LOCAL PRESS

 

Defense and culture ministers could be sacked (Politika)

Any possible changes in the Serbian government will not be decided about via the media, a Belgrade daily has learned from PM Ana Brnabic's cabinet.

"The Prime Minister is listening very carefully and following the comments made in the public. But she will not make decisions under pressure," Politika was told.

According to the newspaper, "unofficial announcements" mention Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Culture Minister Vladan Vukosavljevic as two members of the cabinet that could be replaced in January.  Vukosavljevic was also mentioned in this context several months ago, the article continued, when "a part of the media" reported - "a they do now" - that his performance has been "lackluster."  As for Vulin, he is in the spotlight after the website KRIK said that he could not prove the origin of the money that he used five years ago to buy an apartment in Belgrade.

Vulin said that the EUR 200,000 was borrowed from his wife's aunt who lives in Canada, while KRIK said that his income does not cover the value of the apartment, and that there has been no record about the amount mentioned being brought into the country.

As they said, the Anti-Corruption Agency reported Vulin to the prosecution on suspicion that he had committed a crime, while the prosecution suspended the procedure two years later.

"The agency kept the report secret. Only after a complaint submitted to Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic and his intervention, it came to the hands of KRIK journalists and now of the public," KRIK wrote, adding that the prosecution had kept the case "in the drawer" for two years because "the police ignored their requests."

In early July the Organized Crime Prosecution closed the case and announced there was no evidence that Vulin had committed any crime covered by their jurisdiction. The case was transferred to the First Basic Prosecution, that was checking only whether Vulin had reported his property to the Agency.

 

Stefanovic: Huge diplomatic effort to prevent Kosovo's entry into Interpol (RTS)

Nebojsa Stefanovic, said that the huge diplomatic activity that Serbia took did not only last for several days, but that it took several months because it was known that Pristina would try to enter the Interpol. The Minister of the Police emphasizes that it is extremely important to explain to people what would the participation of Pristina in Ineterpol mean, as there are different interpretations in Serbia.  He reiterated that Serbia took over huge diplomatic activity on its own, and spoke with all partner countries and pointed out the huge support of China and Russia.

"They (Pristina) saw that there was not enough support, and they gave up the candidacy, and Serbia recorded a good diplomatic victory," the minister said.

He explained that the General Assembly of the Interpol in Beijing is very important because it has adopted a Resolution on clear criteria that define who can become a member of that organization. "First of all, it must be a country that is a member of the United Nations," Stefanovic added. He pointed out that Palestine, which became a member this year, is a observer in the UN, and that Kosovo is far from it.

When it comes to Pristina's application for UN membership, Stefanovic says that Serbia is making efforts to explain to its partners how wrong it is.

"I know that our state has made efforts to explain to our partners how wrong it is. If you have a responsible policy towards the negotiations in Brussels, then you must stop with constant pressure on Serbia." It's impossible to say "let's make a deal". If we would allow Kosovo to enter all international organizations, then we have nothing to negotiate, "the minister said.

 

Asked when the Belgrade elections will take place, Stefanovic said it is possible that they will be held in December, but does not exclude the possibility that they might be held later.

When it comes to the SNS candidate for the Mayor of Belgrade, Stefanovic says that they have not yet decided on the name, because they wanted to offer the citizens a program first.

"The law stipulates that you have to have a list, and there will be a candidate for the mayor. This will be a serious team of people," Stefanovic said.

Commenting the alleged government reconstruction and the new elections, the minister says he knows exactly from which circles that information comes from.

"I see now the court rulings that are being issued, some kind of tycoon synergy that is coming back." "I will not comment on the Miskovic judgment, let's wait for the court to make a decision." Citizens of Serbia will not allow the return of tycoons, because nothing good happened for Serbia, only for tycoons, "Stefanovic concluded.

 

Jankovic: Cooperation with Jeremic Certain, DS is not an enemy (N1)

Movement of Free Citizens (PSG) would certainly have cooperation with Vuk Jeremic and the party he planned to form and we would see whether this would happen before or after the local elections in Belgrade, the leader of PSG Sasa Jankovic said on Thursday in an interview for TV N1.

