Belgrade DMH

LOCAL PRESS

Next battle for Serb community (Novosti)

Rapid formation of the local assemblies and the Union of Serb Municipalities are the steps after the victory of the Serbian (Srpska) Civic Initiative in Serb regions in Kosovo and Metohija. According to the preliminary results of the second round of the elections, the list supported by the Serbian Government triumphed in nine out of ten Serb majority municipalities. The candidate of the Serbian list was defeated only in Strpce, where the Independent Liberal Party (SLS) won. “The Serbs demonstrated maturity at the elections and listened to their state of Serbia. Now before us is the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities and consolidation of Serb political power before the central elections in Kosovo and Metohija,” Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic told Novosti. The new mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica Krstimir Pantic has stated that this town will be the centre of the future Union: “For 14 years, Kosovska Mitrovica has been the symbol of resistance to the Albanization of the north. The Serbian Government will continue precisely from here the battle for preserving legal and legitimate interests in this region. The Union of Serb Municipalities will be an obstacle for further recognition of Kosovo’s independence.” Pantic announces that the Union, after it is formed, will establish its representative office in Brussels: “This will contribute both for the Serbian Government and foreign investors to invest in this region, which will improve the quality of life of all our citizens. The leader of the Serbian list Vladeta Kostic explains the order of moves until the formation of the Union of Serb Municipalities: “When the Central Electoral Commission (CIK) announces the final results, the final deadline for constituting the Assembly is 30 days. Then the Statue will be adopted based on which the Union will be formed. Transfer of authorities will unfold gradually.”

Vulin: Unity is the key word (RTS)

Serbian Minister without Portfolio in charge of Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin has stated that the problems of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija will be resolved with the help of the Union of Serb Municipalities with a united policy at the moment when they appear. “The Serbs have clearly stated what suits them and what they want. Unity is the key word, with a united policy we will manage to fight for all of our goals,” Vulin told the Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) news. He points out that everything could have been done in 2000 to help the Serbs, but this possibility has been decreasing over the years. By 2014 there would have been no possibility had we not done things this way, he says. According to him, as of Tuesday, the Management Team will be discussing with European representatives in Brussels the experiences of others as to how this functions, what are the ideas and how the Union should look like. “Once the majority is formed in all municipalities, in nine where the Serbs make up the majority, there will be a draft statute and everyone will vote on it,” said Vulin. Speaking about the fact that all options are open for forming the authorities in Kosovska Mitrovica, Vulin says this is important but that it is one of the ten Serb municipalities. “Our general policy will be to gather and unite the Serbs everywhere – around their government, around their flag, around the Serbian (Srpska) list. There were those who doubted the success of this policy, this is best proof,” says Vulin, adding the Serbian list won more votes than other Serbian lists together. The Minister pointed out that nobody will be able to engage in politics in Kosovo and Metohija without wondering what the Serbian list and the Serbs think about that. Commenting Krstimir Pantic’s statement that the Union of Serb Municipalities will be a “pebble in Thaqi’s shoe,” Vulin points out at issue is something more than a pebble, because for the first time an institution will be formed that will be recognized in Belgrade, Pristina, Brussels and the entire world. He explained that this body would be a mechanism recognized by the Constitution whereby the Serbs will be inextricably connected with Belgrade. In regard to the possible participation of the Serb coalition at the future parliamentary elections in Kosovo and Metohija, Vulin says this will be decided at a later time. “My suggestion and recommendation of the Serbian Government will always be joint participation,” said Vulin.

