LOCAL PRESS

 

Dacic: Difficult position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija continues (RTS)

“Despite the new challenges in Europe there is a problem whose weight and continuity remains unchanged, and it relates to human rights of Serb and other non-Albanian communities in Kosovo and Metohija,” Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told a ministerial session of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Vienna. “The Serb communities, as well as other non-Albanian communities, continue to face serious obstacles in the field of security, return, freedom of movement, use of native language, and access to institutions, property rights,” warned Dacic. He pointed out that, given the gravity of the situation in the province, Serbia demonstrated a constructive approach and contributed to a status-neutral engagement of the CoE. “We believe that the activities of the CoE should be continued, for the sake of effective implementation of the principles and standards for protection of human rights, especially minority rights, the rule of law, and protection of cultural heritage,” said Dacic, adding that EU integration is one of the main foreign policy priorities of the government of Serbia. He said that Belgrade is firmly committed to continue the dialogue with Pristina, taking place under the auspices of the EU in Brussels, as well as to implement the decisions stemming from these negotiations. He pointed out that the Serbian government was committed to peace and stability in the region and to the building of good neighborly relations, for adoption of European standards, fundamental reforms of institutions and, ultimately, the creation of a modern society. Dacic said that this year marks the 65^th anniversary of the CoE, and stressed the need to preserve and build the principles of the oldest European organization. 

 

Drecun: Formation of Kosovo armed forces would create discomposure (RTS)

“We are all tired from Pristina’s movement that makes one step forward and three backwards,” former chair of the parliament Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS), stressing that normalization of relations is a condition for the prosperity of both Serbs and Albanians. It is necessary to adopt the law on the Union of Serb Municipalities and not a discriminatory law on the formation of the Kosovo army. Belgrade is sincerely devoted to normalization of relations, not only between Belgrade and Pristina, but between Serbs and Albanians, says Drecun, stressing that this is the only opportunity to move forward. “Normalization of relations is in the focus of political performance of Belgrade, Pristina and the EU in this region. It is unavoidable for it to follow us on the road towards the EU, not so much because Brussels expects this, but because this is a condition for the prosperity of both Serbs and Albanians,” Drecun said. He assesses that the law on transforming the Kosovo Security Forces into the Kosovo armed forces, to be debated today by the Kosovo Assembly, is a discriminatory law that imposes on the Serbs the will of the Albanian side. “Conditions should be created for the non-Albanian communities to feel safe. Armed forces would be the successors of the terrorist KLA, which has been transformed into the Kosovo Protection Corps. We see that an unnecessary army is being created that destabilizes the situation, instead of stabilizing it. This is not a law that will contribute to the creation of better standards. There is already an army in Kosovo, according to UNSCR 1244, and this is KFOR,” says Drecun, wondering who is threatening Kosovo so it is necessary to form such an army. He points out that it is not impossible for this army to be formed, but he warns that this will not happen with the will of those who live in Kosovo and Metohija, but by imposing the will of the Albanian side. He noted that if anyone needs some army that will be mono-ethnic, then all other communities have the right to create their army – both the Serbs and Roma. “Then where will this all take us,” asks Drecun. He points out that it is important for Belgrade that the Serb community is created as soon as possible. He says that the Union of Serb Municipalities is the biggest guarantor of security of the Serb people. Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations on the judiciary, Drecun says that the current situation doesn’t lead anywhere. “We must agree as soon as possible on the framework that will enable the functioning of the judiciary, but not in a way to discriminate the Serbs, and not to raise the question as to whether justice is valid equally for all,” says Drecun. “I expect the court for KLA crimes will have to move forward. There is a lot at stake, and if nothing is done then it will be an empty story, and without punishing all we can’t move forward, so normalization will be hampered as well,” concludes Drecun.

 

Failures in the investigation of the disappearance of journalist Ljubomir Knezevic (Politika)

