would be a difficult process. This month the ICJ rejected claims by both Croatia and Serbia, who were accusing each other of genocide during the 1991-95 war. “This process takes a lot of energy and funds and in the end, it is difficult to prove anything,” said Blakaj. He said that the authorities should be focusing instead on winning compensation for those who suffered during the conflict. “Our institutions should deal with missing persons and reparations for victims. These points should be part of the ongoing dialogue with Serbia. It should be insisted on by our politicians,” he said. Muharrem Nitaj, a political commentator from Pristina, argued that Thaci’s statements were just for his own political PR and should not be taken seriously. “Unfortunately, Kosovo’s institutions, including the government, have never filed suits against people or criminal groups that committed crimes during the war in Kosovo, let alone against Serbia,” Nitaj told BIRN. “The foreign minister’s statement about the eventual suit that Kosovo can bring against Serbia for genocide, I see it more as political marketing than as a serious initiative,” he said. Dren Doli from a Kosovo-based NGO called the Group for Legal and Political Studies said he thought that Thaci raised the idea because of the impending establishment of a new EU-backed special court which is expected to try Kosovo Liberation Army officials for alleged crimes committed during and after the late 1990s war. Doli said that the draft legislation to establish the court, which is currently under discussion by officials in Pristina, envisages that individuals can be indicted for genocide, creating a risk that Serbia could bring a genocide case against someone from Kosovo. “This could be very harmful for Kosovo and it could be misused by Serbia allegedly as a fact to show that there was this high level of crimes against Serbs,” Doli told BIRN. Meanwhile Serbian labour minister Aleksandar Vulin said that if Pristina was to sue Belgrade, it would mean the end of the ongoing EU-mediated talks to normalise relations. “It is not possible to bring a genocide claim against Serbia and take part in the talks in Brussels at the same time,” Vulin told journalists on Sunday. “The statement that Kosovo will allegedly sue Serbia for some kind of genocide, if it were possible, shows the weakness of the government of which Thaci is an important part,” he said

 

Austria, Germany, Hungary and Serbia Cooperate In Battling Illegal Immigration (Hungary Today, 20 February 2015)

Countries must work together to combat illegal immigration, terrorism and extremism, the interior ministers of Hungary, Serbia and Austria agreed at a meeting in Belgrade. They discussed illegal migration affecting their countries and related measures, which they agreed could not work individually. Johanna Mikl-Leitner of Austria noted a major increase in the number of asylum seekers arriving in her country from Kosovo over the past months. She said one reason was that human smugglers gave them high hopes by providing false information about the asylum procedure. Austria has arranged for immigrants denied asylum to be transported by air to their home country every two weeks, she added. Nebojsa Stefanovic, the Serbian interior minister, told a press conference after the meeting that the number of illegal immigrants had dropped significantly thanks to cooperation between the Serbian, Hungarian, Austrian and German police forces, the installation of infrared cameras and tightened border controls. Whereas their number was recently several hundred per day, it has dropped to just five, he said. Stefanovic and Sándor Pintér, his Hungarian counterpart, signed a cooperation agreement between their respective ministries. Under the agreement, Hungarian authorities will transport Kosovars from Hungary to the Kosovo border with Serbian vehicles leading the convoy, the Hungarian interior ministry said. The agreement allows Hungary to return all illegal immigrants in a more effective and cost-saving way, the ministry said. Meanwhile, joint patrols by Hungarian, Austrian and German police officers have been launched to help identify illegal immigrants at major railway stations, a head of department of Hungary’s riot police said. Balázs Pethő said that two Austrian and two German officers had started working together with their Hungarian counterparts, checking on railway stations where trains to western Europe depart from. According to figures from the national police, 231 illegal immigrants were detained in the past one day. A sudden increase in the number of illegal entrants to Hungary was registered last autumn due to an influx of refugees from Kosovo. For the whole of last year, the number of illegal entries totalled nearly 45,000, almost all of them reported from the Hungary-Serbia border. Since January 1 the number has exceeded 25,000.

