LOCAL PRESS

 

Vucic: Referendum can be called here, when they beat me in the elections (B92)

Aleksandar Vucic says that although he is "sure that citizens of Serbia would vote similar to the British," Serbia "will remain on the path of the EU." Speaking on Friday in Belgrade - after Britain voted to leave the EU - the Serbian PM-designate said the reason for this was that he was "also sure citizens of Serbia want a better future." Vucic added that the most important thing for Serbia was "to stick to its keywords" - namely, "stability and prosperity." "For us it is important to, in accordance with the trust given to us by citizens, continue the European path, fight for a better standard and attract investors," he said. According to Vucic, "Serbs like to be divided on big issues" and would probably vote like the British, but he also pointed out that "young people in Britain were mostly in favor of staying in the European Union." As he said, the outcome of the referendum was "the biggest political earthquake since the fall of the Berlin Wall." "I will not be guided by the daily emotions. We're not going to change our policy, because this is a serious and responsible policy, and this is a government that is disciplined, that is carrying out serious and responsible measures," Vucic said. Vucic then noted that "there are, since this morning, those who would call a referendum in Serbia and change the policy," but that "the people had their say in the elections." "When they win in elections, they can call whatever they want, I do not recognize the street. There were (participants) from all sides in the elections, people voted for stability, not for idiots, as happens in other countries," said Vucic. He went on to underlined that Serbia will continue on its European path "but must above all care about preserving its economic and financial stability." "I would say to citizens of Serbia that the consequences that will be seen in other countries due to the British decision will not be seen in Serbia," Vucic said. Speaking about the Serbia's plans to join the EU "by 2020" - in light of the latest developments within that organization - Vucic said the country will by that time fulfill all its tasks, "while the rest will be up to Europe." Vucic also revealed that his new government may not be formed by July 3, which he previously mentioned as the deadline.

 

Other reactions to the Brexit (B92, RTS, Tanjug)

Although there is a crisis of enlargement and it is evident, Serbia will not change the policy of European integration, the office of the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic told Beta news agency, commenting the decision of the citizens of Great Britain to leave the EU. Serbia will certainly continue the path towards full membership in the EU because in this way we reinforce the state to the highest legal standards, stated the cabinet of the President of Serbia. Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said: “Britain's decision to leave the EU "has nothing to do with the political path of Serbia". Dacic added that Serbia "should continue the European path and do its part of the work." He also announced that PM Aleksandar Vucic scheduled a meeting of his caretaker cabinet for 10:30 CET today and that "the reaction to the British referendum, that is, preserving the stability in the country" will be on the agenda, among other things. In a statement for Serbia's state broadcaster RTS, Dacic said that the state would "undertake all measures to preserve economic and financial stability as certain disturbances are happening in the world market, in the international financial market, in the wake of the British referendum." Dacic said he "does not believe the British decision will influence the disappearance of the EU and of the European idea.” "The EU has suffered a significant blow, but it seems to me that Great Britain, too, has suffered a big blow," said he, adding that it is "each nation's autonomous right to decide on their fate, whether somebody likes that decision or not." Dacic noted that Britain, although it was a part of the EU, "never fully shared all EU mechanisms - it maintained a certain level of distinctiveness and had great reserves toward the EU." "When it comes to Serbia, we ought to be concerned with our own interests," Dacic stressed. Vojislav Seselj has reacted to the result of the British EU referendum by saying that "the English (British) drove a stake through the heart of the EU carcass." The leader of Serbia's opposition SRS party took to Twitter on Friday morning to post this message: "What a lovely summer morning, what wonderful news that gladdened all of Serbdom. The English drove a hawthorn stake through the heart of European Union's carcass." The DSS party leader Sanda Raskovic-Ivic says Britain's decision to leave the EU shows that the organization's survival is now completely uncertain. In a statement on Friday, she noted that "now the question of how justified is Serbia's further EU integration is being raised." The DSS expects Serbia's new government to face the new political reality responsibly and bravely, Raskovic-Ivic said, and added: "It's time to start a public debate in Serbia that would hear the arguments in favor and against (Serbia's) EU accession, after which citizens would be able to express their stance in a referendum." Raskovic-Ivic believes that EU's serious crisis will now deepen, and that as a result, the union's interest and capacity to take in new members will become "additionally diminished." Leaving the EU is a victory of the idea of restoring sovereignty from the hands of the Brussels administration into the hands of the people, the DSS leader concluded.

