LOCAL PRESS

 

Government warns: Brezovica is the property of the Republic of Serbia (Tanjug)

At an emergency session, the Serbian government adopted the text in which potential investors are warned that the “Brezovica” Ski Center is owned by the Republic of Serbia and that the decision on the expropriation of this resort passed by the authorities in Pristina is illegal.

“The Serbian government established today, at an emergency session, the Conclusion whereby it adopts the text in which potential investors are warned that the Brezovica Ski Center is on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija in the property of the Republic of Serbia and that the decision on the expropriation of this resort, passed by the Kosovo institutions, is illegal,” reads the statement.  Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who was presiding over this session, stressed that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was very complex and that it required the efforts of all government members towards protecting the interests of Serbia and the Serbs, the Office for Media Relations said.

 

Vucic: Brezovica usurped, we are not giving Gazivode (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has stated that Serbia’s property was seized in Brezovica with the help of the international community. “Fine, if you support that and if your benchmark is to hand over Gazivode, then I say – I am not giving Gazivode, so let me see what will you do next,” said Vucic. “Perhaps you will dismiss me, you have enough media under control in Serbia, you have enough of those who are lying every day on your behalf, I tell you – I am not giving Gazivode and I will tell this Federica Mogherini if I go at all to Brussels on the 13^th,” said Vucic. He told a press conference that the arrest of the employees in Brezovica is a difficult situation for Serbia and that Serbia will try to pay for an add in some of the largest and most important British journals where we would announce that our property in Brezovica was seized, with the support of the international community, then handed over to a French company. He said that people were arrested yesterday, without anybody knowing why. He said that Serbia would do everything to prevent Kosovo’s UNESCO membership. “The forecast is such that we will have a difficult time to beg for help and support, but we will do our best. Still, numbers are such that they do not support us, they have numerous countries, from Antigua to Barbuda, with which they make up a majority against us,” Vucic told the press in the Serbian government. “I do not agree with Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO, I clearly spoke with Hammond about all disastrous consequences of such decision. That is a big game that is underway where we are trying to protect our national interests and defend Serbia,” said Vucic. When it comes to the opening of the negotiating chapters with the EU, Vucic says that the attempts to incorporate into the negotiating platform for opening Chapter 35 decrees that pre-determine the outcome of the Brussels dialogue and impose Pristina’s stand on Kosovo’s status are a worse solution for Serbia than formal recognition of Kosovo’s independence. “This piece of information is even more serious, the draft of a horrible piece of paper is worse for us than the formal recognition. This is worse,” said Vucic, noting that everything that Pristina didn’t manage to achieve through dialogue is trying to do this way. Everything they didn’t manage in direct dialogue, they are trying to include in this draft, said Vucic. “I hope this will not be the proposal.”

Vucic-Hammond (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has stressed in talks with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond that they had discussed the migrant crisis, reforms and Serbia’s EU path. “Serbia accepts all solutions in regard to the migrant crisis, we are not complaining, we are behaving humanly towards those who are arriving from war-torn areas, and if we are to have a more important role we will accept it,” said Vucic. He stressed that they also discussed Kosovo’s initiative for UNESCO membership, and stability in the region. Vucic said he expected Chapters 32 and 35 to be opened by year’s end and Chapters 23 and 24 next year. “There are a lot of problems for us concerning Chapter 35, but we will discuss more in Brussels on 13 October,” Vucic told a joint press conference with Hammond.

Asked by a journalist about Serbian monasteries in Kosovo and its UNESCO membership, Hammond said that Great Britain is of the opinion that by joining UNESCO, Kosovo will have an additional obligation to protect better the Serbian heritage in Kosovo.

