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BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA Internationals must "interfere" in Bosnian constitutional change - Muslim leader (28.08.2008) [Sulejman Tihic, chairman of the leading Bosnian Muslim party, the Party of Democratic Action, is interviewed by Bakir Hadziomerovic on the Bosnian Federation TV 60 Minutes current affairs programme on 25 August. The latest political leaders' talks on several major political issues in Bosnia-Hercegovina are discussed among other things.]/ [Host Bakir Hadziomerovic] I think I can call you a realistic politician. You have demonstrated that with your political actions. However, you are aware of the fact that this government is hideous, that this country is at the bottom of Europe and who knows how long we will be in such a position. Do you feel responsible for what is going on?/ [Sulejman Tihic, Party of Democratic Action, SDA, chairman] Surely, as someone who participates in the government and is a part of the parliamentary majority, I do feel the responsibility. However, the responsibility is shared among those who have won confidence of citizens and their political representatives, who recently gave less support to the Party of Democratic Action and me personally. But, there is also the responsibility of the international community, which is simply a part of the system. The High Representative, or anyone else cannot say 'we cannot interfere in constitutional changes'. How come? You have to interfere in the change of the constitution. You had created this constitution for us, you made the rules about changing the constitution - so that it cannot be changed at all, almost. It is your obligation to participate, as you are a part of the system./ [Host] How do you comment the whole story around the High Representative? He gave an interview to ONASA [Sarajevo-based news agency] and said Bosnia-Hercegovina does not need radical solutions, but gradual resolving of issues. I would say he should have said Bosnia-Hercegovina should not break up radically fast, but gradually./ [Tihic] One of the causes of the current situation is the High Representative and his current policy./ [Host] Does he have any policy? That is the policy of the international community executed by him, which is currently non-existent. Previous High Representatives have had certain policies, certain powers and support from the European Union, and their own countries. I have a feeling this High Representative is left at the mercy of no adequate support, and this is one of the causes of the existing situation. No-one respects the High Representative any more, no-one feels obliged any longer to defend their positions and statements, justify actions to someone. It's all the same for the High Representative. He says 'let the leaders agree amongst themselves'. Sulejman Tihic cannot be as guilty as Milorad Dodik [leader of the ruling Serb party and the Serb Republic prime minister], who does not want to agree to anything, who proposes extra-constitutional solutions for the state property [interrupted by the host]./ [Host] Now that you mentioned that. I will only list several issues - you mentioned the state property, there is also the census at the level of the Serb Republic, which was announced by Dodik; he has also announced the introduction of the euro, while we know very well that Montenegro had used this as well in order to secede from the community with Serbia; he refuses to support the law on denial of genocide, which I believe is most brutal; he is socializing with the family of war criminal Radovan Karadzic, so he is doing everything to demonstrate that the Serb Republic is the beginning and the end of everything. At the same time, we have a horrendous strategy of Slovenia, primarily, which has begun to treat the Serb Republic as a state. We have been warning against the catastrophic actions of the Slovene Ambassador to Sarajevo Natasa Vodusek, but no-one reacted, including the political parties, the same as the High Representative fails to react today. I know some may accuse me of too much panic, but I have to ask you the following question: is this the beginning of the end of Bosnia-Hercegovina?/ [Tihic] I mostly agree with your remarks considering Dodik's actions and the strange Slovene policy regarding Bosnia-Hercegovina. We reacted in a statement today against the meetings outside the institutions of Bosnia-Hercegovina and Slovenia holding meetings with representatives of the entities, despite the fact that we have the Ministry of Security at the state level. The international community has been tolerating Dodik's behaviour and he now only needs the census. I told him: 'you do not want the census for economic, social and other reasons, as requested by the European Union, you want the census in order to use it as the grounds for secession claims'./ [Host] I fear that the internationals will not stop Dodik in this intention./ [Tihic] It seems to me that they do not have such intentions [as heard, interrupted by host]./ [Host] This is why I ask you again: are we witnessing the beginning of the break-up or other solutions for Bosnia-Hercegovina?