Belgrade, 05. 02. 2010.

SERBIA – REGION

• STATE SECRETARY: SREBRENICA CRIME SHOULD BE REFERR. TO AS GENOCIDE
• MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS EP RESOLUTION ON SREBRENICA
• VUJANOVIC WELCOMES SERBIA'S READINESS TO TURN CHAPTER

• CVETKOVIC INFORMED OF BOSNIAK MINORITY RIGHTS VIOLATED
• DJUKIC-DEJANOVIC: GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLING MATTER OF AGREEMENT
• DACIC: SERBIA AND USA BOOST COOPERATION IN FIGHT AGAINST CRIME
• SUTANOVAC: CITIZENS TO DECIDE ON COLLABORATION WITH NATO
• SERBIA & FRANCE SIGN BILATERAL COOPERATION PLAN FOR 2010
• SERBIAN GOVERNMENT AWARE OF DIASPORA'S IMPORTANCE
• KONUZIN: USD 800 MILLION OF RUSSIA'S LOAN FOR FOUR PROJECTS

• LONDON SUPPORTS SERBIAN EU INTEGRATION
• BRADIC: EUROPEAN COMMISSION SUPPORTS COOPERATION
• GARDETTO: SERBIA IS READY FOR JUSTICE SYSTEM REORGANIZATION

• BEHAM: SERBIA'S WILLINGNESS TO INVITE ALBANIANS TO NEGOTIATE
• Hillary CLINTON ACCEPTS INVITATION TO VISIT PRISTINA
• Nesterenko: FEITH NOT EMPOWERED FOR NORTHERN KOSOVO STRATEGY
• US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY: KOSOVO REMAINS SOURCE OF TENSION
• RASMUSSEN: KFOR WILL GUARANTEE SAFETY, DESPITE REDUCTION
• WORLD BANK ALLOWS TWO LOANS TO KOSOVO

VIENNA, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - In an interview for Vienna-based daily Die Presse, State Secretary in the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights Marko Karadzic said that the crime committed in Srebrenica should be called its right name - genocide, and that without that a resolution makes no sense.When asked why the Serbian parliament plans to adopt a resolution on Srebrenica only now, Karadzic replied that Slobodan Milosevic was in power a long time after that crime and that one who is responsible for the policy of war crimes may not be expected to condemn himself. "Serbia then passed through some difficult times. Zoran Djindjic was murdered, and a lustration of the state apparatus did not take place. The power and influence of those who supported the war policy of the 1990s made a turn impossible, particularly in evaluating the past," underscored Karadzic. According to him, should there be a true will it would not have been difficult to condemn the crime. When asked why the majority wants to avoid the word genocide, Karadzic said that it is being said that a wide consensus on the resolution is important. However, it is very difficult to obtain support of those parties that have been denying the crime up until yesterday, said Karadzic.

SKOPJE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The Macedonian Parliament adopted Thursday a declaration of support to the EP Srebrenica Genocide Resolution of January 15, 2010. The Resolution condemns the massacre in 1995 in Srebrenica. The Macedonian Parliament supports the European Parlaiment Resolution on Srebrenica and will accordingly mark July 11 as genocide remembrance day for the victims, the declaration states. The declaration was submitted by nine MPs, including Speaker Trajko Veljanoski. The declaration was adopted on the basis of Macedonia's firm commitment to fostering relations among states on the basis of good neighborliness and peaceful cooperation, the document says. Macedonia is also committed to cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yu and to its Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union, the document says.

PODGORICA, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has welcomed Serbia's readiness to "turn a new chapter" in its relations with Montenegro, expressing his confidence that "the new chapter will be of a good book." For TV of Montenegro, Vujanovic reiterated that "Montenegro wants the closest friendly or, to put it better, brotherly relations with Serbia," but that it had to recognize Kosovo's independence in order not to block its own integrations in the EU & NATO.Vujanovic described Belgrade's response to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Podgorica and Pristina as emotional and that he understands it fully, but that he expects Belgrade to understand Podgorica. He said that the recognition of Kosovo independence was directly related to the process of Montenegro's integration in the EU and NATO and that Montenegro had to do it in order to also be able to apply for its membership in the EU and Action Plan for the membership in NATO. "Even in brotherly relations, there are situations when brothers have different interests," said Vujanovic. Commenting of the statement by Serbian President, who said that he will go to Montenegro when he gets an official invitation, Vujanovic said that Tadic is always welcome there and that it would "be good to visit it as soon as possible." Vujanovic reiterated that he will not sign a decree on the appointment of an ambassador to Pristina until the Montenegrin minority is recognized in Kosovo, evaluating that the Montenegrin minority should be recognized under the Constitution, which he finds to be "humiliating" both for them and for Montenegro.

