LOCAL PRESS

 

Mihajlovic: SNS not to initial Kosovo’s independence (Blic)

 

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that her SNS would not initial Kosovo’s independence. "First, it is not a policy which the party would advocate, and secondly, we have not been asked to sign Kosovo's independence," Mihajlovic said in an interview with Blic. Mihajlovic also said that it was necessary to talk with Pristina, and heighten Serbia's economic power, adding that "links, particularly infrastructure links, have been built in every possible way, precisely because of the Serbs scattered across Kosovo." "In this context, the Nis-Pristina highway is absolutely vital, "Mihajlovic said.

 

Dacic: Serbia home to 29,000 refugees from Croatia, B&H (Beta)

 

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on March 17 that more than 20 years after the 1990s conflicts, Serbia was still home to nearly 30,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a foundation stone laying ceremony for 40 new apartments intended for refugees in Sremska Mitrovica, which will be built as part of a regional housing program, Dacic said that 150,000 refugees had returned to their countries of origin, but that a vast majority had opted for permanent integration in Serbia, as they were unable to exercise their rights in their states of origin. Dacic said that three years ago an agreement was signed for the first sub-project within the Regional Housing Program, and that over 2,200 refugee families have been selected so far, explaining that the remaining users would be selected by the end of the month. "The fact is that nearly 29,000 people live in Serbia with refugee status, 20,334 are from Croatia, and 9,080 from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Dacic said. Dacic said that back in the 1990s Serbia accepted over 600,000 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia, and over 200,000 internally displaced persons from

Kosovo, which might be why in the latest migrant crisis Serbia has been treating refugees more humanely as it understands their difficult situation.

 

KFOR Commander: Rosu can move throughout Kosovo without approval (Politika, by Biljana Radomirovic)

 

KFOR Commander in Kosovo and Metohija, Italian Major General Giovanni Fungo, is at the helm of four thousand soldiers of the North-Atlantic Treaty, and as the Chief Commander to these forces, he arrived in the territory of the southern Serbian province at the beginning of last September.

For nearly 18 years of KFOR’s mandate, crimes against the Serbs occurred in front of the NATO Mission, while the final balance is 250,000 expelled and the ever-present fear of those who stayed on their land. How do you assess the past two decades?

“My impression, as the KFOR Commander, is certainly positive. The situation has significantly improved. The NATO military presence has decreased since 1999 from 55,000 soldiers to around four thousand. The number of inter-ethnic incidents has also significantly decreased, so that KFOR soldiers are only overseeing the Decani Monastery, while other religious facilities of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which used to be considered under risk, are under police protection. Over the past years, the security situation in Serb majority regions has improved. The Kosovo Serbs are integrated into the local security organizations. KFOR’s role in this context was and remains to be of key significance. In accordance with UNSCR 1244, KFOR’s mandate is to maintain a secure and safe environment and to ensure freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo.”

The provisional institutions of Pristina have been announcing the formation of the Kosovo army. Do you think that after the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces (KBS), which became completely operative in 2013, there will be room for KFOR soldiers as well? Are two armies possible in one field?

“NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued on 8 March a statement regarding this issue, in which he underlined that the structure, mandate and mission of the KBS are matters for the local Kosovo institutions in accordance with their constitutional right. However, if the KBS mandate evolves in a manner as proposed, NATO will have to re-examine the level of its commitment, especially in view of capacity building.”

Demobilized members of the self-called KLA, who replaced “uniforms” with that of the KZK and then with KBS, have been trained through the NATO advisory group. Numerous KBS officer personnel were linked with the operations with ANA that was proclaimed a terrorist organization. Doesn’t it seem discouraging to you as a professional soldier, with the rank of Major General, that “guerillas”, many of whom are on Serbia’s Interpol list, will be saluting to you soon?

“KFOR received from the UN the mandate to secure a safe environment and freedom of movement in Kosovo and it is successfully implementing this mandate and operates in the interest of the safety of all people in Kosovo. In the process of the creation of the KBS, a rigorous system of security check under KFOR’s auspices was established in 2008. All candidates for the KBS were examined in detail in order to ensure that only those with the most advanced skills can join the KBS. This process resulted in the fact that only a small number of those who served in the KZK could join the KBS. Apart from that, such an outcome would also be a logical result of the selection process, bearing in mind that the KZK in the end had up to 25,000 members, while 2,500 (plus 800) reservists could be admitted into the KBS composition.”

