LOCAL PRESS

 

Merkel: Negotiating chapters can be opened any time now (RTS/Tanjug/Politika)

The first negotiating chapters in Serbia’s EU accession talks can be opened any time now, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Belgrade, at a joint press conference with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. She stressed that Serbia had shown willingness for compromise in the dialogue with Kosovo Albanian representatives and presented many initiatives with a view to strengthening stability and peace in the Western Balkans. When the chapters are opened, that should be taken into account and Serbia should be paid homage for the efforts it has taken, Merkel emphasized. She added that Germany supported reforms in Serbia, which have shown the first positive results. Vucic emphasized that the bilateral relations in the political and economic plan kept improving and that Serbia relied on Germany by expecting assistance in reforms and knowledge, above all. We are not asking aid from Germany, but help in knowledge, in order that we should be as hard-working as they and economically even more successful, said Vucic. I wish to thank Ms. Merkel for having been a pillar of stability for all of us and for always finding a way to help us when we had problems, added the Serbian Prime Minister.

 

Nikolic: Russia showed that it was a true friend of Serbia (Tanjug)

Commenting on the Russia veto on the British draft resolution on Srebrenica, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said that Russia had shown and proved that it was a true friend of Serbia. The Serbs were to have been punished not because they really committed genocide, but because they would not agree to blackmail and ultimatums, because they resisted the pressure to introduce sanctions against Russia and because they have uncompromising respect for truth and justice, said the Serbian President. He stressed that the resolution proposed by Great Britain had only one goal – the condemnation of the Serbian people. The attempt at marking as genocidal a nation that sacrificed one third of its population for freedom and peace during the First World War, a nation that was victim to genocide and persecution during the Second World War and then, after that war, renounced its statehood to form a country with those that committed genocide against it is absurd, stressed Nikolic. He emphasized that Serbia remained dedicated to reconciliation, peace and stability in the region and to the strengthening of friendship all over the world.

 

Odalovic: Merkel’s visit confirmation that we are on the right track (RTS)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic has told the morning broadcast of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is confirmation that Serbia is on the right track. He says political and economic cooperation are most important, that Serbia has been recognized as the pillar of stability and that Merkel’s message is that Serbia should continue in that direction. He pointed out that economic cooperation is important, especially with such a powerful state such as Germany and that Serbia created a favorable climate that will be recognized by German business people. “The course presently taken by Serbia depends significantly from this kind of support,” said Odalovic. He says that Merkel, who had visited Albania and intends to visits B&H, has many messages for the region, one of which will be that relations between Serbia and Albania are important since they have impact on the region. Odalovic assesses that this following visit to B&H will be important, especially after all the events over the past days in the UN Security Council regarding the resolution on Srebrenica and that all messages should be messages of peace, joint future and stabilization of the state-of-affairs in the region. Speaking about the dialogue in Brussels, Odalovic adds that he hopes Merkel will recognize what Serbia had done so far and how responsible it is towards this dialogue. He assessed the decision for the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to go to Srebrenica on 11 July as major, good quality, courageous and statehood. Honoring victims will be only in the function of reconciliation, says Odalovic. He says that the attempt of adopting the resolution on Srebrenica was stopped in a manner that was unnecessary for the UN Security Council and the world public, which didn’t contribute to anything, but deepened divisions. He points out that it is important to turn towards the future, to sanction those who committed crimes in wars and conflicts so the burden of collective responsibility could be taken off from anyone. Odalovic points out that the court in Pristina should finally process those responsible for war crimes among the Kosovo Albanians and hopes those who committed numerous crimes will be soon brought to justice. On the other side, this would help the region where there are those who are bearing the burden of collective responsibility for crimes, and that those responsible should be individualized and sanctioned, concluded Odalovic.

