LOCAL PRESS

Vulin: Serbs have final word in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)

“The Kosovo Serbs, and not Belgrade or Brussels, are the ones who have a final word on the issues that pertain to them directly,” stated the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin. He said that Pristina had disputed the inauguration of the new leadership in the Gracanica municipality because they had not submitted the written oaths, and that dispute was solved. It is no news that Pristina will do everything to slow down the forming of the Union of Serb Municipalities, and the easiest way to do it is by delaying the constitution of the Serb municipalities, Vulin said after the meeting with the donors who had helped the survival of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.

Serbian Political Scene – Serbia in 2013 (Radio Serbia, by Sladjana Pavic)

The setting of the date to start the talks on the membership in the EU and the signing of the Brussels agreement were the two most significant events on the national political scene in 2013. On 20 December Serbia was given the date for the opening of the accession talks with the EU, and the first intergovernmental conference between the two sides will be held on 21 January. The obtaining of this date was not met with euphoric mood in Serbia, although the authorities in Belgrade have described the “green light” from Brussels as a historic achievement. The reason lie not just with the fatigue from long waiting even among the biggest Euro-enthusiasts, but also due to the fact that the impoverished citizens are aware that the results of the European policy, embodied in investments and new jobs, will not be felt as quickly as they need them.

The decisive factor in the granting of the date was the assessment from Brussels regarding the progress in the relations with Pristina and in the implementation of the Brussels agreement. Namely, that document was signed on 19 April by Prime Ministers Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaqi, in the presence of the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, after ten rounds of negotiations. The agreement relates to the joint control of the administrative crossings, judiciary and police, telecommunications, energy supply etc. Back then, the Serbs from northern Kosovo said they would not allow the implementation of the agreement, but a segment of the local ruling structures, primarily those from the Progressive and Socialist parties, changed the opinion and started implementing the agreement. Based on the document from Brussels, the local elections were held in Kosovo and Metohija, including the northern part, for the first time since 1999, and according to the Kosovo laws. In the end, Catherine Ashton, Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaqi have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Albanian and Serbian caucuses in the US Congress.

Thirteen months after being formed, the cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic was reconstructed through the appointment of 11 new ministers. Upon Dacic’s suggestion, the government was formed without the ministers from the United Regions of Serbia, and the reconstructed cabinet also got three new advisors – former director of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Guzenbauer and formed Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

The reshuffles in the highest body of the executive power are not unusual. It is natural and useful to change and adapt the things that do not function, in order to respond to the challenges that are emerging successively during the turn at the office. However, both battle against corruption and the Brussels agreement, along with the progress in European integration will remain as the historical achievements of the government only if it also makes adequate steps in the economy. Regardless of the importance and media coverage, the great political debates are quick to sink in the shadow of the economic problems – unemployment and the drop of the living standard.

It is not hard to understand that even the inflow of foreign investments is related to the realization of undertaken international obligations, that the implementation of the Brussels agreement opens and closes many a financial source. But there are also lots of things in our own yard that must be reformed immediately - first and foremost the too expensive and inefficient state administration. It seems to be the weakest link that hinders the course of the ruling structures.

On 18 November the Serbian Government has appointed the members of the Acting Board in Belgrade, who will be managing the capital until the elections, which are expected to be held in mid-March. The interim board was elected after the long-time Belgrade mayor and current president of the Democratic Party Dragan Djilas was voted off the position by the members of previously oppositional parties – the Progressive Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia, but also owing to the votes of his former political allies from the Socialist Party and the Party of United Pensioners.

The year 2014 replete with challenges (Radio Serbia, interviewed by Biljana Blanusa)

The year 2014 will be challenging for the entire society, not just for the economy. However, the biggest reforms are expected in the economic field, as they are necessary for the achievement of a tangible economic growth, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Zeljko Sertic has assessed for the International Radio Serbia.  The economy is the foundation of everything, so those reforms are pertinent to the overall development of the country, Sertic said. Four systemic laws have been announced – on bankruptcy; privatization; labor; construction and planning – and they are aimed at reviving the economic activity. Still that is not enough, Sertic noted, adding that the biggest challenge will be the reform of the public sector. Namely, the process of company restructuring is supposed to be completed by the end of 2014, and entails laying off a large number of employees, since many enterprises will undergo bankruptcy. Besides that, the reorganization of the entire public sector will be necessary, because the total number of employees has reached 700 thousand, while in the private sector there are some 500 thousand workers. Along with the diminishing of the number of state employees, also required is the new way of work, through the professional training of the workers and better management, thus contributing to the increased efficiency.