Based on the data of the Research Center for Western Balkan issues, there are training camps of DAESH terrorists in Kosovo and Metohija. It is stated that Al Qaeda fighters were also included in 1999 in the training of KLA fighters. Is it true that KFOR doesn’t enter DAESH camps?

“Terrorism is a very complex phenomena to which nobody is immune. KFOR’s mandate doesn’t include fight against terrorism. KFOR is well-prepared to face any possible challenges and it is ready to react to every threat. The Kosovo police have recently conducted several successful operations, which show their ability to resolve this kind of threats.”

You are securing only Visoki Decani. Do you honestly think that other Orthodox facilities of the Serbian Orthodox Church are safe in the hands of the Kosovo police?

“The Kosovo police are highly professional, they enjoy great trust of the population and it is able to carry out tasks.”

Can Rosu act in northern Kosovo without the approval of the KFOR command?

“Based on the 2013 Brussels agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, Kosovo institutions are not obliged to seek approval from KFOR for movement of their police units throughout the territory of Kosovo.”

The Serbs fear day and night a new pogrom and a new 17 March. How do you assess the security situation and can you protect the Serb community with 4,000 soldiers? You allowed with 50,000 soldiers to “miss” warnings of intelligence officers from the field?

“KFOR will continue to play an important role as support to all people in Kosovo. It will retain awareness about the current situation. It will continue to conduct regular security estimates in order to establish whether it is necessary to undertake any kind of measures.”

You are cooperating with the Serbian Army in the permanent monitoring of the situation along the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija and the securing of the Ground Safety Zone. How do you assess this cooperation?

“KFOR has a long-term, highly professional and mutually constructive relationship with the Serbian Army. I have a regular and fruitful exchange of opinions with the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army towards ensuring awareness about the current situation and building mutual trust.”

 

RIK verifies presidential candidate list (Beta)

 

After a March 17 draw, the Republican Electoral Commission (RIK) unanimously passed a decree establishing the ticket order for the upcoming presidential elections. The order of presidential candidates on the list is as follows:

1. Sasa Jankovic, nominated by a group of citizens, For a Serbia Without Fear;

2. Vuk Jeremic, a presidential nominee put forward by another group of citizens, We Need to Do Better;

3. Miroslav Parovic of the People's Freedom-Loving Movement;

4. Sasa Radulovic, nominated by the Enough movement, and

5. Luka Maksimovic, a candidate supported by a group of citizens Ljuba Preletacevic "Beli" - Go, Beli, Go.

6. Aleksandar Vucic, the ruling coalition's candidate;

7. Bosko Obradovic of the Dveri movement;

8. Vojislav Seselj, the Serbian Radical Party leader;

9. Aleksandar Popovic of the Democratic Party of Serbia;

10. Milan Stamatovic, supported by a group of citizens, For a Healthier Serbia, and

11. Nenad Canak, a presidential nominee supported by the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Balkans can get mini-EU with establishing of customs union (RTRS)

 

RTRS reported that if the idea of Balkans’ customs union is carried out, the region will get a “mini EU.” The idea was proposed by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and according to the proposal all customs and limitations for transport of goods would be abolished, while all countries of the union would determine a joint customs rate for import and export outside the customs union. According to Vucic, B&H and Macedonia support his idea. He explained that the customs union will mean that truck drivers will not have to wait at border crossings for 24 hours, because all customs administration and bureaucracy will be removed. Market of Western Balkans has 20 million people, but the full capacity of the region is not achieved. According to some assessments, B&H exports 33 percent less products than it could. In phone statement, B&H Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Sarovic said that a condition of development of such big idea is, above all, stability of the region, predictability in the long run and “resetting our legacy from recent past.” Businessmen from the region support realization of the customs union. Representative of Serbian Chamber of Commerce Marko Cadez said this is important for both business and economy and he welcomed the fact that politicians have taken the initiative.

