Belgrade, April 14, 2010

SERBIA – REGION

TADIC: CHALLENGES TO BE ANSWERED WITH REGIONAL PLAN
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - President Tadic stated in Mostar that the crisis which hit all the countries of the Western Balkans should be answered with joint regional plans. Tadic pointed out that the frame for regional policy is that all the Western Balkan countries enter the EU in the following years. "The EU is observing to what extent the political elites are capable of working together. I believe I have political partners among Croatians, Bosniaks, Macedonians, and Montenegrins, and Albanian politicians as well," the president pointed out. He underlined that all the countries of the region are facing similar economic problems, including over-indebtedness, disharmony between import and export, lack of investments in modern technologies, science, knowledge and education. The president underlined that the regional countries have mutual resources, since, as he put it, we know each other well, we speak the same language, share watercourses and energy capacities. Serbia's biggest resource are not the EU's aid or funds, but its people, and taking a different stand will not help us approach the Union, but would rather be considered as irresponsible behavior, Tadic underscored. He said that the regional states cannot survive economically in the small markets of individual countries, giving the example of the Fiat's project in Serbia, which will represent the possibilities for opening of new work places in BiH as well. According to Tadic, large world corporations cannot understand internal political problems in the Balkans and every discrepancy between the countries of the region leads to economic decay. "We must not be prisoners of years and decades behind us, since nobody will invest into the countries of the past, but only into the region of the future, in which we lean on one another,".

TADIC MEETS WITH INZKO, BORJANA KRISTO, COVIC IN MOSTAR
MOSTAR, April 13 (Beta) - President Tadic met in Mostar with Bosnia and Herzegovina High Representative Valentin Inzko, Muslim-Croat Federation President Borjana Kristo and Croatian Democratic Union president in Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Covic. Tadic, who arrived in Mostar in the company of Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik, did not meet with Bosnian presidency chairman Haris Silajdzic. Tadic told that he had been ready to meet with Silajdzic, but that the meeting did not take place. During a meeting with Tadic, Valentin Inzko stressed that the meeting was very important from the standpoint of improving economic and other relations between states in the region.

TADIC: MOSTAR IS CITY OF BOSNIAKS, CROATS AND SERBS
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - President Tadic said that Mostar is a city of Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and that Serbs are "an integral part" of the city. "Serbs have been an integral part of Mostar throughout its history. They helped create it through literature, architecture and music," Tadic said visiting the ruins of the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Tadic said it is important to send a message to the people returning to the city that Mostar belongs to all three nations and that the return of Serbs is vital to the city's future. "Serbia will help its people preserve their national identity in Mostar," Tadic added. The Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was destroyed early in 1990s war. Prior to the construction of St. Mark's Church in Belgrade in the early 20th century, it was the biggest Orthodox church in the Balkans. A new church will be built on the ruins of the Cathedral.

SILAJDZIC USES ECONOMIC FAIR TO ACCUSE SERBIA ONCE AGAIN
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Haris Silajdzic used his visit to the Economic Fair in Mostar to accuse Serbia once again of insisting on a policy that is disrupting the relations in the region.Silajdzic said that Serbia's arrest warrant for Ejup Ganic does not contribute to friendly relations in the region, but rather brings harm to the relations with BiH. As an illustration of Serbia's wrong policy, Silajdzic gave the example of Ilija Jurisic, whom Belgrade has imprisoned in spite of the fact that "he is innocent." In 2009, the War Crimes Chamber of the Belgrade District Court sentenced Jurisic to 12 years in prison for having taken part in the attack on the Yugoslav People's Army column in Tuzla in May 1992. Silajdzic also said that the fact that Ganic was arrested upon Belgrade's request questions Serbia's readiness to improve its relations with BiH."If they cannot ethnically cleanse us here, they can do that in London, and they can go around arresting us in London or in Belgrade," Silajdzic said. He added that he "heard that Serbian President Tadic had said that 'that is not in the interest of Serbia,'" and wondered "which Serbia is it then that is doing this." At the same time, Silajdzic qualified the relations with Croatia as good and friendly. In course of his opening speech, someone shouted out loud "president, you should go."

