LOCAL PRESS

 

Southern Kosovo preparing boycott (Novosti)

After the Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbs south of the Ibar River also decided yesterday to stop the election campaign. All leaders from the united Serb list started the political battle against the discriminatory and non-democratic decisions of Pristina’s Central Election Commission (CIK) on the eve of the early parliamentary elections on 8 June. Namely, the CIK first printed ballots with state symbols of the non-existing state of Kosovo, then they pushed Albanians into election boards in the north, and the last straw was when they announced that the election census for minority lists will be 70,000 votes. More precisely, this is how many votes the Serb list needs to receive in order to have one more MP in the Kosovo Assembly. That decision united the Serbs north and south of Ibar River. “All that they couldn’t implement through amendments to the elections law, the Pristina authorities are now trying to realize through the CIK,” Serb member of the CIK Nenad Rikalo says. The Chairman of the Serbian parliament Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun tells Novosti that the Serbs have Belgrade’s full support: “It is obvious that Pristina is increasingly more afraid of the big presence and united representation of Serb MPs. They are passing discriminatory and anti-democratic measures because the Serb list is expected to receive ten guaranteed and another nine mandates. They will receive a united response from the Serbs and the authorities in Belgrade.” Representatives of the Serb list have called on all relevant factors in the international community “to react to the decisions that are endangering the Brussels agreement”.

 

Mihajlovic: Pristina’s problem is united list (RTS)

“Pristina is continuously exerting pressure on pushing the Serbs out of the assembly, and decreasing the political influence of the Serbs,” the Head of the government Office for Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic told Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). The decisions of the Central Election Commission (CIK) are aimed at having as less as possible Serbs taking part in the elections, says Mihajlovic. On the occasion of the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo, Mihajlovic recalls that the same incident situation was created before the local elections when the Serbs were “on the edge” as to whether to take part in those elections. “Now this is repeated through an administrative way when they are trying with some commissions to manipulate with the documents passed by the Kosovo Assembly. They didn’t succeed in breaking up the unity of Serbs for the local elections. This time this same list is also dominant in this Serb corpus when it comes to the Kosovo Assembly and this is the problem for Pristina and the future authorities in Pristina,” says Mihajlovic.

 

UN finalizing assessment of damage induced by floods in Serbia (Tanjug/RTS)

After 10 days of field work, the UN expert team is finalizing the assessment of the damage induced by the unprecedented floods in Serbia, one of the most severe natural disasters that have struck Serbia in the past 120 years. The experts of the UN had come to Serbia upon the invitation of the Serbian Government, which will receive the report. That document will be an important element in preparation for the donors’ conference that will be organized in Paris, in order to coordinate the response of the international community to the floods in the Balkans. The UN is ready to support the Serbian Government in preparing the conference, stated UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia Irena Vojackova Sollorano. She said she was able to see firsthand the extent of the damage left after the devastating floods.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Majkic: Registering military property impossible without relevant law (Srna)

The Chairwoman of the B&H Parliament’s Joint Defense and Security Commission Dusanka Majkic told Srna that registering military property is not possible in B&H as there is no a relevant law. “Without a law, this is impossible,” Majkic said, commenting on the statement by B&H Defense Minister Zekerijah Osmic that he started registering certain military property on behalf of the state. Majkic said that so far many Bosniak politicians have advocated the position that viable military property should be registered immediately, even though there is no legal framework for it. “They were explicitly told by the B&H Public Defender’s Office that a law needs to be brought for it,” Majkic said. She added that she does not know how Osmic intends to register military property, having in mind that the B&H Public Defender’s Office should do it.
“The Public Defender’s Office cannot do it in the present situation, and if someone does it, then other bodies should deal with it,” Majkic concluded. She said that before registration, in addition to bringing a law which would enable it, many viable military locations should be reduced to the scope needed by the B&H Armed Forces. “Many locations, such as Manjaca, are not needed by the B&H Armed Forces in that scope as the army is not as big as the former army,” Majkic said, adding that the Armed Forces have not yet done it.

 

Ceric a candidate for B&H Presidency: I’ll make a Marshall Plan for the crisis (Patria)

Mustafa Ceric, president of the World Bosniak Congress, announced he would declare as an independent candidate for the Bosniak member of the B&H Presidency in the upcoming general elections in October, Patria writes. As he said, he decided on this step because he feels that in the upcoming October elections, “we have one last chance to change our difficult situation for the better, in the country and society.” “Friends from east and west encouraged me on this. I will make a Marshall Plan for B&H’s exit from the crisis. I will build a middle way and I call on left and right to join me. I will return morals to politics,” said Ceric. He further noted that he will especially offer his hand of cooperation to young people, because a blend of experiences of the elder and life enthusiasm of the young that is the strongest force to drive new processes. “The recent events that destroyed homes of Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats showed that human solidarity lives in us, among us, and recognizes no borders. It is time to take in a new atmosphere of trust, friendship, and universal human values in building our country,” said Ceric. As he noted, all documentation is prepared and signatures necessary to declare his candidacy gathered. Ceric is otherwise known as one of the founders of the Bosniak Academy of Arts and Sciences and former Reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic Community. He graduated from Al-Azhar University in Cairo in 1978.