 

Selakovic: Resolution would have been a label forever (B92)

Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic has told TV B92 that if only once it is allowed to adopt the resolution then this becomes a label forever that is placed on a state and nation. “When Serbia and Republika Srpska would be mentioned in any subsequent resolution this resolution on Srebrenica would be mentioned,” said Selakovic, adding that this kind of resolution doesn’t lead to reconciliation. This resolution is of great importance for Serbia since at issue is a resolution of the most representative world organ. He says that nobody disputes that a horrible crime occurred, but the problem is the separation of this crime from others. Selakovic said that the Serbs and Bosniaks tried to resolve some issues with war and realized this was wrong, so it is better to sit at the table for hundred years and negotiate then to wage a war for one day.

 

SPS: Resokution didn’t lead to reconciliation in region (Tanjug)

The British draft resolution on Srebrenica was not an essential and compromise solution that would lead to the continuation of sincere reconciliation in the region, and that is why it is good that it was not adopted, said the official of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Djordje Milicevic. In a statement to Tanjug, he pointed out that reconciliation cannot arrive on new divisions, tensions and misunderstandings. “The stress must and should be on the culture of reconciliation, respect and mutual respect, but also on a balanced approach when it comes to all victims,” said Milicevic. He adds that the British resolution on Srebrenica didn’t appreciate in the right way Serbia’s constructive contribution to the stabilization process in the region. Milicevic recalled that the Serbian parliament was the only one in the region that condemned crimes against another nation, while at the same time the Serbian judiciary processed numerous people responsible for the events in Srebrenica. “Serbia has many times so far demonstrated its commitment and determination to fight for the conviction and sanction of all crimes. Serbia wants, and it has demonstrated, peace, stability, good neighborly relations, cooperation and prosperity in the region,” said Milicevic. He pointed out that the SPS fully supported the readiness of the Serbian Prime Minister to attend the marking of the 20^th anniversary of Srebrenica. “Serbia wishes to resolve all open issues, if any, through dialogue, but Serbia will also not allow anyone to humiliate it. The SPS fully supports the Serbian government in defending national and state interests, because only Serbia that defends its national and state interests can be strong and respected,” said Milicevic. He stressed that Serbia respected the integrity of B&H, but that in accordance with the Dayton Accords, it also protects the RS interests. “We are grateful to all those who helped us – Russia, China and many others who demonstrated readiness to help us. This is confirmed by the correctness of our foreign policy,” concluded Milicevic.

 

What on earth are the British doing…….? (Politika, by Julian Harston, British career diplomat and former UN Assistant Secretary General)

Over the years I became used to hearing this question as a British diplomat. The subtext was that the British were doing something clever and in their own interests, as usual, and even our enemies had a reluctant admiration for British self-serving intrigue.

With its permanent seat on the UN Security Council the permanent delegation in New York is one of the busiest UK Missions in the world. The Mission has a hand in the drafting of the majority of the Resolutions that go forward to the Security Council and a disproportionate influence on their content. Why then the initiative to put forward a sloppy draft, since amended at least seven times, on Srebrenica.

The UK has a bad conscience about Srebrenica? It should have. As a member of the Council the UK approved resolutions which refused a realistic increase in UNPROFOR troop levels to defend the so called Safe Areas. And more importantly the UK had within the military in UNPROFOR a large number of staff officers who were informing London directly of every military development and were kept better informed of events from the UK than any other contingent. The UK voice in New York should have been the loudest in warning of impending disaster. It was not.

So is it bad conscience, twenty years on, that drove the Foreign Office to lead the move towards a Srebrenica resolution? That would be some sort of justification, I suppose. But I think not.

Muslim fundamentalism is growing every day in Bosnia. The UK government has every reason to fear the export of such activity and to wish to do something about it. Perhaps better than that Muslims should focus their rage internally in the Balkans rather than in London or Manchester. So introduce a Resolution in the Security Council that will destabilise the Balkans, blame the Serbs as usual, and keep the problems local. Surely not. Have I really lived in Belgrade long enough to believe in conspiracy to this extent?

What then? The UK resolution, whether it fails or not, is a mistake. We have a saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If we try to believe that the UK drafters of the resolution really intended that it would help the reconciliation process, then we must assume that there is a level of naïveté, and lack of serious analysis in London and New York. This is unfortunately easier to believe now than at any time in the last fifty years. The UK has given up its leadership in international affairs to such an extent that it is regarded as and less than serious ally by the US, and is ignored in Europe.