 

DF, SDP MPs in B&H HoR demand removal of Pendes and her deputies, HDZ B&H and RS’ parties against removal (FTV)

 

The opposition in B&H House of Representatives (HoR) demands reshuffling of B&H Council of Ministers (CoM), i.e. removal of B&H Minister of Defense Marina Pendes and Deputy Ministers of Defense Boris Jerinic and Sead Jusic. Nine MPs from DF and SDP stated in a request for removal of Pendes, Jerinic and Jusic that they have overstepped official authority by giving permission to part of B&H Armed Forces (AF), i.e. members of the Third Infantry Republika Srpska (RS) Regiment of B&H AF, to participate in marking of the RS Day in Banja Luka on 9 January. B&H HoR is supposed to discuss this issue at the session scheduled for Thursday, when a vote will take place on whether the leadership of B&H Ministry of Defense has violated the law on service in B&H AF and neglected the binding decision of the Constitutional Court (CC) of B&H declaring 9 January as the RS Day unconstitutional. It is clear that the opposition’s initiative will not get support from the RS parties in B&H HoR. Commenting on this issue, NDP-PDP MP in B&H HoR Momcilo Novakovic said that the RS parties advocate the stance that there was no abuse of B&H AF and that Serb member of B&H Presidency used B&H AF in line with B&H Constitution and laws.

HDZ B&H will also not support the request for removal of Pendes and her deputies given their common practice to reject all proposals of the opposition if they are not previously agreed with parties that make the ruling majority. Head of HDZ B&H Caucus in B&H HoR Nikola Lovrinovic told FTV that the Caucus will not support such request.

SDA MP in B&H HoR Hazim Rancic said that SDA will decide on request for removal of Pendes and her deputies right before the session on Thursday, noting that SDA will take in to account the stances of the coalition partners and functioning of all state-level institutions. The reporter concluded that lack of support from HDZ B&H and political parties from the RS for the opposition’s initiative clearly indicates that this will be another unsuccessful attempt to reshuffle B&H CoM.

 

Dodik, Stevandic criticize Grabar-Kitarovic’s on constitutional changes in B&H (RTRS)

 

Commenting on the statement of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who said at the conference dedicated to Croats in B&H in Neum that Croatia will act strongly towards the international community with goal to create ‘Dayton 2’. “We will conduct strong diplomatic activity towards the international community with goal to upgrade the Dayton Peace Agreement, ensure stability of B&H and the region and prevent external influences”, underscored Grabar-Kitarovic. RS President Milorad Dodik underlined that B&H Constitution can be changed only if two entities and three constituent peoples reach agreement about it. Deputy Speaker of the RS Assembly Nenad Stevandic stated that possible changes of B&H Constitutions cannot include any changes related to territory of the RS. “If they really want to upgrade the Dayton, they should upgrade part of it related to relations between Bosniaks and Croats in the Federation of B&H, i.e. constitutionality in cantons, election rights etc. They can upgrade this part and we will not oppose it,” said Stevandic, adding that there cannot be any changes related to political, constituent and legal capacity of the RS.

 

US Department of State declares B&H high-level threat country (N1)

 

US Department of State recently declared B&H a country of high-level threat for the US and its interests. In their report, Department of State said that B&H is a country with significant problems with crime, traffic safety, terrorist threats and violence, and warned visitors to B&H about limited police and medical protection. When it comes to crimes, the report reads that pick-pocketing and vehicle break-ins are quite dominant crimes, which mainly occur at touristic places and public transportation in Sarajevo and other cities. The report also reads that B&H was blacklisted for laundering drug trafficking money, and the local financial institutions are vulnerable to money laundering. Professor Goran Kovacevic said such report will not bring healthy capital in B&H, but only shady and criminal one. In regards with tourism, he noted that US citizens respect decisions by the Department of State, which could be a problem for B&H. The report also warns on religious and ethnic violence in B&H, issues caused by floods and critical infrastructure. However, the report emphasizes that US tourists should not be concerned about organized and violent crimes, because such cases are rare. The tourists are being warned about presence of minefields, and reminded that several terrorist acts occurred in B&H.

 

Bosnian Muslim leader accuses Croatian president of stigmatizing Bosnian Muslims (Hina)

 

The head of the Islamic community in B&H Husein Kavazovic rejected as unacceptable statements by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic in which she warns of the danger of the radicalization of Bosniaks and accused her of encouraging intolerance and prejudice toward Muslims in that country. Grabar-Kitarovic said at the Neum conference that “crawling” modifications of the Dayton Accords and decisions of the High Representatives of the International Community "jeopardized the constituent status and equality of Croatians in B&H.”

“Bosniaks twice elected the Croatian representative in the Presidency of B&H... B&H is exposed to new threats, especially of international terrorism and the imminent migrant crisis. The number of extremist communities is on the increase. In Republika Srpska (RS), there is almost no return of displaced persons and refugees, and in the Federation of B&H, Croatians are constantly outvoted,” she said.

