LOCAL PRESS

 

Ivanovic sentenced to nine years in prison (Beta/Tanjug)

Oliver Ivanovic, a Serb politician from northern Kosovo, has been found guilty on charges of war crimes and sentenced to nine years in prison. The international court chamber of the Basic Court on Kosovska Mitrovica was presided by Judge Roxana Comsa from Romania. Ivanovic stood accused of war crimes committed against ethnic Albanian civilians in 1999 and 2000.The indictment included retired MUP Colonel Dragoljub Delibasic, lawyer Ilija Vujacic, jurist Nebojsa Vujacic, and professor Aleksandar Lazovic - all four have been acquitted today. They were all charged with murder and attempted murder. All five defendants pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial. Ivanovic was found guilty on the first count of the indictment concerning crimes committed on April 14, 1999, while the court said he was not guilty on the second count that accused him of committing crimes during 2000. The judge said that Serbian forces in April 1999 organized an action of cleansing of the southern Kosovska Mitrovica with the goal of expelling ethnic Albanians and that many families were forced out of their homes and men separated from women and children. The ruling also state that Ivanovic was a member of the paramilitary units, that he wore a blue uniform and was armed, and that he, in front of nine Albanians, when a member of the Serb paramilitary police asked “what to do with them”, responded, “why do you ask, act on your orders”. The judge said that Ivanovic was aware of the operation of expulsion and killing of Albanian civilians and that he acted of his own volition knowing killings would occur. The ruling also said the court was unable to establish beyond any doubt that Ivanovic as acting as a leader of the Serb paramilitaries of the Serb police. Ivanovic was arrested in January 2014, with the trial starting almost a year later, in December. He spent 20 months in jail before he was released to house arrest in September 2015. Delibasic was also under house arrest, while other defendants were free pending the outcome of the trial. A total of 81 witnesses have been heard during the trial that lasted over a year.

 

Djuric: Serbia appalled by the verdict (RTS)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) that the verdict sentencing the leader of the SDP Civil Initiative Oliver Ivanovic to nine years in prison is scandalous and has nothing to with law and justice. Djuric says that Serbia is shocked with this verdict. “The verdict is in the function of politics. This is a political message not only to the Kosovo Serbs, but also to Belgrade and Serbia, but also to Kosovo Albanian political representatives since the wish is to establish artificially a political balance,” opines Djuric. “I think that this treatment of the rule of law and dialogue brings us at the same time into a situation where we need to examine our participation. My personal opinion is that we cannot continue this way,” says Djuric. He points out that Belgrade has all along been supporting Oliver Ivanovic and other indictees. “I have been in daily contact with him and his family. At issue is grave injustice, one man needs to be someone’s hostage and to stay in prison,” says Djuric, adding that the verdict today was a new concession to Pristina ahead of the continuation of talks with Belgrade on 27 January. “We must find the right measure of our response, Serbia has always been in favor of normal relations, we cannot stand anyone humiliating it... that must come to an end, we want to talk, but it must have some meaning,” Djuric said.

 

Ljajic: Verdict against Ivanovic politically motivated (Beta)

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajic said he was shocked with the verdict and expected the atmosphere in Kosovo to worsen. “This indictment can impact the general atmosphere that is being created. The logic of all people who have stayed in Kosovo is that, if this is how Ivanovic was treated – a fighter for democratic rights, what should then other citizens expect,” Ljajic told journalists in the Serbian parliament. “This is a verdict that is more politically than legally motivated. We have the right to believe that,” he said. According to Ljajic, to charge Ivanovic for war crimes is completely incompatible with what he had done on resolving the Kosovo problem. He added that Ivanovic’s action has never been contrary to democratic principles of resolving the Kosovo issue with legitimate Kosovo Albanian representatives. He reminded that the state had done everything within its possibilities, under the given circumstances - but unfortunately, those possibilities were limited. He also said the Serbian government wants the whole thing clarified completely, and wants the issue to be internationalized.