 

 

Dacic: Difficult battle against Kosovo’s UNESCO membership (RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) that Belgrade will have a hard time persuading UNESCO members not to vote for the admission of Kosovo to the organization at the forthcoming UNESCO Executive Council and General Assembly meetings. By October 12, we will know whether the admission of Kosovo will be on the agenda of the Executive Council meeting, and by October 21, we will know if it will be supported by that body, Dacic said. “A difficult battle awaits us since Western countries are exerting enormous pressure on the countries that have not recognized Kosovo not to vote against,” Dacic said. Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO is a difficult issue facing the Serbian state and people, because it is striking at the very essence of existence and identity of our people. This land is where the Serbian church and statehood were born. If this is to become Kosovo’s cultural heritage, then it is an attack on the identity of the Serbian nation, said Dacic. Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO would be as absurd as admitting the Islamic State to that organization, as one cannot expect seeing those who have not so long ago been destroying Serbian monuments starting to protect them all of a sudden, Dacic said.

 

Rama: Sorry for the stoning of the bus (Tanjug)

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama apologized for the stoning of the bus with the Serbian football players and appealed for the victory of decency. He issued the apology during a conversation with a group of students from Serbia and the Minister of Education, Srdjan Verbic.

“You know that during the matches even neighbors are trying to take each other’s eyes out, but it is important that Albania wins, Minister (Verbic) will say that it is important that Serbia wins, but the most important thing is that decency that we represent together wins”, said Rama. He expressed his regret that a boy, as he said, 14 to 15 years old, threw stones last night, at the bus with the Serbian national team, and said that it is proof of how much still needs to be done, due to the fact that the “old generation carries the hatred of changes and brings dreams of a new world in danger of nationalism and the spirit of hatred” and added that the exclusiveness is always present. Rama received Serbian students in the building of the Albanian government, saying that the building is “a center for launching of dialogues”, which is the testament of the history and the rule, but also of the art and culture, and that part of it is always accessible to the public. The Prime Minister thanked the students for the gifts they presented him. Previously Minister Verbic and students were received by the Minister of Education Lindita Nikolja and 60 Albanian students. They prepared a special welcoming program. Serbian students will follow the football match Albania - Serbia at the Arena in the Albanian town of Elbasan, and will be located in Albanian families.

 

Djuric: Deadline for ZSO statute is 25 December (Danas, by Jelena Tasic)

Serbia will finance, even after the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), the work of all 29 provisional bodies in all 29 municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the work of the ZSO and it municipalities-members. By bringing out in the public the issue of, as they say ‘parallel institutions’, whose existence is not linked in any way with the ZSO, or any other topic, Pristina consciously influences the slowing down of the implementation of the agreement, which Belgrade interprets only the way it is written. In public statements, Pristina officials often include additionally non-existent contents into the Brussels agreements. Thus, they speculate with the deadlines for drafting the ZSO statute, even though the document explicitly states that the statute needs to be completed by 25 December – four months from the signing of the agreement at the latest, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric tells Danas, denying the claims of Pristina officials that Belgrade and Pristina had agreed in Brussels that the ZSO will not be established before all ‘parallel Serbian institutions’ are abolished.

Pristina claims that the agreement on the ZSO “directly transfers” the Serbian education to the Kosovo system. Is the Serbian government aware that this may lead to the mass migration of the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija?

“Healthcare and education in Kosovo and Metohija remain in the Serbian system – they will be financed from the budget and under the control of the Republic of Serbia. This has never been the topic of the Brussels dialogue. Any other interpretation of what has been signed in Brussels is inappropriate.”

What will be discussed in the continuation of the political negotiations on 13 October? Is Belgrade ready to work on the concept of the new phase of the dialogue that should lead to the signing of an international and legally-binding agreement in 2016, as announced by Kosovo officials, referring to Germany?

“In contact with EU representatives, we have already nominated the topics that we are interested to discuss in the continuation of the normalization process between Belgrade and Pristina. Some of them are the status and property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, providing participation of Serbs in Pristina institutions in the guaranteed percentage, establishment of the Belgrade-Pristina airline, as well as the issue of property in general. I expect next week, apart from these topics, the prime ministers to also discuss with Ms. Mogherini the dynamics of the implementation of already reached agreements. The Brussels talks do not have an alternative for us, unless someone doesn’t see freezing of the process or destabilization in the region as an alternative.”

Does this mean that the status of Kosovo and Metohija has been resolved, as Pristina also claims, and in what status and institutional framework are these relations actually “normalized”?

