LOCAL PRESS

 

Nikolic: Ivanovic’s verdict attempt to behead Serbs (Beta)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has assessed that the verdict to the leader of the SDP Civic Initiative Oliver Ivanovic for war crimes had been passed in order to justify his removal from the political scene in Kosovo and Metohija and to prevent him from leading the Serbs in the province. “This is an attempt at politically beheading the Serbs,” says Nikolic. He points out that the verdict cannot legalize the expulsion of the Serbs, which would lead to legalizing part of the territory of Serbia and Serbian ancestral homes. “Oliver Ivanovic is not guilty, or he is guilty just because he is a Serb,” assessed Nikolic in a written statement.

 

Vucic: Ivanovic’s verdict not final (RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told Radio and Television of Serbia in Davos that the verdict to Ivanovic’s resembles more political force than the enforcement of justice and law.

“Commenting verdicts is an unthankful task. This verdict is not effective and it can be appealed, but someone wanted to make concessions to the Albanian side believing they should be rewarded for not implementing a single letter of the agreement,” Vucic and added this is a lesson for the government to fight even more for the honoring of the Brussels Accord and its implementation.

 

Dacic: Ivanovic’s verdict encouraging extremists on both sides (Tanjug)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that the verdict delivered to leader of the Citizens' Initiative SDP Oliver Ivanovic is encouraging extremists on both sides, and not contributing to the process of stabilization in the Balkans. “This verdict passed at the moment when ethnic Albanians are setting conditions for the further negotiations, and when elections lie ahead of Serbia is blowing the wind into the sails of extremists on both sides, and not contributing to the process of further stabilization in the Balkans,” the foreign ministry quoted Dacic as saying in a written statement. “Those who stand behind this judgment certainly do not have peace and stability in their mind,” he said.

 

Djuric: Verdict not to be viewed as an isolated event (RTS)

“First, it should be said that there is something rotten in the Kosovo judiciary. It is not normal that politicians are people who we know had been the leaders of the terrorist group KLA, but that they are politicians for the judiciary, domestic and international public, while Oliver Ivanovic is a war criminal,” the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric told the morning news of Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS). He says that Ivanovic’s verdict should not be viewed as an isolated event, since it sends a negative signal to Serbia and the Serbs, representing a kind of public humiliation. According to him, underway is the non-implementation of the key elements of the Brussels agreement – the agreement on the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), and, even though the government has managed to have Pristina promise before the international community to implement this, this moment has come now, Pristina is hesitating, but it is not receiving enough incentives from the side. “The time has come for Serbia to re-examine its policy and to adjust it to the behavior of other sides in the dialogue.  There is no dilemma that things need to be resolved in talks and dialogue, but at a table where something awaits Serbia, and not at a table where only Serbia is delivered obligations, while the other side is not delivered even expectations to implement something it had committed to do,” said Djuric. He says that Serbia has a very responsible and rational approach to the relationship with Pristina, and that Prime Minister Vucic and the government had done their maximum in the normalization of relations. “Everything that we have been receiving from the other side is negative political signals and some kind of public evasion of obligations. Serbia needs to find the right answer to this,” says Djuric. Having in mind that the European Parliament ratified the SAA with Kosovo, it remains an open issue as to whether this topic can be discussed in Brussels. “The Brussels agreement also implies the establishment of the court in northern Kosovo and Metohija with a Serb majority and a Serb judge. Would have this verdict existed had they worked according to the law, and justice, and had our judges took part in the trial,” wondered Djuric. He points out that the Serbian side is making effort to present itself in public in a diplomatic manner with the goal of not raising tensions with its appearances, but stresses that the Serbian delegation, both at the technical level and when it is headed by Prime Minister Vucic, vigorously represents Serbian interests, i.e. the implementation of those parts of the agreements that are in Serbia’s interests, i.e. the formation of the ZSO. “The question is what is the purpose of holding only one side in the process? That is a question for the international community. What would we receive if we wouldn’t adjust our policy to the behavior of the two sides in this process. If the two other sides are ignoring the reached agreements, ignoring the spirit of normalization, contribute to the negative political climate, in which the Serbs are exposed to pressure, Serbia is humiliated and agreements are not implemented, while on the other side only concessions are being made, why would we then be silent over this and pretend that nothing is happening?” says Djuric. When it comes to presenting the Serbian stands in Brussels, Djuric says that Vucic met with the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini yesterday and that they will continue with the strong pressure from the Serbian side. He commented Edita Tahiri’s statement on elections not being conducted on the territory of Kosovo: “Ms. Tahiri can decide on her own whether she wants to take part in the elections, whether, as any other citizen, she will vote, but it is quite certain that these elections should and will be implemented throughout the country,” concluded Djuric.