 

Drecun: Verdict might reflect on political stability and security situation (Tanjug)

The Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun thinks that the verdict will reflect on political stability and the security situation in northern Kosovo and Metohija, since many Serbs will have a feeling that the court was not sufficiently objective and that this is a message to the Serbs that they can be tried for things that had not committed. The trial was controversial from the start and the validity of witnesses accusing Ivanovic of alleged crimes was problematic, as were their statements and the fact that Ivanovic was not allowed to remain free pending a verdict despite Serbian government guarantees. “All this indicated a potential politicization of the trial, Drecun said.

 

Vulin: Ivanovic’s sentencing “rape of justice” (Tanjug)

Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Issues Aleksandar Vulin said today that the Oliver Ivanovic’s sentencing is a “rape of justice” and that it is impossible that it will become final verdict. Vulin said that it is continuation of the practice, under which politics prevail over law.​

 

Visa-free regime between EU and Kosovo is in Serbia’s interest (Danas)

The visa-free regime for Kosovo residents suits Serbia, Danas was told at the Serbian government. Danas’ interlocutors say the reason why they hope the EU will establish a visa-free regime with Kosovo is that this would also enable free movement for the Kosovo Serbs, i.e. to those who have Serbian passports. “Establishing the visa-free regime with Kosovo is in Serbia’s interest, so Kosovo residents who have Serbian passports are not discriminated in relation to others in Serbia proper,” Danas was told at the Serbian government. Diplomatic sources state that, despite the announcements of Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa that he will not attend the meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini within the Belgrade- Pristina dialogue, he will nevertheless attend. These Mustafa’s statements are interpreted as a message for the Kosovo public, and less for the EU. It can be unofficially heard in diplomatic circles that Kosovo representatives are in Brussels at present, where they are agreeing together with Serbian representatives the topics for the upcoming dialogue of the two prime ministers on 27 January. “The representatives of the technical teams have so far been discussing the implementation of the hitherto agreements,” Danas’ sources claim. They point out that the topics have not yet been agreed, i.e. that they expected this to be done yesterday. Asked whether this will be the last dialogue at the premier level until a new government is formed in Serbia, they say Brussels determines the dynamics of the agenda. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be the last meeting at the premier level before a new government is formed. During the 2014 election campaign in Serbia there were high-level meetings, but there weren’t any during last year’s election process in Pristina,” Danas’ interlocutors conclude.

 

Djuric: Parliamentary elections to be held on the territory of Serbia (Tanjug)

Serbian early parliamentary elections will be held on the territory of the entire country, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric said. Reacting to Kosovo Minister for dialogue Edita Tahiri’s statement that the elections would not be held in Kosovo, Djuric said that the questions concerning their holding would be decided on by the Republic Election Commission when the time came for that and that he expected the elections to be held in the whole country. Tahiri called statements that elections would be held in Kosovo Serbian propaganda that was not going to bear fruit. In 2014, the OSCE helped Serbia open 10 polling stations in Kosovo, where a total of 107,958 Kosovo Serbs were able to exercise their voting rights.

 

Albanians in southern Serbia request less signatures for registering minorities (Novosti)

The prerequisite of 10,000 signatures, which are necessary to collect in order to register the list for parliamentary elections, is also valid for parties of national minorities, while Albanian political parties are already complaining that this could be the threshold that they will not be able to cross. The deputy of the Party for Democratic Action (PDD) Riza Halimi asked the government to examine the possibility of enabling national minorities to register election lists with a proportional number of verified signatures. Another PDD representative in the parliament Shaip Kamberi says this party has still not decided whether it will take part in elections precisely over the signatures necessary for registration. “An Albanian party that wishes to take part in the parliamentary elections must collect five thousand signatures in two municipalities, Bujanovac and Presevo, while large parties collect an average of 100 signatures per municipality,” he says. On the other side, the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), the largest Hungarian party in Serbia, says they always provide enough signatures for registering lists without problems. The deputy of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) in Sandzak Enis Imamovic claims similarly: “We are one of the parties with the longest political and parliamentary experience in Serbia, with a stable support of voters.”