“For Belgrade, the status of Kosovo and Metohija is defined by the Serbian Constitution and UNSCR 1244. I am sure that it is possible to make significant shifts in the normalization of relations and for the daily life of citizens in Kosovo and Metohija if the status issue is left aside during that process, and if there is mutual will for direct talks on topics that can be resolved without EU mediation.”

How do you explain the stand of the Defense Ministry that “existence of Kosovo armed forces, only regarding operational capacity, doesn’t pose a real threat for Serbia”? Is this the stand of the entire government, because Kosovo and Metohija, according to the Constitution, is formally part of the Serbian state?

“The Office for Kosovo and Metohija does not engage in security estimates or other analysis that are in the competence of other state institutions, but it is certain that the Serbian government and relevant ministries are permanently engaged in protecting our national interests. The political stand of the Serbian government on military presence in Kosovo and Metohija is principled and it is based on what is contained in UNSCR 1244 and the Kumanovo agreement, which do not envisage the possibility of some army of Kosovo.”

How do you comment the assessments of Kosovo officials that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) government turned out to be “the most serious” of all past governments in Belgrade in the formal-legal encompassing of the “Kosovo reality” and implementation of Ahtisaari’s plan, which the Serbian parliament entirely rejected in 2007?

“It is true that this Serbian government has done more than all previous governments on the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, improvement of living conditions of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija and united performance of Serb political representatives in provisional institutions. We have done this by treating Kosovo and Metohija as the autonomous province of Serbia and we will do so in the future as well. Placing the dialogue in the context of Ahtisaari’s plan is groundless, because it is neither part of the Brussels agreement nor an accompanying document nor does Belgrade recognize it as relevant.”

Why is then the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is fighting together with the Serbian government against Kosovo’s UNESCO membership, seeking guarantees for the implementation of Annex 5 of Ahitsaari’s plan, which you have also announced as the framework for the talks on the church heritage?

“That document has specific weight in international communication, and it is part of the political reality in Kosovo and Metohija to such an extent that it is integrated into the constitution of provisional institutions of self-administration in Pristina and binding for all Albanian political structures. I will remind that Annex 5 of this document, among other things, contains a decree according to which Pristina is obliged to guarantee the inviolability of movable and immovable property of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Today, when legislative drafts are passable in Pristina and which threaten to seize property from the Serbian Orthodox Church, and when the initiative for unique redrawing of history is launched in international organizations, we resort to all available arguments in protecting our state, church and cultural heritage.”

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Alliance for Change remains in B&H Council of Ministers? (klix.ba)

The executive branch of the FB&H is still not formed and currently the reconstruction of the FB&H government and the B&H Council of Ministers is being speculated. The attitude of the most powerful Bosniak party in B&H is clear: the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) remains loyal to the Alliance for Change at state level. This week, the internal authorities of the SDA will hold sessions, where they will discuss the results of negotiations in regards to forming a coalition at the level of entity of the Federation of B&H with several political parties, among which is the Union for a Better Future of B&H (SBB). The SDA General Secretary Amir Zukic said that the party authorities will take the most optimal, concrete and effective approach to the way of functioning of government in the next three years, in order to end the process of reforms which has begun. “The fact is that the situation in B&H is gradually improving”, Zukic said. The SDA caucus whip in the B&H House of Representatives Asim Sarajlic recently stated that with the new coalition partners from the FB&H entity he can even discuss the quotas at state level, but that the SDA will not give up on the Alliance for Change. It triggered speculation that the SBB never forced anyone to leave the government and that the Democratic Front willingly left the Government of the FB&H. “Dialogue within the branches of the government should be conducted at the sessions, not using the media to send announcements and attitudes to colleagues from the government. I think that is not a functional method of work”, Zukic said. He added that the SDA is committed to the Alliance for Change in the B&H Council of Ministers considering that the Alliance for Change showed its commitment to the European B&H by now. “Only the politically uneducated people in B&H can believe that only one group of people can be given welfare,” Zukic said. He didn’t want to confirm nor exclude the possibility of the removal of the Democratic Front from the B&H Council of Ministers. “We won’t force anyone to leave. If somebody feels that their voice is not heard and that he can’t make any effect, that is his problem, not the problem of the SDA”, as Zukic concluded. It is symbolic that recently the Deputy Defense Minister of B&H Emir Suljagic (DF) said in the media that he considers that the DF should leave all the government levels. The government in the FB&H has been in crisis since the Democratic Party partly left the FB&H government.

