Belgrade Insight, No. 3 by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)

NEWS NEWS

Friday • June 13 • 2008

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IssueNo. No.31 // Friday, Friday, June Issue July 13, 11, 2008 2008

New Government Last Lure of Tadic AllianceLikely Splits to Socialists

While younger Socialists support joining a new, pro-EU government, old Milosevic loyalists threaten revolt over the prospect. Serbia’s new government aligns former arch political enemies in what may very well be a long lasting coalition.

Pro-Europeans and Socialists unite in a new Serbian Government The fact that both Tadic and Ivica Socialist leader IvicaMojsilovic Dacic remains the Serbian kingmaker By Julijana

Dacic - Milosevic’s successor at the Socialist Party’s helm - have made to Serbia’s late president, Slobodan compromises of reformists which many of want their Milosevic, and who resident Boris Tadic’s Demo- supporters disapprove, should not the party to become Euroense negotiations on abehind new govcrats, the champions the have an effect on thea modern government’s ousting have of latedivided strongman Slo- sustainability, pean social democrat organisation. ernment the ranks they say. bodan in 2000, now holds stand While the differing After eight years ofbackgrounds stagnation, of theMilosevic Socialist Party, which side by side in government with the of both coalition partners will no the Socialists returned to centre the balance of power between the former leader’s Socialists, pledging doubt present obstacles, nonestage after winning 20 of the 250 seats of in main has four-year yet to announce to last blocs for theand whole term. these are likely to prove absolutely parliament in the May 11 elections. which side end they of willtheir support. At the term, they unbridgeable. hope see as Serbia the Withstart the pro-European and nation“It tolooks if theknocking Socialistsat will To with, both parties will European Union’s doors. agreealmost to arrest and matched, extradite alist to blocs evenly move towards a government led by have Observers agree that the alliance, the three remaining war crimes fugithe Socialists now have the final say the Democrats,” political analyst“unMiwhich the opposition branded tives wanted Hague Tribunal on the fate ofby thethe country. lan Nikolic, of the independent Cennatural”, can lead Serbia for the full for the Former Yugoslavia. However, believes the Socialists, led tre ofasPolicy said. “But tacksuch the Nikolic term long Studies, as it successfully Socialists consider two of them les the economic problems Dacic, will come over to a move might provoke deeperfacing divi- tobybeIvica Serb heroes, while the Demothe country. crats sayif they trial. Tadic, only must out offace a pragmatic desions and even split the party.” sire to ensure their political survival. Simultaneous negotiations held “The group of younger Socialists with the pro-European and nationalgathered around Dacic seems to be ist blocs have drawn attention POLITICS to a in the majority”, Nikolic said, adding deep rift inside the Socialists. The standard-bearer for political nathat these reformists believe the party This divides “old-timers” loyal tionalism in Serbia, the Serbian Radical Party, faces turmoil and division in the months ahead as a result of its failure toTHIS seize ISSUE politicalOF power, exBusiness Insight perts say. Page 5

in Belgrade

By Rade Maroevic in Belgrade

P T

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Costs Mounting

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 Milosevic’s shadow,” one Socialist Party official complained. “Dacic will eventually side with Tadic in a bid to guide his party into the European mainstream, but much of the membership and many officials may oppose that move.” Nikolic agreed: “The question is will the party split or will the ‘oldtimers’ back down,” he noted. Fearing they might not cross the 5-per-cent threshold to enter parliament, the Socialists teamed up with the Association of Pensioners and the United Serbia Party, led by businessman Dragan Markovic “Palma”. Pensioners leader, Jovan Krkobabic, Palma and Dacic are all pushing Photo by FoNet for a deal with the Democrats. The reported price isofthe for the search thepost men.of Bosnian-Serb wartime political sponsible deputy with aofbrief in however, charge of To thePM, surprise many, and military leaders Radovan Karaseemed unconcerned by the redzic Generalunless Ratkoit changes. Mladic are Dacic security for the Socialist leader. facesand extinction stillHowever, at large. Two of 27 EU member and extradition of key addition, the Socialists are war bara strong current also centInarrest states, the Netherlands and Belgium, crimes suspect Stojan Zupljanin. gaining for other ministries, includflows in the opposite direction, led will not agree to give the green light “Dacic will not be against the aring capital investments, and by the party veterans and enraged by the rests. for Stabilisation Association He hasn’t been inKosovo the past,” education, Belgradea media reported. Agreement, a key pre-mem- Dragan Bujosevic, journalist with prospect of aSAA, deal with Tadic. NIN and bership document, that aBrussels Tadic weekly has denied talk aofpolitical horseMihajlo Markovic, founderand of Belgrade “I have tomaintainsay that Belgrade April, trading believes. with the Socialists, the party, signed recently in warned of abefore crisis analyst, Mladic, Karadzic and Goran Hadzic, they can last at least two full terms.” ingTackling that ministries only to Dacic opts pro-European aifCroatian Serbfor alsothe indicted by The Serbia’swould risinggo inflation, those committed to working forand the bloc, abandoning the Socialists’ “natHague Tribunal, are behind bars. widening current account deficit government’s “strategic goal”. Theideological Socialists advocate public spending will, however, ural” partners. voluntary high surrender, something that it is hard to be aAt more difficult task. the same time, Dacic seems reMarkovic, a prominent supporter believe the fugitives for. is “If the manageswith to luctant to government call off negotiations of Milosevic duringwill theopt1990s, In addition, Dacic is the new In- pursue sound economic policies, it is the nationalists. seen Minister as representative of thePrime “old- safe,” Bujosevic added. terior and the Deputy “If we don’t reach an agreement timers” in the party who want to stay Minister in charge of security issues with the DSS and Radicals, the 4parand, such, will regime’s be officially retrue as to the former policies, Page ty leadership will decide on future even though these almost ruined the steps”, Dacic announced, following Socialists for good. BUSINESS the first session of country’s new parSome younger Socialist officials liament on Wednesday. have voiced frustration over the conThe real problem is revenue from tinuing impasse within their own Source: Balkan Insight (www.balkaninsight.com) privatisations … but I believe Serbia has good prospects for semigreenfield investments. Researcher Vladimir Gligorov tells Belgrade Neighbourhood Matters Insight. Page 10

Football Rebellion

NEIGHBOURHOOD

conomists are warning that prolongedsurvey uncertainty Serbia’s The latest showsover only a minority people inoff Croatia – 30lead per futureof could scare investors, cent – consider membership of the to higher inflation and jeopardise European “a good thing”. prosperityUnion for years to come.

“This year has lost, from the Poor relations withbeen Slovenia, resentstandpoint of economic policy,” says ment over war crimes trials and fears over sovereignty underpin Croatia’s Stojan Stamenkovic of the Economdrop in enthusiasm for the EU. ics Institute in Belgrade. page 5

Page 15

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

EXIT GUIDE EDITOR’S WORD This year’s EXIT music Festival in Political Predictability Novi Sad has finally kicked-off. By Mark R. Pullen

Pages 12-13

LIFE

Kosovo Serbs seeking employment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of us who have experienced numerous Serbian elections rate ourselves as pundits when it comes to predicting election results and post-election moves. We feel in-the-know because our experience of elections in Serbia has shown us that (a.) no single Page 16 the party or coalition will ever gain majority required to form a government, and (b.)&political OUT ABOUTnegotiations will never be quickly concluded. Serbia’s Holy Mountain. Even when the Democrats achieved their surprising result at last month’s general election, it quickly became clear that the result was actually more-or-less the same as every other election result in Serbia, i.e. inconclusive. This is likely to continue as long Page 18 as Serbia’s politicians form new political parties every time they disagree WHAT’S with theirON current party leader (there are currently 342 regLooking for a fun time or a cultural istered political parties in Serbia). event to inspire. Drawn-out negotiations are also the norm. One Belgrade-based Ambassador recently told me he was also alarmed by the distinct lack of urgency among Serbian politicians. “The country is at a standstill and I don’t understand their logic. If they are so eager to Page 21enprogress towards the EU and courage investors, how come they go home at SPORT 5pm sharp and don’t work weekends?” Nadal Ends Federer’s Wimbledon Reign. Surely the situation is urgent enough to warrant a little overtime.

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BELGRADE In the coming months Belgraders will face standstills and blocked streets due to massive road works which are a pat of the capital city’s overhaul, a city administration statement says. The majority of works have already started and 23 streets are completely closed to traffic at present.

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Source: www.weather2umbrella.com

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Friday July • June • 2008 Friday, 11,13 2008

news

Friday, July 11, 2008

Serbian Divorces on the Rise

ivorces are on the rise in Serbia, and the main reason behind the growing number of broken marriages is adultery, statistics show. In 2007, 8,662 out of 41,083 new marriages ended in divorce, making every fifth wedding a failure. The figure is an increase over both 2005 and 2006. Compared to 50 years ago, the number of divorced marriages in Serbia has doubled. Adultery, or suspected dishonesty, was recorded as the most common rea-

Milosevic Jr.’s Disco Reopens

nightclub and discotheque in the eastern Serbian town of Pozarevac, once owned by the son of the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, former Yugoslav and Serbian president, has reopened under the same name. The new owner denied any links to Marko Milosevic, although the club reopened on Marko’s 34th birthday. Petar Skaro said he named the club ‘Madonna’, as it was known when young Milosevic owned it, “because it was known as such among people who used to frequent it,” back in the late 1990s. The reopening of one of the symbols of the political and financial supremacy of the Milosevics in the small provincial town of Pozarevac comes amid his party’s return to power in Serbia, after striking a coalition deal with its bitter opponents from the past, Serbia’s pro-European Democratic Party, led by President Boris Tadic.

More Serbs Getting German Citizenship

son behind a failed Serbian marriage. One case refers to a couple with a newborn child who was diagnosed as diabetic. The father, hearing that the disease has to be genetic, took a test in order to prove he was clear of the condition. Upon finding he was indeed healthy, he divorced his wife, suspecting the child was not his. Rates of divorce also vary across the country, with the eastern Bor district topping the list of divorcees with more than 50 per cent of marriages ending in failure.

erbians are the second largest foreign group to be granted German citizenship, official data shows. According to Germany’s Federal Statistics Bureau, 10,400 Serbian passport holders received German citizenship, coming behind Turks and followed by Poles. A total of 113,000 foreigners became German citizens last year, a drop of 9.5 per cent on the previous year. Two-thirds of them have gained the right after having lived and worked in the country for at least eight years. In 2007, 3,500 Romanians were granted German citizenship - an increase of 154 per cent compared to 2006 – meaning the highest proportional rise in successful citizenship applications was seen among Romanians.

Marko, the younger of Milosevic’s two children, fled to Russia immediately after his father’s ousting on October 5, 2000. He was later joined by his mother, Mirjana Markovic, while sister Marija has been reported to be living in Montenegro, the birthplace of her grandparents. Marko was recently cleared of charges of assaulting members of his father’s opponents from the Otpor (Resistance) movement in his native Pozarevac. As well as the Madonna discotheque, Marko’s business interests in Serbia included an amusement complex – Bambiland – a bakery, a computer shop - Cybernet Communications – and a radio station in Pozarevac, as well as a luxurious perfume shop in central Belgrade. Marko and his mother have reportedly been granted political asylum in Moscow, where Slobodan Milosevic’s brother Borislav has been living for years.

‘Serb Smuggler’ to Be Tried in Absentia

suspected cigarette smuggler, who has been released from detention in Moscow, could be tried in absentia if he does not appear before a Belgrade court. Serbia’s Special Prosecutor for Organised Crime said that the case against Stanko Subotic, who is charged with organising a criminal group which illegally imported and sold cigarettes on the Serbian market between 1995 and 1996, will be joined with other suspects in the case. “If it is confirmed that Stankovic will not be available for the open-

ing of the trial, the only logical step for the court panel is to merge his and the others’ cases and continue to work normally,” Miljko Radisavljevic said. In such an event, Subotic will be tried in absentia, the prosecutor added. Subotic, who has denied all charges against him, was arrested April 28 at a Moscow airport on a warrant issued for him in Serbia. But last week Russia freed him and later informed Belgrade the criminal proceedings against Subotic were out of date according to Russian law.

Serbia to Cooperate in Case of Wanted Student

oreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has said that Serbia will cooperate in the case of a young basketball player wanted in the United States on assault charges. However, Jeremic did not say if Miladin Kovacevic would be sent to the U.S. to face charges of severely beating a fellow university student. Serbian law does not allow him to be extradited, and Serb officials have suggested U.S. authorities should hand over the full case file Miladin Kovacevic so that they can consider whether Kovacevic should be prosecuted in Washington and Belgrade,” Jeremic told reporters. Serbia. Jeremic also suggested Serbia Kovacevic, 20, who had been recruited to play basketball for Bing- planned to prosecute two consulate hamton University in northern New staffers who were removed from York, fled the U.S. in early June af- the U.S. after allegedly helping ter being charged in the beating of Kovacevic obtain emergency travel Bryan Steinhauer during a May 4 documents that helped him flee. Serbia’s new pro-Western govbar fight. Steinhauer, 22, remains in criti- ernment has pledged to improve bilateral relations that have been cal condition in a coma. “This case does not help; it has strained over U.S. recognition of dealt a blow to the relations between Kosovo’s independence. (AP)

Belgrade’s Butlin’s

Editor’s Word

By Mark R Pullen

elgrade has once again revealed itself to be a city of stark contrasts and hidden gems. You may recall the adage that describes Belgrade as ‘fantastic or catastrophic’. Well, this apparently also applies when it comes to leisure facilities in the city. Seeking an escape from the sweltering heat of the city, my friends and I had found ourselves frustrated by the lack of bathing options in Belgrade. As a rule, it appears that Belgrade’s public swimming pools are dilapidated or overpriced and often both. They have impractical opening hours that make it impossible to swim at times that suit people with normal working hours. They are overrun with unsupervised youngsters and are patrolled by draconian lifeguards. Leisure centre or hotel swimming pools, meanwhile, are even more overpriced, cramped and overheated. Just when I was starting to believe that my only chance of a cooling swim would be to brave the tainted waters of the city’s rivers, my summer in the city was saved by foreign friends with kids in the international school network. It was thanks to their insight that, after all this time in Belgrade, I finally discovered the delights of the Kosutnjak Sports and Recreation Centre. Sprawling over 40 acres of forestland, this city haven of relaxation includes no less than five open-air swimming pools, an indoor pool, four halls, football pitches, etc. Crammed full of local working class families picnicking on grassed slopes, toddlers with dripping ice creams and noses, and gangs of city kids leaping recklessly from the high dive platforms, the Kosutnjak complex introduced me to a new side of Belgrade, a Billy Butlin side of the city. Here a blue-collar holiday camp atmosphere prevails and to be honest, after enduring the pretentious ambiance of many of Belgrade’s leisure destinations, it felt like a breath of fresh air.

politics

Friday, July 11, 2008

Government Backs EU, Russian Energy Deals

Serbian MPs take their oath Belgrade _ Serbia’s new government has adopted a key EU premembership agreement and a Russian energy deal and sent them for ratification by parliament. In its second meeting following it’s July 7 election, the cabinet headed by Mirko Cvetkovic confirmed the two acts unchanged from the form in which they were passed

Photo by FoNet by the former government, two days ahead of the May 11 general elections. The speaker of parliament, Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, has said the deals could be ratified by the middle of next week. Serbia signed the key EU deal, known as the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, at the end of

Socialists Seek Government Role in Vojvodina Novi Sad_The pro-European Premier of Serbia’s northern autonomous province of Vojvodina has told the Socialists to be sensible in their demands to play a bigger role in government there. Bojan Pajtic, who remains the head of the province’s government after the May 11 elections, said that the 64 seats President Boris Tadic’s pro-European bloc won in Vojvodina’s 120-member parliament “clearly expresses the will of the citizens.” Speaking to Novi Sad daily Dnevnik, Pajtic said that “the election result reflects all we have been doing in the last four years.” He added that it should be a sufficient argument to all the parties that would like to take part in the new Vojvodina government to reasonably spell out their demands.” The Socialists, who were voted into government in coalition with Tadic’s camp on Monday, July 7, won a mere five seats in the north-

ern province’s assembly but media speculate that they could ask for a much larger share of power in Vojvodina. Pajtic said that any talks on the Socialists’ participation in his cabinet “have common sense only if a stable pro-European coalition is made at all levels.” In an obvious reference to the still unclear deal on sharing power in Belgrade’s city government, where the Socialists have struck an accord with the nationalists, Pajtic said that negotiations with potential partners would end by July 16 when the Vojvodina Parliament’s inaugural session is due. The Belgrade assembly will be formed on July 14, and Tadic’s bloc and the Socialists could still agree on the same coalition format in the capital as they have on a national level. The talks have not officially started, but the Socialists’ leader Ivica Dacic has admitted “we will talk about that.”