UNMIK should request from EULEX to continue criminal investigations over the disappearance of journalist Ljubomir Knezevic in Vucitrn on 6 May 1999, but also to publicly admit the responsibility in regard to its failure to adequately investigate this disappearance, reads the decision of the UN Human Rights Advisory Panel that has been recently delivered to the address of Ljubomir’s son Goran Knezevic from Belgrade, the complainant in this case. “I know about my father’s disappearance from the stories of others, because I was in Belgrade at the time. He lived in Vucitrn and on that 6 May he was visiting friends. After he left their house, he disappeared without trace. My mother reported him missing to the authorities in Vucitrn, but they never established what really happened,” Goran Knezevic explains for Politika. He reported his father’s disappearance to the International Red Cross Committee, KFOR and other institutions, gave blood for the DNA analysis, just as his aunt, Ljubomir’s sister, did, and gave data about himself. However, the Panel documents quote UNMIK as reporting that it was unable to receive data of the complainant, and that it was confirmed in the base of the International Commission for the Missing that the DNA sample was collected, but it is unclear when and from whom. “UNMIK contacted me many years ago, they asked me whether I have new data about the disappearance of my father and my response was negative,” explains Knezevic. His father was a journalist of the Pristina Jedinstvo and associate of Politika. The name of Ljubomir Knezevic is among 39 missing or murdered journalists in the Dossier made by the Journalist Association of Serbia. Their website carries that the white book of the Serbian Government “Albanian terrorism and organized crime in Kosovo and Metohija” mentions Bekim Shuti (1976) as the suspect for Ljubomir Knezevic’s disappearance. According to that data, Knezevic was taken to the KLA headquarters in the village of Osljane, where he was tortured and murdered, but his mortal remains have not been found. The documents of the Human Rights Advisory Panel read that UNMIK didn’t conduct the investigation properly, that investigative organs should not use lack of information as an argument to justify their inactivity and that the impression is that in this case UNMIK police waited for additional information to appear by itself. “The Panel adds with concern that two possible perpetrators are mentioned in the report of the Unit for missing on ante mortem investigation in this case. Other documents in the police dossier give additional references to at least nine possible suspects. However, the documents do not contain their statements and there is no note on a single attempt of the police to find these people and talk to them. There are also no attempts of the UNMIK police to examine the location on the Cicavica mountain mentioned by the complainant as a place where his father was probably detained, nor to examine the possible link that had allegedly appeared during the trial to Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia,” read the documents of the Human Rights Advisory Panel.

 

Naryshkin: Russia will support Serbia’s stand on Kosovo (RTS/Tanjug/Beta)

“Russia has always defended Serbia’s stand on Kosovo that is based on international law and will continue to support the stand that will suit the interests of Serbia and the Serb people,” the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin stated in Belgrade at the meeting entitled “The 2014 Balkan Dialogue”. Politicians and the public in Serbia have drawn an objective assessment of the situation in Ukraine and are deriving very precise conclusions concerning the events there, and Russia is grateful to them for this. In his address to reporters on the margins of the Russian-Serbian science meeting in the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Naryshkin reiterated that Russia is very grateful to the Serbian public and politicians for their support to Russia’s stand concerning the Crimea issue and the tragic developments in Ukraine. He expressed gratitude to Serbia for refusing to support the anti-Russian resolution and for not backing down before pressures that aimed to have sanctions adopted for Russia which are, as he said, completely illegal. He expressed the belief that Serbian politicians are monitoring the developments in Ukraine very objectively and are deriving very precise conclusions from the events. He also pointed to the “deadlock” of a unipolar world that is “destroying international law” and “globally violating human rights to hundreds of millions of people” by acting without the approval of the United Nations Security Council.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Battle for the B&H Presidency: Ceric challenges Izetbegovic, Radoncic considers, SDP still a mystery (Patria)

The battle for the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency in the next election could be the most uncertain in history, and by all accounts, already in the weeks ahead there will be exhibited an unprecedented political struggle, investigation by Patria shows. Although officially no one has received their party’s green light to candidate, neither has anyone announced that they are entering the race; the majorities of serious candidates have tested the public and are prepared to campaign. The first to stir up the political scene was Mustafa Ceric, former Reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic Community, who in an interview with Al Jazeera Balkan confirmed he is considering a candidacy as an independent candidate. His entry into the political arena would be a major event in the political history of B&H and a great challenge to all possible candidates. Ceric is a strong personality, very well-known and one of the rare prominent Bosniaks who have connections and influence on the international scene. As leader of the Islamic Community, he gained the respect of East and West, and testing this respect among his own people would apparently be an insurmountable challenge for him. Ceric’s entry to the race is being monitored carefully by Bakir Izetbegovic, deputy president of the SDA and current Bosniak member in the B&H Presidency. Izetbegovic hopes and expects a new candidacy. Before this, Izetbegovic wants to use the incapacity of Sulejman Tihic to take over the duties of president in full and take over the party. Candidacy would then come on its own. It is another story whether a new candidacy would be successful, because Ceric would directly threaten Izetbegovic’s relatively small voting body and could be an insurmountable obstacle. A third option that the public expects is the candidacy of Fahrudin Radoncic, leader of the Alliance for a Better Future (SBB). He has still not publicly defined his electoral plans. Earlier it was learned that his political philosophy is not to take a seat at the highest level, but to grab the strongest and most effective levers of power, in order to take advantage of his superior activity and energy in relation to the other candidates. Privately, Radoncic is not in a hurry to the Presidency, and would run only if he sees that this is a way to enable his political project to have the right place in an electoral campaign. One of the key electoral mysteries is what the SDP will do - whether they will even run for the B&H Presidency.
The party of such political force itself cannot afford to give up the race, but a candidate like Denis Becirovic wouldn’t engage in an arena with Ceric, Izetbegovic, and Radoncic. The wild card thus far, Zeljko Komsic, is now an independent political subject whose intentions are also undefined.Whether the SDP has a Bosniak for the B&H Presidency, or will once again enter an adventure with a Croat candidate, is a question without an answer. Slavo Kukic is close to the SDP and has already announced he will campaign if Dragan Covic, the HDZ B&H leader, does the same. In addition, no great surprise is excluded. A split in the political scene in B&H could bring strong independent candidates into the race that could confound the plans of all. An example of this would be in the initiative of several political parties from Bosnian Krajina, to put forward General Atif Dudakovic. They have not obtained his consent, and apparently dropped it. But B&H has other well-known, capable and influential people and patriots who could be serious competitors, Patria reports.