EU without firm decision on negotiations with Serbia (Novosti)

The wish of the Lithuanian presidency of the EU is for the first inter-governmental conference with Serbia, which would officially open negotiations for EU membership, to be held on 20 December, but it is not known whether this will be achieved, writes Novosti. This was stressed by those responsible for the organization of the meeting. Brussels spokesperson for the Lithuanian presidency Vykintas Pugaciauskas told the paper that they would do everything to hold the conference by the end of the presidency of Lithuania, but added: “The final decision has not been made. The member states are still discussing both about the content of the negotiating framework and a date for holding the inter-governmental conference. The result of these talks will be known only at the ministerial meeting on 16 and 17 December. Everything before that is just speculation.” The exchange of arguments among European capitals will last until the last moment, says the article, and adds: The afternoon of 20 December after the summit seems ideal for the official start of negotiations with Belgrade, but, for example, Monday 23 is also considered as a possibility, just before the break in the work of European institutions for the Catholic Christmas. The daily’s well-informed sources said that a date just before the New Year was also possible, but they are not excluding the possibility of transferring everything to January, which is the latest deadline set by the European Council last summer. The European Commission, which will conduct the negotiations, does not know with certainty when they will be given the starting signal. “The date for holding the first inter-governmental conference will be determined by the member states,” Peter Stano, spokesperson of the EU Enlargement Commissioner, was quoted as saying. They are, however, already prepared for this meeting, and a similar message to be on standby has been sent to the high-ranking delegation from Belgrade.

REGIONAL PRESS

Fule: Model for election of delegates in the House of Peoples agreed (Srna/TV1)

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule has stated in Prague that agreement was reached among B&H political agreements on the model for election of delegates in the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly. “I am glad that the leaders agreed on the composition and model for election of delegates in the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliament,” Fule told a press conference at 4.30 a.m., TV1 reports. Fule noted that progress had also been achieved in view of the election of B&H Presidency members, pointing out that now the leaders need to continue with the efforts in seeking a solution for the last element of the election of B&H Presidency members. The press conference was also attended by the SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic, the SDP leader Zlatko Lagumdzija and the SDA vice president Bakir Izetbegovic. The leaders of the SNDS, SDS, HDZ B&H and HDZ 1990, Milorad Dodik, Mladen Bosic, Dragan Covic and Martin Raguz respectively, did not attend the press conference. Member of the B&H Presidency and SDA deputy president Bakir Izetbegovic has stated that a solution will be reached within several days and that they will be signing a final agreement in Brussels. “An additional mechanism, that there will be no imposition of will, has been agreed in principle and things are now closer on the whole,” said Izetbegovic. The SBB leader Fahrudin Radoncic has stated that several big steps had been made and that B&H is closer to fulfilling an important obligation towards the EU. The SDP leader Zlatko Lagumdzija voiced satisfaction with the harmonization of the model for election of delegates of the House of Peoples.  The HDZ 1990 leader Martin Raguz told Srna that no final agreement was reached in Prague on the election for the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly and B&H Presidency members. “Talks will continue at the expert level on 5 and 6 December in Sarajevo. The largest part of issues regarding the election of delegates for the House of Peoples has been resolved, but no final agreement has been reached,” said Raguz. He added there is also no crucial, final step when it comes to the election of B&H Presidency members referring to imposing election will to anyone. Raguz said great efforts were invested and that they should not give up. The SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has stated that the meeting of B&H political leaders in Prague was unnecessary and unsuccessful, and that they hadn’t agreed on the election of delegates for the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliamentary Assembly. Dodik stressed that the assessment that agreement had been reached was incorrectly voiced, adding that the segment on the election of delegates for the House of Peoples was not sufficient to resolve the Sejdic-Finci issue. “As regards the House of Peoples, our stand has been clear from the very beginning. Nowhere in the ruling of the Court in Strasbourg does it state that the Constitution needs to state that ‘others’ must be elected, because the intention of this decision is not to favor any single ethnic group. That is why it was requested to take off ethnic symbols for any kind of elections,” said Dodik.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

EU-Serbia: inclusivity important in accession process (PR europa, 3 December 2013)

Following his meeting with Dragan Djilas, leader of the Democratic Party from Serbian Commissioner Štefan Füle said: "Today I met the leader of the Democratic Party from Serbia, Dragan Djilas. Mr Djilas shared with me his assessment of the current state of play in Serbia's reforms and politics. We discussed the European integration process of Serbia, in the light of the decision of the June European Council to open accession negotiations with Serbia and with a view to the forthcoming decisive meetings of the Council in December.