April and now it has to be ratified by Parliament. Ratification of the Russian energy deal could see the the sale of a 51 per cent stake in Serbia’s oil monopoly NIS to Russia’s Gazprom completed as early as August. Earlier this year Gazprom offered 400 million for NIS’s two refineries in the northern cities of Pancevo

and Novi Sad and a network of fuel stations throughout the country and committed another 500 million to the overhaul of NIS production facilities. Russia also pledged it will develop a part of the South Stream pipeline that will carry its natural gas via Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia onwards to western European markets. The total value of the gas deal which should be completed by 2013 is estimated at 1.2 billion. On Tuesday, Cvetkovic’s cabinet withdrew for reconsideration all the draft laws the previous government adopted ahead of the general elections. The new government can either revise them or send them to the parliament unchanged. Ahead of the meeting, Snezana Malovic, the Justice Minister, said the government would soon send to parliament the draft laws on judicial reform which have already been adjusted to European Union standards.

Ethnic Albanian MP Refuses to Back Government Presevo_Riza Halimi, the only ethnic Albanian deputy in Serbia’s parliament, refused to vote for the new government, despite backing its pledge to secure quick EU membership. Halimi, who represents ethnic Albanians living in Serbia’s Presevo valley, said he refrained from casting his vote because he felt the new government was ill-equipped to improve the minority’s position in southern Serbia. “The parliament majority is not interested in resolving delicate issues and is unprepared to create equal conditions for Serbia’s citizens,” Halimi said, adding “poverty remains the biggest problem, as the unemployment rate in Presevo is a staggering 70 per cent.” The For a European Serbia coalition, headed by Serbian president and Democratic Party leader Boris Tadic, has joined forces with the Socialist Party of Serbia to create a new proEuropean government. However the fact that the Socialists were led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who cracked down on ethnic Alba-

Riza Halimi, MP nians throughout the 1990s, has left some bitter about the Socialists new role in government. Halimi said setting up a human and minority rights ministry offered a “glimmer of hope” that the situation in the Presevo valley would improve. “I expect the ministry to make an effort to see that minority rights are respected and to give Presevo valley’s Albanians some decision-making powers,” he said. Serbian security forces and ethnic Albanians rebels clashed in the Presevo valley in 2000 and 2001. NATO mediators and senior international community officials helped restore peace in the region which borders Kosovo and Macedonia.

Continued from page 1

New Government Likely to Last Misa Brkic, an economic analyst, agrees that the government will last its full term. But he warns that the economic criteria laid down by the EU will be difficult to meet. In order for Serbia to move closer to the EU, the country must adjust its high public spending and abolish existing state and private monopolies. This will be the real test of the pro-European credentials of the new government, said Brkic. These issues must also be handled before the country can hope to increase foreign direct investment levels, he added. “For example, EU rules allow public spending to be up to a third of GDP, while in Serbia it reaches 50 per cent. In addition, inflation has to be reduced to the EU’s acceptable rate of below four per cent from the current 14 per cent,” Brkic said. However, he added, “this government will be able to lead Serbia into the EU. If they do, they may even manage to secure a second term.” Liberalising the market also carries potential hazards, he pointed out, as the Socialists support greater Russian investment, while Tadic and his partners from G17 Plus see investments from the West as more reliable. The sensitive issue of Kosovo’s independence is not likely to undermine the coalition. Both parties are united in pledging never to recognise the former province that, backed by the West, declared independence in February. Furthermore, recognition is not a requirement in Serbia’s negotiations with the EU, since some members of the EU have themselves not recognised Kosovo’s independence. The UK Ambassador to Serbia recently pointed out that the bloc cannot make Serbia do what it itself has not done. With that problem solved, aside from potential economic obstacles, there seem to be few issues left to undermine the new coalition.

Serb Nationalists & Tadic Ally in Novi Pazar Deal Novi Pazar_A coalition of nationalist parties and an ally of Serbian President Boris Tadic have reached a local government deal in the Muslim-dominated town of Novi Pazar. The move to form a government in Novi Pazar’s local assembly comes two months after the May 11 elections. The deal brings together a coalition of nationalist parties known as the United Serb List, which includes the former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia, his junior partner New Serbia, the hard line Radicals and the Socialists, and Rasim Ljajic’s party, which is closely allied to Tadic’s proEuropean bloc. The parties will share power in the 47-strong municipal council and appointed local physician Mirsad Djerlek of Ljajic’s Sandzak Democratic Party as mayor of Novi Pazar. “I want to be mayor of all people in Novi Pazar regardless of their

religious, national or political background,” Djerlek, 41, told reporters at a recent press conference. Under the power-sharing deal, Milan Veselinovic, of the Radical Party will serve as the head of the municipal council. The deal effectively excludes the Bosniak ‘Ticket for a European Sandzak’, headed by Sulejman Ugljanin, a key Ljajic rival. Ugljanin and Ljajic potentially had enough deputies to form a large majority in Novi Pazar municipality, but tensions between the two remain and have often spilled into violence in recent months. The Turkish Embassy in Belgrade had been mediating between the two but to no avail. This is despite the fact that Ugljanin has now joined the national government made up of Tadic’s allies and will serve as a minister without Sandzak’s religious leaders remain divided portfolio.

Photo by FoNet

politics

Friday, July 11, 2008

Rivals Threaten to Tear Radicals Apart

The standard-bearer for political nationalism in Serbia, the Serbian Radical Party, faces turmoil as a result of its failure to seize political power. By Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade

he success of the pro-western Democrats in forming a postelection alliance with the Socialists, ending Radical hopes of forming the next government, threatens to bring tensions between party modernisers and old-timers to a head. After heading confidently into the May 11 elections, the vote ended more inconclusively than the Radicals had expected, when the centrist bloc led by the Democratic Party of Boris Tadic won 102 of the 250 seats in parliament. The Radicals, led by the party’s deputy president, Tomislav Nikolic, (the party leader, Vojislav Seselj, is on trial in The Hague) trailed with 78 seats. As neither the Radicals nor Democrats were able to form a majority government alone, both sought to lure the Socialist Party, which holds 20 seats, into an alliance. But this week Tadic closed a deal with the Socialists, making it likely that he will be able to form a new, pro-EU, administration next week. Although most analysts always predicted that Tadic would offer the Socialists terms they could not refuse, some maintained that the party, once led by Slobodan Milosevic, would ultimately ally with the Radicals and a smaller nationalist party, the Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS. The fact that this has not happened is widely blamed on splits and schisms inside the Radical Party, and on competition between Nikolic’s and Seselj’s leaderships, one based in Belgrade and the other in The Hague. “We are schizophrenic all the time, with two heads and two sets of ideas,” one Radical Party official complained to Balkan Insight. “It’s confusing and discouraging for our members and the electorate.”

Seselj surrendered to the Netherlands-based UN tribunal in 2003 to stand trial for alleged war crimes committed in the 1990s. When he left, he handed over tactical and day-to-day control of party affairs to Nikolic, but not authority over strategic decision-making. Balkan Insight sources say that soon after Seselj surrendered, Nikolic, a far shrewder and more realistic figure, realised the party needed to shed its aggressive nationalist image. However, from his Scheveningen prison cell on the outskirts of The Hague, Seselj disagreed. He continued to exercise as much control as he could, putting obstacles in the path of Nikolic who tried, nevertheless, to reconcile the flamboyant ideas of his incarcerated leader with the realities on the ground. Last year, Seselj launched a hunger strike to fight for his right to defend himself in court. This action, which diverted attention from the party’s campaign for an early parliamentary vote, put additional strain on Radical activists. Seselj, meanwhile, ordered the party faithful to stand firm against European integration and avoid coalition deals with parties in the then government, led by Vojislav Kostunica of the DSS. In the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, Seselj’s political advice came back to haunt the Radicals, when Nikolic softened his rhetoric about Serbia’s bid to join the EU. This time, the Radicals aligned their message with that of Kostunica’s DSS, whose position is to support joining the 27-nation bloc as long as it recognises Serbia’s territorial claim over Kosovo. This slight shift in position was designed to broaden the Radical’s electoral appeal, but experts say it may have muddled the party faithful. “It was confusing for Radical voters

Montenegro & Croatia Hail New Government Cetinje_Montenegro’s President and his Croatian counterpart have welcomed Serbia’s new government with hopes it will herald in an era of better relations. Montenegro’s Filip Vujanovic said that he was convinced that relations between the two countries would be “better and more dynamic than with the previous leadership,” adding that the governments would quickly start to deal with specific issues. After talks with his Croatian counterpart Stjepan Mesic in Cetinje, Vujanovic said the two countries had firm grounds for economic cooperation. “Many infrastructure projects, such as the renewal of the BelgradeBar railway did not go as Montenegro had hoped but I expect the two governments to agree on concrete projects and resolve the issue of citizenship much more rapidly through intensive talks,” he stressed. Montenegro was in a state union with Serbia until 2006, when Podgorica declared independence following a referendum. Mesic also welcomed the formation of the new pro-European Union

Filip Vujanovic, Montenegrin President government, adding that “the region, Europe and Serbian citizens do not need an isolated Serbia.” He said that the new government needed to help Serbian citizens realise that their “happiness and well-being” need to be sought inside Serbia, not outside its borders. He said that after everything that had happened, everyone should draw lessons, Serbian citizens included. “We were concerned that people in responsible positions at the head of big parties had again raised the issue of borders between Croatia and Serbia. Certainly, friendly and neighbourly relations between our two countries cannot be built on the basis of such principles,” Mesic underlined.

Tomislav Nikolic, deputy leader of the Serbian Radical Party who had got used to Seselj’s hardline positions,” Dragan Bujosevic, a Belgrade-based analyst, said. When Nikolic narrowly lost the presidential vote to Tadic, Radical confidence sank yet further. The result “discouraged their electorate even more; you cannot be second all the time,” Bujosevic said. “You have to offer people something concrete or they will abandon you.” Prospects of a Radical victory on May 11 were further hit by the government’s last-minute conclusion of a long-awaited Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, with the EU, alongside a major deal with Italy’s Fiat to invest 700 million in Serbia. During the campaign, Nikolic actually did his best to shift the message from old-time nationalist slogans to social issues, such as the plight of the underclass, helping the unemployed and the elderly, and promising more jobs and investments from Russia.

Photo by FoNet

Nevertheless, the Fiat deal and signing of the SAA disconcerted the Radical camp, undermining their claim that Serbia had little to gain from Europe. “Both the deals, inked only days ahead of the vote, are directly linked with the Radicals’ election results,” said Marko Blagojevic, a pollster for the Belgrade-based Centre for Free Elections and Democracy. “They may have influenced as many as 400,000 Radical voters to abstain.” Some Radicals had long since started to express frustration over the anti-European course of the party under Seselj. A key party rebel, Maja Gojkovic, former mayor of Vojvodina’s provincial capital of Novi Sad, resigned from the party late last year. At the time, Nikolic let her go to preserve the façade of party unity ahead of the vote. But the fallout from Gojkovic’s departure hit the party badly in Vo-

jvodina. The Radicals suffered a debacle in the May 11 vote for the regional parliament, losing control of the city of Novi Sad. Since the failure of the Radicals’ coalition talks with the Socialists, Nikolic has spoken out more openly against Seselj’s policies. In an interview with the Belgrade daily Glas Javnosti on June 19, Nikolic said he had been “angered” to hear that Seselj had wanted to make Kostunica prime minister of a nationalist coalition government. “The two Vojislavs (Seselj and Kostunica) agreed about that behind my back,” he said. Analysts say Nikolic’s subsequent remarks reflect injured pride, as well as an understanding that the party needs to abandon Seselj’s aggressive nationalism if it is to prosper. Source: BalkanInsight.com

EU Welcomes New Serbian Administration Brussels_The European Union has welcomed a new pro-European government in Serbia adding it will help the country move forward in building closer ties with the bloc. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said he looks forward “to working closely with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and his colleagues.” Serbia’s new cabinet was elected with a slim majority of 127 deputies in the 250-seat parliament, following more than 10 hours of heated debate late on Monday. The cabinet consists of 24 ministers, one minister without portfolio, a prime minister’s first deputy and three other deputy premiers. They come from parties that make up President Boris Tadic’s ‘For a European Serbia’ coalition and the Socialist Party of Serbia, while four are non-party individuals, and one represents Serbia’s predominantly Muslim region of Sandzak. Solana said in a statement that the newly elected government should move forward with the promised European agenda. “It is now up to Serbia to make the

vision of its European future a practi- such high priority to European integracal reality. The EU will fully support tion and the process of reforms.” Serbia in this endeavour,” Solana said. Barosso also urged the Serbian “After the signing of the Stabilisa- Prime Minister “to build on recent tion and Association Agreement the positive developments by taking neccountry is well positioned to advance essary steps to achieve full cooperarapidly,” he added, referring to a key tion with the International Criminal EU pre-membership deal, SAA, Ser- Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia as rapidly as possible.” bia signed at the end of April. “This will allow for the speedy The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barosso also implementation of the recently congratulated Cvetkovic on the new signed SAA and can pave the way towards02/07/2008 candidate status16:23 of the Eurogovernment, “encouraged Business adding card he adis,(June 2008).qxd Page 1 that your government has attached pean Union,” Barosso said.

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politics

Friday, July 11, 2008

Government Unveiled

This week Belgrade Insight presents the new Serbian government, comprising the members of Boris Tadic’s coalition For a European Serbia and the pre-election coalition around Ivica’s Dacic’s Socialist Party of Serbia.

Jovan Krkobabic, Deputy Prime Minister (PUPS)

Ivica Dacic First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior (SPS)

Bozidar Djelic Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technological Development (DS)

Born 1966 in Prizren, Kosovo, Dacic is a graduate of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. He is member of the Serbian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and was Vice President of Caucuses in National Assemblies of the Republic of Serbia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. From 1992 he was a member of the Citizens’ Council of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and from 2004 he was a member of the Serbian parliament. Dacic was Information Minister during the so-called ‘transitional Serbian government’ from October 2000 to January 2001, and has been the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia since December 2006. He was president of the Partizan basketball club from Belgrade and vice president of the Yugoslav Olympics Committee. Dacic speaks English and Russian and is a married father of two.

Born 1965 in Belgrade, Djelic graduated from HEC business studies at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris, France in 1987. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, in 1991. In 1991 and ‘92 he worked as a privatisation and banking advisor to the Russian, Romanian and Polish governments, and from1993 to 2000 he was a partner at the McKinsey & Company in Paris and California. He was Serbian Minister of Finance and Economy from 2001 to 2004, and between 2005 and 2007 he was director for Central Europe at Credit Agricole SA Group. From May 2007 to July 2008 Djelic was Serbian Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European integration. The World Economic Forum (Davos) nominated him as a Young Global Leader for the period 2005-2010. Djelic speaks French, English, Russian, Polish and German, and is the father of two daughters.

Dragan Sutanovac Minister of Defence (DS)

Diana Dragutinovic Minister of Finance (DS)

Snezana Malovic Minister of Justice (DS)

Born 1968 in Belgrade, Sutanovac graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He received a diploma in security and monitoring issues in the US and from the Marshall Centre for Security Studies in GarmischPartenkirchen. In November 2000 he was appointed special advisor at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and in 2001 he became Assistant Federal Interior Minister. He was elected to the Serbian parliament in the 2000, 2003 and 2007 elections. From 2002 to 2003 he was president of the Serbian parliament’s committee for defence and security, and since 2004 he has held the function of deputy president of the committee. In the local elections of 2000 and 2004, he was voted into the Belgrade City Assembly. He has served as Minister of Defence since May 15, 2007. Sutanovac speaks English and is a married father of two.

Born 1958 in Belgrade, Dragutinovic graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Economics, where she also received an MSc and a PhD and still lectures. From 2001 until 2002 she was special advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and from 2002 to 2004 she served as a special advisor of the International Monetary Fund. From September 1, 2004 she was Vice Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, in charge of research and statistics, monetary policy and payment systems. Her main areas of research are macroeconomics, econometric modelling, financial programming, long-term economic growth theory, convergence analysis, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, poverty and social policy. She is an author of textbooks, ten monographs and over 50 studies, articles and papers. Dragutinovic is a married mother of two.

