LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic: Serbia wants comprehensive solution to migrant crisis (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbia does not want to put up walls, but it does not have the capacities to become a long-term shelter for migrants and refugees, and that is why it is advocating a comprehensive European and global solution to the migrant crisis, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in New York late Monday. Over 700,000 refugees and migrants have passed through Serbia over the past year and a half, Dacic told a United Nations General Assembly summit on refugees and migrants. In case the migrants’ passage to northern Europe is blocked, Serbia could face the danger of becoming a bottleneck, with thousands of migrants stranded in the country, Dacic warned. As a country faced with the problem of long-term displacement for over 20 years now, we do not have the capacities to be a long-term, mass shelter for migrants, Dacic noted. The refugee and migrant crisis is growing in scope and intensity, he said. Nine months since the decision on holding this meeting was adopted, the situation has objectively become even more difficult and complex and a comprehensive solution is not in sight, while the international community hasn’t been able to find an adequate response, warned Dacic. He recalled that Serbia was located at one of the key routes of the refugee movement, the so-called Western Balkan route. He explained that the empathy in Serbia towards refugees and migrants and the essential understanding of their suffering stems from the fact that Serbia, even today, has a total of 250,000 refugees and internally displaced persons from the 1990s wars, whereby a decrease in the number of refugees on the territory of the former Yugoslavia occurred mainly through their integration in the Republic of Serbia. “Unfortunately, of over 200,000 internally displaced persons, only 4,000 or 1.9 percent of people expelled 17 years ago from our province of Kosovo and Metohija have returned to their homes,” said Dacic. “With the adoption of the Declaration, the political framework for resolving the issue of refugees and migrants has been set. Now we need our joint mobilized political will to implement it into life. Serbia is prepared to work together on the realization of the goals drawn in the Declaration,” concluded Dacic.

 

Stefanovic and Vulin propose special measures for strengthening border control (RTS/B92)

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and Serbian Minister of Labor and coordinator of the government Group for migrations Aleksandar Vulin proposed to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic special measures to strengthen the borders so as to prevent a mass illegal crossing of migrants, the two of them confirmed on Monday. Neither of them, however, specified what those proposals implied. As Stefanovic told reporters, Serbia is on one side faced with the fact that its’ northern and western neighbors have closed their borders and, apart from a symbolic number, do not accept migrants anymore, and on the other side with the fact that migrants stay for longer periods in Serbia – not because they wish to stay there, but rather because they wish to continue their journey towards one of the countries of Western Europe. Migrants thus stay on Serbian territory since they are not able to reach Germany, Sweden or some other country, and in time become impatient, and even aggressive, which then requires a larger engagement of police and security forces, he said. “We have therefore proposed a package of measures and it remains for us to wait for the Prime Minister to return and see what measures we can implement quickly and what it is that we have to do for Serbia to stop being a parking space for all those migrants whom others refuse to admit,” Stefanovic said. Vulin, on his part, stated that Serbia – which has the capacity to admit about 6,000 migrants – had almost filled these capacities, and that a solution had to be found for the sheltering of the surplus ones. Seeing that virtually none of the migrants wish to exercise their right to an asylum in Serbia “we will return them either to their countries of origin or from where they came from,” said Vulin and added that Serbia had to behave as the other countries. He said that “it is not important whether Serbia believes in obstacles and barriers, but rather what the EU believes in”. “We shall believe in that which they believe,” he added. In view of the measures which he and Stefanovic had proposed to Vucic for the border to be strengthened so as to diminish the pressure on the army and police, Vulin only said that Vucic “does not share all of Stefanovic’s and my standpoints, but he is very concerned over everything that is happening”.

 

New round of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue on 26 September (RTS/Tanjug)

A new round of talks between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels has been scheduled for 26 September, and telecommunications will be on the agenda, the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric announced on Monday. According to the agreement on telecommunications, reached on 25 August last year, it has been foreseen that Serbia should ask for a dialing code for Kosovo which it would, as Serbian ownership, give to Pristina for use.

In return, Telekom Srbija will be able to operate freely on the territory of Kosovo. Djuric said that Pristina wanted to dispute in every way that which has been signed and create a precedent, or rather seize the assets of Telekom Srbija and declare them to be the property of the Post and Telekom of Kosovo. He also stated that, even though Belgrade possessed all the documentation on property, Pristina frequently attempted to discuss this by arguments of force and was counting on getting the support of the international community for such standpoints. Djuric also said that, with all the flaws which the dialogue with Pristina had, it was better to spend 1,000 days in discussion than one day in waging war.