TADIC RESPONDS TO STRONG LANGUAGE OF SILAJDZIC- WITH A SMILE
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - President Tadic said that he is putting his best efforts to contribute to a resolution of problems which have been caused by some other people during the 1990's, and added that he responds to strong language with a smile. Regarding the statement by Bosniak Member of the Presidency of BiH Silajdzic that Serbia's policy fails to contribute to improvement of the country's relations with BiH, Tadic told the press in Mostar that he shook hands with Silajdzic, and that they understand and cooperate with each other rather well, despite the words with which Silajdzic addressed him at the beginning of the fair. "It is not Serbia and its decisions that brought the talks to a lower level, it was rather done by the other side," Tadic added. Answering the question by the press why he did not meet with Silajdzic, Tadic said that he was prepared for the meeting and that immediately upon his arrival to Mostar, he wanted to know whether a bilateral meeting would be held, but there was no answer. He said that Serbia unquestionably supports the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, since the country is a signatory of the Dayton Accord. "Serbia will not make any political or legal move which could destabilize Bosnia-Herzegovina," the president added. After being asked to comment on the cases of Ganic and Jurisic, who was convicted of war crimes committed in Tuzla, Tadic said that he can not interfere with court and prosecution's work. "If we interfered with this work, we would disturb the legal order upon which the entire world is based," the Serbian president underlined.

DINKIC PROPOSES JOINT GOVERNMENT SESSIONS
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister Dinkic proposed in Mostar, BiH, that the Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian governments hold joint sessions every three months in order to solve common problems and boost the economy of all three countries. "Only if we work together can we attract more investments and remove the barriers between our economies and states," Dinkic said and assessed that the countries can open factories and create jobs by turning to the future, development and regional cooperation. "There is finally peace in the region and it is time for economic growth and a rise in living standards," Dinkic said opening an economic forum attended by representatives of Serbia, Republika Srpska and the BiH Council of Ministers, the Serbian Ministry of Economy said in a statement.

SERBIA AND BIH SIGN TOURISM COOPERATION AGREEMENT IN MOSTAR
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - Minister of Economy Dinkic and BiH Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mladen Zirojevic signed an agreement on cooperation in tourism in Mostar. The agreement was signed in the framework of the International Trade Fair Mostar 2010, which was opened by President Tadic. "We in the region need to join forces to attract foreign guests. My suggestion is to organize a tour Dubrovnik-Mostar-Sarajevo-Novi Sad, and have this tour merged with wine tours and roads of Roman Emperors tours, as this is what foreign tourists want," Dinkic expressed belief that cooperation will benefit regional countries.The agreement implies creating joint tourism products and services, which will be competitive on third tourism markets, it was stated in a release by the Ministry of Economy.

SERBIA

TADIC: SERBIA WILL ALLOW NO CONCESSIONS IN WAR ON MAFIA
MOSTAR, April 13 (Tanjug) - President Tadic said that Serbia has declared war on the mafia and will not back down at any cost. "There will be no political concessions and we will see this thing through to the end," Tadic told in Mostar. He specified that the mafia groups operate not only in Serbia but in the whole region. "The mafia is trying to get involved in the political process, invest in the economy and take control of society, like it does everywhere in the world. But we are absolutely determined to defeat this scourge on the Serbian people," the president stressed. Commenting on the indictment brought against the Saric drug cartel, Tadic said that the National Security Council met several days ago and that all reports confirm that it is a regional mafia ring which smuggles cocaine from South America. According to the reports, other groups traffic heroine from Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is later transported to the EU. He added that Serbia has good cooperation with Croatia in this matter and that he expects cooperation with other Western Balkan countries to improve. As a country that respects legal order, Serbia will defend its own authorities and citizens from organized crime groups, protecting EU citizens in the process, the president said. Tadic said Serbia has become an "exporter of security" and added that cooperation among police and security services is a duty of the entire region.

TADIC'S SAFETY MAY BE UNDER THREAT
BELGRADE, April 13 (Beta) - Dusan Bajatovic, deputy chairman of the Defense and Security Committee at the parliament, said that "the level of threats and knowledge" of intelligence services pointed to a possible threat to the security of President Tadic and other officials. "All this shows that the fight against crime launched by the Serbian state has significant results and that we have put the screws in a considerable measure, because, if that were not the case, resistance and threats would not be so high," Bajatovic told. Slobodan Homen, state secretary in the Ministry of Justice, said on April 12 that the security of some top state officials had been raised to the highest possible level in light of the alleged plans of Saric's criminal gang for retaliation and the liquidation of top state officials. He added that it was "particularly telling" that threats were being made against Tadic. Bajatovic said individuals were being threatened, but that this essentially shows the clear political will of the country and its institutions, parliament, government and security services to continue the fight against organized crime. Bajatovic said in 2004, when a law on cooperation with the Hague tribunal was passed, that everyone who participated in adopting a decision to extradite Slobodan Milosevic to that court would have to answer for their actions.