 

Serbia, Kosovo agree to open two new Administrative Crossings (RTS)

On a regular trilateral meeting in Brussels, Belgrade and Pristina confirmed opening of the two new administrative crossings by the end of September, Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS) reported on Thursday evening. Opening of the two new administrative crossings at the administrative boundary line was agreed last April after the meeting between Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Kosovo counterpart Isa Mustafa in the cabinet of European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini in Brussels. One administrative crossing would be towards Raska (southwest Serbia) and the other one towards Medvedja (southeast Serbia), Vucic said after the meeting. At the meeting of the workgroups, committed to implementation of the agreement on Integrated Management of Boundary Crossings between Serbia and Kosovo, a report on progress in opening of administrative border crossings Kapije Sfirca that would connect Kosovska Kamenica municipality with Medvedja and Izvor in the north of Kosovo was submitted. The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which was selected by the EU for the realization of the project, specified that Serbian side was still on hold with the start of specific work with UNOPS in regards of the project. UNOPS would include construction of all six crossings between Serbia and Kosovo.

 

New Government much alike the old one (Politika)

New government of the prime minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic should be in terms of its composition much alike the previous cabinet, Politika reads on Friday calling on the unofficial sources. The daily reads that the majority of present ministers will remain in their offices, but it is possible that some will perhaps take over another ministry. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic and Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic should remain in their present offices as well as Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic, Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic, Minister of Labor Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic and Minister of Sports Vanja Udovicic. Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antic, Minister of State Administration Kori Udovicki and Minister of Health Zlatibor Loncar should also remain in the same offices. Nikola Selakovic will remain in the Ministry of Justice if Vucic fails to find an adequate replacement for him, Politika reads and adds that Aleksandar Stjepanovic, the president of the Higher Court in Belgrade, was mentioned in this context thus far. New people in the Government, with a little more certainty, could be Goran Knezevic in the Ministry of Economy, Branislav Nedimovic in the Ministry of Agriculture and Nenad Popovic, the leader of Serbian People’s Party (SNP), who should be appointed Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the foreign economic relations. The daily reads that Minister of Defense Zoran Djordjevic would most probably remain in the office although it was speculated that he could be replaced by Stefanovic. Remaining of Minister of Culture Ivan Tasovac in the office is somewhat less certain, and there have been talks for long time that Minister without Portfolio and the leader of New Serbia Velimir Ilic would not remain in the government, and it is also certain that Vucic is looking for a new minister of education because Srdjan Verbic does not want to stay at this function any longer, Politika reads. If Vucic still wants to form the government before 3 July, then proposals on amendments to the laws on the government and ministries should come to the Serbian parliament before 1 July. The daily reminds it is known that Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) would back up the government in which it will have the state secretaries in several ministries, while there is still no official confirmation that Dacic’s Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) would be part of the ruling coalition, although this topic has been largely speculated on with high degree of certainty.

 

No new conditions for Serbia on EU path (TV Pink)

Germany "supports Serbia's European Union membership and there are no new conditions for the country on the path towards the EU." However, it is expected to coordinate its foreign policy with EU positions, German Ambassador to Serbia Axel Dittmann said Thursday. Commenting on a statement by Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office, who said that Serbia cannot maintain neutral political positions and that it must align them with those of the EU, Dittmann told Pink TV that it is not a new position. Germany is an advocate of Serbia's EU membership and strongly supports Serbia's strategic decision to become an EU member state - it is the most important strategic decision, Dittmann said. Efforts are under way towards opening the negotiation chapters related to the rule of law as it is the core of the modernization process, along with the economic reforms launched by the government, he said. That is why we all want the chapters to be opened as soon as possible, Dittmann said.

