LOCAL PRESS

 

No Peace Park, no peace: Explosion in K. Mitrovica (Beta)

A hand grenade has exploded near the main bridge on the Ibar River on its northern, Serb side, in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica in northern Kosovo. The blast on Monday night upset local residents, Beta agency is reporting on Tuesday, adding that an investigation is ongoing. Regional Kosovo police Chief Zeljko Bojic confirmed that the incident took place at 23:45 CET on Monday on the left side of the bridge, in the direction of the Bosnjacka Mahala settlement. "Our investigative units were at the scene and determined that an M-75 hand grenade had been thrown, with this criminal act characterized as the causing of general danger," Bojic said, adding that a public prosecutor has been informed, and the investigation continued. The works to "revitalize" the bridge that is dividing the town into its northern, mostly Serb, and southern, ethnic Albanian parts, started on Sunday when "the Peace Park," built on the bridge by Serbs, was removed. The works came as a result of an agreement reached in Brussels that envisages the opening of the bridge for all traffic by January 20, 2017.

 

Proposal for building the monument to Milosevic sparks the debate (B92, Beta)

According to the Serbian media reports, in the verdict pronounced against Karadzic it was stated that there had been insufficient evidence that Milosevic had agreed to the creation of an ethnically pure territory in the area controlled by Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Serbs, and that therefore, there was no Serbia's responsibility in genocide and war crimes which, according to earlier verdicts of the Tribunal, the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Serb forces had committed in the B&H war in 1992-1995.

Former Milosevic's associates from the ruling SPS took advantage of this opportunity: Ivica Dacic to absolve his predecessor of all responsibility for the breakup of Yugoslavia and the ferocious wars that followed, and for Milutin Mrkonjic to propose the building of the monument to Milosevic, which Dacic supported as well. Vucic refused to comment on the controversy between the SPS and the opposition over Milosevic's role and responsibility and added that he “has no intention of living in the nineties”. “I have no time to deal with such things... I live and work for the Serbia of the future and the future of Serbia... I deal with the state and its progress” said Vucic.  Unlike Vucic, who has good reasons not to interfere in the bickering between the SPS and the opposition, at least publicly -given that, as a former high official of the satellite Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he was an active member of the Milosevic regime - Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic openly criticized Dacic's statement on Monday. She said that „history should be left to historians“, and that the energy spent on digging in the past should be invested in the construction of a decent country of satisfied citizens. “On October 5 (in 2000, when Milosevic was toppled) I was in front of the Assembly, shouting: 'He's done'. And I don't have a good opinion about Milosevic's regime, who together with other nationalists on all sides caused only war and human suffering“, said Mihajlovic. Not even Mihajlovic’s statement was, however, left without a response. Minister of Labour, Veterans’ and Social Affairs Aleksandar Vulin – another Milosevic apologist – said on account of that she said that she had been at the demonstrations on the day when Milosevic’s regime was overthrown that “it is not clear to me whether she is bragging or regretting it”.

Vucic „sharply criticizes“ Dacic, Vulin at a government session, however, Vucic refusal to comment on the issue publicly did not mean that Vucic had nothing to say about this behind the closed door. Namely, Vecernje novosti, Blic and Kurir claim that Vucic, at a government session on Monday, „sharply criticized“ Dacic and Vulin for „once again opening the topic of Milosevic in the public”. “You are taking Milosevic out as a topic after ten years. Why would you do that, don't you have better things to do“, said Vucic, while Kurir wrote that “the scolding lasted for several minutes and that the situation at the session was very uncomfortable”. “While Dacic was feeling uncomfortable and clumsily trying to defend himself, the ministers had their eyes locked to the floor“, Kurir described vividly. “Vucic told Dacic that he, of course, had the right to his political views, but that then wasn't the time to start that topic in the media. (...) Vucic said that there was no need for them to occupy themselves with topics from the past and do favors to those from the opposition who can only do that“, Kurir wrote. The idea of building a monument to Milosevic particularly upset the current and former leader of the Democratic Party (DS), which in the 90s contributed a great share in the fight against his government.

