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LOCAL PRESS

Dacic: Formation of Union of Serb Municipalities as soon as possible (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic considers it necessary to form the Union of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija and that this process will not be influenced by the repeated mayoral elections in Kosovska Mitrovica. Dacic told reporters in the Gracanica Monastery that it was very important for citizens that the Union is formed as soon as possible, stressing that the mayor himself doesn’t have an important role in this. The Prime Minister explained that the municipal assemblies need to pass the decision on the formation of the Union and to draft the Statute of the Union of Serb Municipalities as soon as possible. Dacic considers that the process of forming the Union will not be slowed down by the repeated mayoral elections in northern Kosovska Mitrovica expected in February. The Prime Minister explained that official Belgrade doesn’t determine the date when these elections will be held, and that according announcements from Pristina, they could be held on 23 February. Asked about Krstimir Pantic who didn’t assume the function of the mayor of Kosovska Mitrovica, and Minister Vulin, Dacic said that Vulin is conducting the policy of the Serbian Government and that this policy is a positive response from the Serbs who had participated at the last elections in Kosovo and Metohija. “I don’t want to get into the political reasons of certain attacks or disputes, but in any case, the Serbian Government accepted the Brussels agreement,” said the Prime Minister. He reiterated that under these conditions there isn’t a better way than the Brussels agreement for defending national interests. According to him, despite all the resistance, even physical attacks, the government policy in Kosovo has received the support of the people, therefore “Vulin’s performance has been successful.” He stressed that this is also the opinion of the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton who notes this in her reports that she is preparing for the European institutions. Dacic also announced that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue will continue most probably on 27 January, explaining that this is due to Ashton’s obligations. “Serbia is determined to continue the dialogue, because we want all open issues resolved,” said Dacic.

Nikolic, Jovovic: It is in the interest of both Serbia and Montenegro to cooperate with each other (RTS)

“There are no major open-ended issues between Serbia and Montenegro and all the problems, including the minor ones, should be resolved in future through mutual efforts,” agreed in Belgrade Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and the outgoing Montenegrin Ambassador to Serbia Igor Jovovic. Nikolic, who received Jovovic for a farewell visit, said it was in the interest of both Serbia and Montenegro to cooperate with each other, to realize joint economic projects efficiently, to support each other on the EU path and to maintain good relations in order to provide firm bases for progress of the whole region. The two agreed Serbia’s EU accession talks should be encouraged as Serbia has made significant progress and that no one could stay indifferent to it.

Pantic: I have Vucic’s support (Politika, by Biljana Radomirovic)

Member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), official representative of Belgrade in Kosovo and Metohija, mayoral candidate before the Serbian (Srpska) list who gained confidence of the Kosovska Mitrovica residents on 1 December at the repeated round of the Kosovo elections, Krstimir Pantic, once again surprised many last Saturday, most of all the residents of North Mitrovica, according to whom, as rumors say, “returned to the right path,” but also official Belgrade, which assessed his decision to resign at the post of the deputy head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. Aleksandar Vulin’s deputy, as an unpredictable move, inappropriate for a politician. In a short interview with Politika, Pantic said that he had resigned because he couldn’t stand something that is contrary to “common sense and insults intelligence.” He claims he is not withdrawing from politics since he has the support of Aleksandar Vucic, while he believes he will also have support of the residents of northern Kosovoska Mitrovica who deeply trusted him before he joined the Serbian list, although he was also convinced at the time that he was doing the right thing for his compatriots in the town where he was born.

Was your decision to resign at the post of the deputy head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija passed suddenly, as it seems to many, after the meeting with the EU Special Rapporteur in Kosovo Samuel Zbogar, or was it a result of earlier disagreements with the representatives of official Belgrade?

“I had already offered twice my resignation at the post of the deputy head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, but it was not accepted by the Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who has always tried to reconcile opposing positions held by Minister Vulin and I.  I disagreed with the manner in which Vulin led the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, which he has turned into headquarters of the Movement of Socialists. Just look at the official presentation of the Office, a laic would think that at issue is a facebook profile of Aleksandar Vulin, and not a presentation of a state institution. I have never been in conflict with the representatives of official Belgrade, even though I have not always agreed on some solutions, especially the Brussels agreement. After all, Vulin resigned because of that agreement, but then changed his mind later on.  An irrevocable resignation cannot be withdrawn, the people can’t return you with furnished petitions and forged signatures. I resigned because of the shame I experienced in talks with Samuel Zbogar, so I wouldn’t inflict damage to the interests of the state and undermine the position of the Serbian Government.”