 

Nikolic: Ambassador Lopandic made a mistake (VIP)

Recalled Head of the Mission of Serbia to EU in Brussels Dusko Lopandic made a mistake because he failed to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the exhibition about the cardinal of the Catholic Church in WWII Alojzije Stepinac in the European Parliament, President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic said on Thursday, agencies reported. “I knew in advance that he made a mistake. He apologized to me first, it happened that he took all the necessary steps from then on, but he failed to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the moment when he found out about the exhibition, which is incomprehensible for such a versed and exceptional diplomat”, Nikolic told journalists in Cacak. The Serbian government recalled on Wednesday Lopandic due to his failure related to the exhibition about Stepinac in the European Parliament and he would be replaced in the office of the Head of the Mission by Ana Hrustanovic, Serbia’s Ambassador in Rome. Serbia lodged a strong protest against the exhibition organized by the Croatian MEP Marijana Petir only after the leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) Bojan Pajtic publicly protested against it - and drew attention of the government to it that way. Croatia proposed Stepinac for canonization whereas Serbia and the Serbs in general considered him to be responsible for cooperation with the Ustashas, the fascist puppet regime that was in power during the WWII. During the reign of the Ustashas in Croatia hundreds of thousands of Serbs and other non-Croats were murdered and significant number of Serbs was converted to Catholicism – in which the role of the Catholic Church in Croatia was crucial. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said it had been planned before, because Lopandic was in the fourth year of his mandate, and his replacement was “in a way a regular change, that will certainly be happening in the coming period.” Asked to assess the talks between President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic and Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, Nikolic briefly replied: “All the talks are good, I do not underestimate anyone’s talks, it is always good when we talk”. Nikolic did not want to say if he would run in the Presidential election in Serbia in 2017 or if Vucic would support him. “I am not thinking about the election, let alone Vucic”, Nikolic said.

 

Serbia and NATO: Joint explanation regarding need for cooperation (Beta)

During their June 23 meeting with the delegation of experts of the NATO Secretariat, who are visiting Belgrade, the members of the Serbian Parliament's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly concurred that it was necessary for them to jointly explain to the Serbian people why this cooperation was needed. The statement of the Serbian Parliament reads that the chief of the permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Dragan Sormaz, informed the delegation of the NATO Secretariat about the parliamentary control and supervision of the security services, and the work of the Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs and the Committee for the Control of Security Services. "I think great progress has been made in the way in which the Parliament fought for its position regarding control of the agencies and ministries, compared with 2000 when I first became a member of parliament," Sormaz said. He added that the Serbian Parliament was one of the few in Europe which voted on the participation in U.N. and EU peace missions throughout the world. In his words, the previous convocation of the Serbian Parliament has held plenary debates on all agreements with NATO, and adopted them unanimously. A member of the Serbian Parliament's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Dubravka Filipovski, said that the deputies were interested in the implementation of the IPAP and of Resolution 1325 - Women, Peace and Security. She added that, after the implementation of that resolution, there were 7.8 percent women soldiers in Serbia, but still no women generals. A member of the Serbian Parliament's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Branislav Blazic, said that Serbia had a clear political goal - to be a factor of stability in the Balkans, a future member of the EU, but also a neutral country in the military sense. On Feb. 24, 2011, the Serbian government issued the Conclusion on starting the procedure for the creation of IPAP, and adopted this document on Dec. 20, 2014, while the North Atlantic Council adopted it on Jan. 15, 2015, which marked the practical beginning of cooperation within this mechanism of the Partnership for Peace program.

