Bosnia i Herzegovina (BiH)
The draft of
BiH’s budged is likely to fail when it comes to the vote by BiH’s presidency. BiH’s
national TV announced that Željko Komšić, the Croatian member of BiH’s rotating
presidency, and Bakir Izetbegović, the Bosniak member of BiH’s rotating
presidency, will vote against the adoption of the budged. Komšić confirmed this
prior to the party’s session last week. Should Komšić insist on his decision, a
new political storm will ensue and will lead the termination of compliance with
the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and president Zlatko Lagumdžija, as reported
by 24.sata.info. BiH’s budged, amounting to KM950 million, was adopted in the
Council of Ministers just by Lagumdžija and Damir Hadžić and sparked a storm of
disapproval. Particularly sharp were reactions that came from the Democratic
Action Party (SDA) while all trade unions are unanimous in their assessment;
this budged will break BiH.
It is worrisome
that between 2002 and 2025, the unemployment rate has risen up to 25 percent.
In BiH, every seventh citizen is currently unemployed. This was found out by
the local agency called ALDI which undertook a study on the reform of social
security. The concept of unemployment differs between the agency ALDI and BiH’s
statistical office according to which 200,000 people less are thought
unemployed. Most affected by unemployment are the young as 25,000 jobs were
lost during the financial crisis, all of whom were filled with young people
between the ages of 15 – 24. Meanwhile, the largest job growth was recorded in
the public sector while Republica Srpska recorded the highest growth.
Turkey has begun
to lobby for BiH’s admittance to the NATO alliance. B92 reported that Turkey’s
foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu started a diplomatic mission in Brussels for
BiH to be included in the action plan for membership (MAP). This was confirmed
by Davutoglu’s spokesperson Seldžuk Unal who explained that the initiative was formally
addressed to all ministers who attended the ministerial NATO meeting in
Brussels. B92 reports that BiH’s future in NATO was the main topic between
Davutoglu and Great Britains foreign minister William Haig during the
ministerial meeting last Thursday. According to regional news, Davutoglu and
his Bulgarian colleague Nikolaj Mladenov jointly prepared a letter in which
they seek recognition of BiH in MAP. We wish, so Davotoglu, that BiH feels that
the international community cares about this country. We shall not forget that
we watched the massacre for three years before we elected to intervene, so that
now, we simply cannot turn our backs on BiH”.
While Askmen.com
describes BiH as a scary place for tourists, the creators of the video game
“Medal of Honor” present BiH as a country of terrorists. As B92 reports, this
is one of the most famous games worldwide and its release is planned in the
U.S. for late October. The player will visit the most conflict-ridden places to
fight terrorists, to kill, and be killed. Other countries that are depicted as
terrorist heavens are Somalia, Yemen and the Philippines. Previously, the
portal Askman.com had made a list with the ten most fearful places for
tourists, on which BiH is in the second place. Bosnia’s portal Klix.com
reported that tourists still have the pictures of a wrecked BiH in mind where
one can feel the ghosts of the past. Askmen.com concludes its report by
explaining that BiH’s streets are still scarred from the war adding that, after
all, this is were WWI started. The result is an amazing history and great
cuisine, one of the best to the east of Italy.
The Russian oil
company NeftegazInKor which owns the oil refinery in Brod plans to invest an
additional €700 million over the course of the next four years. Đakonov
Aleksandar, the director of Optima group that manages the NeftgazInKor in Brod,
explained that so far €120 million were invested into the refinery. The planned
investment cycle is intended to bring the quality of the refinery to the level
of the most advanced refineries of Europe. After the completion of the
investment cycle, the refinery will run at a processing capacity of 4.2 million
tons of oil, said Đakonov.
BiH’s
prosecution office filed an indictment this past week regarding the attacks on
the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo last year. The indictment was not made public yet.