What definitely changed your position on Saturday, if it is well-known that the entire election and post-election process is unfolding according to the laws of Pristina though in the spirit of the Brussels agreement?

“We went to the polls with a status-neutral material that the OSCE later on falsified and submitted it to the Central Election Commission in Pristina with Kosovo state symbols. On Saturday, they taped over our asseverations with stickers beneath which there were also symbols of Kosovo statehood. That is an insult for common sense and humiliation that I couldn’t stand. All those who claim that the signing of statements was neutral in status are not telling the truth and are deceiving both themselves and Serbian citizens.”

How do you interpret the behavior of the councilors of the Serbian list who took the oath? As treason or as the right of everyone to behave in line with his/her own principles, or after all in line with the stands of state politics?

“It is good that the councilors signed asseverations because we will be able to control the work of the assembly and always cause crisis when necessary. Assemblies are unstable and new elections may be slated at any moment, not only in Kosovska Mitrovica, but in all four municipalities, and the time ahead of us will show. I don’t think that the councilors betrayed me, everything they did they did in consultations with me.”

Is there a possibility for you to withdraw your resignation?

“There is not the least possibility for me to withdraw it. I am not changing my stands, even though my superiors assessed me as an unstable person who often changes opinions. But look at my statements and the statements of those who were dealing with Kosovo and you will easily realize who is stable, who says one thing but does another, who is not telling the truth to the people in Kosovo and Metohija.”

Does your decision imply also that you are withdrawing from politics? If you are staying in politics, to what ‘stream’ will you incline taking into account stories that you will become closer with the Democratic Party of Serbia?

“I am a SNS member and I don’t intend to withdraw from politics as long as I have the support of Aleksandar Vucic. If the SNS thinks that I should withdraw then they will have the opportunity to tell me this on 25 January when the election assembly will be held.”

Will you possibly run again for the mayor?

“I will decide on this after consultations with the residents of Kosovska Mitrovica and I hope with my friends who thought I had betrayed and sold them. If we are united, we can always keep winning, and as regards the mayoral candidate, this person can be from any party. The only important thing is that we don’t allow an independent Kosovo to begin living as such a solution is much better than boycott. I believe my option and I would win at the mayoral elections but I wouldn’t assume duty and the international community would have to respect our legitimate interests. By boycotting elections we would bring an Albanian to power and nobody wants this. This time I would like the mayoral candidate to be someone else, and I will help him/her and do my best in the campaign.”

The Sticker (Politika, by Biljana Mitrinovic)

Since the Book of Genesis there have been things that are supposed to be covered, so the fig leaf, which covered the bareness of Adam and Eve after they tried the fruit from the tree of good and evil, has become the synonym for covering up something that is, according to general belief, inappropriate.

Since Saturday evening, this fig leaf, according to the European recipe, has been coated with glue and became a sticker for the Serbs.

The EU Representative in Pristina Samuel Zbogar made extremely powerful this ‘sticker man’ –which taped over the coat of arms and legend of the Republic of Kosovo on asseverations whereby the mayors and councilors of four northern municipalities accepted their mandates. Those politically correct would label the offer to tape over the coat of arms, so that everything would be carried out in a manner that is neutral in status, as a creative interpretation of the Brussels agreement, while the winner of the Serbian (Srpska) list Krstimir Pantic labeled this as an indecent offer that insults dignity and intelligence.

The same, almost forgotten in Serbia, feeling of shame was also experienced by the councilors from Leposavic Branko Bojovic and Nenad Radosavljevic and from Mitrovica Danijela Vujacic and Aleksandar Spiric. The others thought that the sticky fig leaf had done an excellent job. How much shame in Serbia has become a forgotten and fluid feeling was demonstrated by the councilor from the northern Mitrovica municipality Nebojsa Vlajic, who simple-mindedly explained to a journalist that he scratched with his fingernail and determined that the sticker can’t be unglued, which was enough for him not to feel either shame or insult of intelligence.

The feeling of these representatives of northern Kosovo Serbs is even more important, because shame on the occasion of that sticker has not been experienced by one single state official. The political show continues and this is the most important thing.

Milovan Drecun says there are much more important things and that it is irrelevant what the Ministry for Local Self-Government in Pristina will have in its archive, while the Minister in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin boldly estimates that the most important thing is that “the previous unity and the path followed by “Srpska” will not collapse.”

I realized that Vulin has had a problem with pride ever since he was “only” the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. Since I protested because he is nowhere to be found, just like the day before, so a journalist can ask him something that is of interest for the public, he told us that he was not a spokesperson to answer! Aleksandar Vucic also didn’t position himself yesterday regarding the sticker nor did he confirm whether Pantic really had his support.