 

Brussels to block Serbia over standstill in energy and telecommunications (Novosti)

Brussels is requesting Belgrade to make a more visible shift in the dialogue with Pristina, especially in telecommunications and energy, in order to open new chapters, Novosti learns. According to sources in diplomatic circles, the EU leadership expects in the coming weeks at least one round of talks at the premier level between Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa in order to remove the remaining disagreements regarding the implementation of the agreed and to draft a plan of new topics that need to be discussed. Vucic also said that the chapters will not open in October since the West is not satisfied with the dialogue with Pristina, with the possibility of also missing the December train. Novosti learns that Brussels’ biggest discontent is over the agreement on energy, the implementation of which has practically completely frozen. Namely, Pristina, referring to technical documentation deficiencies, is refusing to register companies “EPS Trade” and “Elektrosever”, which are important for electricity supply in the north. The Office for Kosovo and Metohija tells Novosti that EU partners are well acquainted with a bunch of difficult and unpopular steps undertaken by Serbia towards normalizing relations with Pristina, but also with the fact that it cannot make moves that would endanger the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija or undermine Serbia’s position regarding the status issue of the province. The Head of the Serbian negotiating team with the EU Tanja Miscevic tells Novosti that Serbia are prepared for opening Chapters 5, 25 and 26. “The West always wants faster, better and more efficient results in the dialogue with Pristina and the opening of chapters depends, in the final instance, from the political decision in the EU. But, I don’t see reasons why wouldn’t we start soon negotiations at least in these three fields.”

 

Jablanovic: I don’t know about the dismissal (Novosti)

“I haven’t been informed about being dismissed from the post of the member of the Management Team for the Community of Serb Municipalities,” Leposavic Mayor Dragan Jablanovic (Movement of Socialists, PS) said yesterday. He also said that Leposavic has been without financial assets from Belgrade for two years now and that it is the only northern municipality in Kosovo and Metohija that hasn’t signed memorandums on cooperation with the Ministries for Returns and Local Self-Administration in the Kosovo government headed by Dalibor Jevtic and Ljubomir Maric, and that “this would not have occurred if he were a member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)”.

 

Norway helping renovate Orthodox churches in Kosovo (Tanjug)

An initiative to renovate the buildings of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate of Pec has been launched at a recent meeting of Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia Arne Sannes Bjornstad and the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. The government of Norway is known for renovations of Serbian monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija, having set aside over 5 million Euros for this purpose since 2008.  The Visoki Decani, Sokolica and Draganac monasteries, a church in the Laplje selo village and the Orthodox seminary in Prizren are receiving continuous aid, said a press release of the Norwegian embassy in Belgrade.
Clark as a Kosovo miner (Politika)

Along with the war plans for Kosovo drawn up by NATO General Wesley Clark, it seems that business plans were being drawn up to exploit the mineral riches of our southern province. So Clark changed overnight from the uniform of a US four star general into an American-Kosovo yuppie and set up his company “Envidity”. That Canadian company is waiting for the Kosovo Assembly to give it the green light to search for coal in a third of the territory of Kosovo. “The Chairman of the Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told Politika that the people who instigated the bombing of Serbia are trying to get payment for their engagement. “This is a question of real war profiteering. Companies owned by politicians who supported Kosovo’s independence are now grabbing the most valuable resources that Pristina has,” Drecun told Politika.

 

Vucic to be at Clinton Foundation event Hillary will miss (B92)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will travel to New York in the coming days, and take part in a panel organized by the Clinton Foundation. U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, however, will miss the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative (CGI) event, it has emerged.

Vucic, who will be in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, will have contacts with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, according to reports on Monday. CGI supporters missing from this year’s guest list include U.S. President Barack Obama, as well Hillary Clinton, who will instead be at the United Nations General Assembly opening.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

B&H’s Application for EU membership accepted (Fena/Nezavisne)

The General Affairs Council of the European Union decided today to carry out the procedure set forth in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union and accordingly called on the European Commission to give its opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H)’s application for membership.

On 15 February 2016, the Chairman of the Presidency of B&H, Mr. Dragan Covic, presented the application of B&H for membership of the European Union. The Council decided to implement the procedure laid down in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union. Accordingly, the Commission is invited to submit its opinion. Recalling the renewed consensus on enlargement as expressed in the conclusions of the European Council of 14/15 December 2006, the Council reaffirms that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the European Union. It reiterates that each country's progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply with the Copenhagen criteria and the conditionality of the Stabilization and Association Process.

Reiterating previous Council conclusions, in particular those of 15 December 2015, and its unequivocal commitment to B&H’s EU perspective as a single, united and sovereign country, the Council welcomes the meaningful progress in the implementation of the Reform Agenda which has been agreed by the B&H authorities at all levels. The Council calls on B&H to continue its efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Reform Agenda in line with the schedule of the action plan agreed by the B&H authorities, to the benefit of its citizens and in close cooperation with the European Union, international financial institutions and international partners, as well as civil society. This should continue to include, as well as socio-economic reforms, reforms in the area of rule of law and public administration. The Council invites the Commission to further report on the implementation of the Reform Agenda including the coordination mechanism. When preparing its opinion on the membership application of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Council asks the Commission to pay particular attention to the implementation of the Sejdic-Finci ruling.

