Office for Kosovo condemns explosion in northern Kosovska Mitrovica (RTS)
The Office for Kosovo and Metohija has condemned the explosion in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica and asked that the culprits be immediately found and punished. While assessing that at issue is another incident that have disturbed and caused insecurity in the north of the province, the Office has requested the competent bodies in Kosovo and Metohija to perform their duties in a responsible manner and not allow the latest incident to end with the scene investigation. We expect the international community, in line with its mandate, to provide peace and safety for all citizens in Kosovo and Metohija, reads the statement. It is pointed that the normalization of the life in the province is one of the key parts of the Brussels agreement, which is equally binding to protagonists. An explosive device was set off in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, probably a hand grenade. Nobody was injured but material damage has been caused.

Crimea doesn’t change Russian position on Kosovo (RTS)
Political Science Professor in Belgrade Predrag Simic has stated that following the Crimean case there will be no change in Russia’s position according to which it doesn’t recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. “The Russian Embassy stated that Moscow continues to adhere to Resolution 1244 according to which Serbia has sovereignty over Kosovo,” Simic told the news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). Western media and politicians hardly mention Kosovo as an argument referred to by Russia, because this precedent comes back at them as a boomerang, says Simic. “The Russian media has mentioned Kosovo many times. That is nothing new, we could hear this in August 2008 in regard to Ossetia and Abkhazia. A real war was then waged between Russia and Georgia,” said Simic. “In the case of Abkhazia in August 2008, Putin said ‘we left the choice to Washington: the choice between preserving sovereignty of integrity of internationally recognized states or the right to arbitrary recognition. Washington chose the latter and thus opened the path for us to treat Georgia this way’,” said Simic.

Bobic: Dynamic European agenda for Serbia’s new government (Radio Serbia)
Brussels expects that after the parliamentary elections, a stable government will be formed in Serbia that will tackle the challenges on the European path - reforms in the field of judiciary, as well as economic and social reforms. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said that Serbia will face tough challenges in the field of structural reforms, and it is necessary to continue the dialogue on normalizing relations with Pristina. A very dynamic European agenda awaits the new Serbian government, assessed Secretary General of the European Movement in Serbia Maja Bobic. Given that the EU negotiation process is underway, she emphasized the need to complete institutional structure as quickly as possible, and appoint experts in the negotiating team that will work with the Chief Negotiator and monitor the whole process of negotiations with the EU in the coming years. Also, the structure that relates to the negotiating group needs to be formed, Maja Bobic said adding that the most difficult and time-consuming will be the implementation of substantial structural reforms at the political and economic levels. “On the other hand, the political dialogue with Pristina needs to continue, since the normalization of relations is the focus of Chapter 35 which will significantly affect the dynamics of the negotiations with the EU. At the political level, the focus will be on reforms in areas dealt with in Chapters 23 and 24 - the rule of law, judicial reform, the fight against organized crime and corruption. And finally, systemic economic reforms should ensure macroeconomic stability, as well as a prerequisite to build a competitive economy that could survive in the European market,” said Bobic.

REGIONAL PRESS

Izetbegovic: Vucic is welcome in Sarajevo (Klix.ba)

Following the victory of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Sunday’s early parliamentary elections in Serbia, the Chairman of the B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic has invited SNS leader Aleksandar Vucic to visit B&H, with a message that the SNS leader is welcome in Sarajevo. We expect that the SNS will continue pursuing its fair policy regarding B&H, in accordance with statements made by Vucic earlier, Izetbegovic said. He said that he expects continuation of both Serbia’s European integration road, which he said is good for B&H, and regional cooperation. He said that Vucic is a symbol of a “positive policy change.” “I am inviting him openly and he is welcome in B&H,” Izetbegovic said, commenting  Vucic’s statement that he would gladly accept an invitation to visit B&H.