 

 

Council of Ministers gives consent for sixth meeting of the Subcommittee (klix.ba)

The B&H Council of Ministers has given consent for the composition of the B&H delegation for participation at the sixth meeting of the Subcommittee on Economic and Financial Issues and Statistics, scheduled for 13 and 14 May in Banja Luka. The ministers have agreed to the proposed agenda and adopted the Document for discussion, which must be abided by the representatives of institutions that will take part at the sixth meeting of the Subcommittee. Previously, the Council of Ministers adopted the Information of the EU Directorate for Integration on holding the sixth meeting of the Subcommittee. The B&H delegation will include the representatives of the B&H Ministry of Finances and Treasury, the EU Directorate for Integration, the Office for Revision of B&H Institutions, the Directorate for Economic Planning, the Bureau for Indirect Taxation, the Statistics Agency, as well as competent ministries and institutions of the Federation B&H, Republika Srpska and the B&H Brcko District.

 

New round of name talks in New York (Republika)

UN envoy in the name talks Matthew Nimetz is set to meet with Macedonian and Greek representatives, Zoran Jolevski and Adamantios Vassilakis respectively, for a new round in New York on Tuesday. Nimetz met with the two representatives separately on Monday, whereas a joint meeting will be held at the UN Headquarters. The new round, which comes ahead of the European and local elections in Greece, was announced at the 26 March-round in New York. Nimetz also said that he would visit Macedonia and Greece after completion of the election processes in both countries.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Füle: This is the first time we talk business with Serbia (New Europe, 6 May 2014)

Commissioner praised the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic

European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle visited Serbia on 5 May, to meet the newly formed government and discuss the continuation of the EU reforms and accession negotiations.

Commissioner Füle met with the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vuèiæ stressing that the new PM formed a very coherent, pro-European team. Mr. Füle said:

"It is a pleasure to be back in Serbia, only one week after High Representative Catherine Ashton visited Belgrade. Take these visits as coordinated efforts of both of us to send a very clear message to the Serbian authorities about our high expectations from them to deliver on this new chapter of the Serbian history we started to write together - the European chapter.

This visit is different to any other before. While in the past on many occasions we have been talking about intentions, plans, conditions, this is for the first time we talk business: about concrete chapters and how to deliver benefits of the negotiation process to the citizens of Serbia.

I have also congratulated the Prime Minister for a very coherent, pro-European team he put together. I congratulated him for the strong mandate he received from the voters in the last parliamentary elections.

While talking business - let me describe the state of play of the accession process: we advance with the screening process - screening on 7 chapters was already concluded and with 7 more we are at various stages of the screening. I assured the Prime Minister and the members of his government that we will be able to open screening of 4 more chapters so that by the end of the Greek EU Presidency (this June) we should have 18 chapters either already screened or being part of the screening process. This is a good reflection of the excellent work which has not stopped during the election campaign and it is an important example. This impressive number proves the strong administrative capacity and political will in Serbia to deliver on reforms.

There are three pillars of what we are focusing on at this stage of the process and this is what we have just discussed with the Prime Minister and his team, as well as future steps to be undertaken:

1) chapters 23, 24: the expectation is that still during the current Greek EU Presidency Serbia will be invited to present Action Plans on both chapters. We have discussed how to interact so that later this year Serbia can deliver these Action Plans so that we can open these chapters soon at the beginning of 2015.

2) within the framework of "fundamentals first" we have also discussed the economic governance which is the new approach of the Commission to strengthen the competitiveness of the Serbian economy not only at the time of Serbia's EU entry but already at this stage for the benefit of the people.