The slow and cumbersome administration is one of the central objections from both local and international investors, as is the widespread corruption in that domain. The solving of that problem demands the changes to the law on state administration, and an important segment in the improvement of the business ambiance is the more efficient judiciary, which should accelerate the court disputes in the economic sphere. That way, Serbia will be recognized as a reliable partner for the investors and a safe country for investments, and it could also become the regional leader for the inflow of direct foreign investments. To attain that goal the involvement of the government and parliament is needed, along with all relevant social factors, including the business people themselves.

Sertic has positively assessed the announced beginning of the negotiations with the IMF on the precautionary arrangement. It means that no financial assets will be asked for, but the IMF’s assessment of Serbia’s economic policy, to serve as sort of a recommendation for the foreign investors. Our collocutor has emphasized that for the first time a transparent and consolidated budget has been shown for the next year, and it indicates the future direction of the economic policy.

The start of the accession talks with the EU, scheduled for 21 January, also represents a positive signal for the foreign investors. They invest where their capital will be safe, hence the significance of the recommendations by renowned international institutions. Government’s economic measures, adoption of the new laws and the overall business setting are key factors for the managers of big companies when making decisions about the investments in certain countries. If those factors are assessed positively by the IMF, World Bank and European Commission, the probability of considerable investments is higher. It gives importance to the commencement of the talks with the IMF and the EU, and they are rightfully expected to contribute to the larger inflow of foreign investments, which in turn should boost the economic growth and increased employment, and in consequence enable the recovery from the crisis and economic development.

REGIONAL PRESS

Dodik: B&H Court and Prosecution permanently illegal (Srna)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik has stated that the B&H Court and Prosecution remain for the RS permanently illegal organs imposed by the international community. “We believe there will be a moment when we will be able to discuss their significant redefining and reducing their role,” said Dodik. He told the press in Bijeljina that the B&H Court and Prosecution are “the anti-propaganda of B&H” and that they had demonstrated they have done everything in a suspicious and inefficient manner. ‘We don’t believe in what they do, even when they are allegedly trying to fight or search for those who had committed crimes against the Serbs,” said Dodik, commenting the acquittal of seven arrested in the recent police operations near Rogatica. The RS President pointed out that there are attempts at caricaturing things, but that in fact “they have been trying all the time to write an indictment to the RS by processing only Serbs from the RS.” “This is also demonstrated in this case, where there are exact data on the crime, that the B&H Court and Prosecution are behaving this way,” said Dodik. He recalled that the B&H Court and Prosecution have been established in a suspicious way, after the decision and laws of the High Representative and that they have never ensured a constitutional basis for their establishment, i.e. the consent of the RS.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo: Serb Election Turnout Makes History (BIRN, by Edona Peci, 29 December 2013)

Almost everything was ‘historic’ in Kosovo in 2013, but the real ‘historic’ change was the turnout of Serbs in the north in polls organized by the Pristina government.

Kosovo kicked off 2013 with the “historic” meeting between President Atifete Jahjaga, and her Serbian counterpart, Tomislav Nikolic.

They met for the first time in Brussels in February following the initial meeting between the prime ministers of both countries at the end of 2012.

Discussions aimed at leading to an agreement on normalizing relations between Pristina and Belgrade bore fruit in spring when Prime MInister Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic of Serbia agreed a 15-point draft deal brokered by the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

The April 19 agreement envisioned the Serbian community in Kosovo choosing its own local police commanders. The composition of the police generally was also to reflect the ethnic structure on the ground. The draft also proposed more judges coming from the Serbian minority.

Another major point was the planned establishment of an Association of Serbian Municipalities, with broad powers, including the four Serb-run northern municipalities of North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zvecan and Zubin Potok.

The agreement set the base for local elections that were held at the end of the year throughout Kosovo, the northern, Serb-run part included.

Poverty and corruption

Economically, the outlook remained gloomy. At the beginning of the year, Kosovo was ranked among the 25 poorest countries in the world by Business Insider, an international business site.