The Council welcomes the initialing of the Protocol on the adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement to take account of Croatia’s accession to the European Union. The full implementation of the SAA, including its adaptation, is an important element of the country’s commitment to the EU integration process. The Council further welcomes the agreement on establishing a coordination mechanism on EU matters. It calls on all levels of government in B&H to ensure its effective implementation, as an important step towards improving functionality and efficiency.

 

Bosniaks not implementing B&H CC decision from 2006 for the past 10 years (EuroBlic)

Political representatives of Serbs and Croats in the Federation of B&H told the daily that Bosniak political parties have been obstructing the adoption of the new Federation of B&H’s coat of arms and flag for almost a decade. According to daily’s sources, deadline for implementation of decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H - according to which the Federation of B&H had an obligation to replace the old coat of arms and flag with new ones - expired back in 2006. Furthermore, the fact that old Federation of B&H coat of arms and flag have been simply replaced in all Federation of B&H institutions with official insignia of B&H, daily’s sources assesses as yet another “perfidious attempt” to create unitary state in B&H. Head of the HDZ B&H Caucus in the Parliament of the Federation of B&H, Jozo Bagaric, said that “it is no secret that the policy of SDA, as the largest Bosniak political party, is based on an attempt to create B&H as unitary as possible”. Furthermore, Bagaric said that serious discussion about the Federation of B&H coat of arms and flag has to be a part of the upcoming talks about reorganization of the Federation of B&H. Serb delegate in the Federation of B&H House of Peoples (HoP), Slavisa Mihajlovic, reminded that the old coat of arms and flag of the Federation of B&H were declared unconstitutional ten years ago, because they do not contain the symbols of Serb people. The fact that B&H CC’s decision has not been implemented yet, according to Mihajlovic, represents clear proof that Bosniaks want to dominate in B&H and turn the country into unitary state. “Unlike Serbs and Croats, Bosniaks obviously do not care about the fact that decision of the Constitutional Court has not been implemented,” Mihajlovic said. Secretary of the Federation of B&H HoP Izmir Hadziavdic said that the Federation of B&H “can, but it does not have to” have its own coat of arms and flag, adding that the issue is not a priority at this point in time.

 

Dodik: Ambassadors should not interfere in internal affairs of B&H (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik says it is high time for the ambassadors of foreign countries to stop interfering in the internal affairs of a country in which they stay, no matter how it might look like, even if it is B&H. “It is incredible that ambassadors comment on the internal political events. This is not so anywhere in the world, except here. This is why B&H is an unsuccessful country and does not have a chance of succeeding until people in it agree what B&H can be, without a possibility for foreign ambassadors to get involved in it, no matter from where they might come,” Dodik told reporters in Banja Luka. He says that the B&H Constitutional Court included all elements of political decision making and that it works on orders of the Chairman of the B&H Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, and under pressure from certain embassies in Sarajevo. “If this had anything to do with justice, decisions would not have been brought this way. This will be the essence of that which I want to say to the Russian Ambassador to B&H and to everyone else. It is obvious that western ambassadors are bored in B&H and need a sort of a game, so they made use of this to get involved in the worst possible way,” Dodik said. He says that at a meeting, which is a part of regular consultations, he and Ambassador Ivantsov discussed a general situation after the shameful decision of the B&H Constitutional Court, which is a political court of B&H. “RS citizens have the right to voice their opinion on RS Day, as a vital issue, in a referendum on 25 September,” said the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to B&H, Petr Ivantsov, after a meeting with Dodik. Ivantsov told reporters that President Dodik had confirmed that a referendum on RS Day would be held on 25 September and that they had spoken about preparations for the referendum. He said that President Dodik would meet in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that they would discuss the situation in RS and a support to RS.

 

Cvijanovic: Referendum cannot invoke criminal liability (Srna)

Republika Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic has stated that holding a referendum on the RS Day – 9 January cannot invoke any criminal liability, because it falls into the domain of political decision and is not directed against anyone. Commenting on the question asked by the reporters in Sarajevo if she expects a criminal prosecution over the referendum, Cvijanovic has recalled that the decision of the RS Assembly to hold a referendum was passed based on the will of all the caucuses and that the referendum will be held in accordance with the decision of the RS Commission for Referendum. She then asked if the civil servants, police officers, farmers, pilots and others would be held criminally liable if they voted? “The EU is based on the standards of referendum,” said Cvijanovic, adding that it is unacceptable for the judicial institutions of B&H to invite internationals to sit-in or to be influenced by anyone.