 

Genocide Court Whitewashes U.S.-NATO Crimes (AFP, by Richard Walker, 22 February 2015)  

A ruling by the United Nations’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) clearing Serbia and Croatia of genocide in the Balkan wars of the 1990s has shed light on a conflict in which the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) played a pivotal role. In fact, some people now say the U.S. and NATO should have been the ones appearing before the international judges for the illegal bombing of Serbia in 1999. In 2007, the ICJ, which accepts cases between states and holds its hearings in The Hague, as does the International Criminal Court, found that Bosnian Serb forces were guilty of genocide in the slaughter of almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995. However, the court did not find Serbia guilty. The 1948 Genocide Convention is framed legally so genocide by a state, or its leaders, is difficult to prove. Ethnic cleansing that took place on all sides in the Balkans conflict did not meet the legal definition of genocide set forth in the Genocide Convention, which stipulates that genocide requires a deliberate plan to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

 

‘Where West Comes to spread Democracy, Disasters Follow’ – Emir Kusturica (Sputnik, 21 February 2015)

Belgian weekly Le Vif spoke with Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica who said that the Ukrainian conflict was staged by the United States and it reminds him of the war in his native Bosnia. On the occasion of the release of his new collection of short films, Emir Kusturica, a celebrated Serbian filmmaker internationally recognized for a number of acclaimed films, spoke with Belgian weekly Le Vif about the situation in Ukraine, which reminds him of the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Kusturica blamed the United States for not only breaking the promise given to Mikhail Gorbachev about not expanding NATO to Eastern Europe, but also for staging the conflict in Ukraine by helping to start demonstrations on the Maidan Square. Kusturica said the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict was similar to the start of the Bosnian War, which started in Kusturica’s hometown of Sarajevo. In Kiev, demonstrations turned violent when snipers started shooting at the crowd. Initially, the government of Viktor Yanukovych was blamed for shooting at the crowd; however, soon the story became murky, after reports appeared that foreign mercenaries may have been hired to shoot at the crowd on the Maidan. Similar events took place in Bosnia: unknown snipers killed several protesters and everyone accused the Serbs, but in the end nobody really knew who had sent the snipers, Kusturica said. When asked whether he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin and his stance on Ukraine, Kusturica replied that the current situation in Ukraine is not about supporting Putin or being against him, but rather being against neo-Nazis at the forefront of the current government in Kiev. It is absolutely intolerable that neo-Nazis groups are closely associated with the Ukrainian government, said the filmmaker. To conclude his interview, Kusturica said he has always been a strong advocate of multiculturalism, as the plurality of cultures brings different flavors to life. He said that after the destruction of Yugoslavia, a lot of its culture was lost. Culture has enormous power and it brings civilization, Kusturica said.

 

 

 

Macedonian Opposition Tapes Lift Lid on Boskoski Arrest (BIRN, by Meri Jordanovska, 20 February 2015)

SDSM leader says tapes of conversations between senior officials prove the arrest of the former Interior Minister was previously set up