Jankovic said that he and Jeremic did not have a great level of political consent regarding their programs, but they perceived politics in a similar way in terms of fair means of political battle.

“We will join forces to remove the unbearable authorities in Belgrade”, he said. Jankovic explained that “not all cooperation has been stopped” with Democratic Party (DS). “We said that we would stop plans about pre-election cooperation. Anyone can make corrections, even DS. I have many friends and associates in the current DS; this is a place where quality people are gathered. DS is not an enemy, quite the opposite”, Jankovic said.

He emphasized that political cooperation was not possible with right-winged movement Dveri and said that their invitation to boycott the elections was always “the easiest option”, but the goal would be to elect the authorities.

“We must fight to improve conditions and if we see that this is meaningless, we can always decide to boycott. I do not claim we will go to the elections a priori”, Jankovic explained.

 

Jankovic confirmed that he contacted former Belgrade Mayor and former leader of DS Dragan Djilas and added that a cooperation with him was possible for the upcoming Belgrade elections should he decide to come back to politics.

“Djilas is one of more acceptable candidates for the Mayor for PSG. While he was Mayor, we had a serious conflict regarding relocation of Roma while I was ombudsman, however, he accepted the standards and we had a good cooperation regarding this issue. Djilas does not have to give his trust to PSG, but silence is not an honorable option for anyone anymore”, Jankovic said.

While replying to the question on speculation that Belgrade elections could be held in December, he emphasized that it was “not normal when we do not know when the elections will happen, because they are not organized in legal deadlines in Serbia anymore”.

“The announcement means nothing; it is quite the opposite as a rule. Aleksandar Vucic said five times that he would not be a candidate for President, and he was in the end. We do not know when the elections will happen, but both Government and opposition agreed on one thing – the sooner the better”, Jankovic said.

A name for candidate for Belgrade Mayor was not a main topic at the moment for Jankovic, but the focus should be the issue how to secure fair conditions for the elections.

He believed that the most important thing was to secure no losing a single vote of citizens who wanted to vote freely and honestly and prevent a mass election fraud.

“We will not manage to prevent every fraud, but we must prevent mass of them. And the third thing is, once we are in power, we should not be a lesser evil – we must secure that people who are in power do that in a way that is the reason why we have started dealing with politics”, Jankovic said. He announced that the first serious rally regarding mass election fraud would be organized on October 6.

“We will call all people who want to elect and want to be elected in a fair and honest way to show that Serbia should elect and Government should not elect itself”, Jankovic said.

 

Jeremic founds People’s Party (Blic)

Former candidate for Serbian President Vuk Jeremic would found People’s Party and the founding assembly would be held on October 22, Blic daily reported.

As it was stated in Jeremic’s team for the daily, there was no need for gathering signatures of citizens, because the new party would be form through renewed registration of People’s Movement of Serbia. In order to avoid machinations such as false signatures or possible stealing of the name of the party, which happened to some lately, we have decided to renew registration of People’s Movement of Serbia, founded by Miroslav Aleksic, the sources of Blic daily stated.

A request for change of name of the movement was submitted to Ministry of State Administration, necessary permits arrived, all documents were filed and People’s Party was put into the Political Parties Registry several days ago.

At the founding assembly in October a new statute and program of the party would be presented and party institutions would be selected.

Blic daily stated that among those who would be a part of the party leadership, there were many well-known names, among which were the film director Sinisa Kovacevic, attorney Borivoje Borovic, writer Vladimir Kecmanovic and swimmer Milorad Cavic.

 

Group of media start campaign for Media Freedom (VIP)

Group for media freedom started on Thursday at noon the campaign “STOP to Media Darkness”, which was supported by over 160 media, journalists’ and media associations, nongovernmental organizations as well as several hundred individuals, agencies reported.

Media that supported the campaign have stopped TV or radio program for certain period of time and they dimmed websites, broadcasting messages of the campaign STOP to Media Darkness.