If I had presented the UK Srebrenica draft to any, yes any, of my Ambassadors, I would have found the words “This will do us no good. Let us forget it” written in an elegant hand across the top of the front page.

The resolution hasn’t passed. The British Ambassador said he was shocked. Had he only looked around the table before he opened his mouth, he would have realized that there are no shocked faces. The outcome was predictable from the very beginning! The Americans, predictably, described the outcome as another “stain” on the UN. This way, as usual, they shifted the responsibility on the UN instead on the Security Council and those who decided to push the resolution despite its inevitable failure…

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

EP passes resolution on Srebrenica (Srna)

Members of the European parliament have adopted a resolution on Srebrenica, which strongly condemns the crime in Srebrenica. The resolution marks the crime in Srebrenica, in accordance with the judgments of the ICTY and the International Court of Justice, as genocide. As responsible for the mass execution of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica are marked “Bosnian Serb forces under the command of General Ratko Mladic, with the participation of paramilitary and irregular units”. “This is the biggest war crime that happened in Europe after the Second World War,” said the draft resolution.  The resolution recalls that some 1,200 residents of Srebrenica are still missing, and that thousands of women and children were deported and many women were raped. “The tragic events at Srebrenica have left deep emotional scars and create long-term obstacles to political reconciliation of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the text reads. It is pointed out to the responsibility of the United Nations, which did not fulfill the mandate to protect the inhabitants of the “safe zones”. The resolution strongly condemns not only the genocide in Srebrenica, but also all the other crimes in the war in the former Yugoslavia, and the families of the victims are offered condolences. “The European parliament strongly condemns the Srebrenica genocide and solemnly announces that such heinous crimes must never happen again and that it will do everything in its power that it is not repeated refuses every denial, relativization and false interpretation of genocide,” the document stresses.  The text of the resolution includes two amendment so Ivan Jakocevic, a Croatian MEP who proposed the resolution. They condemn the Russian veto at the UN on a British draft, commend the decision to proclaim July 11 a day of mourning in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Earlier today, the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress unanimously adopted its resolution on Srebrenica defining the crime as genocide.

 

Inzko: We will not be vanquished by evil (Fena)

2015 marks 20 years since the war in B&H was finally brought to an end. It also marks the anniversary of Srebrenica, the largest-scale atrocity committed in Europe since World War II, which two international tribunals have characterized as genocide. In the twenty years since the Srebrenica genocide was committed, families of innocent victims throughout the country have undergone a long, slow and painful journey to pursue justice and reconciliation. The innocent lives that were taken in the war in B&H cannot be restored. Each of the victims was unique and irreplaceable. The grief of those who loved them will never be assuaged. What we can do is to try and preserve and nurture what was positive and precious in the lives that were lost and in the communities that were destroyed. If we succeed in doing this we will ensure that the killers and those who wanted to divide the country and its people have not triumphed. This means that we need to engage, in earnest, to support the citizens of all ethnic backgrounds throughout B&H, who are tired of hearing about what divides them, and want to work together on the reforms needed to ensure a more prosperous future for themselves and their children.

Twenty years after the war, the job has not been completed and progress in B&H is often slow, not because the people of B&H do not want reconciliation but rather because it is undermined and prevented by some of the country’s leading politicians. Where politicians have failed to lead by example, others have shown us the way. For example, some years ago, the Women in Black, an association of citizens in Serbia opposed to the wars waged by Slobodan Milosevic, visited B&H and met with the Mothers of Srebrenica. This was an occasion of great courage and grace. It was a meeting of human beings determined to overcome evil and to ensure that the tragedy of the past has not the smallest chance of being repeated in the future. We must share and renew their determination today, the determination to ensure that the proliferation of ideologies that promote conflict and hatred are defeated so innocent lives are saved.