/ [Tihic] Regardless of the whole situation, I believe that neither Dodik nor the international community or anyone else can bring into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Bosnian forces are much stronger than anti-Bosnian forces. They could not divide us in 1992, with five corps of the Yugoslav People's Army, [Slobodan] Milosevic [late Serbian president] on one side and [Franjo] Tudjman [late Croatian president] on the other, let alone now. But this is a problem. There will be attempts to divide Bosnia-Hercegovina. I think that Dodik is insisting on the census with ethnic and religious declarations with the aim of establishing grounds for acting as Kosovo./ [Host] And annulling the decision on the constituent status of peoples [on the whole territory of Bosnia-Hercegovina]. Source: Bosnia-Hercegovina Federation TV Bosnian security official denies trying to topple Serb entity government (28.08.2008) Dragan Lukac, assistant director of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) of Bosnia-Herzegovina and head of SIPA's Criminal Investigation Department, talked very openly to Dnevni Avaz about the accusations recently levelled against him by some media in Serbia and the [Bosnian] Serb Republic [RS]. Everything began with the discovery that SIPA was conducting an investigation into the activities of the RS Government carried out over the past several years./ Orchestrated Press Release/ The Serb media almost came to the point of portraying Lukac as a member of a criminal headquarters working on toppling the RS Government and Prime Minister Dodik. More precisely, Lukac has been included in this international-local group together with US Ambassador Charles English, Principal Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian, and Drew Engel, the Head of the B-H Prosecutor's Office's Special Department. "I followed these fabrications in the media and had the opportunity to obtain additional information about what had been published mainly by some media in Belgrade. The RS media, despite that some agencies had received an orchestrated press release from an official body in the RS, did not have enough courage to publish it," Lukac said. Lukac, emphasizing that he could be specific only to the extent that would not jeopardize the ongoing operational checks, said that the information in the Belgrade Glas Javnosti and Kurir were published pursuant to a press release e-mailed to certain agencies in Serbia and the RS. He said that the authors of the press release were unknown because it was unsigned, but... "We have detected these authors, and what I can say is that this press release contains senseless fabrications. What it says about the existence of international-local headquarters in Bosnia-Herzegovina tasked with toppling Prime Minister Dodik and the RS -- it is clear that this is sheer nonsense. I assume that some other goals are at stake, but the most important conclusion is that such occurrences suggest to and are indicative of the fact that it is most likely that operating in the RS, in the framework of one or more official bodies, are certain para-intelligence structures. This is a highly serious occurrence that warrants an investigation by official bodies," Lukac warned. He added that involved in this investigation should be the B-H Intelligence and Security Agency (OSA) and the B-H Prosecutor's Office. According to Lukac, these activities of elements with a para-intelligence character sent a very bad message, primarily to the international institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He thus underlined that it should be examined in earnest what structures in the RS were involved in para-intelligence or para-counterintelligence activities, where they were located, who they worked for, who managed them, and what resources they were using. / Serious Crimes /"These could be very serious criminal acts such as espionage," Lukac noted. Lukac said that he could not confirm whether the motive behind all this was SIPA's investigation into the RS Government's business operations. He explained that SIPA had never in its press releases or public statements mentioned Dodik's name or said that it had been conducting an investigation against him. "I really do not know how someone could get the idea that we were investigating the RS prime minister or anybody else, no matter what their name may be. Over the recent months SIPA has been making police inquires going in two directions. One is to collect information and intelligence concerning potential illegalities pertaining to information -- reported by the media and by other means -- about the construction of certain buildings in the RS such as the RS Government building, and also about the sale of certain strategic companies and property such as the oil industry," Lukac pointed out. According to him, the second direction of the police investigation was pursued under the orders of the B-H Prosecutor's Office, and was aimed at seizing documentation from certain bodies in the RS, not only within the RS Government, but also in certain companies. Lukac explained that this documentation would also be analysed by SIPA's Financial and Intelligence Section./ [Box] SIPA Director Is a Serb / "It is senseless that any individual in Bosnia-Herzegovina, be they Dragan Lukac or whoever, could have the power to topple an entire system. My second point is that SIPA, ever since it was created six years ago, has a director who is a Serb," Lukac pointed out. / Government Was Not Raided / Lukac denied the allegations of some media such as the RS Press