LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: New phase of dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija  as of October (RTS)

 

In his address to the public at the Serbian Presidency, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated that a new phase of the dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija will start as of October and that the dialogue needs to be institutionalized. He says that he supports the decision of the Serb List to join the new Kosovo government.  He says that broad consultations will be needed and that everybody will be invited to participate. “That dialogue should unfold at several levels, through concentric circles,” said Vucic. He stressed that it needs to be serious, responsible – to have clear goals, inclusive – to include all actors and tolerant – with respect towards a different opinion. “Depending on the relationship towards Kosovo and Metohija, we will have a safer presence and future,” said Vucic. He adds that he is satisfied with the fact that a large number of political factors had presented stands and some also criticism without a stand, but this also spoke about the democratic capacity of the society in Serbia. “I think that the issue of politics is not an issue of insults, but an issue of responsibility,” he said. Vucic says he had spoken with Ana Brnabic and that the government will help in coordinating and organizing gatherings within the dialogue.

He says that the Serb List has been exposed to attacks and that he is also attacked even though he had not spoken with the Kosovo Serbs since he had handed over this to Marko Djuric.

Vucic says that 90 percent of the Kosovo Albanians had voted for an independent Kosovo and against Serb interests. He explained that between six and eight percent of the Serbs reside in Kosovo and Metohija and that following the NATO aggression a large number of them had left.

He then went on to say that the Serb List representatives had three choices. The first option is to support the government of fresh forces and Albin Kurti. He then read parts from the Self-Determination Movement and pointed that they advocate unification of Kosovo with Albania. “Were the Serbs supposed to support the creation of a Greater Albania,” asked Vucic.

The second option would be, said Vucic, not to support anyone and wondered what kind of choice would that be? He says that the Serb List would then be even smaller and Haradinaj would have received greater support. “What would we gain with that,” asked Vucic.

The third option was to support the government of Haradinaj who is an indicted war criminal for Serbia. “Imagine that the Serbs had decided to say then want new elections, that the Albanians are attacking them in housed south of the Ibar River. Would you accuse Serbia is they would send ROSU to northern Kosovo? What would you do if they were to attack the Serbs,” asked Vucic.

He pointed out that for the first time since 1999, Albanian parties do not have majority and says it is not realistic for them to change the political scene in Kosovo and Metohija, but says that somebody should notice and says the Serbs have conducted a smart policy and that they will be able to fulfill something more.

He says that it would be success if more internally displaced persons would return. He says that, ever since he had become the prime minister, only seven states recognized independence of Kosovo and only Bangladesh out of the serious states.

He says that nobody wished to convey to Serbian citizens that nationalist Albin Kurti says that “formation of institutions in Kosovo and Metohija depends from Vucic’s will” and that “the depending power of Serbia will kill independence of Kosovo’.

He also said that former Kosovo prime minister Isa Mustafa had said that the government will operate according to the dictate of Serbia and that it depends from the votes of the Serb List.

He stressed that a report on the Kosovo and Metohija negotiations would be published - that would present the results from the past three years, as well as all the moves Serbia has made as a state since 1998, on the issue of Kosovo. “Once you have gone through this you will see how complicated our modern history has been, how many failures there have been,” said Vucic.

 

Brnabic, Bjornstad: Internal dialogue on Kosovo towards a sustainable solution (RTS)

 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic agreed with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Serbia Arne Sannes Bjornstad that the internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija in Serbia is very important for finding the best and sustainable solution for that issue. Brnabic said that the government of Serbia will logically support the dialogue, initiated by President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic. She announced the formation of a joint working group with the President's Cabinet, which will organize roundtables throughout Serbia to hear the opinion of as many citizens as possible, to which Ambassador Bjornstad pointed out that the Kingdom of Norway will support all constructive proposals.

