LOCAL PRESS

 

Nikolic: Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO a problem for Serbia, region and world (RTS)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has said in his address to the heads of diplomatic missions in Serbia that Albania’s proposal for “Kosovo” to become an UNESCO member concerns the entire world. “Some of you might think that I exaggerate when I say that this problem affects countries from all continents. In my statement, I shall attempt to conjure up the complexity and the gravity of this issue, that has, over the past few weeks, heightened our concerns as to whether the true path leading to the stabilization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina will ever be found, and whether they will be laid on future-proof foundations, fruitful to both parties equally, or almost equally.” Nikolic then went on to acquaint the ambassadors with the timeline of the endeavors to preserve the Serbian medieval heritage since the arrival of the international forces in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija: “The first UNESCO mission came to Kosovo and Metohija on 22^nd July 1999, shortly after the bombing of FR Yugoslavia. It was on this occasion that Mr. Colin Kaiser requested in his report that solely the Islamic buildings and the Ottoman heritage be protected, regardless of the fact that out of all the protected cultural monuments, 3 Ottoman, 2 Albanian and 57 Serbian monuments were destroyed. The second UNESCO mission that visited Kosovo and Metohija between 1 and 30 November 1999, led by Ross Borat, failed again to mention in its report the destroyed Serbian monasteries and solely suggested measures concerning 5 monuments of the Ottoman origin that UNESCO should take care of. The leader of the third mission in Kosovo and Metohija Professor Carlo Blasi, whose mission consisted of the Head of mission Mustafa Turman Osman and Co-Heads Ms. Edi Shukriu and Mr. Gonzalo Ratman (no Serbian experts were included), submitted the selfsame report. For the sake of truth and justice, I have to say not a single one out of the three reports was formally adopted in UNESCO organs, but they reached the international public, thus creating an impression that solely and exclusively monuments not belonging to the Serbian cultural discourse were destroyed in Kosovo and Metohija, which was and still is far from the truth.

By vehicle of the founding document of the Centre for Coordination, the Federal Government, and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, transferred, in August 2001, the jurisdictions that were previously vested with the Service for the protection of the culture monuments in Kosovo and Metohija to this body.

Drawing on The Hague Convention, the Center for Coordination had, in the course of 2001, called on UNMIK to end vandalism and desecration of the Serbian heritage. The following year, consent was requested from UNMIK to the urgent rehabilitation of the Patriarchate of Peć and the frescoes in the Serbian medieval church near Rudnik. UNMIK replied, in April 2002, that, in reference to these issues, the Coordination Center should address the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the interim “Kosovo” government, a response in contravention of UNMIK’s neutral position, Resolution 1244, Vancouver Declaration, which was reaffirmed at the UNESCO Conference on the enhancement of cooperation in Southeast Europe, held between 4 and 5 April in Paris, when the representative of the self-declared “Republic of Kosovo” was denied participation.

The Sector for Cultural Heritage was set up within the Center for Coordination, tasked with preventing further degradation and dilapidation, and with rehabilitation of consequences that resulted from vandalism, in agreement with and upon the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church and local self-governments. UNMIK, however, neither consented to the professional verification of the factual state on the ground, nor to the commencement of rehabilitation works. To give an example, the attempt to renovate the Monastery of Zociste was precluded as the local Albanian residents put on fire the remnants of this unique cultural monument of the Serbian people, immediately after the prayer for restoration. The same happened at the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren, jeopardized by the planting of explosive.

Indicative is the fact that, until 2004, not a single rapporteur made any mention at the UN Security Council of the vandalism, plundering and destruction of the Serbian and European medieval heritage.

At the invitation of the Center for Coordination, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura promised, on 13 May 2002, to send, later in May, a French expert in the Middle Ages, for the majority of the destroyed monuments belonged to this period. UNMIK persistently delayed this visit that was never made.

Owing to his sense of responsibility and devotion, Mr. Matsuura attempted to send the third UNESCO mission, whose visit was persistently delayed by UNMIK, under unacceptable pretexts. Despite all the goodwill and energy invested by the UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, for which we will be ever grateful, unpunished desecration of the unique and exceptional European medieval heritage perpetuated. Equally inadmissible and incomprehensible is the fact that there was no way for those to whom the heritage belongs – the expert teams from the Republic of Serbia - to approach it and restore it.

There was also an attempt to carry out a census of the cultural heritage under the auspices of UNMIK in the review of UNMIK activities concerning culture, Ref. 251/01, under an awkward pretext that the previous one was not compiled in compliance with the international standards, which was, of course, utterly false, and aspired to leave out all the destroyed Serbian sanctuaries, as if they had not existed for centuries, and to change their proprietors. The principle of protecting monuments and cultural goods implies equality in carrying out the census and protection of all the cultural monuments, be they Illyric, Roman, Byzantine, Orthodox, Catholic, Serbian, Turkish, Albanian or Jewish, with no discrimination. Neither UNMIK nor the interim administration in Kosovo and Metohija can alter the list of cultural monuments compiled by the European standards, erase the old and introduce new monuments, unless if it is based on the laws and UNESCO arbitration.

I have to recall the horror that took place in March 2004, and the synchronized and orchestrated barbaric attacks against the Serbian residents in Kosovo and Metohija, with unprecedented destruction of everything that is Serbian, including the Serbian religious objects and cultural goods dating back to the Middle Ages.

In three days of violence perpetrated by the Albanians against the Serbs, on 17, 18 and 19 March 2004, ten Serbs were killed, over 900 persons were severely injured, over 4000 Serbs from six cities and nine villages were expelled. 35 churches and monasteries were destroyed and set ablaze (out of which 18 monuments of special cultural importance), 935 Serbian buildings, out of which 738 Serbian houses, 10 public facilities, schools, post offices, health stations.

All these took place, despite the presence of 38 000 KFOR soldiers from 39 countries, and 8000 UN policemen from 52 countries.

Many graveyards were also desecrated; a large number of valuable icons and other church relics either disappeared or got damaged, including the Registers of christenings, weddings and deaths, testifying to the centuries-long existence of the Serbs in these areas.

The legal unfoundedness of the request to admit “Kosovo” to UNESCO primarily stems from the fact that Kosovo and Metohija, pursuant to the still applicable and legally binding UNSC Resolution 1244 (1999) and the Constitutional framework for the provisional institutions of self-government in Kosovo, is a territory that constitutes part of the Republic of Serbia under UN administration.

I recall that Annex 2, Paragraph 6 of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) envisages that (I quote) “an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return” to Kosovo and Metohija (end of quote). And it was agreed that hundreds, not thousands, but up to 1000 members of the Serbian forces, tasked solely with the protection of the Serbian heritage, be present in Kosovo and Metohija. Serbia has not as yet benefitted from this still applicable Agreement.

UNSC Resolution 1244 (1999) reaffirms “sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [now the Republic of Serbia] and the other countries of the region” and envisages a “political solution to the Kosovo crisis”, based on the principles of the Resolution.

The issue of Kosovo and Metohija is still on the agenda of the UN Security Council, reinforced by the regular, quarterly sessions of the UNSC treating this subject. Moreover, provisional UN administration, headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo (UNMIK) is still in place in Kosovo and Metohija.”

 

Gasic, Miculescu: Migrant problem task of entire EU (Tanjug)

Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic met today with the newly appointed Representative of the UN Secretary General in Serbia and the Head of the UN Office in Belgrade Simona-Mirela Miculescu, with whom he had exchanged views in regard to the political and security situation in the region and other important issues of mutual interest, the Serbian Defense Ministry said in a statement. They agreed that the migrant problem is a challenge for the entire region and that a solution must be sought at the level of the entire EU. The Defense Minister thanked on the UN aid in the amount of 8,5 million Euros for assistance in resolving the migrant problem in Serbia.