“The poorest country in Europe, Kosovo's average annual per capita income is only $7,400. Remittances from other European countries — primarily Switzerland, Germany, and the Nordic countries — account for 18 percent of GDP,” Business Insider noted.

Unemployment remained high, while experts criticised figures put out by the Kosovo Statistics Agency as inaccurate.

The agency said that the rate of unemployment fell from 35.1 per cent in May to 30.9 per cent in October, but many experts dismissed these figures saying the real unemployment rate in Kosovo was more than 40 per cent.

The government promised economic growth next year.

Presenting the draft-budget plan for 2014, Besim Beqaj, Minister of Economy, said the budget for the year “enables economic growth”.

A high degree of corruption is considered one of the main reasons why foreign investors have remained relatively uninterested in investing in Kosovo. Corruption has also hindered economic growth in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the watchdog organization Transparency International’s "Corruption Perception Index", in its last report, positioned Kosovo 111th out of 176 countries worldwide.

Sports and culture

On a brighter note, thousands of people from around the region and the world headed to the western city of Prizren in August for the biggest-ever DokuFest international documentary film festival.

The 12th DokuFest featured around 250 documentaries and short films as well as debates, concerts and workshops running from August 17-25 under the banner “Breaking Borders”.

Several movies were also screened at the Pristina Film Festival, which was held in the capital, while the Pristina Jazz Festival brought together national, regional and international jazz music lovers.

Despite the fact that Kosovo remained out of the international football association, FIFA, and the International Olympic Committee, IOC, one of its athletes achieved international success.

Majlinda Kelmendi won a gold in judo at the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro in late summer, putting Kosovo in the headlines.

Kelmendi competed as part of neighbouring Albania’s representation but the victory of the 22-year-old from Peje, in western Kosovo, was hailed in Pristina as a triumph for Kosovo.

A step closer to EU

Kosovo moved a step forward in terms of integration into the European Union when the European Commission opened negotiations on a Stabilization-Association Agreement, SAA, in the autumn.

However, it wasn’t all gains on the European front. Kosovo did not convince any of the five EU countries that do not recognize its independence – Slovakia, Spain, Romania, Greece and Cyprus - to change their minds in 2013.

It also remained the only country in the Western Balkans left out of the visa liberalization process with the European Union.

Brussels underlined that the main pre-condition for Kosovo to move forward on this matter is action on bringing down the high number of people from Kosovo seeking asylum in EU countries.

Milestone elections

The year ended with “historic” local elections taking place across Kosovo in November and December.

The polls produced a significant change in the political landscape of the country as new mayors were elected in more than half of all the 38 municipalities.

Especially significant was also the high turnout in the Serb-dominated north, where locals had spurned all cooperation with the Kosovo authorities in Pristina since the end of the conflict in the late 1990s.

The candidates of a Belgrade-backed list, Srpska, won in all four northern municipalities: North Mitrovica, Leposavic, Zubin Potok and Zvecan.

“Srpska candidates won also in five other municipalities in central Kosovo, making the party as strong in terms of local government as the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, which won mayoral offices in nine districts.

Although Prime Minister Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, will govern most municipalities, namely ten, the party lost control of five that it had governed since the last elections.

Five PDK mayors have been accused of various charges, ranging from mismanagement of public money to misuse of official authority and others.

One, Sami Lushtaku is already on trial for murder and mistreatment of civilians during the 1998-1999 conflict. The trial resumes in 2014.

Seven Bosnian Former Soldiers Arrested over Wartime Killings (Agence France Presse, by Naharnet, 27 December 2013)

Seven former soldiers of the Bosnian army were arrested on Friday, suspected of having killed 20 Bosnian Serb civilians during the country's 1992-95 war, the prosecutor's office said.

The seven are suspected of attacking a group of Serb civilians in eastern Bosnia, killing mostly women, children and elderly people fleeing fighting in the area, said a statement from the war crimes prosecutor's office.

The crime was described by the Bosnian prosecutor as "the worst wartime killing of Serbs in eastern Bosnia."

The inter-ethnic war in Bosnia claimed around 100,000 lives and led to some two million refugees and displaced people, almost half of the former Yugoslav republic's pre-war population.

Bosnia set up a war crimes prosecutor's office and court in 2005 to assist the U.N.'s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague by dealing with lower-level cases on a national basis.

So far, the local court has closed 110 cases, handing down several hundred guilty verdicts.