The DS President Bojan Pajtic said that Milosevic had been a “dictator” and that his then-accomplices wanted to wipe off both his and their responsibility for all the crimes from that period. “Milosevic was a dictator, ousted in the election by citizens' vote, which they defended on the streets of Serbia. Wars, poverty, corruption, murders of political opponents are his legacy, and his accomplices, who are in power in Serbia, would like to wipe that off today because they believe that that way their responsibility will be wiped off as well“, said Pajtic.

The Social Democratic Party (SDS) of former Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that they saw the initiative to build the monument to Milosevic as the current government's wish to take the country back to the time of wars and the biggest plunder in the history of the country. Tadic, also a former president of the DS, stated that Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and the SPS „have been taking Serbia back to the nineties for four years“, by which in fact „the monument to Milosevic and his time is being built for four years ‒ every day, step by step“. “Today it is clear that Vucic's call to build a monument to (late Prime Minister and the DS leader Zoran) Djindjic, after his government blocking that initiative we had starter even before 2012, was actually was only a prelude to the building of the monument to Milosevic“, Tadic said.

 

Swedish PM: We're in EU, but not in NATO, and it works (Beta, Tanjug)

Swedish PM Stefan Lofven said in Belgrade on Tuesday that his country has chosen to join the EU, but not NATO, and that this arrangement was working well. Speaking during a joint news conference with his host, Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, he remarked that Sweden's neighbor Finland made the same choice. As for Serbia, Lofven said that "the path that it has chosen, the European path, is the right one - because it will bring stability." He commended the Serbian government's and Vucic's efforts to achieve regional peace and stability. Asked how he saw the situation in the region, Lofven replied he could not say what needs to be done to achieve lasting stability, as this "depends on relations, above all economic, between the countries of the region." "I'm not the one who should tell Serbia what to do, we can offer our support and we support Serbia's striving to achieve stability," the head of the Swedish government said, and added: "If you remain focused on that - and I see that the prime minister is - you will find a way." Lofven then noted that Sweden was also striving for stability, and for that reason believes that a wider perspective is need, "in the sense of stability for ordinary people in their ordinary lives."

 

Dacic has talks with Obama's advisor (Beta)

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic met, on Monday in Belgrade, with Charles Kupchan, a senior adviser to US President Barack Obama for European issues and director of European Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. During the talks, Dacic “particularly underlined the importance of the US’s support in Serbia’s process of European integration and the Brussels dialogue and expressed hope that such a trend would also continue in the future”, the Foreign Ministry announced. “The preservation of regional stability of the Western Balkans is a matter to which the United States and Serbia attach extreme importance. In this sense, we have recognized on the American part an encouragement for the constructive role (of Serbia)”, it is added, with the note that the talks were also attended by the US Ambassador in Serbia Kyle Scott.

 

Association of kidnapped and killed writes to Biden, Vucic (Beta)

The Association of families of people kidnapped and killed in Kosovo sent an open letter to Biden and Vucic, asking them to discuss the freeing of Serbs kidnapped in Kosovo. The letter said that they have firm evidence and videos proving that the abducted Serbs are alive and added that they also have a list of camps they are being held in. The letter said that former Hague Tribunal chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte former Council of Europe special rapporteur for Kosovo Dick Marty also have that evidence.

 

SRS organizing protest over Biden visit, supports Trump (Danas)