Kavazovic said that he had not reacted to such statements until now because Islam teaches that tolerance is a human virtue and with the desire to contribute to defusing tensions and building trust between the peoples and countries in the region, even though those statements could be understood as the labeling of one entire nation and one religious community. Kavazovic asked whether the Croatian president with her statements wishes to exert pressure to weaken the political position of Bosniaks so that they agree to some political concessions to the Croats in B&H, which he said would not happen.

 

Coordinating Committee of Jewish Communities won’t attend Jasenovac commemoration (Hina)

 

Representatives of the Jewish community in Croatia this year again will not attend the April 22 official commemoration at Jasenovac, the site of a WWII concentration camp, as the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Communities in Croatia has decided to boycott it too. The Coordinating Committee will hold its own commemoration there two days later on the occasion of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, committee chairman Ognjen Kraus told Hina.

The Jewish Community Bet Israel of Croatia earlier decided not to attend the official commemoration at Jasenovac in protest at the government's failure to take action against the tolerating of the Ustasha ideology. "Such playing with a period in Croatia's history directly affects the atmosphere in society where Ustasha crimes are downplayed at all levels, while xenophobia and anti-Semitism are spreading," Bet Israel said on Thursday.

The SABA antifascist alliance will decide whether to attend the official commemoration on Tuesday. The Serb National Council (SNV) has not decided yet whether it will attend. Representatives of the Jewish community, the SNV and antifascist organizations did not attend last year's official commemoration at Jasenovac, claiming that the Ustasha ideology was being revived in society.

From August 1941 to 22 April 1945, Jasenovac was a death camp where men, women and children were killed because of their religion, ethnicity or ideology. The list of its victims contains the names and other information on 83,145 people - 39,570 men, 23,474 women and 20,101 children under the age of 14. The most numerous victims of the camp were Serbs, Roma, Jews and Croats.

 

Agramunt: Parliament boycott – a big mistake (CDM)

 

Parliamentary elections in October last year were free and fair, organized in accordance with the high democratic standards and the Parliament boycott is a big mistake, said president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Pedro Agramunt at a meeting with Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic. “The fact that the parties that were defeated in the elections do not to participate in the Parliament work causes concerns. Democracy implies solving of problems in the parliament, not on the street,” Agramunt said. He added that Montenegro was a source of stability playing an active role in regional cooperation which was very important for the Council of Europe. Markovic said that the government and he personally were committed to addressing this challenge and that an active political dialogue was the best way to do that. He pointed out that Montenegro had the capacity to respond to internal political challenges, while preserving the stability of the political system. He added that the government was focused on reducing the public debt and deficit, while maintaining development opportunities. The PM affirmed strengthening regional cooperation and pointed out the importance of using opportunities for improving the infrastructure through initiatives such as the Berlin process. The officials agreed that the migration issue must be addressed by all the countries of Europe together. Agramunt called in mind that through history the dominance of populism resulted in millions of victims and that it should not be forgotten.

 

Opposition not pleased with Brussels (Pobjeda)

 

Attitude of European Parliament about the boycott in Montenegrin Parliament was to be expected, it was stated from URA, while DF said that the excellent results of boycott are more important than Brussels suggestions. “EP should stop pressuring the opposition to return to the Parliament. It would be more useful if they suggested to DPS to accept dialogue on conditions of new elections,” Nedjeljko Rudovic from URA said to Pobjeda daily. “European Union institutions are still refraining from distancing from DPS. Their reasons could have something to do with global positioning of EU and interests of its leading members in Balkans,” he said. He added that while they got involved in Macedonia, in Montenegro they are behaving in the opposite manner. Jovan Vucurovic from DF said that the time would show “why certain individuals from Brussels administration support the criminal regime of Milo Djukanovic”. He said that boycott of the Parliament and Niksic elections has been giving great results. “That is more important than suggestions that come from Brussels, that disregard good of the opposition”, Vucurovic said.

 

Montenegrin NATO accession protocol blocked (Pobjeda)

 