 

Vulin: We will receive only refugees seeking asylum in Austria and Germany (Novosti)

Based on the decision of the Austrian government, which has been sent to Serbia through the government of Slovenia and Croatia, the migrants will not be able to continue their movement through Serbia in the future is they have not expressed the intention to seek asylum in Austria and Germany,” Serbian Minister for Labor Aleksandar Vulin said. “Border controls have been established in Macedonia and Serbia, by introducing in the existing lists a special section: where the asylum is sought,” said Vulin.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Dodik: Mihajlovic does not understand the essence of the referendum (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said that he does not believe that Serbia could have problem because of the referendum in RS, on the work of the B&H Court and Prosecution. Reacting to the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Zorana Mihajlovic, that the referendum in the RS on the B&H Court and the Prosecutor’s Office wouldn’t suit Serbia, Dodik said that she did not understand the essence of the referendum in the RS. Dodik said that it might be possible that Mihajlovic was misinterpreted and pointed out that the presented position is something that he heard for the first time, coming from Belgrade. Dodik explained that so far, Belgrade’s position was that the RS should think regarding the issue of referendum, but that the decision lies with RS. RS leader pointed out that Serbia has never shown interest in interfering in the internal affairs of B&H, especially of RS, though, as he said, in RS they like to hear the views of Serbia. The referendum will most surely be held one day and in this respect is most important not to violate the Dayton Peace Agreement, and to let the people decide, said Dodik.

 

The most advised politician in B&H: Milorad Dodik has 17 advisers (Klix)

Unlike the three members of the B&H Presidency, which are advised by a total of 11 people, the RS President Milorad Dodik is advises by as many as 17 people. By comparison, the Chairman of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic is advised by a total of six people. Member of Presidency of B&H from the RS Mladen Ivanic is advised by two people. One counselor more, or a total of three, has a member of the Presidency of B&H from the Bosniak people Bakir Izetbegovic. Thus, in Dodik’s cabinet are hired Daniel Dragicevic as head of the cabinet, Nenad Kecmanovic, as the adviser for Political Affairs, Gordan Milosevic as adviser for international relations and Dijana Gajic as adviser for social affairs. Dodik is also advised by Bojana Vasiljevic, adviser for public finances, Cvijeta Tanasic, adviser for the Brcko District and Alexander Vranjes, another adviser for political affairs. On the budget are also Marinko Umicevic, adviser for the field of economy, Pantelija Curguz, advisor for intelligence and security affairs, Stefan Mitrovic, advisor for tax and inspection activities and Miladin Dragicevic, adviser for the restoration, reconstruction and sustainable return of refugees and displaced persons and relations with NGO’s and religious communities. Dalibor Racic, Prokopios Mancuranis and Rajko Tomas are also working as advisers of the RS President, however it is not stated in which field. Dodik also has two advisers for the media, Pero Simic and Biljana Bokic.

 

New law: Only the chair and his deputies will have advisors (RTBN)

The Council of Ministers of B&H established the Proposal of amendments to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Administration, proposed by the Ministry of Justice of B&H. With these amendments, appointment of advisors and chiefs of cabinets is limited to the Chair and Deputy Chairs of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H. moreover, procedures for the adoption of regulations on internal organization of ministries, administrative organizations and administrative bodies and services are prescribed more clearly. The General Secretariat will submit a Proposal of amendments to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Administration to the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H.

 

B&H – EU: Application for membership by month’s end (Oslobodjenje)

Mladen Ivanic, member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency from Republika Srpska (RS), said that he is optimistic when it comes to the issue of Europe’s support for B&H, and that the EU membership application will be submitted by the end of the month. He believes it would be good to reach a resolution on the issue of the coordination mechanism. "It should be that some of these mild concerns that exist are resolved, which would create a more positive aspect. Of course, there is also the trade agreement,” said Ivanic. He believes that B&H deserves a reward for what it did last year, when, as he said, there was a lot of movement.