Botsan-Harchenko: Crimea referendum legitimate (Oslobodjenje)
The Russian Ambassador to B&H Aleksandar Botsan-Harchenko met with the Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik in Banja Luka, reiterating Moscow’s official stance that the people’s referendum in Crimea and activities in merging with the Russian Federation are legitimate from the standpoint of international law. “Russia has not violated any international treaty or international convention, because the right of people to self-determination is defined in the United Nations Charter. In comparison, Kiev has committed a coup, and the Ukrainian opposition violated the agreement signed with Viktor Yanukovych on 21 February. For this reason, we still believe President Yanukovych is the legitimate president of Ukraine,” said Botsan-Harchenko. He stressed that the population of Crimea “was exposed to the most serious threat and the ban on the language they speak is the grossest violation of human rights and pure Zionism.” The ambassador added that “in the situation of a legal vacuum and threats to the Crimean people, their free right to live where and how they want must be accepted.” Botsan-Harchenko refused to answer a reporter’s question why Russia violated the 1993 Budapest Memorandum, according to which, in exchange for the surrender of its nuclear weapons, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is guaranteed. “This is a wider context. One agreement is completely irrelevant here,” said Botsan-Harchenko. President Dodik said that, according to the position of his B&H entity, the referendum in Crimea was legal and legitimate. “I congratulate the people of Crimea on their democratically expressed will and I welcome the agreement of the Russian Federation and Crimea on starting the procedure of its merger to Russia,” said Dodik. He noted that this case is an example of respect for the UN Charter on the right of peoples to self-determination. Dodik said that a parallel between Kosovo and Crimea cannot be drawn, because Kosovo “illegitimately declared independence.” “If Kosovo had gone according to the procedure that Crimea followed, I would support that too, because I believe that everyone has the right to self-determination,” said Dodik.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Early parliamentary elections in Serbia respected fundamental freedoms, say international observers (Panorama.am, 17 March 2014)
The 16 March 2014 early parliamentary elections offered voters a genuine choice, were conducted on a sound legal basis, and fundamental freedoms were respected throughout the campaign, international election observers said in a statement issued today. The observers also highlighted the need for some further legal reform and increased media pluralism.
“Serbia conducted truly democratic elections, with a wide range of options for voters and effective procedures. The inclusive and transparent manner in which this vote was conducted is praiseworthy,” said Roberto Battelli, the Special Co-ordinator who led the short-term OSCE observer mission. “Voters and representatives of political parties, alike, expressed a high degree of trust in the electoral process – something all citizens can be proud of.”
Election commissions at all levels performed their duties efficiently and professionally and met legal deadlines, and the Republic Election Commission (REC) adopted its decisions in sessions that were open to the media and accredited observers.
“We were particularly impressed that the high standard of election day procedures was in evidence not only in Belgrade and other large cities, but also in villages and rural areas,” said Luigi Compagna, the head of the OSCE PA delegation. “This uniformity is crucial for democratically administered elections and for the enfranchisement of all voters.”
The media landscape is diverse, with a large number of public and private outlets, but the range of opinions offered was limited by the influence exerted on media by political parties in power, including through public funding. The lack of transparency in media ownership remains a concern. Both public and private television stations offered extensive coverage of the elections in a variety of formats, mostly in a neutral tone, but critical analytical reporting and voter education content were lacking.
“Fighting corruption was one of the main issues of the election campaign and major concern for the citizens. The newly elected parliament should take tangible measures to address this problem,” said Pedro Agramunt, the Head of the PACE delegation. “The media environment was pluralistic, but lacked journalistic independence and transparency in media ownership.”
The legal framework is in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, and other international standards, although certain recommendations from previous elections remained unaddressed. Some aspects were improved through by-laws issued by the REC, the statement said.
“I hope this election allows the Serbian authorities to develop the political will needed to proceed with reforms necessary to bring legislation further in line with OSCE commitments and recommendations,” said Ambassador Boris Frlec, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission. “The next four years should give the authorities ample opportunity to move forward.”
In general, the campaign was low-key and peaceful, although isolated incidents of election-related violence were reported. Some concerns were raised that different parties in power misused state resources at the local level, and there were credible reports of cases of intimidation of voters, especially public sector employees.
While the political finance law provides an adequate framework for party activities, the lack of transparency of sources remains a concern. The legal framework establishes limits on annual private contributions for the campaign, but not for campaign expenditures.
A number of national minority parties registered their electoral lists either in coalitions with other minority parties or jointly with national parties and coalitions. Some safeguards were introduced to prevent the abuse of affirmative measures by political entities that do not represent national minorities, in line with previous recommendations.