At Srebrenica on Saturday July 11th tens of thousands of B&H citizens will gather to mourn those who were murdered twenty years ago. Twenty years after the crime at Srebrenica, B&H has come a long way, but it has not yet completed its journey to reconciliation and lasting peace. For this reason we must see the job through to the end. Decent citizens want a society based on justice and equality – and I have not a shadow of doubt in my mind that decent citizens constitute an overwhelming majority. We do not stand mute in the face of evil. We are not powerless. We are resolved to continue building a society where the values that were attacked 20 years ago are upheld, a society in which justice prevails.

Shepherding B&H back into the European family, where it belongs, is a way of delivering justice and equality. It is also a meaningful tribute to those who died and we must see the job completed so that the lives were not lost in vain and so future generations can live in peace and dignity in a truly re-integrated B&H.

 

Dodik: Grateful to Russia and China for constancy (Srna)

The RS President Milorad Dodik has thanked Russia and China on a consistent stance at the UN Security Council disabling the adoption of a British draft resolution on Srebrenica, because, as he said, they were aware that its adoption would destabilize the region. “The same mistake is made by the European Parliament. The only right thing to do about this would be to form an international commission with sufficient authority and figures that are authoritative in such matters, which would draft a final report that would be binding for all,” Dodik told Srna. The very fact that primarily the Western countries – Great Britain, the European Union and United States in particular – are shying away from this means that they were the ones who created this situation and that they want to impose the truth created by themselves, not the actual truth. It does not matter, says Dodik, who forms the commission, whether it is the UN Security Council, the European Union or somebody else. What matters is that it establishes what really happened here 20 years ago, instead of having the “truth” imposed through political pressure. “I knew that the resolution was not going to be adopted the moment the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was an anti-Serb proposal and that he was not going to abandon the Serbs,” said Dodik. In that respect, he adds, Russia and China’s attempt to balance the British proposal which condemns only one side and disqualifies an entire nation is absolutely clear. “It is obvious that the passion of the British was so high that nothing could be done and that the Russians were forced to react this way,” Dodik believes.  President Dodik notes that the non-adoption of the British resolution on Srebrenica is good for the whole region. “I think the Russians have done the best thing possible for the region, because they didn’t allow the British cynicism estrange the peoples who have been living in these parts for centuries and leave no chance of reconciliation ever in the future. This gives a chance to reconciliation,” says Dodik. Nobody says there was no crime in Srebrenica; it was an enormous crime and condolences should be expressed to all the victims and their families, said Dodik referring to both the Serbs and the Bosniaks. “The Serbs have demonstrated that they are willing to pay respects to all the victims, but not in a selective manner, which is precisely the main point of the British draft resolution – a dramatic division among people, a permanent departure by the Bosniaks from the responsibility for any crime,” says Dodik. In a way, he said, the crime against the Bosniaks in Srebrenica has obscured the fact that until the big crime in Srebrenica in 1995, the Bosniaks had already killed 3,500 Serb civilians. “Unfortunately, the Brits have not tried to understand this at any point,” said Dodik, adding that Russia managed to prevent the brokering and divisions spread by the British in this region, not only now, but throughout our history.” Dodik asserts that a possible adoption of a similar resolution on Srebrenica by the European Parliament on Thursday in Strasbourg could cut short the European path for the whole region. “No one has the right to expect from the people whom you are trying to disqualify in such a shameful manner to be thankful to you. We won’t forget this action by the British no matter how small we are and how big they allegedly are. We can’t erase from our memory this attempt at a horrible historic disqualification of a people,” said Dodik. The RS President does not feel any kind of triumph over the non-adoption of the British resolution. On the contrary, he thinks that all this was unnecessary and could have been avoided if the British had been sensible and had had a sensible approach to the whole matter. “They were the ones who made us fight the way we did by giving an offer some time ago. I am happy that I had a chance to clear all this with Minister Lavrov on an earlier occasion in the best possible way,” said Dodik. The British resolution on Srebrenica was blocked at the UN Security Council on Wednesday by Russia which vetoed the document, while China, Nigeria, Angola and Venezuela abstained from voting. The remaining 10 members voted in favor.