 

Drecun: Ivanovic’s verdict is political (RTS/Tanjug)

MP of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Milovan Drecun, who is also the Chairman of the Serbian parliamentary Committee for Kosovo and Metohija has stated in the Serbian parliament that the verdict to Oliver Ivanovic is political, that it is not based on law and that it is sending a very bad message that justice is unattainable for the Serbs. According to him, this verdict should be a motive for the state to start thinking about what after EULEX and about the strengthening of UNMIK’s mission. “The state will insist in the continuation of talks that the rule of law is respected in Kosovo. If the message is that we will have this kind of rule of law, then it is not good,” said Drecun, adding that the normalization process is the only realistic and tangible mechanism for resolving problems. If there are no talks then Serbia will not have a single mechanism to resolve similar problems, because of which talks need to be accelerated and new topics placed on the agenda, especially when the courts will be formed in northern Kosovo, where Serb judges will be working.

 

Odalovic: Ivanovic indicted so the public would swallow the Special Court (TV N1/Radio Belgrade)

The Secretary General of the Serbian Foreign Ministry Veljko Odalovic is unpleasantly surprised with the verdict to Oliver Ivanovic, adding that the state of Serbia can presently offer more active support to the legal team that is defending him and point in each place to the absurdity of moves as is this verdict. Odalovic told TV N1 that he had counted on the fact that those who were conducting the process would recognize that Ivanovic should be pronounced guilty. According to him, the trial against Ivanovic has lasted over two years that he spent in prison. “The agony lasted two years since he was detained. The trial lasted longer, Oliver was arrested a year and a half before the indictment was issued, the process was completed. They waited for the moment when this case should be activated. That moment was when the Special Court for KLA crimes received the green light and when it was recognized as an institution that will deal with the crimes committed by Albanians against Serbs. At that moment Oliver was arrested in order to appease the Kosovo public.” Odalovic stressed that the verdict according to which Ivanovic has been arrested to nine years in prison was passed at a moment when, after much resistance and pain, this court needs to start operating. “Today we have a verdict that brings a balance that needs to calm the public to swallow this court more easily. This should not be done, one doesn’t trade with crimes, and war crimes should not be a subject of politics. War criminals, regardless of any differences, should be processed.” He adds that the Special Court should respond to numerous crimes. “I believe that an institution that has strong support of the international community, which is part of the overall process in this Balkan region for investigations against war crimes, will yield results.” Nevertheless, he adds that he still has reservations: “The period when war crimes were occurring in the course of 1999 was the period then this same international community was present in this region. The pogrom occurred in front of 50,000 peacekeepers and nobody has been held accountable,” notes Odalovic. He says that Oliver Ivanovic was charged with a crime dated in 1999 that was not proved and confirmed since nobody said that he ordered or did something. “Was he anywhere? We are all somewhere.” He adds that it will be very interesting to hear the explanation of the verdict since everything will be unmasked through this. “The state of Serbia must be behind the support to the team that is defending Ivanovic from the legal aspect, but also to point in every place to the absurdity of such moves,” he said, adding this should be done in a more organized manner than in the past.

 

SDS shocked with Ivanovic’s verdict (Beta)

The Social-Democratic Party (SDS) has announced that it is shocked with the verdict to Ivanovic. “We are posing the question as to what kind of message is being sent to the Kosovo Serbs when a man who has been fighting for democracy all his life is being sentenced without single evidence. We are obliged to publicly warn that we certainly cannot reach justice and necessary reconciliation between the Serbs and Albanians by doing new injustices,” stated the Chairperson of the SDS Executive Board Goran Bogdanovic, which was announced by the SDS.

