LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic: We do not measure contribution to EU foreign policy in percentages (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic pointed out that it is wrong to measure Serbia’s contribution to the EU foreign and security policy in accession percentages and the black and white image that we need to opt for one of the sides, because Serbia is contributing a great deal to this joint policy by taking part in the peace-keeping operations and with its role in the region. Speaking at the conference dubbed “The Global Strategy of the EU Foreign and Security Policy and Western Balkans”, Dacic stress that Serbia especially proved this during last year’s OSCE chairmanship. Dacic underlined that Serbia’s strategic priority – EU full-fledged membership – is unquestionable and confirmed many times. According to him, Serbia has so far proved to be as a reliable and credible partner in preserving stability in Western Balkans, but also to appeasing the consequences of the migrant crisis that has shaken entire Europe. “Since the signing of the SAA in 2008, Serbia has started the process of alignment with that of the joint EU foreign and security policy, even though it was legally binding since 2013 when this document was in effect. Our alignment percentage was 99 percent,” said Dacic. At the same time, during the decision-making, Serbia has had a consistent stand in continuity, this being that we are unable to support all EU decisions in this phase. In some situations, he recalled, we haven’t followed the EU stand, or we haven’t joined their statements. According to Dacic, this position has become visible since 2014 when the conflict in Ukraine began, when decisions in regard to the Russian Federation drastically increase and when Serbia’s alignment percentage drops to 60 percent. He noted that the alignment percentage was 65 percent last year and 63 percent this year, with a growth tendency. Dacic pointed out that Serbia has been greatly contributing through participation in EU and UN military missions, and that Serbian has thus proved to be a consistent and reliable EU partner. Presently, there are 336 Serbian Army members in UN and EU multinational operations, 29 of which in EU peace-keeping missions. Serbia is first in the region and eighth in Europe for its contributions in relation to the population, said Dacic, adding that Serbia can also contribute in EU civil missions.

 

Dacic: Not everybody in the EU are our friends (RTS)

Addressing a press conference in Belgrade, Minister Dacic said that friends of Kosovo’s independence and those who support something against Serbia cannot expect Serbia to close doors and introduce sanctions to their friends. “This is not normal; no country in the world would do this, including Serbia. If Russia and China are countries in the United Nations Security Council that do not allow the issue of Kosovo’s independence and Serbia’s territorial integrity to be resolved by majority vote, we have a national and state interest that certainly imposes on us to carefully approach these topics, and I know very well that all of your countries conduct a similar policy,” said Dacic. When it comes to energy independence from Russia that the EU wishes to allegedly achieve in Western Balkans, Dacic says that he would like also Germany to have this relation towards Russia. “Serbia cannot have a problem over the South Stream, but for Germany not to have a problem over the North Stream. Serbia cannot have a problem because this is not in accordance with some energy package, yet Germany does the same thing, so I guess a principle is a principle and the same goes for Serbia, Germany and Italy, this is the essence of the policy that we need to conduct,” said Dacic.

 

McAllister: Normalization doesn’t imply official recognition (Tanjug/RTS)

Normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations doesn’t imply official recognition of Kosovo’s independence, European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister told a joint press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.  “Normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations is very important and this is why we have opened Chapter 35 at the very beginning of the negotiating process, and this chapter will be closed at the end of the process,” he said. He says that the EU expects Serbia-Kosovo relations to normalize step by step, and this normalization will imply in the end that both sides are able to use all their rights. “As the EP rapporteur, I must say that normalization of relations, which is required, doesn’t imply official recognition, but we expect relations to be gradually normalized,” underlined McAllister. He assessed that the Brussels agreement was a huge step forward and that now we need to see further implementation of what was agreed. “There have been some implementations, but there is room for progress. Both sides need to give results,” said McAllister. He voiced hope that we will be able to see further greater progress in regard to concrete details in energy, telecommunications, and the bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica or the Community of Serb Municipalities.