However, the prosecution will ask that Jašarević’s prisonterm be 20 years. Večerni List reported that Nusret
Imamović, a leading figure of BiH’s Wahhabi movement, inspired Mevlid Jašarević’s
rampage. The article claims that Imamović’s lectures and/or sermons encouraged
Jašarević’s attack on the embassy. The paper further explained that Imamović’s
sermons incited other terrorist acts in BiH over the course of the past two
years. As Večerni List reported, Imamović
spoke about how “the U.S. and the American Congress defined Muslims not only as
military foes, but also as an ideological threat”. Therefore, “Muslims must
defeat them ideologically”, the paper reported. Imamović further criticized
those who support BiH’s bid for NATO and denounced the interreligious council
of BiH and the Islamic Community as being traitors.
The U.S.
ministry of justice indicted Mevlid Jašarević with attempted murder and for
attacking the U.S. embassy with a machine gun. Reportedly, Jašarević is charged
in ten points including, among others, attempted murder of U.S. officers and/or
employees, attempted murder within the jurisdiction of the United States and
assault with a deadly weapon.
“Pravosudje
SAD podiglo optužnicu protiv Jašarević”. Beta Press. Accessed April 25, 2012. http://www.beta.rs/?tip=article&kategorija=vestidana&ida=2689469&id=&ime=
“Mevlidu
Jašareviću prijeti zatvor od oko 20 godina”. Vijesti online. Accessed April 23,
2012. http://www.vijesti.me/svijet/mevlidu-jasarevicu-prijeti-zatvor-oko-20-godina-clanak-70647
“Imamović
uticajni vođa vehabija”. Radio Televizija Vojvodine. Accessed April 23, 2012. http://www.rtv.rs/sr_lat/region/vecernjak:-imamovic-uticajni-vodja-vehabija_314685.html
“Rusi ulažu 700ml
evra u Srpsku”. B92. Accessed April 23, 2012. http://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/region.php?yyyy=2012&mm=04&dd=23&nav_id=603176
“BiH u igrici
teroristička zemlja”. B92. Accessed April 23, 2012.
http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2012&mm=04&dd=23&nav_category=167&nav_id=602961
“Turska lobira
za BiH u NATO”. B92. Accessed April 21, 2012. http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2012&mm=04&dd=21&nav_category=167&nav_id=602552
“Svaki sedmi
stanovnik BiH nezaposlen”. Al Jazeera Balkans. Accessed April 21, 2012.
http://staff.balkans.aljazeera.net/makale/svaki-sedmi-stanovnik-bih-nezaposlen
“Željko Komšić
neće podržati Nacrt državnog budžeta za 2012”. BiH News. Accessed April 20,
2012. http://www.bhnews.com/ba/vijest/19809/zeljko_komsic_nece_podrzati_nacrt_drzavnog_budzeta_za_2012.html
Slovenia
Three Slovenes,
four Serbs and one citizen of BiH were arrested in relation to investigations
on drug trafficking. The investigation was concluded last week in Celje,
Slovenia, in cooperation with colleagues from Austria and Serbia. The suspects
were trading drugs in Western Europe by using transportation company vehicles.
One of the suspects was arrested in Austria while carrying 19kg of marijuana,
more than 6000 ecstasy pills and 2kg of amphetamine pills. All but the two
suspects from Serbia were registered in Celje. The Austrian police meanwhile
captured two more of the gang’s members and confiscated 34kg of marijuana in
addition to an extra 30kg that were with the other two members. The total value
of the drugs lies at €200,000 while street value might be two or three times
higher.
“Uhapšeno osam
trgovaca drogom iz Slovenije, Srbije, BiH”. Press Online. Accessed April 23,
2012. http://www.pressonline.rs/sr/vesti/hronika/story/216287/Uhapšeno+osam+trgovaca+drogom+iz+Slovenije,+Srbije,+BiH.html
Macedonia
Following the
killing of five Macedonians, the Bulgarian newspaper Novinite suggested for Macedonia to split so as to ease tensions
there. The article propagates the idea that Macedonia ought to split
preventively so as to avoid a disaster in the future. The story was picket up
the by pro-governmental news agency Večer
which noted that the idea emerged from their eastern neighbor ten years after a
similar proposal was launched by Macedonia’s former prime minister Ljupčo
Georgievskog. The proposal launched the idea of redrawing borders and a population
swap, the Albanian population. As the paper reported, the destabilization of
Macedonia could result in an international conflict in Serbia, Kosovo,
Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey. Therefore, a long-lasting solution ought
to be found that could guarantee lasting stability in Macedonia. To this end,
one must consider all options, one of which is the proposed “preventative
division” of Macedonia. Why, concludes the article, should Albanians continue
to be loyal to the Macedonian state in light of their rapidly growing number,
especially after the example of Kosovo’s Albanians who received international
recognition of independence only nine years after an armed rebellion?