DEJANOVIC: THREATS SHOULD ALWAYS BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Dejanovic said that she is unaware of any threats directed at her and is convinced that her security detail is doing an excellent job, but that threats should always be taken seriously. "Explicit and sometime even implicit threats should always be taken seriously. I am certain that security services are doing their job well and will consider all threats and risks and increase security for all those who have received threats," Dejanovic told. The speaker added that she does not know if her security has been raised, which means that the team assigned to her is doing a very professional job. She stressed that she personally does not feel good knowing that anyone is threating anyone else in the country in which she is the parliament speaker, but that she would feel the same if she were an ordinary citizen. "None of us feels good except those whose business is crime," Djukic Dejanovic stressed.

HOMEN: "THE SITUATION IS SERIOUS AND IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE SERIOUS"
BELGRADE, April 13 (Beta) - Justice Ministry Secretary of State Slobodan Homen said that no one would be protected in an investigation into organized crime groups and that it was realistic to expect some government officials and party officials to be included in the investigation. "It is unrealistic to expect politicians to have carried drugs. But it is very realistic to expect certain public officials or representatives of some parties to be involved in the investigation, as we are talking about classic corruption here, or money laundering," Homen told B92 TV. Homen added that there was a political will to continue a crackdown on organized crime and that he was happy to see such a part of the opposition so interested in taking a part. Commenting on intelligence reports indicating that some top officials were in danger, Homen said that the first reports indicating that this had appeared after the adoption of a law on property seizures and that, "The situation is serious and it has never been more serious." Homen denied allegations of the investigation being a political popularity stunt and recalled Serbia's negative experiences with the murder of Zoran Djindjic.

PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SIGN BOOK OF CONDOLENCE
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Djukic-Dejanovic signed the book of condolence in the Polish Embassy in Belgrade on the occasion of the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and a number of high state officials of Poland. "On the behalf of the Serbian MPs and on my personal behalf, I express my deepest condolence to the families of the killed and all Polish citizens, being deeply distressed that a true defender of the idea of democracy, freedom and human dignity, President Kaczynski, has lost his life,".

DACIC SIGNS BOOK OF CONDOLENCE
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic signed the book of condolence in the Polish Embassy in Belgrade on the occasion of the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the Interior Ministry said.

SUTANOVAC SIGNS SUTANOVAC SIGNS BOOK OF CONDOLENCE
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac signed the book of condolence in the Polish Embassy in Belgrade on the occasion of the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and a number of high state officials. "It is with great grief that we learned about the tragic death of the Polish president and a number of high state officials. On the behalf of the Serbian Ministry of Defence and on my personal behalf, I express my deepest condolence to the Polish people and the families of the killed," Sutanovac said. The book of condolences was also signed by Chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces Miloje Miletic, the Defence Ministry published on its website.

DJUKIC-DEJANOVIC: TEXT OF DECLARATION BY END OF APRIL
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Djukic-Dejanovic said that the text of a declaration condemning crimes against Serbs in the former Yugoslavia might be finalized by the end of April or the beginning of May. The text might be put on the agenda after the present session ends, she told. The present session might end by the end of April or the beginning of May, and the text of the declaration could be finalized by then too, she said. The basic text has been forwarded to party whips, together with the texts of all declarations condemnding crimes against Serbs in the past two decades adopted by the parliament or by the earlier parliaments of Yugoslavia and of Serbia-Montenegro, she said. Inclusion in the present text of at least one paragraph citing the earlier declarations should be considered.

MONTENEGRO TO DONATE SIX G-4 SUPER GALEB AIRCRAFTS TO SERBIA
BELGRADE, April 14 (Tanjug) - Montenegro will donate to the Serbian Army six G-4 Super Galeb aircrafts which remained in that country after the separation of the former state union of Serbia and Montenegro, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac stated. After he signed the interstate agreement on exchange of means and documentation with his Montenegrin counterpart Boro Vucinic, Sutanovac told at the Batajnica airport that in return, Serbia will give to Montenegro a certain number of shares in the Novi prvoborac company from Herceg Novi. Sutanovac and Vucinic have also officially put into operation a flight simulator for the Super Galeb G-4 airplane donated by the Montenegrin government to the Serbian Army.