The Serbian Radical Party (SRS) said it would organize a protest on Tuesday over the visit to Serbia by US Vice President Joe Biden “which will also be a form of support to Donald Trump” the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, the SRS said in a statement on Monday. The protest will start at 17.00 in front of the Serbian Presidency building in central Belgrade, the SRS said. The gathering will be addressed by SRS leader Vojislav Seselj. An earlier statement said that the protest participants who get to the site of the protest first will get Donald Trump T-shirts. Biden is due in Belgrade on Tuesday morning and will have meetings with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic across town in New Belgrade at the Palace of Serbia. Vucic and Biden will hold a press conference following meetings between the two delegations and a one-on-one meeting. The SRS confirmed for the Tuesday issue of Danas that the police had not banned the gathering. “We informed the Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) on time in accord with the law. An authorized representative of the party spoke to an authorized representative of the MUP and the protest was not banned which means that it is allowed,” SRS official Vjerica Radeta told the daily. “Every regularly registered gathering is allowed unless it is explicitly banned,” she said. The MUP has the discretionary powers to inform organizers of gatherings that the conditions for their gathering are not in place up to 12 hours before the gathering which practically means a ban justified by some security reasons. The police said in a statement that there would be changes to traffic because of the customary security measures for ranking US officials and because Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven is visiting Belgrade too.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Session of RS commission in charge for implementation of referendum held (RTRS)

The Republika Srpska (RS) National Assembly’s (RSNA) Commission for Implementation of Referendum convened on Monday and adopted design of the ballot paper, budget and other documents necessary for implementation of the referendum, during which the citizens will declare on the Day of the RS. The Commission concluded that the only problem that may be encountered is lack of cooperation by the Brcko District and possibility of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) not delivering the list of voters to the RS. The Commission adopted proposal of costs of the referendum implementation in amount of BAM 1.425 million, which was forwarded to the RS Government. The reporter further notes that the referendum question will be written on the ballot in all three constituent languages and the ballots will be printed by the Official Gazette of the RS, without the public procurement procedure. Commission President Sinisa Karan explained that the Official Gazette is a public institution of the RS owned by the RS, stressing that all legal prerequisites are met. The Commission sent a request to B&H CEC for delivery of list of voters as well as another request to the Brcko District for singing an agreement on conducting the referendum on the District’s territory. In case if the District rejects the agreement, noted Karan, there will be a possibility for those citizens of the District holding the RS citizenship to vote. The vote abroad will be organized in the Representative Offices of the RS, because the Commission members believe obstructions would be encountered in B&H embassies. Given the fact that the referendum question refers to the Day of the RS and not to the decision of BIH Constitutional Court of B&H, and that the Law on Referendum was passed by the RSNA, which was recognized by the Dayton Agreement, the Commission concluded that there is no legal ground to ban the referendum. “We speak about legality and not legitimacy. A disputable legality”, stressed Karan, adding that the citizens’ decision on referendum is of advisory character and legislator sees it as a precursory declaring on a matter. “De jure, the decision does not have to bind the National Assembly, which is a body that announced the referendum, what kind of decision it will pass”, added Karan. The next session of the Commission will take place on Monday.

 

Tadic: HR cannot stop referendum; if he did he would support Dodik (N1, FTV)

Commenting the announcement for referendum and reactions that it triggered, SDS Vice President Ognjen Tadic said that the High Representative could not stop this referendum because it would be opposite to the Constitution, and even if he did so he would only express support to SNSD leader Milorad Dodik with that. “The High Representative, this or any other, would not have right to pass decisions that are opposite to constitutional system of this country and one part of that constitutional system is constitutional system of Republika Srpska (RS), which says that the RS National Assembly has right to do what it did”, underlined Tadic. If it nevertheless happens, he stressed, it will be seen as support to Dodik and his attempt to turn this situation into cheap political points. He also finds it disputable that the referendum is taking place only seven days prior to the local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). However, he concluded, SDS will not object the referendum. Tadic explained that he would not have a right to make decisions that are contrary to the constitutional arrangement of B&H, a part of which is the constitutional arrangement of the RS. “If it happens after all, we will think of it as support to Dodik and his efforts to turn all of this into cheap political points, as if he is sacrificing himself to do something while someone is trying to prevent him”, he explained. Tadic also stated that “two men are directly responsible for all this. First, SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic who opened the Pandora box by filing the motion with the Constitutional Court of B&H against January 9 as the RS, and secondly SNSD leader Milorad Dodik and his reaction given that this party could not wait for such a topic to be raised in order to improve their reputation among the RS citizens”, said Tadic.