NOVI PAZAR, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bosniak Ethnic Council Esad Dzudzevic has informed Serbia's Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic that a large number of citizens, members of the Bosniak ethnic minority, have approached the council, saying that their basic human and ethnic minority rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution, law and international standards, are being violated. In his letter to the prime minister, which was delivered to the media as well, Dzudzevic asks that he take appropriate steps so that the Bosniaks could enjoy their guaranteed rights. Minister without Portfolio Sulejman Ugljanin is the president of the council. Dzudzevic states that most complaints say that there is no Bosniak minority in the ethnic classification in Sandzak municipalities, adding that 136,087 people declared themselves as Bosniaks during the 2002 census in Serbia. Dzudzevic claims that the personal identification cards issued in those municipalities are printed using only the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, even though the Bosniak language and the Latin alphabet are in official use as well. Dzudzevic also states that travel documents have "Serbian" typed under citizenship, instead of "citizenship of the Republic of Serbia," adding that it violates the Constitution and the law on citizenship.

NIS, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic stated in Nis Thursday that the government reshuffling is a matter of agreement between the ones who constituted it in the first place. "The ones who set the government up will have to sit at a table once again and agree on the issue," Djukic-Dejanovic told the journalists during her visit to the Nis Town Assembly. She believes that the government reshuffling is "apparently the topic which requires attention since everybody is talking about it so much." "This topic is a matter of political agreement and political evaluation," Djukic-Dejanovic said, adding that she does not think that the National Assembly MPs will affect this issue with their activities. According to her, for now, the suggestions of citizens and certain politicians are being taken into account, as well as of certain officials who publicly speak about it.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic has voiced expectation, after his talks with US Attorney General Eric Holder in Washington, that the two countries will improve their cooperation in the fight against all forms of crime. Dacic said that the "US attorney general expressed satisfaction over the cooperation so far," and added that he invited Holder to visit the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) and the Ministry of Justice, which his host accepted with pleasure, MUP released in a statement. "I expect that in the period before us, we will work together on improving our cooperation and strengthening our capacities in the fight against organised crime and terrorism," he said. According to him, the Serbian police views as very important the exchange of experience with their American colleagues, given the very good organization of US police and security structures in the fight against crime. Dacic explained that the US system differs from the one in Serbia and that the US Department of Justice comprises the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a number of other agencies and security departments, which can be viewed as partners of the Serbian police. "Our cooperation is successful as it is, and not only in the field of police cooperation, but also in terms of the assistance we have given each other in the realisation of a number of programmes and laws, in the sense of our joint work and training, protection of witnesses, financial investigations.," he said. The Serbian interior minister also met with US Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Alcee Hastings, "who, as well, is satisfied with the results of the cooperation so far." "We also discussed ways to improve the cooperation which refers to the problems that all countries in the world are faced with - fight against organised crime, dug trafficking, international terrorism.," Dacic added.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac voiced belief that it is good that Serbia is starting to talk about joining NATO, since that will help its citizens with the transition from an emotional bond that the country has from the past to rational discussions focused on the country's future, in accordance with the Constitution and official state policy. "Serbia is definitely going to collaborate with NATO even without being its member. The form of this collaboration will be ultimately decided by Serbian citizens," Sutanovac said for CorD magazine. "A politician who speaks the truth has seldom been popular in Serbia. But it is not a politician's job to be popular, but to work in the best interests of his country and its citizens," the defense minister pointed out. "Under the present circumstances, that means working towards Serbia's becoming an EU member as soon as possible" he stressed, and said that EU candidate status should help Serbia "to position itself with respect to NATO while bearing in mind the national, economic, political and security aspects." "In order to do that, we need to do a rational analysis on which we are going to base our future decisions," Sutanovac believes. Sutanovac stated that "relations between Serbia and NATO are also changing," and that "things that were inconceivable only a decade ago have become reality today." "KFOR and the Serbian Army, the two warring sides in the past, have become partners, gradually building trust in the field. Today, their collaboration is one of the safety pillars in the region," he added. Sutanovac reminded that Serbia participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace program and would like to be granted an advanced partner status. Serbia will have its mission in NATO this year, he said, adding that it has "adopted the second Individual Partnership Programme (IPP) for 2010" and that it is planning "to continue working with NATO on reforming the defense system." The minister said that "Serbia and NATO are no longer enemies, but partners who seek to find the best modalities of cooperation," stressing that "the most important change in relations between Serbia and NATO is a change of conscience and the way we look at each other." "The fact remains that certain NATO structures still have a 'frozen image' of Serbia, viewing it as Milosevic's Serbia from the 1990's, as the culprit behind every single problem in the region," he pointed out. On the other hand, "some people in Serbia think of NATO as being anti-Serb for bombing the country in 1999 and taking away Kosovo and Metohija." "Unfortunately, this is a case of covering up for the inevitability and incompetence of politicians that haven't accomplished notable results," Sutanovac claims. "Although NATO air raids were a really traumatic event for Serbia that could not and should not be forgotten, this country is quite capable of handling its own responsibility in this case and judging those politicians who, in the name of Serbia and patriotic duty, were only actually concerned with their own well-being," said Sutanovac.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Representatives of the Serbian Defense Ministry and the French armed forces signed in Belgrade on Thursday a bilateral military cooperation plan for 2010, which includes economic cooperation as one of its priorities. Cooperation in military education and the project of establishing a simulation center at the Military Academy in Belgrade will be among the priorities in the coming period, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The plan was signed by Head of the International Military Cooperation Department Milorad Peric and Brigadier General Antoine Creux, Head of the European Union/NATO/United Nations Division at the French Military Headquarters. Both sides concluded that the military cooperation between Serbia and France is very good and is constantly on the rise, it was published on the Serbian Defense Ministry website.

BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The Serbian government is fully aware of the diaspora's importance for the state's European integration, Assistant Minister for Diaspora Djordje Prstojevic has said at the European Parliament in Brussels, where a meeting was held between the young people of the Central Council of Serbs in Germany and the MPs of the Christian Democratic Union, Social Democratic Party and the Green Party from Germany. The awareness is "also shown by the adoption of the first Law on Diaspora which determines the basis of a new and responsible policy regarding diaspora," Prstojevic said, according to a statement released by the Serbian ministry in charge. He pointed out that "the objective of this policy is crystal clear," adding that "the dispora wants Serbia which is in the EU, as an economic and political leader in the Western Balkans, but also a Serbia which is the factor of stability and the leader in the development of good-neighborly relations and regional cooperation." The topic of the conference is Serbia's EU integration and the role of young Serbian politicians from Germany in the process, and 30 young people from the Central Council of Serbs discussed the issue with European parliamentarians, the statement reads.

BELGRADE, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Konuzin stated that a part of Russia's loan to Serbia, that is USD 800 million, will be used for four projects - the development of the Belgrade railway junction and the Prokop station, the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railway track, construction of the Valjevo-Loznica track and modernization of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad track. It is assumed that projects will be realized by the Russian Open Joint Stock Company Russian Railways Trading House, together with the Serbian Railways company, with the coordination of the Serbian Infrastructure Ministry, Konuzin said in an interview for the Belgrade daily Vecernje novosti, adding that the Russian company is presently drawing on technical expertise. He said that the Serbian side was unfortunately late with sending additional materials necessary for the realization of this plan, which automatically moves the deadline for its completion. We believe that we will hold the next joint meeting for a definitive choise of projects in February, after which we will inform the Serbian side about our decision, Konuzin underscored.

LONDON, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Defense Dusan Spasojevic said that he expressed gratitude to Great Britain officials for their principled support to Serbia's EU integration. "We discussed the bilateral relations in the field of defense and the broader bilateral relations between the two countries, and also the security and political situation in the entire region," Spasojevic said in a phone statement for Tanjug from London. "I stressed that the state of Serbia and its Defense Ministry and army have a constructive role in creating a positive image of security and that Serbia is a responsible partner of the international community," he said. The secretary said that Serbia's involvement in UN peacekeeping operations was also part of the discussion. "We agreed on concrete cooperation activities, before all in the field of education and training, and concluded that it would be good to continue at the same pace and extend the cooperation in every possible way," he said. Spasojevic also had separate meetings with the Minister for International Defence and Security, Baroness Rt Hon Ann Taylor, Director of International Security Policy Gloria Craig, and Director for European Political Affairs Tim Hitchens.