 

Covic: The SDA and SBB agreement doesn’t bother any of the other two peoples (Novo vrijeme)

After the meeting with Bakir Izetbegovic and Denis Zvizdic, the President of the HDZ B&H Dragan Covic stated for the press that, in addition to discussing the budget and coordination mechanisms, they have also discussed about what was negotiated so far between the SDA and SBB. “I hope that those negotiations will intensify over the weekend and that we will reach one new, stable majority, and I consider that could happen in November, when we would have an established authority at all levels. Of course, the cantonal levels are a story for themselves, and we already have a case where SBB supported the government in two cantons,” Covic said. He noted that they will discuss the possible reconstruction of the Council of Ministers after the SDA and SBB negotiate all details. To the statement that Mladen Bosic, the President of the SDS, said that the SBB is not a desirable partner for the SDS in the B&H Council of Ministers, Covic commented the following: “At this moment, it is really not important who likes whom or who loves whom. I did not like certain things either, but I agreed to them, but you can be sure that not one of the remaining two peoples will have anything against the agreement between the SDA and SBB. Hence I hope, as I said, that we will all together be able to talk about new majorities, which will certainly not exclude the Council of Ministers. Mr. Radoncic has not spoken about some personal interests in the participation in the government so far, instead the discussions were dealing with how B&H can head towards the EU faster and stronger,” Covic pointed out. He said that he cannot assess the situation in the country at this moment, one year after the elections, because each citizen sees the situation as it is now. However, Covic is convinced that the situation will be a lot better in 15 days.

 

Declarations on Genocide not proposed for the new session (Novo vrijeme)

The new, regular session of the Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly has been scheduled for 20 October, while the request for holding a special session of the entity parliament on the work of the Alliance for Changes at the level of B&H was not submitted to the Assembly yet. Special session on the work of the Alliance for Changes was being announced by SNSD, and the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that the session might be held by the end of the month. After yesterday’s session, it was stated that the Draft Declaration on Genocide by the Independent State of Croatia will also be considered at the regular session, upon request of the delegate of NDP Dragan Cavic. The other two declarations which have been removed from the agenda earlier, on the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica whose consideration was requested by the caucus of delegates of the Coalition “Homeland”, as well as the declaration on the acknowledgement of genocide against Armenians which was initiated by the RS President Milorad Dodik, have not been proposed for the new session of the Assembly. The Vice-President of the RS Assembly Nenad Stevandic confirmed to the press that there are 25 items on the agenda, among which is also the report on the work of the RS Special Prosecution, whose consideration was requested by the opposition delegates.

 

Durakovic: Vucic was the first to respond to the invitation to come to Srebrenica (klix.ba)

Srebrenica borders with Serbia, we cannot function and live unless we have open economic opportunities towards Serbia, said the Mayor of Srebrenica Municipality Camil Durakovic on the occasion of the arrival of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Srebrenica. Durakovic said that the invitation to the Investment-Development Conference was addressed to the B&H Presidency, Prime Ministers and Presidents of the entities, the Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic, the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, and the President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, i.e. to all regional leaders who stayed in Srebrenica on July 11th, on the occasion of marking the 20th anniversary of the genocide. “In a way, we want them to come to this conference in another light, to talk in a positive sense and present our resources, possibilities and potentials of future investments, which will not be possible without these countries”, said Durakovic. He added that all those who were in Srebrenica on July 11th will now have an opportunity to come again and try to do something in order to improve the life of people and make Srebrenica an example. “For the first time, we have created an investment-development conference, not a donor conference, where certain economic projects will be presented with the aim of economic development and creation of new jobs. Several infrastructure projects will also be there, which are a prerequisite for the development of economy,” Durakovic added. He pointed out that the Prime Minister of Serbia was the first to respond to the sent invitation. “Regardless of the difficult past, we are all aware that a lot of evil happened between B&H and Serbia, but that there were also attempts to head towards honest reconciliation. We will send a call from Srebrenica to finally do something concrete, besides of the words of support,” Durakovic said.