 

Izetbegovic: Referendum on RS Day tends to destroy peace in B&H (TV1)

Addressing the press conference held after the session of the SDA Collegium in Sarajevo on Monday, SDA leader and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic said that the referendum on the Republika Srpska (RS) Day is a trial balloon for secession of the RS. He assessed that this is the RS’ first attempt to organize an anti-Dayton action that will lead to anarchy and insecurity. “This has been the most flagrant violation of the Constitution of B&H and the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) ever since the DPA was singed. This is the first attempt to organize an anti-Dayton referendum in the RS. So far we had empty talks only, but this is the first serious attempt”, Izetbegovic warned. he reminded of RS President Milorad Dodik’s statement that a referendum on self-determination of the RS will be organized sooner or later, as well as of the declaration entitled ‘Free and independent future and responsibility’ adopted at the SNSD’s congress in 2015 calling on the RS National Assembly (RSNA) to call a referendum on independent status of the RS in 2018. “Therefore, the referendum scheduled to take place on September 25 is a trial balloon for the referendum on secession of the RS from B&H and there is a plan to start destroying peace in B&H on that day. This is also the beginning of destruction of the peace agreement signed in Dayton 20 years ago and this will surely lead to destruction of peace in B&H and most likely in this part of Europe, which is planned for 2018”, Izetbegovic stated. He added that through destroying the rule of law, B&H’s state institutions and the DPA, political forces in the RS headed by Dodik lead to anarchy, chaos and insecurity. Izetbegovic also noted that reaction to such activities is negligible, reminding that local and international institutions tasked to protect the Constitution of B&H, the country’s territorial integrity, the rule of law and sovereignty of the state institutions are encouraging destructive forces by failing to react institutionally and to do what they are obliged to do, as well as by their passive behavior. “Everyone should clearly know that no peaceful split-up in B&H is possible. In fact, any kind of split-up is impossible in B&H, but conflicts are possible”, Izetbegovic emphasized. He said that every single step of the country’s territory will be called B&H and nothing else. “Separatist forces that lead to conflicts with immeasurable consequences need to be stopped bravely before they take an impetus. Therefore, I call on the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) to take concrete measures and actions to protect the DPA, in line with their obligations and jurisdictions. We also call on the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H to react by introduction of the necessary interim measures and to annul the decision of the Constitutional Court of the RS, which is anti-constitutional and against the decision of B&H CC”, Izetbegovic concluded.

 

SDA’s Ahmetovic announces larger scale meeting on Srebrenica referendum this week (Nezavisne)

SDA MP in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Sadik Ahmetovic announced a meeting on a larger scale on the issue of referendum for secession of Srebrenica from the RS this week, where they will adopt concrete decisions. “We have majority, statutory law and justice on our side,” stated Ahmetovic.

 

Municipalities have right to hold referendums (Fena)

Head of Srebrenica Municipality Camil Durakovic stated on Monday that municipalities have a right to hold referendums on the topic of issues of local communities. Commenting a visit of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik to Srebrenica on Sunday, Durakovic expressed regret “he was not contacted by the RS President’s Cabinet”. He noted that Dodik’s statement that an idea of referendum on secession of Srebrenica from the RS is undoable from a legal-constitutional point of view because it is in violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, Durakovic said that the RS President is uninformed. “He did not read the Municipal Statute and the Law on Local Self-Governance, where the municipalities have a right to hold referendums on the issues of local communities,” explained Durakovic.

 

Naser Oric: They should not play with Srebrenica (Dnevni avaz)

Wartime commander of defense of Srebrenica Naser Oric stated for the daily on Monday that all those politicians advocating secession of Srebrenica from Republika Srpska  (RS)  should first think well what would they get and what would they lose with that. He said he cannot believe that some individuals “fell for cheap tricks” of RS President Milorad Dodik, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic regarding the referendum. “Instead of dealing with uniting of peoples and interest of citizens, they themselves have become part of that plan, which they indirectly support”, warned Oric. He deems that request for secession of Srebrenica and its special status is only a “personal promotion of certain individuals”, and he added that he will not allow that people is manipulated for some political points. According to him, these requests only go in favor of those who deny genocide.

