Serbia

Ivica Dačić, head of Serbia’s Socialist Party (SPS), and Rasim LJajić’s Social Democratic Party (SDPS) are reportedly close to an agreement by which they plan on enter local and provincial elections jointly. According to the Vojvodinian news-outlet “Novosti”, their parties will appear on a single list for the Vojvodinian Assembly no matter what forms of alliances appear during the pre-election season on a national level. Novosti reported that by now, all alliances should be known to the public. Meanwhile, Boris Tadić’s Democratic Party (DS) is thought to hold all the important political strings while Ljajić and Tadić reportedly held talks to also appear on a joint list. Should continued talks between the leaders of the DS and SDPS get sour, Ljajić could try to join forces with the SPS also on a Republican level or else enter the Republican race individually. As of last week, it was clear that DS and the Vojvodinian League of Social-democrats (LSV) will appear on a joint ticket. The LSV’s vice president Bojan Kostreš stated that while the LSV will most likely go out individually for local and provincial elections, he sees no problem in appearing on a joint ticket with the DS for parliamentary elections. Whether the united pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) will join SPS ticket was of last week not sure though an offer was made to go out on a three way list.

“Dačić i Ljajić novi dvojac u Vojvodini”. Novisti.rs. Accessed March 4, 2012. http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.289.html:369104-Dacic-i-Ljajic-novi-dvojac-u-Vojvodini

“Dačić i Ljajić dvojac za Vojvodinu?”. B92. Accessed March 4, 2012. http://www.b92.net/mobilni/info/587881

Bosna i Herzegovina (BiH)

On the 24^th of April, an international conference held in Sarajevo, BiH ,is to find solutions and funding – €600 million - to find housing for refugees and displaced persons that face financial disadvantages. The initiative was launched jointly by the governments of BiH, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia and supported by the United Nations High Chair for Refugees (UNHCR). Meanwhile, the diplomatic corps of Sarajevo was informed because it is believed that the most aid will arrive from the EU and the U.S. In addition, a meeting between ministers is planned on the subject of human rights. The war in the former Yugoslav republic triggered a mass exodus and created nearly three million refugees and displaced people. Today, thousands of people live without their own roof over their heads and one person has been quoted saying that “Seven times I turned in my documents and renewed my papers. Each time when I returned, some new paper shows up, I have no idea…then I borrow 20 marks from someone and return with the papers but when I return, there are still no results. Whenever I visit someone’s house for a day or two, it is not the same, it is not yours and you know that you will have to leave again”…. The regional housing program seeks to aid 74,000 refugees and displaced persons that live below the poverty line. For this project, €584 million are needed. According to the current plan, in Serbia, there will be 45,000 people, in BiH 14,000 people and in Croatia there are 8,500 and in Montenegro 6,000 people that are in need of aid. Meanwhile, Andrew Mayn who heads BiH’s UNHCR chapter stated that three preconditions must be fulfilled for the project to succeed. First, strong support from the donor states must be guaranteed while, second, a monitoring process must be ensured so that people who truly need support receive the aid. Thirdly, close coordination among the stakeholders will prove significant so that issues related to social security, insurance and other relevant questions can be adequately addressed. All actors involved have expressed that close cooperation and mutual support is necessary to resolve the problems faced by refugees and displaced persons.

The ministry for the security of BiH announced that Mevlid Jašarević who last October shot at the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, had strong ties to radical movements located in BiH, Austria and Sandžak. Jašarević allegedly lived in Gornja Maoča in Dino Pečinković’s house who was also arrested in relation to the shooting at the U.S. embassy. The ministry was scheduled to address the joint defense commission last Tuesday.

As B92 reported, assistants at the American University of Sarajevo consider the current global financial system inefficient and of dubious value. Instead, they seek to create a system based on elements found in Sharia law. In an article titled “Islamic Finance in the Western Balkans – Perspectives and Legal Challenges” published in the quarterly edition of Arab Rights, the author proposes the creation of a market that would allow for investors to participate in projects directly. The two authors Asim Jusic and Ašraf Ismalib from the department of law and finance respectively address questions of reform that are in line with Islamic financial customs and propose to protect property laws by way of arbitration as opposed to litigation. Arbitration would, as explained by the proponents, reduce cost and simultaneously strengthen investor confidence. Islamic finance is the fastest growing sector within the financial system particularly in times of crisis and growing interest in alternative forms if investing.

“Šerijat spas za finansijski sistem”. B92. Accessed March 11, 12. http://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/region.php?yyyy=2012&mm=03&dd=06&nav_id=588522

“Vehabija Jašarević dobio instrukcije iz Austrije?”. Novosti.rs. Accessed March 5, 2012. http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/planeta.300.html:369269-Vehabija-Jasarevic-dobio-instrukcije-iz-Austrije

“Donatorska konferencija bi mogla riješiti problem izbjeglih”. Radio Slobodna Evropa. Accessed March 5, 2012. http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/content/donatorska_konferencija_sa_zbrinjanje_izbjeglih_u_regiji/24502733.html

Sandžak

The Police of Novi Pazar arrested two individuals, Abit P (25) and Izudin C. (23) due to violent behavior and damaging other people’s property. The two attacked a Bosnian film crew that was in the process of shooting a film upon which Abit and Izudin damaged their camera. As the news outlet Tanjug reported, the Abit and Izudin are reportedly followers of the Wahhabi movement. As RTV reported, Bosnian journalists caught the scene on tape which is to serve as evidence in the case against Abit and Izudin. Wahhabi’s, so the Vojvodinian news outlet, wear short pants and have beards while their women are likely to be covered. Bosnian news media have in the past reported that followers of the Wahhabi movement receive 300 convertible marks in exchange for adopting the movements’ values. Lately, some people call have called followers of the movement Wahhabis, others call them Salafists while again others call them true believers. Lately, however, the term terrorist has come to be used more often in association with the movement. There is much controversy surrounding the Wahhabi and/or Salafi movement that is often based on believes that these are very dangerous young men, or a generally problematic population.

“Uhapšeni napadači na ekipu Federalne TV” – Radio-Televizija Vojvodine. Accessed March 6, 2012. http://www.rtv.rs/rs_lat/hronika/uhapseni-napadaci-na-ekipu-federalne-tv_304616.html