 

Resolution on Serbia coordinated in European Parliament (Tanjug)

A new resolution on Serbia was coordinated in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday and will be voted on by the EP Foreign Affairs Committee on 28 January. The Foreign Affairs Committee debated amendments by MEPs to a draft resolution tabled by the EP rapporteur for Serbia, David McAllister, in December. Opening the debate, McAllister said that the Serbian government remains actively committed to its strategic objective of EU accession. Serbia has achieved significant progress on its EU path - the opening of the first negotiation chapters in December was a deserved recognition of progress achieved over the past months, in particular in normalization of relations with Kosovo, he noted. The Committee will vote on the coordinated resolution in Brussels next Thursday. It should be passed at the EP’s 3 February plenary meeting in Strasbourg.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Local elections are not going to be postponed (Srna)

The local elections are definitely not going to be postponed and there is no chance for the radical changes regarding the B&H Election Law, stated the Inter-sectorial Task Force for the amendments to the Election Law. Member of the Task Force Lazar Prodanovic told reporters after the meeting in Sarajevo that the amendments to the Election Law mainly relate to technical improvement of the Election Law and the improvement of the polling station committees. "I believe that we will have the amendments to the Election Law prepared by the middle or by the end of February, so that they could be adopted by the B&H Parliament. There is no consensus on some radical changes to the electoral law, neither on merging the local and general elections,” Prodanovic said. “There is no agreement on increasing the electoral threshold because there is no consensus,” said Prodanovic and added that the SDA is against it, although the increase would stabilize the political scene in B&H.

 

Radomir Vukovic sentenced to 20 years in prison (Fena)

In the decision-making procedure upon the decision of the B&H Constitutional Court dated 27 October 2015 which revoked the Verdict of the Court of B&H dated 25 January 2012 in the part which pertains to the application of a more lenient law, after the public session of the Appeals Panel, the Panel of the Appeals Division of the Court of B&H reached on 17 December 2015 the Verdict by which the Verdict of the Court of B&H dated 25 January 2012 is modified in the part related to the application of substantial law and decision as to the sanction in as much as the actions for which Radomir Vukovic is found guilty under the Trial Verdict are qualified as the criminal offense of Genocide in violation of Article 141 (1) of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia which was taken over based on the Law on application of the Criminal Code of B&H and Criminal Code of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. To that regard, the Court sentenced the Accused Radomir Vukovic to 20 (twenty) years in prison.

 

Bosnian Presidency ex-member faces war crimes trial (Dnevni avaz)

The state court confirmed the indictment of Borislav Paravac, a Serb former member of B&H tripartite presidency, for engaging in a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population of Bosniak and Croatian nationality in the Doboj and Teslic.  The court endorsed the charges against Paravac, and three others, Milan Ninkovic, Andrija Bjelosevic and Milan Savic, for their alleged participation in a widespread and systematic attack on the Croat and Bosniak population in the municipalities of Doboj and Teslic from May 1992 to the end of 1993. Paravac was the Serb member of the tripartite presidency of B&H in from 2003 to 2006. According to the charges, at the time the crimes were committed, Paravac was the president of the crisis committee of Doboj municipality and Ninkovic a member of the committee, Bjelosevic was the chief of the safety services center in Doboj and Savic was his deputy. “They carried out the persecution of the Bosniak and Croat civilian population by committing murders, detention, grave deprivation of physical liberty and other inhumane acts,” the state court said in a statement. Several hundred civilians were killed and several thousand people were imprisoned in detention camps, where they were abused, the prosecution has alleged. The men have also been charged with the destruction of a large number of religious and cultural buildings in the Doboj and Teslic area. Also on Thursday, the state court of confirmed an indictment against Bozidar Perisic and Vinko Zoranovic for crimes committed in the Rogatica area. The indictment alleges that Perisic and Zoranovic carried out persecution of the Bosniak civilian population from the Rogatica area from May 1992 to the end of 1993 and participated in murders, rape and unlawful detention. According to the charges, Perisic was a member of the First Podrinjska Light Infantry Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, while Zoranovic was worked at the public safety station in Rogatica. “Perisic has been charged with having forced Bosniak civilians to come out of their homes on several occasions on June 19, 1992. After that he physically and mentally mistreated and arrested some of them. He killed 15 unarmed civilians by shooting them with firearms on that day. Their bodies have still not been found,” the state prosecution has said. Zoranovic has been charged with raping two Bosniak women on church property. Otherwise, Borislav Paravac in the 2002 elections, was elected a Deputy of the SDS in the House of Representatives of B&H, where he was the First Deputy Chairman of the State House of Representatives. A year later he was elected member of the Presidency of B&H after the High Representative’s removal of Mirko Sarovic. Paravac was in the Presidency replaced in 2006 by Nebojsa Radmanovic.