Born 1976 in Belgrade, Malovic graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade in 1999 and worked as a legal intern until 2001. She passed the bar examination in 2002 and is currently pursuing post-graduate studies at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. From 2001 to 2002 she worked as deputy secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Local Self-Government, and from 2002 to 2003 she was head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice and Local Self-Government. She was secretary-general of the war crimes prosecutor’s office from 2004 to 2007, and between November 2007 and July 2008 was state secretary at the Justice Ministry. She has been a member of working groups for drafting regulations and has participated in conferences on international humanitarian law, war crimes, the fight against corruption and organised crime and public administration. Malovic speaks English and German.

Petar Skundric Minister of Energy and Mining (SPS)

Milutin Mrkonjic Minister of Infrastructure (SPS)

Slobodan Milosavljevic Minister of Trade and Services (DS)

Zarko Obradovic Minister of Education (SPS)

Born 1947 in Gradacac, Bosnia, Skundric graduated and obtained a Masters and PhD at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade. He is professor at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, and an honorary professor of the St Petersburg University of Technology. He is the author of more than 200 scientific works, studies and projects, and is a member of various expert associations and editing boards of scientific journals. He is one of the founding members and was the first secretary general of the Socialist Party of Serbia, SPS, and was a member of parliament of the former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Presently, he is a member of the presidential board of SPS. Skundric is a married father of two sons.

Born 1942 in Belgrade, Mrkonjic graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade. He worked for 30 years on traffic infrastructure projects in the former Yugoslavia. He was the first director of the CIP Traffic Institute and following the 1999 NATO bombing campaign he headed the Board for the Country’s Reconstruction. A co-founder of the Socialist Party of Serbia, today he is party vice president and a member of its presidency. From 2000 he was a member of the Council of the Republic in the Yugoslav federal parliament, and later also at the parliament of the State Union of Serbia & Montenegro. From 2006 he was an MP in the Serbian parliament and Deputy Parliamentary Speaker.

Milan Markovic Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government (DS)

Born 1965 in Belgrade, Milosavljevic graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Economics in 1990, where he also received an MSc and a PhD in macroeconomics and management. He began his career at the Market Research Institute (IZIT) in Belgrade and from 1996 was Director of the Centre for Market Research and Macroeconomic Analysis. Between 2001 and 2004 he was Minister of Trade, Tourism and Services. In 2004 he became President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. He is a professor of trade policy at the Belgrade Business School. From May 15 2007 to July 2008 he was Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. Milosavljevic is a married father of two.

Born 1960 in Berane, Montenegro, Obradovic graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, where he later received his MA and PhD. He is a lecturer at the Megatrend University and a deacon at the University’s Faculty of Public Administration. From 1998 to 2000 he was Deputy Minister for Local Self-Government and from October 2000 until January 2001 was Deputy Minister of Higher Education. He has been a member of parliament since 2001 and was President and Deputy President of the SPS caucus in the Serbian parliament. In December 2006 he was appointed deputy president of the Socialist Party of Serbia. Obradovic speaks English, has a working knowledge of French and is a married father of two daughters.

Mirko Cvetkovic Prime Minister (DS) Born 1950 in Zajecar, Cvetkovic graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Belgrade, where he also received his MA and PhD. He worked at the Mining Institute for ten years and then at the Economics Institute for a further six years, followed by seven years as a consultant at the advisory and research firm CES Mecon. Between 1998 and 2001 he worked as an advisor on economic issues at the Mining Institute, and from January 2001 he was Deputy Minister of Economy and Privatisation. From 2003 to 2004 he was the Director of the Privatisation Agency and in 2005 he became a special advisor at CEO Intercom Consulting. In the 1980s he worked as an external consultant for the World Bank on projects in Pakistan, India and Turkey, and for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia. Cvetkovic speaks English and is a married father of two.

Vuk Jeremic Minister of Foreign Affairs (DS) Born 1975 in Belgrade, Jeremic graduated in theoretical physics at Cambridge University. He worked as financial analyst at Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Kleinwort Bensos Bank and completed a thesis in quantitative methods in finances at London’s Imperial College, before receiving an MA in public administration from Harvard University, US. Following the October 2000 democratic changes in Serbia, he was appointed advisor to the Federal Minister of Telecommunications and from June 2003 he was advisor to the Serbia & Montenegro Minister of Defence. In February 2004 he was appointed chairman of the Democratic Party’s Foreign Affairs Committee and in February 2006 he was elected to the party’s Main Board. From July 2004 until May 2007 he was foreign policy advisor and head of the Serbian President’s team. He became Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs in May 2007. Jeremic speaks English and German.

Born 1970 in Belgrade, Markovic is a law graduate. He specialised in the fight against terrorism at the Faculty of Security Studies in Belgrade. He was president of the Palilula municipality from 2000 to 2004 and has been a member of parliament since 2001. From 2000 to 2004 he was a city councillor and from 2003 to 2007 he was Deputy Speaker in the Serbian parliament. He was member of the PKB and Prva Petoletka boards’ of management. He was Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government from May 15, 2007, to July 2008. He teaches at the Faculty of Security Studies and is an associate in research projects. Markovic speaks English and is married.

Mladjan Dinkic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development (G17 Plus) Born 1964 in Belgrade, Dinkic graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Belgrade University, where he also received his MSc degree. From 1990 to 2000 he worked at the Faculty and was a founding member of Group 17, acting as its coordinator from 1997 to 1999. From 1999 to 2000 he was the executive director of the non-governmental organisation G17 Plus, and since 2006 he has been president of the party that G17 Plus transformed into. From 2000 to 2003, Dinkic was governor of the country’s central bank, the National Bank of Yugoslavia, later the National Bank of Serbia. From 2004 to 2006 he was Serbian Minister of Finance, and from 2007 to July 2008 he was Minister of Economy and Regional Development. Dinkic was declared 2006 Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney magazine. Dinkic speaks English and is married.

Born 1930 in the Dalmatian village of Koljane, Croatia, Krkobabic graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences, where he also received an MA and a PhD. He worked at the Vinca Nuclear Institute for 18 years. He was a founder and director of the Association for Pension and Disability Insurance, which later became the Pension and Disability Fund. Since 2006 he has been leader of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia and the Union of Pensioners of Serbia. He has received a number of Serbian and foreign awards and acknowledgments, such as a medal for contribution to the people, Yugoslav Red Cross acknowledgment, Belgrade City Plaque and Golden Charter of the UN General Assembly. Krkobabic is a married father of two sons.

Sasa Dragin Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (DS) Born 1972 in Sombor, Dragin graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad, where he received an MSc and a PhD and was an associate at the Novi Sad Faculty of Agriculture for a year. Since 2001 he has been assistant lecturer in animal physiology at the Faculty’s Veterinary Department. From 2004 until 2007 he was Vojvodina Under-Secretary of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry. In May 2007 he was appointed Minister of Environmental Protection. Dragin speaks English and has a working knowledge of Slovak and German. He is married.

politics

Friday, July 11, 2008

Snezana Samardzic-Markovic Minister of Youth and Sports (G17 Plus)

Tomica Milosavljevic Minister of Health (G17 Plus)

Born 1966 in Belgrade, Samardzic-Markovic graduated from the Faculty of Philology and received a scholarship from the University of Oslo. She has also attended Harvard University’s Leadership Development Programme. From 2001 to 2005 she worked in the bilateral department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Deputy Director for Neighbouring Countries, Deputy Head of Mission, Advisor at the Serbia & Montenegro Embassy in Oslo and Advisor at the Directorate for Europe. Between 2005 and 2007 she was Assistant Minister of Defence in charge of strategic planning, international military cooperation and the Verification Centre, and Co-President of the Serbia-NATO Defence Reform Group. From 2007 to 2008 she was Minister of Youth and Sports. She is fluent in English and Norwegian and is a married mother of two.

Born 1955 in Krusevac, Milosavljevic graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Medicine, where he is also a professor. He received professional training in Munich, Amsterdam and London. He works at the Clinical Centre of Belgrade as a specialist in gastroenterology and has been a member of the American Gastroenterological Association since 2007. From October 2000 until 2001 he was a member of the interim administration of the Belgrade Faculty of Medicine, and afterwards a member of the board of deans. From February 2001 he has been assistant director of the Serbian Clinical Centre and director of the Gastroenterology Clinics. He has been Minister of Health from June 2001 to July 2003, March 2004 to November 2006 and from May 2007 to July 2008. He is the author of 300 scientific works. Milosavljevic is a married father of three.

Nebojsa Bradic Minister of Culture (G17 Plus)

Verica Kalanovic Minister for the National Investment Plan (G17 Plus)

Born 1956 in Trstenik, Bradic graduated in theatre and radio directing from the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts. From 1981 to 1996 he worked as director, art director and head of the Krusevac Theatre. From 1996 to ‘97 he was head of the Atelje 212 theatre, and from 1997 to ‘99 was head of the Belgrade National Theatre. Since 2000 he has been art director at the Belgrade Drama Theatre. He has directed theatre presentations, operas and musicals, and is founder of the Belgrade Dance Festival. He is professor of acting at the Belgrade Academy of Fine Arts. His theatre shows have been performed in theatres throughout Europe and the US. He is the recipient of several important Serbian theatre awards. He writes essays and has published several dramas. Bradic is married.

Born 1954 in Trstenik, Kalanovic graduated from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, where she also received an MA. From 1980 to 1993 she worked in Prva Petoletka in Trstenik, and from ‘93 to 2003 she was professor at the higher technical school in Trstenik. From 2000 to ‘01 she was a member of the Trstenik executive council. From 2003 to 2006 she was head of the G17 Plus caucus in the parliament of Serbia & Montenegro. She was president of the Serbia & Montenegro Parliamentary Committee for Interior Economic Relations and Finances, a member of the parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe and a member of the Committee for Local and Regional Development in the Council of Europe. Kalanovic is a married mother of two.

Svetozar Ciplic Minister of Human and Minority Rights (DS)

Srdjan Sreckovic Minister of Diaspora (SPO)

Born 1965 in Novi Sad, Ciplic graduated from the Law School in Novi Sad, where he also received a master’s degree. He has been employed at the Law School in Novi Sad since 1995, where he teaches constitutional law. He was member of the Novi Sad executive council in charge of administration and regulations in 2001. From 2002 to 2007 he served on the bench of the Serbian Constitutional Court. Ciplic is a married father of two.

Born 1974 in Belgrade, Sreckovic obtained his master’s degree at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade. He is Deputy President of Vuk Draskovic’s Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO). He is JAT Airways Assistant Director-General, and served as Assistant Minister of Trade, Tourism and Services from 2004 to 2007. Sreckovic speaks English and is married.

Jasna Matic Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society (G17 Plus)

Rasim Ljajic Minister of Labour and Social Policy (SDP)

Born 1964 in Belgrade, Matic graduated in civil engineering in 1994 at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Belgrade. She earned a subsequent degree in business administration from the Washington University of St. Louis. From 1994 to 1999 she worked as a civil engineer and project coordinator in Masinoproject Kopring, Belgrade. She was a World Bank consultant in Washington D.C. from 2000 to 2001 and from 2001 to 2002 she was advisor to the Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister. She was chief advisor to a USAID-funded project promoting Serbia’s competitiveness at Booz Allen Hamilton. From 2004 to 2007 she was Director of the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA). She was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development in 2007 and held the position until July 2008. Matic speaks English, Italian and German.

Born 1964 in Novi Pazar, Ljajic graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo. From 1989 to 2000 he worked as a journalist. He entered politics in 1994 when he was elected president of the Sandzak Coalition, which was later renamed the Sandzak Democratic Party, SDP, in 2000. In 2000 he was appointed Yugoslav Minister of National and Ethnic Communities and in the same year was named president of the Coordinating Body for Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja. In August 2001 he became Vice President of the Coordination Centre for Kosovo. In 2003 he became Serbia & Montenegro Minister for Human and Minority Rights, and since 2004 he has been president of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY. He was Minister of Labour and Social Policy from May 2007 to July 2008. Ljajic speaks English and Russian and is a married father of two.

Goran Bogdanovic Minister for Kosovo (DS)

Bogoljub Sijakovic Minister of Religion (DS)

Born 1963 in Raska, Bogdanovic holds a degree from the Belgrade Faculty of Agriculture. He was manager of JUKO in Srbica from 1992 to 1996, and from 1996 to 2002 he was a state agricultural inspector. From 2002 to 2004 he was minister of Agriculture of Kosovo, after which he resumed the position of state agricultural inspector. He has been a member of the Democratic Party since 2000 and is president of the Democratic Party’s provincial committee. He was elected to be a member of parliament from the Serbian List in the Kosovo assembly and was a member of the Serbian negotiating team for Kosovo. He became a Serbian MP in January 2007. Bogdanovic speaks Russian and English and is a married father of two sons.

Born 1955 in Niksic, Montenegro, Sijakovic received a degree from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, where he also completed his master’s degree. Sijakovic continued his academic career in Bosnia, earning a PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo in 1989 and lecturing as a professor of Greek Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niksic at the University of Montenegro. He is a professor of philosophy at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade. Since 1992 he has been editor in chief of the Journal for Philosophy and Sociology Luca and in 2001 he was founding editor of the International Journal for Philosophy and Theology Philotheos. From 2000 to 2001 he was Yugoslav Minister of Religion. Sijakovic is a married father of two.

Oliver Dulic Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning (DS) Born 1975 in Belgrade, Dulic graduated from the Medical School in Belgrade, after which he studied an MA at Singidunum University. He worked as a doctor in the Subotica emergency centre and as an orthopaedist at the Subotica health centre. One of the leaders of the 1996/97 student protests, Dulic is a founder of the Balkan Forum, a student organisation based in Athens. He was president of the municipal committee of the Democratic Party in Subotica and vice president of the party’s Vojvodina committee, as well as being a member of the presidency of the Democratic Party for the Novi Sad region and a member of the party’s foreign policy council. He was elected to the Serbian parliament at the 2007 elections and was elected Parliamentary Speaker in May 2007. Dulic speaks English, German and Hungarian and is married.

Sulejman Ugljanin Minister without Portfolio (SDA) Born 1953 in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo, Ugljanin graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry in Sarajevo, where he also completed his specialisation. He worked as a dentist for 12 years at the Novi Pazar Medical Centre. He has been president of the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak since July 1990 and head of the Bosniak National Council in Serbia. He was elected to the federal parliament at the elections of November 1996. In 2004 he was elected municipal president of Novi Pazar. Ugljanin is a married father of four.

belgrade chronicle

City to Get New Administration

ragan Djilas, the Democratic Party’s candidate for the post of Belgrade mayor, announced that the new city administration, an alliance between the Democrats and the Socialist Party of Serbia, will be formed on July 14 – more than a month after the May 11 local elections. Djilas said that the coalition talks about the power-sharing deal in Belgrade’s 110-seat parliament will start by the end of this week. The new ruling coalition will govern Belgrade with the backing of the minority Liberal Democratic Party. On May 11 the Democrats won 45 seats, the Radicals took 40, while the Democratic Party of Serbia, the Socialists and the Liberal Democratic Party won 12, six and seven mandates respectively. In May, the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, the Democratic Party of Serbia and the Socialists signed a coalition deal to control Belgrade City Hall. On July 7, the Serbian parliament approved the coalition government

Friday, July 11, 2008

Aleksandar Vucic, the Radical Party’s nominee for mayor comprised of a Democrat-led alliance and a bloc of parties grouped around the Socialist Party of Serbia. Control of the Serbian capital, home to some 1.8 million residents, is vital. The city is home to more than 20 per cent of the Serbian

Demise of Famous Restaurant

he management of the “Tri grozda” catering company has decided to restructure Belgrade’s famous “Trandafilovic” restaurant and create a modern café and trendy restaurant targeting the city’s younger population. For more than 40 years Trandafilovic, located on Mekenzijeva Street in the city’s Vracar district, has been a lure for famous artists, poets and other celebrities of the former Yugoslavia. Old guests are not happy with this decision because it means that another element of Belgrade’s old charm will disappear. “I feel it’s a shame. I think that someone must hate Belgrade because

this is a sure way to make the city uglier” said Darinka Radovanovic, 66, a sculptor from Belgrade and a regular Trandafilovic guest. However, a representative of the Tri grozda company told Belgrade daily Politika that they want to develop services and make a modern restaurant in Vracar. “We want to lure foreigners and the younger population” he said. The restaurant is also famous for being home to one of the oldest trees in Belgrade – a 150-year-old oak. This is just the latest act of remodelling and rebranding that has seen many traditional eateries torn down in Belgrade over recent years.

population and is also the base for the country’s biggest businesses and industrial giants. Moreover, the position of Belgrade mayor is regarded as the third most important in the country, after the President and the Prime Minister.

manager of the lake resort, dubbed ‘Belgrade’s Sea’, Milan Ilic. Ilic added that the water in the lake is not polluted, according to the latest tests, hence the population of jellyfish. Ada Ciganlija is a favoured summer retreat for Belgraders and during summer weekends up to 200,000 people seek refuge from the sizzling heat by spending a day by the lake and enjoying its cafes and sporting facilities.