 

The arrest at the airport in Sarajevo: A man from Velika Kladusa fought for ID in Syria (Nezavisne)

Police officers of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) last night, at the border crossing “International Airport Sarajevo” by order of the Prosecutor’s Office arrested a person with initials M.K. (1986) from Velika Kladusa after being deported from Turkey, announced the Prosecutor’s Office. “M.K. was arrested under suspicion of having committed a criminal offense of being a member of a terrorist group, related to the offence of terrorism and crime illegal forming or joining a paramilitary or para-police formations,” the statement said. The person suspected of being at the Syrian front since November 2014 till June 2015, where he participated in the armed conflict on the side of ISIL. Very good police cooperation was achieved at national and international levels, which resulted in deportation of mentioned person from Turkey, after it has being there in custody for a certain period of time, reads the released from SIPA.

 

HR Inzko visits Japan: Respect for rule of law vital to progress in B&H (Nezavisne)

The High Representative (HR) Valentin Inzko is visiting Tokyo today and tomorrow where he is meeting with senior officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, including Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Miki Yamada, and delivering a keynote speech at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. “We should work to do everything we can to assist B&H in making decisive progress to advance with its reform agenda while also ensuring that the Peace Agreement is fully respected. At the centre of these efforts is respect for the rule of law. This is vital in order to provide hope for the people of B&H that a better future is absolutely possible. We have come a long way over the last twenty years, but we must remain engaged and see the job through to its conclusion. We are not there yet,” the HR said. Inzko emphasized the role of Japan as one of the largest bilateral donors to B&H’s post-war reconstruction and recovery, as well as one of the largest donors to the OHR and thanked the government of Japan for its generous support and strong commitment to B&H as well as to the international community’s efforts to facilitate lasting stability and prosperity for the country and its people.​

 

Interview with HR Valentin Inzko (Oslobodjenje)

Oslobodjenje: The Constitutional Court’s Decision on January 9 has been published. How will it be implemented, or, can it be – as Mr. Ivanic said – bypassed?

Valentin Inzko: When it comes to the implementation of the ruling the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Constitution, Annex 4 of the Peace Agreement, explicitly states that decisions of the Constitutional Court are final and binding and accordingly, we expect all decisions to be implemented. Observance of the rule of law and abiding by the Dayton Peace Agreement, and in particular the constitutional and legal framework of B&H, are prerequisites for lasting stability and future development of B&H. Otherwise I would expect that the President of the country supports the institutions of the country.

Oslobodjenje: Although the state had an obligation to adopt the Law on the Constitutional Court of B&H, we do not have it yet. What is your view of the proposal coming from Republika Srpska (RS) in which there is no more room for foreign judges?

Valentin Inzko: The Parliamentary Assembly has the possibility, not the obligation, to pass a law regulating different methods of selecting these three judges. They have not used this opportunity to date. However, it is important to note that the law can only deal with the selection process and can only apply to the judges who will replace those currently serving once their mandate comes to an end at age 70. Also, the law cannot cover matters that are regulated by the Constitution or the Rules of Court. The international judges on the Constitutional Court of B&H continue to play an important role and they continue to have my full support, as does the B&H Constitutional Court. This institution is a key pillar of the Dayton Framework and it needs to remain functional in order to uphold the Constitution which is in the interests of all in this country. Some of their decisions will not be embraced by all, but they are the law of the land and they must be respected. By the way, the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the appointment of foreign judges was accepted and consented to by the Serb side in Dayton. It is highly immoral first to sign and later to go back on this commitment.

Oslobodjenje: For some time now you have been told from the RS to go home: how would you describe the OHR’s role at this moment?

Valentin Inzko: The role of the OHR has evolved over the years and this was always the plan, to take Bosnia and Herzegovina to the point where it would no longer be necessary to have a High Representative. This is still the plan, but we are not yet there. The main reason we are not yet there is because the political class of this country has wasted a decade while also challenging some of the fundamentals of the Peace Agreement, and of course not fulfilling the clearly defined conditions for OHR closure, known as the 5+2 agenda. A final decision about closure can be taken only by the relevant body, the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, and this is not currently under discussion. How could it be when we see such open and concrete challenges to the Peace Agreement as the referendum that is being threatened? My Office will continue to facilitate progress, but we will not go back to an approach where the OHR was driving and delivering progress when the authorities failed to do so. Equally so, if any party proceeds with threats that challenge the Peace Agreement then these will need to be dealt with. We are not going to have a rules free environment where politicians trample over the Peace Agreement.

