LOCAL PRESS

 

Dialogue following elections in Kosovo and Metohija (Politika)

 

The first meeting of the Working group for support to the internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija will be held on 22 October, the latest by the end of the month, Politika learns. After the first session of this working body it might be known when the dialogue will formally commence and who will first receive invitations for consultations on Kosovo and Metohija.

 

Bishop Irinej Buliovic: No further concessions (Radio Belgrade)

 

On the occasion of the announced internal dialogue, the Backa Bishop and spokesperson of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej Bulovic has stated that the term “internal” is not the happiest expression “I would rather say that at issue is an all-Serbian dialogue, so, in that sense, it is both internal and external,” the Bishop told Radio Belgrade. He points out that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija is the Gordian Knott and requires an essential and all-national response. “Any attempts at a solution – be it in the direction of further yielding, gradual capitulation, be it in the direction of defense of our legitimate rights to our own territory – must be based on a stand of the majority of the people. It is impossible to bring radical decisions (such as, for example, amendment to the Constitution) or crossing the ‘red lines’, without having the majority standing behind it. Such solutions would not be existentially sustainable. Therefore, dialogue is useful since it can show what the people think,” he said. Asked what is the stand of the Serbian Orthodox Church regarding the beginning of the dialogue, Bishop Irinej says that his absolute conviction is that the stand of the Serbian Orthodox Church will be united and that it will not be for further concessions regarding the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, but for every effort to preserve it as part of the Serbian state, as Serbian territory. “We are aware that some modus vivendi should be presented. One should head for compromise on the ground, but for it never to imply our readiness for formal and essential alienation,” said the Bishop, adding: “A compromise has already been offered from our side – the Brussels agreement and the Community of Serb Municipalities. This is, although humiliating, nevertheless some sort of framework and nothing else but a compromise. I think that a maximum of compromise has already been offered from the Serbian side.” He thinks that a way out from this situation of Kosovo and Metohija is to create inside the existing borders a strong mechanism that would ensure widest possible autonomy. Even though Vucic stressed that we are not alone in this dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija and that the US, Russia, China and the EU, even the Albanians, are also included, this doesn’t mean that Belgrade will accept for Washington to be actively included in the existing Brussels dialogue as Pristina has been announcing.

 

Vucic, Scott discuss Kosovo, bilateral ties, investments (Tanjug)

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott on Wednesday highlighted a need for continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and implementation of agreements reached, including agreements on the judiciary and establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities. They also discussed Serbia-US bilateral ties and regional affairs, and Scott noted the US welcomed Vucic’s call for internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija.

 

ICTY to announce ruling in Mladic trial on 22 November (B92)

 

The first instance ruling in the trial of the RS Army (VRS) General Ratko Mladic will be announced on 22 November, the Hague Tribunal has said. Last month, some media reported that the health of Mladic - who has had a stroke and has been unable to fully able to follow the trial due to his serious health condition - had further deteriorated. Because of this, Mladic's legal representatives, as well as his family, asked the Serbian government to send guarantees to the tribunal and enable his treatment in Serbia.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

RS Assembly adopted resolution on military neutrality (Srna)

 

The RS Assembly ended the 22nd session early on Wednesday morning. 44 representatives continued the session in RS Assembly small hall, after the opposition blocked the grand hall. 44 representatives adopted Resolution on Protection of Constitutional Organization and Proclamation of Military Neutrality of the RS, which was proposed by SNSD, SP RS and SDS-K Caucuses. Law on Solidarity Fund, proposed by RS President Milorad Dodik was also adopted and the law enables medical diagnostics and treatment of children abroad. RSNA also adopted in urgent procedure Amendments to Law on ‘Zeljeznice RS’, which defines procedure for company’s restructuring. RS Assembly representatives acknowledged the Report of the RS Chief Auditor’s Office on financial audit of the consolidated annual financial report for budget beneficiaries and adopted the Annual Audit Report, as well as consolidated report on budget execution. Representatives appointed Jovo Radukic as Acting Chief Prosecutor of the RS, while Borislav Jelicic was appointed Deputy General Attorney of the RS. RS Assembly appointed Dragica Radovic for RS Ombudsman for Children.