Cvijanovic met in Sarajevo with the Directorate General for Neighborhood Policy, Genoveva Ruiz Calavera, Head of the EU Delegation to B&H, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdic and Prime Minister of the Federation of B&H, Fadil Novalic, to discuss the implementation of the B&H Reform Agenda. After the meeting, RS Prime Minister has said that a long way is ahead B&H when it comes to the regulation of rule of law. “We need to take the rule of law seriously, like anyone who wants to be a member of the EU,” said Cvijanovic. Commenting on a reporter’s question if the referendum will affect the EU Council’s decision on B&H’s EU membership application, Head of the EU Delegation Lars-Gunnar Wigemark has said that he is unable to predict what decision of the member states will be on this issue. “Membership application, as I said, does not depend on a single event but is a part of process which was initiated by the submission of application on 15 February, or even much earlier, ten years ago, by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement,” said Wigemark . The head of the EU Delegation has added that the rules of law related issues are essential for each country and that the future of this country should be looked to; also it should resolve outstanding issues through the dialogue. Wigemark has said that the future of B&H, as a promising candidate for the EU, was discussed at the meeting and that the focus was on already implemented reforms, but also on those to be implemented in the three-year program.

“As for the referendum, I hope that you are aware of the comments by High Representative Federica Mogherini, and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, on the need for the issue to be resolved through a dialogue, not to be an obstacle in the main tasks that is ahead for all of us in this country, which is the country’s progress in implementing reforms and the EU accession process,” said Wigemark.

 

Former B&H Army General: RS threatened by conflict in which the RS would disappear (TV1)

General and former Chief of Staff of the B&H Army and the current president of BPS Sefer Halilovic, said that the implementation of the referendum in Republika Srpska (RS) means an unpacking of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and the entry into force of the Republic of B&H and then threatened with the conflict in which the RS would disappear. “After the referendum, the Dayton Constitution is no longer valid, then we return to the Constitution of the Republic of B&H, then let the God help us all, he should first give us the reason, then the strength to bring this story to the end,” said Halilovic. He pointed out that the RS, in a potential conflict, can hold on maximum of 10-15 days. Asked whether in B&H, on both sides, there are enough people willing to fight, Halilovic said, “Yes, absolutely. And that is why I appeal to think carefully. Because Milosevic is dead, the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) does not exist anymore, there are no thousands of tanks, and thousands of carriers ... Serbia cannot help RS. We will not allow secession of the half of the state,” Halilovic told TV1 and added that the referendum is on secession, not the Day of RS. He claims that on the day when the Dayton is unpacked everything will be different, and the referendum is unpacking it. “We are not threatening anyone, but we will not allow anyone to take away a part of B&H without a chaos,” said Halilovic in a threatening tone.

 

Izetbegovic and Crnadak to attend UN General Assembly session (Klix.ba)

The 71^st session of the UN General Assembly will start in New York on Tuesday and will last until Saturday. Migrant crisis and the war in Syria will be the main topics of the session. The B&H delegation led by B&H Presidency Chairman Bakir Izetbegovic and B&H Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Crnadak will also attend the session. Izetbegovic will have a number of bilateral meetings with high-ranking EU officials in New York. He is expected to meet with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn and European Council President Donald Tusk. Crnadak is expected to meet with the UK and German ministers of foreign affairs. Minister of Foreign Affairs of B&H Igor Crnadak will participate at the meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the Western Balkans countries. The meeting will be hosted by the federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurz. Crnadak will also participate in a high-level debate on refugees and migrants on the same day. During the second day of his visit, Crnadak will attend a trilateral meeting with Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Walter Steinmeier. On Thursday, Crnadak will take part in the informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of countries members of South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), after which he will be host to a meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of countries members of the Central European Initiative, a multilateral organization chaired by B&H this year. During the day, trilateral meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of B&H, Serbia and Turkey will be held, as well as trilateral meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of B&H, Croatia and Turkey, stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of B&H.

 

Plenkovic, Petrov reach compromise regarding some demands submitted by Bridge (Hina)

The leaders of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Bridge party, Andrej Plenkovic and Bozo Petrov respectively, on Monday wrapped up the second round of negotiations on post-election cooperation and the forming of the new government, they reached a compromise regarding some of the bridge demands, primarily regarding the Law on Croatian Radio Television (HRT) and the declaration of the Economic Belt, while amendments to the Distress Act will be sent to parliamentary procedure immediately. “We agreed that some of these topics (seven demands Bridge submitted for the forming of the new government) were realistically achievable at beginning of the work of the next Croatian parliament while some will most definitely be part of the program of the new government with a clearly defined flow-chart, which will be realized,” Plenkovic told reporters on Monday evening. He added that additional consultation would be held regarding some items, Plenkovic underscored that the atmosphere at the meeting was very good, adding that HDZ and Bridge experts would precisely define conclusions regarding every single item discussed and that the new round of talks would be held next Monday. “I am looking forward to cooperation. I believe we have a fair amount of trust and partnership in the work of the future stable government that will be in the office for the next four years,” Plenkovic said. Petrov said he was confident that Bridge could always be a quality partner, adding he expected that the negotiations would be successfully completed on Monday. He also said he was aware that some activities required more time and expressed conviction the new parliament would be constituted within the next 30 days.

 

Petir supports Plenkovic’s invitation to HSS to join HDZ (Hina)

MEP Marijana Petir of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) on Monday supported the invitation of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) chief Andrej Plenkovic to the HSS to return to its family, namely to join the parliamentary majority led by the HDZ, and accused HSS president Kreso Beljak of destroying the party. Petir told reporters in Zagreb she was in favor of the HSS deputies leaving the SDP-led People’s Coalition and form a coalition with the HDZ, stressing that HSS deputies were already cooperating with the HDZ within the European People’s Party (EPP) and that after losing the early parliamentary election on 11 September, the People’s Coalition no longer existed. “Everybody knows that the HDZ approached us with the same proposal as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and that Beljak and his irresponsibility led the party from the victorious to the loser’s camp, otherwise, the party would have been a party in the executive government today and not have only five seats in parliament. She called on the five HSS MPs to choose the party’s well-being over Beljak’s dictatorship, claiming the Beljak was clearly sent to the HSS to dissolve and destroy the party. Asked if two HSS MPs would reach an agreement with the HDZ, as speculated by the media, Petir said she had no information about that adding, however, it was logical for HSS deputies to communicate with the HDZ. HSS leader Beljak has recently suspended about 100 party members for obstructing the parliamentary election, including the HSS member of the European Parliament Petir and other high-ranking officials. In the meantime the number of suspended members has been reduced to a few tens. Petir demanded that the suspensions be revoked and that Beljak resigns.

 

Djukanovic – Johnson: Montenegro remains EU integration promoter in the Balkans (CDM)

Montenegro was and still is reliable promoter of Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans, which is the only prospect for lasting stability in the region, said US Senator Ron Johnson, who spoke with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic on Monday. Djukanovic thanked the US Senate and Johnson personally for launching the procedure for NATO Accession Protocol ratification, as well as for continued assistance and support of USA to Montenegro and the region on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration. “This makes Washington’s support even more important for our country, which is a positive example for our neighbors,” the PM said. Djukanovic reminded Johnson on the long-term partnership and trust that has been built through our relations, commending the United States for its contribution to the return of stability in the region and thus creating the preconditions for the beginning the integration process in the Western Balkans. Johnson said he was honored to have chaired the Foreign Political Committee of the US Senate. Last week, the debate on the ratification of the accession protocol was on the committee agenda. He added that despite the fact that his country was busy being engaged in the electoral processes, it would do everything in order for the ratification procedure to be completed as soon as possible. Commending Montenegro for the results achieved, Senator Johnson said that Washington would remain committed to the strategic goal – united, free and peaceful Europe, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election. He added that the Montenegro’s membership in NATO would be contribution in this direction. Djukanovic and Johnson also discussed the current processes in the Western Balkans.

 

Kurz: Authorities in Albania, B&H and Kosovo should oppose the rising Islamic radicalization (Telegraf.mk)

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has expressed his concern regarding the Islamic radicalization of the Western Balkans. Austria’s Mission to the United Nations hosts Monday a meeting of Western Balkans foreign ministers, in the framework of Kurz’s visit to the UN General Assembly session. Kurz said the European perspective of Western Balkan countries should not be lost in the mix of the Brexit and EU­-Turkey issues. The Austrian FM stressed that authorities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo should oppose the rising Islamic radicalization, because the religious­-ideological influence is spread there, while women are paid to go out in streets completely covered.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Clock is ticking for the Balkans (Anadolu Agency, by Jahja Muhasilovic, 20 September 2016)

Last week’s parliamentary elections in Croatia are a warning sign of the rise of nationalism in the Balkans

ISTANBUL - The recent parliamentary elections in Croatia show that the country’s prospects do not seem bright. Due to the failure to form a government over the last 10 months, parliamentary elections had to be repeated. The nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the elections last November with only a slight lead and thus will have to look for a coalition partner to form a functioning government. Founded by Croatia’s first President Franjo Tudjman, HDZ is a right-wing party that, in its governing body and voting base, incorporates members who are not hiding their sympathies for the infamous Ustashas, an organization responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands across the region during World War II. One of the well-known people who openly sympathize with the Ustashas is Croatia’s Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic. What is more important is that HDZ’s victory is raising the question of where the region is headed, as Paul Mason points out in his piece for The Guardian. He is warning of the rise of nationalisms across the region. Victory for HDZ came at a moment when right-wing movements all across Europe are gaining momentum, triggered primarily by the influx of migrants coming from war-torn Middle Eastern countries; a migration wave in which the Balkan Peninsula played an important role as the main route. When the post-election euphoria ends, the new government – if it has been formed by then – will have to take the leadership through a period marked by tense relations with Belgrade. Neighboring Bosnia is day by day approaching the referendum announced by the leadership of the Bosnian Serb entity, which has the potential to spark an inter-ethnic conflict again. Given that more than 10 percent of Bosnia’s population is comprised of ethnic Croats, Zagreb will have to monitor the referendum with watchful eyes.