Montenegrin NATO accession protocol is now in the regular procedure in the US Senate. This happened after republican Senator Rand Paul blocked the Senate vote on protocol ratification on Wednesday, thus preventing the ratification to be unanimous and adopted without discussion. Former minister of foreign affairs and the first Montenegrin ambassador to the USA Miodrag Vlahovic told Pobjeda it was now up to the leader of the Senate majority, Senator Mitch McConnell, to include the discussion on Montenegrin protocol on the Senate’s agenda, as soon as next week. Pobjeda’s Washington-based source agrees with him and says that McConnell is the only one who has the right to put the accession protocol on the agenda of the Senate without prior consent from other senators. Thus, the majority leader in the Senate can do it directly and the adoption would then take the votes of a two-third Senate majority. Vlahovic believes that “the statements of senators McCain, Cardin and Shaheen confirmed that there was almost absolute support for Montenegrin accession, and that there is a deep and detailed understanding of the Montenegro’s position and the importance of the enlargement, development and strengthening of NATO had for the United States in the context of relations in Europe and, in particular, to Russia”. He points out that there is absolute support to the new administration to Montenegro’s membership in the alliance. “It is not up to me to reveal the details, but both the State Department and the Pentagon, through the activities of their heads Tillerson and Mattis, confirmed the full commitment and interest of the US government that Montenegro becomes a member of NATO,” said Vlahovic.

The United States will not wait until 25 May and NATO summit to adopt the protocol on accession to the alliance, foreign minister Srdjan Darmanovic said. Darmanovic is convinced that there is no reason for concern. “Senator McCain, one of many in the Senate who support our membership in NATO, drove out the whole thing into the open. We already know that there were two senators, and now there is one senator who is not willing to end the issue in a swift procedure. It is a procedure in which there is no debate on an issue if there is an absolute consensus about it, but unanimous support is noted instead. It is not easy to get the unanimous support in any democracy. Out of 100 senators, it is expected that somebody disagrees. In this case, it is Senator Paul. I think he does not have a problem with Montenegro’s membership, but with his concept on organization of NATO and the role of America,” explains Darmanovic.

 

McCain: We will not stop until Protocol is ratified (RTCG)

 

US Senator John McCain vowed to Montenegrin people that he and many senators will not stop until it the Protocol on the Accession of Montenegro to NATO is ratified. "I know I speak on behalf of more than 90 US senators. Our message to brave Montenegrin people, who fought against the coup that would overthrew their government, who respects freedom and the Alliance is - we will not stop until we ratify your accession to the North Atlantic organization. I promise Montenegrin people that I, senators Shaheen and Cardin and many others we will not stop until there resolution is adopted and until we are able to strengthen not only Montenegro and NATO, but also the region," McCain said.

 

Gruevski announces political document “Platform for the preservation of Macedonia” (Meta)

 

VMRO-DPMNE are preparing a political document, where they will offer a way out of the political crisis, announced the leader of the party, Nikola Gruevski told Kanal 5. Gruevski announced that in the next few days, he expects the document to be finalized and he will offer it to the larger political parties as solution and way out of the political crisis. “We are preparing a document for the preservation of Macedonia, it is a political document that offers a way out of the crisis. Through its acceptance, we can get out of this crisis, and at the same time not disrupt the unity of the country. The document, over the next week will be offered to all political parties and we expect them to accept it as a way out of the political crisis, said Gruevski. The document, said Gruevski, was once considered by the Executive Committee of the party who gave suggestions, and during the upcoming week should be finalised by the working group and be submitted to political parties. Regarding the visit by the European Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Tuesday, Gruevski reiterated the three demands previously announced MP Aleksandar Nikolovski. Gruevski said that the ultimate goal of the implementation of the platform of the Albanian parties is to change the constitutional name of Macedonia, Greece’s goal and the federalization of the country. “It’s a plan that only the people can stop. In a situation when VMRO-DPMNE does not have the majority in parliament, we are left alone to defend the country, the people will have to defend the country. The country may disappear if the public leave this man (Zoran Zaev) to go through with his plan,” Gruevski said in the interview.

 

Coordination meeting on resuming parliament’s constitutive session scheduled for Tuesday (MIA)

 

A coordination meeting on resuming the parliament's constitutive session is scheduled for Thursday, the session's chair, Trajko Veljanoski, said Friday in a press release. Following the consultations with authorized officials of the political parties represented in the parliament, Trajkovski scheduled a coordination meeting for next Tuesday (21 March 2017) at 12.00h. The coordination meeting should adopt a proposal for the make-up of the Committee on Election and Appointment Affairs, which is a prerequisite for scheduling the resumption of the parliament's constitutive session, Veljanoski said. SDSM filed an initiative for resumption of the parliament's constitutive session, supported by the signatures by 67 MPs. The parliament's constitutive session was held on 30 December 2016, but was interrupted because a parliamentary majority required for the election of a Speaker was not secured.