Serbia needs to continue on the long road leading to EU membership, McAllister said, expressing confidence that Belgrade would align its foreign and security policy with Brussels when that became necessary. The EU is facing great uncertainties and challenges, but the commitment to the enlargement policy should be strengthening, rather than weakening, he said. I believe the enlargement policy has been successful and that it has contributed to promoting prosperity and security across Europe, and the outcome of the British referendum should not have a negative impact on our efforts to continue the work on the enlargement process, McAllister said. Not only do the Western Balkan countries have European prospects - they also have a European future, he said.
Speaking about Chapter 31 (common foreign and security policy) in the accession talks, McAllister said that the EP had noted with regret the Serbian-Russian military exercises.
That way, the EP tried to signal to Serbia that continuing a dual approach to Russia could not be tolerated over the long term, he said. Russia’s aggressiveness cannot be tolerated, McAllister said, but added that he was taking into account Serbia’s traditionally strong ties with Russia.
Serbia has conducted ten times as many joint military exercises with the Western allies than it has with Russia, but not everyone in Brussels is aware of this, he said. To reduce Serbia’s energy dependency on Russia, I think that we will also have to deal with the Energy Community project more, McAllister said, adding that he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had noted repeatedly that all six Western Balkan countries must be involved in all strategic energy projects.

 

Time to also examine responsibility for 1999 NATO bombing (B92)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has called for responsibility and justification of NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia to be examined. According to Dacic, who spoke in Belgrade on Thursday, this should be done in the wake of a British report on that country’s participation in the war in Iraq. “Iraq should not be the only thing considered, it is time to examine the responsibility (for) and justification of the 1999 intervention. However, this has nothing to do with our path toward the European Union,” said Dacic.  As he stressed, Serbia and the EU hold different views of some things - and this is well known both in Moscow and in Beijing - where it is also known that the EU is Serbia’s strategic goal. Dacic also stressed that common denominators need to be found for the path toward the EU, that will not lead Serbia toward not having aligned foreign and internal policies. “I think the time has come to also reexamine what was done in Serbia in 1999, and not only in Iraq, because if one country's policy has been to invest in Kosovo’s independence for 20 years, then I think the mistakes must be sought not only in our system,” said Dacic. He added, “There is a stance that Slobodan Milosevic was to blame, but there are other things that represent crude manipulation, untruths, and lies, as had been the case with the invasion of Iraq, something determined by the British commission.” According to Dacic, everyone knows it well that in the village of Racak in Kosovo, where a crime allegedly occurred that was the immediate cause for the bombing of the SRJ (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro), some civilians are not buried in that place, and when one asks the villagers they say those are (buried) in a military cemetery. “How is it, then, that civilians were killed?” asked Dacic. “17 years after the bombing we cannot say just like that, that we will align completely our foreign and security policy, because everyone in the EU is our friend. I must say that, unfortunately, it's not quite like that, and that's a fact. We want to take our part of the responsibility and carry our cross, but we can't be the only ones,” he said. Dacic pointed out that the desire for compromise is often interpreted as weakness, while there’s the attitude that Serbia, which is now being lectured about respecting human rights by Turkey, should be moved against. As for Serbia aligning its foreign policy with that of the EU, the minister said he hoped the level of alignment will be back to 90 and something percent in the coming years. He then explained that his hope is based on EU’s relations with Russia normalizing - and then there will be no reason not to agree with some European positions and resolutions.

REGIONAL PRESS

 

RS Assembly adopts law on publication of census results (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) Assembly urgently adopted today the Law on processing and publication of results of census of population, households and dwellings in the RS in 2013, whose aim is to publish reliable and methodologically correct data of the census, which was conducted in 2013 for the RS territory. Sixty six MPs voted for the adoption of this law, none was against or abstained from voting, while the MPs of the Homeland Coalition left the special parliamentary session. The law containing seven articles regulates the method of processing and publication of the results of the census of population, households and dwellings in 2013 for the RS territory. The RS Statistics Institute publishes the census results according to the Data Processing Program that will be passed within 30 days from the date of entry into force of this Law. The results will be published within six months from the date of entry into force of the law, and according to the law provision, the Institute is obligated to submit a report to the RS Assembly on the execution of duties and tasks related to the implementation of census activities and the publication of the census results. According to the law provisions, the supervision of its implementation and the regulations adopted on the basis of the law is to be carried out by the RS Finance Ministry. Director of the RS Statistics Institute Radmila Cickovic stressed that the RS legally performed all activities in the B&H population census process. “Because of the illegality at B&H level, there was no other option left but to publish our own data that will be accurate and valid,” Cickovic stressed in her closing argument after the parliamentary debate about this law.
The MPs of political parties seated in RS agreed that it was necessary to adopt this law and publish accurate data. RS Assembly speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic ended this special session.
Fatic: Competent institutions should react to adoption of law on publication of census results in RS (Vijesti.ba)