 

Croatian Foreign Minister: Hatemongers in Serbia again active (Hina)

Croatian Foreign Minister Miro Kovac on Monday dismissed the latest accusations from Serbian Labour Minister Aleksandar Vulin who compared the situation in Croatia with that in the World War II Nazi-styled Independent State of Croatia (NDH), saying that on-call hatemongers in Serbia were again active. "On-call hatemongers in the neighborhood are again speaking, they again want to meddle in Croatia's internal affairs and change the history," Kovac said in a comment on Vulin's accusing Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepic of turning Croatia into the NDH. Orepic said recently that if all false residence registrations were deleted, the share of the Serb minority in the local population in Vukovar would drop to below 30% and the minority would lose the right to the equal official use of its language and the Cyrillic script. "Time will come when Serbia will have to realize what was done in its name in the 1990s, that the war was not fought on its territory, and until that happens, it won't be good," Kovac told reporters in Sinj, in the Split hinterland, where he attended events marking the Feast of the Assumption. Kovac said that Serbia had a chance to "change itself" in the process of talks on accession to the EU, notably regarding the policy chapter No. 23, which refers to the judiciary. "Serbia will have to change its law (on universal jurisdiction for war crimes) and it will not be able to act as a mini Hague tribunal," said Kovac. "It will also have to look for missing persons and their remains in cooperation with us. It will have to cooperate with our courts and hand over people who have been indicted," Kovac said.

 

Formal campaigning period ahead of Sept. 11 election starts (Hina)

Croatia's State Election Commission (DIP) has stated that all 177 slates submitted for the early parliamentary election, set for 11 September, are valid, and a formal campaigning period began on 15 August. The DIP chairman,  Branko Hrvatin, recalled at a news conference in Zagreb on Monday, that the campaigning could last until the midnight of 9 September, when a ban on electioneering is in force until the end of the voting. By midnight on Saturday, 13 August, when the deadline for the submission of slates expired, DIP received 177 slates, 11 more than in November 2015. Broken down by gender, the portion of female candidates dropped to 39.74% compared to 41.41% in slates submitted for the previous vote. The mean age of the candidates is 47.4 years as against 44.5 years for the previous election. The largest number of slates, 19, refer to Constituency No. 1, which covers the northwestern part of Zagreb County, a part of downtown Zagreb and the western part of the capital, while the fewest slates, 12, were submitted for Constituency No. 9, which covers Lika-Senj County, Zadar County, Sibenik-Knin County, and the northern part of Split-Dalmatia County. Fourteen slates were submitted for Constituency No. 11 where three members of Parliament are elected by Croatian nationals without residence in Croatia. This year the number of candidacies for Constituency No. 12, where ethnic minorities elect their representatives, is 26, having dropped from 34 in November 2015. The new, ninth Croatian legislature, to be elected on September 11, will have 151 deputies - 140 will be elected in ten constituencies in Croatia, three will be elected by the diaspora (Croatian nationals without residence in Croatia), and eight by ethnic minorities in Constituency No. 12, which covers the entire country.

 

DPS: Government is achieving the goal, Demos acts responsibly; URA is not mentioned (CDM)

