Belgrade Insight, No. 2 by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)

NEWS NEWS

Friday • June 13 • 2008

9 ISSN 1820-8339

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Issue No.21/ /Friday, Friday, June June 13, Issue No. 27,2008 2008

Lure of Tadic Alliance Splits Socialists Pro-Europeans & Socialists Sign Deal While younger Socialists support joining a new, pro-EU government, old Milosevic loyalists threaten revolt over the prospect.

Potential prime ministers: Vuk Jeremic, Mirko Cvetkovic and Bojan Pajtic (left-to-right)

erbia’s pro-Europeans and Socialists have signed a crucial deal on a new govBy Rade Maroevic in Belgrade ernment, despite tensions over the election of a Parliament Speaker, ense negotiations on a new govBelgrade Insight has learnt. “The draft have law on ministries that ernment divided the ranks has beenSocialist agreed upon that holds there of the Party,says which will 28 ministries 14 going the be balance of powerwith between the to (Serbian President Boris Tadic’s) main blocs and has yet to announce Democratic Party and the rest to all which side they support. the others,” the will source close to the “It looks as if the will outgoing governmentSocialists said, adding move istowards a government by Tadic likely to nominate a led prime minister-designate later soon. the Democrats,” political analyst Midraftoflaw to be submitlanThe Nikolic, the is independent Cented to Policy Parliament onsaid. Monday, the tre of Studies, “But such source confirmed, though they a move might provoke deeper divicould not say who Tadic will choose sions the party.” to leadand theeven newsplit cabinet. Simultaneous negotiations held There is ongoing speculation with who the pro-European and nationalover will be appointed Prime Minister, current ist blocs with have Bojan drawn Pajtic, attention to a head government of Serbia’s deep of riftthe inside the Socialists. autonomous northern province of This divides “old-timers” loyal Vojvodina, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic all in the running. THIS ISSUE OF govA source from the Serbian ernmentBelgrade insists thatInsight Tadic favours

Jeremic, while others within the coalition would rather see Pajtic in the driving seat. to Pajtic Serbia’s latehepresident, Slobodan says would not refuse Milosevic, and reformists who want the post, but would “rather stay in the party to become a modern EuroVojvodina.” Meanwhile Serbia’s parliament pean social democrat organisation. reconvened Thursday elected After eight years ofand stagnation, six Speakers, of whom thedeputy Socialists returnedfour to centre stage come from opposition parties. after winning 20 of the 250 seats in The development regarding an parliament on in the elections. agreement theMay new11government With the pro-European nationcame amid signs that theand new allialist between blocs almost evenly ance Tadic’s campmatched, and the Socialist Party, which as the Socialists now have emerged the final say the country’s political on the fate of the country.‘king-maker’ Nikolic after the May 11 general believes the snap Socialists, led election, is causing friction among by Ivica Dacic, will come over to the pro-Europeans themselves, as Tadic, only one out of a pragmatic dewell asifwith opposition party sire to ensure their political survival. that previously pledged their tacit “The group of younger Socialists support. After they helped to elect gathered around Dacic seemsthetoSobe cialists’ Slavica Nikolic Djukic said, Dejanovic in the majority”, adding tothat thethese postreformists of speaker, the G17 Plus believe the party party, a member of Tadic’s For a European Serbia bloc, has decided to form their own deputy club Business Insight within parliament in an apparent protest over her election.

Socialist leader Ivica Dacic remains the Serbian kingmaker

IS SUPPORTED BY:

Costs Mounting

conomists are warning that prolonged uncertainty over Serbia’s Despite opposing political standfuture scare off investors, lead points, could Serbia’s Socialists and to higher inflation and Democrats have a betterjeopardise than exprosperity for years to come. pected chance of putting together a government will actually “This yearthat has been lost, fromsurthe vive a full term. standpoint of economic policy,” says Negotiations on forming a govStojan Stamenkovic of the Economernment are drawing to a close. ics Institute in Belgrade. Considering their dramatically opposed policies inpage the 5past,

many doubt they can find common

Mladjan Dinkic, the G17 Plus leader, said he was “not angry” over Djukic’s election but neither faces was heextinction satisfied.unless it changes. However, a strong also “I believe that we, ascurrent the second flows in party the opposite direction, led strongest in Tadic’s coalition, had right veterans to get theenraged parliamentary by aparty by the speaker but with that Tadic. did not happrospectpost, of a deal pen,” lamented Dinkic, who had Mihajlo Markovic, a founder of earlier nominated his deputy Suzathe party, recently warned of a crisis na Grubjesic for the job of Speaker Dacic opts for the pro-European ofif the parliament. bloc, abandoning the form Socialists’ “We decided to our “natown ural” ideological Deputy Club andpartners. Grubjesic, as an extremely well qualified individuMarkovic, a prominent supporter al, lead it,”during Dinkicthe said, adding ofwill Milosevic 1990s, is that formationofwould not seentheasclub’s representative the “oldjeopardise the formation of a new timers” in the party who want to stay government “by next Wednesday to the former regime’s policies, ortrue Thursday.” even theseDemocrats, almost ruinedwho the Thethough Liberal Socialists for good. have pledged their 13 deputies willSome backyounger the pro-European-SoSocialist officials cialist government, voted against have voiced frustration over the conDjukic’s election,within together tinuing impasse their with own the nationalist parties made up of outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Neighbourhood Matters Serbia and the hard-line Serbian Radical Party.

Football Rebellion

EDITOR’S WORD BUSINESS

Political Predictability

If the next government continues reforms, the business possibilities By Mark R. Pullen look exciting, says Simon Gray, head of the World Bank in Serbia.

party over which way to turn. “The situation in the party seems extremely complicated, as we try to convince the few remaining laggards that we need to move out of Page 9 Milosevic’s shadow,” one Socialist Party official complained. NEIGHBOURHOOD “Dacic will eventually side with Many of us who have experiTadic in a bid to guide his party into Amid “nameSerbian dispute” with encedthe numerous elections Greece, Macedonia’s the European mainstream, but much neighbouring rate ourselves as pundits when it DPMNE party of the membership and many offi- victorious comes toVMRO predicting election rehas started talks with the two major cials may oppose that move.” sults and post-election moves. ethnic Albanian parties to decide Nikolic agreed: “The question is Weone feel in-the-know because which will enter the new govwill the party split or will the ‘old- ernment. our experience of elections in Sertimers’ back down,” he noted. bia has shown us that (a.) no 13 single Page Fearing they might not cross the party or coalition will ever gain the 5-per-cent threshold to enter parliamajority required to form a governOUT & ABOUT ment, the Socialists teamed up with ment, and (b.) political negotiations Looking to spend a weekthe Association of Pensioners and the will neverwhere be quickly concluded. end? United Serbia Party, led by businessEven when the Democrats man Dragan Markovic “Palma”. achieved their surprising result at Pensioners leader, Jovan Krkobalast month’s general election, it bic, Palma and Dacic are all pushing quickly became clear that the refor a deal with the Democrats. sult was actually more-or-less the The said they The Liberal reportedDemocrats price is the post of same as every other election result could not vote for her because of her deputy PM, with a brief in charge of in Serbia, i.e. inconclusive. staunch support of late strongman SloPageas18long security for the Socialist leader. This is likely to continue bodan Milosevic’s policies in the past. In addition, the Socialists are baras Serbia’s politicians form new Tadic’s camp, nevertheless, gaining for other ministries, includpolitical MUST-SEES parties every time they managed to secure the required majority, with investments, 128 of the parliament’s ing capital Kosovo and disagree with their current party Looking for a fun time or a cultural 250 members votingmedia in favour. education, Belgrade reported. leader (there are currently 342 regto inspire? Liberal leader, Ce- event Tadic hasDemocrat denied talk of horseistered political parties in Serbia). domir Jovanovic, a former member trading with the Socialists, maintainDrawn-out negotiations are also of the Democrats and close ally of ing that ministries would go only to the norm. One Belgrade-based late prime minister Zoran Djindjic, those committed to working for the Ambassador recently told me he also says that his party is against government’s “strategicleader goal”. Ivica was also alarmed by the distinct the idea of Socialists’ Dacic becoming Interior At the same time, Dacic Minister, seems relack of urgency among Serbian asluctant is being by the media to speculated call off negotiations with politicians. “The country is at a Page 21 and not been denied by Tadic. the has nationalists. standstill and I don’t understand Jovanovic argued that the So“If we don’t reach an agreement their logic. If they are so eager to cialists’ past record of heading with the DSS and Radicals, the parprogress towards the EU and enSPORT police and state security instituty leadership will decide on future courage investors, how come they tions that were accused of a spate Shock results mark Wimbledon Dacic announced, go Euro home2008. at 5pm sharp and don’t ofsteps”, political murders meantfollowing that the and Liberals were against Dacic the first session of country’s newleadparwork weekends?” ing the Interior Ministry. liament on Wednesday. Surely the situation is urgent According to a source from Tadenough to warrant a little overtime. Source: Balkan Insight (www.balkaninsight.com)

ic’s party, the Democrats will have control over state security, “which will be more important because of what Milosevic’s people, particularly from that service, did in the past.”

Page 22

POLITICS

hile the football world watches events unfold at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, Bosnia is experiencing a soccer rebellion, led by fans, players and former stars who are enraged by what they see as corrupt leaders of the country’s football association leaders. page 10

ground on four key issues: Kosovo, cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, resumption of European integration, economic reforms and a new welfare policy. Dusan Pavlovic, of the Belgrade Faculty of Political Science, believes the priorities of both parties are by no means irreconcilable. Page 5

Source: www.weather2umbrella.com

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Friday, June 27, 2008

Talks to Reconcile Serb Muslim Leaders Fail

Rasim Ljajic, the European List for Novi Pazar (centre) Photo by FoNet

econciliation talks between rival Bosniak parties in Serbia have failed despite mediation by Turkey. “The two parties are still far from forming any coalition on a local level,” a source close to the talks told Balkan Insight.

Heatwave Scorches the Balkans

wo people have died and hundreds of others have sought medical assistance as a summer heat wave grips the western Balkans. A period of extremely warm temperatures started last weekend and will last at least three weeks, meteorologists in the region have said. They warned that temperatures – even above 40 degrees Celsius – may be set, creating temperature highs not seen in more than a century. To make the situation even more difficult for the population, this period will also be marked by socalled “tropical nights”, where temperatures will remain above 20 or even 30 degrees Celsius overnight. The first registered victim of the heat wave was a construction worker who collapsed and died in Zagreb. On the same day more than 700 people sought medical assistance in Zagreb and 500 in Sarajevo. A farmer near Bosnia’s south-

However, the source added that “though fruitless, the meetings have been a step forward towards the reconciliation of the Bosniaks and lessening tensions,” in Serbia’s south-western region of Sandzak, which is mostly populated by Bosniaks of Muslim religion.

ern town of Mostar was also killed by the severe heat while working his land. Medical workers warned the population to remain indoors during the day and drink plenty of water. The mercury in Serbia has topped 36 degrees Celsius over the past three days. Despite the heat across the country, doctors from emergency centres have not reported any major incidents so far. Nevertheless, their general advice to the public is to stay indoors during the day and to wear light clothing. The heat wave in Macedonia has led the national Crisis Management Centre there to warn of possible wildfires due to the tinder dry conditions. Weather forecasts say rain is expected to slightly reduce temperatures in the next few days.

Balkan Insight reported earlier this month that leaders of the Bosniak List for European Sandzak, Sulejman Ugljanin, and of the European List for Novi Pazar, Rasim Ljajic, have met several times in the last few weeks in the Turkish Embassy in Belgrade. “Turkey is trying to reconcile the bitter political rivals in Sandzak, promising them big investments,” the source claimed then, adding that the meetings will continue. Ugljanin and Ljajic have enough deputies to form a large majority in Novi Pazar municipality by the July 7 deadline, but according to the source, the post of the mayor has still been a stumbling bloc. Their agreement, if reached, would leave the nationalist United Serb List, a coalition made up of the outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia, his junior partner

New Serbia, the hard-line Radicals and the Socialists, in opposition in Novi Pazar. The news of the talks bearing no results came as President Boris Tadic’s pro-European bloc struck a crucial deal with the Socialists, once led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, on forming a new national government after the May 11 election. Both Ljajic and Ugljanin are now a part of Tadic’s For a European Serbia coalition with Ugljanin, who was previously close to Kostunica, joining the pro-Europeans by signing a deal with the G17 Plus Party, which is closely linked to the Serbian President. Ljajic, the outgoing Labour Minister, joined Tadic’s coalition ahead of the elections. Tensions between the two parties have in the past often spilled into violence and clashes.

Security Urged in Kosovo Ahead of Serb Holiday

ore security has been requested in the northern areas of Kosovo ahead of a key Serb holiday and plans to form a parallel Serb assembly. Bajram Rexhepi, mayor of the ethnically-divided northern town of Mitrovica, urged officials to tighten security, especially at border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia, with a great number of Serbs expected to arrive to mark Vidovdan on June 28. “It is possible that the situation may become tense on this date, as an influx of Serbian citizens celebrating Vidovdan is expected,” Rexhepi said. Vidovdan, or St.Vitus’ day, is traditionally important for Serbs as it marks the date when the medieval Serbian kingdom was defeated by Ottoman forces in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo. On the same day, Serb hard-line politicians in Kosovo announced

that they will form a local Assembly based on the elections that Serbia held in Kosovo on May 11. The United Nations authorities and Pristina government have declared this act illegal. Rexhepi said that the Kosovo Serb assembly will not have legitimacy, noting that many Kosovo Serb leaders also oppose the decision. “This assembly will have no legal value, therefore it is an illegal establishment,” Rexhepi added. In a meeting of the Security Committee for Mitrovica region, officials from the NATO peacekeeping force, KFOR, and the Kosovo Police pledged to ensure there is enough security along the border crossings. Mitrovica, which divides the Albanian community south of the Ibar River and the Serbs concentrated in the north, has been a flashpoint since the end of the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict.

New Serbian Passports ‘by Autumn’

he citizens of Serbia are likely to get new, biometric passports this autumn instead of months earlier, as the outgoing government had originally promised. The delay in issuing the new passports has led to a dispute between incumbent Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, Radovan Jelasic, Governor of Serbia’s central bank, the National Bank of Serbia, and the Money Issuing Institute which is in charge of producing the documents. Djelic, who had promised the nation that new passports will be ready by spring this year, accuses Governor Jelasic and the Institute of not finishing their job before the start of the summer holiday season. The Institute’s Director, Ljubisa Vuletic, denied responsibility for the delay, saying that the government had been duly warned that the six-month deadline was too short.

“We told them that we need at least nine months for a job of such quality,” Ljubisa Vuletic told reporters. Some Serbian citizens complained that they might have to end up paying twice for a new passport if their current passport is just weeks away from expiry. They will be forced to apply for a new passport and receive an old version before they can apply again for the newer, biometric version. Serbia’s government decided last year to change the existing passports after Montenegro became independent in 2006. Serbia also decided to issue new passports which will meet European Union standards. The new passports have red covers, instead of the old dark blue covers, with the Serbian coat of arms on the front and the name ‘Republic of Serbia’ written in the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet.