Deputy Director of the B&H Statistics Agency Fadil Fatic underlined that the B&H Public Attorney’s Office, the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H and other competent institutions should react to adoption of the law on processing and publication of results of the population census at the RS Assembly. Fatic assessed that the case is about an attempt to undermine the system of the state of B&H, stressing that the B&H Statistics Agency is the only institution competent to adopt the methodology for processing of census data and publication of census results.

 

Wigemark: There is only one population census in B&H (Fena)

Head of the EU Delegation to B&H and EU Special Representative in B&H Lars-Gunnar Wigemark repeated that, to his knowledge, there is only one population census, and added that the data from this census were published on 30 June 2016. “As far as the decision of the RS Assembly is concerned, I would like to emphasize on this occasion that the data are undisputable. We are actually talking about the same data, the same databases”. What is disputable is the issue of data processing method in the context of the status of residents and nonresidents, he added, expressing his hope that whatever the RS does, it will not be contrary to the overall results of the population and housing census, as there is no need for two separate censuses.

 

Izetbegovic: SAA adaptation, arrangement with IMF, coordination mechanism can be resolved in upcoming days (TV1)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic was asked to confirm if the visit of Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt will result in adaptation of the EU –B&H Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and continuation of the country’s EU path. Izetbegovic replied that it depends on a number of factors and different decision-makers, but he expressed his expectation that it will certainly unblock the EU path. “Our friends from Germany will help us get out of the current stalemate. Adaptation of the SAA, arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and coordination mechanism, I think we are in the situation in which we can resolve all of these conditions in the upcoming days,” Izetbegovic explained. Asked if he thinks that Serb member of the B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic will accept the adapted SAA and whether the RS will block this process any further, Izetbegovic assessed that RS President Milorad Dodik will make positive decisions that will encourage Ivanic to keep moving towards this direction. “I think Dodik’s messages after the meeting with Schmidt were quite good and encouraging,” he added. Asked if the promised assistance proves that Germany really wants B&H in the European family, Izetbegovic said: “Absolutely. When I asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel if they could compensate for what B&H cannot do at this moment, I immediately received a positive answer without further questions. They are really in the mood to help. The assistance will be provided in several ways, technical and technological in terms of standards and, of course, through grants and funds, so that our agriculture and food producers are made more competitive.”

 

Covic receives ambassadors, discuss several important issues, focus on elections in Mostar (Dnevni list)

Croat Member of the B&H Presidency Dragan Covic met with U.S. Ambassador to B&H Maureen Cormack and U.K. Ambassador to B&H Edward Ferguson at his office in Mostar on Wednesday. There were no statements for the media after the meeting. The daily however learns from unnamed diplomatic sources that the meeting focused on several important issues, including blockades on B&H’s European road, failure to adopt the adapted SAA, failure to sign the Letter of Intent for the International Monetary Fund, general political situation and the issue of local elections in Mostar. According to the daily, the Ambassadors were interested in Covic’s view regarding holding of the elections in Mostar, and they noted that a solution has to be identified in shortest possible time. Writing about the elections in Mostar, the daily reads it is interesting to note that the HDZ B&H City Board of Mostar issued a statement on Wednesday, which reads that the party is preparing itself for the local elections in Mostar. President of the City Board Damir Dzeba presented strategic guidelines, targets and expected results. The City Board is scheduled to meet again on 14 July. The daily could not get a comment from SDA on Wednesday whether they are preparing themselves for the elections in Mostar, whilst President of SBB B&H City Board of Mostar Anel Kljako says his party has no information about any agreement regarding the elections in Mostar.