 

New protest of let's not drown Belgrade initiative on June 25 (Beta)

The Let's Not Drown Belgrade initiative will organize a fourth protest and march under the slogan “This Will Not Pass!” on Saturday, June 25 because of the demolition of buildings, binding and harassment of people in the Savamala quarter and police's refusal to react to citizens' calls for help in the night of April 24, the Initiative said. "Two months have gone by, those responsible remain silent, they are protracting, lying and covering up criminal acts, so that they can smoothly continue to carry out the Belgrade Waterfront project which is detrimental to the citizens," a statement said. The Initiative will again demand the resignation of Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali and Belgrade Assembly Speaker Nikola Nikodijevic, whom they believe are responsible for the events of April 24-25. They will also call for the resignation of Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, acting police Director Vladimir Rebic and Belgrade Communal Police chief Nikola Ristic who are responsible for the lack of a police response in the aforementioned night. A statement said that Ristic's resignation was also being sought for the omissions and illegal actions of the Communal Police regarding two journalistic groups in September and October 2015 in the area of the Belgrade Waterfront project. "In this case, also, Ristic refused to cooperate with the institution of the ombudsman and in that way a violent manner has become the leading principle or organizational culture of the Communal Police," the Initiative said.

 

Situation in media the worst since 2001 (Beta)

According to last year's Media Sustainability Index (MSI), the state of the media sector in Serbia is the worst in the past 15 years. "As for the freedom of speech last year, journalists have been exposed to pressure, threats, physical attacks, humiliation, with a mild response from the judicial system... Despite the laws, editorial independence and autonomy of public information services is not present. Freedom of speech is jeopardized despite constitutional and legal protection," the author of the annual MSI report, Goran Cetinic, stated at the June 23 news conference. Cetinic said that reporting was less and less objective or based on investigation, and that tabloid content prevailed in the media. "Professional reporting is at the lowest level in 20 years. As for ethical standards - in 2015, they were violated in printed media at least ten times a day," Cetinic said, adding that the media contained few analytical and investigative reports and that politicians often imposed the topics. "The plurality of sources is on the decline. The main problem is the content of the news. News are often being copied and the use of sources is often illegal... because of which the pluralism of media content is lost. We have uniformity of news. For some topics, which the media avoid, the social networks have become the source of information," Cetinic said. He added that there was also a decline in the economical operation of the media, and that the main reason was that there were 1,600 registered media for the population of 7.5 million. "There is one medium per 4,500 people, which is absurd. It is obviously unsustainable. It is like you had one thousand pharmacies in one street. Besides there being many of them, the media are also faced with the diminishing of the advertising market," Cetinic said. The Media Sustainability Index assesses the freedom of speech, professional standards, transparency of sources, economic self-sustainability and the work of media institutions.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Dodik: “No” to adapted SAA does not mean “no” to European path (RTRS)

Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik stated in Banja Luka on Thursday that proposed adaptation of the Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) is not acceptable. He said that this issue can be discussed after the issue of census is returned to legal framework and stances of the RS are respected. Dodik also announced holding a meeting about the SAA on Sunday with representatives of RS institutions, businessmen, farmers and experts. He stressed that the SAA is not acceptable because it would enable Croatia and EU member states customs-free export of goods to Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), while B&H would still have the same treatment. “It is no help for us. Whatever anyone says, Europe has its own interest and we have our own interest. If we find a mechanism to compensate it to at least five years, we can speak about it,” Dodik said. RS Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic stated that the RS Government has never changed its stance on SAA, but added that SAA was changed at the state level. She said the RS Government is aware that the European path has to be treated seriously, but added that she had meetings with those who could assess possible damage of such SAA. Cvijanovic stressed that certain politicians loudly advocate the EU integration process, not knowing what the process means. “These things consider interaction of everyone in B&H. You must make agreement to be able to implement certain commitment. We are for such cooperation, but there are not many others who are ready to cooperate in such way,” she said. Cvijanovic said she still has not received the official stance of Serb member of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic in regards with the adopted SAA, but only heard it from the media.

 

Covic, Radoncic discuss adaptation of SAA (TV1)

The HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) leader Dragan Covic and SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic met in Sarajevo on Thursday. Covic and Radoncic agreed that it is very important for the Presidency of B&H to confirm the report of the Council of Ministers of B&H (B&H CoM) regarding the adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) because it is crucial for the EU discussing credibility of B&H's application for the EU membership. Covic and Radoncic agreed that all political actors must work on fulfilling of B&H's obligations and B&H has a unique opportunity regarding its European future. Covic and Radoncic confirmed strong political partnership between their parties and strong commitment to implementation of reforms.