 

Mektic suspended Dautbasic (Nezavisne)

Minister of Security of B&H Dragan Mektic suspended the Secretary of the Ministry Bakir Dautbasic who is in custody on suspicion of witness tampering, Azra Saric, witness in the case against Naser Kelmendi, confirmed that ministry. Dautbasic was arrested in the action titled “Action Doll 2” together with Bilsen Sahman on suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of Obstruction of Justice in the criminal case against Naser Kelmendi. After the hearing the B&H Court ordered Dautbasic and Sahman one-month detention. The Alliance for a Better Future (SBB) B&H Bakir Dautbasic was proposed as a candidate for the Minister of Transport and Communications, after that position was earlier sacked from the Democratic Front (DF).

 

Dodik: Application of B&H for candidate status in the EU needs to be credible (Srna)

The key goal of the government should be to lead B&H towards getting a candidate status for membership in the EU by solving the coordination mechanism and adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement as soon as possible, said President of RS Milorad Dodik yesterday at the meeting with Ambassador of Great Britain to B&H Edward Ferguson. At the meeting with the Ambassador Ferguson, the RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic said that political agreement and support from all government levels, with full respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement and B&H’s constitutional competences, are needed for the successful continuation of B&H’s European integration process.

 

Przino Part 5: Commissioner Hahn will take SDSM to elections (MNA)

The only task European Commissioner Hahn has during his visit in Skopje is to convince SDSM to participate in the elections April 24. SDSM remains decisive that they will boycott elections if the Electoral roll is not revised and media reforms are not made. “I salute the first steps by the opposition in order to stay included in the process. Leading parties must make serious effort regarding the Electoral roll, the State Election Commission (SEC), and media reforms. All parties must show constructive cooperation in order to provide fair and democratic elections. Work must now speed up. I will be back in Skopje in February to review progress in election preparations with SEC and the international community,” Hahn said. So far, every obstacle of the Przino Agreement has been solved with the Commissioner. That is what is expected for this time. Only SDSM is not supported by the international community this time, and the representatives of EU and USA request they take part in the election on the date appointed. According to politic analyst Vladimir Bozinovski, it should not be surprising that international representatives do not offer support for Zaev’s policy, and that they insist the elections take place at the scheduled date. “EU wants a constructive partner, and it is obvious it does not see that in Zaev. Who can guarantee that SDSM will not continue to delay the election date, and that June will not become September, September - March, and so on,” Bozinovski added. As expected, SDSM did not hold on to their decision to boycott the new Government led by Emil Dimitriev. Oliver Spasovski and Frosina Remenski gave their Oath of office on Thursday, and by that have officially regained their positions. By doing so, all conditions have been completed so the government can proceed working until elections, scheduled for April 24.​

 

Oreskovic presents new Croatian government (Beta)

Croatian Prime Minister-designate Tihomir Oreskovic presented his ministerial candidates on Jan. 21, more than two months since the elections. Members of the Croatian parliament will vote on Jan. 22 on the government of the right-wing Patriotic Coalition led by the Croatian Democratic Union and the Most (Bridge) alliance of independents. Croatian Democratic Union leader Tomislav Karamarko and Most leader Bozo Petrov are to be deputy prime ministers, with Karamarko being the first deputy prime minister. There will be 20 ministers in Oreskovic's cabinet, only three of whom will be women; a large number of the candidates are not well known to the general public. Journalists who received a list of ministerial candidates were surprised to find the list did not contain a name for the position of interior minister, but the media reported that Vlado Orepic (from Most) would take this position. Zdravko Maric will be finance minister, Tomislav Panenic (Most) minister of economy and Miro Kovac (Croatian Democratic Union) will be minister of foreign and European affairs. Josip Buljevic, adviser to Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, is the candidate for defense minister, and Ante Sprlje is the candidate for justice minister.