Besides the political deadlock that the country has passed through in the last 10 months, socioeconomic prospects are also increasingly gloomier. With 16 percent, Croatia has the third-highest level of unemployment in the EU after Greece and Spain. Unemployment reaches as high as 40 percent in some parts of the country, which is further troubled by uneven regional development. This has created a brain drain, which is among the highest among EU members. Since joining the bloc, the emigration rate of the well-educated middle class has skyrocketed. Germany, for instance, hosted some 50,000 Croatian citizens in 2015, according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. Since it entered the Union in 2013, almost 120,000 Croats have migrated to Germany alone, amounting to almost 3 percent of the country’s population. These numbers clearly demonstrate the urgency of resolving the problem of mass emigration. After reaching a peak in the early 1990s with a population of 4.8 million people, Croatia’s current population is less than 4.2 million, and the UN estimates it will have dwindled to 3.5 million by 2050. Wars, a low natural growth rate, and emigration have depopulated the region to an alarming low. Croatia in this sense is no exception in the region, which suffers from the same problems. Besides a low natural population growth, the region is passing through socioeconomic trauma as it loses its youth to economic emigration, a problem mostly ignored by Western powers as the attention is on the refugees coming from the Middle East. Along with Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis, asylum-seekers from the Balkans are the largest group.  In neighboring Bosnia, all eyes are on the upcoming referendum planned for Sept. 25. After the Constitutional Court ruled that the commemoration of Republika Srpska Day is unconstitutional, the populist president of the entity, Milorad Dodik, decided to take the issue to referendum. Since it is going to be conducted in the Serbian-majority part of the country, it is not hard to predict the outcome. Bosniak leaders are afraid that September’s referendum will only be a prelude to another one on secession. In his populist speeches, Dodik has hurled threats of secession on many occasions but never went this far. This concrete step comes at a time when Russia, his close ally, has launched a more aggressive foreign approach in the region and across Europe. It is not hard to see that Moscow will use the opportunity in its cold war with the EU over influence, as when it tried to intervene in Macedonia over the crisis with Nicola Gruevski’s government. A more aggressive policy from Banja Luka was expected as the crises in Ukraine and Crimea unfolded. Many had hoped that the EU and NATO would work harder to prevent a crisis of this kind to gain momentum by taking a tougher stance. The Office of High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia, [established by the UN after the war in Bosnia ended at the end of 1995] has the authority to block or push the processes in the country, but it has done nothing besides criticizing and proclaiming uneasiness at Dodik’s actions. It remains to be seen what Sept. 25 will bring to Bosnia, a country cracking along its ethnic fault lines for too long. It is not hard to see that Dodik is taking advantage of a vacuum created by the lack of engagement on the part of the Western powers. This view is shared by many others as the major crisis in the region still remains unresolved. Poorly calculated statements from Brussels – like the one from the head of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker, who simply proclaimed that enlargement is frozen for the next five years – are destroying the last strands of hope left in the region. In view of the close ties between Banja Luka and Moscow, Europe cannot afford a new Ukraine-type crisis in its closest neighborhood. Especially not at this critical point, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out on Friday at the EU Summit in Bratislava, and not when the EU is trying to heal the wounds of Brexit and dealing with an existential crisis caused by the rise of nationalisms in all of the member states, which is setting fire to the very idea of a “united Europe”.  Macedonia is yet another example where a passive, soft approach to the problem has led to an armed conflict. Last year, armed groups, mainly ethnic Albanians from the town of Kumanovo, confronted Macedonian security forces. The main reason was the mistreatment of and inequality towards ethnic Albanians by majority Macedonians. Like post-Dayton Bosnia, Macedonia is day by day dissolving along ethnic lines, and the status quo is simply not functioning anymore. The crisis over the name with Greece is another issue which has remained unresolved for decades, hampering the country’s EU prospects. Brussels can and should apply more pressure on Athens for it to stop blocking Macedonia’s EU integration. Otherwise, the country’s future does not look good, and the 2015 uprising was the first sign of an outlook getting ever more bleak. Macedonia, together with Greece and Serbia, played a crucial role in last year’s refugee crisis as the main route for migrants trying to reach Central Europe. The migration crisis has one more time shown the importance of the region for the whole continent. Now all eyes are looking at the deal between the EU and Turkey which aims to stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe. Recent frictions between Ankara and Brussels threaten the deal, and this could have catastrophic consequences for the region as a new migration wave would strengthen the xenophobic feelings in a region that is already suffering from high unemployment coupled with a strong nationalist sentiment.  As years go by, a feeling of having been left behind is growing. A European perspective was promised to the Balkans when the wars ended, but the progress is far too slow. Many countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina or Macedonia have not yet resolved their existential problems. Developments in the world are taking place very fast, and Brussels, preoccupied with its own problems, is simply not able to catch up with them. The constellation of power and the types of ongoing cold wars around the globe is creating the perfect environment for tensions to escalate in the Balkans. Ethnic hatred, high unemployment, a politicized public space, emigration, chronic corruption, and many other issues are further inflaming tensions in the region, and Brussels’ negligence as well as empty promises have opened a space for tensions to grow once again, threatening to ignite not only the region, but the whole of Europe. The clock is ticking for a region that has been waiting for too long.