Screens were not darkened at the televisions with national frequencies and the majority of Belgrade dailies failed to publish messages of the campaign with a black band. Among newspapers published in Belgrade, the campaign was joined by the daily Danas that in Thursday’s issue published texts of the shutdown newspaper Vranjske, daily Kurir, weeklies Vreme and Novi Magazin as well as many portals and nongovernmental organizations such as the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Center for Investigative Reporting of Serbia (CINS), Foundation Slavko Curuvija, Juzne vesti, Transparency Serbia, Crte.

The campaign was also supported by citizens, who posted photos and videos with the campaign messages on their profiles.

Direct cause of this campaign is shutting down of Vranjske, one of the most important local media outlets in Serbia due to constant political and economic pressures that it could not resist anymore, the statement reads. The group points out they want to draw attention of the public by this initiative and campaign to the fact that the media freedom in Serbia is on deathbed.

 

Dacic in Moscow on September 29 (Beta)

The Serbian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, will meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, in Moscow on Sept. 29, the Serbian Foreign Ministry has announced. Rogozin and Dacic are the co-chairmen of the intergovernmental Russian-Serbian committee on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation. A Serbian delegation is also going to Moscow with Dacic.

 

EP MP Andor Deli: Strategy for Serbia's accession should be a clear – cut political act (Beta)

European Parliament MP Andor Deli said in Belgrade on Sept. 28 that the European Commission's strategy regarding the possible admission of Serbia to the EU in 2025 needed to be a political act with a clear view of what Serbia and the Union needed to do, and not just "a technocratic paper."

After European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker's statement that Serbia and Montenegro could join the EU in 2025, Deli said that the statement was in some way a response to the dissatisfaction of the Western Balkan countries with Brussels' attitude.

Juncker's statement was late, but better late than never. The statement served as a form of fire extinguisher because there is dissatisfaction in the countries of the Western Balkans with the Union's attitude, Deli said, adding that the demands of Balkan states stating that they could not be the only ones to do the work and that the EU needed to do something "are entirely legitimate."

Deli, a member of the EP delegation for relations with Serbia, said that the most important moment in the coming period was the adoption of a Strategy for the Successful Accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU by 2025, which was announced for February.

What will be in that document is very important – will it will be a technocratic paper which will once again list the chapters and things that we all know by heart, or a political act with a clear vision - if these two countries do this and this, we will do that and that, within a definite time period, stressed Deli, who participated in a panel of the Center for European Policy on representing Serbia's interests in Brussels. He added that regardless of the fact that the Strategy would be written by the European Commission, the Serbian government should say what it expected and thought about the strategy.

 

REGIONAL PRESS

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

B&H HoP adopts declaration on Peljesac Bridge different than one adopted by B&H HoR (BHT1)

Delegates in the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) House of Peoples (HoP) discussed the issue of construction of the Peljesac Bridge on Thursday. Delegates conducted a long and heated discussion on this issue and two declarations on the matter were proposed for adoption. Ultimately, delegates in the B&H HoP adopted the Declaration on the Issue of the Peljesac Bridge, proposed by the Serb Caucus in the B&H HoP, which is significantly different from the declaration proposed by Croat delegates in the HoP.

Namely, in the Declaration proposed by the Serb Caucus there is no qualification according to which the House of Representatives (HoR) of B&H adopted the Declaration on the Peljesac Bridge in an unconstitutional way and contrary to the Rules of Procedure.

The adopted Declaration states that the Declaration adopted by the B&H HoR is declaration of the HoR and that delegates in the B&H HoP did not discuss that declaration and state their opinion about it. On the other hand, Declaration on the Peljesac Bridge proposed by Croat Caucus in the B&H HoP states that Declaration on the Peljesac Bridge adopted by the B&H HoR does not have constitutional nor procedural basis. Member of the Croat Caucus in the B&H HoP Ljilja Zovko (HDZ B&H) said that their declaration does not contest anything. Speaker of the B&H HoP Barisa Colak (HDZ B&H) said that he believes they have a right to refer to the Constitution of B&H, which is a supreme law in B&H. "If we continue to go in this direction, we will end up nowhere," Colak underlined. Member of the Croat Caucus in the B&H HoP Mario Karamatic (HSS) said that "Constitution of B&H has to be respected, whether that suits SDA or not." Member of the Bosniak Caucus in the B&H HoP Halid Genjac (SDA) said that it is inappropriate to have one House (B&H HoP) discussing the constitutionality of work of the other House (B&H HoR) and its procedural powers. "If there are objections to the HoR and the Declaration adopted by the HoR, there is a clearly defined procedure for the protection of constitutionality," Genjac stressed. Member of the Serb Caucus in the B&H HoP Sredoje Novic, who was proponent of the adopted Declaration, said that they feel the text of their declaration is acceptable.

 

European Commission: We expect B&H CoM’s report on what has been done with excise duties (Dnevni avaz)

The European Commission has warned Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) authorities that deadline for adoption of additional excise duties on fuel is end of September. The EC stated for the daily that this deadline was set by this institution and not some individuals.

“The European Commission expects from the Council of Ministers of B&H a detailed report on what has been done with adoption of changes to the law on excise duties. We remind that this is a condition that will enable transfer of EUR 46 million grant for transport sector. That amount is our gift for implementation of four infrastructural projects that were approved at the Trieste Summit”, the EC stated for the daily, refusing to comment the fact that deadline has already been missed and that procedure of amending the law has just started. The daily comments that there was no answer to the question if B&H will get more time or if the funds will be allocated to other countries of the region.

 

Izetbegovic: Lot depends on adoption of law on excise duties (FTV)

Bosniak member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency and leader of SDA Bakir Izetbegovic said that a lot depends on adoption of this law, including implementation of projects related to the Transport Community. Izetbegovic reminded that in case B&H fails to adopt this law, it will lose BAM millions worth grants and loans for implementation of infrastructural projects in B&H. He also stated that adoption of this law, i.e. increase of excises to fuel will not lead to increase of prices of other goods. “B&H will become a construction site and dozen thousands of young people will be employed”, stressed Izetbegovic, underlining that these infrastructural projects will stop trend of departure of young people from B&H. He went on saying that it is necessary to hear the opposition parties’ requests and proposals related to the abovementioned law.

Talking about recent statements of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik that the RS will adopt resolution on military neutrality, Izetbegovic underlined that B&H adopted documents related to aspirations of B&H to become a NATO country, adding that SNSD participated in creation and adoption of these documents. He stressed that changes of political will of some individuals are not important in this process. “One entity cannot be deciding on behalf of one country”, explained Izetbegovic. He went on saying that registering of prospective military property to state of B&H will be resumed. Bosniak member of B&H Presidency underlined that the situation is similar when it comes to the EU path of B&H, adding that despite the fact the RS authorities have been slowing down this process, certain progress was made. Asked to comment goals of RS President Dodik’s policy, Izetbegovic said that Dodik’s goal is to remain in power. “However, I believe that he is facing financial collapse”, explained Izetbegovic and reminded that the RS economy is underdeveloped.

 

Ramush Haradinaj calls on B&H to recognize independence of Kosovo (Klix)

Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj called on official Sarajevo to recognize independence of Kosovo. During the marking of ‘Day of Bosniaks’ in Kosovo Government, Haradinaj called on Kosovo Bosniaks to convey a message to official Sarajevo to undertake steps necessary for recognizing of Kosovo independence. He also suggested the start of recognizing of documents, so that citizens could freely move. Haradinaj underlined that Kosovo Bosniaks have good historic relations with Albanians, as well as other communities in Kosovo. Bosniaks have one ministerial post in Kosovo Government and three delegates in the Assembly.

 

Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Igor Crnadak, who labeled Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s call to B&H to recognize Kosovo “a missed statement”. Crnadak noted that B&H will not recognize Kosovo and that the Council of Ministers (CoM) of B&H will not discuss the issue by end of the current term. “B&H will not recognize Kosovo not because of position of Bosniaks and Croats, but because of position of representatives of the Republika Srpska (RS), and parties that are in power at level of B&H and parties that are opposition at level of B&H but in power in the RS. There is unity regarding this issue and there is no chance the situation will change”, said Crnadak.