 

Agreement on joint involvement in local elections signed (Srna)

Leaders of the SNSD, Milorad Dodik, the DNS, Marko Pavic, and the SP, Petar Djokic, signed an Agreement on joint three-party involvement in the local elections, scheduled for October. The party leaders have agreed on a joint action in 57 local communities in Republika Srpska, as well as 4 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the meeting in Banja Luka, they told reporters that the preparation of the agreement went in a good atmosphere.

 

Radoncic: SNSD and Ivanic often compete who will play “greater Serb” (FTV)

Speaking about the current issues related to the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), SBB B&H leader Fahrudin Radoncic said that he spoke with Croat member of B&H Presidency and HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic about Euro-Atlantic integration on Thursday, including issues related to overcoming the crisis regarding 2013 census of population. Asked to state his opinion with regard to obstruction of the European path of B&H coming from the RS, Radoncic replied: “Unfortunately, we are in a political reality where we have SNSD and now also Mr. (Serb member of B&H Presidency and PDP Honorary President Mladen) Ivanic, where they often compete in who will make greater obstruction i.e. who will play “a greater Serb”. I actually think that “the greatest Serb” will be the one who will help B&H on its European path and the path towards economic recovery.” Speaking about the census issue, Radoncic said: “Bosniaks must never allow Serbs and Croats to make any agreements past us and vice versa”. Radoncic noted that RS President and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik makes maximum use – out of the fact that the election winner from the RS is not part of state-level authorities – to obstruct the European path of B&H. However, Radoncic deems that Dodik will realize how delicate the situation in the next couple of days is “and show a dose of wisdom that is necessary for this country”. Radoncic noted that it is a fact that the census is “a legal category” and that there is no room for any more political discussions on it. “That has to be implemented. The law is clear”, Radoncic asserted and added that no one has the right to “erase Bosniaks from being citizens of this country”. Radoncic added that he and Covic also agreed on the need to seize the opportunity related to adaptation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Radoncic expressed expectation that Ivanic will show responsibility that will result in unblocking of the issue of adaptation of the SAA on Monday, when B&H Presidency is scheduled to convene.

 

Petir condemns Serbian propaganda against Stepinac (Hina)

Croatian member of the European Parliament Marijana Petir of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) condemns Serbian propaganda against the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac, her office said on Thursday. In cooperation with the Zagreb Archdiocese Petir last week organized an exhibition on Stepinac in the European Parliament as well as a conference on Stepinac's humanitarian work, which was organized in cooperation with the Croatian Catholic University and the European People's Party. After Serbia replaced the head of its permanent mission in the EU, Ambassador Dusko Lopandic, because he failed to prevent the exhibition for which Petir had obtained all necessary permits from the European Parliament, the Serbian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Lopandic's replacement on Wednesday, in which it described Stepinac as "a war criminal" and the exhibition on him as "shameful." Commenting on this, Petir said that in World War II Stepinac saved 27,215 Serb children, war orphans, and a large number of Serb men and women. "The propaganda the most senior Serbian officials are spreading about the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac by distorting the truth about the history reveals Serbia's weakness and its unwillingness to live European values," Petir said. "The Blessed Alojzije Stepinac is a holy person. He is a holy person for the Croat people and many other peoples, he is a holy person even to the Serbs who know the truth and are grateful to him for saving their lives, as evidenced by many testimonies and preserved documents," she said, among other things.

 

Brkic says elections for new HDZ chief on 17 July, following one member-one vote principle (Hina)

The election of the new Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) president will be held on July 17, following the one member-one vote principle, HDZ Deputy Chief Milijan Brkic said on Thursday, after a session of the HDZ National Council. "The National Council has decided to hold an intra-party election on July 17, following the principle one member-one vote," Brkic told the press after the session. If necessary, a second election round will be held a week later. Party members will elect only the party president and candidates for the position must, over the next ten days, collect 5,000 signatures of HDZ members supporting their candidacy.