* Opinions expressed in this piece are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu Agency's editorial policy.

 

Russia Lends Full Backing to Bosnian Serb Referendum (BIRN, by Milivoje Pantovic, Danijel Kovacevic, Srecko Latal, 20 September 2016)

The Bosnian Serbs' historic allies, Serbia and Russia, appear increasingly divided over the controversial referendum set to take place on Sunday, with Moscow openly backing the vote.

Belgrade, Banja Luka, Sarajevo - In a clear sign of support for the controversial Bosnian Serb referendum on their national day, Russia's ambassador to Bosnia, Petar Ivancov, held a series of meetings with Republika Srpska leaders on Monday. "Our position is very clear. We believe the people of Republika Srpska have the right to declare themselves on vital issues," Ivancov said after meeting the RS President, Milorad Dodik. Ivancov supported the referendum although Bosnia's Constitutional Court outlawed it on Saturday, and the EU and US repeatedly condemned it. His statements were seen as a rebuke to Serbia's leadership, which has denied support for the referendum, as well as a indication of the growing differences between Russia and Serbia. Russia, traditionally close to Serbia, has become critical of the Serbian government's pro-Western attitudes. At the same time, Russia has grown closer to the RS leadership, which has repeatedly challenged Western officials with its radical positions. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Dodik on Thursday, to discuss economic and political issues, including the controversial referendum. The referendum is being organized in support of the RS National Day on January 9, which the state Constitutional Court last year ruled was discriminatory against non-Serbs and thus against the constitution. After meeting Ivancov, Dodik called on all the citizens of Republika Srpska to come out and vote on September 25. "There will be no giving up on the referendum," Dodik said. He expressed his gratitude for Russia's "unambiguous" support for the RS government's intentions. Almost at the same time that Ivancov was meeting RS officials in the RS administrative centre of Banja Luka on Monday, the RS office in Serbia and the Moscow-based Strategic Culture Foundation were holding a joint a conference in Belgrade, entitled “Referendum in Republika Srpska - democratic answer to undemocratic methods”, which was organized to promote the right of the RS leadership to hold the referendum. Experts said the holding of this conference, as well Russia's public support for the referendum, were significant blows for Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and a sign of growing divisions between Belgrade and Moscow. Vucic and other Serbian officials have repeatedly declined to support the referendum and Vucic met the RS leadership on several occasions in recent weeks in what was seen as Belgrade's attempt to halt the vote. "I have already said ... we do not support the referendum. The one who is unpackaging the [1995] Dayton accord [which ended the 1992-5 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina] is making a big problem," Serbian media quoted Vucic as saying on Sunday. Speaking at the conference, the head of the RS office in Moscow, Dusko Perovic, said that RS institutions are making sure that those RS citizens who live in Russia will be able to vote on the referendum in the RS office there. “We have informed residents of [Republika] Srpska in Russia on the upcoming referendum and on how and where they can vote. We are waiting for the delivery of the voting material,” Perovic said. Speaking at the conference in Belgrade, RS officials and experts said the referendum was not organized to threaten the Dayton peace accord, but to protect it. “The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its decision to ban the referendum, is undermining the Constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Mladjan Cicovic, director of the RS Office in Belgrade, said. Cicovic said that preparations for referendum are also taking place in Serbia, where RS voters will be able to vote in five cities: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Zrenjanin and Pancevo. Zoran Cvorovic, a professor from the University of Kragujevac and a member of the Moscow-based Strategic Culture Foundation, said that if the RS backed down on the referendum now, it could be the end of that entity. “The attack on the [National Day] 9 January could lead to a decision that even the name of [Republika] Srpska is unconstitutional. That could be the end of Republika Srpska as an entity,” Cvorovic said. Professor Nenad Kecmanovic, from Banja Luka University, one of the advisors to RS President Dodik, told the conference that the West is now more alarmed by Dodik's meeting with Putin, so close to the referendum, than by the referendum itself. “The referendum is not a problem any longer but [Dodik’s] call and visit to Moscow because Russians are [now] interfering in an area that NATO and Washington see as their own,” he said.

 

Montenegro Albanians Unite in Elections, Seeking Power (BIRN, by Fatjona Mejdini, Dusica Tomovic, 20 September 2016)

The three main Albanian parties in Montenegro have decided to run together in the October elections in a coalition - which experts say sets a pattern that Albanians in nearby Macedonia would do well to follow.