Oslobodjenje: While Milorad Dodik is choosing a date for holding a referendum on the decisions of the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of B&H, which Ognjen Tadic says is actually the question “Do you agree with the decisions of the High Representative”, this same judiciary is conducting an investigation against the RS president. Will the OHR watch peacefully how the entity president takes over the powers of state agencies, including through the RS Police Law, instructing that arrest reports should be submitted to him?

Valentin Inzko: The referendum is unconstitutional and I have made this very clear, including in my submission to the UN Security Council. Law enforcement agencies are crucial in the fight against crime, including organized crime and corruption, and for delivering a safe and secure environment for B&H citizens. Effective and modern policing is an indispensable tool and therefore there can be no compromise when it comes to efficiency, professionalism and true independence from improper political interference in police work. In addition to my assessment of the referendum as a violation of Dayton, all the 28 foreign ministers of the EU, the vast majority of the UN Security Council, Serbian Prime Minister Vucic and President Nikolic, have expressed opposition to the referendum. Shall we conclude that they are all wrong and only Milorad Dodik is right?

Oslobodjenje: There has been much talk in the public lately about (in)sincere statements by the Serbian Prime Ministers about B&H. Can anyone from a neighboring country control Dodik and do the politicians there have such intentions at all?

Valentin Inzko: I believe that Prime Minister Vucic and the Serbian authorities in general, as they have pledged on numerous occasions, will continue to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of B&H and the Peace Agreement overall. I also look to Serbia to support efforts to help B&H to be on a positive track.

Oslobodjenje: The question of filling the Serb Caucus in the Federation HoP is a problem troubling this government, too. Is your position closer to the view that this question should be resolved within broader constitutional changes talked about in B&H for years or that one should accept the solution of the Federation President Milan Dunovic, i.e. to fill the Caucus in the third round?

Valentin Inzko: My view is very straightforward. The fact that a number of Serb delegates are missing in the House should not affect the ability of the caucus or the House as a whole to perform its important functions. It should for the time being function with the existing number of deputies. At the same time, I firmly believe that the issue of ensuring full representation of Serbs in the House of Peoples needs to be addressed as a matter of priority. If there is the political will to do so I see no reason why we could not find a solution even if it requires changing the Constitution. My Office stands ready to assist the Serb caucus and the competent authorities in the Federation to do so.

Oslobodjenje: In December, you recalled the sixth anniversary of the Sejdic-Finci judgment, pointing out that its implementation would be a proof of maturity of B&H authorities. Dou you believe, then, that the whole talk about mega-cantons and the third entity and mutual accusations between political leaders in our country are – to say the least – irresponsible?

Valentin Inzko: B&H needs to bring the country’s Constitution and its electoral arrangements in line with the European Court’s ruling and the European Convention on Human Rights. This ruling is about removing blatant discrimination from the system of governance and making sure that every citizen in B&H enjoys the same right to participate in public life. What is wrong with that? At the moment the immediate priority of this country is to advance the Reform Agenda, but this issue remains and will need to be addressed in the not too distant future, along with other steps that could deliver major progress and a greater level of functionality. The Federation also needs reform and the discussions that were launched several years ago should continue. There are different ideas out there and I see no reason not to talk about this and build support for steps that bring greater efficiency and functionality, but which also help to advance the reintegration of the country.

Oslobodjenje: What hope can B&H citizens have in 2016, at a time when the Federation Prime Minister refutes his own statements and a minimum wage of 410 KM is now too high for him?