 

Karamarko relieved of number of posts (Hina)

At the closed part of its session on Thursday the caretaker government relieved Tomislav Karamarko of a number of posts he held before resigning recently as First Deputy Prime Minister. Among those posts are the post of chairman of the Council for the Coordination of Security and Intelligence Agencies, the post of chairman of the Government Commission for the Management of Strategic Companies, the post of chairman of the Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Court and Other International Courts, the post of chairman of the Organizing Committee of the European Universities Games Zagreb - Rijeka 2016, and the post of a member of the Government's Personnel Commission.

 

Albania ratified the Protocol too, Pajovic: Albanians are proven friends of Montenegro (Antena M)

Albania also ratified the protocol for accession of Montenegro to NATO. There were 109 votes for, and no votes against this decision. This way Albania became the fifth country which signed the Protocol. Previously this was done by Iceland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary.  Signing of the protocol was also attended by the president of Montenegrin parliament Darko Pajovic who is in a two day visit to Albania. ''Progression of our country towards Euro-Atlantic integrations is a good path and voting for the protocol shows that countries that are together on this road are helping each other", said Pajovic, as it was reported by Antena M.  Pajovic said that we can be proud because in spite of turbulent times that are behind us "we managed to build relations of permanent friendship and mutual respect between our two countries".  "It is my great pleasure to talk to you today after you've ratified the protocol. Membership in NATO is a historical, cultural, and civilizational step forward for Montenegro and is a testimony of Montenegrin dedication to western system of values and western civilization", said Pajovic and added that membership in NATO is a confirmation that Montenegro is going in the right direction.

 

DPS has 40.4% of voter support (Antena M)

Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) is by far the strongest party in Montenegro, according to two surveys on citizens' support of political parties, reports Antena M. It is followed by the Democratic Front (DF) with 13.6 percent support. 10.5 percent would vote for Demos, Democrats have 7.5 percent, the Socialist People's Party (SNP) 4.9 percent, URA four percent. According to the survey, above the census are also the Social Democratic Party (SDP) with 3.9 percent, the Bosniak Party (BS) with 3.7 and the Social Democrats (SD) with 3.4 percent, while the first below the census is Positive Montenegro with 2.4 percent. The survey was also done by an NGO from Podgorica. According to the survey DPS is  supported by 43.1 percent of voters. 11.1 percent would vote for DF, 10.3 for Demos, 8.8 for SNP and 7.2 percent for Democrats. SDP with 4.2 per cent and the URA with 4.1 are almost tied and only one more, the BS, is above census with 3.5 percent. Nearest to the census, according to the survey, are SD with 2.2 and Positive with 2.2 percent of voters support.

 

EU does not endorse SDSM's boycott as Parliament is key institution of every democratic country (Telegraf.mk)

The European Union does not endorse SDSM's boycott of Parliament. It called on all political leaders to act responsibly and to work on fortifying democracy. "The Commission is monitoring the development of events and it stresses that the Przino Agreement is still the best option for the country's exit out of the political crisis. Parliament is a key institution in all European democratic countries.  Non-participation in Parliamentary activity impedes the democratic functioning of this institution and it does not increase the scope of control. We call on political leaders to act responsibly and to work on fortifying the democratic processes that are in the interest of the citizens and their Euro-Atlantic future" Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU's Enlargement Commissioner, said for Telegraph.mk. SDSM leader Zoran Zaev, announced Thursday that they will boycott Parliament until the Constitutional Court comes out with a stance on the Special Public Prosecutor's Office since he fears that the prosecution might be suspended. He is asking the Court to respond on the submitted initiative asking for the SPO to continue functioning.