Serbia nets alleged Balkan drug boss with help from CIA (Reuters, by Matt Robinson, 18 March 2014)
BELGRADE - Alleged Balkan drug boss Darko Saric, one of the most wanted figures in the crime-riddled region, surrendered to Serbian police on Tuesday as a dragnet involving the CIA closed in on him in Latin America, Serbian authorities said.
Serbia's government said the 43-year-old had set no conditions for his surrender, other than to see his wife, son and daughter for 30 minutes at Podgorica airport in neighbouring Montenegro en route from an unspecified third country to Belgrade.
Saric, a Serbian citizen of Montenegrin origin, faces 13 indictments including the trafficking of 5.7 tonnes of cocaine from South America to Europe and laundering of 22 million euros in Serbia.
After almost five years on the run, Serbia said it had located Saric moving within four Latin American countries and that, having realized his arrest may be imminent, he had offered to surrender.
"On February 24, his lawyer contacted the Serbian government and offered his unconditional surrender, which we accepted," Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a televised cabinet session. He said Serbian and Montenegrin security officers had been in the third country, and that Saric was escorted to Montenegro and then on to Belgrade.
"Our huge efforts have borne fruit," Vucic said, adding that particular gratitude was owed to the CIA. Television pictures showed a handcuffed Saric emerging from a Serbian plane in Belgrade in jeans and a white shirt and stepping into a police vehicle.
The breakthrough came two days after a parliamentary election won in a landslide by Vucic's centre-right Progressive Party thanks, in large part, to Vucic's role as leader of a popular campaign against crime and corruption.
It follows the arrest last year in Serbia's former Kosovo province of Naser Kelmendi, blacklisted by the United States on suspicion of trafficking drugs to Europe.
Organized crime flourished during the Balkan wars in the 1990s as socialist Yugoslavia fell apart, spawning sophisticated crime networks that exploited poorly policed borders, a glut of cheap firearms and a political and security establishment riddled with corruption. The region is a well-known transit route for illicit drugs heading to western Europe.
All former Yugoslav republics have since set their sights on joining the European Union, alongside members Slovenia and Croatia, and face pressure to tackle organized crime as a condition of integration.
Police first accused Saric of being a narco-boss after more than two tons of cocaine was seized in 2009 on a boat off the Uruguayan coast in an international police operation codenamed Balkan Warrior.

Serbia catches Swedish woman with grenades (The Local, 18 March 2014)
A Swedish woman has been arrested after she was caught trying to smuggle guns, grenades, and drugs across the Serbian border and into Hungary. She was believed to be heading home to southern Sweden.
"This is a woman in her mid-thirties who lives in southern Sweden," the foreign ministry confirmed to the Nyheter24 news site. "The embassy is following the case."
The woman was caught with the objects inside her luggage as the bus she was travelling on was crossing the border into Hungary. The objects were hidden inside a secret compartment inside one of her bags.
There, she had stored three pistols, three hand grenades, several types of ammunition, silencers, and more than 3,000 tablets.
The woman remains in the town of Subotica awaiting interrogation.

Putin Says Kosovo Precedent Justifies Crimea Secession (Balkan Insight, by Bojana Barlovac, 18 March 2014)
Russian President likens Crimean secession from Ukraine to Kosovo’s secession from Serbia - and accuses the West of rewriting its own rule book.
Addressing the Russian parliament on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to ratify a treaty that would make Crimea part of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin compared Crimea's secession from Ukraine to Kosovo's secession from Serbia.
The Russian President spoke after 96.8 per cent of people who voted on Sunday in a referendum in Crimea backed calls to join the Russian Federation.
Washington has condemned the vote as illegal and maintains that Kosovo was a unique case that does not justify other moves towards independence by break-away regions.
Putin, however, said his “Western partners" created the Kosovo precedent with their own hands.
"In a situation absolutely the same as the one in Crimea they [the West] recognized Kosovo’s secession from Serbia as legitimate, arguing that no permission from a country’s central authority for a unilateral declaration of independence is necessary,” Putin said.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. So far, Kosovo has been recognized by 107 out of 193 UN member states, including the US and most EU members.
However, Russia has strongly opposed Kosovo's independence, citing the need to uphold the territorial integrity of Serbia.
According to Putin, the West has double standards by saying that the case of Kosovo was exceptional.
“It’s a kind of baffling, primitive and blatant cynicism. You can’t just twist things to fit your interests, and call something white on one day and black on the next one,” Putin said.
The Russian President also dismissed allegations that Russia is violating international law with its actions in Ukraine.
He said Russia was defending international law and its institutions, while Western countries have undermined them.
“In the practical application of policies, our Western partners – the United States first and foremost – prefer to be guided not by international law, but by the right of strength.
"They believe in their exceptionalism, that they are allowed to decide on the fate of the world, that they are always right,” Putin said.
Putin referred to the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which took place without a UN Security Council mandate and to actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