Bearing in mind the upcoming winter and increasingly difficult conditions that the migrants will face, Gasic pointed out that he expects the EU to appreciate the efforts, constructive approach and humanity of Serbia and that it will provide more significant financial support in resolving the migrant problem. He informed Miculescu that 180,000 refugees have been registered in Serbia to this day, of whom around 600 have applied for asylum. Gasic pointed out at the meeting that Serbia strongly opposes membership of the so-called Kosovo in UNESCO and that those who had been destroying the Serbian cultural heritage in the past, cannot speak about its protection. Gasic reiterated that it is of key significance for KFOR forces to remain status impartial in Kosovo and Metohija for as long as it is necessary to preserve stability and security.
Gasic and Miculescu assessed that participation of the Serbian Army members in UN missions significantly contributes to preservation of international peace and security.

The Defense Minister wished the UN representative in Serbia much success at the new post.
Patriarch Irinej: EU, but not without Kosovo (Blic)

Serbia’s place is in Europe, and this is our path, but not at the expense of Kosovo, Serbian Patriarch Irinej told Blic. He says that the meeting in the government with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was constructive. “The position of the church is that there is no recognition of Kosovo under any conditions. That is also the position of the state. In this position - that there is no condition under which we would recognize Kosovo – lies also the answer to all possible questions on the EU and negotiations. Serbia is part of Europe and our EU path cannot be followed by blackmail. Therefore, - yes EU, but not at the expense of Kosovo,” said the Patrirach. Kosovo’s UNESCO membership was also discussed at the meeting. “The Serbian Orthodox Church thinks that those who demolished cannot be awarded and this is a deeply moral issue in a certain way. We tried and are trying for Kosovo not to be admitted and awarded. We addressed all international organizations and friends. This was also done by the state. Unfortunately, some states that are voting have already recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo,” Patriarch Irinej told Blic.

 

Ski Resorts of Serbia seek international arbitration (Tanjug)

Ski Resorts of Serbia, Ski Centre Brezovica and Inex Interexport Fund have informed Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa about their intention to launch an investment dispute before international arbitration in Paris. The three parties are contesting a decision by the authorities in Pristina concerning expropriation of Ski Centre Brezovica property for the construction of a ‘Tourist Center Brezovica’. “The decision by the Kosovo institutions on expropriation of the land and property is illegal and contravenes not only international law, but also regulations implemented in Kosovo,” Ski Resorts of Serbia, which owns Ski Centre Brezovica, said in a statement. “As property owners, we will use all available legal means to fight against the usurpation of the Ski Centre Brezovica ownership structure,” Ski Resorts of Serbia said.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Izetbegovic: Coalition will spread to cantonal, and possibly to state level (klix.ba)

The SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic said he agreed coalition cooperation in the continuation of the mandate with the SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic. “The coalition will start from where we have a problem, which is primarily the incomplete Federation government. That will spread to the governments of the cantons, and possibly to the state level as well,” Izetbegovic stated.

He added that a meeting of the party delegations was scheduled for the beginning of next week and that in the coming days they will work on the agreement that is to focus on priorities and programs, which are primarily reforms, stabilization of circumstances, and acceleration of economic recovery. Izetbegovic said that SDA will strive to respect negotiations with other political parties with whom it has no signed agreements, particularly the A-SDA and Party for B&H (SB&H). “To make them relaxed, there was never an agreement neither with the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) nor with SBB. For us, it is fixed for this mandate and it is the same for both HDZ and SBB. Later this week or in the next week we will have a meeting between SDA, HDZ B&H and the Alliance for Changes, where we will confirm this,” Izetbegovic concluded.

 

Dodik supports SDA-SBB coalition if leads to stabilization in FB&H (Srna)

The RS President Milorad Dodik says that he welcomes a coalition agreed by the SDA and the SBB if the coalition leads to a stabilization of the Federation government. “Our stand towards this issue is very clear – we want stable partners in the FB&H as there is a lot of work that we need to do together. If this coalition leads to this then we welcome it,” Dodik told the press in Banja Luka. “We don’t intend to enter the B&H Council of Ministers, but we see that somebody is throwing us out every day, which is a politically morbid situation where someone from the Alliance for Changes is saying that they will not allow the SNSD to enter the Council of Ministers even though the SNSD has no aspiration to enter it. Attempts for the Council of Ministers to be something stronger than what is written in the Constitution – an assisting body to the B&H Presidency, speaks of some policies that would like to be achieved here for the Council of Ministers would allegedly become some government,” said Dodik, adding that the RS government will stop any such centralized intention.