 

Croatia

 

Draft of new Family Law withdrawn under fierce criticism (HRT)

A first draft of the new Family Law has been withdrawn in response to strong criticism following its release for public comment. The most controversial feature of the bill was that childless couples did not fit the definition of a "family".

The Ministry of Demographics, Family, Youth and Social Policy issued a statement this evening saying that the bill was being withdrawn for re-drafting.

The defining feature of a family unit under the draft is children. The bill confusingly defines a family as “mother, father, and their children, a mother or father with children, although they do not live together, and all relatives who live with them.” This drew fire from the public and opposition MPs who were quick to point out dozens of examples of what kind of family combinations would be excluded under this definition.

"Does this mean that someone whose child has died is no longer part of a family or a grandmother that is raising grandchild? European countries are increasingly trying to steer clear of defining the family unit because of the social changes that are happening," said SDP MP Nives Opacic.

"This takes us back a thousand years. This is a conservative revolution that continues to march forward," said SDP MP Domagoj Hajdukovic.

The People's Party, the HDZ's junior coalition partners, have rejected the bill saying it was not appropriate for the 21st century.

"We have no choice but to demand that the bill be sent back for re-drafting and that it be pulled from public comment," said Milorad Batinic of the People's Party.

Demographics and Family Minister Nada Murganic defended the controversial definition by saying it had been "drafted solely for the purpose of this law," and it should not be interpreted as an infringement on the rights of people to live their lives as they see fit.

Prime Minister Plenkovic was not happy with the controversy the draft has raised. He said that in the future, draft legislation would not be released for public comment until after it had passed through government procedure.

 

Montenegro

 

Opposition meeting starts: DF exclusion heightens tensions (CDM)

The leaders of the opposition parties have met to discuss possible further steps following last week’s meetings with representatives of the European Union and the United States.

The Democratic Montenegro hosted the meeting. The meeting was attended by the leaders of the Democrats Aleksa Becic, SDP Ranko Krivokapic, SNP Vladimir Jokovic, Demos Miodrag Lekic and URA Dritan Abazovic. Representatives of Democratic Front (DF) have not been invited, so it is the question whether this meeting will have necessary relevance without the strongest opposition party participating in it. One thing is certain – the meeting will further sharpen the tensions among the opposition parties.

The message of Movement for Changes (PzP) leader Nebojsa Medojevic to his opposition counterparts proves it. “He said that “that the US Embassy in Montenegro was trying to form the so called ‘B team’ consisting of the civic opposition in Montenegro. This team is supposed to support part of DPS led by Prime Minister Dusko Markovic in the future”.

Analyst Srdjan Vukadinovic told CDM that the so-called “civic opposition” had excluded DF from its activities long ago, adding that the political entity must be taken into account having in mind that it has the highest number of deputies in Parliament. He emphasizes that marginalization of DF is a mistake of “civic opposition”.

“To marginalize an entity which has the largest number of deputies in Parliament among the opposition parties is a big problem, no matter how sharp they criticize its actions. The one who is strongest must not be marginalized and isolated. If this is continued in every election, the biggest fight will be between DF and the rest of the opposition, and not between DPS and DF,” Vukadinovic said.

After the meeting the representatives of the civil opposition confirmed a common position - the boycott of Parliament until the fulfillment of well-known conditions of the opposition. This is clearly stated after the meeting of the leaders of the opposition parties, Democratic Montenegro Alekse Becic, Demos Miodrag Lekic, SDP Ranko Krivokapic, SNP Vladimir Jokovic and Dratan Abazovic URA.

“We have adopted a common position that there is no ending of the boycott of the parliament. Boycott has proved to be an effective mean of political pressure, "Becic said. He particularly emphasized the position of the Delegation of the European Union in Montenegro, which states that without the urgent adoption of OSCE recommendations through the amendment on the electoral laws, a ground for denying of the results of these elections could be created.

"This clearly points to the depth of the political crisis and the current lack of preconditions for holding of the elections in line with democratic standards. The consequence of this is the undoubted responsibility of the authorities to accept the aforementioned conditions of the opposition, which would create the basic preconditions for resolving the dramatic political crisis in Montenegro" said the leaders of the civil opposition.  By postponing the resolution of the political crisis, the government assumes full responsibility for the further deepening of the crisis and the uncertainty that is to come.