 

Officials of ‘For United Macedonia’ initiative request meeting with Commissioner Hahn (MIA)

 

Ahead of a visit to Macedonia of the EU Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, representatives of the civic initiative "For United Macedonia" said they would request a sit-down with the EU official to present the initiative's demands. "We are a reality, no one should and no one must not ignore the 200,000 citizens who are protesting daily. Unfortunately, the EU so far has been ignoring us, as well as the citizens of Macedonia. We will denounce any government that will abide by a platform drafted outside Macedonia under the auspices of foreign prime ministers," Igor Durlovski, member of the civil imitative, said Sunday speaking to members of the media outside the offices of the EU delegation in Skopje. "For United Macedonia" has been organizing protests across the country for more than two weeks as a show of support for the unitary character of Macedonia. "We ask Mr Hahn to meet with us in order to present to him our objectives and demands. If they are ignored, it could trigger further risks. If the EU advocates for respect of the civil society, then it should take concrete action. For starters, they can arrange a meeting with us. Hahn's disregard would be considered an insincere treatment and a show of unfortunate intentions of the EU towards the Republic of Macedonia," Durlovski stated.

 

VMRO-DPMNE wants Hahn on Tuesday to condemn the platform and to consider the protests (Meta)

 

VMRO-DPMNE will put forward three requests to the European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn during his visit on Tuesday. This was announced by MP from VMRO-DPMNE, Aleksandar Nikoloski as a guest on the daily news journal on “Sitel” television. “Firstly, we expect him to clearly condemn the Tirana platform and condemned the interference of foreign countries in the internal affairs of the country. Albania, like Macedonia is a candidate country for EU membership and we expect the behavior of the Albanian Prime Minister to be judged by the necessary authorities, and that is the Commisisioner for Enlargement “, said Nikoloski. The second thing that VMRO-DPMNE expects from the Commissioner and the European Union, is to keep to its principles and requirements. “His predecessor, Olli Rehn, in 2007, asked that the rule during the formation of government be respected, which means the winner from the Macedonian parties, always enters into coalition with the winner from the Albanian block. We are asking for this rule to be respected now and in the future. Rules which are required by the EU should not be broken”, said Nikoloski. The third thing they expect from the Commissioner is “his respect for the 200,000 people who are every day out there in all the cities in Macedonia who have their own stance.” “And perhaps most important, is to unblock EU integration processes. For this reason, I find it very helpful that Commissioner Hahn is coming to Skopje, he wastes his time and wants to help. But it would be much better for Macedonia and for himself, if he wasted the same amount of energy and time in Athens, because the blockade of the EU integration process comes from there,” said Nikoloski.

 

Nimetz says he’s concerned for Macedonia's security and stability (MIA)

 

Matthew Nimetz, the United Nations appointed envoy in the Macedonian name issue, said that the country is put in a situation of high risk and danger that can affect its stability and security. Speaking with the "Voice of the People" program on Radio Free Macedonia, Nimetz said that he hopes the situation can be resolved in a peaceful and democratic way, according to the Macedonian constitution. The Ambassador, who has led a quixotic decade’s long effort to resolve the name issue with Greece, said that he would not comment in more detail, given his role. But, he did reiterate the concern for Macedonia following the more than two years long political crisis. Nimetz is appointed by the UN Secretary General to work with Macedonia and Greece on resolving the dispute over Macedonia's name, which Greece has used as pretext to block its NATO and European Union enlargement. Talks have been on hold for a long time, considering the political tensions in Macedonia.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Member of European Parl't Accuses Russia of Destabilizing Situation in Serbia (Sputnik, 20 March 2017)

 

MOSCOW – Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on foreign Affairs David McAllister accused Russia in an interview with Die Welt media outlet of trying to expand its influence and destabilize situation in Serbia. He pointed out that Russia was considered in Serbia as the main supporter of the country, adding that the European Union should make its engagement in the Serbian politics more noticeable. "Moscow tries to exert massive influence on media, some politicians as well as civil society in Serbia. Russia is conducting a deliberate policy of destabilization in Serbia. That is a reason for great concern," McAllister said. "The Balkans are a very unstable region where in a short period of time irresponsive actions may result in escalation of conflicts, which have been thought to be resolved for a long time," McAllister added.

 

Six Bosnian Croats to appeal UN war crimes convictions (AFP, by Sophie Mignon, 20 March 2017)

 

UN war crimes judges on Monday open the appeal hearings for former Bosnian Croat leader Jadranko Prlic and five others in one of the court's "largest and most complicated cases."