 

Moscow visit successful (Srna) 

The RS President Milorad Dodik says that his two-day visit to Moscow was very successful as it confirmed friendship between the RS and Russia. He says that representatives of the RS government will leave for Russia as early as next week to operationalize the important agreements. Dodik said that Russia will present its view of the RS at a session of the UN Security Council when it comes to a report of the High Representative (HR), not to confront anyone but to prevent false claims of the HR from being adopted. “It is not widely known that the RS, as a signatory to Annex 10, which introduced the Office of the High Representative (OHR), has the right to ask questions about his work. The fact that he is ignoring Annex 10, as all his predecessors did, speaks of his violation of the Dayton Agreement and international law,” Dodik said. He said that he spoke with representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry about the situation in the RS and B&H, with particular focus on a report the HR Valentin Inzko submitted to the UN Security Council, and a report of the RS cabinet and his letter to the UN Secretary-General, in which they presented their view of the situation. “Russians are familiar with the details, so, at a session of the UN Security Council they will present views presented by the RS cabinet, feeling that they are relevant and that they correspond to the truth. What the HR wrote is absolutely not true, and it is almost impossible that such a false text can appear at such a high level,” Dodik said. He assessed the claim of the HR that the RS is violating the Dayton Agreement as being catastrophic, noting that he did not say which part of the Agreement is being violated. Dodik said that Inzko’s report does not say that the RS has a right to a referendum and stressed that holding a referendum is in keeping with the RS Constitution and laws, and that not a single document at the B&H level bans the Entities from holding a referendum.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

'Opposition has enough gas:’ Anti-Serbia MPs teargasses Kosovo parliament…again (RT, 16 October 2015)

Kosovo’s parliament again plunged into chaos on Thursday when opposition MPs set off tear gas in the chamber, disrupting a meeting about an EU-brokered deal with Serbia. In a similar incident in the Kosovo parliament last week, two MPs were hospitalized. Members of Parliament were forced to leave the legislature when Donika Kada Bujupi, from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), triggered teargas havoc just before the speaker tried to open a debate about Pristina's ties with Belgrade. Minutes before tear gas filled the chambers, protesting MPs flocked to the podium to prevent any discussions. "I know that what you see today is not the best sight. I have activated the tear gas, because we are left [with] no choice. The government is responsible for finding solutions," Bujupi, said, as quoted by the Serbian press. The latest incident is the newest manifestation of the opposition's push to disturb a deal that would grant ethnic Serb areas of Kosovo greater local autonomy with possible aid coming from Serbia. Such a deal, opponents believe, is a threat to the independence of Kosovo, which was declared separate from Serbia in 2008. Authorities remain puzzled as to how the politician managed to sneak in the gas canister. Tighter security was introduced following a similar incident last week. Rumors that police provided the MP with the canister have been refuted by authorities. "It is not true that the Kosovo police supplied tear gas to anyone or someone. It is an attempt to discredit the Kosovo police," police spokesman, Baki Kelani, told the public, adding that police have prepared security measures in case the situation deteriorates further. The opposition says that it will protest until the EU-brokered deal is amended. The ethnic Albanian-dominated opposition also rejects a border agreement with neighboring Montenegro signed in August, as Kosovo is set to lose some of its territory. "Only the withdrawal from these agreements will bring back social and institutional normality in Kosovo," the parties of the opposition bloc said in a joint declaration. As the parliamentarians fled the building into safety of fresh air, some 100 protesters cheered the opposition's MPs for disturbing the parliament's president session. "The opposition has enough gas to block any session," Glauk Konjufca of the Self-Determination party, which leads the opposition bloc, told reporters outside parliament. The government condemned the teargas incidents, calling them "illegal and anarchic acts" that are "inconsistent with any code of ethics, morals and democratic practice". The public prosecutor's office announced that it started a probe into the tear gas incident last week, when Albin Kurti, the founder of the opposition's Self-Determination party threw tear gas. In addition, the US embassy in Kosovo voiced their concern over last week's incident, claiming that some of its staff who were present in the chamber during the teargas fiasco had to seek medical attention. Parliament is scheduled to hold more debates on the issue next week, with Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, calling on the opposition to participate in the dialogue. "We will use all the power to provide a dignified and normal work in the Assembly. We invite the opposition to dialogue, understanding and respect for the law as we are determined to take all necessary measures for normal operation in the parliament," Veseli told reporters. Yet the opposition refuses to participate in the dialogue unless the EU-brokered deals are called off. "We will not stop until the government starts to take care of the interests of Kosovo. We are unanimous in the decision not allow the creation of Serbian municipalities. The ruling coalition must renounce Brussels Treaty if it wants the institutions continue to work," said Glauk Konjufca said, according to Radio Television of Serbia.