3) to continue the discussion C. Ashton had here: we talked about the implementation of agreements reached in the political dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and its relation with the specific Chapter 35.

Our consultation here have shown that full compatibility of us focusing on economic reforms, on issues which would have not only long-term impact but also short-term positive impact on the situation of ordinary citizens.

We share the same goal - to share benefits of the accession process throughout that process and not only at its end.

It doesn't take any importance from the quality of the alignment with the EU acquis but it underlines that this quality of alignment needs to be seen as contributing to the improvement of the situation on the ground."

The Enlargement Commissioner also visited the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikoliæ. Mr.Füle said after the meeting:

"Dobar dan, it is good to be back in Serbia and start my visit with the meeting with President Nikoliæ.

This is a crucial period for EU-Serbia relations and an important chapter in the modern history of Serbia is being written – a very European chapter. Serbia has made impressive progress on its path towards EU integration.

It is very encouraging to see that in the last elections the Serbian citizens have supported parties with clear and ambitious commitment to the EU integration.

In the meeting with President Nikoliæ, I have stressed what we consider three key priorities for Serbia in the coming months:

- First: Economic governance and reforms,

- Second: The rule of law, including the fight against corruption and reform of the public administration,

- Third: Further commitment to the normalisation of relations with Pristina as well as to regional cooperation and reconciliation.

I underlined in the discussion with the President that we are fully committed to help Serbia with the necessary reforms. We will step up our support to Serbia in this new phase: with technical expertise for Serbia's alignment with the EU legislation, as well as with targeted financial support adjusted to Serbia's needs and in particular to the needs of Serbian citizens.

Few days ago we have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the biggest EU enlargement. Back in 2004 the EU integration of Serbia seemed like a very distant future. Nowadays it is a very clear prospect. And I am fully confident that Serbia has the ability to make this prospect a reality rather soon."

He also met Prime Minister, number of Ministers and representatives of the Parliament. Following the meeting with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vuèiæ Commissioner Štefan Füle said to the media:

"It is a pleasure to be back in Serbia, only one week after High Representative Catherine Ashton visited Belgrade. Take these visits as coordinated efforts of both of us to send a very clear message to the Serbian authorities about our high expectations from them to deliver on this new chapter of the Serbian history we started to write together - the European chapter.

This visit is different to any other before. While in the past on many occasions we have been talking about intentions, plans, conditions, this is for the first time we talk business: about concrete chapters and how to deliver benefits of the negotiation process to the citizens of Serbia.

I have also congratulated the Prime Minister for a very coherent, pro-European team he put together. I congratulated him for the strong mandate he received from the voters in the last parliamentary elections.

While talking business - let me describe the state of play of the accession process: we advance with the screening process - screening on 7 chapters was already concluded and with 7 more we are at various stages of the screening. I assured the Prime Minister and the members of his government that we will be able to open screening of 4 more chapters so that by the end of the Greek EU Presidency (this June) we should have 18 chapters either already screened or being part of the screening process. This is a good reflection of the excellent work which has not stopped during the election campaign and it is an important example. This impressive number proves the strong administrative capacity and political will in Serbia to deliver on reforms.

There are three pillars of what we are focusing on at this stage of the process and this is what we have just discussed with the Prime Minister and his team, as well as future steps to be undertaken:

   1) chapters 23, 24: the expectation is that still during the current Greek EU Presidency Serbia will be invited to present Action Plans on both chapters. We have discussed how to interact so that later this year Serbia can deliver these Action Plans so that we can open these chapters soon at the beginning of 2015.

   2) within the framework of "fundamentals first" we have also discussed the economic governance which is the new approach of the Commission to strengthen the competitiveness of the Serbian economy not only at the time of Serbia's EU entry but already at this stage for the benefit of the people.

   3) to continue the discussion C. Ashton had here: we talked about the implementation of agreements reached in the political dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and its relation with the specific Chapter 35.

Our consultation here have shown that full compatibility of us focusing on economic reforms, on issues which would have not only long-term impact but also short-term positive impact on the situation of ordinary citizens.

We share the same goal - to share benefits of the accession process throughout that process and not only at its end.

It doesn't take any importance from the quality of the alignment with the EU acquis but it underlines that this quality of alignment needs to be seen as contributing to the improvement of the situation on the ground."

 

Serbia not to impose sanctions on Russia: Vucic (New Europe/Xinhua, 6 May 2014)

Fule said that Serbia is a sovereign country and EU respects its decision

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic asked visiting European enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule on Monday to understand country's decision not to impose sanctions on Russia, and promised Serbia will finish all reforms necessary for the membership before 2019.

