LOCAL PRESS

Serbian Government calls residents of Kosovo and Metohija to vote (Radio Serbia)

The Serbian Government called today residents of Kosovo and Metohija to take part in the parliamentary elections for the interim institutions in the province on 8 June. The government has stated that it is necessary to win as many MP seats as possible and put them into the function of the Kosovo Serbs’ survival, establishing of the Union of Serb Municipalities and taking steps to impede the further promotion and implementation of the policy of unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija. By taking part in the elections and having representatives in the interim institutions in Pristina, we will reinforce our negotiating position and keep the secessionists away from realizing their goals, reads the statement. Through the unity and resolve in implementing the state policy, we need to show our responsibility and the power of one and unbreakable state of Serbia, it was assessed by the Serbian Government.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Serbs in northern Kosovo and Metohija will respond to government’s invitation to take part in elections (Tanjug)

It was concluded at the meeting with the mayors of northern Kosovo municipalities that the Serbs will respond to the invitation of the state to take part in elections, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced. On the occasion of the decision of the Serbian government to support participation of the Serbian list representatives at the parliamentary elections in Kosovo and Metohija, a meeting was held and it was attended by the Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric, the mayors of all four municipalities in the north of the province – Kosovska Mitrovica – Goran Rakic, Leposavic – Dragan Jablanovic, Zvecan – Vucina Jankovic and Zubin Potok – Stevan Vulovic and representatives of state institutions and organizations. “At the meeting, the conclusion was made that Serbs in the north of the province will unanimously respond to the state’s invitation to fulfill their task and take part in the political struggle aimed at realizing the state and national interests of the Republic of Serbia by voting in the elections for the assembly of the interim self-government institutions in the province,” the statement said. It was agreed that the struggle to establish the Union of Serb municipalities must involve as many seats in the assembly as possible, but also taking established measures that are part of the state policy aimed at hampering further promotion and the policy of the unilaterally declared independence of ‘Kosovo’,” the statement said. Participation in the elections is a method of political struggle that has been adapted to the present circumstances, while support to representatives of Serbs and Serbia is a civic and patriotic duty of each Serbian citizen in the territory of the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija, the statement also said. “We are resolved to demonstrate, through unity and determination in implementing the long-term state policy, the sense of responsibility and strength of the one and indivisible state of Serbia,” the Office for Kosovo and Metohija said in the statement.

Marko Djurisic: Good decision (Beta)

The New Democratic Party (NDS) caucus whip Marko Djurisic has stated that the decision for the Serbs to take part in the elections is good. “I believe that this is a good decision, even though it was certainly made in difficult circumstances and with a lot of reason against. Nevertheless, I think that history has taught us that every non-participation is worse than participation, even under unequal conditions,” Djurisic told journalists in the Serbian parliament. He pointed out that the NDS is taking part and has its own candidates on the joint Serbian list. “A state that assumed responsibility for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija by signing the Brussels agreement must have a clear stand and we expect it to call its citizens to take part and vote since participation even in this situation is a better solution than non-participation,” said Djurisic, adding that the NDS is active in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and that it is fighting for as many as possible citizens to go to the polls and vote for the Serbian list and its candidates. When it comes to Serbia’s stand towards Russia and the EU, he noted that Serbia should follow its interests. “If our primary interest is to join the EU, then the consequence of this is also to harmonize our foreign policy with the EU foreign and security policy. I am certain that if we continue on the EU path that we will be expected to harmonize our policy. This policy will be probably in contradiction with our traditional policy. If we decided to head towards the EU, then we will have to also behave in accordance with some rules,” said Djurisic.