I don’t know whether you have noticed, but little is known presently about the Brussels talks with Pristina, not because journalists don’t want to write or editors don’t want to publish. Today you no longer have anyone to tell you what was agreed there. Former spokespersons don’t like questions about something they don’t like to discuss, especially since someone could ask them how they stand with the feeling of shame.

Finally, our prime minister was the wisest of all: he assessed that Pantic’s gesture is a personal act, but that we are moving on. The feeling of shame and humiliation is really a personal act. That is why I was very happy when I realized on Saturday that there are at least five people who have it.

Today, shame in Serbia is a forgotten feeling, but a healing experience.

EP on Serbia on Wednesday (Beta)

The European Parliament will be discussing on Wednesday draft resolutions on Serbia and Kosovo, which are based on the respective annual reports of EP rapporteurs Jelko Kacin and Ulrike Lunacek. The discussion at the plenary session in Strasbourg is expected to be short as both draft resolutions were adopted at EP Foreign Affairs Committee sessions last year. In those documents, the EP gives strong support to Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. On Thursday, the MPs will cast a vote on the draft resolutions.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: I will always oppose B&H’s NATO membership (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has stated that he will always be against B&H’s NATO membership, adding that the final decision on the issue will be made at a referendum. At the Christmas reception for the 3^rd infantry regiment of the B&H Armed Forces, Dodik said that B&H’s NATO membership would lead to the establishment of a borderline of the North Atlantic Alliance on the Drina River, and bearing in mind Serbia’s military neutrality, the RS authorities do not want to allow this. “I will never vote in favor of B&H’s NATO membership, both as the RS President and when I retire, I will not forget that NATO bombed Serbs with depleted uranium,” the RS President said. He again called for an additional decrease in the number of members of the B&H Armed Forces, stressing that this is necessary for the economic situation in the country.

The B&H Armed Forces are divided into three garrisons, each one following the traditions of one of the three armies (Muslim, Serb and Croat), which fought against each other in the 1992-1995 civil war.

Selimovic: We don’t expect invitation to consult with Budimir (Oslobodjenje)

The SDP caucus whip in the B&H Federation House of Representatives Jasenko Selimovic told reporters in Sarajevo that members of his party have not received an invitation to consult with B&H Federation’s President Zivko Budimir on the possible appointment of a new federal minister of finance. Selimovic doesn’t expect such an invitation, either, because such consultations would be unconstitutional, he says, and what is currently happening in public he describes as “Budimir’s game with the public,” his attempt to soften the consequences of the chaos arising from the dismissal of Finance Minister Ante Krajina through the media. Connected with the opinion of the Federal Vice President Mirsad Kebo, that B&H Federation’s Minister of Agriculture, Water, and Forestry Jerko Ivankovic-Lijanovic should be dismissed, Selimovic recalls the thematic meeting in the Federal Parliament when Lijanovic was called out for the catastrophic state of agriculture in the Federation. On the appointment of a new chair of the House of Representatives after the resignation of Fehim Skaljic, Selimovic says that they are considering in his party whether they should propose a new candidate or support someone else’s, but this is not yet resolved. Party officials from the state and Federal parliaments aside from leader Zlatko Lagumdzija came to this meeting at the SDP headquarters, which he described as a regular, party meeting.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

IMF sees talks soon with Serbia, says needs more work on future budgets (Reuters, 13 January 2014)
VIENNA - The International Monetary Fund expects to start talks with Serbia on a new precautionary loan deal within the next couple of months, one of its senior officials said on Monday.
Aasim Husain, deputy director of the IMF's European department, said Serbia had made strides in controlling it budget but needed to do more.

"The Serbian authorities passed a 2014 budget that is actually quite good. It contains a series of fiscal measures that we think go some way to address their fiscal issues. It forms a basis for us to resume discussions on a possible program with the Fund. I'm expecting a mission to go in the next month or two," he said in an interview with Reuters.
But more action from Belgrade was also needed to ensure fiscal stability. "Just the steps in 2014 by themselves are not it. There is going to need to be more in 2015 and 2016."
(Reporting by Michael Shields Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Failure of needed economic reforms could mean elections, Serbian minister says (Reuters, by Aleksandar Vasovic, 14 January 2014)

Serbia needs to reform its bloated public sector and pass changes to key laws to secure growth in the future, Economy Minister Sasa Radulovic said on Tuesday, adding that failure to do so could lead to early elections.