 

Croats want return of Cyrilic script (H1TV)

Regional TV station H1TV has carried out a public survey online which showed that 57% of the Croats agree to have the Cyrilic script back at schools. The study also showed that 39% of the respondents were against the proposal, while 4% said it was all the same to them. The head of the Zagreb University, Damir Borash believes that this problematic alphabet - the Cyrilic script - needs to be reintroduced in the school programs across Croatia. According to Borash, the unique way to overcome fear and conflicted positions regarding the Cyrilic and Latin alphabets is better knowledge about the two Slavic scripts. On the other hand, the new Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic claims that the wounds in the country regarding signs bearing texts written on the two alphabets have still not been completely healed.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbia Fears Becoming Refugee 'Buffer Zone' (BIRN, by Sasa Dragojlo, Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Sven Milekic, 22 January 2016)

After several European countries toughened their policies on asylum seekers, Serbia fears the refugees will pile up in their country, on the edge of the EU.

After Austria said it will refuse entry to migrants seeking to pass through to Scandinavia, Rados Djurovic, head of the Center for Protection and Help for Asylum seekers in Serbia, told BIRN that NGOs fear Serbia will become a refugee "buffer zone" for EU countries. “Serbia is in the worst situation of all Balkan states. After Austria announced that it was refusing entry to migrants, which Slovenia and Croatia are now also implementing, Serbia could become a buffer zone for refugees,” Djurovic said. On Sunday Austria said it will now only accept refugees whose identity can be proven, who are seeking asylum in Austria or Germany and who do not represent a security risk and have no criminal record. On Wednesday, Slovenia and Croatia did the same. Serbia then said that in response to Austria's decision it will close its border with Macedonia to refugees not seeking asylum in Austria or Germany. “Migrants who do not express a request for asylum seeking in the territory of Austria and Germany as of today will not be able to pass through the territory of Serbia,” Aleksandar Vulin, Minister for Labour, Employment, and Social Issues, said on Wednesday. Serbia's decision prompted Macedonia later that day to close its border with Greece. Macedonian police confirmed to BIRN that they will let through only refugees from war-torn countries and who have documents from the Greek authorities that clearly state their final destination. Robert Kozma, a member of the Group 484, an NGO that deals with asylum issues, told BIRN that the situation should not surprise anybody. “We should have seen it coming,” he said. Since the UNHCR does not recognize Macedonia as a "safe" country and since Hungary built a fence to keep out refugees, Serbian NGOs and officials fear their country could become the main refugee "station" in the region. “The situation will get more and more complicated. Serbia has a capacity to hold only 6,000 people,” Djurovic said, adding that a new refugee influx is expected in the spring. “The EU has to create a consensus under which all states must reciprocally accept refugees. That is the only solution,” Djurovic concluded. In 2015, about 600,000 refugees passed through Serbia, according to Serbia's Commissariat for Refugees and Migration. On average, around 2,500 people enter Serbia every day.

 

Time Running Out for Deal on Mostar Elections (BIRN, by Rodolfo Toe, 22 January 2016)

Bosnian authorities urgently need to reform the electoral law in Mostar if they want to organize local elections in the divided city this year, but a compromise has yet to be found.