 

Scott: Foreign policy and relations with Kosovo very important (RTV/Tanjug)

 

In a statement to journalists following his speech at the international conference entitled “Western Security Architecture and Serbia - Challenges and Dilemmas”, US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott has assessed that initiating an internal dialogue is an excellent move. He says it is very important that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced the start of an internal dialogue where the civil society will play an important role. He didn’t wish to comment the outcome or content of an internal dialogue, saying that as an ambassador he cannot speak about internal issues, but that he will be waiting patiently its results. “It is important that everybody is included in that dialogue. All segments of the society need to voice their opinion about the most important problems of the country, the most important being the foreign policy and relations with Kosovo,” said Scott. He refused to comment the decision of the Serb List to join the Kosovo government, saying he was not an ambassador in Kosovo.

 

Vulin: Cooperation between Serbian army, KFOR unfolding according to plan (Beta)

 

Serbian Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vulin said that cooperation between the Army of Serbia and the KFOR mission in Kosovo and Metohija was unfolding according to plan and in accordance with the adopted procedures. Presenting a quarterly report on the Ministry of

Defense’s work, Vulin said at a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Internal

Affairs that cooperation between the Army of Serbia and KFOR included regular meetings between the Serbian chief of staff and the commander of the international mission. Vulin said that several Russian MIG-29s would arrive in Serbia by the end of the year, and that the Army of Serbia would soon receive six domestic Lazar 3 armored personnel carriers, adding that the transporters had passed all tests in the Technical Test Center.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

RS Assembly: Opposition MPs make three conditions for continuation of 21st session (Fena/Srna)

 

Opposition MPs in the Republika Srpska Assembly presented, during Wednesday’s session of the RS Assembly Collegium, three requests that are conditions for continuation of the RSNA session, which they physically blocked on Tuesday night. One of three requests is to bring back on the agenda of the RSNA session the report of the Main Audit Office of RS (audit report on the RS budget for 2016). Opposition MPs want Ministers to provide answers to all MPs questions in line with RS Assembly’s Book of Rules. And thirdly, the RS Assembly Collegium is requested to send request and warning to all institutions, which are obliged to make sure the RS Assembly’s decisions are implemented. “If the minimum of abovementioned proposals are not met, we think that conditions are not created for continuation of the 21st session of RS Assembly”, said the opposition MPs. Srna reports that the opposition MPs have continued with the blockade of the RS Assembly on Wednesday because no agreement could be reached at session of the RS Assembly Collegium regarding discussion on audit reports. According to Srna, opposition MPs, just like last night, stood behind the desk of the RS Assembly leadership, thus preventing RSNA session to take place. RS Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic said that due to prevention of normal work of the RSNA, he ordered that MPs who obstruct the work are to be removed. “Those who want to work normally will be informed about continuation of the session,” said Cubrilovic.

 

EC: Croatia should consult B&H regarding Peljesac Bridge (TV1)

 

According to the European Commission (EC), Croatia cannot construct the Peljesac Bridge without consent of B&H and it should consult B&H. EC stated that in preparation of EU-funded projects, they rely on trust that member states will hold consultations with their neighbors. The Commission said that they are closely following development of the situation and added that before the project was approved, the application was carefully analyzed and checked that all conditions are in line with regulations. Spokesperson for the EC Johannes Bahrke told Croatian media that, prior to approving a project in July this year, the EC carefully analyzed a Croatian proposal for financing of the project of the Peljesac Bridge. Bahrke added that thus, the EC checked that all preconditions and procedural steps are in line with a cohesion policy. Bahrke concluded by saying that the EC monitors events related to the Peljesac Bridge and that for the EC, the key is to see Croatia and B&H maintain good, neighborly relations and solve this issue via constructive dialogue.

 

Dodik: Work on declaration on Serb people is in progress (RTRS)

 

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said that the work on the declaration on the survival of the Serb people is progressing well and that the text should be adopted in Serbian and RS parliaments in November. Dodik stated that both sides want for this text to be done right and so they will bring as much experts and opinions that is needed in order to be sure that the stance and future of Serbs in this region is guaranteed. Dodik added that, before the declaration is finished, he will probably have another meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and political representatives of Serbs in the region. When it comes to the question of the referendum about the status of the RS, Dodik said that the issue will be put on hold, because if that would be initiated now, it would cause division in B&H society and that is something that needs to be avoided.