 

Dodik: Referendum planned for 25 September (Srna)

The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, Democratic People’s Alliance and Socialist Party (SNSD, DNS and SP) have agreed on an initiative to hold a referendum regarding the Day of RS on 25 September and submitted the relevant document to the RS Assembly, SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said on Wednesday. Following a meeting with the leaderships of the SNSD, DNS and SP and heads of the three parties’ caucuses in the RS Assembly, Dodik said he believed the Assembly will put an end to this issue by Friday. Commenting on the Serbian Democratic Party’s view that the referendum on the Day of RS should be held after the local elections, Dodik said he was not intending to comment on the SDS’ views. “We defined the initiative and submitted it to the Assembly and the matter is now reviewed by the parliament,” said Dodik.
The SNSD said that the RS had not given up on a referendum regarding the work of the Prosecutor’s Office and Court of B&H. “We haven’t given up on the referendum. We are waiting and giving a chance to the advisory board to see who backs idea and who opposes certain dates and why,” said Dodik. When asked whether during the meeting there was any talk of a new bid for the sale of state capital in Ljubija Coal Mine, Dodik said the bid had arrived and that the procedure was conducted by the RS government. “The government will examine it and then inform us accordingly,” Dodik said.

 

Carpenter: B&H precious partner of coalition to counter IS (Srna)

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense with responsibility for Russia, Ukraine, the Western Balkans and Eurasia, Michael Carpenter, points out that the U.S. supports B&H on its path towards Euro-Atlantic integrations, and that the posting of military assets is an important precondition for it. Carpenter believes that the B&H is a valuable partner of coalition to counter terrorism in Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State (IS) has become a tumor in those countries which metastasized to other countries such as Libya, Yemen ... Carpenter states in an interview with the news agencies in B&H. He explains that during the meeting with members of the B&H Presidency and B&H Defense Minister Marina Pendes, he thanked the leaders in B&H on excellent bilateral cooperation with the United States. Carpenter highlights the contribution of leaders in B&H and their determination to support the mission in Afghanistan, the fight against violent and radical extremism and B&H’s participation in the international coalition to counter the IS. “We also discussed some initiatives, such as public procurement, aviation support, resource management, defense inspection ... the U.S. is supporting B&H to move forward in all these issues as soon as possible,” says Carpenter. According to him, special attention was paid to combating foreign fighters - terrorists.

Responding to a question asked by Srna on possible potential risk for the citizens of B&H due to the return of foreign fighters from battlefields in Syria, Carpenter emphasizes that this is an important issue for the border services, interior ministries in B&H and police agencies that should monitor the flow of migrants and other entries into B&H. “There are intelligence element of cooperation among the states, the registration of all migrants, also including the processing of data on all passengers. The EU has invested a lot of money in it, but the U.S. is investing a lot of efforts in the fight against radicalization and extremism,” says Carpenter. He stresses that B&H has done a great job in this respect, but still everyone should remain vigilant, since only one mistake is sufficient for a tragedy such as the terrorist attacks in Paris or Brussels. “It is important that all countries, especially European countries, work together and fight against the foreign fighters and we are very pleased that the B&H adopted the law against foreign fighters.

Cooperation in combating violent extremism is also good with the B&H authorities. All the governmental institutions in every country should work on prevention of the flow of foreign fighters -terrorists,” says Carpenter. He confirms that the U.S. supports B&H on its path to Euro-Atlantic integrations and states that “the movement towards NATO is long and sometimes difficult process, because it requires meeting a variety of technical criteria, such as the posting of military assets”. “The issue of posting of military assets is only partially fulfilled in B&H ... We cannot carry out the reforms for you, you must do this yourself, and so all other countries that aspired to NATO membership did it,” says Carpenter. Carpenter claims there are “challenge and threat of Russian revanchism, which were sensed in the territory of Ukraine and Georgia, although Russia’s interest extends to the Balkans”. “Russia has already marked NATO integrations as a process it does not support. The US is of the opinion that each country has the sovereign right to determine its own future and commitment in terms of political and security affiliation. None of the third country should have a right to veto the desire of another country to join either a military alliance such as NATO, or political or economic organization, such as the EU,” Carpenter states categorically. According to him, the US will continue to support individual choice of each country on its path towards joining either NATO, or the EU. Carpenter did not want to compare the progress of individual countries in the region, noting that it is a matter of each country individually, as they differ among themselves. According to him, a common set of challenges that are ahead of the countries in the region is consisted of the judiciary, respectively the rule of law as an essential issue and the basis for the security of each country, followed by economic development, defense sector reform and the management of the country.