Djordje Milicevic: Unity among Serbs most important (Beta)

“Unity among the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is the most important thing at this moment, which will be demonstrated primarily through clear support to the Serbian government’s stand and recommendation,” MP of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Djordje Milicevic told journalists in the Serbian parliament. He pointed out that the Serbian government has showed that it has a very serious and responsible approach to this issue. According to him, the Serbian government has demonstrated in the past that it has been and that it will be with its people in Kosovo and Metohija and that it will fight for the interests of those who live in this region and consider Serbia their state. “Of course, we opine that the decision of the Central Election Commission is not correct, democratic and not in line with what has been agreed in Brussels and what is contained in the Brussels agreement, but on the other hand a decision on non-participation in elections is also not good, because it may then happen that the assembly has those who will support decisions that are not in the interest of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” said Milicevic. When it comes to Serbia’s stand towards relations with Russia and the EU, he points out that Serbia’s policy is principled. “We support territorial integrity of each state. On the other hand we must take care of our national and state interests,” said Milicevic, adding that pressures certainly exist, but that he doesn’t see that European countries have a united approach on the issue.

Four scenarios towards the EU (RTS)

What are the possible scenarios of receiving the Western Balkan countries in the EU? All at once, every country on its own or all in queue behind Turkey? Young researchers of the European Fund for the Balkans, mostly citizens of countries that are hoping to become an EU member, predict four scenarios for the entire Balkans to join the EU. From the promises of European leaders at the beginning of the XXI century for all countries to catch the train to Brussels according to standard procedure, via standing in the queue with Turkey, to eventual giving up from enlargement or the big Balkan bang where all Balkan countries would become EU members. “That means that we might have two kinds of countries in the region, those that can become EU members like Serbia and Montenegro, perhaps even Albania, and those that can’t or with great difficulties, B&H, FYROM and also Kosovo,” says Florian Bieber, professor at the Centre for Southeast European Studies and at the University in Graz. The EU is facing an economic crisis and strengthening of Eurosceptic parties at the European Parliament elections, those who advocate abolishment of the Euro or are big opponents of the emigration policy. That is why they are not excluding the unfavorable scenario of Turkey, which has been waiting for accession for over half a century. In the better case a blockade would be temporary. “Of course this would be very painful for the reforms in the region, I am not saying this is the most realistic scenario, but we have to be aware that this danger exists,” says Bieber. There is exhaustion from enlargement, but also tantrum from waiting, especially when we see that the neighbor managed to get in. “Then other countries will be disappointed that they are not the ones that became EU members and this may lead to, I would not say, conflicts, but at least to tensions in the region that would not be desirable,” said Bieber. Good regional cooperation could prevent such an outcome, and it would be also pleasant for Brussels to see something like this, researchers opine. If former fellow-nationals, and today’s neighbors get into a harmonious dance, they will reach the goal faster than if everyone decides to play its own game. The motive is strong. If everyone enters they will find themselves in the midst of the EU, and if someone is left behind then those who had entered will be also on the periphery of the EU.

REGIONAL PRESS

Cooperation of Balkan armies continues (Tanjug/Fena)
The armies of the Balkan states, gathered in the group “Forum B-9” will continue to cooperate closely in order to strengthen regional security. Cooperation will also continue so they can mutually assist each other in crisis situations caused by natural disasters, it was concluded today in Sarajevo at the meeting of the chiefs of staffs of armed forces of the states of the region.

The meeting was attended by the chiefs of staffs of Albania, B&H, Serbia, Montenegro, FYROM, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and the NATO Command Chief in Naples Admiral Bruce Clingan. Croatia, which has, just like Slovenia, the observer status at this forum, was represented at the level of the deputy chief of staff. The Chief of Staff of the B&H armed forces, General Anto Jelec, thanked all states that offered and provided assistance to his country during the floods. “We must be prepared in the future to respond regionally to such challenges,” he said. Jelec also said that participation in joint exercises, creation of network centers for training, as well exchange of data on various threats gives base for joint activities of B-9 group. The Chief of Staff of the Army of Serbia, General Ljubisa Dikovic, has stated that one of the topics of today’s 8^th Conference of the Forum of chiefs of staffs of Balkan countries in Sarajevo is the formation of joint forces at the regional level that would intervene in case of elementary and other disasters. “There is interest in this by all members of the armies and I am sure there is also interest of the governments of all regional countries,” Dikovic told Fena. The Forum B-9 was established at the initiative of Greece and Turkey in 2006, and the conference of chiefs of staffs is held once a year.