that SIPA had raided the RS Government premises. He said that, in cases like these, raids were not necessary and SIPA officials could normally go through the door of any institution if they needed additional checks, because SIPA had sent precise requests for documentation to various ministries, directorates, and other institutions in the RS. Lukac noted that these requests were signed by SIPA Director Mirko Lujic. Source: Dnevni avaz/ BBC Monitoring European top MONTENEGRO Montenegro prepares draft accord on dual citizenship for talks with Serbia (27.08.2008) The Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared a draft agreement on dual citizenship which should be offered to the governments of the former Yugoslav republics and other states by the beginning of September, [Internal Affairs] Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic has told our TV. The Serbian government will in the next few days complete the draft platform for the talks on dual citizenship with Montenegro, [Serbian Internal Affairs] Minister Ivica Dacic said. [Montenegrin Internal Affairs Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic] We must protect ourselves so that we do not come to a situation where we have more citizens who have citizenship of another state than citizens who solely have Montenegrin citizenship. [Serbian Internal Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic] We are talking about the fact that this issues concerns a few hundred thousand citizens of Serbia and Montenegro, for whom this issue is of vital interest as there are families who live on both sides [of the border]. In order for our relations to be normalized it is necessary to have an agreement on dual citizenship because the Montenegrin side has announced that every one [of its citizens] who has Serbian citizenship will have to give it up and have their Montenegrin citizenship erased. Source: TV Crna Gora Montenegrin Serb party slams US envoy's "interference" over Kosovo, NATO (24.08.2008) The US ambassador to Montenegro, Roderick Moore, commented on Montenegro's NATO membership prospects and the issue of Kosovo independence recognition in an interview with Montenegrin public broadcast TV, which was the leading story on prime time TV news on 22 August. His remarks drew the criticism of Montenegro's Democratic Serb Party which accused the US ambassador of interfering in the internal matters of Montenegro. When asked by the interviewer for the possible reasons why Montenegro had such a low level of public support for NATO membership compared to EU entry, and whether Montenegro would have, apart from military, any economic benefits from NATO membership, Moore, speaking in Serbian, said: "I completely agree with the premise of your comment, question on this, that the level of support is not very high here in Montenegro. Everyone has seen this from the opinion polls conducted. The number of those in favour is about 30 per cent, maybe even smaller. However, I believe this isn't of any concern whatsoever, bearing in mind that a number of countries which are currently in NATO began with a lower level of support. During his recent visit to Montenegro I had the opportunity of talking to the former Bulgarian foreign minister who told me that when Bulgaria launched its campaign for NATO they had 12 per cent support of the citizens. I believe a number of factors influence this issue in Montenegro. There are memories from 1999 and what happened. During my travels it has become clear to me that many people are still angry about this. Therefore, I believe, I am convinced there will be a growth in the number of supporters, just like there was in Croatia in the last few years, and just like it happened in Croatia, so I believe Montenegrins will reach the conclusion that arguments against NATO do not hold water at all." In response to questions on whether Montenegro should recognize Kosovo's independence or not and how should it conduct itself in the current situation (the interviewer saying Montenegro has had a neutral stance to date), Moore replied: "The fact that there are countries in the region which haven't established normal relations with Kosovo damages regional stability and the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the countries in the region. We and I believe our partners expect the countries of the region, especially those countries which border new neighbour Kosovo, to recognize Kosovo and establish normal relations with the new neighbour." The Democratic Serb Party (DSS) spokesman Matija Nikolic gave a statement to state news agency MINA on 23 August on Moore's remarks, saying: "The DSS condemns in the strongest terms the interference in the internal affairs of Montenegro by the American ambassador, who is calling on Podgorica to recognize Kosovo and join NATO." He said that Moore's comments constituted "part of the stepped-up campaign of those who support" Kosovo's independence and NATO. Nikolic added: "The DSS requests the government of Montenegro to resist such pressure and to support unconditionally Serbia's request for the UN to ask for the opinion of the International Court of Justice on whether the secession of Kosovo was an illegal or legal act." He said the DSS was "surprised the American ambassador said it wasn't important that only a small percentage of Montenegrin citizens supported entry into the