 

Kosovo Provocations: Extremists to lay foundations of “Greater Albania” in Pristina (Telegraf.mk)

The longstanding idea of Albanians in the Balkan region to live in one state has had a revival. Every mention of “Greater Albania” instills anxiety in Macedonians, Serbs, Montenegrins and Greeks. Greek media have been reporting that next month in Pristina, the foundation of “Greater Albania” will be laid. This will allegedly happen on July 16, when the Movement for United Albania, Albanian nationalist associations and the List for Natural Albania, which are backed by the controversial Albanian historian Koco Danaj and Tahir Veliu, will sign a cooperation memorandum whose goal is to realize the dream for Greater Albania. The main purpose is the unification of all Albanians into one state, and to that end these two national movements will prepare a national strategy. This united, natural or Greater Albania is supposed to encompass Albania, Kosovo, the western part of Macedonia, the southern part of Serbia, part of Montenegro and Greece's Chameria region. After the memorandum, the initiators plan on a referendum, which is announced for November 28. Over the last few years, there have been a few initiatives for the founding of the so-called Republic of Ilirida, when the Albanians from the region were called on to unite into one great state. The main initiator was Muhamed Halili, who is well known on the political arena in Macedonia and who has proclaimed the foundation of the Republic of Ilirida several times in the past. In 2008, in Tetovo, a declaration for the formation of the Republic's Parliament was signed as a follow-up to the self-government referendum from 1992.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Serbia hopes of opening key EU Chapters fade (BIRN)

Despite hopes to the contrary, Serbia will not open Chapters 23 and 24 in its EU negotiations during the Dutch EU presidency that ends on July 1, experts warn.

Experts doubt Serbia will get a green light to open Chapters 23 and 24 in its EU membership negotiations - which are considered among most important - before the EU's last session during the Dutch presidency ends on Monday. “Due to the problems that have occurred, I do not think the opening of Chapters 23 and 24 will happen,” Bojan Elek, from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, said. A European Council working group on April 6 pulled opening Chapters 23 and 24 - dealing with the rule of law, the judiciary and human rights - from its agenda after Croatia failed to give them a green light.  Slovakia will take over the presidency of the EU from July 1.

“Serbia is still far away from EU standards concerning rule of law and the judiciary,” Elek noted.

He added that even if Chapter 24 was opened, work on it would probably be suspended following the continuing furor over controversies about demolitions in Belgrade's Hercegovacka Street in April. On April 24, a group of masked men, apparently acting on orders of Belgrade city officials, demolished residential and commercial objects on the riverside in Belgrade to make way for the Belgrade Waterside, a major urban development. During the demolition operation, local people tried to contact the police who did not answer their calls. The masked men also confiscated mobile phones from eyewitnesses and some were even tied up. “To truly implement EU standards when it comes to Chapter 24, Serbia needs to reform its police,” Elek explained. The Slovak EU presidency, meanwhile, remains an unknown quantity in terms of Serbia's EU negotiations and no one knows as yet what its agenda will focus on. Elek said that apart from the continuing problem of EU enlargement "fatigue", Serbia's own dedication to the EU membership path remained questionable, referring also to the recent sacking of the Serbian ambassador to the EU. “The head of Serbia’s Mission to the EU, Ambassador Dusko Lopandic, was doing a good job in Brussels,”Elek observed. “Although the Dutch wanted Chapters 23 and 24 to be opened by the end of June, during their presidency, there is small chance of that now,” agreed coordinator of work group for the Chapter 24 of National Convention on the EU Sonja Stojanovic Gajic. She said that when Slovakia takes over the EU presidency next month, if the Chapters are not opened in July, the next opportunity will probably be in October. “Chapter 24 is a challenge for Serbia because it covers a large number of policies which are changing fastest in the EU, due to the dynamic changes to threats such as cyber-crime, terrorism and irregular migration,” Stojanovic Gajic told BIRN. Serbia's negotiation team in talks with the EU is coming back to Belgrade on Thursday evening after the latest talks with Brussels officials.

 

Here's the story behind Hillary Clinton's claim about landing under “sniper fire” in Bosnia (Business insider)

A false claim that Hillary Clinton made while campaigning for president in 2008 is coming back to haunt her in the 2016 election cycle.  The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said in a speech at George Washington University in March 2008 that she landed "under sniper fire" during a 1996 trip to Bosnia. The war ended in 1995, but tensions within the country were still high.

"There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base," she said in 2008.