Dodik: Let B&H be on the blacklist, but we don’t give RS jurisdiction (Fena)

The Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik claims that before they choose to put B&H on the blacklist, responsibility will be transferred from the entities to the B&H level, Fena reports.“Let B&H be on the blacklist, but we will not give jurisdiction to the RS,” said Dodik, noting that B&H will not be on the blacklist if they adopt a law on preventing money laundering, but not the Criminal Code. He told reporters in Banja Luka that a draft law on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing was agreed, and that it could be voted on, but he is against adopting amendments to the B&H Criminal Code. He says that it is known precisely the articles proposed in the Criminal Code as a transfer of jurisdiction from the entities to the B&H level, and that the law was not a condition to adopt together with the law on preventing money laundering. Dodik confirmed that he sent a letter to the RS delegates in the House of Peoples in which he warned them that they should oppose the adoption of the draft amendments to the Criminal Code, and so, as he claims, protect the interests of the RS and prevent every transfer of jurisdiction to the B&H level. He noted that they can vote on the draft law on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, because that law received the consent of the government and relevant ministries in the RS, but that adopting the Criminal Code is controversial, because it infringes on the criminal practice and procedure in the RS, and increases it on the state level. He also says that he does not know why a number of delegates of his party earlier voted for the law in the House of Representatives.

Dodik sent a letter to the RS members of the B&H House of Peoples saying he expects them to vote against a bill amending and supplementing the B&H Criminal Code, to protect the RS interests and to prevent any transfer of powers to the B&H level, Srna has learned unofficially. 