 

Cvijanovic: Deep respect for all victims of war (Srna)

The RS government expresses deep respect for all the victims of the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and their families, and also gratitude for the understanding and efforts invested by Serbia, Russia, China and other states that warned about the damage that the proposed resolution on Srebrenica at the UN Security Council could have on the internal relations in B&H, says the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic. Following a working and consultative meeting of the government on Wednesday, she said that the government had warned on several occasions that adopting such a resolution by the UN Security Council would not contribute to the building of trust in B&H, rather a further destabilization of internal relations in the country and that it would seriously disturb the efforts for reaching minimum agreement on numerous issues of interest for the citizens of both entities and Brcko District. “The government is determined to work, through dialogue and in cooperation with the local authorities in Srebrenica, towards further improvement of inter-ethnic relations and overall political and business environment in the municipality,” said Cvijanovic. She added that the government was fully committed to the Dayton Peace Accord which enabled B&H to function in peace and build its democratic capacity.

 

Durakovic: We know why we’ll be at Srebrenica on 11 July, it’s on Vucic to show why he’s coming (Patria)

“We know why we’ll be at Srebrenica on 11 July. That day we will bury 136 victims, and with the commemoration we will remember the buried and killed whose remains have still not been found. The funeral is a dignified act and everyone who comes on 11 July to Srebrenica should think about why they came,” Camil Durakovic, president of the organizing board, told Patria.

Durakovic says that Aleksandar Vucic, prime minister of Serbia, confirmed his attendance at the commemoration, and no one will dispute that he is coming to Potocari. “It is on Vucic to show his relationship to the victims and show whether he is truly repenting on behalf of the Serb people and accepting the genocide committed, or coming in terms of protocol to collect political points like Boris Tadic once did,” says Durakovic. Recently the Serbian PM, Durakovic recalls, said that he would not permit anyone to humiliate Serbia. “Our response to that is that we will not permit anyone to humiliate the victims of Srebrenica either,” says Durakovic.

 

Russian ambassador not welcome in Srebrenica on 11 July (Oslobodjenje)

Given the encouraging messages we heard recently from Serbia, it was clear that all this ended in the Serbia-Russia relationship. “I think that Russia in general did not go into the details of the genocide, details of the Hague ruling, but agreed everything with Serbia,” this was the reaction from Camil Durakovic, president of the organizing board. Russia, Durakovic reminds, thus far has respected and greeted the work of the Hague Tribunal, but with this move showed that it does not respect the rulings. “This is another blow to us survivors. This is a new global injustice toward Srebrenica. The organizing board will immediately send a letter to the Russian Embassy in B&H with the message that they are not welcome in Srebrenica. We don’t need friendship or any other kind of cooperation with them after this,” said Durakovic.

 

 

 

Dragan Vasiljkovic arrives in Croatia to face war crimes charges (Hina)

Australian citizen Dragan Vasiljkovic, who commanded Serb paramilitary forces during Croatia’s war of independence in the early 1990s, arrived in Croatia on Thursday to face charges of war crimes. He arrived at Zagreb airport shortly after 11.30 hours and will be transferred to the southern coastal city of Split where local prosecutors are investigating his role in war crimes committed against prisoners of war and civilians. “Dragan Vasiljkovic has been extradited after a long legal battle that began nine years ago and is now in Croatia. He will be tried like any other accused,” Croatian Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic told a special news conference. Court-appointed lawyer Darko Stanic expects Vasiljkovic to be formally indicted as soon as he is questioned by the prosecutors, which should happen within the next 16 hours. Vasiljkovic is most likely to select a lawyer of his own choosing. Vasiljkovic, also known as Captain Dragan in Croatia and as Daniel Snedden in Australia, was arrested in Perth in 2006 and since then he spent most of the time in prison awaiting extradition.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Merkel Praises Serbia for Kosovo 'Compromises' (BIRN, by Igor Jovanovic, 9 July 2015)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Serbia for being willing to compromise during dialogue with Kosovo and said the opening of the first chapters in EU accession negotiations was only a “matter of time”