ALBANIA LIBERALIZES VISA REGIME FOR SERBIAN CITIZENS
TIRANA, April 13 (Tanjug) - Albanian Council of Ministers approved a decision to liberalize visa regime for Serbian citizens. The decision, proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will also facilitate movement of the Albanians from the Preshevo Valley and all Serbian citizens of Albanian nationality, who due to the visa regime should apply for a visa at the Albanian embassy in Belgrade, Albanian agency ATA reports.

SERBIA – EU

FULE: BELGRADE WILL NOT HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN KOSOVO AND EU
NOVI SAD, April 14 (Tanjug) - There is no connection between Serbia's EU path and the resolution of the Kosovo issue, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule stated, adding that the EC expects that every EU candidate country should have good relations with the neighboring countries if it wants to make progress toward the EU. Fule said for daily Dnevnik that the EC questionnaire for Serbia's EU candidacy is impartial regarding Kosovo, adding that he believes that the EU member states will give a mandate to the EC in June to start drafting the assessment of Serbia's readiness for the candidacy status. The content of the questionnaire will clearly show that the EC is unbiased concerning the status of Kosovo. There is no connection between the resolution of Belgrade-Pristina relations and Serbia's future steps in the EU integration process. The questionnaire will prove that Belgrade is in no way made to choose between the EU path and Kosovo as part of Serbia, Fule pointed out. Fule said that he hopes that in the years to come, a solution that would secure a European future for Serbia and Kosovo will be found in the EU integration process. When asked whether the next report of ICTY Chief Prosecutor Brammertz in June on Serbia's cooperation with the ICTY will be positive enough so that Serbia could make the next step toward the EU membership, Fule said that the signals in that respect are mixed. Brammertz told me that Serbia cooperates well, but that there are still some more issues that should be dealt with. Furthermore, it is to be seen how the member states, or more precisely certain member states, will interpret Brammertz's report, Fule said.

KOUCHNER & FRATTINI: SERBIA & KOSOVO NEED TO ORGANIZE A CO-EXISTENCE
PARIS, April 13 (Beta) - French and Italian foreign ministers Bernard Kouchner and Franco Frattini endorsed lifting visa requirements for travellers from Bosnia and Albania, voicing their expectations that this could happen soon. In a joint piece, published in the April 13 edition of the Paris Le Monde, Kouchner and Frattini said that they hoped that "Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to obtain a visa liberalization for short stays in Schengen area countries." "The technical conditions need to be met but we must not allow the idea to set in that Muslims in the Balkans can be discriminated against, or stopped from enjoying the same measures that Serbs and Montenegrins have been enjoying since the end of 2009," the two ministries said. For the European idea to be propagated through the region of the Western Balkans, voluntary action with regard to visas is necessary, Kouchner and Frattini, who met in Paris last week, said. "Freedom of movement in the EU is fundamental and it enables the peoples of the Western Balkans to feel like members of the European family," the French and Italian foreign ministers said. In the same editorial, they recalled that "Serbia and Kosovo, who share the same devotion to joining the EU, really need to organize a coexistence." "Without practicing neighborly relations, belonging to the same union (EU) is impossible, and France and Italy share this opinion," they said. The European Commission is scheduled to hold a debate on the possibility of cancelling visas for Bosnian citizens soon.

SERBIA – ECONOMY

DULIC: CONSTRUCTION OF HIGHWAYS FINALLY BEGINS IN 2010
BELGRADE, April 13 (Tanjug) - Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic stated that 2010 will be the year "in which the construction of highways in Serbia will finally begin." On the occasion of the opening of the International Building Trade Fair in Belgrade, Dulic said that "most of the money which would possibly come from the sale of Telekom would be allocated for the construction of motorways in Serbia," but added, however, that "this requires good organization and a new management of the entire process." He said that by the end of the year all tender procedures will be finished and that the construction works will start on all the sections of the Corridor 10 which pass through Serbia. "The day before was very important for all of us, especially because we proved that the Serbian road companies, when joined together, can be competitive in relation to foreign companies and win international tenders," Dulic underlined. The Ministry for Infrastructure stated that the Serbian companies that are gathered around the Preduzece za Puteve (PZP) Beograd consortium will construct 110 km of the left track of the Corridor 10 motorway section from Horgos to Novi Sad. Dulic announced that the works on the Corridor 10 Dimitrovgrad Bypass will be opened on Wednesday, and added that the construction works on this section in southeastern Serbia will start on Thursday.