North Atlantic Alliance". "We believed, as an ambassador of a country which presents itself as democratic and teaches all others about democracy, he would have respected the first principle of democracy on a majority and minority," Nikolic said. Pointing to the 1999 NATO bombing of Montenegro and Serbia, Nikolic said: "Present your arguments, which you believe 'hold water', in Murino, to the parents of children killed in the bombing of this strategically unimportant small town and let them tell you how merciful your Merciful Angel [reference to the 1999 NATO bombing operation] was," reiterating that a "huge majority of citizens" were against Montenegro's NATO membership. He concluded: "Therefore, we assume Ambassador Moore should be able to agree, in line with the democratic achievements of the civilized world, that it is best for citizens to give their view on this issue under conditions which will be equal for both those in favour and against NATO." Source: TV Crna Gora top SERBIA Serbia: Democratic Party consolidates power as disunity grips opposition (28.08.2008) The ruling coalition, led by the Democratic Party, continues to consolidate its position after succeeding last week in maintaining power in the capital city of Belgrade, where one quarter of Serbia's population lives. The government's next step is to overcome the blockade of Parliament in order to facilitate the passing of reform laws necessary for the country's further rapprochement with Europe and economic recovery. Being now in position from where it can control all segments of the executive power and decisively influence the economy and finances, the bloc rallied around the Democratic Party has plenty of room for action. To strengthen the position of his group, Serbian President and Democratic Party leader Boris Tadic is adhering to a strategy of satisfying the ambitions of all ruling coalition members, but also of attracting the dissatisfied members of the opposition parties. In doing so, the Democratic Party aims at achieving two goals ensuring the stability of the ruling coalition and weakening the power of the opposition groups. Thus some officials of Cedomir Jovanovic's Liberal-Democratic Party, which is in opposition but supports the minority government in Belgrade, will be given positions in some city institutions, in which certain members of former prime minister Vojislav Kostunica's now opposition Democratic Party of Serbia will also retain their posts. Despite this, the former prime minister's party is losing popularity and its influence is dramatically dropping. Attrition of its members is the result of the growing internal disputes. In the past several years Kostunica has radicalized his views and has turned against European integrations. This has made him an unacceptable partner for the Democratic Party. Tadic now wishes this to change so that instead of having him as a bitter and radical opponent in Parliament, he will become a leader of a moderate rightist party and his potential ally. / The Majority / To ensure the operation of Parliament, the ruling coalition will have to change the ratio of forces in this body. The Democratic Party-led bloc has a slim majority of 128 MPs in the 250-seat legislature. Thanks to this, a unified and resolved opposition may hinder any debate and block the entire political life. Albeit not participating in government, Liberal-Democratic Party MPs should be expected to support the ruling coalition in Parliament now that they have made a deal in the capital city. But their support would not be enough if the nationalist bloc, bringing together the Serbian Radical Party, the Democratic Party of Serbia, and its ally, Velimir Ilic's New Serbia party, continues to work in unison. Chances that Kostunica will change his policy in the foreseeable future, or that a sort of coup in his party will turn it towards European integrations are quite slim. Therefore the only way for the pro-European bloc to ensure additional support to its policies is to separate Ilic's party from Kostunica. A deal with New Serbia would not only improve the Democratic Party's position inside the ruling coalition, but would also make it less vulnerable to blackmail and demands from the less influential members of the group. Some sort of arrangement with Ilic is objectively possible. The party is now on slippery ground and has no stable financial sources any more. Its leadership, therefore, is desperately seeking even the smallest share in government. New Serbia's participation in the political life now boils down to following campaigns launched by the Radicals and the Democratic Party of Serbia and issuing announcements in support of the two bigger partners. This month, however, Ilic appeared in public next to Milutin Mrkonjic, current infrastructure minister, several times, giving ambiguous statements in which he did not fully reject a possibility of participating in government. Ilic's political influence was closely tied to his previous control of state funds used to build local roads and other facilities. Now that he can no longer rely on the state treasury to improve his public standing, Ilic is in danger of being completely marginalized./ The Opposition/ The now systematic removal of the nationalistic opposition from the ruling structures is shaking these parties and provoking internal disputes in them. As a result, this is