 

Macedonia Opposition Stays Out of Crisis Talks (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 16 October 2015)

The Macedonian opposition said that it will not resume suspended crisis talks with the government until the special prosecutor who will probe illegal surveillance claims gets her full team approved. The opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, on Friday blamed the government for the fact that the National Prosecutors Council only approved seven out of 14 proposed deputy special prosecutors, again delaying investigations into the alleged mass illegal wiretapping that sparked the ongoing political crisis in Macedonia. The SDSM urged the National Prosecutors Council to respect the recently-adopted Special Prosecution Law and allow Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva to complete her team so she can start working as soon as possible. "We demand an emergency meeting of the four [leading political] parties and representatives of the international community over the breaching of the Special Prosecution Law and the setting up of deadlines for fulfilling the legal obligations," the SDSM said in a statement. "It is in the interest of Macedonia's future that the Special Prosecutor be allowed to work independently," it added. The party on Wednesday suspended its participation in the EU-brokered talks aimed at resolving the political crisis, in protest at the National Prosecutors Council’s actions. The EU and US ambassadors to Macedonia on Thursday also expressed concern over the Prosecutors Council move to cut Janeva's team in half. Veteran Macedonian lawyer Aleksandar Tortevski said that the Council had no right interfering in Janeva's choices of deputies, only to approve them. He said the Special Prosecution Law gives Janeva full autonomy to decide upon such issues. "They cannot decide that Janeva should have seven instead of 14 deputies because that institution [the special prosecution] functions according to the Special Prosecution Law," Tortevski said. Amid the fresh political turmoil, visiting European Parliament's special rapporteur for Macedonia, Slovenian MEP Ivo Vajgl, is holding meetings with party leaders om Friday in an effort to boost mediation between the warring politicians. Macedonia's feuding parties clinched a deal on the Special Prosecution Law and on appointing Janeva on September 15. The talks about the special prosecutor, the country’s electoral model and other reforms that need to be implemented before early elections in April are part of an EU-brokered political deal reached this summer. The county’s political crisis centres on opposition claims that covert tapes they have been releasing since February show that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski was behind the illegal surveillance of some 20,000 people, including ministers. Gruevski, who has held power since 2006, has strongly denied the charges and insists the tapes were “fabricated” by unnamed foreign intelligence services and given to the opposition to destabilise the country.

 

Bosnia region agrees $300 mln loan with U.S. fund to cover budget gap (Reuters, 15 October 2015)

SARAJEVO Oct 15 Bosnia's Serb Republic has agreed a $300 million loan with a U.S.-based investment fund to cover its budget deficit in 2015 and 2016 in the absence of IMF funds, the president of the region, Milorad Dodik, said on Thursday. Bosnia's two autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, have been struggling to find financing to make up for lack of cash from the International Monetary Fund, after they failed to reach an agreement with the fund in June and a previous one expired. Dodik, who had previously counted on a Russian loan which has never materialised, said the regional government has completed a loan agreement with the U.S.-based investment company Global Bankcorp Commodities and Investments Inc. (GBCI). "This is a favourable arrangement which will support the budget and enable stable payments of pensions and wages and strengthen liquidity of the public sector," Dodik said, according to the news agency Srna. The $300 million loan will be withdrawn in tranches as needed, with a three-year grace period which can be extended for another three years and a 3 percent fixed interest rate, Dodik said. He said the money will also be used to boost capital in the region's Investment and Development Bank to enable it to support economy.