Vice President of the RS Ramiz Salkic condemned the statement by Dodik and pointed at open violation of the RS Constitution. “The Constitution starts from fundamental principle that equal constituent peoples Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats live in this entity. So, this entity is not exclusively a Serb entity.” he added.

 

Zvizdic and Mektic meet directors of security agencies: B&H is not terrorist nest (TV1)

 

B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Chair Denis Zvizdic and B&H Minister of Security Dragan Mektic met with directors of security agencies in Sarajevo on Tuesday. Following the meeting, they said that B&H is not a terrorist nest and added that no flags of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group can be seen in B&H. Zvizdic and Mektic said that no citizen of B&H went to foreign battlefields over the last 18 months and added that there is no planning of terrorism in B&H. It was a response to perpetual allegations from Croatia that B&H is full of radical extremists, and from Czech Republic that flags of ISIL can be seen in B&H. Zvizdic said that security agencies from B&H do not have information about five to ten thousand radical persons, and called on neighboring countries to deliver such information to security agencies of B&H, if such information exist. Mektic said that they acknowledge certain issues with radicalism and violent extremism in B&H, but added that there was no serious terrorist incident in B&H for two years. Zvizdic said that statements from neighboring countries are ungrounded and have certain political background. Zvizdic stressed that out of 143 terrorist acts worldwide for which ISIL claimed responsibility, which occurred in 23 countries, no perpetrator was linked with B&H. Zvizdic underlined that cooperation with all international partners, including neighboring countries, the EU, the US, Europol and Interpol is at a high level. Zvizdic said that action plans on fight against terrorism are being drafted in cooperation with experts, and added that B&H is active in fight against terrorism. Although they were invited, representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H did not show up at the meeting.

 

Ethnic balance severely disturbed in Federation of B&H and cantonal institutions (Oslobodjenje)

 

Data on ethnic structure amongst the employees in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows legally determined reciprocity is not being respected, which violates the rights of constituent peoples, namely Serbs and Croats. A response of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of B&H to a question sent by HDZ 1990 MP in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of B&H Diana Zelenika about ethnic representation shows inequality in employment in the Federation of B&H. “Data that has been delivered shows we are still far from implementation of the Constitution and the law according to which there would be one Croat on 2.3 Bosniaks. What is more concerning is that the response lets one conclude nothing is going to be done to change the situation,” said Zelenika. Daily noted that the problem is in the fact that Croats are getting louder about majorization of their people, but they are not doing anything to help protect the rights of others; the best example is Herzegovina-Neretva Canton where Serbs have been trying to get status of constituent people for the past 15 years. Serbs are represented with 5.5 percent in the HNC institutions. HNC Prime Minister Neven Herceg, on the other hand, accused SDA of hypocrisy because the part has been support the initiative to declare Serbs a constituent people in the canton, but failed to do anything to protect Croats at the entity level. Federation of B&H Vice-president Milan Dunovic stated that the war has left severe consequences to population and demography, but the politics of nationalistic political parties did worst things: “The fact is that people moved, Serbs and Croats in Sarajevo have been reduced to nearly a statistical error, but we should respect the law.” Sarajevo Canton Minister of Justice Mario Nenadic said that when looking at 1991 census results, which must be done until the Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement is not fully implemented, the situation is critical, which is why it is necessary to establish new criteria for employment and ethnic balance.

 

Berton: I plan using everything OSCE has, to help B&H moving forward (TV1)

 

Newly-appointed Head of OSCE Mission in B&H Bruce Berton, asked about his previous experience in B&H as the Principal Deputy High Representative, said that mandates of the OHR and OSCE are different. He explained that the OHR is in charge of implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and became a smaller organization, while OSCE is a big international organization that is working in the field. Asked about his priorities, Berton said that OSCE is working on a large number of projects, mostly at local levels, and added that their activities are not always covered on front pages.  As journalist noted that election campaign started in B&H one year before elections, and asked if B&H can expect the EU candidate status, Berton said that these two questions are obviously related, and added that the campaign will cause harsh rhetoric, reaching a situation in which is hard to expect consensus on any question. He noted that this situation may reflect on the EU integration process, but added that citizens of B&H have the right to expect from politicians to work on solving of their problems. Berton also encouraged citizens to be more active and to call their elected officials to responsibility.