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Kosovo Serbs join last-minute campaign (Balkan Insight, by Valerie Hopkins, 5 June 2014)
After days of uncertainty, the Srpska Lista has opted at the 11th hour to take part in the election campaign.
The southern half of Mitrovica is full of election billboards promising “new turns,” “new directions” and claiming that the country’s current leaders deserve “new missions.” Campaign leaflets are littered around the streets.
But, across the bridge and past the barricade, in the northern part of town, where mostly Serbs live, the only visible campaign paraphernalia are faded and frayed posters from last November’s local elections - the first local races held in the north of Kosovo under the auspices of the Kosovo government.
Although general elections are only days away in Kosovo, and are being held in the north for the first time, the election is apparent nowhere in the northern part of Mitrovica.
Shortly after the elections were announced last month, Kosovo Serbs leaders in the north - who have never recognized the country’s independence - announced that they would participate for the first time.
They also said Serbs throughout Kosovo would compete in the elections on a single unified Srpska List, joining Serbian politicians from both the north and south of Kosovo.
Unlike the northern Serbs, many of the southern Serbs on the list long ago accepted Kosovo as a state and have taken part in government.
The announced participation of the Serbs started enthusiastically enough, with Serbian politicians in Kosovo and Serbia trumpeting a Kosovo Serb renaissance.
They claimed that together the Serbs could win more than the 10 seats reserved for them in the Kosovo parliament, which would make them a real force in the politics of the country.
Since then, that mood of optimism has faded and the northern Serbs have spent most of the 10-day campaign period prevaricating about participating, refusing to campaign because the Central Elections Commission printed ballots with the seal of Kosovo on them.
Their leaders have shuttled back and forth to Belgrade, awaiting word from Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, whose government has been sending mixed messages about the elections, underscoring the role that Belgrade has obtained in Kosovo’s internal politics.
Vucic, who has been coping with catastrophic floods in Serbia while facing criticism for alleged censorship and an alleged plagiarism scandal, has yet to make a strong statement.
“We need to behave responsibly and in accordance with state interests, and the Serbian government will make a decision of that kind,” Vucic said after meeting Kosovo Serb leaders Tuesday.
As both the Serbian government and the Kosovo Serbs wait until the 11th hour to decide what to do, the political wrangling is leaving Kosovo Serb voters in the north cold.
“People are angry at Belgrade,” Ivan Antic, who works in the administration of the recently formed municipal assembly of Northern Mitrovica, said.
“They have to clearly say whether we should participate in the elections or not… they are missing an opportunity to do something for the north of Kosovo,” he added.
“Once again, everyone is clear that in the north we are again going to be cheated.”
One politician who has no such doubts about participating is Nenad Rasic, Minister for Labor and Welfare in the Kosovo government.
He and his 23-member list from the Progressive Democratic Party have decided not to participate in the Srpska Lista, and campaign through the elections.
“It is clear from the events of the last months that Belgrade is trying to distance itself from Kosovo,” Rasic said.
“However, Kosovo Serbs have not realized that their path should not be dictated by Belgrade, or by Prishtina, either,” he added. “We need to find our own way.”
Meanwhile, Vladeta Kostic, leader of the Srpska List, Wednesday called on Kosovo Serbs to go out and vote, and hopes that Belgrade will encourage the same with a strong statement.
“Serbs in Kosovo are familiar with Srpska’s policy and program and we are right now working on the Serbs to motivate them to go out and vote,” Kostic said.
“More than half of those on the list are from Northern Mitrovica and we wish to emerge with more votes, because we are stronger,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Srpska Lista finally announced that it would start activities with only three days to go before the pre-election silence begins on Friday at midnight.
Gracanica mayor Branimir Stojanovic said the choice between the “unjust” decisions of the Central Elections Commission and the damage of a boycott had not been easy to make.
But he concluded that a boycott would only worsen matters, as representatives would then be elected to parliament with as few as 1,000 votes each.
“We cannot allow those who would vote in favour of forming an armed forces for Kosovo to win instead of us,” he told Beta news agency after the meeting in Belgrade.
Nebojsa Jovic, who led an organized boycott for the November 3 Kosovo elections, is angry at Belgrade for sending mixed signals.
“The Serbian parliament has asked the people on its territory to vote in elections for a country they don’t recognize, and say they will never recognize,” he said.
“Now it is clear to even the most ordinary man that if they go and vote in these elections, they are voting for an independent Kosovo,” he added.
Momo Trajkovic, head of a Gracanica-based NGO, the Serbian Resistance Movement, is critical of the way that the Srpska Lista and Belgrade have handled the issue.
“What the Serbs are now trying to do with the Kosovo parliament is just a simulation of patriotism, which could do much more harm than good,” he said.
“There is a lack of an authentic Kosovo Serb policy, which certain political actors who want to continue to manipulate the people feel is unnecessary,” he added.
In running a non-campaign for seats in the parliament of a country that many of them don’t recognize, candidates from the Srpska List have not told voters how they plan to deliver their constituents a better future, but they want their constituents’ support anyway.
“As you see, this is a campaign that almost was not conducted,” said Kosovo’s current deputy Prime Minister, Slobodan Petrovic - the man at the top of the Srpska List. “But I expect citizens to show their political maturity and responsibility and get out and vote.”