The government decision, which was not made public until now, was published in the region's Official Gazette. Critics said the decision was illegal because each new loan should fit within a legally regulated debt ceiling and be approved by the regional parliament. But Dodik said the loan's first instalment of $50 million, due to be withdrawn this year, was within the debt limits for 2015 and could be approved by the government alone. Earlier this year, GBCI expressed interest in acquiring Slovenia's second-largest bank Nova KBM, which was eventually acquired by U.S. investment firm Apollo Global Management and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

 

Czech Foreign minister offers to share transformation know-how with Bosnia (Prague Post, 15 October 2015)

Sarajevo — The Czech Republic will help Bosnia in its reform effort to be able to seek membership of the European Union, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek told reporters after the opening of a business seminar in the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber today. The CzechRepublic supports Bosnia’s integration into not only the EU but also NATO, Zaorálek said after his talks with his counterpart Igor Crnadak. Zaorálek also met Dragan Covic, head of the presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, today. Covic said Bosnia will apply for EU membership by the end of the year. Zaorálek invited Crnadak to come to Prague on Nov. 13 for the establishment of the West Balkans Fund. “I believe we will succeed in launching the fund, following the example of the Visegrád Fund,” he said. The Visegrád Fund, founded in 2000, encourages cooperation in culture, science and education within the Visegrád Group, comprising Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The West Balkans Fund will be officially established within the Prague European Summit that will deal with the integration of the West Balkan countries into the EU, the migrant crisis, the situation in Ukraine and fight against Daesh (Islamic State) on Nov. 12-13. Apart from representatives of the EU member countries and the Balkan countries, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans is to participate in the event. After talks with Zaorálek, Bosnian Foreign Trade Minister Mirko Sarovic said he was not fully satisfied with Bosnian-Czech bilateral trade so far. He expressed conviction that it would double in two to four years. “We are prepared to share the know-how of our transformation experience with them [Bosnia],” said Zaorálek, referring to the economic and political transformation of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, its successor state, since the 1990s. It culminated with the Czech Republic’s EU entry in May 2004, he added. “However, they [Bosnia] must also take some steps alone to create trust for investments,” Zaorálek said, adding that Bosnia must show by its particular steps that it is able to fight corruption. Bosnia has been only a potential candidate country so far. It has signed a stabilization and association agreement with the EU that took effect in June. However, this is no guarantee of talks about EU membership. “Czechs like Sarajevo, you have a good partner in the Czech Republic,” Zaorálek said. However, he added that Bosnia must also increase the performance of its economy and help create a safe environment for investments. He also noted that a mixed commission for economic cooperation had laid grounds of cooperation between the Czech Republic and Bosnia. It met last time in 2012. “I would like the commission to meet again in Sarajevo next year,” said Zaorálek, adding that he can see the cooperation potential mainly in agriculture, energy industry, renewable energy sources and state administration. Sarovic thanked the Czech Republic for being one of the countries providing the highest financial support for Bosnia within development cooperation. Bosnia with four million inhabitants ranks among the priority countries of the Czech development aid program. Last year, it received 76 million crowns, and thus became the fifth in terms of the financial aid level after Ukraine, Afghanistan, Moldova and Ethiopia. Zaorálek will meet Bosnian Prime Minister Denis Zivzdic later today. Then he will fly to Zagreb to open the Czech Film Week. On Thursday, he will meet Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić. He is to return to Prague on Friday.

 

Biased Montenegro Protest Reports Expose Political Control (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 16 October 2015)

The media coverage of the ongoing anti-government protests in Montenegro has revealed the depth of political influence over editors and journalists in the country.

The contrast between pro-government and independent media in Montenegro has rarely been sharper than in recent days, as impartial coverage of the anti-government protests launched by the main opposition alliance, the Democratic Front, has become hard to find. The Montenegrin media has often been criticised for a lack of balanced and impartial reporting during the last two decades, but editorial bias has been a defining characteristic of the coverage of the 24-hour protest rallies that have been taking place in the capital Podgorica for the past three weeks. Words such as ‘traitors’, ‘thieves’, and ‘cowards’, dominate news reports in both bitterly opposed media blocs, in a country where defamation was decriminalised to promote free speech but has been frequently misused by journalists and editors. Outlets close to Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists, both private and state-funded, regularly calculate the number of people present at the protests as lower than official police estimates, while regularly ‘revealing’ an alleged ‘anti-NATO and anti-state’ hidden agenda of the anti-government rallies. On the other hand, reports from media outlets aligned to pro-Serb parties within the Democratic Front have largely offered uncritical support for the opposition leaders and civic and student bodies that have joined the protest, relegating other important topics and issues to the inside pages. Accused by the opposition and some independent media of being under the direct control of the former Serbian official Vladimir Beba Popovic, Belgrade-based media who publish Montenegrin editions, including the tabloid Informer and TV Pink, have been the most critical of the opposition, leading to claims of highly biased reporting. Popovic, a former information chief for the Serbian government, has been accused by some critics of being an informal media adviser to Djukanovic and of being behind media attacks on his opponents. Claiming that the protests were directly guided by the Democratic Party of Serbia and former Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostinica, Informer and the PinkM channel have "offered evidence" of alleged collusion without giving protest organisers the opportunity to responds to the claims. The protesters claim that Informer and PinkM are directly campaigning against them for the benefit of Montenegro’s ruling elite. They are also critical of reporting by Serbian public broadcaster RTS, and other outlets, which they claim are "under the direct control of the Serbian government" and produce biased reports because of the close ties between Djukanovic and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. The Montenegrin state broadcaster, RTCG, has also come under fire for alleged bias in its reporting of the anti-government demonstrations and protesters’ calls for the government to resign and hold early elections amid claims of electoral fraud. The RTCG is widely considered as favouring Djukanovic’s ruling DPS party and its recent coverage of the demonstrations prompted a sharp rebuke from the independent council that monitors its output and deals with complaints. Editors were urged to provide balance reporting in their central news programmes. In an open letter to RTCG’s editorial board published on Wednesday, council member Goran Djurovic said the public broadcaster had only informed citizens about the demonstrations in a “professional manner” on September 27, the day the protests began. "In the following days, RTCG showed professional misconduct the consequence of which has been the further polarization of society, which is contrary to the purposes of the public broadcaster. In the framework of alleged objective reports on protests, RTCG [solely] broadcast the comments of former politicians who held the same views as the editors;" Djurovic said. The coverage has once again proved that nine years after gaining its independence from Serbia, and two decades after beginning the transition from communism to EU integration, the media landscape in Montenegro still reflects deep political polarization. In a country with a population of 650.000, four nationally distributed daily newspapers and more than 50 electronic media outlets, fair, balanced and reliable information is rarely provided to consumers. Several prominent media watchdog groups have expressed serious concerns over the years, claiming that smear campaigns are still carried out through media closely aligned to the government. Neither side have distinguished themselves in their coverage of the current political crisis. Both pro-government and opposition media have shown they are often guided by political objectives and ideology, rather than a strictly informative agenda, as the priority in their coverage of news and stories about the socio-political life of Montenegro. As a consequence of politically-motivated content and the frequent prioritisation of private interests based on political ties, as well as an evident lack of professional and ethical standards in journalism, news consumers are rarely given the chance to judge the facts for themselves. But the anti-government protests have, however, marked out a path for future civic and political activism in Montenegro - the extensive use of social media to promote political goals. To break through what they claim is a media blackout in the country, activists have been producing their own media content, recording the rallies in Podgorica with several cameras operating 24/7 and then sharing the video and written material via social networks on a daily basis. While activists from across the political spectrum might turn to social media to get their message out, the public needs access to unbiased, fact-based reporting that gives due weight to all sides of the story. On that count, the mainstream press has not failed to disappoint.

 

Putin may hate it, but NATO may be about to expand again (Washington Post, by Adam Taylor, 15 October 2015)

In 1999, NATO was dropping bombs on Montenegro, a small state in southeastern Europe that at that point was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia alongside Serbia. Sixteen years later, things have certainly changed. If a now-independent Montenegro gets what it hopes for, it could be asked to join NATO in just a few months. “I am certain the conditions are there for the alliance member states in December to take the decision to invite Montenegro to join,” Montenegrin Foreign Minister Igor Luksic told Reuters. Top NATO officials have been visiting Montenegro this week, a trip they say is designed to assess whether the country has made progress on reforms required to join the alliance. The country is one of four seeking NATO membership (alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Georgia), but experts say it is most likely to join next. For the alliance, Montenegro's ascension to NATO wouldn't exactly prove a game changer. The country has a population of not much over 600,000 and a military budget of $28 million – a paltry figure when compared with, say, Britain, where $55 billion has been spent on defense over the past year. The Montenegrin armed forces number around 2,000 during peacetime, and one recent government report suggested that they were desperately in need of modernization. However, despite Montenegro's small size, many in Europe will be watching the situation closely for one big reason: Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has complained for years about NATO's eastern expansion, often arguing that the alliance broke promises made at the end of the Cold War. "I think it is obvious that NATO expansion does not have any relation with the modernization of the alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe," Putin said in a scathing speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference. "On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust." European concerns about Russia's reaction appear to have ended talk of NATO membership for Georgia, a former Soviet republic on Russia's southern border that fought a brief war with its larger neighbor in 2008. Putin has also suggested that Russia's intervention in Crimea was a result of concerns about NATO. "I simply cannot imagine that we would travel to Sevastopol to visit NATO sailors," the Russian president said in March 2014, referring to the port city on the Crimean Peninsula. Even if Montenegrin membership of NATO would essentially be symbolic, that symbolism could prove potent for Russia. Montenegro would be the first new member of NATO since 2009, when two other former Balkan states – Albania and Croatia – were granted membership. Crucially, it would be the first new NATO member since relations between the West and Russia plummeted after the conflict in Ukraine last year. In an op-ed for The Washington Post published last year, Michael Haltzel, a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University, argued that by granting Montenegro membership, NATO could show that Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty – the article that allows the alliance to invite European states to join – is  "alive and well." Haltzel added that it would also "demonstrate that Moscow does not exercise a hidden veto over NATO membership and encourage other potential aspirants such as Finland and Sweden by showing that the door to membership remains open." Fredrik Wesslau, director of the Wider Europe Program at the European Council of Foreign Relations, says that while there is no major strategic significance to Montenegro, granting it membership would strengthen "NATO's credibility as an alliance designed to underpin European security." If the decision goes in Montenegro's favor, it would mean that almost the entire coastline of the Adriatic Sea, except for a small sliver of Bosnia, would be NATO territory. And while Montenegro might be a small state, it is a small state to which many Russians are attached. Perhaps because of a shared Slavic history (not to mention that Adriatic coastline), Russian tourists have flocked to Montenegro since it gained independence: In 2013, 300,000 were said to have visited the country, while local media have reported that Russian citizens may own up to 40 percent of the real estate in the country. The Montenegrin government's desire for closer ties to the West has already put a strain on its relationship with Moscow: Last year, the country lent its support to European sanctions on Russia, a move that resulted in countersanctions on Montenegro from Moscow. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has said that Russia "will understand" if the country does join NATO. At best, that comment seems hopeful. While the events of 1999 may be past, they are not necessarily forgotten. According to Human Rights Watch, at least eight people in Montenegro were killed by NATO strikes that year. Over 28 percent of the country's population is ethnically Serbian and may be distrustful of NATO because of the conflicts over Kosovo and Bosnia and historical links to Russia. Opinion polls have shown large divisions over whether Montenegro should join the alliance, with those in favor appearing to have a slim but not altogether convincing majority. For now, the decision seems to rest with NATO member states, and they appear to be split. The United States has offered some conditional support: The country's NATO envoy, Douglas Lute, told Reuters that if Montenegro can show an improvement in its corruption problems and prove NATO membership enjoys popular support in the country, Washington will back its bid.