Asked about the EU path of B&H, Berton said that this is a question for the EU Delegation to B&H, but added that the OSCE supports the EU integration process of B&H. When it comes to progress on the EU path, he said that it includes fulfilling some obligations towards OSCE, and added that both progress and some step backwards were seen. He said he knows many diplomats who want B&H to move forwards faster, and added that he did not lose hope and plans to use everything OSCE has, to help B&H moving. In regards with accession to NATO, Berton said that the Membership Action Plan (MAP) is one of goals of B&H, and added that NATO has more relevant information on progress of B&H. He said that progress in registration of state property has been achieved, and added that OSCE will provide support, although it is not in their mandate.

Asked to comment on the recent visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Sarajevo, Berton said that the visit was symbolically important regarding relations between the countries and relations in the region. According to Berton, it is important to have concrete results of that visit. He said he has positive opinion about the visit, and expressed hope that it will lead to economic cooperation and better overall relations among countries of the region.

Commenting on the statement by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic about 10,000 potential terrorists in B&H, Berton said that OSCE never received information about that number of terrorists. He said that they not want to underestimate nor overestimate the problem, but added that it is most important that security sector in B&H and the region communicate and share information.

 

Rudovic: Return to parliament a gift to DPS (MINA)

 

Democratic Front’s (DF) hints that it might end the boycott of the Parliament will not prompt the URA Civic Movement to give legitimacy to the “political violence and the usurpation of power” by returning to the assembly, says URA deputy leader Nedjeljko Rudovic. He says that URA’s position is that returning to the Parliament in the current circumstances would be the best gift to the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Therefore, ending the boycott is not going to happen until the ruling party accepts snap elections and then the conditions for holding new elections as a way for solving the crisis in a civilized way. “We cannot pretend this is a regular state and accept the usurpation of power, resulting from the state of emergency and documented election fraud, i.e. vote buying,” Rudovic says. According to MINA news agency, Rudovic says that majority of opposition has not been willing to jointly define the conditions for holding new elections. Thus, almost nothing has been done about that since December last year.

“We and I believe the opposition voters as well, find it difficult to explain. Except if a great deal of opposition entities care primarily about their own party, and then about democratic changes,” Rudovic says. He adds that at the beginning of March, URA proposed a platform including common opposition conditions, as well as coordinated actions. Rudovic says that URA had in mind upcoming presidential and numerous local elections. However, as he puts it, it was obviously very difficult to put some “apparently more important goals above separate projections and old bad habits”. “Our warning that DPS is the biggest threat to the state of Montenegro is being confirmed every day in the economic and social area. Decent citizens are still victims of tolerance towards the strengthening of criminal clans, the situation in the health care system is alarming,” Rudovic says. He calls to mind that URA also warned and still warns that any concept of opposition actions which put these topics aside by focusing on national, religious and similar issues cannot be a concept of change. “DF stubbornly insists on this anachronic politics, writes declarations and raises ‘Serb issue’ again. However, the sub-context is the possibility of revising the statehood of Montenegro,” Rudovic says. He believes that this concept cannot succeed in Montenegro. It also thwarts URA’s efforts to make Montenegro a genuine civic state in which there is an elementally efficient and responsible government.

 

Paunovic hopes that the border-related situation with Kosovo will be resolved as agreed earlier (RTCG)

 

The Montenegrin Border Commission has not yet received official information from Kosovo authorities on the dissolution of the Kosovo Commission on Demarcation with Montenegro. President of the Montenegrin Commission, Milan Paunovic hopes that the border-related situation will be resolved in a way agreed earlier. New Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj unblocked the Demarcation Commission with Montenegro, and appointed Shpejtim Bulliqi for the head of the future team which will be in charge of this issue, instead of Murata Mehaj.