 

USAID welcomes new mission director in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Oslobodjenje)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is pleased to announce the arrival of its newly appointed USAID Mission Director for B&H Peter Duffy. As Mission Director, Duffy oversees the largest portion of the U.S. Government’s civilian assistance budget to B&H, totaling $28 million in 2015. His arrival signals the U.S. government’s ongoing commitment to our bilateral relationship and to promoting the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration by fostering more effective and accountable institutions that meet citizens’ needs and creating a competitive, market-oriented economy that provides better economic opportunities for all citizens. Prior to his appointment Duffy served as a Deputy Mission Director at USAID/Afghanistan. His past assignments include Director of the Program Office at USAID/Afghanistan, where he oversaw strategic planning, donor coordination, and monitoring and evaluation for the USAID’s overall portfolio of projects, than Program Office Director for the USAID Mission to Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. He also previously served in Kosovo and Pakistan. “I am eager to direct the USAID mission here in B&H, a beautiful country with a rich blend of culture and heritage and vast natural resources. Over the next three years, under my leadership, USAID will continue to support efforts to create a better business environment, provide more economic opportunities, strengthen rule of law, and promote democratic principles to improve the lives of B&H citizens,” Duffy said. To date, the U.S. government, primarily through USAID, has provided more than $1.6 billion in assistance to support economic, democratic and social progress in B&H.

 

Moscow authorities against the forcible overthrow of the government (RTCG)

Anything that in any way resembles the Ukrainian Maidan, that is deliberate and is heading towards the forcible overthrowing of the legitimately elected government, is condemned by the official policy of the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin personally, said a longtime foreign editor of the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant and special correspondent for the Balkans, Gennady Sysoev. “There is a reason to consider protests in Podgorica as something that reminds the Maidan revolution - there are tents, protest walks that are not approved, radical demands ... Official Moscow would never support something like that anywhere in the world,” Gennady Sysoev said in an interview with daily Dnevne novine. Commenting the fact that demonstrators are carrying Russian flags and the pictures of the President of Russia, Sisoyev said it would be wrong to consider those details as the alleged support of Moscow. “Russian officials think that the relations between the authorities and the opposition are an internal affair of each country. It was, after all, publicly told to Beta, and almost all media in Montenegro reported it. Let me say once again, it is known that Russia led by President Putin, strongly opposes the forcible overthrow of a legitimately elected government,” Sisoyev said. When asked how many Montenegrin foreign policy goals - NATO - is present in the Russian media, Sisoyev said that it certainly is not the center of attention. “Most articles on Montenegro are about tourism. After all, during the summer season, every day there were at least ten flights from Moscow to Montenegro. So the Russians are coming to spend the summer holidays here, because they like it. I see no reason why something would change in the future,” he stressed. Moscow, he said, does not hide that it does not like the expansion of NATO.

“But, as President Putin told Prime Minister Djukanovic in 2004, Russia would respect the decision of the citizens of Montenegro on all matters including NATO,” Sisoyev concluded.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Kosovo MPs stage tear gas protest in parliament (BBC, 8 October 2015)

Opposition MPs in Kosovo have let off tear gas in the national parliament chamber in a noisy protest over a government deal with Serbia. The gas disrupted the session and made two MPs faint. There were also loud whistles and insults from the opposition, Kosovapress news reported.

The EU-brokered deal grants more powers to the mainly Serb areas of Kosovo. Kosovo's ethnic Albanians broke away from Serbia in an armed revolt in 1999, then declared independence in 2008. The new deal - to establish an "Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities" - endangers Kosovo's territorial integrity, opposition MPs argue. Both Serbia and Kosovo have begun negotiations aimed at eventual EU membership, though Serbia has made more progress on that path. Kosovo's government denounced the opposition's actions, blamed on opposition party leader Albin Kurti, as beyond "the bounds of institutional and democratic behaviour". Ramush Haradinaj, head of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), warned of "even bigger actions than throwing tear gas... in the assembly chamber". "It is not a big deal that two MPs passed out, compared to what future actions are going to be," he said, quoted by Kosovapress.