Valentin Inzko: I certainly welcome ongoing efforts by the leadership of B&H to make further progress on the Reform Agenda, especially those reforms necessary to advance the country’s integration into the European Union. I hope that B&H authorities and institutions will speed up the delivery of reforms in all areas– including socioeconomic, rule of law, justice and public administration. This is what citizens want. This is what the international community wants. Some of the reforms will be difficult, but they will also bring new opportunities for the country and its people. There must be a sense of urgency, along with a change in the political dynamic, so the country and its many talented and hardworking people can reach their full potential here and not abroad. 2016 can be a year of progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration, growth and job creation if there is the political will to make it so. I hope this is the choice the authorities make because too much time has been lost on empty rhetoric and intentionally created crises designed to convince citizens that they are in danger and that they need to be protected by “their politicians.” I think citizens have well and truly worked out that the biggest threat to them comes from precisely those who claim to defend them, when they decide to put their own narrow interests first. 2016 is a big year for B&H and it is an even bigger year for the political class in this country. They need to prove that they can be part of the solution rather than the problem.

Oslobodjenje: What is your view on the events regarding the General Hospital and the University Clinical Center?

Valentin Inzko: I am not aware of the details, but it seems to me that the University Clinical Center’s Steering Board has made a rather unhygienic move. I hear the things are being resolved at the cantonal and the FB&H level, and I expect a fair solution to an issue that is important to many citizens.​

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbia’s Early Elections: A Primer (Balkanist Magazine, by Lily Lynch, 20 January 2016)

An introduction to the issues and motivations underlying Serbia’s snap elections.

Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has called snap elections less than two years after his party’s last landslide electoral victory. Many say Vucic wants to strengthen and prolong his already vice-tight grip on power, while he claims he needs the fresh four-year mandate to maintain the stability that will ultimately allow Serbia to join the EU. But Vucic’s pledges to secure “stability” and undertake “reforms” have taken on an increasingly vacuous quality in the aftermath of the early elections in March 2014. Two years ago, Vucic’s Progressive Party (SNS) won 158 out of 250 seats in parliament and nearly got away with turning Serbia back into a one-party state. “Vucic called for the early elections because he likes to win power more than anything else and prefers to be at the beginning of the mandate,” Filip Ejdus, a Marie Curie Fellow at the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol told Balkanist. “This gives him a sense of omnipotence both in relation to domestic and foreign policy challenges.” Intensifying Vucic’s sense of omnipotence has been his enormous popularity with the Serbian public. In May of 2013, his personal approval rating was over 70 percent. SNS has become so powerful that Serbia now has a unipolar political landscape, meaning there is effectively no competitive opposition left. Public opinion polls conducted by Ispos Marketing late last year reveal that around 50 percent of participants said they’d vote for SNS if elections were held tomorrow, dwarfing their second place coalition partners in the Socialist Party (SPS), who were polling at around 10 percent. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party (DS), which was balkanized into several smaller, weaker iterations of its former self under rather murky circumstances prior to the 2014 elections, has been polling at just nine percent. But as Ejdus points out, Vucic faces a multitude of challenges both at home and abroad, meaning these astronomical public approval ratings can’t last forever. Indeed, some analysts say one of Vucic’s domestic problems is his own party: SNS officials in certain localities have failed to win the support necessary to secure any votes. In order to forestall disaster in the upcoming local and Vojvodina parliamentary elections, Vucic took decisive action. “SNS wanted to have parliamentary elections to boost local results,” Dragan Popovic, President of the Policy Center in Belgrade, told Balkanist. “Their representatives on the local level are far from Vucic’s popularity and they need his name and the list which is led by him.” On Monday, Vucic announced that the national parliamentary elections (the vote his party should win by a landslide) will be held on the same date as local and parliamentary elections in Vojvodina. In doing so, he hopes to increase SNS’s fortunes in a number of locations where public support for the neighborhood SNS party officials has been polling perilously low. Vucic does not want to risk giving the electorate the impression that his party’s power is waning anywhere. Yet clearly SNS’s overreliance on Vucic’s PR-manufactured personality cult has now revealed itself for what it is: a real internal weakness for the party. One official explained to me just how extreme the discrepancy between support for local SNS bureaucrats and Vucic can be. In cities like Kragujevac, Trstenik, and Kraljevo, there are local party officials with approval ratings as low as 20 – 30 percent, while support for Vucic among the same group of SNS voters has remained as high as 40 – 50 percent. A similar situation exists in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, where a Democratic Party-led coalition controls the parliament, making the northern flatlands of Serbia something of a fragile opposition stronghold. Right now, Vucic is demonstrating that he’ll go pretty far to make sure that changes in the upcoming elections. On January 15th, municipal councilors from the Democratic Party and League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) in the town of Bela Crkva allege that tear gas was thrown at them and that private security guards had prevented them from attending “the extraordinary session of the municipal assembly convened at the initiative of the Serb Progressive Party (SNS)”. SNS responded to this assertion through the pro-government tabloid Blic. Their story was outrageous. The ruling party alleged that in Bela Crkva, a bucolic town of about 8,000 people, it had been the municipal councilors for the opposition DS and LSV who had carried out an organized palace coup-style attack on SNS, first by convening 100 protesters to block the entrance to the municipal assembly where SNS planned to gather. Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, a charmless member of Vucic’s ruling party, reported a second version of the events in the Serbian media. “A number of citizens attempted to enter the municipal building by force, and they carried DS and LSV party symbols,” Interior Minister Stefanovic claimed, mirroring his boss’s pathological habit of positioning himself and his party as the victim in any situation. Stefanovic also claimed to have video footage from Presevo TV (which just so happened to be in little Bela Crkva in mid-January) of people holding DS flags and “storming the municipal building”. Meanwhile, it’s been five days and no video or photos of the incident which supposedly involved 100 people who stormed the ruling party’s meeting while waving political flags like crazed revolutionaries have been made public. If the interior minister’s story was true, it should have received wide international attention from the media and human rights groups as evidence that Vojvodina is another Balkan “trouble spot”: seething with separatist desire and apparently on the brink of a Balkan war. Branislav Bugarski, the Provincial Secretary for Local Self-Government in Vojvodina tried to get the attention of the international community after the events in Bela Crkva. “The situation is getting more than worrisome, and now it is certain that the international community will have to protect Vojvodina and democracy in Vojvodina,” he said, adding that he would ask for external assistance in monitoring the upcoming parliamentary elections in the province. In Vojvodina, the events had another dimension. Dasko Milinovic of Radio Television Vojvodina, told Balkanist that before the SNS meeting in question, Bela Crkva had abruptly gone from being a Democratic Party-controlled town to an SNS-controlled town. Someone had been asked to step down from the municipal council; another had been found to replace him, allowing SNS to ascend to power. The day of the alleged confrontation several municipal councilors had gathered to protest the sudden SNS takeover. According to Zeljko Crnogorac, the head of DS in Bela Crkva, the protesters were attacked with teargas. Interior Minister Stefanovic refuted this assertion. “Citizens in front of the building got sprayed with pepper spray, not tear gas,” Stefanovic corrected a reporter. SNS has seized power in Bela Crkva, and is likely to continue its encroachment across Vojvodina, eventually all the way to the parliament building in Novi Sad. And what more efficient way to collect and consolidate as much power as possible than to hold parliamentary, local and provincial elections all on the same day? Another round of early elections will mean more time with Vucic in power, but his shine is already wearing off. Problems that matter to people beyond the Belgrade elite have been ignored.  Over 500 Serbian companies were bankrupt as of late December 2015, and the famous car maker Zastava just became one of them. The loss-making, long-suffering Smederevo Steel Mill, which has swallowed $120 million a year in subsidies since the Serbian government bought it back from U.S. Steel for $1 in 2012 to save 5,000 jobs, has never received the attention it deserves from Vucic, who prefers gleaming mega-projects built by starchitects to troubled steel mills and the thousands of residents of the city of Smederevo. Vucic’s decision to call early elections now are characteristic of his calculating opportunism. “[Vucic] knows that his popularity will soon start eroding and wants to transform his approval rating into more time in power,” Ejdus told Balkanist. “His phony economic reforms are showing pathetic results and some really difficult decisions regarding Kosovo lie ahead. It’s simply better to cash out now and buy four more years.” I exchanged a few messages with SNS founder Nenad Petrovic before the sun came up this morning. I told him that elections in Serbia were boring without an opposition. “They say that in the developed and democratic states, elections are really boring,” Petrovic replied. “And that’s our way ” Then I remembered what Bugarski, the person in charge of local government in Vojvodina said after the events in Bela Crkva a few days ago:

“No party in Serbia has the right to suspend democracy.”