“Podela
Makedonije smiruje region?” Novosti.rs. Accessed April 23, 2012. http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/planeta.300.html:376851-Podela-Makedonije-smiruje-region
Serbia
Leader of the coalition
Preokret and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Čedomir Jovanović said that
all, Serbs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Croatians and Hungarians are equally unhappy
due to flawed policies in a rally in Novi Pazar. Politicians must meet existing
problems head-on instead of running away from them, explained Jovanović. He
explained that he goes into this campaign with the notion of fighting problems.
We will, said the LDP’s leader, neither wage war with Tadić and Nikolić nor
will we win with Ugljanin, Lljajić or the mufti. Instead, we must agree on the
work that has to be done and this work must then become part of our lives. If
people need to be reconciled, as Jovanović put it, let us do it before the
elections and not afterwards. This way national reconciliation cannot be abused
for the sake of forming coalitions.
Presidential
candidate Ivica Dačić, leader or the coalition United Pensioners of Serbia
(PUPS), Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and United Serbia (JS) stated that his
first presidential decree, should he be chosen, would be to petition for the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to leave the country and to make sure that
Vojvodina will never become a republic. “The arrogance of the IMF is endless”,
said Dačić during a rally by Novi Sad’s Freedom Square. Dačić added that the
IMF requested of Serbia to tighten its belt further by cutting the salaries of
all employees as well as for Serbia to sell all public sector enterprises. He
further emphasized that EU membership is not worth Serbia’s national interests
adding that if conditions for EU accession means for Serbia to give up her most
vital national interests, then Serbia is not interested in joining the EU.
Regarding the status of Vojvodina, Dačić said that the region could be
autonomous only if this supports Serbia’s unanimity and strength. Vojvodina
will never be anti-Serbian and interested in her disunity as some have thought.
In a rally held
in Novi Pazar, head of the Democratic Party (DS) and the coalition For a Better
Life Boris Tadić emphasized that Serbia is on her way into a better future
adding that he will work to affect change for the better in Serbia. He asserted
that he will make sure to bring investors to the region who in turn will create
jobs. Tadić explained that he will do anything to assure that all peoples,
cultures and languages get the place they deserve adding that Serbia will be a
country of peace for all her people. Tadić assured that there will be no repetition
of what has happened in the past.
“Tadić dovodi
investore u Novi Pazar”. Kurir. Accessed April 28, 2012. http://www.kurir-info.rs/tadic-dovodi-investitore-u-novi-pazar-clanak-201216
“Vojvodina
nikada neće postati republika”. Nezavisne Novine. Accessed April 28, 2012. http://www.nezavisne.com/novosti/ex-yu/Dacic-Vojvodina-nikada-nece-postati-republika-139063.html
“LDP: Svi su
jednako nesrećni”. RTS. Accessed April 22, 2012.
http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/1950/Izbori+2012/1088102/LDP%3A+Svi+su+jednako+nesrećni+.html
Montenegro and BiH
Chairman of the
council of ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda and minister of foreign affairs and EU
integration Milan Roćen announced in Sarajevo that a border agreement between
BiH and Montenegro is planned durign Bevanda’s upcoming visit to Montenegro. The
date has not been publicized yet. Bevanda and Roćen pointed toward the
significance of the Adriatic-Ionian highway and railway line between Čapljin
and Nikšić emphasizing that this is a priority project for BiH and Montenegro. BiH
and Montenegro wish to attract foreign investments for these infrastructural
projects in a joint approach.
“BIH i Crna Gora: Uskoro sporazum o međudržavnoj granici”. Radio Slobodna
Evropa. Accessed April 24, 2012. http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/archive/news/20120424/500/500.html?id=24558720
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