 

Chapter 35 of Kosovo issue "worse than recognizing its independence": Serbian PM (Xinhua, 8 October 2015)

BELGRADE -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Belgrade Thursday that chapter 35, dealing with Kosovo issue, in EU integration negotiations presents a special problem to Serbia. He made this remark after he met with visiting UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond, who in separate meetings talked with Vucic and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic about the on-going dialogue with Kosovo, its aspirations to become a member of UNESCO that Serbia objects to, as well as the refugee crisis in the region and the continuation of economic and political reforms of Serbia. Vucic said that the chapter 35 of the EU acquis will be discussed on Oct. 13 in Brussels, when Vucic will meet Kosovo PM Isa Mustafa and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. According to him attempts are made to put some declarations in the negotiation platform for this chapter that predetermine the outcome of the dialogue with Kosovo held in Brussels, which is for Serbia "worse than recognizing its independence." "This information is even harder as the draft of this horrific paper is worse for us than to formally recognize the independence of Kosovo," he said, hoping that this will not be the official proposal of the negotiation platform. For his part, Hammond said Serbia's progress in European integration demands normalization of relations with its southern province Kosovo which unilaterally declared independence in 2008. "The progress in EU accession demands a progress in normalization of relations with Kosovo, and result of Vucic's engagement in the dialogue is that there was an important progress made here, and we welcome this," Hammond said after talking to Vucic. He estimated that at least one of the negotiation chapters will be opened this year, as the country made visible progress on its EU path, and made some key reforms. However, Hammond said that UK supports Kosovo's aspirations to become part of the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), although it is not a member of the United Nations. The membership in UNESCO will increase Kosovo's obligations to protect Serbian heritage on its territory, not the other way round, Hammond said.

 

Albania fans arrested with weapons before Serbia match (AP, by Llazar Semini, 7 October 2015)

TIRANA, Albania — Police in Albania have arrested a man who claimed to have flown a drone carrying a nationalist banner over a stadium in Serbia last year during a European Championship qualifier, in an incident that prompted fan violence and a diplomatic spat between the two countries. Authorities said 33-year-old Ismail Morinaj was arrested with three other men as part of a major security operation on the eve of the return match in Elbasan, Albania. Morinaj, who is from the northeastern Kukes area but lives in Italy, is a regular at the Albanian national team’s away matches. Two handguns, ammunition, and 36 match tickets were seized, police said. Morinaj was found with a Serbian-made Zastava pistol and a Chinese handgun. Meanwhile, Serbian federation spokesman Aleksandar Boskovic told a news conference there had been a “small incident, @ midday, from the airport, when some stones were thrown against the bus, which was not damaged.” He added that Serbian officials had informed UEFA of the incident. Tirana police said they noticed a mark on the bus after it arrived at the team hotel that was “believed to have been caused from a stone thrown from a distance.” Police said they were working to find those responsible. Traffic in Tirana’s main boulevard, where the two hotels accommodating the Serbia team and the group of journalists accompanying them, was banned. Police have taken tough security measures for Thursday’s game, deploying more than 2,000 officers, and enforcing road closures and a huge traffic cordon around the stadium. Fans will have to show identification and be searched before entering Elbasan Arena. Albanian Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said plain clothed officers would also be used. He said officials from an elite police unit had been assigned to protect members of the Serbian national team. “This is an opportunity to show our values in supporting the national team and hosting the guest team,” he said. Despite the draconian security, travel officials with the Serbian national team said no plans had been made for Serbian fans to travel to Albania. A group of 70 Serbian students is being hosted by Albanian families. They are to meet with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday. Albania is currently third in Group I with 11 points from six matches. Portugal leads with 15 points, followed by Denmark with 12 but having played an additional game. The top two and the best third-place finisher in the nine groups qualify automatically, with the other third-place teams entering a playoff.

 

 

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