 

Salkic: Resolution on military neutrality of RS represents one in series of direct attacks on constitutional and legal organization of B&H (klix.ba)

 

RS Vice President Ramiz Salkic stated that Resolution on Protection of Constitutional Organization and Proclamation of Military Neutrality of the RS, adopted by the RS Assembly on Tuesday night, represents one in a series of direct attacks on constitutional and legal organization of B&H. He believes that RS President Milorad Dodik takes the whole country to uncertainty and his goal is causing of instability not only in B&H but outside its borders as well. He added that the RS Assembly directly interfered with competencies of B&H Presidency. Salkic added that this Resolution also brings in question the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court about registration of military property and B&H Law on Defense is being violated as well, which clearly states direction of development of B&H Armed Forces. He added that the Resolution is not in accordance with B&H Constitution and laws which are in force in B&H. Salkic believes that the Resolution is much more dangerous than it seems adding that Dodik does not conduct his policy but the policy from outside. Salkic explained that such policy has for its task destabilization of the region and making of balance among opposed forces. Salkic also said that they clearly see whose interests Dodik serves. Salkic stressed that the B&H Prosecutor’s Office has missed the chance to process and sanction Dodik when he started to violate the B&H Constitution by organizing the referendum of the RS’ Day. Salkic believes that the only solution is to call Dodik to account for the things that he did.

 

Cavic: Decision to appoint Radukic to post of Acting Chief Auditor is scandalous (klix.ba)

 

NDP President Dragan Cavic believes that this decision is scandalous due to numerous affairs that Jovo Radukic, the Acting Chief Auditor of the RS, was involved into, as well as due to his conflict of interest. Covic said that businessman Jovo Vidovic was accusing Radukic of racketeering, while Mladen Ivanic accused Radukic in 2010 that he took part in rigging of the process against Ivanic before the B&H Court. He reminded that Radukic could not be appointed to this post due to conflict of interest since he is an Assistant Minister in the RS’ Ministry of Finance. Cavic added that according to Law on Chief Auditing of the RS’ Public Sector, there is no any possibility for appointment of the Acting Chief Auditor, but Article 10 clearly states how to relieve the Chief Auditor of duty and elect a new one.

 

Covic and Izetbegovic discuss Euro-Atlantic integration with Inzko and Hearne (TV1)

 

Chairman of B&H Presidency Dragan Covic and Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic met with High Representative Valentin Inzko and new Principal Deputy High Representative (PDHR) Dennis Hearne in Sarajevo on Tuesday. Topics discussed at the meeting included fulfillment of conditions for B&H’s integration in the EU and NATO, as well as political and economic situation in B&H. Inzko and Hearne emphasized that the international community supports B&H’s progress and strengthening of functionality of state institutions.

B&H Presidency members emphasized that the EU membership is the most important foreign-policy goal of B&H.

 

B&H CoM Chairman, prime ministers of Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro conclude joint projects and communicational connection are main preconditions for faster growth of economy (BHT1/TV1)

 

B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) Chairman Denis Zvizdic participated at the Sixth Summit of 100 Business Leaders from Southeast Europe (SEE) in Skopje, which was held from October 16-17. Participating at the prime ministers’ panel held within the Summit, Zvizdic and prime ministers of Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro concluded that joint projects and communicational connection are main preconditions for faster development of economy of the region. Addressing the panel, Zvizdic said that mutual cooperation of political leaders of the countries of the region must be among top priorities of all regional governments. “We must ensure faster circulation of goods, people and capital to ensure faster growth of our economies. (…) Our idea is to fully liberalize the vise regime in the Western Balkans and to reduce all kinds of possible customs barriers to minimum, as well as to finally recognize certificates of authorized laboratories in order to avoid long delaying of our goods at the borders,” Zvizdic assessed. He added that countries of the region must also focus on the educational reform and creation of a “knowledge society.”