 

Zaev-Brglez: Time for Macedonia to join NATO (MIA)

 

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev met Tuesday with Slovenian National Assembly Speaker Milan Brglez, accompanied by Slovenian Ambassador Milan Jazbec. “I commend you on everything you have achieved following the political crisis and the successful positive changes within the country, in relations with neighbors and on the international field. It is good to see someone with a vision, one who wants and can move processes forward,” Brglez told Zaev, the government said in a press release. He stressed that Slovenia remained a champion of Macedonia's development. “Slovenia supports Macedonia's development, we will provide assistance to the country's Euro-Atlantic integration, we shift the focus from Montenegro to Macedonia, now is the time for Macedonia to join NATO,” said Brglez. Zaev thanked Brglez for Slovenia's friendly, principled and constructive support. “We are successfully completing the first part of reform plan 3-6-9. The government and state institutions, civil society and Macedonia's EU and NATO friends work with commitment on ensuring a better life for citizens, in parallel with realization of the strategic Euro-Atlantic objectives through good neighborliness and regional cooperation,” said Zaev. He urged Slovenian businessmen to invest in Macedonia, thus intensifying bilateral economic cooperation.

 

Xhaferi-Brglez: Slovenia continuously supports Macedonia on its road towards the EU and NATO (Meta)

 

Slovenia continuously supports Macedonia in the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations because the complete integration of the region contributes to the strengthening of the stability, peace and the prosperity. This was stressed at the meeting between parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi and his colleague, the President of the National Assembly of Slovenia, Milan Brglez, who is visiting Macedonia. As was announced by the parliamentary services, during the meeting Xhaferi has informed his Slovenian colleague about the Parliament’s work, about the forthcoming parliamentary elections and the dynamics of the implementation of the reforms stated in the “3-6-9” plan. “Regarding the bilateral cooperation, the converses have agreed that it is good, but it can be further deepened and expanded especially in the domain of the parliamentary diplomacy. Both parliaments are cooperating within the frame of the Parliamentary assembly of the Process for cooperation in Southeastern Europe that is presided by Republic of Slovenia. It also represents an important forum for strengthening and expansion of the regional cooperation” states the press release about the meeting. Xhaferi and Brglez have talked about the migrant crisis – about the conditions and the measures that Macedonia is undertaking on this plan together with the countries- partners, among which is Macedonia.

 

SP-DP pact no longer exists (ADN)

 

The agreement reached on 18 May between the opposition and majority was killed by Prime Minister Edi Rama. The Democrat leader, Lulzim Basha declared on Tuesday from the parliament that this agreement does not exist anymore since Prime Minister Edi Rama bought votes on June 25. “Free vote was the essence of 18 May agreement thus the 25 June elections marked its death. Rama’s uninterrupted alliance with the organized crime and vote’s trafficking killed this agreement. The only achievement of this agreement was the fact that 450.000 Albanians are now represented by Democratic Party (DP). Premier Rama failed to appoint an opposition that would please him,” said Basha. He urged Rama to dismiss speaker Ruçi and the Minister of Interior, Fatmir Xhafaj. “You should immediately dismiss Ruçi and Xhafaj due to their connections with the organized crime and drugs trafficking. All mayors connected with the organized crime should also be dismissed. Are you capable of doing this? Otherwise nothing has changed since the 25 June elections,” said the DP chair addressing the premier. Basha also warned of massive protests if the electoral reform is not implemented without further delays.

“The electoral reform should enable a direct connection of the decision-maker with the electors. The MPs should know those who is representing and on the other side citizens should know their representative. We will present a proposals package for this reform. If there’s no reaction than the people have the right to react putting an end to the criminal cartel’s games,” declared Basha.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

Juncker waves ‘credible EU prospects’ at Balkans, but no fast membership (EurActiv, by Zoran Radosavljevic, 13 September 2017)

 

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker stayed true to form on the EU’s enlargement prospects in his annual address on Wednesday (13 September), calling for a “credible enlargement perspective” for the Western Balkans while ruling out any fast track to membership.

“If we want more stability in our neighbourhood, then we need to offer a credible enlargement prospect to the countries of the Western Balkans,” Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg in his State of the European Union speech. As soon as the applause from more than 700 MEPs and guests died down, the veteran of EU politics went on to caution: “It is clear that there will be no further enlargement during the mandate of this Commission and this Parliament [in 2019]. No candidate is ready yet. But thereafter, the EU will be greater than 27 in number.”