Prlic was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2013 to over two decades in jail on charges of murdering and deporting Muslims during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. Five other Bosnian Croat military and political leaders were also handed heavy prison terms by the tribunal based in The Hague after being found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. All six are now appealing against the convictions rendered for their roles in the conflict which was part of the greater Balkans wars that broke out in the 1990s amid the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The Bosnian war left 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million were displaced. Judges at sentencing said Prlic, now 57, "made a significant contribution to a joint criminal enterprise and to a criminal purpose to drive out the Muslim population," from Bosnia in a bid to create a "greater Croatian state." Prlic was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, while his five accomplices were handed between 20 and 10 years in prison. A former president and later also prime minister of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Croat state of Herceg-Bosna, Prlic has been on trial before the Hague-based ICTY since 2006. His co-defendants are his former defence minister Bruno Stojic, and four senior military officials: Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petkovic, Valentin Coric, and Berislav Pusic. "The Prlic et al. trial was one of the tribunal's largest and most complicated," the ICTY said in a statement, adding a total of 326 witnesses had appeared during the course of the case. At the end, the ICTY's judges ruled the six defendants removed Muslims and other non-Croats by force, intimidation and terror "by conducting mass arrests of Bosnian Muslims who were then either murdered, beaten, sexually assaulted, robbed of their property and otherwise abused". It included the nine-month siege of the southern city of Mostar from June 1993 by Bosnian Croat troops, which saw the destruction of its historical four-century-old bridge, an act which the court said caused "disproportionate damage for the Muslim civilian population of Mostar." "Muslims were woken up in the middle of the night, beaten and forced to leave their apartments, often still in their pyjamas," presiding judge Jean-Claude Antonetti said at sentencing in 2013. Bosnian Croats and Muslims were allies against Bosnian Serbs during most of the country's 1992-1995 war. However, they also fought against each other for 17 months in 1993 and 1994 in southern and central Bosnia. As early as December 1991, Croatia's late ultra-nationalist president Franjo Tudjman and other Croat leaders realised that "in order to achieve the ultimate goal of a Croatian territory it was necessary to modify its ethnic composition," said Antonetti in the 2013 ruling. The self-proclaimed Croatian entity of Herceg-Bosna was proclaimed in August 1993, but dissolved in 1995 just before the Dayton peace accords. The territory was integrated with the Bosnian Serb entity Republika Srpska into Bosnia-Hercegovina. A verdict in the appeal is due in November 2017, in what will be one of the ICTY's last judgements as it winds down more than 20 years after it opened. Sentence is also due to be passed around the same time in the case of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic.

 

EU’s Own Credibility is at Stake in Macedonia (BIRN, by Toby Vogel, 20 March 2017)

 

In its approach to Macedonia, and the Balkans, the EU has neglected democratisation in the name of stability - and has so betrayed its own values and empowered local autocrats.

As an institution, the EU has had difficulty in acknowledging the systemic sources of political behavior in the Balkans and adjusting its responses accordingly. [Individual officials, especially those on the ground, tend to understand the situation a little better.]

These are countries with weak or non-existent accountability mechanisms: they lack the institutional checks and balances, strong parties or the vigilant civil societies and media that make up textbook liberal democracies. Their politics are zero-sum and sometimes existential: one reason why former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is clinging to power is his conviction – probably correct – that losing power would mean going to jail. Forced into a choice between power or obtaining a symbolic reward from Brussels, he will unsurprisingly choose power and survival over foreign acclaim. Balkan leaders are not irrational; they respond to an institutionally entrenched political culture. In Macedonia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this political culture was reinforced by post-conflict settlements at Ohrid and Dayton with their in-built clientelism. The EU’s enlargement policy has failed to change this basic equation. The most inward-looking European Commission in recent times has further degraded enlargement as a tool for political transformation, signaling that membership is a long way off for the current candidate countries and putting a man in charge whose priority seems to be to do as little as possible.

The EU has pursued an agenda of stability rather than of democratisation in the region. Instead of pushing for a transformation of political culture, it has cultivated incumbent elites. Like them, it is terrified of the sort of “people power” [or at least raw anger] that was evident in Macedonia after the wiretapping scandal broke, or in Bosnia in the spring of 2014.

For a moment, in summer 2015, it looked as if the European Commission might drop its customary reticence and take a more political approach to one of the countries seeking to join the European Union – in this case, Macedonia.

A panel headed by Reinhard Priebe, a former Commission official, outlined measures that Gruevski’s centre-right government would have to take to restore confidence and strengthen accountability following the wiretapping scandal and an apparent systemic abuse of power.