Trajkovic also expects Serbs to vote on Sunday, but is not optimistic that Srpska Lista can bring about the significant change people need because of the differences between them.
“The List is simply horns in a bag - a group of people who had earlier accused one another but now need each other,” he said.
“Petrovic, who was a ‘Serbian traitor’ and Kostic, a ‘great Serb,’ - as he considers himself – now turn to people and say, ‘Here we now are, together, Petrovic is no longer a traitor but a patriot and we are the United Serbian list,’” he said. “It is sad and funny.”
Website hit in Serbia plagiarism row (BBC, 5 June 2014)
Pescanik alleged some parts of the doctoral thesis had been copied without reference to the author
Serbia's prime minister has insisted the government played no part in an attack on a website which had said part of a minister's PhD was plagiarised.
Pescanik.net (Hourglass) published a piece by three British-based academics critical of Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic's thesis.
Hours later, the site went down.
PM Aleksandar Vucic ridiculed the allegations against his colleague, but said an investigation would take place into the attack on the website.
"This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read," Mr Vucic said of the article on Tuesday.
Mr Stefanovic has denied any wrongdoing in his PhD, received last year from Belgrade's private Megatrend University. Both he and Mr Vucic are members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
The prime minister, when asked if his colleague should resign if the allegations were proven, said: "In that case Nebojsa will certainly know what to do."
The Serbian prime minister said censorship must not be allowed
The Pescanik site went down late on Sunday after a series of denial-of-service attacks (DoS), in which large amounts of data are forced on a target, causing it to fall over.
Mr Vucic said the attacks came from two IP addresses and he rejected claims of state involvement.
Serbia's government has been criticised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for recent online censorship and the group said the "blocking of online resources" had continued with the attack on Pescanik.
The OSCE pointed to the recent removal of online content seen as critical of the Serbian government's response to flooding in which 51 people died. Serbia's human rights ombudsman has also warned of an "organised effort aimed at stifling criticism".
Macedonia: President of the opposition party, Zoran Zaev to meet Euro Commissioner Stefan Fule (FOCUS News Agency,  5 June 2014)
President of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDMS), Zoran Zaev and Deputy Chairman of the party Radmila Shekerinska are meeting in Brussels today the Commissioner for Enlargement Stafan Fule, reported the electronic edition Plus Info. Zaev and Shekerinska are in the Belgium capital where they met members of the Party of the European Socialists. The main topic of discussion was the political situation in Macedonia after the early Parliament Elections whose validity is not acknowledged by the opposition party.
Macedonia mulls new elections for vacant seats (Balkan Insight, by Sinisa Jakov Marusic, 5 June 2014)
After the Prime Minister said fresh elections may be held for seats vacated by the opposition in parliament, the opposition has denounced the proposal.
Macedonian leaders are contemplating holding new elections for seats vacated by the opposition in parliament.
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski who is holding talks on forming a new government, on Tuesday said that after the opposition MPs resigned, parliament "has no choice but to verify those resignations at the next session and call fresh elections for the vacant seats".
The opposition legislators, who resigned from their seats in a dispute over the outcome of the April general elections as fraudulent, condemned the proposal.
“Additional elections under a proportional election model would put us in an absurd situation whereby the same people would be given a chance to vote twice and their votes would be represented in parliament multiple times,” Renata Deskoska, who was recently elected as a legislator from the main opposition Social Democratic Party, SDSM, complained.
Last week, Deskoska joined her colleagues and also resigned from her seat. She told Deutsche Welle that new elections for the empty seats would not only be legally problematic but would also create a "fake opposition" in parliament composed of MPs from tiny political parties.
For the purposes of general elections, Macedonia is divided into six electoral units, each contributing 20 legislators to the 123-seat parliament. The three remaining seats are elected by voters in the diaspora.
The parties propose lists of 20 candidates in each of the six electoral units. The more votes that a party wins in each of the six units, the more candidates from that list enter parliament.
If additional elections are now called, only the 34 now-vacant seats won previously by the opposition will have to be filled.
In the first electoral unit, the parties would have to compete for seven empty seats, in the second they would compete for five, and in the third, the race would be for seven seats.
The fourth unit has seven vacant seats as well, the fifth unit has six and the sixth unit has two.
Almost all opposition MPs submitted their written resignations to parliament last week. They insisted that Gruevski's VMRO DPMNE party won both the April general and presidential elections by fraud, and demanded the formation of a caretaker government that would prepare the country for new elections.
However, Gruevski who has held power since 2006, insisted that no election in Macedonia had been more democratic than this one.
The resignations of the opposition MPs will not greatly affect the work of the new parliament, as 89 of the 123 seats remain filled, which is more than two-thirds of them.
The ruling majority, led by the VMRO DPMNE party and the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, controls 81 of those seats.
Most experts agree that the procedure for setting up additional elections will not run as swiftly as the Prime Minister has suggested.
Experts say the procedure could take months, as the State Electoral Commission must first invite all the rest of the opposition MP candidates that were on the opposition electoral lists, one at a time, to fill in the vacant seats. Only after they all decline to do so can parliament discuss what to do next.