The Washington Post debunked this claim days after Clinton made it. Old news footage reveals that there was, in fact, a greeting ceremony at Tuzla Air Base when Clinton landed. She met an 8-year-old Muslim girl who read her a poem, and video of the landing shows Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, calmly walking away from the plane and then greeting people on the tarmac:  In the footage, Clinton held a bouquet of flowers while she spoke to people gathered on the tarmac. Another shot showed her strolling near the plane with a group of young people. Donald Trump has brought up the Bosnia claim on the campaign trail. The likely Republican nominee for president called Clinton a "world-class liar" in a speech on Wednesday, citing her "phony landing in Bosnia, where she said she was under attack and the attack turned out to be young girls handing her flowers." Clinton's Bosnia story is widely regarded as a lie. A CBS News correspondent who was on the trip with Clinton wrote her own account of it in 2008, after Clinton's speech at George Washington University. She did admit that there were some potential security risks, but acknowledged that it didn't rise to the level of landing under sniper fire. Sharyl Attkisson recalled:

"Due to the possibility of sniper fire, our pilots used what we were told are 'assault take-offs and landings.' In short, the climb and descent are very fast, and very steep to minimize exposure to hostile fire on the ground." "It's exciting and frightening and, in the midst of it all, wearing our helmets and bulletproof vests, it's easy to imagine we may be narrowly escaping enemy bullets."

"In reality, we had no known incidents of enemy fire on our aircraft." To be fair, however, Attkisson did note in her 1996 CBS report that the "frontline outpost" that Clinton and Chelsea visited was "one of the most dangerous places where US forces are operating." "The President himself never made it this far inside Bosnia when he visited in January," Attkisson said in the report. In this March 25, 1996, photo, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton kisses Emina Bicakcic, 8, from Sarajevo, who dedicated a poem to her shortly after her arrival at Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia.

Immediately after the 2008 speech, Clinton held her ground.  PolitiFact noted that when a reporter asked her about the Bosnia trip after the speech, Clinton said: "There was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars. Now, that is what happened." But days later, she admitted that she "misspoke" about the Bosnia visit. "I say a lot of things - millions of words a day - so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement," she told the Philadelphia Daily News' editorial board at the time. "I was told we had to land a certain way, we had to have our bulletproof stuff on because of the threat of sniper fire. I was also told that the greeting ceremony had been moved away from the tarmac but that there was this 8-year-old girl and, I can't, I can't rush by her, I've got to at least greet her - so I greeted her, I took her stuff and then I left. Now that's my memory of it."

At the time, the Clinton campaign sought to downplay the Bosnia story.  Then Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters in 2008: "The facts are clear from contemporaneous news accounts that she was entering a potentially dangerous situation. She has written about this before, she has talked about this before and there you have it. Now, is it possible that in the most recent instance in which she discussed this that she misspoke, with regards to the exit from the plane, but there's no question that I hope everyone is clear about this in the reporting, there is no question if you look at these contemporaneous accounts that she was going to a potential combat zone, that it was by the front lines and the first person since Eleanore Roosevelt to do that and she was going into a hostile military environment."  After The Post ran its original Bosnia fact-check story in 2008, former Clinton speechwriter Lissa Muscatine, who accompanied Clinton on the trip, contacted the newspaper with this statement: "I was on the plane with then First Lady Hillary Clinton for the trip from Germany into Bosnia in 1996. We were put on a C-17 - a plane capable of steep ascents and descents - precisely because we were flying into what was considered a combat zone. We were issued flak jackets for the final leg because of possible sniper fire near Tuzla. As an additional precaution, the First Lady and Chelsea were moved to the armored cockpit for the descent into Tuzla. We were told that a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac might be canceled because of sniper fire in the hills surrounding the air strip. From Tuzla, Hillary flew to two outposts in Bosnia with gunships escorting her helicopter." But the speech at George Washington University wasn't the only time Clinton told of a dangerous trip to Bosnia. PolitiFact pointed out that in 2007, she told The Des Moines Register: "We landed in one of those corkscrew landings and ran out because they said there might be sniper fire. I don't remember anyone offering me tea on the tarmac there."

 

* * *

 

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.