"Returning to Parliament, without accepting the terms of the opposition, would be an act that undermines the results of the boycott and provides assistance to the DPS, at the moment when the conditions for fulfilling opposition demands through the involvement of the international community in resolving the crisis is possible" they stressed.

 

fYROM

Hungarian PM Orban, former Slovenian president Jansa expect fair, democratic elections in Macedonia (MIA)

Opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski welcomed Thursday in Ohrid the Hungarian Prime Minister and Fidesz leader, Viktor Orban, as well as former Slovenian President, now leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Jansa.

After the meeting, Gruevski said he briefed the leaders of sister right-wing parties within the European People's Party, about the course of the pre-election campaign up to date, namely about the numerous irregularities and abuses perpetrated by the incumbent government, which already raise doubts about the fairness of upcoming election process.

As soon as VMRO-DPMNE published the list of candidates, criminal charges have been brought almost against all of them, Gruevski said.

'It means our rivals are aware of their electoral defeat. They are scared and panicked and use unfair means to save themselves,' Gruevski said.

Orban said he didn't intend to interfere in Macedonia's election process, expressing wish for the forthcoming poll to be fair.

However, he said that according to latest NATO reports, 60 million people from Africa are expected to use the so-called Balkan route on their way to Europe. Closing of this migrant route is vital for the entire Europe, Orban said.

Jansa voiced support for Macedonia's accession to the European Union, saying that the country made substantial progress to that effect under Gruevski's leadership.

 

MATTO: Full trade liberalization with Turkey and free-trade zone in Gevgelija (MIA)

Full trade liberalization between Macedonia and Turkey is the demand of the companies that are members of the Macedonian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce (MATTO). They believe that it will allow Turkish investments in the country to double, from $1.2 billion to $2 billion.

Also, exchange of goods could significantly rise, from $400 million to an estimated $1 billion.

In cooperation with one of the largest free-trade zones in Turkey, MATTO is mulling to open a free economic zone in Gevgelija, where both domestic and Turkish companies would invest under conditions applied equally, as it is being announced by the government.

"We are making efforts to open a free-trade zone that will be available for Turkish and Macedonian businessmen, MATTO President Ajdovan Ademovski told a news conference Thursday. He said Turkish companies were particularly interested in investing in energy, followed by the textile industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, fruit harvesting, food industry and tourism.

"If trade is liberalized, then we will witness a swift rise in investments in Macedonia and vice versa, Macedonian businesses will be able more easily to join the Turkish market of 80 million inhabitants," stated Ademovski.

Companies in Bursa, mainly from the automotive industry, want to invest in free-trade zones.

"Interest is also shown by Turkish companies in the energy sector, but they expect to examine the energy policy of the new government and its policy on support and development of investments," said Benjamin Kutlu, economic attaché in the Turkish embassy.

According to him, in addition the full trade liberalization, a new set of measures of the new government for support to investments will help a lot to boost trade between the countries.

Macedonia and Turkey signed a free trade agreement in 1999 under which customs duties for all industrial products had been revoked. Agricultural produces and food products are still subject to customs duties, although quotas have been introduced for some of them.

 

Albania

 

PM Rama reacts to OSCE/ODIHR Report on Albania’s general elections (ATA)

Answering to opposition claims on standard of the Parliamentary elections of June 25 in Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama highlighted during his speech delivered to the Parliament the OSCE/ODIHR Final Report which came out on Thursday.

 

PM Rama emphasized compliance between the electoral process and the local legislation with the OSCE commitments as well as with other international obligations and standards for democratic elections. The prime minister emphasized that the Report positively assesses the political agreement of May 18 between the ruling majority and the opposition. However, he didn’t deal long on the issue which he evaluated as the best thing that the Albanian opposition has done until now arguing that he currently notices an attempt by the opposition to make the issue more complex. Further on, the Prime Minister emphasized that part of the Report that appreciates “reduction of campaign costs, enhance campaign finance oversight, and increase sanctions for electoral offenses” thanks to the legal amendments made after the May 18 agreement.