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

SWAZILAND RECOGNIZES KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE
PRISSTINA, April 13 (Tanjug) - The Kosovo Foreign Ministry said it has received an official not from Swaziland on recognition of Kosovo's independence. The Kosovo Foreign Ministry is in contact with Swaziland authorities through diplomatic channels to complete the procedure, the release says. Swaziland is the 66th country which recognized the unilaterally proclaimed Kosovo's independence.

IVANOVIC: ISSUE OF KOSOVO STATUS NOT RESOLVED
BELGRADE, April 14 (Tanjug) - State Secretary in the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija Ivanovic stated that the status of Kosovo is not resolved for the Serbian government, and added that the sustainable solution for Kosovo can be found through new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. "Despite many attempts and even more lobbying which often turns into pressure, the status of Kosovo is not definitely resolved. It can be solved only when Serbia gives its consent to a status," Ivanovic told following a statement of U.S. Ambassador Dell that the status of Kosovo is resolved for the U.S.A. and that the only possible dialogue is the one on practical issues. Ivanovic added that Belgrade can treat the current status of Kosovo only as some kind of transition solution which will be valid only until a final solution is found."Only after the new negotiations are held can a final, sustainable solution be found, which will have no (negative) consequences for the region, but it depends on both sides when the talks will be held," he pointed out. According to him, the advisory opinion of the ICJ is very important for the future. "The ICJ's opinion is what we are waiting for, and it is certain that it will be important for determining of the moment when we will sit down at the negotiating table. The EU prospects of Serbia are not questionable, they are the orientation of the government and the entire Serbian people, and we will not pay too high a price for that," Ivanovic underscored, pointing out that the status of Kosovo, i.e. independence is simply not an option.

DELL: ISSUE OF KOSOVO STATUS IS CLOSED
KLOKOT, April 14 (Tanjug) - U.S. Ambassador to Pristina Christopher Dell stated in Klokot that the issue of Kosovo status is closed as far as the USA is concerned, and sent a message to Belgrade authorities to stop insisting on new negotiations on the status and territorial integrity of Kosovo. The time is always right for talks between Kosovo and Serbia, as two neighbors, as well as for the dialogue on practical issues. The talks can be held when the Serbian government realizes that the status, territorial integrity and division will not be at the negotiating table, Dell told a press conference during a stay in Klokot, a newly-formed municipality which has a majority Serb population. The U.S. ambassador criticized the current leadership of the nearby municipality of Vitina, which objected to the decentralization plan and the forming of the new municipality of Klokot with a majority of Serbs. Dell especially reprimanded the outgoing Municipal Vice President of Vitina Dzevat Bislimi for objecting to decentralization and the enforcement of Martti Ahtisaari's plan.

BENTLER: KFOR NOT LEAVING KOSOVO
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, April 14 (Tanjug) - KFOR Commander General Markus Bentler stated that the situation in Kosovo is calm, and added that KFOR is not leaving Kosovo but is rather adjusting the structure of its forces. Bentler said in Kosovska Mitrovica that the situation is still calm and that KFOR is not leaving Kosovo but that it is just adjusting its structure in order to get time for finding political solutions. KFOR commander visited the area of responsibility of the Multinational Battle Group North, together with another 16 members of the NATO Policy Coordination Group, the KFOR has said in a statement.

GALLUCCI: UN SHOULD HAVE JURISDICTION OVER NORTHERN KOSOVO
BELGRADE, April 14 (Tanjug) - Former UN regional representative in Kosovska Mitrovica Gerard Gallucci assessed that the EU strategy for the northern Kosovo will most likely fail, adding that the UN, that is UNMIK, should take over the jurisdiction in that part of the province. The international community will need to find a more comprehensive approach to the north of Kosovo, acceptable to the majority Serbs, that can serve in the interim to help normalize daily life there whilst the status issue remains unresolved, Gallucci said in his analysis of the situation in northern part of the province, published on the website of the Trans-Conflict organization. Pointing out that the north has been for too long already without key institutions, whereas the Serbian institutions are functioning, Gallucci said that Belgrade does not oppose the international community's approach to Pristina, therefore Pristina should not oppose the international community's approach for the north. Approaching the north in a status neutral manner means working with the existing local institutions, he stressed. This could be achieved through reaching agreement with Serbia on a court with jurisdiction limited to the north, applying UNMIK regulations and law, with judges and other officials chosen by the Serbs but appointed by UNMIK and operating under the UN flag, Gallucci suggested, adding that all this would simply replicate what is already being done with Kosovo institutions in the south. He said that it seems unlikely that the EU will be able to go this far, adding that only UNMIK can do that.