After meeting Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Wednesday, Merkel told a press conference that Belgrade has shown great flexibility in the Brussels-backed dialogue to normalise relations with Kosovo. “You can count on our [German] support. We can see that there is a great willingness to compromise with the Serbian side. We will point out that during the discussions within the EU,” Merkel said. She also said that Germany strongly supports the austerity measures the Serbian government introduced in order to revitalize the economy. “People have to tighten their belts, but that measure has provided initial results,” Merkel said, adding that the Serbian economy is on a healthy basis now. At the joint press conference, Vucic said that Merkel’s two-day visit was a “great honour” for Serbia because she was a “key player in the stabilization process in the Balkans.” Vucic said Serbia had three major objectives - to maintain regional peace and stability, continue with economic reforms and further accelerate European integration. He added that he “did not pray” to Merkel for financial support or the opening of the first chapters in the talks with the EU. “But I said that Serbia has done a lot and it was not always easy,” he added. Hours before Merkel’s visit to Belgrade, German company Continental signed a memorandum with Serbian government on the opening of a new factory in the northern Serbian town of Subotica. The investment should be worth around 17 million euros and employ 500 workers. Merkel and Vucic also discussed problems with migrants from the Middle East and Africa who are trying to reach the EU via Balkan countries. The German Chancellor said that Serbia was facing a great challenge since it became a transit country for migrants and that the EU will try to help. Serbian police director Milorad Veljovic said on June 22 that around 1,000 people try to enter Serbia every day via Macedonia and Bulgaria after fleeing conflicts in the Middle East or Africa. The German Chancellor arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday as part of her Balkan tour. Before Serbia, she went to Albania where she said that the EU had no timetable for Tirana to start membership talks, which depends on the pace of reforms. On Thursday, Merkel will meet Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and civil society representatives. After that she will travel to Sarajevo, where she ends her Balkan tour.

 

Germany's Merkel Arrives In Bosnia To Back Economic Reform (AP, 9 July 2015)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Sarajevo, the last stop of her Balkan tour that included Albania and Serbia. All three countries are aspiring for European Union membership. Merkel is meeting Bosnian leaders Thursday to urge them to launch social and economic reforms that would create jobs and speed up the EU membership process. Although the country's Muslim Bosnian, Serb and Croat leaders signed a joint declaration in January expressing readiness to implement all EU reforms proposed by Germany and Britain, the Bosnian Serbs revoked their commitment in June. Merkel is also expected to pay tribute to victims of Bosnia's 1995 Srebrenica massacre ahead of the July 11 ceremony marking two decades since the worst carnage in Europe after World War II.

 

Merkel Wants to Speed Serbian, Albanian Accession to EU to Counter Russia (Sputnik, 9 July 2015)

Commenting on Chancellor Angela Merkel's tour of the Balkans, business newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) lamented that despite the serious problems faced by the European Union over Greece, Merkel is sticking to promises of EU membership for Serbia and Albania, "in order to prevent them from coming under the influence of Russia."

"As if the EU did not have enough problems, Angela Merkel made promises for Albania and Serbia's accession to the EU," the newspaper noted on Thursday, on the eve of the wrap-up of the Chancellor's tour of Albania, Serbia and Bosnia. 

On Wednesday in Tirana, Albania, Merkel promised that there would be no artificial delays in the Albanian and Serbian drive for membership in the supranational bloc. "I can tell you, nothing will be artificially delayed. There won't be any difficulties constructed," Merkel noted, adding that the countries' EU entry is related to the union's credibility.

DWN argues that the Chancellor's growing attention toward the Balkan region can be explained by the fact that "countries such as Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are trying to gain influence in the region."

The newspaper is wary of Merkel's promises, noting that "experience shows that the inclusion of new countries into the European Union for geopolitical reasons often comes at a tremendous cost: Greece also became a member of the EU at the insistence of the United States. The experience has not turned out particularly favorably." 

DWN noted that as with the case of Greece prior to its entry, accounting of the statistical data provided by Serbia and Albania remains poor, and both countries are still very far from reaching EU standards in a number of areas. The paper also warned that regional corruption threatens to turn EU projects into a financial black hole.