The head of government said to the Parliament that, “The Report makes evident the fact that the amended legislation contributed to transparency and accountability of campaign financing, partially addressing some earlier OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe recommendations. Irrespective of delays in ballot counting, some polling stations did better with election administering and even better than every other time before. While complaints and appeals were closed within a short period of time. National minorities were generally afforded a fair opportunity to participate in the elections, both as candidates and voters, including in native languages”, the prime minister quoted the Report.

Likewise, the prime minister drew the attention to the fact that the OSCE/ODIHR Report reaches to opposite conclusions from those of the Albanian opposition. And he raised the question addressed to the Albanian opposition on whether even the OSCE/ODIHR mission has been corrupted, blind or intimidated by crime.

He also demanded from the Albanian opposition not to speak on behalf of the USA or the EU or claim that the opposition was forced to enter into elections.

 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

 

Selakovic “indifferent” over mayoral bid (IBNA)

Nikola Selakovic, secretary general in the cabinet of Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, has said that he was “indifferent” over media accounts that he would be the nominee for Belgrade mayor. And he would remain so, in his words, until ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) makes a “clear decision”. Selakovic underlined that the local elections in Belgrade have not been called yet and that SNS has not made a decision. “My position in that regard is indifferent until a clear decision from the SNS”, he said.

Earlier this week president Vucic, who is also SNS leader, announced that elections will be held in early December; he also confirmed that SNS would use his pictures in the campaign. Vucic and other SNS officials simultaneously attacked Dragan Djilas, who was mayor from 2012 to 2014. They claimed that Djilas will be the nominee of “tycoons” in the upcoming voting.

Djilas did not confirm that he would run with the support of some opposition groups.

Selakovic has tried to underestimate speculations on his alleged bid, recalling that earlier media have claimed that he was supposed to be the head of the intelligence service and minister for the EU. “It is not the first time, and it would not be the last time that we hear disinformation from the media”, he said. When asked if he was interested in becoming Belgrade’s mayor, he said that he was interested in politics. Selakovic was justice minister from 2012 to 2016.

 

War Crimes Documentation Centre Opens in Kosovo (BIRN)

The Humanitarian Law Centre has opened a war crimes documentation center in Pristina with information from five Kosovo-related trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo said it opened the new documentation center in Pristina so people can become better informed about crimes committed during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo.

“Even though we always hear people saying that they know what happened during the war, if you ask for more details, only few of them know the exact data,” Bekim Blakaj, the executive director of HLC Kosovo, told BIRN.

“Nowadays the war topic is being generalized, [in phrases] such as ’20,000 raped women’, ‘thousands killed’, but nothing more than that. We can’t create a collective memory about the war based on facts in this way,” Blakaj said.

He added that apart from victims’ relatives, very few people know the exact data or facts about the war’s victims.

“We hope that through this center, information about war victims will be memorialized in a detailed way,” he said.

The documentation center’s first material was nine short films of 10-12 minutes, based on data from five trials at the Hague Tribunal - the cases against Slobodan Milosevic, Vlastimir Dordevic, Nikola Sainovic, Ramush Haradinaj and Fatmir Limaj. The films’ narrative was produced by the SENSE Transitional Justice Centre, and explains how the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia investigated, reconstructed and prosecuted the crimes committed in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999.

“These films are divided into different topics such as ‘A Crime That was Waiting to Happen’, ‘The Delayed Crime Scene Investigation’, ‘The Last Exodus of the 20th Century’, ‘Survivors from Kosovo’s Killing Fields’, ‘No Corpse - No Crimes’, ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’, ‘Too Many Obstacles, Too Little Evidence, and ‘A Chain of Command without Commanders’,” Blakaj explained.

The documentation center opened with two temporary exhibitions. One features pictures taken during the war in Kosovo by the photographer Wade Goddard from New Zealand, and the other contains sculptures made from guns by Kosovo-based sculptor Ismet Jonuzi.

“The center will always be open to anyone who thinks that they can contribute, be involved in a project in any active way, such as with any publication or artistic work,” Blakaj said. He also encouraged war survivors who want their stories to be heard to visit the center and have them documented.