 

Only a miracle can solve the name issue (Utrinski Vesnik)

Despite the existing internal political difficulties, the Greek government will not completely terminate the discussions concerning the solution of the name issue, Utrinski Vesnik writes. According to the edition, the latest statements of the Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, demonstrate readiness for a new visit of the UN envoy Matthew Nimitz to the region, which is a sign that Greece does not intend to thoroughly freeze the dialogue with Macedonia, whose main focus is the solution of the name issue just before the NATO Summit in September.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Flood damage to Serbia, Bosnia around 3 bln euros: EBRD (AFP, 29 May 2014)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) estimated Thursday that the damage from record floods in Serbia and Bosnia could cost some 3 billion euros ($4 billion).
"No official estimates as to the cost of this natural disaster are available as yet. However, some very rough preliminary estimates put the damage at around EUR1.5-2 billion in Serbia, and about EUR1.3 billion in Bosnia and Herzegovina," the EBRD said in a statement.
Particularly badly affected is the agriculture sector as most of the arable land in flooded areas has been destroyed and the damage in both countries could be hundreds of millions euros, the EBRD said. The sector makes up 10 percent of Serbia's gross domestic product (GDP) and six percent of Bosnia's.
Damage to the energy sector is also likely to be costly, in particularly in Serbia where the largest mining complex Kolubara, crucial for the country's energy system, has been flooded.
In addition, roads, railways, water supply and energy transmission infrastructure have also been badly hit, which could affect businesses across the region, the EBRD said.
"The floods could also have a sizeable macro-economic impact on Serbia and Bosnia, affecting short-term growth and inflation as well as their policy priorities and the budget for this year," the EBRD said.
Current EBRD growth forecasts for 2014 are 1.8 percent for Bosnia and 1.0 percent for Serbia and they may well need to be revised further downwards, the EBRD said.
However, both countries could count on significant international aid, the bank said, pointing out that "the EBRD has already described responding to the crisis as one of its major priorities and aims to reallocate existing funding in the region to help finance food relief".
The EBRD said it would place a priority on the rehabilitation of damaged roads and water systems as well as power stations and transmission and distribution networks.
Earlier this week the EU allocated 65 million euros to Serbia and Bosnia to help them cope with the consequences of the worst floods in a century that, along with Croatia, affected around two million people, claimed 77 lives and forced tens of thousands to leave homes.

Parliamentary boycott likely as FYR Macedonian opposition party resigns seats but coalition government stability remains intact (IHS Jane's Country Risk Daily Report, 28 May 2014)
The centre-left opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (Socijaldemokratski sojuz na Makedonija: SDSM) party resigned 34 of its 35 parliamentary seats on 28 May, accusing Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's newly elected conservative coalition administration of unfair political interference during April's elections.
SDSM leader Zoran Zaev is demanding the creation of an interim caretaker government pending early elections. The ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Vnatresna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija - Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo: VMRO-DPMNE) and Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (Demokratska Unija za Integracija: DUI) parties have rejected these demands.
Although the opposition's refusal to recognise the election results is not surprising, the resignation of MPs and refusal to nominate new electoral candidates risks creating protracted political uncertainty in FYR Macedonia, certainly until elections for the vacant parliamentary seats are completed.

Montenegro Rejects 2,400 Poll Violation Claims (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 29 May 2014)
The election commission in the capital Podgorica rejected all the complaints filed by a local watchdog organisation alleging irregularities at Sunday’s municipal polls.
The election commission said on Thursday that it had rejected all 2,400 official complaints from Montenegrin watchdog organisation MANS because although they were signed by the leader of the opposition Democratic Front, Miodrag Lekic, they were submitted by MANS activists.
Under the country’s electoral law, an appeal cannot be filed by election observers, only by political parties participating in the elections.
MANS’ legal representative, Veselin Radulovic, said that the commission had taken a mere 45 minutes to reject over 900 of the complaints.
He said that this was "unprecedented in legal practice" because each application was only considered for "about three seconds".
"The rejection of all the complaints because they were presented by a particular person or because they are related to certain polling stations is confirmation that the election commission deliberately takes political and completely illegal decisions," Radulovic said in a statement.
MANS monitored Sunday’s vote at 239 polling stations in Podgorica and reported numerous irregularities.
On Tuesday, MANS activists said they were assaulted at the Podgorica election commission when they tried to make a complaint about the violations.
MANS is Montenegro's most influential non-governmental organization which addresses issues of corruption and organized crime.

Bosnia's former Muslim religious leader to run for presidency (AFP, 30 May 2014)
A former religious leader of Bosnia's Muslim community, Mustafa Ceric, said Thursday he would run for the presidency in October's election.
"It is time for a unified state policy in the interest of all citizens," Ceric told reporters announcing his candidacy for a post in Bosnia's three-member presidency.
After the 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war in Bosnia, the country was divided into two semi-autonomous entities, linked with weak central institutions.
One of them is Bosnia's joint presidency, comprising representatives of the three main ethnic communities -- Muslims, Serbs and Croats.
Ceric was Bosnia's grand mufti from 1993 to 2012. His support was often crucial for Muslim community's political representatives in the elections.
Although he was considered as a moderate religious leader both at home and abroad, Ceric has often criticised Bosnian Serb political leaders and their failure to support joint Bosnian institutions.
Talking of the recent floods that hit Bosnia, as well as its neighbours Serbia and Croatia, Ceric said the country "must be built in the spirit of new confidence and friendship".
"The floods that destroyed the homes of Muslims, Serbs and Croats have shown a human solidarity that knows no borders," Ceric said.
Almost one million people, a quarter of Bosnia's population, have been affected by the floods, while some 40,000 have yet to return to their homes.
Twenty-four people lost their lives in the Bosnian floods, the worst in more than a century.
Ceric studied at Egypt's Al-Azhar University in Cairo and in the US.
He currently teaches at the International Islamic University in Amman.

 

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Media summaries are produced for the internal use of the United Nations Office in Belgrade, UNMIK and UNHQ. The contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership.