LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic and Patriarch Irinej discuss Kosovo (Tanjug/Novosti)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic had talks with Patriarch Irinej and informed him about last week’s visit to the province, and stressed that the position of Serbia is by no means easy, so the actions need to be wise, responsible and united. The Patriarch has praised the efforts of the Serbian government, invested in the rebirth of the country. That is the approach we need in solving the problems that Serbia is facing, and the dialog with the Serbian Orthodox Church takes an important part in it, the Prime Minister said at the meeting in the Patriarchate. Vucic thanked Patriarch Irinej for the constant work for the unity of the Serb people, and asked for his understanding regarding the difficulties which the country is facing, the Office for Media Relations said in a release. Patriarch Irinej commended the efforts of the Serbian government to help the revival of the country, and expressed his belief that the church and state officials should meet more often, the release states. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Justice Nikola Selakovic, Raska-Prizren Bishop Teodosije, and Toplica Bishop Arsenije.

 

Djuric: Attacks of Thaqi and Mustafa proof that Vucic protects Serbia’s interests (Tanjug)

The absurd accusations of Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and his deputy Hashim Thaqi against Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic are the best evidence that he is protecting Serbia’s interests, said the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric. He stressed that Vucic and the Serbian government would continue protecting the property and interests of Serbia and its citizens against attacks of local politicians such as Mustafa and Thaqi and would remain committed to resolving problems in Kosovo through dialogue. Djuric assessed that the nervous statements of provincial officials indicate that they are under big pressure of the opposition, local media and the international community due to the problems that they themselves caused through the unsuccessful and unilateral attempt at confiscating Trepca.

 

Drecun: Belgrade not accepting unilateral solutions (RTS)

“Belgrade is not conditioning the continuation of normalization of relations with Pristina, but it doesn’t accept unilateral solutions that the Kosovo government is trying to impose, but strives for all problems to be resolved by agreement,” the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun told the press in the Serbian parliament.

Asked about Trepca, Drecun said it was expected the property issue to be on the agenda in the process of normalization of relations – the property of public companies, the private property of expelled Serbs, the property of the Serbs who live in Kosovo and Metohija, the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but that Pristina tried to unilaterally impose a predatory solution that is not sustainable. Drecun says this solution would not open any kind of perspective for Trepca’s businesses. Asked to comment Prime Minister Vucic’s statement that Serbia received a correct interpretation of the international community concerning the Trepca issue, Drecun explained this meant that the arguments given by Serbia had been respected. “This means that no one can ignore that Serbia’s Development Fund is the majority owner of Trepca, this means that a large number of Serbs, along with Albanians, are working in Trepca, and that Trepca has no perspective if its problem is not resolved with agreement between Belgrade and Pristina,” Drecun said. He concluded that this is Vucic’s message – that the path for resolving problems is agreement and dialogue. “Everything else leads nowhere, i.e. has no perspective,” he said.
How to resolve the issue of property of Serbian companies in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS, by Aleksandar Miladinovic)

Belgrade expects the issue of Kosovo property and other issues to be in front of the negotiators in Brussels on 9 February. Trepca is not a topic, Pristina states. Pristina’s giving up from the disputable law, whereby it would take over property over Trepca, brought a short break in the contemplation of how to resolve the issue of property of Serbian companies in Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbian government would gladly see this topic on the negotiating table on 9 February, when prime ministers Aleksandar Vucic and Isa Mustafa will meet for the first time. Prime Minister Vucic said that Serbia had managed to fight for a correct interpretation of the international community for Trepca, and that Pristina wants to end everything concerning the property issue even before this topic is opened in Brussels. Still, Trepca is only the crown of the big issue – what will be with the property of large state systems in the province? Serb ski-referees are maintaining order on the Brezovica slopes…But Pristina has tried to take over the ski resort many times, or to build a new one. Serbia has invested 1, 5 million euros in six years, and now it is preparing another 36 million for modernization. Cooperation with the authorities in Pristina is minimal. “We are functioning as a ski center without relying on their administration. Power supply, cleaning of local and regional roads is functioning and our guests are mostly from Pristina, Skopje and surrounding cities,” the Director of Skijalista Srbije (Ski resorts of Serbia) Dejan Ljevnaic says. “From our point of view, in terms of management we can administer jointly, but in terms of ownership, it is undisputable that this is our property,” says Ljevnaic. Brezovica is not the only one among the large systems that is viewed differently. What is EPS (Electricity Transmission of Serbia) for Belgrade, it is KEK for Pristina, a company for electricity transmission. Serbian Post is the Kosovo post for Pristina, just as Telekom. Pristina treats the property of Srbijasume (Serbian Forestry) as part of the Kosovo agency for forestry. The Pristina airport is part of the international concession and it is called Adem Jasari. Zeleznice Srbije (Railways of Serbia) is treated in Pristina as the railways of Kosovo, while the property of NIS (Oil Industry of Serbia) is considered part of Kosovo Petrol. Serbia will place both public and private property on the Brussels negotiating table. “We are very interested in the property issue, and I believe that Pristina also has reason to be interested since one cannot expect greater inflow of investments or improvement of economic environment as long as there are opposed stands in Kosovo and Metohija as to who owns what,” the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric says. Asked whether Serbia wants to also discuss debts at this point of negotiations, Djuric says that talks on property encompass talks on all topics, including debts. “We are repaying even today international debts for the property that remains to be outside our management and possession. Thirteen, fourteen years ago we accepted the debt in the amount of 858 million euros towards the Paris, London clubs, the World Bank, for what Serbia borrowed and invested in the region of Kosovo and Metohija,” the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic says. Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaqi knows what he doesn’t want to negotiate with Belgrade. “We passed a special law in the assembly, we almost pulled Trepca out of bankruptcy and acquired time to pass with international experts an adequate law whereby we would stabilize this plant that would be profitable for Kosovo,” says Thaqi. Pristina analysts see some other places, apart from the Brussels negotiating table, where the property issue could be resolved. “If there are disagreements, then this should be resolved in some other way – whether this is some arbitrage, internal or domestic…or by way of court, and to pay all claimants and those who claim to have capital,” says economic analyst Ibrahim Rexhepi. A solution imposed itself in one case – since 2009, when Kosovo was admitted into the World Bank, the debts towards this institution had to be divided.

 

Final election results – Kostic is the new Gracanica mayor (Tanjug)

The Kosovo Central Election Commission (CIK) published Tuesday the final results of the mayoral election in the Serb-majority town of Gracanica in central Kosovo and Metohija. The new mayor will be Vladeta Kostic, the candidate Serbian (Srpska) Citizen Initiative. According to the CIK results, Kostic received 64.83 percent of the vote, or 4,784 votes in total. The snap election for mayor of Gracanica was held because former mayor Branimir Stojanovic had been appointed to the post of deputy prime minister of Kosovo.

 

Linta: Release of Glavas insult to Serb victims (Tanjug)

Miodrag Linta believes that the release of war criminal Branimir Glavas constitutes another insult and humiliation for Serb victims. The President of the Coalition of Refugee Associations in Serbia believes this is true not only of those who perished Croatia's town of Osijek, but throughout that country as well. “We expect the Supreme Court of Cassation of Croatia to reconsider the arguments against Glavas within a reasonable period of time in connection to the murder of Serb civilians in Osijek and pronounce a maximum sentence envisaged in the law which totals 20 years,” Linta said, adding that “anything else would constitute a mockery of justice and would be another proof that Croatia is protecting war criminals”. He said that five Glavas’ accessories who committed crimes against Serb civilians in Osijek received “ridiculous sentences” ranging from five to seven years and were released on parole in the period 2010-2012 after they’ve served two thirds of their sentence. Linta called on the EU to demand that Croatia should meet special obligations it agreed to take on during the accession talks as listed in Article 36, paragraph 1 of the Accession Agreement. In the Accession Agreement signed in November 2011, Croatia took on the obligation to pursue improvement of independence, impartiality, professionalism and efficiency of the judiciary and procedures in local war crimes cases, Linta recalls. “Unfortunately, Croatia did not launch a single investigation in 2013 and 2014 and it did not raise any indictment against individuals who committed a number of crimes against Serbs prior to and during war campaign,” he said. “This clearly shows that Croatia still lacks the political will to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes and ensure justice for the victims,” the president of the Coalition of Refugee Associations in Serbia said in a statement.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Amendment to the statement sent to B&H Presidency (Srna)

The President of Republika Srpska (RS) Milorad Dodik confirmed for Srna that he has sent to the B&H Presidency an amendment to the statement of the European integration process, which reflects what is in accordance with the earlier agreements, based on the sovereignty of B&H, the Constitutional order and the Dayton Peace Agreement. “In all the specific things that are mentioned in regard to the reforms, it was emphasized that the jurisdiction is in accordance with the existing Constitution of B&H. The important thing is to see clearly what is in whose jurisdiction – that which belongs to the B&H, nobody is questioning, yet that which belongs to the RS, FB&H, cantonal governments and Brcko District, they feel the need to question,” said Dodik. He stated that, in the amendment to the statement a significant part is dedicated to the reforms in the field of local government, and particularly in regard to Sejdic-Finci issue, i.e. the provision that relates to the compliance with what was agreed in Brussels in 2013 when the basic principles of the Constitution reforms were signed. Dodik said that this statement will be delivered to all the leaders, and that no one should have anything against it, if there is “no evil intent”. The President of the RS said that the amendment to the statement values what was agreed on Friday, January 16^th at a joint meeting of the parliamentary parties in the B&H with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Britain, Philip Hammond. The B&H Presidency, will most likely, already this week propose a new joint statement by which the B&H bounds itself to implement the reforms on its path towards the EU, and should specify the jurisdictions of different levels of government, and respect the constitutional order of B&H, said earlier a member of the Presidency Dragan Covic.

 

 

Boycotting B&H Parliament session doesn’t defend the interests of the RS (Prvi.tv/Srna)

The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of B&H Mladen Bosic called on the representatives of the SNSD in this House to attend sessions of the Parliament, because the citizens of RS elected them to defend their interests in Sarajevo.

“By boycotting the sessions they do not do what their function is, they are reverting the entity voting mechanism,” Bosic told a news conference in Sarajevo. Bosic said that the SDS, at the time when they were opposition, attended all the sessions of the House and voted on all the points as they considered, and that they expect SNSD to do the same. “Unfortunately, it seems that the SNSD President Milorad Dodik decided to obstruct all processes, even to try to obstruct the work of the B&H Parliament,” said Bosic, who is also a president of the SDS, reports Srna.

In his opinion, it is very bad politics, especially for the RS. “This way he brings into isolation not only himself but also the RS, which is not good for the RS or for the B&H. I hope that Prime Minister Milorad Dodik at the end, realizes that what he is doing is not good and hope he changes his position in regard to the initiative that comes from the B&H Presidency, which should open the door to the EU,” said Bosic and added that he hopes that “Dodik and the SNSD policy of obstruction and stalling everything will transition into political cooperation”.

Asked, when the Parliament is going to consider the issue of appointing the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Bosic said that he is not entirely clear why the B&H Presidency didn’t appoint the mandate holder. “Evidently it comes to linking various levels of government. I assume that this is a case of conditioning it with formation of government in the FB&H,” said Bosic, adding this is a bad tactic.

 

Cvijanovic and Hennessey on EU initiative for B&H (Oslobodjenje)

Zeljka Cvijanovic, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska (RS), and Mary Ann Hennessey, Head of Office of the Council of Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), spoke today about the EU's current initiative for B&H, which puts the focus of action on social and economic topics, the RS government said in a statement. Cvijanovic stressed that the RS government is committed to, as the statement reads, active support for the process of European integrations with full respect for the Dayton Agreement, and that the RS is open to constructive proposals that contribute to economic and social stability and improve regional cooperation with clearly defined responsibilities, obligations, and duties in realizing all reform goals. They also discussed the current political and economic situation in B&H, with an emphasis on the dynamic of forming governments after the general elections in B&H. At the meeting in Banja Luka, Cvijanovic informed Hennessey of the strategic goals of the entity government and reform measures envisioned in the Economic Policy for 2015. Hennessey spoke in Banja Luka with Zlatan Klokic, minister for economic relations and regional cooperation in the RS, on the draft action plan of the Council of Europe for B&H for 2015 to 2017. Klokic said that the RS government would deliver its opinion on the document by the deadline, the entity ministry said in a statement.

 

EU delegation underlines crucial importance of government formation at all levels in B&H (Fena)

The EU Delegation/EUSR underlines the crucial importance of government formation at all levels as a matter of the utmost urgency. The EU calls upon all stakeholders to intensify their efforts and complete all pending procedures in this regard. New governments in place are essential to move forward with the much-needed reforms aimed at addressing people's concerns, in particular the serious economic situation in B&H. Notably, new governments will play a key role, in accordance with their competences, in formulating and implementing the reform agenda related to the new EU initiative. Therefore, the EU urges all relevant political parties to intensify their efforts so that the executive authorities of the Federation of B&H, namely President and Vice Presidents as well as the government, are appointed without any further delay. The EU also urges authorities to complete the procedure of the Council of Ministers appointment as soon as possible.

 

Glavas: I will respond to Croatian court summons (Dalje.com)

Branimir Glavas said in Mostar, southern B&H that he would respond to a summons from the Croatian Supreme Court if summoned for renewed appeal proceedings in Croatia. “Of course I will respond to a summons from the Croatian judicial authorities. I presume that the next step will be for the Supreme Court to summon me for a hearing to discuss again the appeals from 2009. That means that we are going back to where we were before the Supreme Court's judgment of 2010,” Glavas told the press outside the prison complex in Mostar after his release. Glavas was released after the Croatian Constitutional Court quashed the Supreme Court judgment that sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment for war crimes committed against Serb civilians in Osijek in 1991. Glavas, who holds both Croatian and Bosnian citizenship, fled to B&H shortly before the judgment was passed, but was arrested and imprisoned based on an agreement between the two countries on cooperation in criminal matters. He has served three-fifths of his sentence. Glavas said he had not yet decided on whether he would return to Croatia or not. He said he would make that decision after a couple of days after consulting with his lawyers. “I am pleased and happy, because my release is the first step towards the ultimate goal, and that is a victory in the legal process of proving my innocence and the impeccability of the Homeland War in Croatia,” Glavas said. The Zagreb County Court has issued a warrant for his arrest should he step on Croatian soil, saying that the non-final judgment that sentenced him to 10 years in prison was still in force. Glavas said that the matter was of a technical nature and that his lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Kosovo miners stay deep underground in row over mine's fate (Reuters, 20 January 2015)

PRISTINA - Hundreds of miners in Kosovo refused to resurface at the end of their shift on Tuesday to protest over a government climbdown on the fate of the mine, which is claimed by the country's former master Serbia.

Fearing bankruptcy, Kosovo's new government said last week it would take control of the sprawling Trepca mining complex, but backtracked on Monday following a furious response from Serbia and intense discussions with Western diplomats.

Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence and claims some 75 percent of Trepca, had warned that any attempt by Pristina to take over the mine would jeopardise EU-mediated talks between the two sides.

On Tuesday, some 350 Trepca miners refused to return from their shift 750 metres (2,460 feet) below ground to protest against the government U-turn.

"The miners are on strike and they will not end it until parliament adopts the law on public enterprises," said Trepca spokesman Musa Mustafa.

The Trepca complex of lead, zinc and silver mines once employed 20,000 people and accounted for the majority of the former Yugoslavia's mineral wealth.