 

Davutoğlu requested Serbian mediation in Russia crisis, says envoy (Today’s Zaman, by Arif Tekdal, 20 January 2016)

The Serbian ambassador to Turkey has said that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu requested Serbia's mediatory role to ease tensions with Russia after Turkey shot down a Russian jet on the Turkish border in November.

Speaking to Today's Zaman in an exclusive interview, Ambassador Danilo Vucetic explained that it was Davutoğlu who asked Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic to play a mediatory role between Turkey and Russia during a two-day visit to the Balkan country in December.

Davutoğlu led a delegation of 100 businessmen to Belgrade on Dec. 28 to boost economic relations with Serbia, where he also announced that the two countries had agreed to initiate High Level Cooperation Council meetings. The Turkish General Staff said on Nov. 24 that it shot down a Russian Su-24 jet, insisting that it was warned 10 times in five minutes before it was targeted. However, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed it was shot down in Syrian airspace.

Russia has set about punishing Turkey with a number of sanctions ranging from the blocking of imported food from Turkey to urging its citizens to steer away from holidaying in Turkey.

Ambassador Vucetic told Today's Zaman that it was actually Davutoğlu who suggested to President Nikolic that Serbia play a mediatory role in Turkey's recent spat with Russia.

“The exact and particular extent of what Serbia can do in this matter is yet to be seen, but what matters most here is the goodwill and constructiveness we are representing,” he said.

Vucetic: Trilateral mechanism being revived with economic angle

In the interview conducted at the ambassador's residence in Ankara overlooking Kuğulu Park, Vucetic spoke about the trilateral mechanism between Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to improve ties. The trilateral initiative was postponed indefinitely by Serbia after then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in October 2013, “Do not forget that Kosovo is Turkey and Turkey is Kosovo,” during an address in Prizren, where there is a significant Turkish population. “Never forget that all of us are people with a shared history, culture and civilization; we are brothers and relatives to one another,” he added. The trilateral meeting took place in October 2015 in Sarajevo following diplomatic efforts. “We [Serbia] are reviving the mechanism but putting emphasis on the economic cooperation between the three countries, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very important economic partner of Serbia,” he said. Ambassador Vucetic said Turkey is also interested in having more of a presence, economically speaking, in Serbia. “If we have good economic cooperation, we have good cooperation in some other domains. This kind of cooperation is very important for the stability of the region.” “You know the complexity of the situation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We [Serbia] respect [the] Dayton Agreement. We have very good special relations with the Republika Srpska, but our orientation is to develop at the maximum level our relations with Sarajevo, with Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.”

“We respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is no doubt about it. On the other side we respect the architecture of the Dayton Agreement,” Vucetic said.

Envoy suggests EU wants Serbia to recognize Kosovo as part of EU accession

Vucetic also touched upon Serbia's EU accession process, noting that the EU is requesting that Serbia sign a legally binding agreement, which he can only interpret as the EU's attempts to force Serbia to recognize Kosovo. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Turkey, the US, the UK, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and France, among others, all recognize Kosovo. Vucetic said the Brussels Agreement, which was drawn up between Serbia and Kosovo in 2013 under the auspices of the EU but not signed by either, envisages Serbia's recognition of Kosovo after all negotiating chapters are completed.

“The position of the Serbian government is clear, [we] will never recognize unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo,” he said, adding that EU officials have said in private conversations with their Serbian counterparts that Serbia cannot be admitted as a member of the EU with “an open problem,” referring to the recognition of Kosovo.