Macedonia’s opposition Social Democratic party, SDSM, published seven more conversations on Friday, which the party said showed the arrest of opposition politician Ljube Boskoski was a setup. Ljube Boskoski, a former Interior Minister and former leader of the United for Macedonia party, was arrested on June 6th 2011, one day after the general elections of that year. He was later jailed for five years in prison for illegally financing his political campaign. In one conversation that allegedly took place on election day, June 5, 2011, a voice that SDSM leader Zoran Zaev attributed to the chief of the secret police Saso Mijalkov, tells the chief editor of Sitel TV, Dragan Pavlovic-Latas there will be some big news. “We will talk tomorrow and you will see what I mean,” he says. In another conversation, again allegedly between Mijalkov and Pavlovic, on the day after the elections, June 6 - when Boskoski was arrested – the former says of the arrested politician: “He was lying there for a half-hour on his stomach, handcuffed. Journalists came, taking pictures and he was screaming and crying: ‘Saso Mijalkov set me up,” Mijalkov adds: “Boskoski will get eight years for this.” In other conversation, again allegedly between Mijalkov and Pavlovic, the former tells Pavlovic that he is unhappy with the way the news of the arrest was being presented on TV. “Channel 5 did it three times better than you, what’s the problem?” Mijalkov asks. “We will publish [the shots of the arrest] for five days. I will speak [to colleagues] now,” Pavlovic allegedly answers. In another conversation, which the SDSM claims was between Mijalkov and the previous owner of Channel 5 TV, Emil Stojmenov, Stojmenov congratulates Mijalkov on the arrest. Mijalkov responds: “I told you I’m starting [with other arrests] from Monday,” According to the audio conversation, Mijalkov then tells Stojmenov not to blur Boskoski’s face when posting footage from the arrest on the news. The SDSM presented another conversation, allegedly between Gordana Jankuloska, Minister for the Interior, and Martin Protoger, chief-of-staff of the Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, apparently right after the 2011 elections. The voice attributed to the minister tells Gruevski’s associate that everyone who worked for the SDSM or for Boskoski should be fired from the civil service. “They won’t work anywhere now. We should clean everything. There is no way that someone sitting in the headquarters of Rada (Sekjerinska, vice-president of the SDSM] should work in a state institution,” Jankuloska says. Zaev told Friday’s press conference said that he expected to be arrested after publishing these latest conversations. “Everything is possible with Mijalkov and Gruevski. We are hostages in our own country, where there is no system, but everything is settled by a small group, the family of Nikola Gruevski,” he said. The ruling VMRO-DPMNE, after the press conference of the SDSM, issued its own statement accusing Zaev of working for foreign intelligence and against his own country. “Zaev expressed many lies, false constructions and qualifications in order to realize a scenario against the country in order to come to power without the confidence of citizens,” the party said. “We will let him work for foreign scenarios and in the meantime VMRO-DPMNE will continue to work on the real needs of the citizens, to implement projects and programs that will improve their everyday lives,” the statement added. Gruevski, who has been in power since 2006, earlier called Zaev a foreign spy, although he has not said for which country he allegedly works. Gruevski also accused Zaev of threatening him in order to seize power. Zaev has been charged with espionage and with threatening top state officials. Five people have been arrested in the case. Zaev has also been ordered to hand over his passport. The press conference was a third in which Zaev published audio materials related to his long-awaited political “bomb”.

 

Montenegro Lags in Employing Minorities (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 20 February 2015)

Ethnic minorities in Montenegro remained very under-represented in public sector employment, a new report by a government ministry admits

Ethnic Montenegrins comprise 45 per cent of the country’s citizens but have just over 82 per cent of the jobs in the public administration, according to new government study. Ethnic Serbs make up 28 per cent of the population but have only 7.3 per cent of the jobs on the state payroll.

Ethnic Albanians who account for 5 per cent of the population occupy only 1.8 per cent of public-sector jobs. Bosniaks, Roma, Croats and Muslims are smaller minorities – but also have even smaller shares of the jobs in the state administration. The survey by the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights conducted in 51 state bodies aims to find out whether minorities in Montenegro suffer discrimination when it comes to civil service employment. The Ministry recalled that by law, members of minority communities should be proportionally represented in the public administration. Montenegrin law on employment guarantees equality of all employees while the law on civil servants prohibits the denial of rights to, or privileging of, people on political, ethnic, racial or religious grounds. Serbian and Albanian parties and organizations routinely claim that public-sector jobs are still determined by ethnic and political criteria and that so-called open competitions are meaningless. They also complain of "forced assimilation" of Serbs and Albanians who to declare themselves as ethnic Montenegrins in order to get jobs.

According the Minority Rights Group International 2014 report, minorities in Montenegro face economic exclusion as a result of difficulties in accessing public-sector jobs.