Vucic said at a press conference after meeting Fule in Belgrade that it is on Serbia to finish its reforms as fast as possible, especially to open chapter 23 and 24 of the EU acquis, as they are important for establishing rule of law.

"I asked [from Fule] for Serbia to maintain its own attitude, that somewhat differs to that of other countries, which is not to impose sanctions to Russia," he said at the press conference, adding that he at the same time respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine as well as every other UN member state.

Fule, whose mandate ends this year, said that Serbia is a sovereign country and EU respects its decision.

Fule said that the policy of enlargement will continue. "During earlier visits we talked about plans, ideas, conditions, but now we talk about concrete chapters and ways how to open them," Fule said.

Vucic assured Fule that government can finish its part of the job until 2019, when it is all up to the member states to decide on Serbia's EU membership.

 

Kosovo leaders agree early election after vote on army nixed (Reuters, by Fatos Bytyci, 6 May 2014)

PRISTINA - Leaders of Kosovo's main parties agreed on Tuesday to dissolve parliament this week and hold an early election on June 8 after Serb minority lawmakers nixed a vote on creating a national army by failing to show up.

Kosovo's Western backers, who recognized it as independent in 2008, had been reluctant to see the immediate creation of an army for fear of the message it might send to the more than 100,000 ethnic Serbs who live in the country and to Serbia itself.

Parliament was supposed to hold the vote on Monday, but Kosovo's constitution states that two thirds of lawmakers had to vote, as well as two thirds of minority deputies.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that the leaders of the biggest political parties had agreed in principle to hold the June 8 vote instead of an election planned for November, and that parliament would be dissolved on Wednesday.

Isa Mustafa, the leader of the main opposition party, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said after meeting the president: "Parliament is not functioning any more... The best way out is to hold elections in the first part of June, after dissolving the parliament."

Thaci had said publicly before the meeting with President Atifete Jahjaga that a parliament that "cannot vote on the army of its country makes a nonsense of any further proceedings".

His proposal was for the landlocked country of 1.8 million, which borders Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia, to have an army of 5,000 active soldiers and 3,000 reservists.

Kosovo already has the nucleus of a future army in the lightly armed, 2,500-strong Kosovo Security Force, tasked with crisis response, civil protection and ordnance disposal.

Any new army would have to work alongside a NATO peace force of 5,000 soldiers still deployed in Kosovo. NATO's attempts to further cut back its presence have been thwarted by continuing ethnic tensions and violence in the north.

Serbia has agreed to cede its de facto control in that area in return for guaranteed rights for ethnic Serbs living there and the start of EU membership talks for Belgrade.

Kosovo has been unable to join the United Nations due to opposition from Russia - a Serbian ally and U.N. veto-holder.

Although Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as sovereign, relations between the two have improved over the past year, after the two sides reached a landmark EU-brokered accord.

 

Croatian Courts Accused of ‘Nationalist’ Anti-Serb Justice (BIRN, by Josip Ivanovic, 6 May 2014)

The head of the Serb National Council in Croatia accused the country’s courts of handing down ethnically-biased justice after a decision to auction a Serb wartime refugee’s house.

Croatian MP Milorad Pupovac, the president of the Serb National Council, said on Monday that the decision to sell off the refugee’s house showed the courts had “nationalistic criteria” and were “once again taking from those who were deprived from their property rights”.

“I am ashamed as a person who has dedicated more than 20 years to Croatian politics and I am ashamed as one of those responsible for this country becoming an EU member state,” Pupovac told a press conference in Krnjak in central Croatia.

Serb refugee Petar Kunic, left his home just before Operation Storm, when Croatian forces took back swathes of territory from Serb control, in August 1995.

A year later, the state assigned his property to a man called Vinko Petrovic. When Kunic returned in 2003, he was sued for compensation by Petrovic over the amount he had spent on the reconstruction work.

The county court in Karlovac ruled that Kunic had to pay 1.3 million kunas (around 170,000 euro) to Petrovic. But because Kunic is not able to pay, the court will put his house on public auction on May 12.

“I’ve been struggling with the judicial bodies of the Republic of Croatia for 19 years in order to get what is mine. During those 19 years, I was deprived of the right to enjoy property and any kind of progress,” Kunic told the press conference.

Pupovac said that 14 other Croatian Serb families are in similar situations.

The deputy leader of the Karlovac county authorities, Sinisa Ljubojevic, also said that it was that “clear that the state is violating the constitution”.

“The state in this case is violating its highest law, the Croatian constitution, and it is clear that there are elements of national discrimination and nationally motivated court rulings,” Ljubojevic said.