 

Vujanovic, Nikolic: House of Montenegro to strengthen our friendship (CDM)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic opened last night in Belgrade “House of Montenegro”, saying that this building should give way to strengthening of our friendship. Vujanovic said that opening of “House of Montenegro” has special value and significance, and that it represents yet another confirmation of close relations of two countries. “Montenegro has decided that this be ‘House of Montenegro’ in Belgrade, that will not only be dedicated to diplomacy, but affirmation of partnership with Serbia. The house will have open doors for friends in Serbia, in order to improve our relations,” Vujanovic said.

According to him, both state houses are designed to have open doors and invite friendship and stability. He said that the fact that “House of Montenegro” opened on Montenegro’s National Day holds special significance. Vujanovic thanked Nikolic, who demonstrated dedication to values of cooperation and good relations in the future. “Our house in the Capital of Serbia, a gift to Montenegro on the day it celebrates its nation, I understand as a gateway to friendship, center of ideas, cooperation, true dedication to our past and our future, and a strong link between our people and states,” Nikolic said at the opening. He said that in Belgrade, and Serbia in general, there is no lack of houses for those who come from Montenegro, and they are welcomed honestly, but Serbia did miss a house with a concept that creates an even stronger bond.

“I expect the concept of “House of Montenegro” to be that of a cultural center, commerce center, youth exchange. The leadership of both states agreed to have houses in Podgorica and Belgrade,” Nikolic said. According to him, each country will choose content, but they will do it with a mutual interest to do good for all citizens, to find mutually beneficial answers, solve different matters, make friends, and always feel at home.

Ambassador of Montenegro in Serbia Branislav Micunovic said that “House of Montenegro” is yet another symbol of a close relationship between Podgorica and Belgrade. Governments of Serbia and Montenegro signed an agreement on using real estate, mutually, for accommodation of diplomats. Serbia made an obligation to lend Montenegro a house with an address Cakorska 2 in Belgrade, while Montenegro is obliged to lend a house with an address Ivan Crnojevic 10 in Podgorica. “House of Montenegro” in Belgrade will be used for foreign affairs of Montenegro, as well as cultural and national promotion and cooperation in Serbia. The celebration was attended by diplomats, politicians, celebrities from Serbia and Montenegro.

Vujanovic also met Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. They said there is a mutual interest for progress in bilateral relations. “We expect a more common exchange of officials between Serbia and Montenegro, to which end ‘House of Montenegro’ will contribute,” it was stated from the cabinet. Serbian Prime Minister and Montenegrin President discussed better traffic and energetics connection between countries that would contribute to economic development.

Vucic and Vujanovic said that regional stability is necessary to preserve, and said that Montenegro and Serbia are dedicated to contribute to the progress of Western Balkan.

Serbian parliament speaker Maja Gojkovic congratulated on Montenegro’s National Day and said that it represents a fight against fascism, which is a shared value connecting two countries.

Gojkovic said that Serbia pays special attention to bilateral relations with Montenegro and that she is interested to contribute to improvement, especially when it comes to EU integration.

Gojkovic said that citizens of Serbia confirmed their support to reforms and Serbia’s EU road.

“The Serbian parliament speaker said that two countries share a strong interest within Berlin Process, that has a big impact on EU integration of the whole region, as well as peace and stability in Western Balkan,” the statement reads.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Kosovo Probes Suspected Mass Grave at University (BIRN, by Doruntina Baliu, 13 July 2016)

Forensics officials in Kosovo have launched excavation work on the campus of Pristina University after receiving information that there could be a wartime mass grave at the site.