Director Ljubisa Vuletic shows off Serbia’s new passport Inside, all the details of the passport’s holder must be written in Serbian, English and French. Issuing new passports is essential

Photo by FoNet

for Serbia if the country is to be granted a visa-free regime with the European Union member states.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Editor’s Word

By Mark R Pullen

ach summer sees a changing of the guard at various foreign missions and international institutions, and a changing of the demography of Belgrade. At this time of year Belgrade bids a fond farewell to outgoing foreign residents. This time is something of a period of quiet reflection for the transient folk preparing to depart, but for the rest of us it’s just party time. Foreign diplomats and senior business executives have a lifestyle to die for when posted to a country like Serbia, but I still find myself feeling sorry for them when their term of residence expires. Not only do they have to endure what is surely a wrenching split with Belgrade and all the many friends they’ve made, but they also have to spend their last days in the city living out of a suitcase at some nondescript hotel and attending numerous functions organised in their honour. Typically, their dizzying departure schedule includes at least one formal and one informal dinner, a party hosted by their mission/company, another party hosted by the leaver or a friend, and myriad farewell lunches, coffees, drinks and random chats. This ensures that Belgrade is party central in early summer. As if this weren’t reason enough to stick around, we can also count Belgrade’s summer demographic as another plus. The population of Belgrade alters more strikingly than any other city I’ve called home during the summer months. Indeed, the atmosphere of the city completely changes as the city’s provincial residents head home to the countryside and the city’s exiled “gastarbajteri” (guest workers) come home to Belgrade. Passersby greet strangers warmly, taxi drivers reminisce fondly about how the city used to be before the “Belgraders” left and the provincials came. There are more places to park, more seats at the cafés and much less turbo-folk being played around the town. Many complain that Belgrade in the summer is too hot and too deserted, but for me it’s at this time that the city is at its hospitable best.

politics

Serbian Nationalists Disrupt Parliament

elgrade_ Serbia’s new parliament reconvened on Tuesday June 24, but failed to elect a speaker after the session was disrupted by deputies from nationalist parties. The session was expected to confirm the parliamentary majority held by President Boris Tadic’s pro-European bloc and the Socialists, once led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. The deputies of outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia and the hard-line Serbian Radical Party argued that the session was called in an irregular manner and pledged to extend it as long as possible by prolonging debate. The move could jeopardise Tadic’s plans to form a new government by the end of June at the latest. The session followed developments late Monday that saw the Socialist’ Main board vote to back Tadic’s alliance in forming a new cabinet after Belgrade media reported that Socialist Party deputy

Friday, June 27, 2008

leader Slavica Djukic Dejanovic is set to be elected Parliament Speaker. Also on Monday, the Liberal Democratic Party decided to support the Tadic-Socialist alliance, securing the support of another 13 deputies. The new coalition, agreed after the Socialists’ negotiations with the nationalist bloc failed, may have 142 seats in parliament and hold a comfortable majority. These include 102 seats from Tadic’s pro-European bloc, 20 seats from the Socialists and the Liberal Democratic Party’s 13 seats with the remaining seven coming from ethnic minority parties. However, the negotiations on the final division of posts and functions in the cabinet will continue. Socialist leader Ivica Dacic has said that the Democrats would hold the Prime Minister’s post and media speculate Tadic is still undecided between the two candidates, incumbent Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic and Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.

Milos Aligrudic, Democratic Party of Serbia

Tribunal Chief Reports Serbia to UN

he President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, has reported Serbia to the UN for failing to cooperate with the Tribunal. In his report to the United Nations Security Council’s President, Zalmay Khalilzad, Fausto Pocar specified that Serbia showed a lack of cooperation in the trial of its former President Milan Milutinovic. Milutinovic and five other former high-level political and military leaders of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are on trial for crimes allegedly committed by troops under their command in Kosovo during 1999. Pocar reported that between

March and June this year, the Trial Chamber in the case sought to contact General Aleksander Dimitrijevic, former head of the Yugoslav Army Security Administration, on a number of occasions in order for him to appear as a Court witness in the case. But the report said that despite warnings given to the head of Serbia’s National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY, Rasim Ljajic, Dimitrijevic, whose Belgrade address is unavailable to the ICTY, has not appeared before the court. Neither has Belgrade offered a sound explanation as to why. “The Government of Serbia is challenging the authority of the Interna-

tional Tribunal and the Security Council,” President Pocar said, concluding that by doing so “it is in breach of its international legal obligations.” Pocar added that the Council’s information was “often delayed and incomplete” and he had warned Ljajic that without reasonable steps taken to comply with the Tribunal’s request, a report to the Security Council on Serbia’s failure to cooperate would be sent. The European Union signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Belgrade in late April, but Serbia can only access the full benefits of the deal once it is deemed to be fully cooperating with the ICTY.

Former US Envoy: Croatia Expelled Serbs

Zagreb_ A former US ambassador to Croatia has accused Zagreb of plotting and sanctioning the mass exodus of ethnic Serbs in 1995 in order to create an “ethnically clean” country. Peter Galbraith told The Hague war crimes trial of three Croatian generals that the country’s leadership, headed by late President Franjo Tudjman, used ‘Operation Storm’ as a means of ‘cleansing’ Croatia of Serbs. “Croatian authorities either ordered or allowed the mass destruction of Serb property in the

former [Serb-held region of] Krajina in order to prevent the return of the population. I consider that to have been a considered policy,” he said, testifying this week at the trial of Croatian Army generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, based in The Hague, indicted the three generals for war crimes that their troops allegedly committed during and after Operation Storm. Up to 800 ethnic Serb civilians were killed and some 250,000 civilians fled Croatia in 1995 when Croatian armed forces crushed the rebel Serb breakaway state that had occupied up to a quarter of the country’s territory since it declared independence from the then -Yugoslavia in 1991. “Croatia was an organised country, its army the most disciplined in the former Yugoslavia, and therefore I cannot accept that the illegalities that occurred after Storm

were spontaneous,” Galbraith told the court. He added that the organised cleansing had happened because “President Tudjman and people around him wanted it, wishing for an ethnically clean country.” However, Galbraith said Croatia did not carry out an ethnic cleansing campaign following Operation Storm, because “you could not cleanse those who were not there, but I’m not saying it would have not happened had the population stayed.” His testimony came as a surprise to observers, since when he testified at the ICTY trial of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2003, Galbraith said that the Croatian government and armed forces had not been responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Serbs. Speaking at the trial this week, he said he was sorry for saying that, because it had been understood as his justification for the Croatian army’s actions, which had not been his intention.

Photo by FoNet

Serbia Rejects Hague Complaints

elgrade_ A senior Serbian official has denied allegations by The Hague war crimes tribunal that Belgrade is failing to cooperate with the court. Rasim Ljajic, the head of the National Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, said Belgrade has been in constant communication with The Hague and has provided information relating to witness Aleksandar Dimitrijevic. In his report to UN Security Council President Zalmay Khalilzad, Fausto Pocar specified that Serbia showed a lack of cooperation in the trial of its former President, Milan Milutinovic. He said that despite the ICTY’s insistence and warning, Belgrade had failed to facilitate General Dimitrijevic’s court appearance in the trial of Milutinovic and five other Serb former officials indicted for war crimes in Kosovo in 1999. However, Ljajic said the ICTY was notified that Dimitrijevic was

not found at his Belgrade address and that his medical record showed he had heart surgery in the United States, where doctors advised him to rest, and this is why he could not appear before the court. Dimitrijevic has already testified several times before the tribunal, including at the trial of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. “Simply put, this policy of constant threats, ultimatums, blackmails and pressure on Serbia is counterproductive to the main goal of trying to end the story in a partnership, in the sense that all those indicted end up in The Hague, that truth is established and justice served,” Ljajic said. He added: “Pocar’s letter to the UN was a continuation of such a policy, since it came only days after Belgrade had arrested and extradited one out of the four remaining war crimes fugitives, Stojan Zupljanin.” Ljajic said Belgrade will reply to Pocar’s letter since “Serbia has nothing to hide.”

UK: Kosovo Recognition Not a Must Belgrade_Britain’s ambassador to Serbia, HME Stephen Wordsworth, says the European Union will not condition Serbia’s membership of the bloc on its recognition of Kosovo, but the British diplomat told Serbia’s state news agency Tanjug that the European Union expects Serbia to cooperate with the EU’s new law and order mission in Kosovo. “Twenty EU members recognise Kosovo, and seven don’t and have no intention of doing so, at least not soon, so we cannot ask Serbia to do more than some member states are ready to,” Wordsworth said. Kosovo declared independence in February but Serbia has been vigorously opposing it, backed by its traditional ally Russia.

The former province has been run by the United Nations since 1999 and Moscow has threatened to use its veto at the UN Security Council to block the new EU mission known as EULEX. Wordsworth reiterated that London hoped Serbia would get a pro-European government which will then lead the country towards membership of the bloc. Wordsworth also reiterated that the key issue for any further EU integration was Belgrade’s full cooperation with The Hague war crimes tribunal. He added that it was up to The Hague Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz to rule on that and that his report has to be accepted by all 27 member states.

politics

Friday, June 27, 2008

Socialists and Democrats Close the Gap

While the two parties look far apart on many issues, they unite in accepting that Europe can help them reach their goals.

COMMENT By Dusan Pavlovic in Belgrade

espite opposing political standpoints, Serbia’s Socialists and Democrats have a better than expected chance of putting together a government that survives a full term. Negotiations on forming a government are drawing to a close. Considering their dramatically opposed policies in the past, many doubt they can find common ground on four key issues: Kosovo, cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, resumption of European integration, economic reforms and a new welfare policy. But the priorities of both parties – increased welfare spending for the Socialists and EU candidacy for the Democrats – are not irreconcilable, and the two potential government partners may be able to avoid serious argument over them. Moreover, Kosovo and cooperation with The Hague are largely symbolic matters and there is also room for compromise over these points. Over the Hague Tribunal, it seems obvious that the Democrats and Socialists take opposing views: the Democrats pledge full coopera-

tion, while the Socialists insist on a more “bilateral” relationship – shorthand for opposition to cooperation. Those whom the Democrats view as war criminals, the Socialists view as heroes. However, since the resolving of other issues is more important for both partners, and it is impossible to achieve either goal without cooperation with the Hague court, the two parties may be able to work together. This means that while the Serbian government would not publicly take part in the arrest or extradition of war-crimes suspects, it would turn a blind eye to the arrest of suspects in third countries. Individuals from the ranks of the Socialists will, as in the case of the recent capture of Stojan Zupljanin, protest over arrests and even threaten to withdraw from government. But this won’t happen in practice, and when everything settles down cooperation between the two will carry on as before. Government policy on Kosovo belongs in the same category of symbolic issues. Among most parliamentary parties in Serbia, differences on Kosovo are slim. They all agree that Serbia must not recognise Kosovo’s independence, declared in February. In 2008, the Democrats virtually removed the Kosovo issue from the political stage by adopting more or less the same policy as outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. The Democrats remain committed to waging a diplomatic struggle aimed at preventing Kosovo from becoming a fully-fledged member of international organisations. Socialists’ relations with their future Democrat partners are un-

Muslims Hold Controversial Poll

he Islamic Community in southern Serbia has held the first round of elections to appoint its religious leaders, despite a boycott by a key rival Muslim organisation. The Islamic Community’s deputy leader, Melvud Dudic, told reporters that the vote was “a sort of a referendum on what kind of Islamic community believers want.” Dudic added that the elections sent a clear message of defiance to Serbia’s Religions Ministry, as well as to local politicians and “to all who wanted to divide the Islamic Community.” He referred to an ongoing dispute among Serbia’s Muslim religious leaders over where they look to as their spiritual centre in the region. Reis-ul-ulema Adem Zilkic’s rival community is closer to Belgrade, while the Islamic Community led by Mufti Muarem Zukorlic recognises Sarajevo’s Reis Mustafa Ceric. The June 22 elections, mostly held in local mosques in the Sandzak region of southern Serbia, will

have two more rounds for choosing leaders at different religious levels. The polls follow a heated dispute between the two groups after Zukorlic accused Zilkic’s supporters of storming a central Novi Pazar mosque. The religious conflict also plays into local and national politics, with Zilkic supporting Sulejman Ugljanin, the mayor of Novi Pazar, while Zukorlic supports Rasim Ljajic, Serbia’s outgoing Labour Minister. Ljajic joined Serbian President Boris Tadic’s For a European Serbia coalition ahead of the May 11 general elections, while Ugljanin, who was previously close to outgoing Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and his Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, has recently also switched to Tadic’s camp. The religious elections also came amid talks mediated by Turkey between Ugljanin’s and Ljajic’s parties. Political and religious tensions have often spilled over into shootouts, clashes and murders in Serbia’s south-western Sandzak region, which is mostly populated by Muslims.

likely to be upset by the Kosovo issue, unless violence erupts there. The policy model for Kosovo in 2008 will be similar to the model for The Hague. The two parties will also be more united on the issue of cooperation with the EU than many realise. The most important indicator of this stance will be the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA. The Socialists refused to form a coalition with Kostunica and the Radicals precisely because they opposed ratification of the SAA. Ratification can be expected to take place soon after a new government takes office. Socialist voters are among the poorest sector of the population and their party leaders are well aware that living standard improvements can only be achieved through EU association. A bigger problem facing the new government will be harmonising economic stability with increased social welfare. The government will need to find a way to improve welfare without endangering the fragile macroeconomic stability that the country has maintained since 2001. The basic demand of the Socialists is a more interventionist social policy, which means the state taking greater care of the socially marginalised “losers” of transition. During the election, the Socialist-led coalition campaigned for free health care, abolition of state school fees and limits to school fees payable to private faculties, mandatory collective labour contracts and pensions equivalent to 70 per cent of average salaries. Most economists know Serbia’s budget would collapse under the

Future partners: Ivica Dacic and Boris Tadic strain of those pledges if only some of them were put into effect. Public spending already consumes about 42 per cent of Serbia’s GNP. To finance more generous social policies, the country first has to grow economically. But this is only feasible through closer ties to the EU. Ratification of the SAA would help, by sending a clear signal to foreign businesses that the coast for investments is clear. Regardless of the risks, it is entirely possible that a SocialistDemocrat government will serve

Photo by FoNet

a full term. Both key players have strong motives for keeping the show on the road. Indeed, since a coalition between them will trigger objections from voters on both sides, the two parties will have an extra incentive to justify their alliance by delivering clear benefits to their voters before the next election. Dusan Pavlovic is assistant professor at the Faculty of political science in Belgrade Source: www.BalkanInsight.com

Ex-Bosnian Serb PM Gets 18-Month Jail Term Sarajevo_ Bosnia’s State Court has sentenced a former Bosnian Serb premier for his role in a corruption scandal involving the biggest stateowned timber company. The ruling, which is expected to be appealed both by the state prosecution and the two convicts, has triggered a new round of ethnic tensions as Bosnian Serb politicians strongly criticised the fact that the decision was brought by two Bosniak and one international judge, local media have reported. Mladen Ivanic, who in the past ten years served as premier of Republika Srpska and Bosnia’s Foreign Minister, and is currently serving as an MP in the state House of Peoples, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for “negligent behaviour” during his term as the Republika Srpska premier, in relation to developments at timber giant, “Srpske Sume.” The Court dropped other criminal and corruption charges against Ivanic. Also jailed was Miro Jurisic, director of a local company