BRUSSELS, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic, whos in Brussels on a three-day working visit, stated that representatives of the European Commission (EC) had expressed a rather positive stand on the cooperation with Serbia in the area of culture and education. In his statement with Tanjug, Bradic said that Director of the EC department for culture and education Odile Quintin had observed that Serbia had made important progress in the area of culture and education. At the yesterday's meeting with representatives of the EC, Serbia's participation in project funds of the European Union in the coming period were discussed. Bradic evaluated them as very stimulating, especially those in the area of culture education and film industry. Bradic recalled that Serbia is present in numerous multilateral projects that the EC supports, such as translation of Serbian books into other languages, protection of cultural heritage within the so-called Ljubljana Process, in which Serbia, according to the minister, had already made the biggest progress in the region. He evaluated the meeting as great support to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture to make a new progress in the area of culture and to use EU's potentials and funds.

BELGRADE, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - Serbian authorities are ready to reorganize the justice system and initiate the process which needs to be conducted in all of Western Balkans, PACE Rapporteur Jean Charles Gardetto assessed in Belgrade on Thursday. Gardetto is on a two-day visit to Serbia, with the aim of assessing the state of witness protection in the cases connected to war crimes in former Yugoslavia. Gardetto conferred with Serbian officials on facilitating testimonies, the legal framework for witness protection and possible improvements in this area, reform of the justice system in Serbia, as well as changes to the draft law on criminal proceedings. Gardetto also stressed that there is no general witness protection system in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and that both the coordination among the services in one country and the cooperation in the region need to improve. The goal of the PACE representative's visit is to prepare a resolution which would contribute to the reconciliation of the Western Balkans nations, and which would not be binding but would send a political message to the region's governments. On the first day of his visit to Belgrade, Gardetto met with Assistant Minister for European Integration and International Projects Dragana Lukic, Assistant Justice Minister in Charge of Normative Affairs and International Cooperation Vojkan Simic and State Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac. Gardetto also met with High Court Chief Judge Dragoljub Albijanic, head of the High Court's Special Department for Suppression of Organized Crime Vladimir Vucinic, head of the High Court's war crimes department Tatjana Vucinic, War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic and other officials.

VIENNA, FEB 4 (TANJUG) - THE OSCE MISSion in Kosovo intends to monitor the influence that the KFOR reduction is going to have on Kosovo communities, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Werner Almhofer said in Vienna. Submitting his six-month report on the Mission's activities to the OSCE Permanent Council, Almhofer pointed out that there are tensions in the north of Kosovo, and that the situation is relatively stable, but fragile. Almhofer underscored the Mission's neutral approach in terms of Kosovo's status and mentioned the last elections in Kosovo, saying that the percentage of Serbs south of the Ibar river who voted in the elections was better compared to the north of the river, where the number of Serbs who voted was negligible. Serbian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Miroslava Beham requested that the work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo be neutral in terms of Kosovo's status and based on the UN Resolution 1244, which has to be fulfilled, because the situation in Kosovo is still not good. Beham stressed Serbia's constructive approach to improving the situation out in the field. Beham also expressed Serbia's willingness to invite the Kosovo Albanians to negotiate after the International Court of Justice reaches its decision on the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration, adding that the negotiations would be in the spirit of those conducted as part of the Corfu Process. She called on the OSCE Mission to continue observing the situation in the field and report on it and to focus even more on the rights of the ethnic non-Albanians and on protecting cultural and religious heritage. Speaking about decentralization, Beham noted that Serbia is willing to take part in the process if there is an agreement about an alternative model, whose implementation could be monitored by a status neutral agency, like the OSCE. The USA praised the November local elections in Kosovo, speaking about record numbers of Serb voters south of the Ibar. The U.S. diplomatic representative asked for the OSCE Mission to focus on strenghtening Kosovo's institutions. Russia, on the other hand, reiterated its view that there is no alternative to the key role that the UN, its Security Council and Resolution 1244 have in Kosovo, adding that the situation in that territory is fragile. Russia also commented Peter Feith's plan for northern Kosovo, stating that it has no legal basis, and that it could lead to new conflicts. Moscow is in favour of negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina without any outside interference.

PRISTINA/WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Interim institutions of self-government in Pristina stated Thursday evening that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted the invitation to visit the province. Clinton met with Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hiseni in Washington, Pristina stated. According to the statement, Clinton talked with Hiseni in private at the margins of the Prayer Breakfast gathering, commending Kosovo's accomplishments after the declaration of independence. Interim institutions in Pristina unilaterally declared the independence of the southern Serbian province on February 18, 2008. In October 2008, UN General Assembly accepted Serbia's request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court within this international organization, should debate on the legality of Kosovo's secession. ICJ could give not even their advisory opinion in the following months. According to the announcement in Pristina, Hiseni and Clinton extensively discussed the Kosmet process, the process before the ICJ and the steps that need to be taken to speed up processes in Kosovo. Hillary Clinton was the first lady of the US when her husband, president Bill Clinton decided, together with NATO, to launch a 78-day an air attack against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, after which the international force entered Kosmet.

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Tanjug) - The adoption of the strategy for the north of Kosovo does not fall within the competence of European Union Special Representative Peter Feith, it is only a private initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Thursday. This document was drafted by the Office of EU Special Representative in the province Peter Feith, whom the states which support Kosovo's independence consider to be the international civilian representative, he said. Nesterenko pointed to the leading role of the UN Security Council in the Kosovo process. It is clearly written in the UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which continues to apply in full extent, Nesterenko said quoted by Itar-Tass. In the province itself, control of the international civil presence is entrusted to the head of the UN mission, he said, adding that the UN did not empower the EU special representative for the drafting and implementation of practical solutions for Kosovo. Russia does not consider legitimate the institution of the international civilian representative, which is based on a document called Ahtisaari's plan, which was not approved by the UN Security Council and has no legal force, said Nesterenko. Besides, he added, Feith's strategy for the north of Kosovo was not coordinated even within the EU. It is only a private initiative, which is not a basis for the activities or the structure of the international presence in the province, Nesterenko said. At the same time, the general objectives of the strategy are causing serious concern, he said. It seems that the sponsors of Pristina have not abandoned the hope that by bypassing the established international legal procedures, they can change the status quo that has emerged in the province and impose to local Serbs a concept of an independent Kosovo, he said. Such an approach has in itself no small potential for conflict, he added. He urged all involved parties to approach the situation responsibly and adopt the necessary measures in order to rule out the prospect of such developments.

PRISTINA, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Together with Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo is the greatest threat of instability in Europe, the Pristina daily Koha Ditore reported Friday based on the annual report of Director of US Intelligence Dennis Blair which was filed to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The report, which was published on Feb 2, states that the situation in Kosovo did not change during the year 2009 and that it requires the inclusion of Western diplomacy and security. It was added that the nature of their inclusion and the skill of Washington, the EU and others to work together will have a significant influence on the regional security. The daily explained that the threat assessment is official information of the director of the State Intelligence, on the behalf of intelligence agencies, obtained for the US Senate. In the part of the report regarding Kosovo, Blair stated that, in spite of the fact that more than 60 countries, 22 of which are members of the EU, have recognized Kosovo, in the coming years Pristina will depend on the inter. community for economic and development assistance and to ensure Kosovo's territorial integrity. Most people in the Serb community turn to Belgrade and resist the integration into the Kosovo institutions, although it seems that the situation is slowly changing in the south of Kosovo. The influence of the Kosovo government in the north, where Serbs are the majority, is extremely weak, the report reads.

ISTANBUL, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General, has evaluated in Istanbul that KFOR will be capable of guaranteeing safety despite the reduced number of its troops. At an informal meeting of NATO defense ministers, Rasmussen said that progress had been made in Kosovo over the past 12 months and that KFOR was transformed into a lighter and more flexible structure after the reduction of its troops, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. However, there is no doubt that KFOR is fully capable of guaranteeing development of Kosovo in security conditions, underscored Rasmussen.

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Tanjug) - The World Bank (WB) stated that the Board of Executive Directors allowed two loans to Pristina for the promotion of public sector and assets register of the total value of USD 11.14 million. The WB statement said the loan for the project of public sector modernization amounts to USD 4.4 million, while the loan for the assets register is USD 6.74 million with 40-year maturity period and ten-year grace period.