Russia stoking Bosnian Serb separatism in echo of Crimea : Ashdown (Reuters, by Daria Sito-Sucic, 18 March 2014)
SARAJEVO - British politician and former Bosnia peace overseer Paddy Ashdown accused Russia on Tuesday of encouraging Serb separatist sentiment in the Western-backed Balkan country in the style of Ukraine's Crimea.
Ethnic Serb leaders in Bosnia, who look to wartime backer Serbia and fellow Orthodox Christian ally Russia for support, have frequently threatened secession since the end of a 1992-95 war in which some 100,000 people were killed.
Ashdown, who served as international peace envoy to Bosnia from 2002 to 2006, urged Europe and the United States to quench separatist tendencies in the country of 3.8 million people, which is still deeply split along ethnic lines.
Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which is majority ethnic Russian, has again stirred dispute over the principle of sovereignty, last tested when the West supported Kosovo's secession from Bosnia neighbor Serbia in 2008 over Russian objections.
"Some Bosnian politicians are playing the Moscow card, even, most dangerously of all, the Slav card, in support of policies of separation," Ashdown told a NATO seminar on southeast Europe in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.
"They hope that an illegal referendum in Crimea will make one here more likely. And Russia is doing nothing to discourage them - quite the opposite," he said.
Ashdown said it would be a "tragedy" if Bosnia was drawn into "the backwash of international dispute on Ukraine."
"Europe and the West must now act decisively to close down this new salient of division in this country."
SERB LEADER BACKS CRIMEA VOTE
The Bosnian war ended in a U.S.-brokered peace accord that split the country into two highly autonomous regions - a mainly Muslim Bosniak and Croat Federation and a Serb Republic - linked by a weak central authority. Government is highly decentralized and frequently held hostage to ethnic bickering.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has long resisted any efforts to centralize power in Sarajevo, predicting instead the country's eventual demise.
He met Russia's ambassador to Bosnia, Aleksandar Bocan-Harcenko, on Tuesday and said the Serb Republic backed Sunday's referendum in Crimea on joining Russia as "legitimate and democratic", in accordance with international law and the U.N.-guaranteed right to self-determination, Bosnia's Fena news agency reported.
As the Crimea crisis neared its climax last week, Dodik visited Moscow, where he was rewarded by Russian Patriarch Kirill for his efforts "to consolidate the unity of Orthodox nations".
Ashdown noted an offer by Russia of a loan to Bosnia's Serb Republic to compensate for a freeze in funding to both of Bosnia's entities by the International Monetary Fund over stalled economic measures.
Russia stepped in to help Ukraine's pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovich, with billions of dollars in aid after he spurned a deal on closer ties with the European Union in late November. Yanukovich was toppled by mass protests in February, precipitating Crimea's secession by referendum on Sunday.
"The actions of offering an alternative loan ... to one of the (Bosnian) entities, the action of withdrawing support for a project to join Europe, it cannot have any other outcome but to encourage those who wish to see secessionism," Ashdown told reporters.
"Is this just a coincidence? Ask the Russian ambassador."

NATO Chief Urges Bosnia And Herzegovina To Push Ahead On Reforms (RTT News, 18 March 2014)
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday encouraged Bosnia and Herzegovina's political leadership to implement necessary reforms in order to allow the Alliance to activate the country's Membership Action Plan (MAP).
"We stand by our offer to activate the Membership Action Plan. But only Bosnia and Herzegovina can unlock that offer," the NATO chief was quoted as saying in a statement after his meeting with Zeljko Komsic, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NATO allies formally invited Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the MAP in 2010. However, that offer is conditional on the country implementing a key reform; registering immovable defense property.
"I welcome the efforts under way and your leadership and spirit of compromise to resolve the issue," Rasmussen said, adding that the MAP will move Bosnia and Herzegovina "closer to NATO and the Euro-Atlantic community."
Rasmussen said NATO also looks forward to progress in other defense reform areas, and for wider democratic and economic reforms to tackle corruption and improve the rule of law.
Noting that recent demonstrations "reflect a popular call for reforms," Rasmussen reiterated that NATO is committed to the stability and security of the Western Balkans and to the Euro-Atlantic integration of those nations that aspire to join the Alliance.
Rasmussen also thanked Bosnia and Herzegovina for the continued contribution to its mission in Afghanistan, "where you have helped make a difference" and for the additional deployment of 26 military police this January to Kandahar where they are partnering with American National Guard troops.
After his bilateral talks with the NATO Secretary General, Komsic met with the North Atlantic Council to discuss reform progress and his country's membership aspirations.