Bosnian authorities will need to find a solution for local elections in Mostar in the next few weeks if they want to organise polls in the city, experts warn. "Under the existing law [the government] must announce new local elections at the beginning of May. Before that date, all changes to the existing electoral law must be approved and have come into force", Maksida Piric, spokesperson of the Bosnian electoral commission, told BIRN on Thursday. "So far, a working group is addressing the issue but we're not aware of any concrete step to find a solution to this problem," she warned. Mostar is the only municipality in Bosnia where no local elections were organised in 2012, after the Constitutional Court declared the electoral statute of the city unconstitutional. As a result, the municipality has been administered for four years now without a municipal council. The two main parties of the city, the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action, SDA, and the Croatian Democratic Union, HDZBiH, have spent years discussing a compromise on reforming the statute of the city. So far, however, despite claims of hectic negotiations in the past weeks, no solution is on sight. Experts have warned that time is running out to adopt a new electoral statute for Mostar. "We should have a solution at least 30 or 60 days before the date when Bosnian authorities will officially announce new elections, in order to have the time to implement it," Stjepan Mikic, member of the Bosnian central electoral commission, told the media. Under current legislation, local elections must be announced before May 5 in order to be conducted on October 2. Other analysts are more optimistic that a compromise will be found. "There is still enough time. We still have four months before the date when new local elections should be organised," Adis Arapovic, a Sarajevo-based political analyst, told BIRN. "The technical procedure is not complicated. On the other hand, it is clear that 90 per cent of the solution depends on the two local main parties, HDZBiH and SDA, and on their political will to solve this issue," Arapovic told BIRN. "So far a solution has not been found because their only interest is in reinforcing their power in those parts of the municipality that they control," he added. The idea that solving the deadlock depends only on the main Croat and Bosniak parties has drawn criticism from Mostar residents who do not belong to these two national groups. On Thursday, the Serbian member of the Bosnian Presidency, Mladen Ivanic, met Serbian  representatives from Mostar who said they feel excluded from the process. "We have the impression that [reforming Mostar's electoral statute] lies exclusively with the political parties of the other two constitutive peoples, but we want to show that there is also a strong Serbian community in Mostar," Ivanic said after the meeting in Eastern Sarajevo. "Serbs in this area must be considered a constitutive people. From the margins of the political debate they must return to have a key role in the society of Mostar," Ivanic added.

 

Montenegro Urged to Probe PM's Family Bank (BIRN, by Dusica Tomovic, 22 January 2016)

A European Parliament resolution, to be debated in February, will urge Montenegro to fully probe political corruption cases and alleged money laundering in a bank run by the PM's family.

European Parliamentarians have submitted 155 amendments to a draft resolution on Montenegro, which will be discussed in February, most of which urge Podgorica to tackle political corruption, vote-buying accusations and the state Telekom privatization affair. The resolution drafted by the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee urges "once again" a follow-up to the "Audio-recording affair". Swedish MEP Jasenko Selimovic urged Montenegro to do this before the next elections planned this year. The affair broke in February 2013 after media published transcripts of leaked tapes of sessions of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS. In the leaks, party officials appeared to promise jobs and loans to supporters and donors to the election campaign. The prosecution in Podgorica has already conducted an investigation into alleged abuses of state funds and abuse of office in the election concerning the DPS, led by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, but ruled that no criminal action took place. The resolution notes that, despite positive legislative changes, corruption remains a serious concern in Montenegro and welcomes the establishment of the Special Prosecutor's Office with the task of combating corruption. The Parliament says it is concerned that the reported number of final convictions in organised crime cases and the number of seizures and confiscations of criminal assets has remained low and it seeks better cooperation between judicial and law enforcement authorities. Two Austrian and UK MEPs, Ulrike Lunacek and Terry Reintke, have submitted an amendment calling for a start to investigations into and prosecutions of high-level cases including alleged money laundering by Prva Banka (First Bank), which is owned by Djukanovic's brother, Aco Djukanovic. The state-owned bank was privatized in 2006 and sold to Djukanovic's family. His government has since put huge amounts of state money in it while the opposition and some NGOs have accused the bank of laundering money for organized crime and giving bad loans to criminals and Djukanovic allies. When these loans were not repaid, Djukanovic bailed out the bank in 2008 by forcing the parliament to adopt a special law that granted it 40 million euro. An investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP, said thare was no proof the bailout loans were ever repaid and that, to provide needed cash for the insolvent bank, Djukanovic sold the state electrical company, EPCG, and diverted the proceeds to the bank. The bank has never been investigated by the Montenegrin authorities. Several amendments to the resolution express concern about delays in ongoing investigations such as the privatization of the state-owned Telekom firm in 2005. The Parliament "regrets that in the recording or Telekom affair public institutions have restricted access to information to Members of Parliament, which seriously hampers parliamentary scrutiny and clarification of facts," the amendment by Lunacek and Reintke says. In 2012, the Montenegrin parliament launched a probe into alleged corruption in the privatisation of Telekom after the US investigating authorities in 2013 said they had information that several Montenegrin officials... were bribed to ensure that the bid for Telekom was accepted. The parliamentary committee finished its work nine months later with no official conclusion.