Serbia’s pro-European President Boris Tadic has repeatedly said that coalition deals with the Socialists will also include power sharing in the capital city’s parliament. However, Aleksandar Antic, who heads Belgrade’s branch of the Social-

ists, said his party will adhere to the agreement with the nationalist bloc. Aleksandar Vucic, the Radical Party’s nominee for mayor, said he trusts the Socialists and that “on Monday we are going to form a new Belgrade administration.”

Belgrade Faces Standstill Over Road Works

n the coming months Belgraders will face standstills and blocked streets due to massive road works which are a pat of the capital city’s overhaul, a city administration statement says. The majority of works have already started and 23 streets are completely closed to traffic at present. The overhaul envisages road works on another 24 streets and additional repairs in another 100 streets. “We haven’t received complaints from the people,” said an official of the Beokom Company which coordinates the activities of all utility services. Belgraders have already grown accustomed to terrible traffic jams in

Jellyfish Spotted in Ada Ciganlija Lake

ellyfish have been spotted in a lake along the Serbian capital’s stretch of the River Sava, local media have reported. However, the invertebrates are totally harmless to humans and according to local officials jellyfish have been often seen during the summer months. “Jellyfish appear everywhere in the lake, but they also choose a space that ensures they rarely appear close to swimmers,” said city official and

Dragan Djilas, the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor

the city, but some things are totally out of control – including hourslong standstills over the notoriously clogged Branko’s bridge. In recent weeks, dozens of people repeatedly spent hours waiting for trams in the Kralja Aleksandra Boulevard, as there was no information explaining that regular lines have either been cancelled or rescheduled. In an earlier statement, Beokom said that City Traffic Council prominently displayed information about cancellations and new timetables on every tram station. The utility service also closed the key tunnel in Brankova Street in downtown Belgrade between 10pm

and 4am in order to lay a new road surface in Brankova Street, altering routes of buses 16, 65, 77 and 95.

Residents End Supermarket Protest

One of SuperVero’s Belgrade supermarkets

enants of Belgrade residential buildings Vojvode Stepe 51 and Kostolacka 60, both in the Vozdovac neighbourhood, have ended days of consecutive protests and street blockades against the construction of a Greek-owned supermarket. The tenants, who claimed that Belgrade’s city administration illegally allowed Veropoulos–a part of the Eurospar retailer–to build its

supermarket in place of a parking lot in their apartment blocks, ended protests after the District Attorney’s Office assured them it will investigate all alleged wrongdoings. In a statement, the local branch of Veropoulos – which operates in Serbia under the name of SuperVero –said that the development in the area was legal and that the comapny obtained all construction permits.

In the past five years Veropoulos has invested some 40 million in three supermarkets in Belgrade. The company has also started development of the fourth site and pledged an additional 20 million in investments. Veropoulos, Greece’s fourthlargest supermarket chain which also holds the SPAR retail franchise, operates as many as 209 stores in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia.

business

Friday, July 11, 2008

Serbia’s Currency Reserves Rise in June

erbia’s Central Bank foreign currency reserves rose to 9.107 billion in June. The 15.8 million increase came after the National Bank purchased 45.3 million from exchanges and after it received a 19.5 million loan from the European Investment Bank. Serbia’s currency reserves in June were 9.93 billion including 826.1 million in compulsory deposits in commercial banks, the statement said. In June the National Bank made a 117.1 million payment to owners of foreign currency accounts in banks that went bankrupt in the 1990s during the 13-year-long rule by late President Slobodan Milosevic and repaid 11.7 million to international creditors, the central bank’s statement said. As opposed to May when it intervened with as much as 38 million to

stabilise the dinar’s exchange rate, in June the bank did not participate in currency trading. The dinar appreciated by 4.4 per cent against the euro following the introduction of a new tighter monetary policy and lending measures. A coalition deal between Boris Tadic’s Democrats and the Socialist Party of Serbia which envisages the creation of a pro-Western government also helped to strenghten the dinar. As Belgrade Insight went to press, the dinar was trading at 78.8 to the euro.

Local Developer Takes Over Hotel

elgrade-based NBGP Properties, a subsidiary of Serbia’s Delta Holding, has officially assumed management control of the capital’s Continental Hotel. The announcement was made on July 8 by real estate company Colliers International.

Belgrade’s Hotel Continental

The hotel formerly belonged to the now-bankrupt Genex company. In March, NBGP Properties acquired some 72,000 square metres, consisting of the hotel, an exclusive apartment block, a tennis court and a power plant for 149 million. In the same statement, Colliers said that NBGP Properties will now “begin a thorough refurbishment programme after the 2009 World Student Games, in accordance with agreements previously made between the hotel and the organisers of this sporting event.” Completion of the works is planned for September 2010, when the hotel will be re-opened as a part of the Crowne Plaza chain. According to current estimates, NBGP Properties plans to invest around 35 million in the overhaul of the Continental Hotel and another 40 million in the remainder of the complex.

Serbia Needs Euro, Economist Says

he Serbian dinar is overvalued against the euro and policymakers should consider unilaterally adopting the euro as the country’s official currency, an analyst argues. “The current exchange rate only stimulates imports and discourages exports,” Miloje Kanjevac of the Institute for Market Research said. According to Kanjevac, “artificial preservation of the dinar’s value does not help Serbia’s industrial competitiveness.” The dinar has appreciated significantly against the euro in recent weeks, and on July 11 it was selling at 78.8 after the Socialists and Democratic parties formed a pro-European coalition government, following the May 11 vote. The central bank also decided to keep its two-week key benchmark rate unchanged at 15.75 per cent.

“This is only a mirage of macroeconomic stability,” Kanjevac said. Such remarks echoed the latest restrictive measures imposed by the central bank, which envisage tighter lending rules for banks and owners of private accounts. Kanjevac said that Serbia needs either thorough monetary reform or should consider changing the denomination of the domestic currency. “Many believe that the introduction of the euro as the currency would prevent (monetary) chaos,” he said. Many economists believe that a unilateral introduction of the euro as the domestic currency would stabilise inflation at an annual two to three per cent. Kosovo and Montenegro, Serbia’s former federal partners, have unilaterally introduced the euro as their currency, although they are not

bombing campaign, will have some 100,000 metres of space, including a conference centre, business tower, shopping centre, a spa and parking for 2,000 cars. “We are awaiting construction permits to start work,” he said. Plaza Centers, which is a subsidiary of Elbit Imaging Ltd. purchased the

Site of the new hotel, former Interior Ministry headquarters in Belgrade

members of the 15-strong euro currency union. Serbia ultimately wants to join the European Union and introduce the euro as its currency but it must first meet a set of stringent rules, including reducing inflation to the EU average.

Miloje Kanjevac, Institute for Market Research

Belgrade’s Shipyard to Launch 110-metre Riverboat

erbia’s Shipyard Belgrade launched its new riverboat on July 8, local media report. The vessel was christened the Swiss Jewel by Mrs. Van Dartel-Wennemann, wife of the Royal Netherlands Ambassador in Belgrade. The 110-metre long luxurious river cruiser is is the biggest riverboat ever completed in a Serbian shipyard. It is able to accommodate 145 passengers and will run pleasure trips between Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the Black Sea. The deal is worth a total of 16 million and construction of the vessel was completed in just four months. This is the first such vessel completed in Shipyard Belgrade following the purhase of the yard in 2005 by Dutch company Vahali Service and Management B.V. The Swiss Jewel has now headed to the Netherlands for final fitting Swiss Emerald, the Swiss Jewel’s sister ship and trials.

Israelis Plan 5 Star Hotel In Belgrade

sraeli-owned Plaza Centers NV is to develop a 150 million fivestar hotel in downtown Belgrade, on the site of the bombed out former Interior Ministry headquarters. According to Sagiv Meger, the company’s director for Serbia, the hotel, which will replace the building devastated in the 1999 NATO

building on Kneza Milosa in 2007 for 29.1 million. Meger announced a total of 500 million investment in Serbia. “We want to hire as many [local contractors] as possible and allow them to participate in our investment,” he said. The company plans to build a 105 million shopping centre in the Bel-

grade suburb of Visnjica, to replace the now-bankrupt Sportstar company’s production halls. Sporstar was purchased in 2007 for 19.6 million. Plaza Centers NV also wants to develop shopping centres in the Serbian cities of Kragujevac, Nis, Subotica, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin and Leskovac.

Photo by Panoramio.com

Millions Apply for Free Shares

p to 4.2 million people have so far applied for free shares in major Serbian state-run companies, offered under a government plan to privatise the country’s key assets. In a statement, the Post Office said that another 300,000 people were expected to apply at its branches nationwide by the July 31 deadline. On January 28, Serbia launched a three-year plan to sell state-owned companies worth some 30 billion. The plan includes the Initial Public Offering, IPO, of Telekom Srbija AD the national telecoms provider, Elektroprivreda Srbije, EPS, the electrical power utility, JAT Airways, the national airline and its maintenance arm JAT Tehnika, Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and Galenika pharmaceuticals. Serbia’s Economy and Regional Development Minister, Mladjan Dinkic, said earlier that more than four million people were expected to qualify for stocks valued at 1,000 each. The total value of stocks is estimated at 4 billion. Under provisions of the law on IPOs, stockholders will be allowed to sell, swap, or otherwise deal with their free shares through brokerages licensed by the Belgrade Stock Exchange.

business

Friday, July 11, 2008

Gauging Economic Prospects

The real problem is revenue from privatisations … but I believe Serbia has good prospects for semi-greenfield investments, especially in central Serbia. Vladimir Gligorov, a researcher with the Vienna-based Institute for International Economic Studies, tells Belgrade Insight. INTERVIEW By Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade What key economic tasks await the new Serbian government? Stabilisation, first and foremost. Serbia needs a 2009 budget with real spending cuts. Serbia needs to freeze wages in the public sector for a threeyear period. The government must significantly lower the structural part of its expenditure. That means the future cabinet must practically eliminate subsidies and restructure the social sector. This would entail the commercialisation and privatisation of public enterprises, boosting competitiveness. Social sector restructuring should include pension, health and education reform. Serbia must rely on partnerships between the private and state-operated sectors in pubic investments. Serbia should also liberalise foreign and domestic trade. Price controls are harsh, customs and other protection mechanisms are unnecessarily stringent. Capital flow must be completely liberalised. It is of utmost importance to boost market flexibility through anti-monopoly policies, changing relations between the government and business. Flexibility of the labour market is also important. Finally, Serbia needs changes to its monetary policy. The increasing foreign trade deficit is not sustainable. If inflation continues to grow alongside a practically fixed exchange rate, the situation will only worsen. The benchmark repo rate is practically negative, and that renders monetary policy almost irrelevant. A change is needed fast or inflation will spiral out of control. In all, an entirely new policy is needed. The goals should be price stability, trade liberalisation and privatisation to improve effectiveness, employment and competitiveness.

How much can the future government tighten its fiscal policies? It is not about tightening, but about restructuring. The government must decide what it wants to finance from the budget, and that decision should be made on the basis of what they consider to be socially just. Such a decision should ensure that the state has a clear idea about what should be secured through both private and public sectors. The basic strategy should be that the public sector takes over what the private sector cannot secure as efficiently and in a manner that is as socially sustainable. That should result in a drop in general public spending to around 35 per cent of GDP or less. The government should establish an efficient tax system. Taxes should not favour one sector over another. A flat tax rate should serve as a basis and then it should be adjusted according to differences in marginal tax burdens. How can the Serbian government cut the current account deficit? The key instrument is an exchange rate policy that can influence the competitiveness of the Serbian economy, one in which salaries are negotiated in dinars (instead of in euros). In that case, a depreciation or even correction of the exchange rate could be useful [as it would result in a] drop of imports and rise of exports and, consequently, a decrease of the current account deficit. Do you expect changes to the central bank’s monetary policies? Unfortunately not. In any other country the central bank would have huge problems explaining why it runs monetary politics that allow prices to skyrocket. The central bank has a particularly bad record since 2004. It is clear now that it will not meet its 2008 inflation target, although that target was neither ambitious nor strict. That means that the bank is following an inefficient monetary policy. Is the central bank strong enough to meet the pledges of a future “socially-responsible government”?

Vladimir Gligorov: The government should establish a tax system that is the most efficient I am not sure it will. The Serbian central bank is politicised and not independent. The high and volatile inflation rate is a testimony to that. If the central bank was a true believer in a targeted inflation policy, and if it was determined to reach its goal to cut inflation to levels akin to the euro-zone, its benchmark rate would be around 25 per cent or more. The pact between Socialists and Democrats envisages a rise in pensions. Will inflation effectively negate that rise? If overall demand rises because of increased pension spending, then the country must either boost imports - and accordingly finance pensions through increased borrowing - or speed-up inflation which then means an absence of a real increase in pensions, or the country must cut wages to redistribute funds to pensions. The last of these is hard to implement.

Central Banker Cautions on Inflation

erbia’s central bank hopes the new government will do its best to tame rising infla-

tion, but remains ready to restrict monetary policy, Governor Radovan Jelasic said. Jelasic said policy makers will raise the National Bank’s key twoweek repurchase rate from 15.75 percent if inflationary pressures continue to mount, local media reported. “This year will bring us additional expenses and we are waiting to see what the state will do in the second half of 2008,” Jelasic is quoted as saying. Serbia`s parliament on Monday voted in a new pro-European government comprised of the Democratic Party’s coalition and the coalition led by the Socialist Party of Serbia. Economists have forecast that Serbia’s headline inflation will rise above 15 per cent by the end of 2008 from 14.5 per cent in May and have speculated that, in an attempt to prevent the rise, the central

bank will intervene on the currency market. To cut spending, monetary policy makers this month introduced tighter lending rules for the owners of private accounts with commercial banks. In an earlier interview with Balkan Insight, Simon Grey, the head of the World Bank’s office in Serbia said that the country must introduce tighter fiscal policies and cut spending if it wants to cut inflation and boost growth. Jelasic also said that the bank will resort to its own reserves to cover the 100 million loss it reported for 2007. “If we cannot get enough, we will cover the remainder of the loss from the budget or with Serbian government bonds,” he said. He previously said that the bank’s loss in 2007 stemmed from the weakening of the US dollar against the dinar. The US dollar is used for calculating Serbia’s external debts. Serbia’s total foreign currency reserves in June were 9.933 billion,

including 826 million deposited with commercial banks. Jelasic said that most of Central Europe’s national banks were affected by such a trend and that even European Union members such as Hungary and Slovakia reported losses.

Governor Radovan Jelasic

Photo by FoNet

Borrowing from abroad may not be available, and so an inflationary hike is quite probable. What are Serbia’s investment prospects now? They could be good, particularly at the stock exchange where prices of shares have dropped significantly. Good times for investment funds are on the horizon, as we are witnessing an increase in household savings. The real problem is revenue from privatisations, as sales of state-run assets in Serbia are heavily politicised or even corrupt. I believe Serbia has good prospects for investment, especially in central Serbia. There are attractive assets there and Zastava (and its deal with Italy’s Fiat SpA) is a good example. I also believe that there are opportunities for full-scale greenfield investments in the SME sector in Vojvodina. The state may spoil that investment climate with businesses involv-

ing Russian investors and with ambitious ministers keen to invest and develop in Serbia. That seems to be the greatest problem. If the government survives an entire four-year mandate, what are the prospects of the Serbian economy? The prospects are good, provided there is implementation of a serious stabilisation programme as soon as possible, and provided there is a fiscal agreement on precisely what social justice is. Serbia must speed up its bid to join the EU. I believe it would be good for Serbia to have another early vote next year, something that will additionally reduce the influence of the Socialists, Radicals and the socalled people’s bloc. However, this government will likely try to survive an entire mandate, thus ensuring slow parliamentary work.