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic agreed with this stance and stressed three parameters that are crucial for higher economic growth in the region – macroeconomic stability, structural reforms and higher level of economic cooperation. Prime ministers also emphasized that the SEE countries are currently not so close to full membership in the EU, noting that main culprits for that are the SEE countries themselves and they have to help each other on the EU path instead of setting obstacles.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Zvizdic and Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev discussed the issue of road connections and establishing the airline between Sarajevo and Skopje. The two officials agreed on signing of a series of agreements that are in interests of citizens of BiH and Macedonia. Zvizdic stated that is very important to maintain current level of economic cooperation and focus on important segments of cooperation, primarily transport connection of B&H and Macedonia. According to Zvizdic, it is necessary to prepare joint regional projects for transport connection and jointly perform towards interested investors and EU funds. The B&H CoM Chairman expects that better transport connection will ease communication of representatives of economy, as well as citizens of the two countries. Zaev said that the common goal of B&H and Macedonia, as countries of the Western Balkans, is to become EU members. “We are working on joint strategies. We support and help each other,” he added.

 

SDSM received 38 mayoral mandates in the first round, VMRO-DPMNE – three, DUI – two (Meta)

 

The State Election Commission announced on its website the final results of the local elections which were held on Sunday, 15 October, and the mandates of the mayors who won the mayoral seats in the first round, out of 80 municipalities in Macedonia and the City of Skopje. According to the results, the mayoral candidates of the coalition led by SDSM in the first round won in 37 municipalities, and the party also won the mayor’s seat in the City of Skopje. Meanwhile, VMRO-DPMNE, won three mayoral seats, DUI won two mayoral seats in the first round, one mayor is from the Democratic Party of Turks, and two are independent candidates. In the first round, VMRO-DPMNE won three municipalities: Ilinden, Petrovec and Sopiste. DUI won two municipalities – Kicevo and Plasnica. The Democratic Party of Turks in Macedonia won the Center Zupa. In the first round, independent candidates won in two municipalities.

 

VMRO-DPMNE filed 45 complaints to SEC (MIA)

 

Parties have submitted 48 complaints over the voting, summing up and confirming of results from the first round of the local elections to the State Election Commission (SEC). VMRO-DPMNE has filed 45 complaints, TMRO-2, and Alliance for Albanians-1. SEC is obliged to take a decision regarding the complaints within 48 hours from reception, followed by a 24-hour deadline for appeals against its decision before the Administrative Court.

 

OSCE/ODIHR: The elections happened in accordance with the international standards (Meta)

 

The elections were held in accordance with the international standards and have contributed to the strengthening of the trust in the democratic process, concluded the international observers led by OSCE/IDIHR and the delegation of the Congress of local and regional authorities at the Council of Europe. “Even though the process isn’t over yet, at these elections the democratic process of this country was seen and the trust of the voter in the elections process has increased. We hope that this will continue in the second round,” said the Ambassador Audrey Glover, the Head of the OSCE/ODHIR Election Observation Mission. She said that the legal frame presents a solid basis for holding fair and democratic elections if what is prescribed is obeyed. The observers have noticed that the campaign was calm even though verbal attacks by a certain political party and a violent incident were registered. The non-transparency of the State Election Commission (SEK) regarding the process of certain decision making was an issue when they were deciding behind closed doors, and not all of them were published on the Commission’s webpage. According to OSCE/ODIHR, at these elections, the gender balance wasn’t obeyed especially among the mayoral candidates. They stress that regardless of this legal obligation, SEC has been accepting counselor lists that were also not gender balanced.

The State Election Commission will review the OSCE/ODIHR report on the local elections which were held on Sunday, 15 October, at a session and will then give their own opinion.