Trgokomerc, who was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison and fined 10,000 Convertible Marks ( 5,000). The “Srpske Sume” case was launched in October 2007 and the trial started in January after police and media investigations discovered the serious misuse of funds, illegal export of timber and corruption. Media claimed that hundreds of thousands of Convertible Marks were siphoned out of the timber

company and the money was pocketed by individuals and political parties’ cash boxes. The prosecution zeroed in on Ivanic and five more senior leaders from the Party of Democratic Progress, PDP. Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik jumped to Ivanic’s defence, saying the trial was fixed and that the sentence proved that the Bosnian Court was established only to “discipline Bosnian Serbs and Croats.”

belgrade chronicle

Friday, June 27, 2008

Police Rock Belgrade

n one of the year’s musical highlights, British rock legends The Police - Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers - entertained more than 30,000 people at Belgrade’s Usce Park. In a hugely successful gig, The Police, who over the past three decades have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, played top hits alongside newer songs from Sting’s solo career. The concert started with The Police’s famous hit ‘Message in a Bottle,” after which Sting greeted the massive crowd in Serbian and was rewarded with an equally massive round of applause. Fans were taken back to the band’s heyday of the 1980s during the one hour and forty minute performance, which also featured hits from the solo careers of Sting, Andy Summers (lead guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums). The Belgrade concert formed part of The Police’s grand 2008 world tour. The Police were supported by popular Californian band Count-

ing Crows, whose hits include Mr. Jones and 1492. The Police world tour is a 30years-on reunion, reuniting the legendary trio and celebrating the year of the band’s birth and the year of their biggest hit, Roxanne. The fact that Sting said that the band would not continue working after this tour finished has only served to intensify the exclusive feeling of their Belgrade performance. “After this reunion tour there will be no new albums and no future tours,” Sting said earlier this year. Widely declared as the “tour of the year” by the world’s music media, it is set to culminate in the United States this autumn. The Police’s Belgrade concert was their only performance in Southeast Europe during this worldwide farewell tour. Last year, Belgrade had a chance to listen to the Rolling Stones live for the first time at the same venue, while Indjija, a small town to the north of Belgrade, hosted the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Over 30,000 enjoyed the Police’s Belgrade concert

Investor Builds Exclusive Neighborhood Outside Belgrade

s part of a deal worth 26 million, a multinational consortium is hoping to construct an exclusive new residential area on the outskirts of Belgrade. According to local press reports, the new suburb – to be named ‘Oasis’ – will accommodate as many as 25,000 residents. The Oasis neighbourhood will be constructed over the course of the next 10 years in the village of

Becmen, just outside Belgrade, by El Golf – an American-AustrianIsraeli consortium. It will cover an area of some 300 hectares. The investors, who have leased the land for 99 years from Belgrade’s Surcin municipality, plan to develop Oasis’s road infrastructure and a heliport in the first four years of the development, while the 18-hole golf course, an artificial lake, residential area and

First Aid Team for Lido Beach

elgrade’s Lido beach on the Danube, a popular recreational spot for many people from New Belgrade and Zemun, has received a river First Aid and Rescue team, Belgrade’s health authorities have announced. The single red-and-white inflatable vessel, donated by the July 4 Marina, is equipped for emergency medical aid and is manned by a diver, doctor and nurse. “People may call the river first aid team by dialling 94,” Branislav Lazic, of Belgrade’s Emergency Medical Aid, said.

Lido beach is located on the northernmost cape of Veliko Ratno Ostrvo (Great War Island), near Zemun and Hotel Jugoslavia. Snezana Stevanovic, Belgrade City Hall’s Secretary for Public Health, said the initiative “will also allow First Aid teams to access people on other isolated beaches on the Danube”. She said: “People on Ada Ciganlija are regularly protected, unlike those on other beaches”. The city’s Secretariat for Public Health has allocated three million dinars ( 37,500) to fund this project, she explained.

kindergarten are scheduled to be completed by 2018. The price per square metre for a residential unit on the estate will be from 1,800 to 2,000. The Oasis neighbourhood will also have a shopping mall, tennis and basketball courts, football pitches and a swimming pool. A new highway will link the new residential area with downtown Belgrade.

It’s Quicker by Boat

elgrade City Hall and Metro na Vodi (Metro on the Water) have announced that they are to boost commuter transport services between New Belgrade’s Bloc 70 neighbourhood and the river port at the Brankov Most bridge and Ada Ciganlija island resort with additional vessels. The company said it was also introducing special subscriptions, though both the old one-way and return tickets will remain valid and available. A one-way ticket between Bloc 70 and Brankov Most now costs 50 dinars, while a return ticket costs 80 dinars. Belgrade City Hall and Metro na Vodi introduced commuter river transport between New Belgrade and the city centre earlier this year, as massive traffic jams started clogging Belgrade’s traffic grid and road bridges across the River Sava. Metro na Vodi said it will also be launching new ferries capable of carrying passenger cars and freight vehicles.

City Hall Shows its Green Colours

elgrade City Hall has opened the Belgrade Eco Design exhibition, which aims to present the works of young designers from the 5th Belgrade High School and the Polytechnic Academy’s Design School. Through their works, young designers tried to tackle – and raise awareness – of environmental problems via graphic and video installations.

Photo by FoNet

With its industry, notoriously heavy traffic and pollution, the 1.5 million inhabitants of Belgrade constantly face environmental problems. Since the end of Slobodan Milosevic’s rule in 2000, the new authorities have sought to improve nature conservation and boost care for the environment. But much remains to be done. The exhibition in City Hall is open until the end of June.

Ada Rescuers Warn Bathers

he management of Belgrade’s urban tourist destination, Ada Ciganlija, has issued a stern warning to Belgraders to adhere to basic safety rules while swimming in the lake after rescuers saved two local boys and a woman from drowning. The two unidentified boys, both aged 10, had tried to swim across the 300-metre wide lake before getting into difficulties. “Though both were good swimmers, they gradually lost their strength and started sinking. Water scooter-equipped rescuers patrolling the lake managed to get there in time,” a statement said. Rescuers also aided a 30-yearold woman who collapsed in the water after taking an incorrect dosage of medication. In its statement, the Ada Ciganlija management urged visitors to take more heed of safety procedures. It also encouraged parents and guardians to “pay more attention to their kids”. According to the statement released to the press, “Visitors should only swim in the lake during rescu-

ers’ working hours between 10am and 7pm.” More than a dozen people have drowned in Ada Ciganlija’s Savski Lake over the course of the past decade. Most accidents happened after hours and after victims failed to adhere to the basic safety rules set by the management. The company that manages the lake and Ada Ciganlija island employs trained rescue personnel. The area is also patrolled by emergency medical teams and police.

Ada Ciganlija

media

Friday, June 27, 2008

Silent Threats to Serbia’s Media Freedom It’s not political tyranny that endangers broadcasting liberty in Serbia these days, but rather a sinister combination of political and business influences. By Veran Matic in Belgrade

hen it comes to the broadcast media in Serbia, our biggest failure has been not to assert that behind certain professional principles and standards, there should lie political and social values. Our own station, B92, emerged from a climate of resistance to tyranny, nationalism, violence, manipulation, corruption, intolerance, hatred and narrow-mindedness. But in Serbia today, the values of democracy and decency are threatened again, though those who endanger them now come from various quarters and exert various forms of influence. The most direct pressures are brutal public threats – warnings of a direct physical showdown – sent publicly, through the media. In Serbia, political threats against media are mostly made through other media. Sometimes those media distance themselves from those threats, but some enjoy taking an active part. Besides threats carried by other media, there are also anonymous authors and telephone callers. Their power and energy is vast, too. What is more important than dealing with these individual cases is to create a healthy system, which would make these threats more visible and make it more difficult for those wanting to opt for such a move to do so. So, our negligence in reforming the system has longterm consequences. We have still not reformed the legal framework for the broadcast media, for example, thanks to numerous obstacles from “within” the system itself. The last in this series of obstacles has come from parliament, in the form of an Act on Local Self-Management. This act questions the whole privatisation

Veran Matic, general manager of Radio Television B92. nance media whose editorial independence is not provided for by the system. Business networks exert similar power and energy over the media, as they try to protect the reputations and products of their companies, and spread information about themselves. Their ability to adapt to certain political and social changes is incredible. At the same time, their power is not transparent. Although the advertising market has grown, the prime motive for most advertisers is still not the exposition of their products and services, but rather the heading off of reactions by other media, or stopping them from uncovering an affair linked to them. The whole concept of advertising in this country remains in its infancy, and for most clients the sole purpose is a mere presence on the market or the possible heading-off of a crisis. The most absurd thing is that the mediators in most busi-

“One way to assess the level of political and business

influence on the media would be to look at the commercial contracts between various media and their business partners. If the chargeability is almost one hundred per cent, we can easily detect the kind of political support they enjoy, and which allows them to have a constant income without reference to ratings or circulations.

”

process, again raising the possibility that local public stations will remain state-owned. It can’t be good if every few years we question the basic premises of the reforms we should have already carried out. Constantly returning to the beginning, we go nowhere. We expect commercial media to be independent from political and financial power, while at the same time, this new legislation on local self-management allows the authorities to use the budget to fi-

ness dealings between clients and the media are companies whose owners have political aspirations, a phenomenon without counterpart in the region. The only way for the media to defend themselves from these ties is to work constantly on increasing their popularity, execute their business deals immaculately and firmly defend their own business and editorial credibility. Even if only one of those three categories is not working, the media inevitably become dependent

on the powers that are trying to rule the advertising market. In practice, few media can resist becoming dependent on certain clients in the way I have described. One consequence of that is that we can count on one hand the number of journalists who can be proud of their results in investigative journalism. In most cases, the media have succumbed to a sad fate of being mere messengers for various centres of influence, with viewers/readers/listeners on the receiving end. One way to assess the level of political and business influence on the media would be to look at the commercial contracts between various media and their business partners. If the chargeability is almost one hundred per cent, we can easily detect the kind of political support they enjoy, and which allows them to have a constant income without reference to ratings or circulations. This is why we need more financial transparency in the media, on capital, ratings, circulations, ownership. There must be acceptance of the basic rules of the game, contained in the journalists’ code. The media must not take part in smear campaigns and hate speech against other media for a start. Along with greater transparency, we need to do more to protect the commercial media – not for their owners’ sake, but because of their role in a democratic society as guarantees of a pluralism of sources. At the moment, there are too many commercial media, making it difficult for them to survive on market principles. Countries with much more developed advertising markets than ours do not have five national commercial radio and television networks. These market conditions do not allow for sustainability, and leave commercial media susceptible to the unprincipled influences of financial powers.

Photo by Srdjan Veljovic What else? Further obstruction of media reforms must be prevented and the privatisation of non-privatised media carried out fully. The conditions by which commercial media apply for financing from the budget should be regulated in order

get across what they cannot in direct communication with citizens. In that sense, the media they curse becomes their useful tool. When the media take part in these games, it is a sign of a deep social and political crisis: a crisis,

“

At the moment, there are too many commercial media, making it difficult for them to survive on market principles. Countries with much more developed advertising markets than ours do not have five national commercial radio and television networks.

”

to prevent discrimination. Two months ago, the broadcast media in Serbia were being widely accused of bias and lack of patriotism. Politicians use the media to

moreover, that can lead to much more tragic and dangerous consequences than mere concern and fear on the part of journalists and editors for their personal safety.

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business

Friday, June 27, 2008

Central Bank Prompts Dinar’s Rise

luctuations in the dinar’s exchange rate against the euro, which led to the recent appreciation of Serbia’s currency, follow an increased supply in the money market, a key banker says. “The ratio of supply and demand that led to the appreciation of the dinar from 83 to 79 to the euro is caused by increased efforts from commercial banks to adjust themselves to (restrictive) central bank measures,” said Veroljub Dugalic, Secretary General of Serbia’s Association of Banks. Last month, Serbia’s central bank, the National Bank of Serbia, NBS, upped its key two-week benchmark rate to 15.75 per cent in order to combat rising inflation. Earlier this year, NBS’s Governor Radovan Jelasic ordered banks to increase their compulsory dinar reserves.

In response, commercial banks have “released part of their euro potentials to the market,” Dugalic said.

Radovan Jelasic, NBS Governor

Serbia’s Fuel Prices Up 2.8 Per Cent

etail prices for petrol and diesel fuel in Serbia have risen by an average of 2.8 per cent or 2.81 dinars ( 0.035) per litre, the Serbian Mining and Energy Ministry has announced. In a statement, the ministry said that petrol and diesel fuel prices will rise by 2.65 dinars and 3.1 dinars per litre from the previous 108.13 dinars and 94.19 dinars respectively. This is the second fuel price hike to hit Serbia in a single month and

economists say it will add to inflation, which reached 14.5 per cent in May. Serbia’s core inflation, which strips volatile fuel and food prices, was 9 per cent last month – far from the 2008 target corridor set at between three and six per cent. The rise in fuel prices comes after pledges from top Saudi Arabian officials to raise crude oil production failed to appease international investors who remain concerned over falling oil supplies from Nigeria and heightened tensions in the Middle East. Prices of crude oil slated for August deliveries rose to $136.49 per barrel, while prices of North Sea crude rose by 60 cents to $135.55 per barrel.

Tobacco Producers Slam Protectionism

he export revenues of Serbia’s tobacco producers are suffering from protectionist measures by countries in the region, a Serbia-based British American Tobacco, BAT, corporate official says. In a statement carried by local media, BAT representative Srdjan Lazovic said that Duvanska Industrija Vranje, DIV, could an- Srdjan Lazovic, BAT representative nually export as many as two billion cigarettes, if “conditions in tion which became even sharper other countries were the same as after the adoption of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, in Serbia.” DIV produces as many as 6.5 CEFTA, last year, Lazovic said. Under the deal, the Serbian billion cigarettes annually. Lazovic complained that the government granted the same opfiscal system in neighbouring erating conditions to all tobacco Croatia is protecting local manu- manufacturers, something other facturers. “That’s why Croatia’s countries in the region have failed exports to Serbia are ten times to implement. DIV shares were selling at higher than the other way around,” 8.947 dinars ( 112) at the Belhe said. Three major tobacco produc- grade Stock Exchange on June 17. ers, BAT, Japan Tobacco Interna- The company’s estimated market tional, JTI, and Philip Morris, and value is 7.99 billion dinars ( 100 Monus, the sole local manufactur- million). BAT owns an 88.1 per er, are engaged in fierce competi- cent stake in DIV.

Serbia Tackles Bureaucratic ‘Labyrinth’

merica’s international development agency, USAID, and a Serbian state agency have launched a major project dubbed ‘Out of the Labyrinth’, aimed at tackling bureaucracy and red tape. “Our task is to convince investors that Serbia is just the right place for them. We will do that by reducing bureaucracy and improving growth,” Toplica Spasojevic, head of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development, NELED, told media. Spasojevic warned that Serbia has dropped two positions on the World Bank’s list of competitive countries, because of its failure to attract more investors. Under the provisions of the Out of the Labyrinth programme,

Better days for investors launched as a joint effort by NELED and USAID, local and foreign investors, as well as other members of the public, will have an opportunity to single out obsolete or redundant administrative proceedings that are hampering

their businesses and suggest improvements. The best proposals will be forwarded to appropriate ministries, agencies and local self-governance bodies and awarded by a special jury, Spasojevic said.