Tirana, Podgorica - For the first time, the three main ethnic Albanian parties in Montenegro will in run the next general elections in the country as a coalition, in order to get more seats in parliament and so boost the fight for their national rights. Leaders of the three parties - Forca [Strength], the Union of Albanians, UDSH, and the Albanian Alternative party - said their platform would focus on “protection of the Albanian identity in Montenegro, the protection and promotion of the Albanian language and national symbols, strengthening education in Albanian, decentralization and improvement of the social and economical ethnic community". Genz Nimanbegu, an MP for Forca, told BIRN on Monday that the three parties had much in common and were trying to correct the errors of the last elections, in 2012, when he claimed that disunity had deprived Albanians of at least one seat in the national assembly. "We [together] won 12,500 votes, but, instead of three, have only two MPs ... We will not allow that again,” Nimanbegu said. According to the 2011 census, 30,439 Albanians live in Montenegro making up 4.91 per cent of Montenegro's population. Nimanbegu believes that if Montenegro's Albanians act and vote together, they can win three of the 81 seats in parliament - or more - and then finally deal with some national issues. Albanians in Montenegro have for years complained of linguistic and political discrimination, while urging the authorities to employ more Albanians in the public sector. “Apart from [Albanian] national issues, we want to deal with the economic and social problems that burden everyone in Montenegro,” Nimanbegu said. Ylli Pata, a journalist and analyst from Albania, told BIRN that the new joint platform in Montenegro sets a good example for ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia and Serbia. “Their chances of having real power within these countries has been compromised by the constant disputes of Albanian representatives with each other,” Pata said. In Macedonia, for example, parties representing the much larger Albanian community, which makes up about a quarter of the population, remain disunited. The two main Macedonian Albanian political parties, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, led by Ali Ahmeti, the Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, led by Menduh Thaci, bitterly oppose each other. A smaller new Macedonian Albanian party, Besa, led by Bilall Kasami, is, however, trying to create an opposition front with other smaller Albanian parties, such as the Movement for Reforms of Democratic Party of Albanians, led by the Mayor of Struga, Ziadin Sela. Looking at Montenegro, analysts in Albania believe the initiative there will not only have a symbolic impact, in making the Albanian political factor in Montenegro stronger but will increase their number of seats in parliament, bringing a cabinet ministry post within their grasp.

Nazif Cungu, leader of Forca, Mehmed Zenka, head of the Democratic Union of Albanians, UDSH, and Nik Gjeloshaj, head of the Albanian Alternative party, meanwhile write on Sunday to leaders in Kosovo and Albania to inform them of developments and seek their aid. "We want you to use your political influence to convince other political factors in Montenegro to leave aside their regional and religious divisions and join together in the electoral race," the letter directed to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and others reads. The letter recalled that the position of Albanians in Montenegro had long been “diminished as a result of the bitter disputes of the past between Albanian political representatives. "The bitter experience of the last parliamentary elections has shown that the fragmentation of the Albanian political factor has brought about the loss of parliamentary mandates, diminishing our political representation in the Montenegrin assembly," the letter added. Pata says Albanians in Montenegro are now trying to correct those mistakes. "The Albanian ethnic factor in Montenegro is shrinking as a result of corruption and the political flirtations of their party leaders. I believe this initiative is a good start, and can produce results if the leaders dedicate themselves to unification," he said. "They have to regain their position and even a ministry within the next cabinet. Nobody should forget the crucial role that the Albanian factor played during the Montenegro independence process. It is time for them to take a central role again," Pata said.

 

Western Balkans’ diplomacy chiefs: Commitment in field of infrastructure and energy (ATA, 20 September 2016)

TIRANA - The commitment of regional countries in the field of infrastructure and energy in the area of infrastructure and energy, in the follow-up to the Paris Summit, was the highlight of a meeting including the Western Balkans’ Foreign Ministers and European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn. According to official sources, the meeting was held in the light of the 71st session of UN General Assembly, which was also attended by the Albanian chief of diplomacy, Ditmir Bushati. Minister Bushati focused on the so far efforts to set up the Western Balkans Fund office based in Tirana as a testimony of Albania’s increasing role in external policy in the region and the process of regional cooperation in the interest of the climate of political and economic relations between our countries. In addition, he dwelt on creation of Regional Office for Youth Cooperation as a sign of political will and new vision for a peaceful region in the spirit of understanding, tolerance and friendship, to encourage reconciliation and cooperation and deter youths from phenomena such as division, xenophobia and the language of hatred. Citing the challenges of security facing the region and beyond, the minister highlighted the role and ever-increasing contribution of the region to security architecture in our continent as well as the fact that these challenges have brought to light the inter-dependence between the Western Balkans countries and EU in coping with them.