Bosnia and Herzegovina – acknowledging the crimes of the past (TransConflict, by Goran Simic, 19 March 2014)
Acknowledging the crimes of the past is a difficult but vital step to build lasting peace. Old wounds can easily be reopened by discussing history, but in order for them to heal properly history must be confronted.
The question that always occurs is: ‘Why fiddle with our past?’ Why can’t we all just leave it behind and look forward to a happy and peaceful future? Unfortunately, the experience of many countries and people, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, shows there is no future without addressing the issues of the past. Especially if that past was filled with crime and suffering.
Such issues always find their way to the surface and are often used in daily politics, usually with no real desire to solve and overcome them. If we can move beyond this, no longer will it be possible to use them to manipulate society and prevent lasting peace. These conflicting interests mean that the decision on whether to “peddle” the past or simply push it all under the carpet is more difficult than it seems.
While the simple solution of avoiding the past has its merits, deciding to confront it is difficult, painful and a long-term process. Unfortunately, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but in the whole of the former Yugoslavia, people are not ready or have not accepted the need to deal with the past. Will this now change? I worry that, like well-known Bosnian writer Meša Selimovic said, this generation will be no different from previous ones. If we are going to be completely honest with ourselves, we cannot be completely secure of our views today, even for the days that are ahead of us.
But this need not be our fate. We are choosing our own destiny, and whatever we do, it will not be the fault of some imaginary that is not ours. Dealing with the past will not be easy, but it is essential. Dealing with our own past by bringing closure and offering justice for all, perpetrators and victims, is the only right way. This path will not remove crimes from history. It will not repair souls that have been torn apart. But it will offer them the option to move on, and future generations will be able to live without the baggage of what went before. Hence people will have the opportunity to live full and worthy lives. Otherwise, and this can be seen in many communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we will have towns, villages, places and people in conflict, whose lives together in an area will offer nothing more than waiting for the final settling of the score. There is no happiness in that, for victims or perpetrators. In this equation, everyone is a loser.
It seems that the most important ingredient missing is honesty. Honesty with ourselves, with others, to the society in which we live. Without it, the activities that we carry out will always be oriented towards cosmetic things, but the essence we will never find. In addition, the most important thing is to start with ourselves. Ourselves as individuals, but also ourselves in sum, as ethnicity, as society. Some say it is compassionate not to look back, but this is a cheap excuse. Ultimately, it does not bring benefit to anyone. Therefore, no matter how painful, it is necessary to start with yourself, and finds the strength for tears and to lend a hand. ‘A kind word and a steel door opens,’ we say in this country, and not without reason.
Unfortunately, we live in a time when the peak of vision is often individual benefit, regardless of those who live with us.
In the long run, this cannot bring good to anyone. So, how to deal with justice in a society full of pain and suffering? Is it valid to address so painful and difficult a process? To go back in time again to remember the suffering? I believe so. Moreover, I would say that this is the only thing worth doing. It’s nice to talk about economic progress, prosperity, material goods but what is it all worth when people create and then destroy every 50 years? Is there not a real need to stop the combination of destroying not only material goods but also peoples’ lives? To change the practice of the last few centuries? There is no doubt that there is, and it is hard to really find, if they exist at all, any counter-arguments. After all, this approach has led us to where we are now, so why not change it. Why would you continue to insist on the atrocities and destruction that have been repeated throughout history?
But is it just a pipe dream of this author who doesn’t understand the reality of the moment in which Bosnia and Herzegovina is located? Is peace (and why not reconciliation) in these areas possible? A peace that will finally eliminate the suffering and the suffering of the people who live in these areas and to give them, and future generations, peace and prosperity.
Maybe it is a dream. The dream of a better future without bloodshed, murder, arson and abuse. We who have experienced killing certainly have the right to dream and do everything in our power to make it not just our dream, but our reality. Activities that have been already taken show that that is achievable. To go further, it will take more determination and courage. More wishes for a better today and a better tomorrow. Only in this way will we create a positive enough atmosphere to do everything that is necessary, because it will be neither easy nor painless. Not only victims but everyone involved should have their say. And nor should it be left to the politicians, on whose good or bad will we too often depend. It should be a commitment from all of us, society as a whole, that suffering will no longer exist. Never again.
Goran Šimiæ is an expert in the field of criminal law and transitional justice, professor, lecturer, writer, fighter for human rights and the rights of victims.