The search for buried bodies on the Pristina University campus started on Wednesday on the order of the Kosovo Special Prosecution, and is expected to last for several days. The search began after someone living close to the site told the Kosovo authorities that Serbian forces had buried victims under the lawn between the Serbian Orthodox church which stands on the university campus and the National Library. The head of the Kosovo government’s Missing Persons Commission, Prenk Gjetaj, said that Serbian officials had been informed about the excavations. “The Belgrade side has been informed about the time and place in order to participate as in previous cases. I hope that this cooperation will contribute in easing tensions and avoiding the politicisation of suspected sites,” Gjetaj said. He added that the Serbian Orthodox Church had given consent for excavations near St Nikola’s Church. Construction of the church started in the mid-1990s, when Slobodan Milosevic was in power in what was Yugoslavia, but it has remained unfinished since the war in 1999. Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic, who attended Wednesday’s excavations, said that the church should not be seen as a political object. “There were attempts to call this temple ‘Milosevic’s Church’, which has never been the case. No church could belong to Milosevic or any other politician,” Stojanovic said. “This church was built for people who lived in Pristina region and who were in greater numbers than they are now,” Stojanovic said, referring to thousands of Serbs who fled Kosovo after 1999. The church has proved controversial in the past. In September 2012, the University of Pristina sued the Serbian Orthodox Church, accusing it of illegally occupying more than four hectares of land where the church was built. No final court verdict has been issued on the case. So far, mass graves containing the bodies of more than 1,000 Kosovo Albanians killed during the war have been found in four locations in Serbia - at a police training centre in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica, in Lake Perucac, at a police centre in Petrovo Selo and at the Rudnica quarry near the town of Raska. Around 1,670 people are still missing after the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999. The last search for a Kosovo war grave near the southern town of Novi Pazar in April - conducted by both Serbia and Kosovo’s missing person commissions as well as the Serbian war crimes prosecution and the EU’s rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX - failed to yield any results.

 

United Nations Assailed in Report by Kosovo Rights Panel (The New York Times, by Rick Gladstone, 13 July 2016)

The United Nations received a stunning rebuke on Wednesday from a human rights panel attached to its troubled Kosovo peacekeeping mission, which described the panel’s efforts to make the mission accountable for rights violations as “a total failure.” The 49-page report by the Human Rights Advisory Panel, part of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, or Unmik, contains extraordinarily strong language criticizing the mission’s handling of civilian grievances, including failures to investigate disappearances and killings as well as negligence in the mass lead poisoning of displaced Roma, also known as Gypsies, at United Nations camps. The report’s conclusions are a potential source of embarrassment for the United Nations, which regularly assails governments for a lack of accountability and defends victims whose human rights have been violated in conflict zones around the world. “Due to Unmik’s unwillingness to follow any of the Panel’s recommendations and Unmik’s general intransigence,” the report said, the panel’s own work had “obtained no redress for the complainants.” “As such, they have been victimized twice by Unmik: by the original human rights violations committed against them and again by putting their hope and trust into this process,” it said. Unmik officials had no immediate comment on the report, which was completed in June and made public on Wednesday. The United Nations peacekeeping operation, which oversees Unmik, said in a statement that “Unmik values the work of its advisory panel,” and noted that the panel was not a tribunal. The report is the final annual one by the three-member panel of international legal experts, which ceased operations on July 1. “Now that the Panel has concluded its mandate, putting an end to an eight-year process of issuing admissibility decisions, opinions and recommendations, the Panel is forced to proclaim this process a total failure,” the report said. The panel “can only wonder what might have been possible if Unmik had undertaken to collaborate with the Panel in good faith, instead of turning this process into a human rights minstrel show,” it said. Now it “apologizes profusely to the complainants for its role in this sham.” United Nations peacekeeping operations are facing scrutiny over other problems, including sexual abuse by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, a protracted cholera crisis in Haiti traced to infected peacekeepers and accusations that the South Sudan peacekeeping mission has failed to protect civilians. The report assailed what it described as a pattern of Unmik dysfunction that stretched back to the years before the panel’s creation, which was meant to address persistent problems at the Kosovo peacekeeping mission. Unmik was deployed after war broke out in 1998 between Serbia and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo.