JAT Launches 1st Croatia Route

Serbian River Fleet Up for Sale

erbia’s flag carrier JAT Airways has launched the first direct flight to Croatia since the outbreak of the Balkan wars in 1991. JAT will operate flights between the Serbian capital and Croatia’s Adriatic resort of Pula. The tickets will be priced at between 69 and 200. JAT Airways said it was motivated to reestablish flights to Pula by growing interest from tourists wanting to visit Croatia’s resorts of Porec and Rovinj. Air traffic between Belgrade and Croatia ended in September 1991, following the start of fighting between Croatian troops and the former Yugoslav People’s Army. The state-run JAT Airways, which is slated for privatisation, has a fleet of 11 aircraft and it currently flies to 40 destinations in 27 countries in Europe and the Middle East.

erbia’s Privatisation Agency has invited bids for a 70 per cent stake in Jugoslovensko Recno Brodarstvo or JRB, the country’s single largest river fleet. Under the offer posted on the agency’s website, prospective bidders must be owners of river fleets with at least 50,000 tons of total cargo displacement, no less than three years of experience in river cargo operations and with 2007 revenues of more than 20 million. Bids with bank guarantees of 1 million must be submitted by September 26, the agency said. This is the second tender offer for the JRB. The previous bid failed in March after the Turkish consortium comprised of Palmali Shipping and Palmali Holding Company failed to pay 32.2 million. JRB currently operates more than a dozen of freighters, 130 barges, two self-propelled barges, three passenger ships and two floating workshops. It is the third-largest river fleet in the region.

business

Friday, July 11, 2008

ADVERTORIAL

Belgrade Housing Market Yet to Grow This week company CB Richard provides its insight into the country’s real estate tendencies.

CB Richard Ellis, one of the world’s leading commercial real estate services firms, advises more clients than any other property advisor worldwide. The company collates data and market intelligence from both internal and external sources, thus providing insight into real estate trends across Serbia. CB Richard Ellis believes that general economic recovery and tendencies on the Belgrade housing market herald a turning point in Belgrade construction trends in the following years. Namely, these tendencies will bring new developments that include various amenities, such as playground, pool, gym, on-site management, security gate etc. The current situation in the market will certainly attract renowned developers willing

to offer condominiums and compounds; this completion will eventually result in a higher quality-price ratio of the residential product in the market. Key demand drivers assume evergreater expansion of housing credit options and strong investment demand. In addition, during the past five years there was a strong demand for apartments of smaller sizes on the mid-end market, which undoubtedly encouraged investors to create complexes with a high share of small, affordable apartments – mostly studios and one-bedroom apartments. However, supply of smaller apartments still remains below demand, causing scarcity in this segment and price increases of up to 30 per cent on an annual basis, depending on the location.

Bulgargaz & French Giant in Deal Sofia_Bulgaria’s dominant state gas company Bulgargaz has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Gaz de France. “The memorandum covers a strategic partnership to develop the market and ensure the security of gas supplies,” a Bulgargaz statement said.

It did not provide further details on the deal. The Bulgarian company said last year that it was in talks with Western European energy companies to explore possible partnerships for gas production and other energy projects abroad.

Oil Company Expands in Albania Tirana_Bankers Petroleum Ltd. has announced that it will exercise its option to acquire the remaining 50 per cent of the Kucova oil field in southwest Albania. The stake was bought from Sherwood International Petroleum for $1.5 million. Bankers bought the initial 50 per cent from Sherwood in February. Sherwood is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bankers which now holds the exclusive right to evaluate and redevelop the Kucova heavy oil field pursuant to a petroleum agreement with Albpetrol Sh.A., the state-owned petroleum company, and a license agreement with the National Agency of National Resources, AKBN. The terms of the petroleum agreement are substantially the same as those governing Bankers’ Petroleum

One of Albanian’s oil refineries

agreement for the Patos Marinza oil field in Albania. Bankers is in the process of completing a work programme and budget to further develop the Kucova field, which has in excess of 490 million barrels of crude oil and from which only five per cent or 25 million barrels has been extracted. Bankers Petroleum is an oil and gas exploration and production company focusing on opportunities in unconventional petroleum assets. The company operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield in south central Albania, which is believed to hold about two billion barrels of oil. The 44,000-acre heavy oil field, located east of the city of Fier, is the largest onshore oilfield in continental Europe, based on the amount of oil the site holds.

On the other hand, significantly minimal differences in price levels of old and new middle-class apartments have redirected a large share of prospective buyers towards new buildings offering quality finishes and facilities that match modern lifestyle. Furthermore, there is a notable preference for purchasing apartments in the early construction phase, which implies payment in instalments. Similarly to neighbouring housing markets in the region, bank loans in Serbia represent the main source of financing for new residential property investment. Moreover, the new Mortgage Law has introduced some welcomed innovations, allowing the borrower to offer a wider array of collateral security, thus providing broader financing possibilities.

For several years now, the highest sales prices are being recorded in Dedinje, Senjak and Vracar areas, followed by central parts of Belgrade. However, the strongest upward trend in apartment prices was recorded in the central parts of New Belgrade, in close proximity to Belgrade Arena, which is the most developing area of the capital. In contrast, there are currently no large-scale projects downtown. Rather, the centre features smaller buildings with a proportionately lower number of apartments. The expectation is that the current development boom phase cannot significantly alter market trends in the medium to long term. Admittedly, Belgrade has not seen significant development activity for over two decades. There are numerous households in rented premises that would like,

but currently cannot afford, to move into the owner occupier market. They represent a pool for potential demand still waiting for their economic upturn to become effective demand. However, property values will continue to rise, underpinned by the abundant offer of housing loans and steady growth of disposable income. Growth will continue, though at much more modest rates. Source: CB Richard Ellis www.cbre.co.rs

Romania Retailers in Competition Pact Bucharest_Romanian food producers and major supermarkets are to make retail pricing more transparent in order to lower prices and shield consumers from global rises in food prices. Under an agreement put forward by the government, producers will have more flexibility in setting prices, now largely dictated by big retailers, farm ministry officials said. “The new rules are aimed at boosting competition in the market, eventually leading to lower food prices,” said Georgiana Tanase, media advisor at the agriculture ministry. Like other countries in Eastern Europe, Romania is struggling to ease poverty while combating pressures from global price hikes and rampant consumer spending, which have pushed inflation as high as 8.6 per cent this year. The agreement, announced on Wednesday, needs approval from the

competition watchdog and will set standards for commercial contracts and ban practices that may harm competition. For example, retailers will no longer be able to prevent producers from selling their goods at cheaper prices to their competitors. The agreement also scraps a practice

New agreement set to shield consumers

Bosnia Gets Access to EU Markets Sarajevo_Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Interim Agreement with the EU has come into force, bringing the country into a new phase of trade relations with Europe and its common market. Until Bosnia’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, with the European Union (signed on June 16) is ratified by all EU countries, relations between Bosnia and the bloc will be regulated in accordance with the Interim Agreement. “The Interim Agreement effectively creates a free trade area, with progressive opening of the market of Bosnia and Herzegovina facilitating economic and social development,” said the EU in its press statement, welcoming the “new phase” of Bosnia’s relations with Europe. “Trade is a key element of EU policy in the region and an important driver of development. The free trade area will create economic opportunity and will attract more European investment to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the statement quoted EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson as saying. The agreement allows free access to EU markets for almost all goods from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in turn will gradually open its market

obliging producers to contribute to supermarkets’ marketing costs. The deal was signed by producers in the bread, wine, milk and meat sectors and by major retailers, including Germany’s Metro and its Real hypermarket chain, Selgros and Kaufland, Cora, of the Delhaize Group, France’s Carrefour and Auchan.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson up to European products and services, said the EU statement. As a part of its EU accession process, Bosnia is expected to introduce more than 1,200 new regulations, laws and/or bodies, in order to align the country with EU standards. However, some economic experts warn that the country’s cumbersome, expensive and ineffective administration is ill prepared to meet all the challenges and risks brought by the opening of Bosnia’s market to cheaper and better quality goods from the European Union.

Photo by Fairfax

Macedonian Trade Deficit Increases

Skopje_Macedonia’s trade deficit has risen significantly in the first five months of 2008, according to the State Statistical Office. By the end of May this year the country exported only 59.4 per cent of the value of its imported goods. In the whole of 2007 this figure was 64.2. The trade deficit from January to May this year climbed to 700 million. In this period Macedonia imported goods worth 1.7 billion, while exporting goods worth nearly 1 billion. In contrast, during the whole of 2007 the trade deficit reached 1.1 billion. Overall trade value within the first five months of this year was over 2.8 billion. This represents a significant increase of 44 per cent compared to the same period last year. The data shows that, as in previous years, Macedonia’s most significant export products are ferro-nickel, iron, steel and clothing. The key imports are oil, electricity and motor vehicles. According to statistics, the country’s biggest trade partners are Serbia, Germany, Greece and Bulgaria. Macedonia ended 2007 with cumulative international trade of more than 5.3 billion. In recent years, the figure has increased alongside Macedonia’s trade deficit.

the guide

Friday, July 11, 2008

Ready to Party - Exit ‘08 This year’s EXIT music Festival in Novi Sad has finally arrived. From July 10 to 13 the gates of Petrovaradin Fortress opened to welcome the thousands of young revellers from all over Europe who are ready to enjoy four days of great international music. By Zarka Radoja

his year’s EXIT Festival once again offers a line-up to rival any of the world’s biggest live music events. This year’s top performers include the likes of Primal Scream, Manu Chao, The Streets, the Sex Pistols, Gossip, Juliette and the Licks, Paul Weller, Tiga, Laurent Garnier, The Hives, Nightwish, Deap Dish, Ministry and many more. EXIT’s organisers, State of Exit, have announced that around 600 performers will entertain the massive crowds over the course of the fourday festival. Most of the biggest names will be performing on the Main stage and Dance Arena, but many musicians will also be playing at some of the other 15 stages located all around Pertovaradin Fortress. This year’s big comeback is being prepared by Serbian punk

band Pekinska Patka, which last saw popular success in the ‘80s. Patka will be playing on the Main stage on Sunday, July 13, opening punk night. One of the biggest punk bands of the from former Yugoslavia, KUD Idijoti, will also be performing, as will the Hives and, the crème de la crème of punk, British legends The Sex Pistols. Those who like more relaxing chill-out music are best advised to head for the Cafe del Danube Stage, which offers relaxing tunes and a great view of the River Danube. EXIT is one of the biggest music events in continental Europe and was voted best European Festival at the UK Festival Awards in 2007. Since its inception as a 100-day political protest event in the summer of 2000, EXIT has grown exponentially year on year. Last year it was attended by 190,000 people, more

than half of whom were foreigners, and this year in excess of 200,000 people are expected to enjoy the four-day festival. Besides great music performers, as is the case every year, EXIT will also include film screenings, theatre performances and many workshops. The EXIT campsite has been up and running since Monday July 7 and can accommodate up to 10,000 people over a 10-day-period. Other visitors will arrive daily on specially-organised buses heading to EXIT from Serbia’s major towns and cities. With a line-up to suit the reputation of EXIT and hundreds of thousands of guests alive with the spirit of EXIT, this year’s festival is sure to live up to the high expectations of those who’ve come to love this excellent summer festival beside the Danube.

EXIT attracts youngsters en masse

Photo by Aleksandar Andjic

Saban in Memoriam

EXIT Currency

In memory of arguably the most popular Roma singer of all time, the late King of Gypsy Music, Saban Bajramovic – who passed away this summer – the EXIT Press Centre promoted his last album ‘Saban Private’ on July 10.

Despite the fact that many visitors and pundits alike felt that last year’s introduction of EXIT’s on-site currency, the Token, was the biggest mistake of the festival to date, organisers have decide to retain the Token again this year. However, they have promised to provide more currency exchange points in the fortress. There are five types of Token and each is for the purchase of a different kind of drink.

EXIT Dance Arena is always popular

Photo by Aleksandar Andjic

the guide

Friday, July 11, 2008

Britons ‘Invade’ Serbia for Exit Festival H undreds of visitors, many of them Britons, have been pouring into Serbia’s northern city of Novi Sad and pitching tents to get the best spots for the Exit festival. The festival’s huge campsite opened on Monday July 7, three days ahead of the start of the fourday musical extravaganza, in order to avoid the huge last-minute rush which was seen in previous years when the site was opened simultaneously with the festival. The camp will remain open until July 16 and those staying there will have access to everything

from toilets and showers, to wireless internet. The Exit Festival, held every year since 2000 in Novi Sad, started as an artistic antidote to the grim reality of the regime led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic and has grown into one of Europe’s biggest and most vibrant musical celebrations. The organisers say that guests from the UK are usually the first to come and generally outnumber other foreigners. Big crowds of young people from the region also frequent the festival.

Petrovaradin Fortress: a unique venue

Photo by Aleksandar Andjic

British Embassy Supports EXIT-Goers The British Embassy Belgrade has established a Consular Support Team that will be active for the full duration of this year’s EXIT.

The camp offers toilets, showers and wireless internet

Photo by Aleksandar Andjic

lems EXIT visitors might encounter during their stay in Serbia.

The Embassy, which will man a British Information Point, BIP, in the EXIT campsite reception area, has produced posters, leaflets and stickers.

Sean Moran, Her Majesty’s Consul to Belgrade, was quoted as saying: “We know that the British visitors to EXIT always make a huge contribution to the party atmosphere, and we’re here to help them do that safely”.

These offer specially tailored travel advice, emergency contact details, key consular information and help with the most common prob-

The organisers are expecting up to 12,000 British visitors. For the third year in a row Brits will form the largest group of foreigners.

neighbourhood

Friday, July 11, 2008

Montenegro’s Dilemma Over Kosovo

Podgorica is in a quandry over Kosovo, with ethnic Albanians clamouring for recognition and Serbs demanding the status quo be maintained. By Kenneth Morrison in London

uffeted by the conflicting and irreconcilable demands of its Serbian and Albanian minorities, Montenegrin officials last month once again insisted they were not about to recognise the independ-

was a decision that Montenegro had to reach alone. But whatever diplomats and officials say in public, the issue just won’t go away, begging the question of how long Montenegro can keep up its balancing act, hedging its bets while declining to rule out the possibility of recognition some time in the future.

forge a path between – the claims of often competing ethnic groups. This applies above all over Kosovo. The large Serbian minority, which makes up about 30 per cent of the population, vehemently opposes recognition of Kosovo’s self-proclaimed independence and their parties warn openly that moves in that direction could trigger serious instability.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu is hoping Montenegro will recognise independence ence of neighbouring Kosovo. Roderick Moore, the US ambassador in Montenegro, meanwhile, denied Washington had been applying any pressure on Podgorica to recognise Kosovo sooner rather than later. Maintaining that “recognition is in the interest of both Montenegro and the region,” he has insisted this

The reasons for the government’s caution, or indecision, lie embedded in the coastal republic’s own complex, internal demographic make-up. Unlike most other states in the region, Montenegro has no overwhelmingly dominant ethnic or confessional community, which means government policy has to satisfy – or

Photo by FoNet

Doing nothing is not much of an option, either. Although the ethnic Albanian community in Montenegro is small, comprising only about six per cent of the population, its support proved crucial in the May 2006 referendum on Montenegro’s independence. Moreover, Podgorica is keen to develop ties with the authorities in

Pristina, as well as with the big powers that brought about Kosovo’s independence, starting with the US and a number of European countries that have recognised Kosovo. Collectively, it represents a complex balancing act. The government is wary about antagonising Montenegro’s Serbs, well aware of the fact they are still coming to terms with the republic’s break from Serbia, following the 2006 referendum. Since then, debates over dual citizenship, national symbols, language and the details of the first post-independence Montenegrin constitution have kept relations between Montenegro’s Serbs and the authorities in a troubled state. Leaders from across the Serbian List – a coalition of Serbian parties in Montenegro – called on the government to commit itself to never recognising an independent Kosovo. Conversely, the government’s diplomatic inactivity on this front is causing distress in the Albanian community – increasingly impatient over what they perceive as an unnecessary delay to Kosovo’s recognition. The bonds between Albanians in Kosovo, Western Macedonia and Albania proper are strong, and statements from Albanian political parties over the last month point to their growing frustrations. Gzim Hajdinaga, mayor of the mainly Albanian port and resort of Ulcinj, and Fehrat Dinosha, of the Democratic Union of Albanians, have both underlined that the community intends to continue to lobby for the recognition of Kosovo. According to Dinosha, “such a development is in the interest of Montenegro, not simply its Albanian community”. The tension over Kosovo feeds into other existing problems between the government and Montenegro’s Albanian community. Albanian parties want Albani-

Bosnia’s Cantons ‘Should be Scrapped’

arajevo_ Bosnia’s internal setup is ‘dysfunctional’ and the canton system in the larger Federation entity should be scrapped, a member of the European Parliament argues. The statement from Doris Pack, chairwoman of the European Parliament Committee for South-East Europe, triggered differing reactions from Bosnian Serb, Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders. These reactions reflect all the difficulties and complexities of constitutional changes that Bosnia is required to face as a part of the country’s European Union accession. Any new constitutional negotiations are highly unlikely until after the October local elections. “If your country wants to enter the European Union then its institutions have to be efficient,” Doris Pack said in an interview published by Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz. Bosnia’s constitution – adopted as a part of the Dayton peace accord which ended the 1992-1995 war – has created a complex internal setup. The country is weak at state level and has two highly decentralised

entities – the Federation and Republika Srpska. – and the separate Brcko district. The Federation is further divided into ten cantons. Pack said that both Bosnian entities should be reformed, but especially stressed that the Federation should be “simplified.” “Maybe the number of cantons should be reduced. Or maybe they should be abolished! Why do they have to exist?” she said, elaborating that cantonal responsibilities could be divided between entity and municipal levels. Pack also added that establishment of a third, Bosnian Croat entity – for which Croat politicians lobbied during and after the war – is “not necessary” and “would only complicate the situation even further.” Bosnian Serb leaders welcomed Pack’s statement as proof that the Federation, not Republika Srpska, is the biggest problem in the country. Rajko Vasic, the executive secretary of the ruling Bosnian Serb Union of Independent Social Democrats, said they would accept any changes to the Federation as long as Republika Srpska is preserved in its current form.