Central Bank Issues Permit to Retirement Fund

erbia’s central bank, the National Bank of Serbia, NBS, has issued an operating license to the Societe Generale Penzije joint retirement fund, founded by Societe Generale Banka Srbija a.d. Beograd and French Societe Anonyme d’Assurance sur la Vie et de Capitalisation, a statement said.

Through this 1.5 million investment, the Societe Generale Group is hoping to reinforce its position in the Serbian market. As many as nine voluntary retirement fund management companies are currently operating in Serbia, but the State has yet to define their role in its state-operated pension system.

Business Centre Up For Sale

he 21 storey-high Belgrade headquarters of Serbia’s bankrupt Inex Interexport will be offered for sale, Serbia’s privatisation agency has announced. In a statement, the agency said that the starting price will be 3.2 billion dinars ( 40 million). Bidding is scheduled for September 23.

Societe Generale Penzije will be the first such company to manage two separate pension funds, the Societe Generale Stednja – which will target conservative investors – and the Societe Generale Ekvilibrio – which will seek investors who expect moderate risks – the bank’s statement reads.

The building, located in downtown Belgrade, covers 12,900m2. The agency said that potential bidders must purchase tender documentation for 150,000 dinars and place a deposit of 1.28 billion dinars at least five days in advance of the auction. On sale are also Inex Interexport’s 165m2 office space in Kraljice

Marije tower, with a starting price set at 80.8 million dinars, a separate 190m2 office space in the northern town of Vrsac and an apartment, the agency said. Inex Interexport Holding, which handled exports in the former Yugoslavia and operated Inex Bank, went bankrupt in 2003.

Serbia Invites Bids for JAT Tehnika

he Serbian Privatisation Agency is inviting bids for a 70 per cent stake in JAT Tehnika, the country’s largest aircraft maintenance company. According to the tender offer, companies involved in aircraft maintenance for no less than five years and with at least 100 million in 2007 revenues will be allowed to bid.

In 2006, state-operated JAT Tehnika, previously a part of national flag carrier JAT Airways, posted revenues of 18.7 million and 157,113 in net profits. JAT Tehnika is licensed for the maintenance of all major aircraft types in the European Union and the United States. The sale of JAT Tehnika is part of a larger government project to

privatise major enterprises and distribute their free shares to as many as four million people. Serbia plans to sell shares in the state-operated telephone provider, Telekom Srbija AD, electricity utility, Elektroprivreda Srbije, JAT Airways and JAT Tehnika, Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport and Galenika pharmaceuticals.

JAT Tehnika is part of a larger government project to privatise major enterprises

business

Friday, June 27, 2008

Serbia Has Tremendous Growth Potential If the next government keeps faith with the European idea, continues reforms and cuts expenditure, the business possibilities look exciting, Simon Gray, head of the World Bank in Serbia, tells Belgrade Insight. INTERVIEW By Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade What are Serbia’s economic prospects once it receives a proEuropean government? The incoming government should push a reform agenda. The need is to expand the private sector, and to do that it needs to complete privatisation of socially-owned enterprises and continue reforms of the business environment. Serbia made good progress in its business reforms and in 2006 was a fast reformer but, given political developments, it has slowed down. The future government needs to pick up on that, continue its work on creating a single business registry to make sure that bankruptcy works, continue reforms of construction permits and keep quickening the financial sector. Another thing they have got to do is ensure macroeconomic stability. There has been a slippage in the reforms on public expenditure. They need to think how they are going to control it and so control growth of the fiscal deficit, which grew higher than expected in 2007. Should Serbia then pursue more restrictive fiscal and macroeconomic policies? The key thing is control of public expenditure expansion and they must do it within their resource availability. What happened this year was: heavy pressure on wages, on overall wage growth and that some resources they’ve expected to come in, from the [sale of] RTB Bor [copper mining complex)] did

not materialise. So the government was forced to raise funds in a different manner, by issuing government bonds and so on. The more you increase public expenditure as a percentage of GDP, the more pressure you put on domestic demand and inflation, and the more restrictive monetary policy has to be, which means raising interest rates. In the longer term, it’s better to keep the fiscal sector under control, so that you can have more relaxed monetary policy that will allow people to borrow and have good rates for development of the corporate sector. Is Serbia split between the desire to raise spending and the need to tailor economic policies to what’s available? We believe there is a quality fiscal adjustment…This means that if we do see additional resources going into things like pensions and social sector, this must come from efficiency gains within the government. The government cannot pay you more than you earn, so all these things have to be part of improved efficiency. In education, for example, efficiency can be achieved by improving the teacherto-children ratio. There’s a lot of inefficiency in the health system. The health service now absorbs 10 per cent of GDP, which is quite a high level compared with European levels. Obviously, the privatisation process is also important. How do you view central bank policy, which has been under fire for restrictiveness? Given the fiscal situation and the widening current account deficit, they need to mobilise all the tools they have to ensure stability. It’s

Simon Gray: The government cannot pay you more than you earn better for them to do that to head off the problem, than let inflation grow and be living with the problem later on. Serbia went through that some time ago. The bank increased its key benchmark rate five times this year. Is that the way to ensure macroeconomic stability? The best way would be to balance that with greater fiscal discipline. But that’s a bit outside bank governor’s turf. That’s why one of the big challenges for the new government will be looking at the fiscal situation and making sure they have it under control.

Military to Sell Surplus Real Estate

erbia’s military is considering the sale of some twenty properties worth around 300 million. “The money may be used to resolve many problems without putting additional strain on the budget,” said General Zdravko Ponos, Serbian Army Chief of Staff, in an interview carried by local media. Serbia’s cash strapped military, the last vestige of the once mighty Yugoslav People’s Army, is currently undergoing a complete overhaul into a smaller, better equipped mobile force. The army is still plagued by a lack of modern equipment and burdened with obsolete equipment and dozens of surplus and dilapidated pieces of real estate, including former barracks, storage facilities and even airfields, Ponos said. The army owns real estate with a total estimated worth of as much as 2 billion. “The army is annually wasting some two million euros just on

guarding all the surplus real estate, and at the same time 16,000 enlisted personnel lack proper housing,” he said. Serbia’s 2008 budget allocated 65 billion dinars ( 818 million) for the military, something “that threatens to overburden state cof-

fers,” Ponos said. “The military should not seek taxpayers’ money to alleviate decades of underfunding,” he added. Under a 2006 funding plan, the money collected from the sales of army’s real estate will be used to pay for the army’s overhaul.

Yugoslav army headquarters ruined during NATO’s 1999 campaign

Why does Serbia lack ‘greenfield’ investments? I wouldn’t underestimate the difficulties facing privatisers in Serbia. They’ve got to be able to see what they can do with those assets. If those assets are run down and the technology is old, they have to bring in a lot of new technology and so on… Greenfields are often more difficult as you’re not buying assets. What we are trying to encourage is making business quicker, getting tax numbers faster, getting construction permits and having the business registry done. Some investors only want to

Photo by Stanislav Milojkovic come in if the environment is transparent. There has to be a good exit. Bankruptcy has to allow those who are not efficient to leave the sector, so it is truly competitive. Investors want good financial markets, and to be able to raise additional capital on the local market. So we have to strengthen securities in that direction. But with the prospect of Europe coming and political stability and work on expenditures, given Serbia’s geographical position, it has tremendous potential. If we get a government that’s working towards Europe, and on pushing reforms, I’m quite optimistic.

Serbia’s Foreign Ceramic Producer Debt Up Slightly Privatised

n the first quarter of 2008, Serbia`s total foreign debt rose by 0.9 percent to 17.96 billion euros, the country’s National Bank said. Serbia’s 6.03 billion euro public sector debt to foreign creditors was 1.6 percent lower than the December 2007 figure. The statement described Serbia as a moderately indebted country with a “favorable liquidity estimate” for short-term obligations to creditors. The bank, which sets Serbia’s monetary policy, said that in the first quarter of 2008, commercial banks owed 3.4 billion euros to international creditors, 13.5 percent less than in December 2007. Earlier, the central bank announced that its foreign currency reserves in May were down by some 300 million euros from April’s figure, to 9.091 billion euros. Total foreign currency reserves in May were 9.949 billion euros, including deposits with commercial banks.

Serbian-Bulgarian consortium has purchased a 62.83 per cent share of ceramic appliances producer Keramika Mladenovac, Serbia’s privatisation agency has confirmed. The majority stake in the company, based in the central Serbian town of Mladenovac, was purchased by Belgrade’s Inter Gas and Bulgaria’s Oil BG for 1.13 million, the agency said in a statement posted on its web site. The Serbian-Bulgarian consortium also pledged to invest an additional 3 million in the company. According to the statement, Keramika Mladenovac, which produces ceramic appliances, bricks and tiles, currently has 401,170 shares outstanding with a market value of 1,311 dinars ( 16.6) per share. Serbia is privatising most of its state-run enterprises and it plans to sell all major assets by the end of 2011.

business

Friday, June 27, 2008

Once Bitter, Serbia’s Harvest May Be Sweetening Rising world food prices present an opportunity for Serbia’s agricultural producers but inefficiencies may stand in the way of rewards. for the year, up about 40 per cent from 2006. This year, it is on pace to have grown by 40 per cent within the first six months. If Milosavljevic’s prediction of annual agricultural export revenues topping five billion dollars is proven true over time, a significant portion of the trade deficit would be erased. But that is unlikely to happen overnight. Outdated farm machines and uncompetitive infrastructure, from farm buildings to irrigation systems, are common problems. Moreover, the fact that only a minority of Serbia’s agricultural resources are being put to work is broadly indicative of the sector’s recent weakness. “Our average should be about 600,000 hectares of wheat, with about 2.5 million tonnes of wheat produced per year…including a million tonnes for export,” says Miroslav Malesevic, an agronomist at the Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad. Serbia failing to yield top results

By Dragan Gmizic in Novi Sad

s Serbia’s wheat fields ripen and farmers prepare for the harvest at the end of June, this fertile country is enjoying a more favourable climate for the export of its cereal crops than it has seen in many years. This year’s harvest of wheat and other crops promises to be bountiful, as measured in volume and weight, but it also promises to be lucrative, thanks to the steep and continuing rise of world food prices. Price inflation and other evolving market dynamics signal that a “revival” of Serbian agriculture has

Photo by Getty Images arrived, after a long period of stagnation, says Slobodan Milosavljevic, agriculture minister in the outgoing Serbian government. Milosavljevic predicts that agricultural export revenues will rise sharply from 1.6 billion dollars in 2007 to more than 2 billion dollars this year. This gain should be followed by more dramatic long-term gains, he adds. “In the next three to five years, we can realistically expect that domestic agricultural exports will exceed the five billion dollar mark,” says Milosavljevic. Yet at the same time experts warn that Serbian agriculture is poorly positioned to exploit fully

the opportunity provided by higher food prices. A range of critics – some focusing on technical inefficiencies in Serbia’s agricultural sector and others criticising government policy – warn that the economics of Serbian agriculture will remain poor unless the sector gears itself for competition with the rest of Europe through technical upgrades and strategic adaptation. This is not a matter of interest only to farmers. At stake, potentially, is Serbia’s fiscal stability. The country’s trade deficit, already large, is characterised by rapid and accelerating growth. Last year it reached 9.5 billion dollars

Serbia are comparatively higher, but are still low at around two-thirds the average EU yields for those crops. Such differences are also explained in part by the near-universal lack of effective irrigation in Serbia. “Less than one per cent of the arable land in Serbia is irrigated, which is totally unacceptable, given the existence of the precious Danube-Tisa-Danube hydrosystem,” says Dencic. Vojislav Stankovic, an expert at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, said that just 30 to 40 per cent of Serbia’s agricultural production capacity has been exploited din recent years. Some critics blame Serbia’s government directly, accusing ministers of mismanaging agricultural transition since Slobodan Milosevic’s internationally isolated Yugoslav regime was forced from power in 2000. In a recent editorial, Novi Sad daily Dnevnik criticised the government’s agricultural policy, not-

“Crop yields lag far behind average yields in the European Union,” notes Srbislav Dencic, an agrono-

mist at the Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops. Instead, Serbia’s five million hectares of arable land is expected to produce for export only 200,000 tonnes of wheat this year, meaning income from the harvest will be far lower than Malesevic contends it could be, though some other cereal crops are likely to be exported in greater volumes, including around two million tonnes of corn. Inefficiencies and poor infrastructure keep Serbian crop yields low. Srbislav Dencic, also an agronomist at the Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops, notes that crop yields in the country lag far behind average yields in the European Union, despite recent technological upgrades by some farms. For instance, in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, traditionally regarded as the country’s bread basket, combine harvesters are over 20 years old, on average. The average wheat yield in Serbia is around six tonnes per hectare, while averages in the EU are between six and nine tonnes per hectare. Corn and sunflower yields in

Source: NBS

ing that farmers officially discouraged from producing wheat to the exclusion of other crops now wish they had done otherwise, given the tripling of the global market’s price of wheat in the last year. “In Serbia in 2007, the least amount of wheat ever in our history was sown, although the world trend is the precise opposite. Agrarian policy… must be changed urgently,” the Dnevnik editorial argued. Serbian Ministry of Agriculture records show that some 700,000 hectares of wheat were sown in 2001, but the figure last year dropped to 450,000 hectares, the smallest area to be sown in the recorded history of Serbian agriculture. However, Milosavljevic, the outgoing minister, defends the official strategy pursued during the post-Milosevic era. Many farmers’ recent diversification away from wheat, but still including it, mean that other crops, such as corn, can partly compensate from the related loss in potential income. Source: BalkanInsight.com

property

Friday, June 27, 2008

Trends: Office Out, Retail and Residential In

With growing consumer spending power, the construction industry is set to become the engine of rapid economic development in Serbia. COMMENT By Roman Klott Managing Director, Atrium Consulting

erbia has been lagging behind in terms of property development for a long time. Due to regional conflicts and the consequent international sanctions, the entire economy, and in particular the construction industry, came to a standstill. But this changed with the opening up of the country to foreign investment in early 2000. According to the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency, SIEPA, during the last eight years Serbia has attracted more than 9 billion of foreign direct investment, FDI. And the arrival of multinational companies from the service sector has seen the demand for commercial real estate grow significantly. During the ‘90s, Serbia’s neighbours, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria have transformed into highly

attractive investment destinations for the construction industry. Modern office buildings, shopping centres and apartments sprung up like mushrooms, and the construction industry was – and is still – the engine of rapid economic development. A similar development is due to happen in Serbia in all segments of the property market during the next decade. Increased activity can already be seen today. During 2008/2009 around 150,000m2 of high-quality office space will be delivered to the market, a trend that’s continuing. The increase in supply has put rental prices slightly under pressure: the average rental price for high-quality office space is currently around 18.00m2, depending on location and the size of the leased space. However, the market itself is still attractive because the demand for office space will remain at least stable. The retail sector also remains strong. There is still a major shortage of quality retail premises in shopping centres, retail parks and city centre locations, and this applies not only to Belgrade but also to major secondary cities with populations in excess of 100,000. Fashion brands, supermarkets, Do-it-Yourself stores, electronic discounters and large furniture stores will be the driving force of this development. In 2009/2010 we will see a large number of

Safe as houses - market growth set to continue

international chains entering the market. The growth of consumer spending power has a direct influence on the retail market. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, net salaries in Belgrade increased by 27 per cent from 2006 to 2007. This is indicative of the increase of consumer spending. Retail rents are currently on the up, driven by higher demand among international retailers or local franchisees of international brands.