The Priebe report, which was unusually blunt in its analysis and prescriptive in its recommendations, was made public – another unusual step for the Commission, which generally prefers to resolve problems in candidate countries behind closed doors. In the following months, the crisis in Macedonia deepened. EU-led mediation between the government and the opposition resulted in a deal on early elections and a parallel process of investigating the wiretapping claims and other accusations of abuse of power.

However, the elections in December 2016 were inconclusive: Gruevski’s party held on to a wafer-thin lead over the opposition Social Democrats but lacked the numbers to form a government on its own. It subsequently proved unable to build a new coalition with ethnic Albanian parties. But when the Social Democrats struck a deal with two ethnic Albanian parties that would have given them a majority in parliament, the President, a Gruevski ally, blocked it.

At that point, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, stepped in, calling on the President to allow the new coalition to take power. In early March, she said in Skopje that the President’s action broke “the spirit of democracy” and was “inconsistent with basic democratic principles” and “the Euro-Atlantic integration process.” She continued: “I asked the President to reflect on the way forward, to reverse his decision in the interest of all citizens of this country.”

These were clear, strong words. Yet, at the time of writing, Gruevski and his associates are still holding firm. Is this proof that “conditionality doesn’t work,” as a senior former Commission official involved in enlargement negotiations put it? Does the EU, as another Commission official suggested, really have “very limited influence over events” in its neighborhood?

In Macedonia’s case, there was another reason why the EU was reluctant to rock the boat, and why the two episodes – the Priebe report and Mogherini’s strong plea to the President – remained isolated moments of clear-headedness.

In 2015-16, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants used Macedonia as an escape route from Greece and a corridor to Western Europe. Stopping new arrivals became the overriding goal for policymakers in Brussels, Berlin, and elsewhere. The EU’s goal of closing the “Balkan route” and of deterring refugees from trying to reach Greece now overrode all other concerns. Macedonia was a critical building block of that policy, although the damage that this policy was doing was most visible in relations with Turkey. Led by Germany, the EU traded its principles for short-term relief; it cultivated an increasingly authoritarian leader – President Erdogan of Turkey – and in effect campaigned for his party in the general election of November 2015, for example by delaying the release of the Commission’s annual progress report for candidate countries.

Something similar was happening in Macedonia. In a display of contempt for any unified EU position countering Gruevski’s abuses, Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Foreign Minister, campaigned for Gruevski in the run-up to the December 2016 election. At the same time, the intervention of specific member states – primarily Germany, the UK and the Netherlands - and the US, was required to hold the Gruevski government to its commitments under the deal with the opposition.

At critical moments throughout Macedonia’s crisis, it was bilateral pressure and crisis diplomacy from these countries that kept the process moving, even though the EU was nominally in the lead in mediating between the government and the opposition. This was a direct result of the EU’s diminished credibility and its pursuit of stability above all else. Standing up to strongmen of the Gruevski type does not come easily to the EU.

The EU could yet regain some of its diminished authority, however, if it builds on the Priebe report and on Mogherini’s comments. It should make it clear that the Macedonian President must allow any coalition with a parliamentary majority to form a government. It must insist that the various elements of the Priebe report and of the deal between ruling party and opposition be implemented in full, and that those charged with abuse of power should be prosecuted.

But the EU will only be credible if it is prepared to go public with such messages and openly challenge those in power – in Macedonia and beyond. Preaching will not be sufficient: the EU must also reaffirm its commitment to fundamental values by sanctioning member states that are backsliding on democratic reform, above all Hungary and Poland, and those that have prevented refugees from seeking the protection to which they are entitled.

At a time when US foreign policy has become erratic and the Balkans have completely dropped off the radar, it is vital that the EU and the US remain united in their approach. The US has tended to take a slightly more muscular approach, for example by freezing the assets of Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader. The fact that the EU has been reluctant to follow that lead has further signaled that it is not to be taken seriously. EU foreign ministers should consider sanctions against any politician in Macedonia who is trying to undermine the deal agreed between the government and the opposition.

In an EU that now views its neighborhood as an unwelcome distraction, the Priebe report and the Mogherini statement were an exception, not the rule. They reflected a sense of panic in Brussels, not a new strategy for dealing with the Western Balkans. The EU keeps insisting that there are no fires in need of putting out in the Balkans - yet its main mode of engagement is fire-fighting. As long as this does not change, the EU will find it difficult to have a truly transformative effect on the region.

Toby Vogel writes about foreign affairs from Brussels.

The opinions expressed in the Comment section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.