Ljupka Guguchevska, spokeswoman for the SEC, told Meta that the SEC’s practice is to review all remarks and reports submitted in the local elections, and then come out with their own conclusion and comments.

 

EU: Newly elected mayors must contribute to reforms (Meta)

 

The local elections held on 15 October were held in a competitive environment, according to the statement of the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje, regarding the elections.

In the evaluation of the election process, the EU refers to the initial report of the OSCE / ODIHR Mission and urges the authorities in the country to effectively review the recommendations that will be delivered by the OSCE/ODIHR. “OSCE/ODIHR assessed that the municipal elections contributed to strengthening confidence in the democratic process, and that fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected overall. Some credible allegations of violations were however noted during the pre-electoral period. The authorities should effectively address forthcoming recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR. The European Union stands ready to assist in this process. The country will be preparing the second round of elections in some municipalities on 29 October, all political representatives need to act responsibly and all institutions need to ensure conditions for a credible and transparent electoral process,” reads the statement. The European Union encourages the newly elected members of local bodies to contribute to advancing the EU reform agenda. The EU will continue to support the country in its reform process, with a view to its European Union integration path

 

Zaev isn’t thinking about early parliamentary elections, but about the name dispute and the reforms (Meta)

 

I’m not thinking about early parliamentary elections because the local elections are still happening, and our priority is for them to end completely in a regular and proper manner, said Prime Minister Zoran Zaev at the joint press conference with the President of the Councils of Ministers of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Denis Zvizdic. “The results from the local elections provide me with additional courage for making decisions including the solution of the name dispute. Macedonia has serious decisions to make ahead and they should be made in a transparent and inclusive manner, including the decisions concerning the problem that Greece has with our constitutional name,” said Zaev.

Regarding the name dispute, he reminded that he has summoned the mediator, Matthew Nimetz in November, after the elections to come out with new suggestions, ideas, and potential solutions. “I would call upon the opposition to participate regarding this issue, but only to find a solution and not its delay, because we really want Macedonia to become the 30th member of NATO and because it is important for the decisions that EU will make next spring,” said Zaev.

He also said that he is encouraged by the improvement in the relations with Athens in the period after the forming of the new government.

 

Gruevski has told Rama that he wants an open cooperation with Albania (Meta)

 

The President of the opposition political party VMRO-DPMNE, Nikola Gruevski has met yesterday with the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, with whom he spoke about the Macedonian-Albanian relations, the current political condition, and Macedonia’s strategic priorities. Grueski has told Rama that he is supporting the idea of an open cooperation with Republic of Albania, based on a principal basis. “Various documents such as the Tirana platform will not help. The platform both in the form it was promoted and its essence will not contribute to the development of the friendship based on sincere basis between two countries and can have a negative effect regarding the mutual coexistence in Republic of Macedonia,” said Gruevski. He has stressed that the good relations between both countries should be developed and to contribute to calming of the ambiance in order to build trust which is needed for the region’s economic and political development. VMRO-DPMNE’s party leader has stressed that Republic of Albania’s support is welcomed for integration in NATO and there are shared challenges in the advancement on the road towards the European Union.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES

 

How the Balkans Were Won: A Turkish Foreign Policy Success Story (The National Interest, by Vuk Vuksanovic, 17 October 2017)

 

Erdogan’s Turkey is positioning itself as a political model for Balkan countries that find themselves outside of multilateral institutions and lacking champions in the West.

On October 10 2017, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went on a state visit to Serbia. While there, he met with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić, and stated: “Together with Serbia and with the entire Balkans, we want to make steps to resolve all the problems.” Vučić reciprocated by saying that “today, Serbia considers Turkey as its friend.” Although Erdoğan’s visit to Serbia was primarily bilateral, it also showed that Turkey had once again become a major player in the Balkans. Indeed, given the stuttering state of Turkey’s international relations, the Balkans appear to be the one place where Turkish foreign policy is a success.