Rents for a prime location on Belgrade’s high streets have reached 150m2 and more, depending on unit size. The average leasing price in shopping centres stands at 60m2 for shops sized from 100 to 200m2. Another positive trend is the increased activity in the residential sector, in particular in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Warsaw-based developer GTC is just completing its first complex of about 200 apartments and all

units have already been sold. Other major projects include the Universiada World Student Games Village, (1,800 apartments), and Marina Dorcol, (600 apartments). Current prices vary from 1,500 to 2,500/m2 on average and reflect a market driven by high demand and low supply. Prices in Belgrade are above regional norms. The demand will remain high, in particular for midrange developments with good build quality.

Partnership for Better Business

his week saw the 14th annual Business Partner Awards presented to the best companies in the region at Belgrade’s Continental Hotel, during a special ceremony attended by the region’s top businessmen and media houses. Established back in 1995 by the company Mass Media International in order to honour companies and generate public recognition of their efforts and contributions they have made to good business practices, working ethics and morals, and valuing their partners, clients and customers, the Regional Traditional Business Partner Award has grown into a prestigious business and pan-Balkan honour of corporate success. The Business Partner awards are presented to companies and institutions from the region in recognition of their displayed business excellence, ethics and responsibility – regardless of the industry – with the aim of promoting and improving regional relationships and economic prosperity. The Regional Traditional Business Partner Award 2008 was open to countries from across the region: Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria,

And the Winners are: Best Partner Award Koncern Bambi – Banat AD Regional Business Partner Mercator d.d. (Slovenia) Betonut PLC (Hungary) Digi Sat – A Member of RCS&RDS Group (Romania) Kras d.d. (Croatia) Oil Refinery Modrica AD (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Port of Bar AD (Montenegro) Agna Group (Albania) Tikves Winery (Macedonia) Denyl Ltd. (Bulgaria) Hellenic Petroluem SA (Greece) Business Partner jury member, Professor Branko Maricic, presents a business partner award to Rade Pribićević of Danube Foods Group Greece and Cyprus - regardless of the industry, size or type of ownership. As a result the award allows for small and medium-sized enterprises to compete with big corporate businesses. The Business Partner Awards are held courtesy of the Belgradebased business, technical and marketing services company Mass Media International – organiser of Belgrade’s popular annual Brand Fair International.

This year saw Business Partner awards handed out under several categories. These included: Regional Business Partner, Media Business Partner and Business Partner. Moreover, the Award Committee presented several special awards based on specialised criteria including Business Partner Extra, Eco-Business Partner, Business Partner Plus and Edu-Business Partner.

Business Partner Extra The European bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD Eco-Business Partner JP Elektroprivreda Srbije Business Partner Plus Ball Packaging Europe Ltd. Edu-Business Partner Prirodno – Mathematics Faculty of the University of Novi Sad Media Business Partner Pink International Company Press Publishing Group Kapital Network Magazine Ekonometar and Magazine Biznis

Business Partner Knjaz Miloš AD Messer Tehnogas AD Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank AD DDOR Novi Sad AD JAT Airways Koncern Bambi – Banat AD Izoprom d.o.o. Masterplast YU Eurocargo d.o.o. Nuacni Institut za Prehrambene Tehnologije Verting – Mijanovic d.o.o. Loher Elektro Subotica d.o.o. Tehnomag-Term ASCO Vidak d.o.o. JP PTT Saobracaja ‘Srbija’ District Cooperative Council of Uzice - In Natura Republic Statistical Office of Serbia Masinoprojekt – Kopring Beograd AD Rotografika Beoexpo System Artistic Foundry Vozdovac – Braca Jeremic

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Friday, June 27, 2008

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neighbourhood

Friday, June 27, 2008

Centrum Buys Big Stake in Croatian News Portal

Macedonia Government Talks Start Skopje_ Macedonia’s victorious VMRO DPMNE party has started talks with the two major ethnic Albanian parties to decide which one will enter the new government. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is to separately meet with leaders of the two bitter ethnic Albanian rivals, Ali Ahmeti of the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, and Menduh Thaci from the ruling party’s former partners, the Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA. Adopting VMRO DPMNE’s “revival” agenda and positions on Macedonia’s “name” row with Greece will decide which Albanian party will be invited to join, Gruevski said Sunday in an interview for the national MIA news agency. “We will put all the details on the table and in the end decide within the framework of the party and the coalition,” Gruevski said.

Nikola Gruevski accepts the mandate from Macedonia’s president Meanwhile, both parties remained hopeful of entering the government. While Ahmeti argues his party won more seats in the parliament than the DPA, Thaci refers to their traditional partnership with VMRO DPMNE.

Kosovo Dismisses New Status Talks at UN Pristina_ Kosovo’s status has been settled and there is nothing more to say, President Fatmir Sejdiu said upon his return from a United Nation’s Security Council debate. “I reiterated there (in New York) as well – we will not accept any kind of dialogue that perhaps somebody intends to hold on to Kosovo,” Sejdiu said. He returned from New York where he had addressed the UN Security Council in a debate which aimed to discuss the future of the UN Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, as proposed by the world body’s Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. “At the Security Council, as well as in the letter sent by Secretary Ban, one clearly sees that they acknowledge the new realities on the ground, the Constitution and the independence declaration,” Sejdiu added. Plans to ‘reconfigure’ UNMIK were presented to the Security Council despite Serbian and Russian objections. Serbia’s President Boris Tadic opposed Ban’s proposal saying Resolution 1244, which has regulated the UN’s mission in Kosovo since 1999, is still in force and it continues to recognise Kosovo as a part of Serbia. “Therefore Serbia cannot endorse the report of Ban Ki-Moon, as long as Resolution 1244 is still

UN Headquarters in New York in force,” said Tadic, who called for new negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17 and 43 countries have recognised the move so far, but it is vehemently opposed by Serbia and its chief ally, Russia. UNMIK has been instructed to start evolving, given the changing situation on the ground since Kosovo’s constitution has come into force, forseeing the transfer of greater responsibilities to the government in Pristina. A new law and order mission led by the European Union, EULEX, will also start speeding up deployment to become the main international presence in Kosovo. Meanwhile Lamberto Zannier, who was appointed UNMIK chief by Ban last week, has already taken up his post and is due to meet Kosovo leaders on Monday to discuss the future role of the administration.

Photo by FoNet

At the snap general elections earlier this month, the DUI won 18 and the DPA 11 seats in the 120member parliament. The VMRO DPMNE-led alliance won a staggering 63 seats and the opposition, led by the Social Democrats, secured 27.

Zagreb_Prague-based internet services and media firm Centrum Holdings has announced the acquisition of a 75 per cent stake in Croatia’s most visited portal, Net.hr. The company did not disclose how much it paid for the stake. “With this acquisition Centrum Holdings will become one of the biggest internet companies in Central and Eastern Europe,” a company statement reads. “We see very big potential for the fast growth of Net.hr in Croatia and further opportunities for growth in the whole Adriatic region,” Centrum Holding’s general manager, Pavel Mucha, added. Proficio, the biggest shareholder in Net.hr ahead of the deal, will retain a 25 per cent share. With more than 725,000 hits a month, Net.hr is the most popular website in Croatia.

Centrum Holdings has a string of websites in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, including news server Aktualne.cz and Aktualne. sk, and boasts around 6.5 million hits a month. Its biggest shareholder is USbased private investment fund Warburg Pincus.

Croatia’s most visited news portal

Bosnian Police Charge 40 for Football Rioters Sarajevo_ Bosnian police are pressing charges against some 40 people for attacking officers during recent football riots in southern parts of the country. Police also said they are continuing to investigate and arrest people in relation to the violence following the Euro 2008 football match between Croatia and Turkey on Friday night. While most of those arrested

for the violence have been released from custody, three men will be held for a month and face possible jail sentences of up to five years for more serious offences, media quoted police as saying. More than 20 policemen were injured in numerous separate incidents in and around the town of Mostar following the game which raised ethnic tensions among Bos-

nian Croats rooting for Croatia and some Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) who were backing Turkey. Before the game, local police declared an emergency and deployed more than 1,000 troops across the Mostar region to prevent violence. A strong police presence managed to keep the fans apart, but in some areas police had to use teargas to disperse violent fans.

Croatia Urges Speedy EU Talks Amid Irish ‘No’ Zagreb_Croatia is hoping to quickly conclude EU membership talks despite Ireland’s rejection of a treaty designed to overhaul the bloc. Zagreb’s Jutarnji List daily reported that the leaders of France, Czech Republic and Sweden tentatively agreed that Croatia could sign the Accession Agreement, saying they support a fast conclusion to negotiations. French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently claimed the EU should halt enlargement until it has resolved Ireland’s rejection of a treaty designed to reform the bloc’s institutions. The daily reports that a document on the timing of negotiations

with EU non-member countries stipulates that talks with Croatia in particular are scheduled to enter the final phase. According to the document Jutarnji List had access to, the timing also depends on Croatia’s fulfilment of the remaining EU benchmarks, as well as on easing the upheaval caused within the bloc following the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Irish voters. The Lisbon Treaty was designed to give the bloc stronger leadership with a long-term president of the European Council of EU leaders, an enhanced foreign policy supremo with a real diplomatic service, easier decision-making rules and a greater say for the national and

European parliaments. It needs approval by all member states to come into effect. The absence of a treaty effectively leaves the bloc without a rulebook for expansion. Croatia has already said it hoped the rejection of the treaty by Irish voters would not affect its bid for EU membership. Jutarnji List said that the document envisages that, providing Croatia closes all the negotiating chapters by mid-2009, a new European Parliament could give its consent for Croatia’s entry into the EU and Zagreb could sign the Accession Agreement during the Swedish Presidency, in the second half of 2009.

Montenegrin Prime Minister ‘Unaware’ of Deportations

Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic

Podgorica_Montenegro’s Prime Minister and his party’s deputy leader have denied having any knowledge of the 1992 forced deportation of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) Milo Djukanovic and Svetozar Marovic, current deputy head of the Democratic Party of Socialists and former president of the Serbia and Montenegro state union, made the statements before the High

Court in Podgorica on Saturday. One of the attorneys, Branislav Lutovac, said both officials testified that the country’s leadership at the time had no knowledge of the crime and that the deportations were stopped after they had learned about it. Djukanovic, also the Prime Minister at the time of the crime, and Marovic were asked to testify in the trial of those accused of de-

porting an unknown number of Bosniaks of Muslim religion from Montenegro to neighbouring Serbia and to wartime Bosnian Serb territory as Bosnia erupted into conflict in 1992. Lutovac said the hearing was “a monologue, without additional questions being asked by the judge.” He claimed that defence lawyers were not present as the two gave their testimonies, which was

a severe violation of the defence attorneys’ rights. He added that all the others questioned in relation to the case, such as former Montenegro President Momir Bulatovic, had to give statements with defence lawyers present. Lutovac said he complained to the judge but was told the judge has “the right” to choose how to treat witnesses.

neighbourhood

Friday, June 27, 2008

Lisbon Deadlock Hits Croatian EU Hopes

With EU enlargement in question following the Irish ‘no’ vote to the Lisbon Treaty, Zagreb fears a fresh delay to its accession. By GjeraqinaTuhina in Brussels

fter the drama of Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum, the European Union is trying to encourage Western Balkans countries to continue with the reforms that are

therefore, was to put in place institutional reforms within the EU that would allow the enlargement of the 27-nation club. This has all been thrown into question since Irish voters rejected the treaty in a referendum. Uncertain which way to turn, leaders of several EU states have called for their parliaments to con-

Other European figures have taken a more nuanced line, urging leaders to be more discreet so that Western Balkan states are not discouraged. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, for example, said obstacles towards ratification of Lisbon must not be interpreted as a halt to EU enlargement. Asselhorn said expansion ought

tinue the process of ratification. France’s President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in June spoke in forthright terms of the consequences for both the EU and the Balkans if Lisbon did not take effect, warning that enlargement will grind to a halt unless the EU agrees on new internal arrangements.

to continue, whatever disputes arose over the club’s internal mechanisms. “We need enlargement to stabilise Europe and to bring peace and hope to the Balkans”, Asselborn told Balkan Insight. “If we say ‘no Lisbon, no enlargement’, some people might think that to avoid enlargement, we will oppose Lisbon, and I don’t want this”.

Croatian aspirations most affected necessary for their future integration into EU structures. The EU currently functions on the basis of the Nice Treaty, which came into force in February 2003 and allows for a maximum of 27 members. A new treaty is essential if the EU wants to enlarge, taking in more Balkan states. One of the main aims of the Lisbon Treaty,

NATO Chief: Kosovo Partition Not an Option Pristina _ The territorial partition of Kosovo is unacceptable, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said during a recent trip to the capital Pristina. Scheffer was on his first visit to the fledgling state of Kosovo since ethnic Albanian leaders there declared independence from Serbia in February this year. He met Kosovo’s local leaders and officials from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, in order to discuss the latest developments since Kosovo’s constitution came into force earlier this month. Implementation of the constitution resulted in the transfer of key responsibilities from the United Nations administration to the Pristina government, while preparing the ground for the arrival of the European Union’s new law and order mission, EULEX. Scheffer spoke out against plans by Kosovo’s minority Serbian community, who are continu-

Scheffer also asserted that NATO forces will be involved in the training of an all new Kosovo Security Force, which will be formed as a substitute to the national army. “It is in the interest of Kosovo and all Kosovars…to have a Security Force,” he said, explaining that it will not be an army but merely a professional security force. However, he admitted that NATO had decided to push on NATO Sec. Gen. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer with plans to train the future force ing to defy Pristina authorities by despite a small number of member strengthening their parallel gov- states having not recognised Kosernment bodies and undercutting ovo’s independence, acknowledgKosovo’s independence. He added ing that it is not the mandate of that the partition of Kosovo is un- the alliance to recognise the sovereignty of states. acceptable. NATO, whose troops have been “Any kind of partition is not an option,” he reiterated, emphasising deployed in Kosovo since 1999, that KFOR’s mandate is regulated after the conflict between Kosby United Nations Security Coun- ovo’s ethnic Albanians and Serbian cil Resolution 1244 on Kosovo and military forces, currently has some it will remain in order to maintain 15,000 international peacekeeping peace and security across Kosovo troops on the ground and remains the main security force in Kosovo. in the future.