2013 in Bosnia ‘A Year of Missed Chances’ (BIRN, by Elvira M. Jukic, 30 December 2013)

The chairman of the Bosnian presidency, Zeljko Komsic, said in an end-of-year address that power disputes and corruption were holding the country back and damaging its EU hopes.

Komsic, the chairman of the Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, told a presidential conference on Sunday that lessons should be learned from the events of the past year so the country has the chance to move forwards in terms of EU and NATO integration.

“Many say that 2013 is a year which it would be best to forget about. Unfortunately, that is not possible, and fortunately all that happened can be useful... if we draw real messages from everything we had the chance to witness,” Komsic said.

He said that there had been stalemate in the country's progress towards the EU this year due to the presidents of parliamentary ruling parties being unable to reach an agreement on how to implement a crucial European human rights ruling in the Sejdic and Finci case.

The 2009 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights told Bosnia to change its constitution and allow minorities to run for the top governing posts currently reserved for representatives of the three largest ethnic groups, the Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats.

“The bad thing is that Bosnia and Herzegovina never had a better environment. I am talking about relations with neighbouring countries and about what is happening there when it comes to the whole process of joining the EU,” Komsic said.

He added that political disagreement over the implementation of the rights ruling drew in many other unsolved issues related to the constitution and ethnic relations within the country as well as other controversial topics from the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the war.

The ruling in the case of Sejdic and Finci, a Roma and a Jew who sued Bosnia as representatives of minorities, which led to talks about changing the constitution to allow them be elected, then sparked discussions about the so-called ‘Croat question’.

The 'Croat question' is the demand by the HDZ, the largest ruling Croat party, for an assurance that Croats will have a representative in the tripartite presidency.

Currently, the Serb member of the presidency is directly elected from Republika Srpska while the Bosniak and Croat members are directly elected from the Federation.

If the ethnic regulation is removed, there is a possibility the two members of the presidency from the Federation will both be Bosniak due to the relatively small number of Croats.

The current Croat member of Presidency is Komsic, who was elected twice as a member of the Social Democratic Party, but is not recognised by the majority of Croats because the HDZ claims he was mostly voted in by Bosniaks.

Speaking about events in 2013, Komsic said on Sunday that Bosnia and Herzegovina made a historic mistake in not moving forward towards EU integration.

“That is a historical mistake... and history is not giving two chances,” he said, adding that he believed that a few years would probably pass before a solution to the constitutional issue.

Komsic said 2013 was marked by political disputes which did not deliver anything constructive, as well as unclear situations about who was in power and who was in opposition and as various corruption issues.

He concluded that the country’s problem was creating a functional political life and dealing with systematic corruption.

 

Macedonia: In the Shadow of a Political Crisis (BIRN, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 29 December 2013)

Macedonia spent the entire year held hostage to a prolonged political crisis that further damaged its stalled Euro-Atlantic accession hopes.

Political instability, ethnically-charged incidents, questions about freedom of the media and not much progress in the long-standing “name” dispute with Greece kept Macedonia in 2013 from advancing towards its goals of NATO and EU membership.

Incidents in parliament in December 24, 2012 cast a pall over Macedonia in the spring of 2013, setting the tone of political discourse for an entire year, which was marred by boycotts and petty political quarrels, further impeding hopes of progress in quest for EU membership.

The “incidents” in question saw the government parties passing a budget for 2013 in the space of a few minutes, after opposition MPs and journalists were expelled from the chamber by police.

The main opposition Social Democrats then launched a boycott of parliament and staged a series of rallies, also putting up road blocks across the country.

The goal was to force Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his  nationalist VMRO DPMNE party into calling early elections. The opposition said Gruevski had lost the right to remain in office after the expulsion of the opposition MPs from parliament.

Gruevski, who has held power since 2006, justified the expulsion of the MPs, accusing the opposition of attempting a coup against a democratically elected government.

Much to the detriment of the country’s stalled European  and Atlantic accession process, the political tug-of-war lasted until March 1, when an EU-brokered agreement was finally struck between the government and the opposition.

Under the deal, both sides agreed to sign a joint declaration on the EU and coin a joint report on the crisis that would recommend mechanisms to encourage political fair play and avoid further ructions in parliament.