In addition to Greece, other Balkan nations to have been granted EU membership include Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. Serbia and Albania are presently candidates for membership, but accession talks have not yet begun. German media reporting on the Chancellor's visit to the region have noted that apart from economic issues, the two countries also have problems of ethnic strife and territorial conflicts, which could hamper their ambitions to join the EU. In Serbia's case, this includes the continuing refusal to accept the independence of its southern region of Kosovo, which broke off and was given recognition by Western countries following a NATO bombing campaign in 1999.

 

Russia vetoes UN move to call Srebrenica 'genocide' (BBC, 8 July 2015)

Russia has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have described the Srebrenica massacre as "genocide". Four other members of the council abstained while the remainder voted in favour. The killing of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995 by Bosnian Serb troops was the worst massacre in Europe since World War Two. The motion had angered Serbia, which rejects the term. It had been drafted to mark the 20th anniversary of the atrocity, which came amid the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia into independent states. During the Bosnian War, which saw Serbia-backed Bosnian Serb forces fighting the Muslim-led Bosnian government, thousands seeking shelter at what was supposed to be a UN refuge were slaughtered. The resolution said that "acceptance of the tragic events at Srebrenica as genocide is a prerequisite for reconciliation". But Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said adopting it "would be counter-productive, would lead to greater tension in the region". The vote had been put back a day to allow the US and the UK - which drafted the resolution - to try to persuade Russia not to veto it. The Serbian President, Tomislav Nikolic, called it a "great day" for his country, the AFP agency reported. Serbia does not have a seat on the Security Council, and had asked ally Russia to block the resolution, warning it would be divisive. The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said: "Russia's veto is heart-breaking for those families and it is a further stain on this council's record." A UN tribunal at The Hague has already convicted numerous people of genocide in relation to the Srebrenica killings, but a formal recognition by the UN could compel individual states to pursue prosecutions.

 

Macedonia Opposition: Snap Election Deal is Dead (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 8 July 2015)

Macedonia's opposition on Wednesday said that crisis talks with the government had failed, there will be no early elections and it will resume its protests and publish more recorded conversations of top officials

Social Democrat leader Zoran Zaev told a press conference in Skopje on Wednesday that they consider the June 2 deal on snap elections by next April null and void. The internationally-brokered deal reached with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski envisaged early elections preceded by a transitional period, but the two sides have failed to agree on the details of the government that would run the country until then. "The negotiating process has failed. We will continue revealing the truth for Macedonia," Zaev told the press conference. "We tried to reach a deal to overcome the crisis in a peaceful and civilized way but Gruevski does not want this and deliberately stalled the process. The June 2 deal is off. There will be no elections in April 2016 because they cannot happen without the opposition," Zaev added. The warning came after Gruevski told the media that no conditions existed for fresh talks with the opposition. The opposition then gave Gruevski until Wednesday to set a fresh meeting of party leaders. The crisis in Macedonia revolves around claims of widespread illegal surveillance. The opposition accuses Gruevski of orchestrating the surveillance of over 20,000 people and is demanding that he and his government resign. Gruevski has insisted that compromising tapes of officials' conversations, which have been released in batches by the opposition Social Democrats since February, were “created” by unnamed foreign intelligence services and given to the opposition to destabilise the country. The tapes, published in batches since February, appear to reveal the government's direct involvement in election fraud, abuse of the justice system and media and even suggest it covered up the murder of a young man by a police officer. Another factor that may escalate matters is the possibility that the opposition leader could be arrested. Last week Zaev upped the ante with the authorities, daring the courts to apprehend him and saying he will not respect further court orders concerning his "politically motivated" charges. Among other things, Zaev is charged with attempted blackmail of the Prime Minister, and, since he failed to check in with the court this Monday, as ordered, the formal conditions for his arrest now exist. "That is the least of my worries right now," Zaev said on Wednesday, when asked whether he was worried about possible arrest. Media meanwhile mention the forthcoming July 13 visit by the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland as another chance for the embattled Macedonian leaders to strike a deal on the negotiating table.