I recalled that since June, the Commission immediately proceeded with the next steps of Serbia’s accession process, tabling the draft negotiating framework already on 22 July and launching the screening process, which started in September with Chapter 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights) and continued since with Chapter 24 (Justice, freedom and security) and Chapter 32 (Financial control).

I emphasised that the positive findings of the 2013 Progress Report would provide a solid backdrop for the discussions in the Council, while the further progress that will be achieved in the implementation of the April Agreement and its implementation plan would also play an eminent role.

We also elaborated on the key areas for which Serbia will need to confirm or deliver new efforts to move decisively in this more demanding phase of accession negotiations. I consider this meeting the start of a more regular exchange of views with the opposition to ensure the inclusivity of the accession negotiation process.

I also encouraged him and his party, as much as all other Serbian political actors willing to advance Serbia's European aspirations, to continue to act constructively and responsibly in the forthcoming period, including by supporting Serbia’s unprecedented efforts towards the normalisation of its relations with Kosovo."

Kosovo hardliners win top posts in local polls (AFP, 2 December 2013)

(PRISTINA) - Hard-line nationalists took top posts in Kosovo's capital as well as the main Serb-populated town in the breakaway territory in local elections, preliminary results showed Monday.

The electoral commission said the capital Pristina was won by Shpend Ahmeti of the nationalist Self Determination movement, which opposes the presence of the European Union and NATO in Kosovo as well as any talks with Serbia.

Belgrade-backed nationalist candidate Krstimir Pantic won the mayoral post in tense ethnically-divided Kosovska Mitrovica, the main town in the northern region populated mostly by Serb minority.

Although the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci lost power in three towns, it would still control most of the municipalities -- ten out of 29 -- in the former Serbian province.

The election was part of a historic deal brokered by the EU in April to normalise ties between Serbia and Kosovo since the breakaway territory proclaimed independence in 2008.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's independence but had urged its ethnic Serb community to vote and have their say in Pristina-run institutions.

Some 120,000 ethnic Serbs live in Kosovo, whose 1.8 million population is mainly Albanian.

Round one of the vote, on November 3, was annulled in Mitrovica due to violence by Serbian extremists. Repeat elections were held two weeks later under police watch.

Some 40,000 ethnic Serbs, who have recognised neither Kosovo's independence nor the authorities in Pristina since the end of the 1998-1999 war, form a majority in the north.

Authorities on both sides of the border hope that a peaceful and successful election can boost their hopes of joining the European Union.

Elected officials will also form an "Association of Serb municipalities" to replace Belgrade-elected institutions in northern Kosovo that both Pristina and the international community deem illegal.

Seselj Demands Dismissal of Trial (IWPR, by Rachel Irwin, 2 December 2013)

Accused says it is wrong for a new judge to be appointed late in the day

Serbian nationalist politician Vojislav Seselj has demanded that the case against him be thrown out at the Hague tribunal, plus a compensation award of 12 million euro (16 million US dollars).

Seselj made the request after one of the judges hearing the case against him, Frederik Harhoff, was disqualified only a few months before judgement was to be rendered. (See Decision To Disqualify Seselj Judge Upheld [2].)

The judgement date of October 30 was subsequently cancelled, and Judge Mandiaye Niang from Senegal was appointed to replace Judge Harhoff.

Seselj, who has been in detention since 2003, is charged with nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities carried out in an effort to expel non-Serbs from parts of Croatia and Bosnia between August 1991 and September 1993.

His trial was supposed to start in 2006, but was postponed for nearly a year after he went on hunger strike. When proceedings finally got under way in November 2007, they were delayed for long periods at a time. Seselj, who represents himself in the courtroom, chose not to present a defence case. Closing arguments in his trial were held in March 2012.

In the 16-page English translation of a November 20 motion he wrote in Serbian, Seselj objects to the decision to appoint a new judge, arguing that this is “legally impossible” because “Judge Niang has not spent a single day participating in the proceedings”.

In addition to not being there to observe and question witnesses, Judge Niang “could not have read the trial transcript, and he will not be able to read all that even in a year”, the statement says.

The only way Judge Niang could legitimately take part in proceedings would be in the event of a retrial, Seselj contends.

“That the proceedings against Vojislav Seselj have been dragged out is so obvious that it is beyond dispute that [he] has been subjected to unbelievable torture,” the motion states.

Seselj alleges, as he has many times previously, that the charges against him are unsubstantiated and “trumped up”.

Simultaneously, Seselj has been tried and convicted of contempt of court three times for revealing personal details of protected witnesses. Referencing one of these convictions and the 18-month prison sentence imposed, he notes that “had this not been tragic, it would have been comical”.

The statement says that the defendant has suffered “non-pecuniary damages that cannot be compensated by the mere recognition of the violations of his rights”. The recompense should be 12 million euro, it concludes.

The prosecution responded on December 2 by arguing that the trial should continue “at the deliberation stage” once Judge Niang familiarises himself with the evidence on the record.

It said that given all the evidence already presented during the trial – including 97 witnesses and 1,399 exhibits – “the interests of justice demands a determination of whether or not the accused is guilty. This is unaffected by the recent finding of an appearance of bias on the part of one judge”.

The prosecution said there was a precedent for bringing in a replacement judge at a late stage of proceedings. In the case against the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, Judge Iain Bonomy replaced Judge Richard May after the close of the prosecution’s case, when Judge May stepped down on health grounds.

In that instance, Judge Bonomy filed a certification that “he had familiarised himself with the existing record”.

The prosecution notes that Judge Bonomy had a far larger record to familiarise himself with than Judge Niang– a total of 358 witnesses as opposed to 97 in the Seselj trial.

Therefore, the prosecution continued, the “trial chamber should order a continuation of the proceedings and start deliberations anew, notwithstanding any pending appeal, as soon as Judge Niang has familiarised himself with the record of the proceedings”.

Shell, Bosnia region to soon start talks on oil exploration (Reuters, by Daria Sito-Sucic, 2 December 2013)

SARAJEVO - Bosnia's autonomous Muslim-Croat Federation expects to start talks in late February with a unit of oil major Royal Dutch Shell on a concession for oil exploration, a minister said on Monday.

The talks with Shell Exploration Company, which start only after the government has picked consultants, are expected to last up to nine months, Federation Energy Minister Erdal Trhulj told Reuters.

"Bearing in mind the extent of the possible deal, we would be able to sign a contract awarding the concession to Shell at the end of 2014," Trhulj said. "This is an enormous endeavour that has never before been conducted in Bosnia.".

The investment will range between $300 million and $700 million depending on the number of drilling sites, he said.

After the 1992-95 war, Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions, the federation dominated by Muslim Bosniaks and Croats, and the Serb Republic. Each has a right to use natural resources on its soil without consulting the other region.

Before the war, U.S. and British researchers identified five potential oilfields in the Muslim-Croat Federation and possibly as many in the Serb Republic.

The federation government approached Shell in 2011 after deciding to revive oil and gas exploration plans based on the pre-war research.

A two-year preliminary deal signed in November 2011 tasked Shell with developing a data room.

In September this year, Shell expressed interest to get a concession in three areas containing possible deposits, but the government agreed only to a concession in the Dinaridi area, stretching from the town of Bihac in the west to the Adriatic town of Neum in the south.

Experts say that southern deposits, located at a depth of 4,000-8,000 metres, could contain up to 500 million tonnes of oil reserves, while northern beds are estimated at around 70 million tonnes.

The Serb Republic in 2011 awarded a concession for exploring potential oilfields to Jadran Naftagas, a joint venture between Russia's Neftegazinkor, a unit of state-owned Zarubezhneft, and Serbian oil firm NIS, majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft .

The company started drilling last June as part of a $41 million investment in the first exploration phase but has so far reported no significant findings.