But the main demand of the opposition, to call immediate early general elections, was not heeded. Instead, the opposition agreed to return in parliament and take part in local elections that were scheduled for the end of March and the beginning of April.

Opposition defeats:

With little time to shift its focus from big state issues to practical issues of local importance, the opposition suffered a crushing defeat at the polls.

It was the Social Democrats’ seventh election defeat in a row at the hands of the ruling VMRO DPMNE party.

Soon after, Branko Crvenkovski, the long-standing head of the Social Democrats, resigned. In June, the party elected Zoran Zaev as its new leader.

Election monitors reported a particularly tense atmosphere in Skopje’s key Centar municipality, where the vote was marred by reports of group voting, voters being escorted to the polls by unidentified persons and pressure on NGO observers.

In Centar, unlike in the rest of the country, the opposition candidate, Andrej Zernovski, was victorious, although he had to compete in three election re-runs demanded by the ruling party.

The municipality, previously run by Vladimir Todorovic, of VMRO DPMNE, had played a key role in the distribution of money for the government-funded revamp of the capital, “Skopje 2014”.

The new mayor, Zernovski, an opponent of the project, promised to investigate the municipality’s role in the suspected misuse of over 60 million euro that his predecessor obtained from the government to erect new monuments.

Ethnically-charged riots:

While the EU praised the generally positive character of the elections, which marked the beginning of the end of the country’s recent political crisis, problems started to occur on another front.

In March, the capital, Skopje, saw ethnically-charged riots, which erupted following the appointment of an ethnic Albanian ex-guerrilla commander, Talat Xhaferi, as Defence Minister.

The appointment sparked a backlash from ethnic Macedonian veterans of the 2001 conflict between Albanian rebels and government forces. They were unhappy to see the army placed under the political control of a man who had once fought against them.

Two days of protests escalated into clashes with police when Macedonian hooligans rioted on March 1.

Albanians then came out the following day in an even more violent counter-protest, alleging they had been targeted by mob attacks. Riot police fired tear gas at the Albanian protesters as they demolished cars, shops and touched a bus.

In early July, 14 people were sent to jail over their involvement in the protests.

EU agenda stalled:

In Mid-April, the European Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, presented a key special report on Macedonia in Strasbourg that was generally positive about the country.

The report praised Macedonia’s efforts to overcome the recent political crisis, but warned of problems with the rule of law, democracy and media freedom.

However, the report did not persuade EU leaders meeting in June to allow a start to the country’s EU accession talks.

Owing to the still unresolved dispute with Greece over its name, to which Athens objects, the issue of Macedonian accession disappeared from the agenda.

The country has never been offered a date for EU accession talks, nor an invitation to join NATO, owing to the Greek blockade related to the dispute over its name. Greece insists that Macedonia’s name implies territorial claims to its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

In January, ahead of the fresh round of “name” talks, the UN envoy in the Macedonia-Greece “name” dispute, Matthew Nimetz, had sounded confident of a compromise.

“I do think we will reach a positive conclusion,” Nimetz said, after speaking with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

In an attempt to float a compromise name proposal for Macedonia, in April, Nimetz suggested the foruma, “Upper Republic of Macedonia”.

This was rejected by Greece even before Macedonia had a chance to respond. Greece also insisted that any agreed name must be used generally, not just bilaterally between Greece and Macedonia.

Several failed attempts over the course of the year to bring both sides closer to a solution did not yield results.

In September, Nimetz admitted that a solution was not in sight and that “substantial differences” remained between both sides.

Political quarrels persist:

Meanwhile, despite the March 1 political agreement, which foresaw the formation of a special parliamentary inquiry into the December 24 incidents, the formation of the commission was delayed until mid-June as the parties were not able to agree on its members.

The ability of Macedonia's political rivals to agree on last December's incidents was seen as key for informing the tone of the next European Commission progress report on Macedonia, that was due in the autumn.

In July, the country’s attempt to produce a report and thus convince Brussels that the crisis was over, was rocked by the resignation of the head of the commission, Professor Borce Davitkovski.

He accused the political parties of sabotaging his attempts to set up a report.

As the crisis threatened to return, in August the opposition rejected the Prime Minister’s dare to challenge him in early elections in order to end the deadlock over the crucial inquiry.

After some deliberation, the main political parties finally signed the report in late August.

The ruling party said that it was signing the report for the good of the country, and did not necessarily agree with its content, especially with the part that blamed the government parties for the expulsion of the opposition MPs.