With the long shadow cast by the history of the Ottoman Empire, emphasizing the strong ties between Turkey and the Balkans may not be revolutionary. It does, however, mark a significant departure from nearly a century of Turkish foreign policy. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Wars and the Empire’s ensuing collapse after World War I, the Balkans ceased to exist for Atatürk’s Turkey. For the foreign policy of the new Turkish republic, the Balkans simply did not exist as a strategically important region. Instead, Turkey’s diplomacy was guided by the Atatürk’s famous principle “Peace at Home, Peace in the World.” Operating under this maxim, Turkey stopped trying to be a major power in its former Ottoman provinces. This remained the case for much of the Cold War, with Turkey’s policy towards the Balkans mostly reduced to bilateral diplomacy. The region was important for Ankara only in context of countering potential Soviet threat—most notably the failed 1950’s Balkan Pact between Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Turkic speaking countries in Central Asia, coupled with the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the wars that followed, reawakened the notion of Turkey as a regional power in Eurasia. Turkey’s support for the Bosnian Muslims and Albanians in the Bosnian and Kosovo wars awakened fears in the capitals of the Balkans—particularly Belgrade and Athens—that a long-forgotten threat was reawakening. During the 1990s, this fear was symbolized by the concept of the “Islamic Arc,” sometimes called “the green transversal,” which is a term of art used to describe a string of territories inhabited by Balkan Muslims. Those territories connect Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, the Muslim-populated Serbian province of Sandžak, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some people interpreted that support as an attempt to isolate Greece from its Balkan hinterland and to sever the Belgrade-Athens land route and the alliance. It is now easy to forget that in the 1990s there was broad fear among key U.S. policy figures, including arch-realists like Henry Kissinger and prominent neoconservative thinkers including Joshua Muravchik, that the Bosnian wars could spread to Kosovo and Macedonia, sucking Greece and Turkey into the wider Balkan conflict along the way.

Turkey’s Balkan policy took on a more tangible and coherent form under the stewardship of Ahmet Davutoğlu, a political scientist who later became the Turkish foreign minister (2009–14) and prime minister (2014–16). As an academic Davutoğlu wrote Strategic Depth: Turkey’s International Position—a book that was never translated into English. Davutoğlu argued in this book that Turkey should once again become a major power in Eurasia. It would do so by restoring its influence in the country’s former Ottoman provinces, including the Balkans, through an activist foreign policy. Turkey’s Balkan policy has never received the type of international attention that its newly active policy in the Middle East has received. Missed by many in the West was the special attention Davutoğlu gave to the Balkans in his book. Indeed, Davutoğlu specifically referred to the Balkan Wars, citing the Balkans as the region where the Ottoman Empire’s collapse began. Davutoğlu stressed that it was through Turkish presence in the Balkans that Turkey could assert itself as a European power. Davutoğlu also claimed that without a zone of influence and a defensive parameter in the Balkans, Turkey would not be able to exercise its influence effectively in either the Middle East or the wider Eurasia. To achieve these complex ends, Davutoğlu wrote, Turkey needed to form alliances and strengthen Muslim communities throughout the Balkans.

The 2008 financial crisis served this purpose for Turkey perfectly. The EU and the United States became distracted with domestic issues. Turkey, whose economy did not suffer as acutely as those of the major Western countries and other external powers, filled this vacuum with diplomacy and economic support. Ankara became quite assertive in promoting its new Balkan role and its special relationship with Balkan Muslims. The frequency of confident and bombastic statements made by Turkish officials to this effect dismayed Belgrade. Other Balkan nations, like Bulgaria, tended to display divisive attitudes towards Turkey. Memorably, during Erdoğan’s 2013 visit to Prizren, Kosovo, the prime minister said: “Do not forget, Turkey is Kosovo, Kosovo is Turkey!” Similarly in 2016, shortly before he was removed from office, Davutoğlu said while attending the reconstruction of a war-torn mosque in Banja Luka, which is in the Serbian section of Bosnia: “We were here, we are here, we will be here for eternity.”