On the other side, Bosnian Croat and Bosniak politicians rejected Pack’s suggestion. “This is an unacceptable solution, which would only cement the twoentity division of the country,” said Miso Relota, spokesman for Bosnia’s Croat Democratic Union, HDZ BiH. Croats and Bosniaks support a thorough constitutional overhaul

which would abolish both entities and establish a new regional division of the country along non-ethnic lines. This option is strongly rejected by Bosnian Serb leaders. The Vice President of the ruling Bosnian Party of Democratic Action, Sefik Dzaferovic, said the set-up should be changed in both entities.

Doris Pack, chairwoman of the European Parliament Committee for Southeast Europe

ans to have access to all levels of education in their own language. Currently, this is not the case and school textbooks are only printed in Montenegrin. A second point of contention is over Tuzi, a mainly Albanian area close to Podgorica. They want it made a separate municipality. The third concerns the use of symbols. Albanians want Albanian symbols and emblems to be freely displayed and are annoyed that the authorities will not permit the Albanian flag to fly from council offices in Tuzi, for example. Whilst conflicting internal lobbies push and pull, the Montenegrin government continues to come under pressure. When the Foreign Minister, Milan Rocen, met his Kosovo counterpart, Skender Hyseni, last month in the Montenegrin town of Kolasin, Serbian parties expressed outrage. They piled most of the blame for this alleged affront onto the Montenegrin PM, Milo Djukanovic. The Montenegrin government continues to deny that it is preparing the grounds for a controversial recognition. Indeed, President Filip Vujanovic recently defended Montenegro’s indecision as deliberate. He argued that good relations with Serbia were of great importance, and that made Montenegro’s position “sensitive, and everyone understands that.” In consequence, the President added, “any decision on Kosovo will not be a hasty one.” Djukanovic has reiterated that his government will only declare its hand on Kosovo when the time is right. But when that “right time” will finally come remains as uncertain as ever. Kenneth Morrison is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Source: BalkanInsight.com

Calls for Minister to Quit

ucharest_Romania’s opposition Democratic Party has called on the Education Minister to quit following “extremely poor organisation of high school final exams.”

“Cristian Adomnitei, the Education Minister, has been much more interested in his personal political campaign for local election than in supervising and organising the exams,” Democratic Party President, Emil Boc, said at a press conference. In a related development, the National Anti-corruption Department announced this week that it has launched an investigation at a high school in Sighetu Marmatiei, western Romania, amid reports that officials supervising graduation exams allowed students to cheat for a price. Cheating in school and college exams has always been a problem in Romania, with local media often reporting cases of students copying answers or using crib sheets. This year alone 268 students were caught cheating. The exam is crucial as only successful candidates can enter universities.

neighbourhood

Friday, July 11, 2008

Less Than a Third of Croats Favour the EU

Poor relations with Slovenia, resentment over war crimes trials and fears over sovereignty underpin Croatia’s drop in enthusiasm for the European club. By Tena Erceg in Zagreb

he latest survey by Eurobarometer, the agency that conducts periodic opinion polls for the European Commission, shows only a minority of people in Croatia – 30 per cent – consider membership of the European Union “a good thing”. With this the lowest result in recent years, Croatia’s support for EU membership ranks only above Latvia and the United Kingdom, both on 29 per cent, of the 27 members and three candidate countries, and with only a year before negotiations for Croatian accession to the European Union close. In the two other candidate countries, Turkey and Macedonia, support for EU membership is much higher at 49 and 72 per cent respectively. Analysts say that rows with Slovenia over unresolved border issues and Croatia’s plan for a protected fishing zone, coupled with EU pressures over privatisation and concerns over sovereignty, are the main reasons for falling Croatian support for the EU. Vesna Pusic, president of Croatia’s National Committee for Monitoring Accession Negotiations, said the level of Croat scepticism did not worry her. “The trend is in no way different from those of the countries that joined the EU in 2004,” she said. “At the start of the process, support is always very high, then it tends to drop during the negotiation process”. The study shows that the economy and unemployment are the main issues worrying Europeans in the spring of 2008. Surprisingly, perhaps, only 36 per cent of Croats who took part in the survey were worried about rising prices and inflation. This put’s the country among those nations that are

least worried about the economy. In contrast, Croats stand out in Europe when it comes to issues of crime; 50 per cent listed crime as their biggest concern. Pusic said the results sent a clear

Croatian PM Ivo Sanader and EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana message that something was fundamentally wrong with the rule of law in Croatia: “It’s no coincidence that judicial reform and fundamental rights have been the most difficult chapter [to close] in negotiations between Croatia and the EU.” According to some political theorists, Pusic added: “While economic issues, such as common markets, used to be the stumbling block… for the ‘old’ member states, for new members the key issues are judicial reform and human rights.” Poor relations with Croatia’s EU

CoE to Probe Kosovo Organ Claims By Altin Raxhimi and Vladimir Karaj in Tirana Tirana_The Council of Europe has chosen a Swiss senator who conducted a breakthrough inquiry into the CIA’s “extraordinary renditions” in 2005 to investigate allegations that Kosovo Albanian guerrillas harvested the organs of murdered Serbian prisoners. The Council’s Committee for Legal Affairs and Human Rights on June 24 appointed Dick Marty with the task of investigating the claims, which angered and embarrassed the Kosovo government at a sensitive time, while it was seeking international recognition. The former Swiss prosecutor made headlines when his team of investigators proved the involvement of several European governments in the illegal practice of CIA abductions of suspected Islamic terrorists, their imprisonment and repatriation to other countries.

neighbour Slovenia, which presided over the EU in the first half of 2008, is one factor influencing Croatian doubts about the European club. During Slovenia’s presidency, Ljubljana and Rome combined ef-

“From his work on CIA renditions, we’ve seen that Dick Marty is serious and responsible,” Fred Abrahams, a senior emergencies officer at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said. “We’re expecting him to approach this with professionalism and care.” Marty said he was busy with other affairs right now but would take up the probe soon, said Kastriot Islami, one of two Albanian parliamentarians attending the Strasbourg meeting of the Legal and Human Rights Committee that decided on the appointment of the rapporteur. The office of the Albanian prosecutor general said it would do what it could to clear up the allegations, which came to light after Carla del Ponte, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, published them in a book. Pandeli Pani, a spokesman, said: “The prosecutor’s office will be open to cooperation with Marty.” Grid Rroji, a spokesman for Prime Minister Sali Berisha, said the government will also cooperate, although it believes the charges are false.

forts to force Zagreb to suspend implementation of its planned Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, ZERP, in the Adriatic. Croatia has long maintained the marine reserve is essential to protect declining fish stocks, but Slovenia and Italy nevertheless blocked the plan. Damir Grubisa, professor at the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science, said the governing Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, had used the intergovernmental clashes over the fishing zone to drum up political support at home.

“The government refused to accept professional advice from EU institutions [over the zone] and in this way it has consciously built up Croat euro-scepticism,” Grubisa said. Relations between Croatia and

Photo by Getty Images Slovenia have also been plagued by unresolved border disputes. Slovenia further angered Croatia recently when it imposed unexpectedly large fees on drivers using its short motorway. Croatia saw this as a move to undermine its all-important tourist industry, as several million foreign drivers use this highway each summer to reach Croatia. Analysts also note other EU pressures regarding privatisation of national industries, particularly shipbuilding, various additional requirements for EU accession, and a

Macedonia to Elect New Government Skopje_The programme and outline of proposed ministers for Macedonia’s new government must be handed to parliament on July 11, to be voted on next week. The government will again be led by Nikola Gruevski, whose party – the centre-right VMRO DPMNE – won the June 1 early election, securing 63 deputies in the 120 seat parliament. Gruevski’s new ruling partner, the Democratic Union for Integration, which won most votes among ethnic Albanian parties, has 18 seats. The government will focus “on the economy and the efforts for NATO and European Union integration,” the VMRO DPMNE press centre’s Ilija Dimovski told Balkan Insight. Macedonia has to pass a series of reforms if it wishes to secure a firm date for the start of EU accession talks, while Skopje has to negotiate Greek opposition to its name ‘Republic of Macedonia’ which has seen Athens block its NATO accession and threaten to do the same with its EU bid. Analysts suggest, however, that the real test for the new government

coalition will be demands from ethnic Albanians regarding the use of the Albanian language and flag, pensions for Albanian guerrillas that fought in the 2001 conflict and recognition of Kosovo’s independence. VMRO DPMNE claim the two parties have agreed to put ethnic issues on hold during their mandate, but the DUI argues that these matters will be up for discussion as soon as the moment is right. “This is a marriage of interest and necessity, so the rules of play are still not entirely precise. The two are trying to show their own electorates that they have not bowed to the demands of the other side,” analyst from Skopje University, Biljana Vankovska, told Balkan Insight.

perception of double standards in EU treatment of Croatia and Serbia. Many Croats are convinced that Serbia has been treated far more flexibly than Croatia over the issue of war crimes. Those sentiments received a fresh boost when Brussels recently pushed through a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, SAA, with Serbia even though the Belgrade government had not fulfilled the basic requirements for such a deal, i.e. full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY. Grubisa said many of the factors powering euro-scepticism in Croatia were vague and illusory, resembling the factors behind anti-EU sentiment in France, Holland and Ireland. Recalling the French and Dutch “no” votes on the EU constitution, and the more recent Irish “no” vote to the Lisbon treaty, he noted that many Irish Catholics voted against the agreement out of a mistaken concern that it would oblige them to allow abortion – currently illegal in the Irish Republic. Pusic agreed that burgeoning anti-EU sentiment in Europe was often hard to pin down or explain: “When it comes to concrete issues, citizens tend to express their frustrations with daily politics by channelling them towards the EU.” According to Damir Grubisa, an underlying issue in Croatia is the “myth about losing sovereignty to Brussels”, which sticks in people’s minds because “the public generally does not have a clue about what the EU does and how it functions”. The government had “failed to explain to citizens of Croatia that although EU membership limits the sovereignty of nation states, it strengthens the sovereignty of individual citizens, which is far more important”. Source: BalkanInsight.com

Romanian Doctor Pays for Hacking off Penis Bucharest_ A Romanian court has ruled that a doctor must pay 500,000 in damages to a patient for chopping off his penis during a temper tantrum. Naum Ciomu argued he was suffering from stress in late 2004 when, during a routine operation to correct a testicular malformation, he suddenly lost his temper and sliced off the patient’s penis. Shocked medics watched as Ciomu then placed the severed penis on the operating table and chopped it into small pieces. Ciomu said his tantrum was brought on after he accidently cut his patient’s urinary tract and “overreacted” to the situation. He told the court it was a temporary loss of judgment due to personal problems.

life

Friday, July 11, 2008

Distant War Zones Lure Jobless Kosovo Serbs Desperate to escape unemployment in their isolated enclaves, Kosovo Serbs are journeying as far as Iraq and Afghanistan to make a living. By Nikola Krstic in Strpce

ranislav Nikolic has returned home from Afghanistan after two years’ working on a US army base. Sitting in his family home in Strpce, a small Serbian enclave in southern Kosovo, he explains how he decided to go to Afghanistan via a company that hails from a country that many Kosovo Serbs view as an enemy. “I couldn’t make a living here, so I decided to go to a war zone,” he said. “I think everybody here would do the same if they could,” Nikolic added, sipping coffee. Joblessness is the fate of the majority of the 120,000 or so Serbs in Kosovo, about half of whom live in isolated enclaves in the south and centre of the country, surrounded by etnhnic Albanians. While estimates of the number of unemployed in Kosovo varies, according to some estimates about 45 per cent of the working population are jobless. While most Serbs look on the presence of US soldiers in Kosovo with resentment and fiercely oppose

Branislav Nikolic is considering a return to Afghanistan to find work found ourselves,” he said. “We couldn’t make a living, no matter how hard we tried; the conditions were not there for me to stay in Kosovo and survive.” Most local people in Strpce used

“The real reason I left was the situation in which my family and I found ourselves,” says Bojan Tomic. “We couldn’t make a living, no matter how hard we tried; the conditions were not there for me to stay in Kosovo and survive.” Washington’s support for the country’s independence, Nikolic found the solution to his troubles through a US company with a base in Kosovo. Dozens of Kosovo Serbs have done the same, applying to US companies in Kosovo to work with US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. “I know most [Serbian] people don’t even want to hear the name of this country, but that’s how I got the opportunity to earn a decent living and I’m extremely grateful,” Nikolic told Balkan Insight. The recent downturn in the fortunes of the Kosovo Serbs dates back to 1999, when after 78 days of NATO bombing of Serbian forces, Serbia’s authorities agreed to withdraw from Kosovo. More than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians left Kosovo in their wake. The remainder live in isolated enclaves with limited possibilities of movement and normal life. Life in the enclaves depends on aid from Belgrade, while young people have almost no chance of earning a living because work possibilities are so limited. Bojan Tomic is another Kosovo Serb who took the same path. After the war, he fled from his hometown of Urosevac – Ferizaj in Albanian – and tried to start a new life in Strpce. But two years ago, he, too, decided to go abroad and seek a job with the US-led coalition forces in Iraq. “The real reason I left was the situation in which my family and I

to work in agriculture or in the nearby ski resort at Brezovica, but those possibilities disappeared after the war, when it was no longer safe to leave urban settlements for the fields. The ski centre lost most of its visitors thanks to the overall situation. Vanja Boskovic, who also went to Iraq from Strpce two years ago and is still working there, said the salary was only one of his motives for going. He felt that the possibility to learn skills he could not acquire at home was of greater importance. “The important reason for my leaving was to gain experience,” he told Balkan Insight. “Although before I left I had worked in management, gaining experience in a different atmosphere, culture and environment seemed a precious opportunity.” All the Kosovo Serbs we spoke

The Kosovo enclave of Strpce, home of the war zone workers courage he showed under fire. After an attack on the US base in which he worked, he moved wounded US soldiers to an infirmary. “I was employee of the month on several occasions and reached the position of head of an administrative department,” he recalled.

“Not all the experiences of my stay [in Afghanistan]

were positive, but it was easy to get used to a system in which everyone knew what their job was and where work, knowledge and effort were valued, says Vanja Boskovic.