In October, the European Commission delivered its annual report on the country, for a fifth year in a row extending a recommendation for a start to EU membership talks.

In the event, the endorsement counted for little at the December summit of EU ministers, without a resolution to the “name” dispute with Greece.

Media freedom in focus:

The prosecution of an investigative journalist, Tomislav Kezarovski, who was arrested on May 28, was widely criticised.

After spending six months in pre-trial detention, a court in November sentenced the reporter to four-and-a-half-years in jail for revealing the identity of a protected witness in a murder trial in an article written in 2008.

Many media organizations said Kezarovski had acted in the public interest when he revealed the witness’s identity.

They said Kezarovski had revealed police misuse of its authority in the murder case.

This appeared confirmed by the protected witness, who later told a court that his testimony in the murder trial had been false and had been given under police pressure.

A verdict against Kezarovski has yet to become legally binding. His fate depends on the ruling of the Court of Appeals. At the end of 2013, Kezarovski remained in custody at home, awaiting the verdict.

The case unfolded against a background of complaints that the government was limiting media freedom in general. The Prime Minister denied this.

Many media watchdogs downgraded Macedonia’s rating in terms of freedom of speech, however.

The World Media Freedom Index 2013, published in January by Reporters Without Borders, ranked Macedonia in 116th place out of 179 countries.

This represented a sharp drop of 22 places from the previous year and a drop of 82 places compared to 2009. Four years earlier, the country was ranked in 34th place in the same media freedom index.

Economic recovery in sight:

On a more positive note, Macedonia expected to end 2013 with 3.3 per cent economic growth, considerably higher than earlier predictions of zero growth.

After two consecutive quarters of negative growth in 2012, Macedonia exited recession at the end of 2012, and the latest figures by the central bank, presented in November, gave grounds for optimism.

Bank Governor Dimitar Bogov said the upbeat prediction reflected positive results achieved in the first two quarters of 2013, which saw an increase in exports from companies that had invested in new factories and growth in private spending.

Confirmation of the upward trend came in December in a report by the World Bank.

This said that economic growth in Macedonia in the first half of 2013 had been the highest in the region, at 3.4 per cent. Growth was mainly a result of strong recovery in the construction and hospitality sectors, the World Bank noted.

Bomb targets Montenegrin newspaper critical of government (Reuters, 27 December 2013)

A bomb blast overnight shook the offices of Montenegro's leading daily Vijesti in the latest attack on a newspaper known for its criticism of the authorities under the country's long-term leader Milo Djukanovic.

No one was hurt in the blast, which appeared to target a room used by editor-in-chief Mihailo Jovovic, shattering windows and damaging the facade of the building in the capital, Podgorica, shortly before midnight.

Jovovic said he was in his office and another 15 people were in the building at the time.

"I was working when it went off, glass shattered all over the office, one window was blown in and smoke filled the room," Jovovic told reporters.

Vijesti director Zeljko Ivanovic said the attack was a murder attempt on the newspaper's editor.

"This was the expected outcome of years of campaigning by the prime minister (Djukanovic), his government, his party and the mafia against independent media and primarily Vijesti," he said in a statement.

It was not clear what kind of explosive device was used. Vijesti said security cameras had captured a man in a black jacket planting a package in front of the building and leaving the site about a minute before the blast.

The Interior Ministry said it was looking for a man and a black Opel Corsa car in connection with the incident.

The attack follows a bomb blast in August outside the home of Vijesti journalist Tufik Softic. The newspaper's offices were pelted with stones in October during tensions over Montenegro's first gay pride march. Cars belonging to the paper were torched in 2011.

Vijesti is a fierce critic of Djukanovic - Montenegro's dominant figure since the collapse of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s - and the cosy political and business elite in the tiny Adriatic republic of some 660,000 people.

It frequently reports on issues of high-level corruption and organised crime, major concerns for the European Union as it tries to steer Montenegro through the reforms required to join the bloc.

"The fact that no one has been prosecuted for any of these attacks sends a message of impunity," said Dunja Mijatovic, media freedom representative for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"Only a swift prosecution of all those responsible for these criminal acts can help to ensure that similar attacks not will be repeated," Mijatovic said in a statement.

(Reporting and writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Matt Robinson and Peter Graff)