“This is the right place for war survivors who want to share their stories or for those who have items from wartime,” he said. He said that when the new Kosovo Specialist Chambers, set up to try former Kosovo Liberation Army ex-guerrillas for wartime and post-war crimes, begins to hold hearings in The Hague, these will also be documented at the center.

 

Verdicts in Macedonia Shootout Trial Due in October (BIRN)

As the ethnically-charged trial of 37 Albanians accused of involvement in a deadly shootout with police in Kumanovo came to an end, the Skopje court said the verdict will be delivered on October 17.

The Skopje court on Wednesday said that the verdicts in the high-profile terrorism trial of 37 Albanians allegedly involved in the gun battle will be handed down on October 17.

The defendants are accused of participating in a two-day shootout with Macedonian security forces that left 18 people dead, including eight police officers, in the northern town of Kumanovo in May 2015. If pronounced guilty, all the defendants face sentences ranging from 10 years to life in jail.
At the hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the defendants, in their closing statements to the court, insisted that the evidence against their clients was insufficient and circumstantial and that they should be acquitted.
Some of the defendants, who admitted their participation in the armed group that clashed with the police in Kumanovo, maintained their previous claim that they were victims of a politically motivated set-up.
After the violence, many Albanians, as well as the then opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, said they suspected that the shootout was a set-up, staged to divert public attention from growing political turmoil after the opposition started to publish details of incriminating wiretapped conversations between high-ranking state officials from VMRO DPMNE party, which has since been ousted from office.
Since October last year, the defence has been saying that it wants a retired police general who is now head of the small opposition Dignity party, Stojance Angelov, and Ali Ahmeti, the head of the biggest ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, to appear as witnesses in hope of shedding fresh light on the events.
But the court rejected these demands, citing a law which prohibits calling additional witnesses in the middle of the trial unless they are mentioned in other people’s testimonies as potentially relevant to the case.
The trial started in February 2016. But at the beginning of June last year, proceedings had to restart after the prosecution decided to merge the case with another related case in which eight people are suspected of helping the armed group allegedly involved in the gun battle with police.
The prosecution alleges that the men stole weapons from a police station, which they used for the attack on the security forces in Kumanovo on May 9 and 10, 2015.
The defendants deny the charges and insist that the two-day shootout was a result of them defending themselves from the police.
It seems that the case and the controversy that surrounds it will not end with the court ruling.
Earlier this month, addressing public suspicions about the case, new Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, the leader of the SDSM, whose government was elected in May, told media that he would like there to be a retrial, and if that happens, the authorities would ask for international help and supervision to remove all doubts about the case.

 

Greek FM Kotzias: Athens, Skopje to set up joint committee to erase irredentism from textbooks (EPT TV)

We should wait for the local elections in October to be concluded and to see whether the new government in Skopje will solidify its position in order to be able to start more serious talks over the name issue, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told EPT TV.

Also, the issue with the northern neighbor's irredentism is behind the name row, according to him. "I hope and I believe that on their part measures will be taken to tackle irredentism," Kotzias said in an interview with the Greek national TV station.

He said the matter was discussed with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov, whom he calls 'an exceptionally interesting person.'

"We agreed that a joint committee should be set up in November, tasked with in the next four months do its job - to remove irredentism from text books and geographical maps. It is a vital steps, which will be followed by other ones that have been already discussed," stated FM Kotzias.

Asked whether it was possible Macedonia to join NATO and the EU without a solution to the name dispute, Kotzias said it was necessary to close the issue first, as foreseen in the Interim Agreement signed in the mid-1990s.

"Our neighboring and I must say friendly country - because our nations foster very cordial relations - cannot join international organizations, including NATO and the EU, without having solved the name issue first, as it is foreseen in the Interim Agreement. The Agreement's failure is that it assumed swift settlement of the name dispute, which would enable the neighboring country to join the international organizations, but didn't foresee which measures could be taken if there was no solution. Actually there have been no essential negotiations for decades,' Kotzias said. Commenting the local media reports that 'Vardar Macedonia' could be Athens' proposal, Kotzias said Greece had not offered any suggestions.