Radulovic told the Reuters Global Markets Forum, an internet chatroom, in Vienna that changes to laws on labour, privatisation and bankruptcy were key for the country, which is trying to kick start economy.

"If the laws are not passed that means the political parties gave up on reforms and that it's better to have elections as soon as possible," Radulovic said.

The laws are important for government plans to close or sell as many as 179 loss-making state forms that are part of a restructuring programme. Ending state subsidies to these firms will also help Serbia to complete fiscal consolidation plans.

"Without political will for reforms we don't have much to look forward to as far as the economy is concerned," Radulovic told the forum on the sidelines of the Euromoney and East European conference.

Serbia's 2014 budget targets a shortfall of 4.6 percent of national output, only slightly down from the 2013 forecast of 4.7 percent.

But spending by municipalities, subsidies and sovereign guarantees for loss-making state companies could push the consolidated deficit to 7.1 percent of GDP.

The government has targeted a 2 percent growth for 2013 and wants to eke out 1 percent growth this year. To cut expenditures, the government has also pledged to trim wages in the public sector that employs about 740,000 people or about 10 percent of population.

Some analysts have said the 2014 budget ducks the toughest spending cuts the government pledged in September, fuelling speculation that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the biggest party in the coalition, has an eye on early elections.

Radulovic has repeatedly warned Serbia should sell or declare bankrupt hundreds of loss-making state firms that have been enjoying hefty state subsidies.

The reforms would lead to unpopular job losses in the public sector, which employs 740,000 people or about 10 percent of Serbia's population.

Radulovic said the government has set aside 20 billion dinars ($236.6 million) to help redundant workers to cope with job losses.

Serbia, which is expecting to start the accession talks with the European Union this month, also wants a precautionary loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, crucial for assuring investors.

The talks with the lender, which froze its previous 1 billion euro ($1.37 billion) loan deal with Belgrade in 2012, are expected to start in February or March.

On Monday, Aasim Husain, deputy director of the IMF's European department, said Serbia had made strides in controlling it 2014 budget but needed to do more to ensure fiscal stability in 2015 and 2016.

Radulovic said reforms are more important: "It's not what the IMF is calling for, it's what the credible plan is to get the deficit in check and at the same time to achieve growth."

To boost growth, Serbia sought loans and investments including the United Arab Emirates, China and Russia, but the pace of these deals has been slow.

Radulovic said that nothing could replace reforms: "We are talking too many investors and it ain't done until its done." ($1 = 0.7324 euros) (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Additional reporting Ivana Sekularac Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Serbian Jail Terms Urged for Jihad Recruiters (BIRN, 14 January 2014)

A Bosniak representative in the Serbian government is pushing legal changes to punish radical Muslims who recruit young men from the country to go to war.

Rasim Ljajic, president of the Bosniaks’ Social Democratic Party of Serbia, has proposed to change the law so that militant Islamists recruiting young boys to fight abroad will face five years in prison while the youths themselves will get three-year jail terms.

“We will soon talk with our coalition partners [in the Serbian government] and I hope that members of the Serbian parliament will understand the urgency and adopt them [the changes to the law],” Ljajic, who is also the telecommunications minister in the Serbian government, said on Friday.

Current legislation does not envisage any punishment for those who go to war, or for those who organise recruiting.

The move comes after 19-year-old Mirza Ganic, from the mainly Bosniak [Muslim] south-west Sandzak region of Serbia, was killed in the war in Syria.

According to Ljajic, Ganic is a good example of the type of young men who are being recruited - a good student and a shy young man who previously had not shown any sympathy for radical Islam.

Ljajic said that Ganic only started "showing aggression and acting strangely" at the beginning of last year, and left for Syria couple of months afterwards.

Muslim fighters have also been recruited from Bosnia.

In July, security services in Sarajevo identified several fighters in Syria as Bosnian citizens and members of an armed militant group with alleged links to Al-Qaida.

The conflict in Syria began in March 2011, following anti-government protests that spread all over the country and became a full-scale armed rebellion.

According to the UN, more than 90,000 people have died as a result of the conflict.