”

to who have gone to these far-off war zones agreed that they had taken risks with their personal safety, but none felt a dilemma over getting work through US companies. Indeed, Branislav Nikolic was decorated by the US in Iraq for the

Vanja Boskovic contrasted his experience of work in Afghanistan favourably with the ambiance from which he came, where nepotism appears to rule and employment without “connections” is almost impossible. “Not all the experiences of my

stay were positive, but it was easy to get used to a system in which everyone knew what their job was and where work, knowledge and effort were valued,” he said. The return home to Kosovo brought the relief of reunification with much-missed families, but the reality of modern Kosovo is too bleak for them to feel much certainty about the future. Since Kosovo declared independence in February, tensions are on the rise again. Nikolic feels dissatisfied with what he encountered on his return. “In Kosovo and Strpce it’s almost impossible to get a job without strong connections,” he said. “I will have a difficult time also, because everyone thinks I earned enough money in Afghanistan not to need to work.” Boskovic also says he cannot start living an ordinary life back in Kosovo following his sojourn in Iraq. “I can only imagine how I would feel

if I started working in a company in Kosovo where you advanced only if you were well-connected through your relative, best man, friend or political party,” he said, resignedly. Instead, he plans to resume his education at a university in England. “My life’s dream is to go to Oxford,” he said, talking of the historic university town whose “dreamy spires” have fired the imaginations of countless students over the centuries. “But I think Sheffield or London’s universities are something I can achieve and be admitted for a Masters in management.” Nikolic has no game plan over what to do in the coming months. He and his family currently live on their savings and on the humble salaries of his parents. “No one here wants to know if I’m a tested worker,” he said. “It’s even crossed my mind to leave all this and return to Afghanistan.” Source: BalkanInsight.com

arts

Friday, July 11, 2008

Zagreb, a Cultural and Literary History This week Marcus Tanner takes a look at one of Celia Hawkesworth’s books from the ‘Cities of the Imagination’ series. BOOK REVIEW By Marcus Tanner

oor old Zagreb. No one seems to go there except the odd businessman, diplomat, and Croat, of course. Somehow it fails to grab tourists’ imagination. Why people pass Zagreb by is down to several things. One is the lack of a brand identity. While Belgrade is clearly “Balkan”, and Ljubljana equally clearly a nugget-sized slice of Austria-Hungary, Zagreb is neither one nor the other, and though its inhabitants love to call it a “little Vienna”, I never felt I was in Vienna’s lost twin sister when I was there. The city authorities are also to blame for Zagreb’s wallflower status. Hostile to budget travellers, they have fostered the relentless spread of astronomically priced hotels that send cash-strapped students, artists and writers running in the opposite direction. Croatian tourist officials, meanwhile, remain obsessed with funnelling foreigners towards the coast. Whether Celia Hawkesworth’s cultural guide will help stir up fresh interest in this neglected and little known European capital is unclear. A devoted admirer of the exiled, Yugoslav/Croatian writer, Dubravka Ugresic, whose books she has translated, she views the Croats through the same hyper-critical lens, and

takes a stern view of the country’s independence struggle. Comparisons between the Croatian war of independence and the Partisan struggle are dismissed as “hollow”; the Croatian army, she explains, was tainted by association with the symbols of the Ustasha. The early part of the book, which takes the form of a walk round the old town, sheds light on the Medieval and Renaissance periods, though I was disappointed to find nothing on Janus Pannonius. Surely the most brilliant Latinist the country ever produced merited a decent mention. He may not have been born in Zagreb, but he certainly died there, in the bishop’s fortress at Medvedgrad in 1472. The section on the NDH was a letdown. If any era of Zagreb’s history deserves more study it is this, but there aren’t many insights. It was not the “official policy” of the fascist Independent State of Croatia, the NDH, to kill a third of the Serbs, baptise a third and expel a third. This quote – surely more a summary of the results of NDH activity rather than a “policy” – is usually attributed to the NDH culture minister Mile Budak, but has never been convincingly sourced. The Italians did not “ban” the Ustasha from their occupation zone. They disarmed them, to ensure their own military superiority in Dalmatia, while lending occasional tactical aid to the Chetniks: divide and rule. The Nazis were not “horrified” by the NDH pogroms of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. This tiresome cliché, which pops up everywhere, ought to be laid to rest. The Nazis, then embarking on the Holocaust of European Jewry, were scarcely conscience stricken

over the sufferings of minorities in the NDH. What angered the Germans was the NDH’s incompetence, not its thoroughness, when it came to ethnic cleansing – its habit of wilfully stirring up conflicts with the Serbs that they could not control and which the Germans then had to deal with. The last part of the book is taken up with the Tudjman years: a clunky subheading entitled “Distortions and Provocations of the Tudjman Years” sets the tone. Language disputes, the rows over renaming streets and the trials and tribulations of Ms. Ugresic and her fellow “witches”, as the tabloid media dubbed her anti-nationalist feminist writers, are followed in some detail. The author maintains Ugresic was a voice of sanity at a time of hysteria; her writing, a “courageous and defiant witness to the madness of war and the whole nationalist endeavour”. Well, perhaps, but I’m still not sure it was a good idea to rely so much on the views of someone who left Zagreb more than a decade ago, and who seems to regard Croatia as a provincial hellhole. If the test of a good cultural guide is that it makes you yearn to go there, this doesn’t pass with flying colours. I didn’t feel serenaded round Zagreb; more dragged round by a disapproving schoolteacher. These books are best written by people who not only live in the cities they describe but who combine a deep knowledge of the city’s history with an instinctive feel for what makes the people tick. They capture the spirit of the place on a page. What Zagreb’s spirit is I can’t say I ever knew, but after reading this I didn’t feel much the wiser.

‘Zagreb A Cultural and Literary History’, by Celia Hawkesworth Published by Signal Books

out & about

Friday, July 11, 2008

Serbia’s Holy Mountain Between Ovcar and Kablar mountains lies one of Serbia’s most picturesque gorges. Once a retreat for monks, fleeing the Turks, the remote lakes and monasteries are now the haunt of hikers and anglers. By Aleksandar Vasovic

ver the centuries, people came to realise that the Ovcar-Kablar Gorge was the shortest route from what is now Serbia’s southwest to the south, and onwards to the Adriatic ports along the coast. The Morava River made the surrounding land extremely fertile when it flooded. It had plenty of fish, the forests held an abundance of wild game, while the neighbouring hills had pastures for cattle. When the Serbian medieval state collapsed in the 14th century, under the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks, the local people and clergy started fleeing to the Ovcar and Kablar hills to hide from the invaders. There they developed new settlements, scattered across wide areas, with solitary households close to forests, which offered a quick escape route in case of a Turkish assault. Serbian Orthodox monks, also seeking seclusion and safety, built ten monasteries in the area, earning it the name of Serbia’s Athos, or holy mountain. As the 18th-century Austrian traveller and researcher, Felix Kanitz, wrote: “Serbia also has its Montserrat and its Athos.” “In a deep gorge between Ovcar and Kablar nestle monasteries with their legends of old-time miracles, so hidden from the view of passers-by that a foreigner may hardly hit them with a stray shot,” Kanitz wrote. To reach the monasteries of Ilinje, Uspenije, Blagovestenje, Jovanje, Nikolje, Vaznesenje, Preobrazenje, Svete Trojice, Sretenje and Vavedenje, as well as the St Sava cliff church and the Kadjenica Cave church built to honour hundreds of refugeees killed there by Turks in the19th century, the modern visitor can take the main Ibarska Magistrala road from Belgrade for 140 kilometres to Cacak. There, take the road to Uzice for another 11 kilometres.

Some monasteries are accessible from the main road, but to visit picturesque Nikolje with its 15thcentury church and ramparts, one must take the right turn to the Ovcar Banja spa and then follow the road that leads straight to the monastery. “Back in the old days, before the dam was built, we knew whether a traveller was coming to or from Nikolje by whether his or her left or right shoe was dirty from the Morava mud,” Dragutin, 86, a local from Ovcar Banja recalled. Most of the frescoes were destroyed in wars that raged in Serbia throughout the centuries, but most of the valuable books and other artefacts are preserved. All monasteries offer accomodation for tourists, however, women must adhere to a strict dress code that bans trousers and prescribes below-the-knee skirts and scarfs when entering churches. In the middle of the last century, the authorities decided to tame the Morava, which often flooded vast areas, and build a dam that would slow the current and supply a hydroelectric power plant at the mouth of the gorge. Clearly marked trekking paths lead to other monasteries on both sides of the lake. In an hour’s easy walk one can reach Svete Trojice, hidden deep in Ovcar Mountain. Nikola, 43, a businessman from Belgrade, told me: “This was always an oasis of peace for me. Whenever I need rest and some quiet I come here.” The two artificial lakes, Parmenac and Medjuvrsje, are now popular among anglers. They can find large catfish and pike, as well as bream and tench here. At the heart of the gorge lies Ovcar Banja spa whose rich thermal springs are used to treat rheumatism and arthritis-related illnesses. In 2001, a well-equipped spa with open-air and indoor swimming pools opened at Ovcar Banja. Above Ovcar Banja is the Kablar rock, a famous spot for climbers and hikers. Trekkers can also join the Great Mountain Race from Cacak to Ovcar Banja, which attracts hundreds of competitors each year. The Cacak-based Kablar Mountaneering Club is responsible for the safety of climbers and trekkers in the area and establishing contact with them is highly recommended. The club also maintains a chalet near the cliffs.

Photo by Panoramio.com

Kablar Cliffs and the Medjuvrsje Lake

Useful Information MOTEL DOM Ovcar Banja tel: 032/ 496-200 fax: 032/ 496-400 mob: 064/153-03-08 email: moteldom@eunet.yu

Nikolje Monastery

TOURIST ORGANISATION OF CaCAK

MOUNTANEERING Club Kablar, cacAk

Trg ustanka br 4. tel. 032/ 225 069 i 342 360 e-mail: toc@ptt.

tel: 032/227-393, 032/371-416. Kneza Milosa 11, Čačak 32000 http://www.kablar.org.yu

Photo by Panoramio.com

the belgrader

Friday, July 11, 2008

Going out

Fun in the Shade

Forget splavs – so ‘last year’ – and shelter from the noonday sun in this classy, casual answer to an English pub. Oh, and the food’s good too. By Richard Wordsworth

isaster. Continuing to learn from my experiences as Insight’s club reviewer, this week I learned not to accept shady invitations from dodgy managers to review their shady splavs at their dodgy opening parties. Especially not so close to my deadline. The reason is twofold. First, when you turn up, with a photographer and everything, to find the opening party has been cancelled, you have to call everyone you know immediately and try not to sound desperate as you try to find someone – ANYONE – who is willing to go with you to another club that night. The second reason is that you can’t complain to the shady manager, because he might tie a concrete slab to your ankles and toss you overboard. I’m hesitant to start banding the word “mafia” about, but the bottom line is that no matter how well Insight pays, they don’t pay enough for a set of replacement knee caps. I wasn’t devastated to have found an excuse not to review that particular splav anyway. The riverbank next to

the Hotel Yugoslavia is not a hospitable place at 1pm on a summer afternoon, even less so now the new Casino is employing a suited silverback gorilla to glare at anyone with the audacity to walk past its doors in trainers. Outside in the sun, even the ice cream sellers had abandoned their fridge freezers because of the heat. And they were born into this climate. I, on the other hand, am British. Genetically, I am not designed for the blistering temperatures that local Serbs endure so gracefully every summer. You are a beautiful people built for beaches and relaxing in the sun. We are a hardy island race built for rain, grey skies and standing in queues in gale force winds. I don’t so much tan as burst screaming into flames. So, thank God for Lava Bar. This is exactly what’s missing for me in Belgrade; a classy yet casual drinking establishment, with a hint of the upmarket English pub about it. Dark wooden tables, dark wooden chairs, dark wooden support beams... Well, I think that’s exciting. Furthermore, I’m a big fan of sitting indoors next to an air conditioner during the summer months while everyone else

The whole place is very conveniently placed, located somewhere behind the Canadian Embassy on Knez Milosa. I can’t easily give directions, because I got mine from a lady in a kiosk, and as a result had to leap from the wall of a car park to get to the front door, but I am almost positive there is an easier route. Either way, it’s good to have somewhere that’s handy for the embassies in the area, rather than having to make the trek into the centre in the baking heat. I got to try the food in this place as well, as the kitchen in Lava Bar was not “on liberation” as was Plato’s last week. We ordered two different types of pasta from a menu offering a

is out sizzling, and it was so refreshing to find a place where I didn’t feel pressured not to do just that. A good number of bars in Belgrade could take a lesson from Lava Bar in this respect. Of course, if you like the sunshine, as I know many people do, try the beer garden; except it’s better than a beer garden because there’s a fully stocked outside bar with its own cocktail mixing staff. I’d almost forgotten what having a drink in the garden of a bar was like until my friend coerced me outside - it’s peaceful, idyllic even, especially in the evening. The kind of place you could bring a girl you met in a bookshop to discuss ambience.

typical selection of sandwiches, salads and other summery fare, both of which were delicious and reasonably priced, just like the drinks. I get nervous when I like everything about a place, because I feel like I must be missing something, but all I could find to complain about in Lava Bar was the cramped toilet! Accordingly, next week I’m going to poll everybody I know in Serbia to find the very worst club in the city and work out some tension by lambasting it mercilessly. Lava Bar Knez Milosa 77 (Behind the Canadian Embassy) 11000 Belgrade

Lava Bar offers a cooling alternative

Photo by Caslav Vukojicic

Dining out

A Perfect Spot to Reminisce ``Kumbara’’ has been attracting local businessmen and families for over 30 years with its traditional menu. By Aleksandra Niksic For the careless passerby, this 100-year-old house on a busy road leading to Belgrade’s only mountain, Avala, is another traditional restaurant, favoured by local businessmen and families returning from a weekend of leisure. However, for thirty years “Kumbara” has been among the top choices for a perfect meal far from the city’s crowds. After being recently renovated, the restaurant’s shady garden and cosy interior offers a comfortable and pleasant hideaway. Famous for decades for a menu inspired by the hot and tasty dishes of southern Serbia and its capital Leskovac, “Kumbara” has recently included “light” dishes on its menu, in order to attract customers unprepared to abandon health precautions. We decided to live dangerously and ordered a dish favoured for decades – the “Kumbarin voz” or “Kumbara’s train” – a seemingly endless line of plates piled with seductively fresh and soft pork, veal steaks and traditional grilled delicacies. The dishes were served with perfect timing that did not allow food to pile up in front of you. The portions seemed quite big, but

guests can ask for a half portion. Carefully grilled boneless veal chops were spiced with tasty Serbian jalapeno, or Leskovcanka, a dangerously hot paprika calmed in cold milk. Lightly boiled baby carrots and potatoes were a good choice to go with the meat, but the “Kumbara” salad won the highest praise for its unique mixture of sweet and hot peppers, fresh potatoes and garlic. Homemade bread baskets, already a big hit on Belgrade’s restaurant scene, come with an extra surprise, an old-fashioned “pogaca,” – a flat, round bread and a nostalgic reminder of holidays spent at grandparents’ during long hot summers. But the number one hit among “Kumbara” aficionados is a seemingly simple dish of finely chopped pork, fresh paprika, mushrooms, onion and garlic. This is grilled instead of stewed, thus preserving that ohso-wonderful smoky taste. Despite a smartly chosen wine list and a long line of home-made brandies, we decided to stick to water, keeping our focus on the food. That can be a good decision for scrooges too, as the only pricey items on the menu are the wines.

Kumbara offers both light and spicy dishes alongside more traditional fare A wide range of desserts attracts even the toughest weight-watchers. Creamy and tasty “korpice”, a tart-like southern Serbian delicacy won all-round approval. There was also cold, soft melon with a modest chocolate topping. This three-hour-long alcohol-free lunch for six did not exceed 10,000

dinars, but the atmosphere, the pleasant environment and almost invisible but always present service was worth much more. Maybe not the smartest choice for lunch in July temperatures, and definitely not recommended by new-age nutritionists or fans of ‘healthy’ food, but surely a perfect spot to reminisce

Photo by Caslav Vukojicic

about good old times when nobody paid attention to cholesterol, blood pressure and other enemies of modern mankind. Kumbara Bulevar JNA 36, Beli Potok

the belgrader

Friday, July 11, 2008

A Sip of Old Belgrade Ever get a feeling that some of the fizz has gone out of people’s lives? Well it has – literally, because they don’t make those cooling summer spritzers quite like they used to.