His Maltese counterpart, Tonio Borg, agreed the Lisbon deadlock must not be allowed to damage the European prospects of Western Balkan countries. “We have underlined the European perspective for the entire Western Balkans, and what has been achieved in the past shows that Europe gives particular importance to the region”, Borg told Balkan Insight. The Polish President, Donald Tusk, recently made similar points. “The adoption of the Lisbon Treaty would facilitate EU enlargement plans, but failure to ratify it does not shatter those plans,” Tusk said in Brussels. The country most at risk if the EU enlargement process is put on ice is Croatia. The most advanced Western Balkan state, in EU terms, Zagreb has already begun accession talks with a view to joining by 2011 at the latest. A concerned Croatian Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader, recently urged EU member states to do their outmost to ensure that problems over Lisbon did not affect his country. Many European leaders sympathise with Zagreb’s predicament, saying an exception might need to be made for Croatia even if the enlargement process was halted. “In the European Parliament’s view, until such time as the reform Treaty comes into force, there can be no further accessions to the EU, with the possible exception of Croatia”, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, said. The Italian leader made the same point – more forcefully – at the EU summit in Brussels. “No one should include Croatia when we say that enlargement is impossible without the Lisbon Treaty,”

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said. “This theory is not applicable to Croatia, because that country is already too close to the European family”, he added. Some experts also maintain that enlargement to include Croatia might be possible even if the Lisbon Treaty does not enter into force. The Brussels think tank, the European Policy Centre, for example, noted in a recent paper that while Croatian accession would require some adjustments to Nice, “some of these, concerning, for instance, the composition of EU institutions and the voting rules, could be introduced through the Accession Treaty with the next entrant (probably Croatia)”. Michael Emerson, enlargement expert for another EU think tank, the Centre for European Policy Studies, agrees. “It is not impossible legally for Croatia to come in with a few bits of adjustment to existing treaties”, Emerson said. “However, politically, some member states will use this as a lever to try to get Lisbon Treaty through”, he added. Augustin Palokaj, Brusselsbased analyst for the Croatian daily, Jutarnji List, said Croatian accession might easily be brought about though the attachment of an additional protocol to Croatia’s accession treaty with the EU. This would set down the terms of Croatia’s participation in the European Commission, the number of seats for Croatia in the European Parliament and the number of votes it held in the Council. According to Palokaj, these simple adjustments would enable the EU to incorporate Croatia institutionally. “But without the political will, there can be no solution,” he warned. Source: www.BalkanInsight.com

Bosnian Serb PM: ‘Serbia is the Motherland’ Sarajevo_ Bosnian Serbs see Serbia as their “motherland” and retain the right to their self-determination, the Prime Minister of Bosnia’s smaller entity claims. In an interview for Slovenian daily Delo, published on Saturday, the premier of the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, stressed that Bosnian Serbs will not allow changes to the country’s internal set-up, as required for the country’s European Union accession. Although welcoming Bosnia’s June 16 signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, as the first big step on the path to EU membership, Dodik rejected the need for changes to Bosnia’s constitution and inner set-up, as suggested by EU officials. “Certainly we will make our contribution to European integration, but at the same time it is unacceptable that this integration is used as an alibi for internal

reform. Why should Bosnia and Herzegovina change its internal structure when no other (EU) member country had to do it?” Dodik asked in the interview. On Sunday, Dodik paid a oneday visit to Slovenia, where he met Slovenian Premier Janez Jansa and other officials to discuss political and economic developments in the region. Dodik has gained notoriety for his often radical rhetoric and has often been the source of rising ethnic and political tensions with his Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) counterparts and population. Because of this, Bosnian politicians and media have repeatedly demanded Bosnia’s top international envoys use their broad governing powers and remove Dodik from the position. Recently a former top envoy, German diplomat Christian Schwartz Schilling, admitted that his plan to fire Dodik in 2006 was prevented by American diplomats.

neighbourhood

Friday, June 27, 2008

Cheers and Fears as Bosnia Moves Closer to EU

The acceleration of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession process will require a sustained reform effort that will test the country’s leaders. By Srecko Latal in Sarajevo

he recent signing of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, between Bosnia and the EU means that the country is now eligible to apply for formal status as an EU candidate country. However, such an application is usually made only after a period of successful implementation of SAA reforms. Bosnian officials have expressed hope that the SAA will boost exports to Europe and encourage greater foreign investment in the country. However, some observers remain cautious about what the future holds for Bosnia and whether the current crop of political leaders have the talent or inclination to see the reform project through to completion. In practical terms, the agreement gives Bosnia access to EU pre-accession funds designed to facilitate administrative and other reforms. Dimitris Kourkoulas, head of the European Commission delegation in Sarajevo, said that Bosnia is now able to draw up to 380 million in EU assistance between 2008 and 2011. A gradual relaxation of visa requirements for Bosnian citizens visiting the EU is another benefit that is widely anticipated, and negotiations on establishing a visafree regime were also launched this month. Despite the success of Bosnian political leaders’ in overcoming differences and passing reforms required in advance of the SAA, smooth passage of additional re-

forms – in some instances more demanding than the previous set of reforms – is anything but guaranteed. Under the conditions of the SAA, Bosnia and Herzegovina

sca, near Sarajevo, if importation of assembled cars from EU countries proves less costly than importation of parts for local assembly. Zeljko Sain, an economist and executive director of the econom-

Bosnian and EU officials close the deal must start lifting customs duties and other provisions affecting EU products on July 1, a move that some observers have argued will have a negative impact on BiH producers, particularly in the agricultural sector. Radivoje Bratic, minister for agriculture in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, has argued that the economic viability of farming in the country may be jeopardised by an influx of EU food products. Although some Bosnian prod-

Macedonia ‘Killer Journalist’ Commits Suicide Skopje_A journalist believed to have killed up to four elderly women from the town of Kicevo and then reported on the crimes for local press has committed suicide while in detention, Macedonian police say. “He killed himself on Sunday night [June 22],” Macedonian police spokesman Ivo Kitevski told Balkan Insight. The journalist, 56-year-old Vlado Tanevski, allegedly drowned himself in a large tub of water which he found in the prison’s bathroom, where he was being held in detention. Tanevski had been arrested after traces of his DNA were found on the remains of the victims, the police said. He was accused of raping three elderly ladies, strangling them with telephone cable and then cutting up their remains before wrapping them in plastic bags and dumping the bodies. The victims were found in 2007 and 2008 in several skips.

ucts, such as milk and chicken, will continue to benefit from protective tariffs in the early stages of trade liberalisation, meat imports from the EU are expected to increase. “Domestic farmers will not be

Police began to suspect Tanevski of committing the heinous crimes after he began including in his reports some details about the murders which were not known to the police investigating the crimes. Tanevski was a correspondent for Utrinski vesnik daily and several other local media outlets. All the victims were elderly cleaning ladies and neighbours of Tanevski from the Macedonian town of Kicevo. The police said he even visited the family homes of the murdered women, pretending to investigate their stories. He is also believed to have killed a fourth woman, his mother, in the same way, as the social profile of the victims matched. “She worked as a cleaning lady in a hospital and he had extremely bad relations with her,” local police spokesman Ivo Kotevski told members of the press. Tanevski had remained silent during police interrogation.

able to compete with meat prices from abroad,” Bratic said, adding that Bosnia had failed to establish adequate regulations for meat imports. Automobile manufacturing may also be affected. Customs levies on EU-manufactured motor vehicles will be halved on July 1 and completely abolished on January 1, 2009. Following this change in the customs regime, Audi and Volkswagen are expected to shut car assembly operations in Vogo-

ics faculty at the University of Sarajevo, said local leaders must now work out a plan to maximise SAA benefits while mitigating the negative effects of a potential “tsunami” of EU imports. “We were not ready to enter this process. We will survive it, but I am afraid we will pay a very high price,” Sain said. Fiscal stability is also a cause of concern. The country’s tax administration has calculated that in the last

six months of 2008 alone, the reduction or elimination of customs duties will cause tax revenues to the state and entity-level governments to fall by a total exceeding 55 million. In reaction, government officials have proposed imposing new taxes, rather than stimulating the business environment, in order to secure a corresponding increase in export-related revenue. A rise in cigarette duties has already been announced. Aside from economic considerations, the EU integration process carries serious potential for purely political conflict, nowhere more acutely than in the area of constitutional law. The constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, drawn up as part of the Dayton Agreement that ended the 1992-95 war, is based on safeguarding the “collective rights” of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ethnic communities – Bosnian Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). This emphasis on collective rights is at odds with modern European notions of individual human rights. Moreover, it has spawned an ethnically-based administrative and political system that is notoriously bloated and inefficient. EU-led reforms are likely to require Bosnia and Herzegovina to amend its constitution, enact major legislative changes and reform key government institutions in order to harmonise the country’s political system with European norms. Such a process, given the sustained sensitivity of constitutional issues 12 years after the war, carries with it the risk of political crisis. Source: BalkanInsight.com

Bulgarian ‘Week of Intolerance’ Targets Gays Sofia_The hard-line Bulgarian National Union has planned a ‘Week of Intolerance’ ahead of a gay parade due to take place in Sofia on June 28. The National Union’s leader, Boyan Rasate, alleged that homosexuals enjoy strong political protection in Bulgaria. “There are homosexuals in all political parties that one can think of,” Rasate said. According to Rasate, the Bul-

garian National Union was planning to stage several events, including a round table on how to restrict ‘homosexual ideas’ in society. Aksiniya Gencheva, of the Bulgarian gay organisation ‘Gemini’, told the Sofia News Agency that this was a political ploy. She added that the Bulgarian National Union’s move to ban gay organisations was in direct contradiction

of the Bulgarian Constitution and the right of free association. Boyan Rasate and his National Union gained notoriety in 2007 with their attempt to organise a private national guard with its own uniforms and symbols to protect the majority of the population from what they alleged was a crime wave being led by the Roma minority.

Croatia Nazi Suspect Admits Deportations Zagreb_One of the most wanted Nazi suspects has admitted taking part in deportations of “disloyal non-Croats” to their homelands. Milivoj Asner, wanted by Croatia for war crimes committed while he was a police officer of the World War II Ustasha Nazi puppet regime, told Croatian state television that “those who were disloyal had to go”.

“I thought that if you were not a Croat and you hated Croatia, you should go to your homeland, to Belgrade, to Vojvodina, and leave us Croats alone,” Asher, who lives in Klagenfurt, Austria, said. UK daily, The Sun, spotted and photographed Asner, 95, in Klagenfurt while he was enjoying football at the European Championships.

Speaking to The Sun, Asner denied involvement in the forced deportation of Serbs, Jews and Roma from Croatia between 1941 and 1945. Asner, fourth on the list of the top ten most wanted Nazi suspects, told The Sun he would gladly face a Croatian court. However, Austria is not willing to extradite him – citing the nonagenarian’s poor health.

life

Friday, June 27, 2008

Witches’ Spells Linger in Eastern Serbia Wise men and women are still curing illnesses, predicting the future and even slaying dragons in this remote border region. By Silvija Vukasinovic in Majdanpek

hen Nikola Radosavljevic, a psychiatric patient from the village of Jabukovac in eastern Serbia, grabbed his shotgun last year and went on a rampage, killing nine people, local people blamed the evils of black magic. They said that Radosavljevic’s killing spree was an act of revenge against people he believed had cast a spell on him. Miroslav Srzentic, a local prosecutor in charge of the case, dismisses such talk. “There was no mention of magic at any moment during the investigation,” he scoffs. “The killer was a seriously ill psychiatric patient who committed a brutal crime after a period without his prescribed therapy.” But public statements by officials like Srzentic have failed to quench the rumours and most of the public remain convinced that the story confirms the potency of witchcraft in eastern Serbia. The presumption is backed up by the fact that there certainly are people, mainly women in remote villages, who still claim to have the powers to see and perceive more than others and who practice magic. There is barely a single village in eastern Serbia without its local “wise man”, a person with supernatural powers who “sees” and is capable of helping villagers out of their troubles in difficult times. Radovan Merdovic, the presiding judge of the Municipal Court in the town of Majdanpek, can’t recall a single instance of magic being mentioned in court documents. But he smiles as he recalls when, as a young judge some two decades ago, he visited a village where a woman known as a local sorceress threw beans at him, cry-

Photo by XAOC Photo In effect, the witches act as unofficial marriage guidance counsellors or as therapists. The sorceresses cast spells over the dresses of downcast girls, advise them not to sit at home and go in their new spellbound dresses to village festivities. And this can be very successful. Desanka, 68, is one such wise woman. “When I was 12, I fell seriously ill and was in a coma for several days. Since then I’ve been seeing things every once in a while, usually on the eve of significant religious holidays,” she explains. “If I keep silent about these visions, they torture me”. Desanka is sought out by many people for her skills, even though she lives on a remote farm. “Grains of corn, seeds, beans, or a thread from the garment worn by the interested person would do if I want to peep at his or her future,” she says. Like many wise men and women, Desanka comes from the

The powers of Vlach wise men and women attract more than local villagers. People come from all over the Balkans, travelling hundreds of kilometres from Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia to seek help. Locals joke about these “foreign tourists”, jesting that there are enough of them to fuel the development of a witchcraft tourist industry. ing: “Alas, the court is your destiny. You won’t leave it ever.” Life in eastern Serbia is traditionally hard and sometimes far removed from modern society. Such an environment provides fertile ground for the belief that serious problems can be solved with the aid of unseen powers. Some would like to be rich, others to fill their homes with babies. Some turn to witches in search of true love, a cure from an illness, to pass an exam or find out why their dear ones died prematurely.

Vlach minority, a community that - in Serbia – is concentrated in the eastern regions, on the border with Romania. She speaks Vlach, too, a language that sounds like a mixture of Romanian and Serbian. Others known to deal with magic powers and soothsaying call themselves “white” witches – white, because they use their powers to help people, rather than using them in the service of malice. In their readings, white witches usually tell their clients that their problems are down to someone else’s

spell, which is usually solvable. Of course, the phenomenon irritates the medical profession. “The number of people who believe in magic is in inverse proportion to the number of educated people,” psychiatrist Milojko Nesovic of Majdanpek General Hospital says, dismissively. As a rule, Vlach sorceresses do not charge for their services. They never employ their powers for their personal benefit. This, they say, would be dangerous as it might come back to “haunt” them. Those who deem their services worthwhile find other ways to return the favours. Most, like Desanka, suffered from a serious illness in early childhood, barely survived and then discovered they had magical powers. In his decade-long career, Nesovic has never come across patients he believes were “possessed”. But he freely admits that some have benefited from their belief in the power of magic. “Some psychiatric patients have significantly improved their mental health thanks to their conviction that Vlach magic actually helps them,” Nesovic says. The powers of Vlach wise men and women attract more than local villagers. People come from all over the Balkans, travelling hundreds of kilometres from Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia to seek help. Locals joke about these “foreign tourists”, jesting that there are enough of them to fuel the development of a witchcraft tourist industry. Ljubomir, 38, is from the eastern Serbian village of Blizna. He says that he didn’t believe in magic until he met a white witch in person. “After looking at a photograph and her cards, she told me I had broken up a seven-year relationship with my girlfriend, because her cousin had thrown my suede shoe into the grave of a woman

who had died that day in our neighbourhood,” he said. “How could she have known about this relationship, or the breakup, or the detail about my shoe vanishing, if she didn’t have some special ability?” Ljubomir asks.