Crisis Deepens in Bosnia's Federation Entity (Turkish Weekly, by Elvira M. Jukic, 13 January 2014)

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of two Bosnia's entities, is struggling with a crisis over payments from the budget after the entity was left without a finance minister.
Ante Krajina was dismissed last week. As only the finance minister can approve payments, the entity has been left without the one man who can make the financial system function.
Krajina was axed on January 3 by the President of the Federation, Zivko Budimir, who said he bore responsibility for delayed payments of war veteran pensions in some municipalities.
As the Federation parliament discussed the case on Wednesday, it accepted the resignation of Fehim Skaljic, speaker of the House of Representatives, one of two chambers.
He said he was resigning because the parliamentary majority that had elected him no longer existed.
While the Office of the High Representative, OHR, Valentin Inzko, held a meeting with Budimir, the entity Prime Minister, Nermin Niksic, said he had no intention of meeting Budimir whom he accused of causing chaos in the Federation.
One option is that Budimir now withdraws his decision to dismiss Krajina, or restores him to his post at least until a new minister is elected, which is what the OHR has proposed.
Another option is to change rules, which say that budget payments must be signed off by the finance minister.
Niksic has already filed a complaint to the Constitutional Court over the issue, claiming Budimir acted illegally.
In 2012, Niksic asked him to dismiss eight ministers from the entity government, including Krajina, after the governing Social Democratic Party, SDP, changed coalition partners.
However, Budimir refused the request - only to act on it more than a year later.
The initial coalition government in the Federation in 2012 comprised the SDP - of which Niksic is a member - the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, the Croatian Party of Rights, HSP, and the People's Party Work for Progress, NSRzB.
Later in 2012, the SDP formed a new parliamentary majority with other parties, which was why Niksic then asked the President to dismiss eight ministers from the government.
Among the new coalition partners was the Alliance for a Better Future, SBB, of which Skaljic was a member. However, this coalition has also since fallen apart, which is why Skaljic has now resigned.

Bosnian Croat Fighters Acquitted of War Crimes (BIRN, 14 January 2014)

Former Croatian Defence Council troops Veselko Raguz and Ivo Raguz were cleared of illegal arrests, abuse and torture of civilians in the area around Stolac and Capljina in 1993.

Justice Report

The state court in Sarajevo on Monday acquitted both men of the arrests and detention of Bosniak men from the Stolac area, the relocation of Bosniak women and children, and the physical abuse and torture of civilians in Dretelj from early July to late August 1993.

“The court could not conclude that Veselko and Ivo Raguz were criminally responsible for those acts, because of contradictions in witness testimonies in some key sections,” said presiding judge Minka Kreho.

Veselko Raguz was tried as the commander of the Fourth Brigade ‘Knez Domogoj’ of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), but the judge said that it also could not be concluded that he had command responsibility for the crimes.

Ivo Raguz, who is not related to Veselko Raguz, was tried as a member of the same military unit.

Explaining the verdict, the judge said that many of the prosecution witnesses confirmed that they had been arrested, but could not specify who was in charge of the arresting officers.

“Witnesses claimed that they were detained by soldiers of the HVO. It did not matter to them which unit it was, but to establish Veselko Raguz’s liability, it was required to conclude that his unit was responsible,” said Kreho.

The crimes in the indictment, were perpetrated when there were various military units in the area of Stolac and Capljina, but it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that they were committed by the members of the Fourth Battalion, the court concluded.

“The prosecution case was limited to the fact that Veselko Raguz was the commander of the Fourth Battalion, and nothing more,” said Kreho.

The verdict can be appealed.

Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia Mull Joint Embassies (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 14 January 2014)

To cut costs, Montenegro said it was interested in setting up more joint diplomatic representatives offices with other countries in the region.

Montenegro's Foreign Ministry said Podgorica is already conducting talks with countries in the region concerning joint embassies.
It has already signed a bilateral agreement on joint accommodation for diplomatic and consular offices with Macedonia.
Based on an earlier agreement, from 2007, Serbia also already represents the interests of Montenegro in more than 40 countries in which Podgorica has no diplomatic missions. Similar agreements are in place with Croatia and Bulgaria.
This form of representation usually includes consular affairs and protection, and assistance with visas, passports or in cases of accidents.
“The new arrangements will contribute to greater cost-effectiveness and improved efficiency of the work of diplomatic and consular offices and they also make room for faster expansion of the diplomatic network with visibly reduced costs," the Foreign Minister, Igor Luksic, said on Monday.
Serbia launched its own initiative on estabishing joint embassies in the region last year. Serbia said that it was making such an offer to cut the costs of the diplomatic network.
“We are closest to an agreement on the matter with Macedonia and Montenegro, but we will also make the same offer to all those who are interested in joining us," Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic said last week.

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski last week also confirmed that Skopje had discussed the idea with some of its neighbours.

However, he said Macedona was interested only in sharing office space but not in merging the diplomatic misions.
“Our diplomatic missions will stay apart. But for the sake of saving money on rents, the idea is to give away space [to other countries] where we have more than is needed and for others to do the same where they have extra room,” Gruevski told Macedonian media.