DPS Presidency stated the government of electoral trust was achieving its goal, which is why it welcomes Demos’s decision to stay a part of the executive branch. The presidency did not comment on the URA Civic Movement’s decision to leave the government in the statement it released after a five-hour session of DPS leadership in Podgorica. DPS said again that it would win the upcoming general elections on 16 October and added that its members and supporters had a unique position that the best result would be achieved if the party run in the elections independently. “Considering the current political situation, the DPS Presidency believes the government of electoral trust worked well and finds this concept of executive branch is achieving the goal it was formed for. In this context, it welcomes the decision of the Demos decision-making body as a sign of responsibility towards the common commitments”, DPS stated. This party is satisfied with the achievements of the party’s network related to the election on 16 October. “At today's session, chaired by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, DPS Presidency discussed the activities of the party before the upcoming general elections scheduled for 16 October and expressed satisfaction with the results the party network achieved”, DPS stated. “All the relevant data support the fact that DPS will achieve another election victory and remain the basis of the future government. The presidency has registered a unified message of party members and supporters from all parts of Montenegro that the best result would be achieved if the party run in the elections independently. The DPS decision-making bodies will soon make a formal decision on it”, the party said. They add that the Presidency adopted the Decision on the principles, criteria, methods, deadlines and the procedure for the nomination and selection of candidates for the DPS MPs in the Parliament of Montenegro and members of municipal assemblies, which will be held local elections.

 

Besic: Demos was right not to leave the government (Pobjeda)

The decision of Demos not to leave the government is completely understandable. They showed an increased level of responsibility as opposed to the URA. Simply put, Demos was wise to calculate that going out of the government is more "expensive" than staying, assessed local political analyst, Mr. Milos Besic. He added he is convinced that this decision was a kind of alienation from URA. "This is especially true in light of the fact that URA left the government but their delegated ministers did not”, Besic said for Pobjeda daily. According to him, the SDP will not leave the government, which makes the position of URA untenable from the standpoint of their arguments for leaving the government. "In other words, one can say that URA’s leaving the government in a situation where SDP and Demos are not, makes their arguments for leaving extremely banal. Furthermore, Demos remaining in the government de facto means that Demos will offer its candidacy for entry into the next government, which is very interesting. The outcome is clear. With this attitude of Demos, the biggest loser is the URA, and whether Demos will gain anything remains to be seen, based on the results of the forthcoming elections", concluded Besic.

 

VMRO­DPMNE leader Gruevski meets top US official Kupchan (MIA)

Ruling VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski and Charles Kupchan, Senior Director for European Affairs at the United States National Security Council, discussed Monday in Skopje on modalities for surpassing the political crisis in Macedonia and the country's aspiration to join NATO. Kupchan currently serves as special assistant to President Barack Obama and was Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council during the first Clinton administration. Gruevski and Kupchan agreed that organizing of elections at which citizens would authorize political representatives, capable to bring Macedonia back on the track of reforms and economic prosperity was necessary for putting an end to the extremely long political crisis in the country, VMRO­DPMNE said in a press release. VMRO­DPMNE has been respecting and fulfilling the obligations of the inter­party agreement, Gruevski told Kupchan, pointing out that as before there were no objective reasons for a fresh postponing of the elections and hence of the crisis. The opposition should also engage sincerely for a climate of confidence to be created, preventing any party to deny the election results and the will of citizens, Gruevski said. The party's top priority is for Macedonia to progress on its road to EU and NATO, Gruevski said. He also extended gratitude for the US support of Macedonia.

 

Gostivar resident suspected for participation in IS terrorist organization arrested in Tirana (Ora News)

Macedonian national I.A. suspected of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, was arrested in Tirana. "The international arrest warrant for I.A. (46), resident of Gostivar, was issued a year ago, but he found refuge in Tirana, Albania. He was arrested by the members of the anti-terrorism department", Tirana television "Ora News" says. The same source says that a year ago he managed to evade capture in Macedonia and since then he has probably been hiding in Tirana. His identification and arrest were conducted based on the exchange of information with the secret services of both countries. Secret services of the Western countries were also involved in the thorough investigation.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Border patrols prevent 2,275 migrants from entering Serbia (AP)

In less than a month, Serbian border patrols prevented more than 2,000 migrants from entering Serbia from Bulgaria. 24 people smugglers have been caught during the same period of time, Serbian MoD spokesperson Jovan Krivokapic has told the AP. He specified that 2,275 people, mostly Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis, have been prevented from entering Serbia since the joint military-police patrols were introduced on July 22. Krivokapic also told the agency 454 migrants who were caught inside Serbia were transferred to refugee centers.

 

 

* * *

 

Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ.  The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.