Bosnia And Herzegovina: Gang Kingpin And Accomplices Sentenced For Murder, Trafficking (Hetq.am, 2 December 2013)

Bosnian authorities have sentenced gang kingpin Zijad Turkovic to 40 years in jail for running a Bosnian gang that committed several murders and engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering.

Accomplices Milenko Lakic, Saša Stjepanovic, Muamer Zahitovic, and Fadil Aljovic were also sentenced in what Balkan Insight said has been called “the largest trial for organized crime in Bosnia in two decades.”

According to Balkan Insight, Boris Grubešic, the spokesperson for the Prosecutor, said that Turkovic led the “largest criminal organization in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The gang members, who were sentenced a total of 100 years in prison, were found guilty of five murders and three attempted murders, drug and weapons trafficking, and stealing about US $1.7 million from an ABS bank in Sarajevo. Lakic was also sentenced to 40 years in prison, Stjepanovic to 12, Aljovic, five, and Zahitovic, three.

According to Balkan Insight, the victims of the murders were Midhat Mekic, his pregnant girlfriend Lucia Salas Cortes, Mario Tolic, Verner Ajdari, and Rajko Milovanovic. Their deaths were compared to gangster movie-style slayings,“as some of the bodies were found walled up in a house while others were found dumped in mountains.”

The gang was also found guilty of attempted murder for firing a grenade launcher at the apartment of Anes Kurbegovic. They were also convicted of trying to murder Naser Kelmendi, and his son Elvis.

Turkovic confessed to being paid for the three attempted murders. However, he insisted that Kelmendi, another alleged gangster, had framed him for the five actual murders. Turkovic said that Kelemendi had committed the five murders and paid off Oleg Cavka, the prosecutor, to go after Turkovic, reports Balkan Insight.

Turkovic’s attorney said that his client would appeal the sentence.

According to Balkan Insight, the Minister of Security for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fahrudin Radoncic, “praised the verdict, saying [he] hoped that other grave cases of crime and corruption would end with similarly severe sentences.”

Unfreezing the Balkans (Global Post, 3 December 2013)

There’s new hope for progress in southeast Europe, but old dangers remain.

BELGRADE, Serbia — More than a dozen years since NATO missiles tore through the Yugoslav Defense Ministry, the building's jagged remains still scar Belgrade's skyline.

The unreconstructed ruin is a potent symbol of the violent past and enduring tensions that have kept Serbia and its Balkan neighbors frozen out the European mainstream long after the wars that ripped Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s.

In government buildings across Kneza Milosa street from the bombsite, however, there’s new optimism that the Balkans are coming in from the cold.

"Countries in the region are firmly dedicated to European values and principles," says Stanislava Pak Stankovic, advisor to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. "It is important to move on because we were lagging behind for decades. We can grab the future by changing mindsets."

Two events this year have boosted hopes that 2013 could become a turning point for the region's fortunes.

In April, the government signed an agreement brokered by the European Union to normalize relations with the authorities in Kosovo — a territory Belgrade regards as a breakaway province, but which 105 countries, including the United States and 23 EU members, recognize as an independent state.

Three months later, Croatia was accepted as the 28th member of the EU, becoming the second former Yugoslav country to join the European bloc following Slovenia's entry in 2004.

Croatia's membership after seven years of negotiations was welcomed by others in the region for pointing the way ahead. It shows countries that emerged from the 1990s conflicts can overcome a post-war morass of corruption, political instability and ethnic tensions to secure a seat at Europe's top table.

Underscoring a new spirit of cooperation between former enemies, the Croatian government has promised to use its experience to help Serbia and others follow its path to the EU.

"There was a time when it was viewed as great if we got [EU membership] and our neighbors didn't. That has changed," Croatia's Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic recently said.

“It is almost impossible to achieve stability without stable neighbors," she told an international lawmakers' meeting in Croatia. "Having a stable house in an unstable neighborhood is not stability.”

Further underscoring the improving ties, Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic visited Belgrade in October for talks aimed at pushing forward cooperation projects that include even joint military training.