There are many deserted houses in these villages, which everyone avoids. These are houses whose previous owners could not get any sleep on account of the allegedly unbearable nocturnal noises. These houses are often aban-

In effect, the witches act as unofficial marriage guidance counsellors or as therapists. The sorceresses cast spells over the dresses of downcast girls, advise them not to sit at home and go in their new spellbound dresses to village festivities. Vlach witches pronounce their magic formulas in melodic chants complemented by ancient rituals. The performance instils the clients with a sense of certainty and confidence that the problem is being dealt with. The lore of the witches is a far cry from the Serbian Orthodox faith that is the dominant religion in these parts, as local priests know well. “Even though the locals profess to be Christians, they have kept many pagan customs and rituals,” Ivan Zivkovic, a priest from Majdanpek, confides. “These superstitious beliefs abound and are transmitted from one generation to another.” One obvious deviation from traditional Christianity is the cult of the dead, which remains strong among the Vlach people in eastern Serbia. At village funerals, mourners still observe the ancient custom of dancing and singing “for the soul of the deceased”. The dead are regularly commemorated in these parts; after 40 days, after six months, annually at the Day of the Dead and so on, until the seventh year after the burial, with feasts and festivities and an abundance of food and drink. Another powerful superstition concerns malicious ghosts.

donded quickly and few are brave enough to stay overnight and check Another prevalent belief, in which the witches play a role, is “tying”. This involves a woman “tying” a man to herself so he can’t have sex. Mika Zlatic, a wise man from the village of Crnajka, still helps people counter this type of spell. “First, I look at the seeds and cards to ascertain how many times the client has been ‘tied’,” he notes. Wise men can also break the powers of malevolent dragons. According to a popular superstition, young women can forget about their husbands while fading away and becoming weak, because of the overnight visits of a water dragon that appears in the image of a beautiful young man. Petar Markovic, an old man from the hamlet of Bukova Glava, a few hours’ walk from Donji Milanovac, claims to be the last remaining dragon slayer in the region. With its wild folklore still very much alive and kicking, eastern Serbia is certainly an important site for researchers. However, much of it is still unrecorded. “From the perspective of anthropology, this world is still unknown,” Paun Es Durlic, an ethnologist at the Majdanpek Museum, says. Source: BalkanInsight.com

arts

Friday, June 27, 2008

Life and Death in the Balkans This week Marcus Tanner reviews Bato Tomasevic’s latest work. BOOK REVIEW By Marcus Tanner

n his long and tempestuous life, Bato Tomasevic witnessed the fall of the first Yugoslavia, the country’s rebirth and transformation after the Second World War and, years later, its final, agonising collapse. That, I suspect, will be one reason why many people will want to read this book, because although the saga of a Montenegrin dynasty has an intrinsic interest, it is the way the family story unfolds against a background of stirring and tragic political and military events that will surely draw foreign, Englishspeaking readers and historians. The Tomasevic’s were no bystanders in the upheavals besetting the first or second Yugoslavia. Bato’s father was one of the shock troops of the new Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes, formed after 1918. A passionate supporter of union between the old kingdom of Montenegro and the new south Slav state centred on Serbia, he joined the wave of colonists sent down to reclaim Kosovo for serb-

dom after the First World War, becoming police chief of Mitrovica. Bato’s personal story begins here and he tells it very well and with great honesty. Far from glossing over the plight of the displaced Albanians in the Kosovo of the 1920s and 1930s, he sheds new light on the way in which the state-sponsored colonisation programme was reflected in real life. Then, as now, fear and distrust of the Albanians dominated Kosovo Serb thoughts. His mother went to market armed with pistols. At night, colonists bolted windows and doors, fearful of attack. But Tomasevic is careful to note the almost casual brutality of the regime in “Old Serbia”, the humiliation and bullying of Albanian children in schools and the savage assaults on Albanian villages, which Bato’s conscientious father vainly struggled to prevent. Tomasevic recalls how the world of the colonists collapsed overnight with the outbreak of the Second World War, triggering the family’s return to Montenegro, which proved no haven. With his father now in prison, the leaderless family dispersed, his sister, Stana, becoming an early and prominent recruit to the Partisan cause, a brother dying and Bato himself joining Tito’s communist resistance. This is one of the fascinating aspects of the story – his record of

the way in which a combination of idealism and pragmatic adjustments to circumstances brought a family over from royalism to communism within a few years. Bato’s father had been a staunch lieutenant of the pre-war monarchy. His daughter, Stana, became an equally loyal agent of the post-war order, eventually becoming Tito’s ambassador to Norway. Tomasevic broadly shared his sister’s strong Partisan sympathies, but it’s another mark of his honesty that he recalls also the pointless brutality of the Partisans and the way they, too, killed innocent or harmless civilians who fell into their clutches on occasion. He is good, too, on the sheer intimacy of the Yugoslav civil war of the 1940s - a point often missed by historians. As Tomasevic remembers, the human bearers of these grand ideologies – Communists, Chetniks, Montenegrin “Greens” and so forth – often knew each other extremely well as neighbours, brothers and sisters. In tiny Cetinje, at any rate, they lived cheek by jowl. I enjoyed this complex but readable and often moving memoir of a family whose turbulent lives tracked the rise and fall not only of a country but of a set of ideals, to which each generation, in its own way, clung, only to be betrayed of its hopes at the end.

A family saga in a century of conflict, by Bato Tomasevic Published by Hurst and Company

out & about

Friday, June 27, 2008

Vojvodina Castles: Fantast

Just two hours from Belgrade, the Fantast Castle Hotel offers guests a look into the fantasybuilt by a wealthy merchant during a long gone era. By Aleksandar Vasovic in Becej

ntil the end of the First World War, Serbia’s northern province of Vojvodina was part of the AustroHungarian Empire. Hundreds of years of Hapsburg dynasty rule left its mark on this flat, fertile land, which is now considered Serbia’s bread-basket. Vojvodina’s villages differ markedly from the rest of Serbia, primarily due to differences in the former imperial rule. During centuries of Turkish Ottoman rule, houses in Central Serbia were built in a scattered fashion, mainly located along the edges of forests in order to provide a convenient escape route from invaders. In contrast, Vojvodina’s villages are neatly grouped along main roads with central squares, city halls and, in many places, have as many as three churches – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant – a testament to their diversity. In the 18th century, Vojvodina became home to tens of thousands of Serbs who had left Kosovo and most of Serbia proper, as they fled Ottoman rule. The Austro-Hungarian Empire offered them refuge and a special status as ‘royal borderers’, tasked with defending the empire’s southern boundaries against the Turks. Serbian regiments fought for Austrian emperors throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, until the collapse of the Hapsburg dynasty. Over the centuries, a number of Vojvodina Serbs garnered considerable wealth, building mansions, known as “castles”, alongside their neighbours: wealthy Hungarian and Austro-German citizens noblemen. One such mansion is the Fantast Castle, which lies just beyond the northern town of Becej. Built between 1919 and 1923, its owner, Bogdan Dundjerski, was a landowner, horse breeder and merchant. In the middle of Dundjerski’s estate sits his mansion, a mixture of medieval and baroque architecture. The castle, a fulfilment of Dundjerski’s dreams and proof of his power and wealth,

was also home to his preferred companion, Mara Dinjacki. “Dundjerski never married. He loved three things: women, horses and wine,” said Maja Dekanic, the estate’s curator. Dundjerski died in 1943 and was buried in the estate’s St. George’s chapel, which was painted by his best friend and noted Serbian artist, Uros Predic. The graves of Dundjerski’s favourite horses, Fantast, Casanova and Inquisitor, are also on the estate, near the stables which today make up part of a riding school. Legend has it that once a year, on August 19, the day of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, the souls of Dundjerski and his favourite horses wander the estate and revisit the places they loved. “The horses feel their arrival every year. They only get restless on that night,” a stable boy said when I visited the place several weeks ago. The castle, now a hotel, is just a short trip from Becej. The road passes through the Vojvodina plains and the turn-off for the hotel is clearly marked. Visitors can enjoy long walks, play tennis and take riding lessons. The swimming pool in the garden has unfortunately not been renovated since Dundjerski’s death, 65 years ago. The estate is also home to a small ostrich farm. Apart from its architecture and the magnificent view from its tallest tower, the Fantast castle has little to offer in terms of antiquities. Most of its wealth was taken by communist authorities after the Second World War, and the chapel was turned into a stable. The castle was renovated in the ‘90s and the new owners managed to recover some paintings showing Dundjerski and his favourite horses. The hotel’s rooms are spacious and comfortable, but its restaurant – located in a former wine cellar – offers just mediocre cuisine that’s only worth a try if you are really hungry. If you are looking for genuine Vojvodina cuisine, drive back to Becej and dine at the Windmill Restaurant, which is difficult to miss as it is among the few landmarks in this flat area.

A family saga in a century of conflict by Bato Tomasevic Published by Hurst and Company

Getting there

he Fantast Castle Hotel is a two-hour trip from Belgrade. Drive from Belgrade to Novi Sad, and then towards Subotica. Leave the main road at the crossing for Srbobran and Vrbas. Head towards Srbobran, then follow signs for Becej. Immediately after entering Becej, follow signs for Gunaros and turn left. After some ten kilometres you will note a large sign that reads Hotel Novo Selo. Take a right turn and follow the road for another kilometre.

A family saga in a century of conflict by Bato Tomasevic Published by Hurst and Company

the belgrader

Friday, June 27, 2008

Going out

Academic Respite Klub Plato promises good food, music, a casual atmosphere and great outdoor seating. By Richard Wordsworth

his week taught me a harsh lesson: “Never take your phone with you into the bath, even if you can’t find your watch. This is because when you do inevitably drop your phone into the tub, you’ll have to spend the next week doing club reviews alone, because it’s impossible to reach any friends”. It doesn’t fit into a haiku, but you get the idea. In light of this, the job of picking somewhere to review this week was tricky. You’re not really supposed to go to clubs on your own. This is to prevent the impartiality of any criticisms I levelled at a place being skewed by my solitude and inherent bitterness. I needed somewhere that would be friendly to a loner. So, obviously, this was the perfect time to review “Klub Plato”, which is not only a bar but also, err, a bookshop. I haven’t been to Plato since last summer, because in winter it’s a bit ordinary. But in summer it’s great.

There’s a spacious indoor seating area with a bar and DJ for those days when it’s raining or cold. Outside they have one of the largest seating areas in Belgrade, with five different types of chairs. Yes, five (!) – the best being those red chaise longues that allow you to both drink a beer and lie down at the same time. I visited Plato twice for this review, once during the day and once at night, and I even liked the music. In the daytime they were playing feel-good dance tunes, and on the weekend evenings they had live music on a stage over the door. Plato is in a prime location, tucked away between the faculty of philosophy and Studenski Trg. It’s popular with young people, while lacking the bustle of Knez Mihailova. The menu looks good, too: heavy on pasta, salad and sandwiches, and when I say ‘heavy’, I mean that’s, basically, all there is. But I like pasta, salad and sandwiches on a hot summer’s day, so I’m putting that as a tick in the “plus” column.

The other half of the menu is where you find drinks. I like this as well. All the drinks have handy printed pictures of them next to their names. This makes it easy to avoid the embarrassment of ordering what you thought was a manly concoction of petrol, razorblades and testosterone, only to find you’ve ordered the biggest, pinkest drink in the universe. Some of the cocktails are a bit weird. Plato is still fond of layering green, yellow and red coloured fruit syrups to create that rainbow-in-a-glass effect. Unfortunately, upon twizzling with the supplied twizzler, the colourful drink turns brown - but it’s only a niggling point, and there’s plenty else on offer. I like Plato a lot. It’s central, friendly, and a great spot for catching cabs and buses to wherever you’re heading next. And another thing I’ve just noticed is the free wireless internet connection. I’m not sure if this is deliberate or if I’m doing something illegal, but it cheers me up immensely because it means I don’t have to trudge across the Trg to the internet cafe to send this article on time. Plato Akademski plato 1 11000 BELGRADE,

Heavy on pasta, salad and sandwiches

Photo by Caslav Vukojicic

Dining out

A Taste for Sport

With sizzling steaks and bread to die for, Zvezdara’s Hajduk restaurant looks set to give some football eateries a run for their money. By Aleksandra Niksic

n the days of Tito’s Yugoslavia, gourmets passed on the secret: that the best food was not to be found in restaurants patronised by Communist party bosses and their entourages, but in modest, well-kept bistros (“kafane” in Serbian) in the lower division football stadiums. Connoisseurs and locals frequented these restaurants, offering freshly cooked meals, grilled specialities and old-fashioned desserts, cheap and suitable for anyone’s wallet. The tradition, survived the political changes of recent years, but nowadays these intimate restaurants have become a hotspot for everyone seeking a good meal. Hajduk is one of them, carryng the name of a famous Croatian football team. Recently renovated, under new management and with a new chef, this 40-year-old eatery balances a nostalgic Serbian menu with fashionable international dishes. We decided to try only the main meals from the carefully planned menu, choosing steak Cornelle (horsemeat with a Greek herbal

sauce, priced 740 dinars) and the famous Serbian grill, Leskovacki ustipci, (minced meatballs with kajmak (milk curd) and fresh paprika, priced 510 dinars). Served with mixed fresh salad and tasty homemade bread, both dishes were served quickly and came with complimentary roast potatoes for the grill dish, a nice change from the oh-so-typical chips. The steak was beautifully prepared, grilled medium-rare as requested, with a well-measured mixture of herbs decorating the basil-flavoured sauce. The two slices of fresh tomato seemed hardly necessary, even as a decoration. The grill is the best test of a restaurant boasting national cuisine. This one won rave reviews: the minced meat was fresh (mixed pork and beef) with just enough onion, garlic and almost no artificial spices, popular among lazy cooks. The kajmak was sour enough to give the meat a bite, while the peppers were hot, as requested.

Hajduk offers great mains but is weak on desserts The top prize, however, went to the bread basket, featuring a combination of cornbread, wheat buns and tiny white flour bread cakes, as well as the Serbian version of Mexican tortilla and traditional proja (cornmeal baked dough with soft cheese). Hajduk offers a good wine selection, including local private wines and international brands, though they were a bit pricy (Cabernet Sauvignon Radovanovic for 1,750 dinars, for example). The wine list could do with a little

redefinition, with more focus on local vineyards. Other spirits get good marks, notably the homemade apricot brandy. As with many restaurants in Belgrade, the Hajduk lost its way when it came to desserts. The choice of cakes was predictable and could have been found almost everywhere, pancakes and similar traditional puddings do not make a complete sweet menu. The music, coming from a stereo hidden behind the bar, was sometimes too loud, as well. A big

TV screen was dedicated to June’s most important topic: EURO 2008. Tucked away in Zvezdara, only four kilometres from the city centre, Hajduk is a nice spot to spend a leisurely afternoon close to nature. With a few adjustments, it could soon threaten the reputations of other, more prominent, so-called football restaurants. Hajduk Restaurant Milana Rakica, 48 Belgrade

the belgrader

Friday, June 27, 2008

Death, taxes… and customer service Queue jumping is elevated to Belgrade banks are still not offering much customer service, an art form but thousands wait patiently in the middle of the night to but that day will arrive.