Since Kosovo's 1999 breakaway from Serbia in war, Trepca, which straddles Kosovo's Serb-Albanian ethnic divide, has been held in trust and readied for sale by an agency created by the United Nations.

However, the Privatisation Agency of Kosovo (KPA) has failed to come up with a plan for the mine's future, partly due to its murky ownership structure and numerous creditor claims.

Although managers at the mine estimate the reserves could be worth some 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion), its uncertain future has stymied development and Trepca currently operates at a minimum level of output just to keep the pits alive.

Citing the risk of the company being dismembered by creditors, Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said last Friday his government would declare Trepca "public property". But it swiftly backed down, saying on Monday that it would give KPA a further three years to restructure the complex.

Besides its mineral wealth, Trepca is also held in special regard in Kosovo for a 1989 hunger strike by miners after Serbia abolished the then province's autonomous status, marking the start of a long period of passive resistance by the ethnic Albanian majority before a guerrilla war broke out in 1998-99.

Serbia argues that the sale of "socially-owned enterprises" of the former Yugoslavia within Kosovo amounts to state plunder.

 

Kosovo assessing EU legal basis for specialist court for KLA war crimes (Xinhua, 21 January 2015)

A group of Kosovo senior government and justice officials on Tuesday assessed legislation submitted by the European Union (EU) regarding the creation of a special court that will deal with alleged war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war.

The group, established a few days ago by Kosovan President Atifete Jahjaga, discussed the need for legislative amendments in Kosovo related to the two-seated specialist court, in Kosovo and most probably in The Netherlands.

"The technical team met for the first time a few days after the leaders of the institutions agreed to create this body which is entitled to assess the necessary legislation," said Jahjaga's office in a press statement. According to her, the technical team will meet regularly with EU team to adopt a legislative framework for creating the court.

Minister of Justice, Hajredin Kuqi is the leader of the group, while two other ministers, Haki Demolli and Arsim Bajrami, the head of the Kosovo Judiciary Council, Fejzullah Hasani and the acting chief prosecutor Syle Hoxha are also members of the group.

In April 2014, Kosovo Assembly voted in favor of the court, but a long summer political deadlock delayed its formation. The court will specifically deal with the 2011 report of the Council of Europe senator Dick Marty on KLA senior commanders' alleged involvement in illegal imprisonment, killings and human organs trafficking.

 

Bosnia frees Croatian politician as war crime conviction quashed (AFP, 21 January 2015)

SARAJEVO--A former Croatian lawmaker and Bosnian national was released from a Bosnian prison Tuesday after Croatia's top court quashed his war crimes conviction on procedural grounds.

Branimir Glavas was released from jail in the southern Bosnian town of Mostar, where he was serving an eight-year sentence for the killing of at least 10 Serb civilians at the start of the 1990s war in Croatia, FENA news agency reported.

Glavas was released after Croatia's Constitutional Court last week cited procedural reasons for striking down his conviction by the Supreme Court -- namely inappropriate legal conventions used in previous rulings.

The case was sent back to the Supreme Court for a new trial.

Glavas was first sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Zagreb court in 2009, but a year later the Supreme Court reduced the term.

He was found guilty of ordering the 1991 abduction, torture and murder of at least 10 Serbs in the eastern town of Osijek, where he was defence chief at the start of Croatia's 1991-1995 war.

He was the highest ranking Croatian official convicted by local judiciary for war crimes.

After being sentenced in 2009 Glavas -- a former general who later became a founder and leading force in the rightist Croatian Democratic Union party -- immediately fled to neighbouring Bosnia, where he holds citizenship.

But in September 2010, just a month after moves in parliament to strip him of his seat, Bosnia arrested Glavas under an agreement between Sarajevo and Zagreb requiring the fugitive to serve his sentence in Bosnia if he refused to return to Croatia.

Croatia's proclamation of independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 sparked a four-year war with Belgrade-backed rebel Serbs who opposed the move. The conflict claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

The proper handling of war crimes cases involving Croatian nationals was among key criteria for the country to join the European Union. Croatia became the bloc's 28th member in 2013.