making them less capable of joining forces in a campaign against the ruling coalition. There is a visible rift in the Democratic Party of Serbia, whereas informed sources have been reporting for months on misunderstandings undermining the Serbian Radical Party. Two factions in the Democratic Party of Serbia have been arguing for some ten days now using tabloids party officials have influence over. The chief target is Kostunica's chief of staff, Aleksandar Nikitovic, described as the leader of "hardliners" working hand in glove with the energy lobby and the party's "killer." The source of such reports allegedly is Dejan Mihajlov, former Serbian government secretary, and the party's Belgrade chapter. At the time Kostunica was Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's president (the country was then composed of Serbia and Montenegro), Nikitovic was assistant to then Kostunica's chief of staff Ljiljana Nedeljkovic, once a close ally of the former prime minister. At the beginning of 2003, when Yugoslavia became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, Nedeljkovic resigned, disappearing from political life after a series of articles criticizing her influence and power. / Nikitovic then became one of Kostunica's key allies. /Informed sources claim that he had had a decisive say in the policies pursued by Kostunica's first government, formed in March 2004, and that he insisted on an unyielding policy towards Kosovo. When the Democratic Party of Serbia finally radicalized its stance towards Kosovo and European integrations, Nikitovic became a member of the party's steering committee. It is not clear whether Kostunica is personally behind the ongoing campaign against Nikitovic, or whether he is waiting on the side to see what the outcome of the showdown between certain party officials will be. Source: Beta Week/ BBC Monitoring European Draft statute for Vojvodina creates "new tension" on Serbia's political stage (28.08.2008) The working draft of a new statute for Vojvodina, drawn up by the DS [Democratic Party], has created new tension on the political stage. The opposition accuses the DS of breaking up Serbia. The architects of the draft claim that all provisions are in keeping with the Serbian Constitution. The draft provides for a Vojvodina government and ministers and allows its assembly to pass legislation. The DSS [Democratic Party of Serbia] has called President Boris Tadic to declare himself on the draft and accused Vojvodina Executive Council Chairman Bojan Pajtic of creating the state of Vojvodina. Pajtic rebuffed the allegation, saying the DSS was censuring a working draft that was not yet official but in the process of being harmonized with coalition partners. Svetlana Zivkovic reports. The draft statute of Vojvodina drawn up by the DS is still a working draft and has yet to be presented to the party's coalition partners. However, excerpts of the draft had leaked to Novi Sad daily Dnevnik. Opposition parties, chiefly the SRS [Serbian Radical Party] and DSS, condemned the changes and warned that the provincial statute was a copy of the scenario for the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. They rebuked the DS for the way in which the draft excerpts reached the public. DSS Deputy Chairman Slobodan Samardzic said that the ruling coalition in Vojvodina was leaking test questions to the media to gauge public opinion. Judging from what was published, some of the provisions were clearly unconstitutional, he said. / [Samardzic] Vojvodina is to pass laws and adopt decrees, yet those are generic acts that pertain to the state of Serbia. The constitution does not allow for it. As for the bodies of Vojvodina, the government, ministers, and so forth, those are the test questions that call for a reaction. None of this was necessary now, while Serbia has a problem - a painful state problem with its other province, with Kosovo and Metohija, to be provoking the public this way, by taking advantage of the possibility and need for a statute./ [Zivkovic] SRS Deputy Chairman Milorad Mircic said the draft provided for the creation of a state within a state./ [Miric] The draft discusses the option for forming a developmental bank which is a state institution that would pave the way for the future national bank of Vojvodina. Another thing which is evident and present and over a long term, is the formation and support for a Vojvodina academy of sciences. When you put it all together, it is the same scenario as in Montenegro./ [Zivkovic] Dragoslav Petrovic, head of the For a European Vojvodina deputy club, claimed that all provisions were in line with the constitution./ [Petrovic] The provisions and those that will follow through changes to laws and regulations by the Vojvodina Assembly and all elements of the statute do not - cannot - have such tendencies, and we should not exhaust ourselves in debates that seek to divert attention from the key issue, which is to have a truly useful act, mostly for the people in Vojvodina, and by extension for the rest of Serbia, and presumably no one would dispute that./ [Zivkovic] Petrovic said that during the next two weeks, in agreement with the coalition partners, the final draft would be drawn up and presented to the public late in September. The Serbian Assembly should then give the green light to the province's highest act. Source: Radio Belgrade |