Serious problems do persist between the two countries, however. Each side refuses to drop rival genocide cases against the other at the International Court of Justice and there remain deep-seated disputes over minority rights.

Nevertheless, officials at EU headquarters in Brussels have been heartened by a new spirit of compromise, not least because the Serbian government elected in July 2012 comes from a hard-line nationalist background.

Prime Minister Ivica Dacic was spokesman for President Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s and considered so close to the wartime leader he earned the nickname "little Sloba." Dacic's influential deputy Aleksandar Vucic is a former member of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, notorious for cracking down on independent journalists while serving as information minister during the 1999 Kosovo war.

Once in power, however, Dacic and Vucic surprised EU diplomats by agreeing to reach out to Kosovo leaders whom the Serbs once denounced as terrorists.

"It was necessary to demonstrate ... that [Kosovo's Prime Minister] Hashim Thaci is not 'the dragon, the old serpent' that assaulted our heavenly kingdom, but an ordinary man, an opponent not mythical but political, with whom we can and have to talk," Dacic wrote in a recent guest post in the Financial Times.

"Thank God Serbia learns quickly. Since that initial meeting, I have had a dozen meetings with Thaci, and not one serious voice raised against it in Serbia," he added.

Those talks and the April agreement between Serbia and Kosovo prompted the EU in June to agree to open membership talks with Serbia next year. Neighboring Montenegro has already begun negotiations and Albania is hoping get the nod soon, although EU headquarters says it must first take further steps to tackle corruption and improve its judicial system.

Elsewhere in the Balkans, the scenario is less encouraging.

Macedonia has been locked in international limbo for years. Greece is blocking the country's progress toward closer ties with the EU until the country agrees to change its name, which Athens claims is a threat to a Greek province also called Macedonia.

EU diplomats are concerned the prolonged deadlock risks destabilizing the former Yugoslav republic.

But the region's biggest headache is Bosnia.

Almost two decades since the end of the war that killed an estimated 100,000, tensions between Muslim, Serb and Croat politicians have stymied reforms needed to bring the country in line with European norms.

Many fear Bosnian tensions could become a focus of instability that would risk undermining progress in the wider region.

"There’s absolutely no political movement, in fact it's stagnating in many ways," says Florian Bieber, director of the Center for South East European Studies at the University of Graz in Austria.

"The main problem in the region is that there isn't a clear prospect of how to overcome the crisis of Bosnia, no one has a good recipe,” he adds. “This continual Bosnian crisis creates a situation where the state is getting increasingly weak and it risks a negative spiral."

Even in countries where the economic benefits of joining the European mainstream are now seen to outweigh nationalist passions, old enmities frequently resurface.

Almost 80 percent of Serbs living in the north of Kosovo boycotted elections held this month as part of the normalization agreement, and the first round vote was marred by violence.

Croatian soccer star Josip Simunic is facing disciplinary action following a World Cup playoff last week during which he apparently led fans in chanting slogans used by the country's pro-Nazi government during World War II, when it was blamed for the murder of hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews.

Concerns over simmering nationalist tensions have prompted the United States to lobby hard to ensure all the region’s countries remain on a European path.

"Every country that binds itself to the EU’s rules and institutions brings us closer to the goal of a Europe whole, free and at peace," Vice President Joe Biden wrote in the Financial Times after Croatia's EU entry. "Unfortunately, there are still some who cling to ethnic grievances, personal rivalries and a zero-sum approach to politics that holds back progress."

American diplomats in the Balkans are worried not only by the lingering nationalist demons, but also the perceived indifference of Western European governments focused on their own economic woes and lacking enthusiasm for any further EU expansion.

Opinion polls show large majorities in many EU countries are opposed to letting more countries in, worried about potential new economic burdens, sources of unwanted immigration and political tensions.

The EU's newest members view such mindsets with disquiet.

"There is still a danger of states failing," Croatia's Foreign Minister Pusic told NATO lawmakers last month. "Things can look stable on the surface, but sometimes that stability has shallow roots."