Turkey has worked on other diplomatic initiatives in the Balkans. It mediated between two conflicted Serbian Muslim communities, one based in Belgrade and the other based in Sandžak. It launched a trilateral reconciliation mechanism between Turkey, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ankara has also established an important partnership with Macedonia. This was not just done to undermine Greece, but because Turkey perceived Macedonia to be in the Balkan’s geographical heartland—as it borders Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece.

The Balkans appears to be the one place where Turkey’s foreign policy has been a success. In Central Asia, and Caucasus, Turkey met with Russian resistance. In the Middle East, Turkey’s relationship with its neighbors are filled with animosity and suspicion, which has utterly compromised what Davutoğlu originally styled as the new Turkish approach of “zero problems” with its neighbors. Since the first manifestation of the refugee crisis in 2015, Turkey has gained further additional impetus in the Balkans. Because of Erdoğan’s ability to threaten the EU through his much touted “control” of migratory flows, which have the side effect of endangering Balkan countries in the process, Turkey has become ever-more important for the countries of the Balkans. Turkey has also tried to win the hearts and minds of local Muslims, something which can be seen in its funding of the Namazgâh Mosque in Tirana, Albania, which is slated to be the largest mosque in the Balkans. In light of growing authoritarian tendencies in the Balkans, Erdoğan’s Turkey is also positioning itself as a political model for Balkan countries that find themselves outside of multilateral institutions and lacking champions in the West. This growing Turkish presence has not gone unnoticed by the EU. As the crisis in EU-Turkey relations has grown, Turkey, like Russia, is frequently accused of trying to suppress the EU’s influence in the Balkans. Some people even claim that Turkey might go so far as supporting the unification of all Albanians into a single Albanian state. Despite some successes, Turkey faces real constraints in its attempts to turn the Balkans into a region of strategic influence. Firstly, most Christian nations of the Balkans consider Turkey a biased mediator that prioritizes Balkan Muslims. This was never seen more clearly than in 2013 when Belgrade, in response to Erdoğan’s mentioned statement in Kosovo, withdrew from a trilateral meeting with Turkey and Bosnia. Given the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey must walk a fine line between supporting Balkan Muslims and alienating Balkan Christians. Secondly, for Turkey, its troublesome Middle Eastern neighborhood will always be a priority compared to the Balkans and thus would divert much of Turkey’s efforts and resources. Thirdly, Turkey’s efforts would be threatened by strengthened diplomatic ties between Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. Together, these countries would try to counteract Turkish regional influence. Above all, Turkey’s economic presence in the region is meager compared to that of the EU. Despite talks from Turkish development agencies, like TIKA, often overplayed with promises of investment, little money ever appears even in Turkey-friendly areas like Sandžak.

For Turkey, the most effective way to continue successful reengagement in the Balkans would be to pursue genuinely pragmatic, interest-based cooperation with the Balkan capitals. This must be done without invoking the Ottoman legacy, which places a severe emotional strain on the countries that have long memories of Islamic occupation. Done carefully, Turkey and the Balkan countries might yet create a very successful model for regional cooperation. Turkish presence in the Balkans does not need to be seen as negative. It is true that Turkey is significantly stronger than its Balkan neighbors. It is normal that Ankara should wish to translate this strength into influence. The capitals of the Balkans expect this—and they have not been given many other options. The EU and the West have taken the Balkans for granted and kept them waiting for far too long. The people of the Balkans may want to join the EU, but they cannot be asked to wait forever. In the absence of better offers, the Balkans will be more susceptible to the overtures of external powers, like Turkey. The West cannot say that it has not been warned.

Vuk Vuksanovic is currently a PhD researcher in International Relations at the London School of Economics. He formerly worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and as a political risk consultant in Belgrade.