Of the six Western Balkans countries, only Serbia and Montenegro have opened accession talks. Albania and Macedonia have been granted candidate status while the two economically poorest states, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, are lagging behind. In a separate move, Juncker and Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans outlined ten short- and medium-term priorities in a letter to the Estonian presidency, one of which was to prepare a “strategy for a successful EU accession of Serbia and Montenegro as frontrunner candidates in the Western Balkans”. Economic and democratic reforms have been slow across the Western Balkans, which remains burdened by lingering ethnic hostilities more than two decades after the Yugoslav federation broke up. There were few immediate reactions in the region to Juncker’s remarks. A lone comment from a Serbian man on Facebook summed up the reason:

“Nothing new there, this is what he said three years ago”.

The Commission boss seized the opportunity to take another stab at Turkey, recalling the need for all EU hopefuls to respect the rule of law and human rights. “Accession candidates must give the rule of law, justice and fundamental rights utmost priority. This rules out EU membership for Turkey for the foreseeable future. Turkey has been taking giant strides away from the European Union for some time,” he emphasised.

 

Bosnia Urged to Acquit Srebrenica Commander Oric (BIRN, by Admir Muslimovic, 12 September 2017)

 

The defence lawyer in the high-profile trial of the Bosnian Army’s former commander in Srebrenica, Naser Oric, urged the court to acquit him of killing three captive Serb soldiers in 1992.

In its closing statement at the politically-charged trial of former Srebrenica commander Naser Oric at the state court in Sarajevo on Tuesday, the defence said that the entire indictment, as well as the prosecution’s evidence, was based on statements by a non-credible witness. The defence argued that Oric and former Bosnian Army soldier Sabahudin Muhic, who is on trial alongside him, should be acquitted of the unlawful killings of three Serb soldiers in the villages of Zalazje, Lolici and Kunjerac, near Bratunac, in 1992. Oric’s defence lawyer, Lejla Covic, said the protected prosecution witness codenamed O-1 had been convicted several times, and that an arrest warrant was issued for him because he avoided appearing in court. O-1 was mentioned in the indictment as an eyewitness to all the murders with which the defendants are charged.

But Covic said O-1 gave three diverging statements concerning his membership of the Bosnian Army. She also said that none of the pieces of evidence presented at the trial confirm that Oric committed the murder of Serb soldier Slobodan Ilic. “Not even O-1 said that, except for saying he saw Oric stabbing Ilic with a knife. After he fell down on his knees, Ilic was allegedly stabbed once again in his chest. Expert witness Rifat Kesetovic was unable to determine that these specific injuries could be the cause of Ilic’s death,” Covic said. She added that witnesses confirmed that Ilic got killed in an exchange of fire. She argued that Oric and Muhic’s responsibility for the murder of Serb soldier Milutin Milosevic had not been proved either.

“O-1 said that Oric fired a burst of bullets at Milosevic and Muhic then did the same. This would mean that his body contained around 15 bullets, as alleged by witness O-1 and the prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Covic said. However, she added: “Expert witness Zoran Stankovic said, presenting his findings, that a pistol bullet was found in Milosevic’s body and it was probably the cause of his death. So, one bullet only.” According to the prosecution, the third victim, Mitar Savic, died after being shot by Oric and then by Muhic. But Covic argued that this was again based on incorrect evidence from witness O-1. “Stojanka Savic, the wife of the man who was killed, said she heard from Savic’s comrades that he got killed in a trench and that he had one injury in the area of his mouth,” Covic said. According to the charges, Oric was the commander of Bosnian Army territorial defence units in Srebrenica and Muhic a member of his forces. The case against Oric has drawn criticism from Bosniaks who see him as a hero for his role in defending Srebrenica in the years before the 1995 massacres. It has also been criticised by Serb war victims, who have claimed that the charges against Oric are too modest.

Oric’s lawyer has argued meanwhile that he has already been tried and acquitted by the UN-backed war crimes court in The Hague, so to try him again in Sarajevo was unjust.

The verdict will be handed down on October 6.