In its examination of complaints about Unmik, the panel devoted much of its attention to accusations of negligence as hundreds of displaced Roma families were left in squalid United Nations camps built on land contaminated with lead. The camps were demolished in 2010.

In a report in April, the panel found that Unmik had essentially contributed to the poisoning. It said Unmik should apologize to the victims and compensate them. Dianne Post, a lawyer who represents former residents of the camps, said in an email that she agreed “completely” with the criticism of Unmik. “It is most disheartening when the very agency that is to stand for the Rule of Law and bringing peace and justice to the world does not itself follow the Rule of Law or its own mandates on human rights,” she said.

 

Protests persist over Belgrade Waterfront demolitions (bne intellinews, by Ivana Jovanovic, 14 July 2016)

Around 10,000 people gathered in Serbia’s capital on July 13 in the fifth protest against the controversial demolition of buildings in Belgrade's Savamala district, an area designated for the €3.2bn Belgrade Waterfront project. Belgrade residents have been angered by the demolition and the government's failure to sack the officials responsible. Numbers were down slightly at the latest protest, which took place on a weekday during the summer holiday season. The protests have also remained focussed on the issue of the demolitions despite earlier speculation they could become a broader-based protest against Aleksandar Vucic’s rule as he prepares to form a new government after the April general election. However, protesters seem determined to continue until those responsible are punished, making it likely that Vucic will pick a scapegoat at some point. On the night of April 24-25, immediately after the general election, a group of masked men demolished several sites in Hercegovacka and Mostarska streets in Savamala. Citizens who witnessed the demolition claim they were treated violently by the masked men and that the police did not respond to their calls for help. The area demolished was where part of Belgrade Waterfront, a joint project of Serbia’s government and the United Arab Emirates’ Eagle Hills, is due to be built. This was the fifth protest organised by the Don't Drown Belgrade initiative, set up in response to the demolition. According to the organiser, the rally and protest walk afterwards brought some 10,000 people onto Belgrade’s streets, down from 15,000 at the last protest on June 25. They gathered in front of the Belgrade city assembly and walked to Hercegovacka street about a mile away. Previous protests took place on June 11, May 25 and May 11. On July 13, as well as in the previous four rallies, the protesters called on Belgrade mayor Sinisa Mali and acting Belgrade police chief Vladimir Rebic as well as Minister of Interior Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic to resign. “We do not allow police to protect masked thugs or to conduct violence legally nor illegally. If we do not set our faces against them, bullies will show us their entire arbitrary resources! If we do not resist, national and town governments will continue robbing our public land and resources, and money for public health, education, infrastructure and transport in will be put in their lucrative venture called Belgrade Waterfront!” the initiative Don’t Drown Belgrade said. All the protests have been carried out with the slogan “Resignations!”. The July 13 protest also had the slogan “Belgrade is not Mali” which has a dual meaning as Mali, the mayor’s last name, means “small” in Serbian. Protesters also held banners saying “Vucic thief!”, “The town for all of us!” and “Crime scene”. The symbol of the protests is a yellow duck, which is also the symbol of the Don't Drown Belgrade initiative. The group’s aim is to prevent the “adjustment of effective laws regarding the spatial organisation of the city performed by the government officials” in order to enable the realisation of the Belgrade Waterfront project. The organiser announced that the fight will continue. On June 8, Serbian Progressive Party leader Vucic, who has been mandated to form the new government, accused top Belgrade officials of being behind the demolition of the buildings and said those responsible would be brought to justice. However, no further action appears to have been taken. In addition, Vucic said the construction of Belgrade Waterfront would move forward and that he personally will fight for it. Daily Vecernje Novosti reported on July 6, quoting several unnamed sources close to the local government that Mali was ready to resign in the next few days. According to Vecernje Novosti, Mali was to step down after Serbia's new government had been formed, but this process has been delayed.