By David Dowse

am not the first, and surely will not be the last, to note that Belgrade is a city of intriguing contrasts. To begin with, Beograd is not really a ‘white city’ – actually it is mostly grey. Yet, its people are full of wonderful warmth and colour. The city boasts some of the cleanest windows and bathrooms in Europe, while pretty, tree-lined streets are too often blighted with rubbish and dog mess. The national airline serves uppossibly the worst coffee known to man, while hundreds of small cafes offer some of the best coffee anywhere. We can pay for our parking by SMS, even as we stand in a long, slow queue waiting to pay cash for our broadband.

visit a museum. Service in restaurants, bars and cafes is generally excellent, while in other areas the very concept of being a ‘customer’ remains alien. This brings us, neatly, to banks. Why? Because it was while waiting in a queue at the bank that I remembered something my father told me many years ago. “If people don’t complain and demand better, then they get what they deserve – which is usually not very much.” With a legacy of a communist past, followed by hyperinflation and bank collapses, it is hardly surprising that the relationship between Serbian customers and their banks still has a long, hard road to travel. Despite valiant efforts by one or two foreign banks to change the culture, there is a systemic problem here that is going to take root and branch reform – and not just of systems and regulations. It is attitudes that have to change and the attitudes of customers are just as important as the mind-set of the banks and their staff. It is said that three things in life are certain – death, taxes… and change. Consumer power is coming to Serbia. It may take a while, but it will come. In ten years time there

Serbian banks are the last vestige of communist era service will be far fewer banks to choose from, as the big players inexorably eat up the smaller ones. The banking game is already changing, from a market share competition for new accounts to the retention of customer loyalty and sales of new products and services. Sooner or later, Serbian consumers are going to stop treating banks as a nasty hangover of authoritarian

control and instead, demand that they are treated with the respect every paying customer deserves. As in all revolutions, not every outcome of banking sector reform is positive, as was the case in the UK some years ago. But the moment it became quick and easy to change accounts from one bank to another, the boot was suddenly on the other foot.

People no longer felt nervous and humbled when they visited their bank. It’s really very simple; banks need customers and need our money. They exist to serve us, not the other way around. Customers have choices. And choice is a weapon of real empowerment. These days, UK bank customers are treated with more respect. Now, there’s a contrast worth waiting for.

China On The Cheap New Belgrade’s Chinatown offers a variety of merchandise, bargains galore and of course, a chance to taste real Asian food.

By Pat Andjelkovic

t’s no secret that prices are going up. Whether you’re earning euros, dollars, or dinars, money just doesn’t go as far as it did. Visitors to Belgrade can reconcile themselves with the knowledge that they may be heading back to a more reasonably priced world, but we expats and Serbs have to watch our “para” (one-hundredth of a dinar) and pay close attention to costs. To make some modest savings, many long-term residents of Belgrade regularly trek over to New Belgrade’s Chinatown in Blok 70. If you haven’t been there, don’t expect the quaintness of Chinatown in San Francisco or New York, where you’ll find living and work-

ing communities, complete with homes, schools, butchers, hairdressers, places of worship and of course, traders. Belgrade’s Chinatown was artificially created in 1996, (with dubious thanks to Mira Markovic, the now-exiled widow of Slobodan Milosevic), who decided to “bring the country back to the international community where it belongs” and rejuvenate Belgrade by building a Chinatown in the city. There was only one drawback: aside from a few embassy staff, no Chinese then lived in the city. To help his wife realise her plan, Slobodan Milosevic turned to the Beijing government, one of the few that was willing to deal with him, and eased entry requirements for the Chinese, who began arriving in significant numbers in 1999. Milosevic also made it easier for these Chinese incomers to obtain citizenship: a move some said was down It’s an adventure to walk through the hustle and bustle to a desire to win their votes. There are bargains a-plenty. On The first Chinese businesses Serbian ways. Belgrade’s Chinatown is now one recent trip, I bought three ceappeared in the farthest corner of the flea market in the sprawling lodged in three large warehouse- ramic baking trays for 500, two New Belgrade area and displayed like structures, where traders sell beach mats for 100 dinars each, a typical Chinatown goods - cloth- everything imaginable. Go in the pair of fake Crocs for 300 dinars, ing, shoes and toys. Because of morning but not at the weekend if (looking much the same as a pair the lower prices, brawls broke out you want to avoid the crowds. Chi- I saw at the regular flea market for 400-450 dinars) and a bathas the Chinese began spreading natown is closed on Tuesdays. You won’t find too many high- ing suit for 350 dinars. I found the throughout the market area. But today most locals have got used quality items, though the embroi- Chinese traders to be honest, too. to the changes and many Chinese dered tablecloths and the curtains I made a mistake twice on my last have at the same time adapted to one trader offers are attractive. trip and was corrected both times

Photo by Caslav Vukojicic and given the right change. Even if you’re not buying, it’s an adventure to walk through the hustle and bustle. I also treated myself to a meal at a local Chinese restaurant. I brushed aside all concerns about the hygiene standards in such establishments and it’s been several hours since I ate there and I’m perfectly able to write this column. I’ll be back for sure.

must - sees

Friday, June 27, 2008

Neimar’s Secrets

he affluent inner city suburb of Neimar is one of Belgrade’s best kept secrets, tucked away in the trendy Vracar district. Lying between Karadjordje Park, the St Sava cathedral and Juzni Boulevard, Neimar’s gracious villas and streets are an authentic slice of early 20th century Belgrade. The district is testament to the wealth of Belgrade’s rising middle classes between the two world wars. Today the area boasts a number of trendy eateries and original bars. From the city centre, take bus 24 from Republic Square, heading towards the St Sava cathedral, and get off at the top of Makenzijeva.

Green Fest

Dorcol Delights

f you want to enjoy a relaxing bike ride, why not take your cycle down to the Dorcol promenade, along the Old Town side of the River Danube. This area marks the start of the safe cycle lane that connects the Danube at Dorcol with the Ada Ciganlija lake on the Sava. Dorcol promenade features nu-

merous riverside cafés and barge restaurants offering lunches with stunning views of the Kalemegdan Fortress and New Belgrade across the river. If you wish to take a stroll in this part of town, catch bus 24 from Republic Square, heading towards Dorcol, or get on a bike and head for the Danube below Kalemegdan.

Exhibitions

Concerts...

and more

June 28 Review of the best short Basque films Cervantes Institute, 19 Cika Ljubina St.

Until June 28 Stripoteka – 40 years of FrancoBelgian comic strips in Serbia French Cultural Centre, Knez Mihailova

June 27, 8pm Tschuchenkapelle & Jovica Petković (Austria) Jewish Cultural Centre, Ethno Fusion Fest

July 2 – 9 CELOFEST Kolarceva Zaduzbina

July 3 Local premiere HANCOCK Genre: action Director: Peter Berg Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Until July 10 Staged Photography Museum of Applied Arts Finnish artist Aino Kannisto’s selfportrait photography sees the artist as a model representing numerous imaginary identities. The photographs in this series were shot in various locations during her stay in Belgrade.

June 28, 8pm Karavan Serai (Israel, India, Netherlands) Jewish Cultural Centre, Ethno Fusion Fest

ritish rockers Franz Ferdinand and The Raveonettes and US rappers Cypress Hill will play at the second annual Green Fest at the Belgrade Arena on July 2. One of the biggest musical events this season in Belgrade, it will be a highlight for everyone into modern rock and old school rap music. Green Fest is also an opportunity also to warm up for the EXIT Festival, which takes place in Novi Sad from July 9 to 12. Tickets for the Belgrade Arena event are available for 2,490 and 2,090 dinars. The arena is located in New Belgrade alongside the motorway between the Sava Centre and Mercator shopping centre.

What’s On Film

Theatre

June 25 to July 3 14th INFANT - International Festival of Alternative and New Theatre The concept of this year’s INFANT is entitled ‘Transmedijalni teatar’ [Transmedial Theatre]. Alongside the competitive programme, INFANT will include performances, concerts, exhibitions, symposiums and workshops. 27th June, 8pm

Cigani lete u nebo

Other Events June 27, 5pm – midnight Dorcol Shopping Night Dorcol Shopping Night presents the works of the best domestic designers at their unique boutiques in this trendy Belgrade district. June 26 – 29 Afro Festival Museum of African Art The Afro Festival aims to present various interests through a series of performances, exhibitions, film projections, etc. Music, as an integral part of African life, features throughout the event.

Pozoriste na Terazijama (Theatre on Terazije) Musical inspired by Maksim Gorki’s short stories Makar cudra June 29, 8.30pm

Opera Concert

June 28 Stefan Milenković & Ani Aznavoorian Sava Centre, 8pm

Until July 15 ACADEMIC PAINTERS IN MEMORIAM June 29 Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania) SANU Gallery Featuring the works of Borivoj Ste- Sava Centre, 8pm vanovic, Milan Konjović, Ivan Tabaković and Predrag ‘Peđa’ Milosavljevic, and the sculptures of Sreten Stojanovic. Until August 7 Student protests 1968 – 2008 SANU Gallery From Belgrade’s historical archives

National Theatre, Rasa Plaovic Stage June 30, 7.30pm

Ko to tamo peva National Theatre, Main Stage Ballet to the music of Vojislav ‘Vokija’ Kostica July 1, 8pm Gala concert National Theatre, Main Stage July 1, 8.30pm Programme “Video Dance” – Beaubourg, Paris National Theatre, Rasa Plaovic Stage In conjunction with the French Cultural Centre, Belgrade

July 1-7 Summertime Jazz Festival Sava Centre Featuring Branford Marsalis, Nigel Kennedy, Marcus Miller, Erja Lipponen and many other important jazz and blues musicians. July 2 Green Fest Belgrade Arena Featuring Franz Ferdinand, Cypress Hill and The Raveonettes

July 3 40th Jubilee Kalemegdan Sunset Musical Youth of Belgrade Pianist Dusan Trbojevic’s solo concert with special guest Maja Rajkovic (piano). July 6 Return to Forever Sava Centre After a touring absence of more than a quarter of a century, the potent jazz-rock flagship quartet edition of Return to Forever returns in 2008. This highly anticipated reunion will see the group’s classic line-up - Corea on keyboards, Al Di Meola on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums - embark on an expansive summer tour with dates across the whole of Europe and the United States. July 10 40th Jubilee Kalemegdan Sunset Musical Youth of Belgrade The Balkan Quartet: Viktor Angelov (violin, Macedonia), Jelena Matović (violin, Serbia), Gavril Senadin (viola, Romania) and Nemanja Stanković (violoncello, Serbia). July 10 – 13 EXIT Festival Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad This legendary music festival needs no introduction. This year’s highlights: N*E*R*D, The Streets, DJ Hype, Paul Weller, Primal Scream, Roni Size, Gogol Bordelo, Manu Chao, Afrika Bambaataa, The Hives, Ministry, Sex Pistols, and many more.

sport

Friday, June 27, 2008

Europe Battling to Stay in Euro 2008 Unexpected results offer a glimmer of hope to the little guy. By Zoran Milosavljevic

friend of mine once told me that the beauty of football lies in unheralded teams beating the heavyweights and winning major trophies they seem unworthy of even dreaming about. A lot of neutral fans who saw Greece triumph in Euro 2004 with a series of smash and grab 1-0 wins would disagree, but the real issue here is that I now have to eat my words for giving the underdogs no chance of “doing a Greece” in 2008. In fact, two rank outsiders have reached the last four and if they meet in the final it would be a staggering feat that would bring traditional European football nations to their knees. Russia and Turkey, whose passion for football far outweighs their stature in the game’s hierarchy, are one step away from setting up a final that seemed highly unlikely before the 16-team tournament started. The scenario looked all but impossible after both teams suffered crushing defeats in their opening matches, but the contrasting fashion of their progress to the semifinals left many neutral fans - and their own of course - relishing a showdown between two nations whose territory delves some way into Asia. Turkey looked out of it after losing to Portugal 2-0, but they then

staged three successive last-gasp comebacks, the last of which threw Croatia into nationwide despair. Turkey, naturally, descended into a collective frenzy from the outskirts of Europe to Berlin, where riot police will be in place to keep thousands of Turkish exiles and boisterous German fans apart during their semi-final in Basel, Switzerland. Russia too were written off after a 4-1 setback against Spain, who they meet again in Vienna for a place in history after disposing of Sweden and Greece and playing the Netherlands off the park with some wonderful one-touch football that the Dutch had made their trademark over the years. It brought the ‘orange’ party to an abrupt end and sent thousands of their fans home from lively fanzones in Austria and Switzerland home long before they expected, while the vastly outnumbered Russian contingent celebrated long into the night. The odds are once again stacked against the Turks, as they have only 14 players to choose from for their clash with Germany after being hit by injuries and suspensions. Germany, not surprisingly, are firing on all cylinders after a slow start. Their 3-2 quarter-final win over Portugal reinstated them as tournament favourites following a 2-1 defeat to Croatia and a scrappy 1-0 win over Austria that saw the ‘Elf’ through to the last eight. Germany’s best performance of the tournament also sent Cristiano Ronaldo home, wherever that may be after his plea to Manchester United to let him go to Real Madrid fell on deaf ears. Worse still for the “ste-

pover king,” who failed to live up to his billing in Euro 2008, it was followed by a promise from United’s owners that they would rather let him rot in the stands for the rest of his contract, which expires in 2012, than sell him to their biggest rivals in the Champions League. Spain too must be feeling confident after squeezing past Italy on penalties to end a 24-year jinx during which they had never reached the last four in a major event and lost three penalty shootouts on the exact same date they beat the Italians, June 22. While the Spaniards braced themselves for another clash with the Russians, few would have shed a tear over Italy’s timely exit as they came perilously close to capitalising on their defensiveminded strategy that kept most of their own fans silent during the two-hour ordeal in the Ernst Happel stadium. Whatever happens, Europe will get a new champion on June 29 in Vienna and any of the four teams left in the tournament will prove to be a worthy winner. Russia’s Andrei Arshavin is overwhelmed with emotion Photo by FoNet

Turkey: a turn up for the books at Euro ‘08 Photo by Getty Images

Turkey coach Fatih Terim celebrates

Photo by Getty Images

Jankovic Hoping to Keep ‘Serbian Miracle’ Alive Following the swift dismissal of Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic is determined to move out of Ana Ivanovic’s shadow at Wimbledon. By Zoran Milosavljevic

abelled as Serbia’s top tennis talent when she broke onto the scene earlier this decade, Jelena Jankovic has had to put up with being overshadowed by the country’s other two prodigies in the sport for quite some time. While she must have felt bad about Novak Djokovic getting knocked out of Wimbledon at the first hurdle, Jankovic is surely determined to end the situation that sees her dominated by world number one Ana Ivanovic, dubbed Serbia’s new darling after she captured the 2008 Roland Garros title.

Jelena, 23, has six WTA titles to her name but has never won a Grand Slam. However, she is determined to make this year’s Wimbledon her first and keep alive the ‘Serbian miracle’ of becoming a tennis force to be reckoned with. “It’s my turn and I will do my best to win Wimbledon, which is my favourite Grand Slam event,” she said before the most coveted tennis event in the world started. Easier said than done, with Ivanovic and a host of other toplevel rivals standing in her way and just as determined as her to cover themselves in glory. For Ana Ivanovic, it will be a case of not just adding more sil-

verware to her collection, but also defending the pedestal she has worked so hard to surmount and finally climbed onto with an impressive French Open conquest. Djokovic too, will have to be at his best if he is to earn another shot at the title, as ‘King Roger’ appears to have put his patchy form behind him, while Rafael Nadal proved his grass court credentials with a straight-sets win over the 20-yearold Serb in the recent Stella Artois final. Reaching the semis or even the final can no longer satisfy Serbia’s success-hungry tennis fans, who want as much cream with their strawberries as they can get.

Jelena Jankovic opens her Wimbledon campaign

Photo by FoNet