By Pat Andjelkovic

ven major heat waves don’t seem to deter Belgraders from enjoying life on the streets. You’ve probably already plopped yourself down on one of Belgrade’s outdoor cafés to people-watch and enjoy a cool drink. Iced coffees, freshly-squeezed juices, and soft drinks are standard fare, and if you’re a beer lover, you’ve probably tried one of the area’s local brews. Glance

around, and that’s pretty much what you’ll see folks drinking. Sip your drink, lean back, and smile, now that you feel several degrees cooler. But there’s another way to cool off that traditional Belgraders enjoy, and that’s the white wine spritzer. Take another look, and you might see an elderly gentleman mixing some icy Knez Miloš water with chilled Riesling or other dry white table wine. Watch him sip, lean back, and ….wait a minute. He’s not smiling; he looks a bit nostalgic. If you’d come to Belgrade 30 years ago, you’d realise why. Those were the last days of the traditional seltzer water bottles, glass ones that automatically accompanied the spritzers that people ordered. Each time you squeezed its lever, you’d hear a cheerful “Psssshhhh!” as bubbly seltzer water gushed into the wine in your glass. The rest of the water stayed bubbly too, unlike the uncapped water served these days. Now these bottles are hardly ever seen in cafés or restaurants; the owners find it much easier simply to buy bottled water. Traditional seltzer bottles have become collectors’ items. I recently saw one for sale on ebay with a starting price of $95.00. So, if you happen to have one, keep it as a conversation piece, or better still, get

Pat Andjelkovic regrets the disappearance of an old favourite it filled for use here in Belgrade. Slavica, who owns a small shop at 65, Mutapova Street, behind Kalenić market, will fill it for you at 40 dinars a litre. Her grandfather opened their original store in 1932, and Slavica still has a faithful following of older customers, alongside new ones. Still, she’s not sure where her business is going. “Few people have origi-

nal glass bottles like these,” she says, gesturing to the pleasing display of deep blue, green, and clear siphon bottles in the window front. “These came from Paracin, but they’re not made anymore. Restaurants used to use our refillable bottles, but then along came bottled water, and later the new kind in plastic siphon bottles. Many haven’t bothered to even return my

The Attraction of Contrasts

Anyone for a Free Lunch ? It sounded too good to be true, and indeed it was. After umpteen phone calls and visits to their offices, JAT’s ‘free flight’ offer doesn’t look so inviting after all.

By David Dowse

uy five, get one free! As a frequent flyer programme, its simplicity is rather appealing – so much better than trying to remember to log air miles on a card every time. So, having spent far too much of the past year on JAT flights to London, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Istanbul and Larnaka, it seemed high time for some payback. In early April, I duly handed over five return flight stubs at the downtown JAT office. The helpful woman checked them, gave me a receipt, and explained that she would have to send the tickets away to head office to be checked. I toyed momentarily with the idea of pointing out that she had already just checked them, but decided against it. “It should take about a week,” she told me. “We will call you when we receive confirmation.” As she had been so helpful, I asked for her name, anticipating that I would

almost certainly need to call her. I am no longer a “new boy” in Belgrade. I called after two weeks. The woman whose name I had taken was not available, and no one else had a clue what I was talking about. “She will be here tomorrow, after 2pm.” At 3pm the following day, I called into the JAT office. “No, she is not here today.” Another woman looked in a very large register book, and finally found my name. She called head office. They told her to call back. I waited. Eventually, they promised my confirmation would be available in a week. The woman promised to call me... but we have been here before. A week later, having given up trying to get through by telephone, I once again made the trip to the JAT office. At least I knew the way by now. They looked in the register. They called head office. Head office told them that they would not be processing any applications until after May 10, due to “computer problems.” May 20. Summer was on its way. So was I, back to the JAT office. They looked in the book. They called HQ. I left, ticketless. “We will call you.” Of course you will. Exasperated, I reluctantly called on a Serbian colleague to help me. After many failed calls to JAT HQ, she finally told me, “Yes! Yes! They are faxing the authority to the downtown office. You can call there later today.” It’s good to win. Happily anticipating a free trip to the old country to catch up with friends and family, I arrived at Kralja Milana, full of the joys of spring. The JAT office, so familiar now, was completely deserted. Large signs on the door announced in Serbian that

they had moved. I tracked down the new office. Six service desks, only two of them manned. Very long, very static queues. I left, defeated again. Theories of conspiracy unavoidably began to develop. I refused to give up without a fight. It was time for a new tactic. Late June, very early Saturday morning, more than three months since my first application. Oh joy! No queue. A friendly, helpful assistant, and there, right before my eyes, a faxed confirmation form. I note the date it had been originally signed – May 29. Hvala! Thank you! So, I would like to make a reservation to London, please. “We can make a reservation, but you cannot confirm it until the last day, as it is a free ticket. Oh, and you must pay 100 taxes.” “Can I pay in Euros?” “No, only dinars. “Is there a bureau de change nearby?” “Yes, but it is closed now.” “Can I confirm online or by phone?” “No, of course not. It is a free ticket.” The night before my trip, bags already packed (I am a hopeless optimist), I return to JAT seeking confirmation that Cinderella may go to the ball. “Where is your authority form?” I am asked. “You have it! I saw it here three days ago..!” Register book searched, calls made to HQ. Nothing. Ništa “We do not have your authority form, so we cannot confirm your flight….” to be continued...

original bottles. I’m sure their cellars are full of them, if they haven’t been discarded or sold.” She sighs, and then adds, “But we do fill those new plastic siphon bottles… Times change.” So, if you’d like to step a bit back in time, pay Slavica a visit and admire her bottles. But you’ll have to buy them on ebay; Slavica is holding on to hers!

Beautiful parks filled with litter; inaccessible girls dressed provocatively. To this newbie, Belgrade’s a city that thrives on paradoxes.

By Andrej Klemencic

veryone is leaving Belgrade. How come you want to live here? It’s a question that every newcomer to the city is subjected to and has to quickly learn to answer in a suitable manner. In the beginning for me, it seemed that it was difficult for people to understand why one would want to come to a country where so little is working properly, particularly from surroundings where everything seemingly functions well. But after a very short time, a certain vibe takes over you, the beat of Belgrade, I guess. Then people, even those who you meet for the first time, no longer ask why you came to the city, but are rather curious what your impressions of Belgrade are. Unfortunately, it often proves even more difficult to put one’s impressions of the city itself into a logical sentence than it does

to explain why you moved here in the first place. A friend of mine, a native Belgrader who is now a resident of New York, told me the other day that the city was changing fast. I asked him if he was coming back. “No, it still isn’t changing quite fast enough,” he answered. Perhaps, though, it is precisely that slow pace of change that gives the city its charm. Change here is seldom thorough. It took me a while to figure out the cause of the raindrops that I felt falling onto my head from clear summer skies. But eventually I realised it was in fact condensation dripping onto the street from all those poorly installed air conditioning units. This is an example of Belgrade’s transitional development: the commodity of cooling has become accessible, but the units have been shoddily installed and leave passersby feeling somewhat ill-treated. Everything, everyone, every single event here in Belgrade seems inextricably linked to its own stark contrast. Parks are beautiful, but at the same time littered and untidy; girls are provocatively dressed but seemingly inaccessible; the cafés are full around the clock, but the patrons are poor or unemployed. This contrast is one of the trademarks of Belgrade. After some time, you stop noticing the plastic bags that are littering the beautifully forested paths of Košutnjak. You enjoy looking at the beautiful girls without feeling the need to approach them, and you immerse yourself for an afternoon in a plush café in Strahinjića Bana, where the stage is set for yet another act in the play that is Belgrade life.

the belgrader

Friday, July 11, 2008

What’s On Film

July 22/23/24 DUETS – MEET EXPECTATIONS Turkish Baths, Dusanovac Authoress: Dalije Acin

July 23 Local premiere BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT Dom sindikata Genre: Adventure Director: Christopher Nolan Screenplay: Bob Kane (characters); David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan (story) Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

Until July 27 MARKO SOMBORAC: POLITICAL COMICS Art centre Posejdon, Staro sajmiste New Belgrade

Belef ‘08 Theatre July 15, 9pm - premiere July 17 / 18, 9pm – repeats KNKNPNKN Beside Leopold’s Gate, Kalamgedan Lower Town Concept: Zanko Tomic Dramatisation and co-direction: Ninoslav Scepanovic Inspired by the book ‘The Lexicon of YU Mythology’ Co-production in association with Jorik Theatre

Concerts

Belef ‘08 Visual Arts

From July 15 TERRITORY – OPEN AIR EXHIBITION Knez Mihailova Street & Republic Square 125 artists, 1,200 sculptures A collaboration of BELEF Festival & Tera Artists’ Colony Concept: Dorijan Kolundzija Coordinator: Marko Ladjusic From July 16 SISTEMA BINARIO – SITE SPECIFIC INSTALLATION Belgrade Railway Station Custodians: Adriana Rispoli and Eugenio Viola (Italy), Sasa Janjic (Serbia) July 21 – 26 Alby Guillaume’s REMED Façades of Karadjordjeva Street Creation of large murals and workshop July 22 TURBOTOMORROW Courtyard of Captain Misa’s building Concept: Designer’s Collective Turbotomorrow

June 24, 9pm LENNY KRAVITZ Belgrade Arena For the first time in a career spanning more that 20 years, world famous rock singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz will hold a concert in Belgrade, organised by Lupa Promotion Company. Tickets still available, priced from 2,000 dinars.

July 16, 9pm Bertolt Brecht’s DRUMS IN THE NIGHT Yugoslav Drama Theatre Director: Martin Kochovski Guest performance: Vojdan Chernodrinski Theatre (Macedonia)

Exhibitions

20th July – throughout the day STONES & DREAMS Kalamegdan Fortress, Upper Town Author: Odile Duboc Co-production with the City of Belfort, French Cultural Centre, New Belgrade & Service for Modern Dance ‘Station’ July 21, 9pm – premiere July 22/23, 9pm – repeats Igor Marojevic’s FORTRESS EUROPE Director: Predrag Strbac

Until August 1 LEONARDO’S MACHINES & CODICES Gallery of Nis Art foundation, 130 Tosin Bunar Street

Belef ‘08 Modern Dance

Until July 15 TRANSFERS – YANIV WAISSA Ozone gallery, Andricev venac In the era of digital photography, this artist turns to the past, towards traditional photography. Using Polaroid Transfer technology, Yaniv creates a new picture that has no clear connection with the reality from which it originated; no connection with the time or the place where it was made

July 18, 9pm – premiere July 19, 9pm - repeat NOT ME Theatre on Terazije Authoress: Dunje Jocic Coproduction with Grand Theatre (Netherlands)

July 24 STREET ART Nikola Pasic Square Representation of the Belgrade and international street-art scene

Go Up in a Balloon

is rain or snow, and the wind is not stronger than 5m/s. The balloon flies to a height of 1,000 metres. Flights take place at a number of prestigious venues around the Belgrade area as well as in other areas of the country. For more details: Balon Servis, Salvadora Aljendea 5, or telephone:

062-252-067, 064-8220-408.

Flea market

o idea what to do on a Saturday morning? Take your car and visit the Flea Market. It lies near highway E–75, on the way to Nis. The journey from the city centre takes about 15 minutes. Take the last exit before the toll booths. You’ll see the flea market on your right. The Flea Market is one of those places

where you can find everything from needles to car parts. For those who are a little worried about their security, it is important to note that this place is perfectly safe and there is parking available too. If you get hungry you can tuck in at any of the local cafés. Come on a Sunday if you want to buy or sell a car.

July 18, 10pm ORCHESTRA ONE (UK) & DJ TRANSGLOBAL DISCOTHEQUE Bitef Art Café Summer stage

July 19, 9pm KEZIAH JONES (UK) This famous instrumentalist will be performing in Belgrade for the first time. Supported by Naked Bitef Art Café Summer stage

Other Events

Until August 1 CAMPAIGN: COUNTRY OF HUMAN RIGHTS Context gallery The public will be allowed to take away from the gallery banners and posters created by “bankleer” (Berlin), Miklos Erhart and Dominique Hislop (Budapest), Tadej Pogacar (Ljubljana), Aleksandros Georgiu and Jenifer Nelson, in cooperation with ITYS, Institute for Contemporary Art and Thought, Konate Mamadou and Theophile Yerbanga (Athens)

Belef ‘08 Music July 14, 9pm FESTIVE OPENING OF BELEF ‘08 Lajkovac Boat, in front of Beton Hall Concert Trio Janka Nilovic (France) and the RTS Big Band, Belgrade Chamber Choir & the JazzCotech Dancers (UK)

July 14/17 JAZZCOTECH DANCERS (UK) Knez Mihailova Street, Ada Ciganlija, Republic Square

Must Sees se your weekend to see the city from a totally different point of view. Belgrade from a hot-air balloon includes a flight of 60-90 minutes, a diploma and presents, a small celebration on landing with sparkling wine, and insurance. Flying is possible every day of the year except when there

July 15, 9pm CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA (UK) + after party: DJ Spacewalker + Jazzcotech dancers Bitef Art Café Summer stage

Kosancicev venac

ituated above the right bank of the Sava and in front of Kalemegdan fortress, Kosancicev venac is one of the oldest parts of the city. A little way from the centre, it represents a unique historical and architectural ensemble. To reach this quarter, take a walk down Knez Mihailova street and head right at the junction with Kralja Petra, going in the direction of the Saborna church. The Kosancicev venac quarter boasts a number of historic buildings, such as the palace of Kneginje Ljubice, the Serbian Orthodox Church headquarters, the ruins of the bombed Serbian national library and the design school. Kosancicev venac is famous for its bohemian atmosphere as well as for gorgeous views towards the west. Catch the sunset from this part of the city.

Until July 15 INTERNATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL Kalamegdan Fortress and Ada Ciganlija More than 700 participants from eight countries will take a part in this huge event

sport

Friday, July 11, 2008

Nadal Ends Federer’s Wimbledon Reign The world number two dethroned King Roger in a memorable final, while Nenad Zimonjic gave Serbia something to cheer about. By Zoran Milosavljevic

limbing across seats and commentary boxes might become a new Wimbledon tradition. Rafael Nadal shocked the centre court audience with celebrations befitting his epic, enthralling win over Roger Federer that will long live in the memory of those who saw it. “It’s impossible to explain what I felt at that moment, it’s a dream,” said a delighted Nadal after ending Federer’s five-year reign at Wimbledon and his bid to surpass Bjorn Borg’s record of five consecutive men’s singles titles. The world number two has made several things clear. He is not just a clay court specialist and his critics, who often labelled him as a “one-dimensional player”, will have to eat their words and wonder when, rather than if, Nadal will leapfrog Federer to the top spot in the ATP rankings.

Sadly for Serbian tennis fans, it also means Djokovic will have to work even harder if he is to achieve his objective of being the world number one in the foreseeable future. Djokovic’s good form earlier this season and the points he added to his overall tally enabled him to hang on to third position after a poor Wimbledon campaign that ended in a crushing second round defeat to Marat Safin, who showed glimpses of past glory against his close friend. Ana Ivanovic’s broad shoulders also cracked under the pressure of entering Wimbledon as the world number one and Jelena Jankovic once again paid the price for her injury-prone posture, turning the women’s tournament into an all too familiar affair. The Williams sisters produced a typically dogged battle for sibling supremacy and this time round it was Venus who got the better of Serena just for good measure, tying their head-to-head score at 8-8. With Serbia’s three prodigies faltering, veteran Nenad Zimonjic saved the day after he won the men’s doubles with Canada’s Daniel Nestor and his success should give fans here something to savour until the US Open.

Third time lucky for Nadal

Photo by FoNet

Serbia and Montenegro on collision course A newly established Balkan rivalry could reach boiling point in the European Water Polo Championship final. By Zoran Milosavljevic

he European water polo championship in the Spanish city of Malaga has the potential to produce a dream final between two nations which represented the last remnants of the former Yugoslavia until they went their separate ways two years ago. Defending champions Serbia could face newcomers Montenegro, who impressed beyond all expectations in their debut as an independent country, to the discomfort of continental powers such as Hungary, Croatia, Spain and Italy. Serbia secured a semi-final berth with an 11-8 win over Italy following

Serbia on top

Photo by FoNet

What Might Have Been Serbia’s 3-2 win over Brazil in the World Volleyball League may turn out to be too little too late. By Zoran Milosavljevic

he cauldron of Novi Sad’s SPENS arena erupted with joy as Serbia came from two sets down to snatch victory from the jaws of what would have been another heart-breaking defeat to world champions Brazil. Although Serbia may still fail to progress to the World League final tournament in Rio de Janeiro, the manner of their 3-2 win against the mighty Brazilians reassured success-hungry

fans an Olympic medal in Beijing may not be just a far-fetched dream. If their first win over the world’s top team is anything to go by, the Serbs will be medal contenders at the Beijing Games in August, but any hopes of covering themselves in glory rest on more consistent performances. Three defeats to Brazil by the same score in the FIVB World League, an annual money-spinning competition featuring the world’s top teams, have put Serbia in an unenviable position of needing a perfect record in their remaining four games, against Ven-

ezuela and France at home, and for other results to go their way. Even a storming finish will not be enough in the unlikely event that France beat Brazil twice. Either way, Igor Kolakovic’s men must do their job and keep fighting till the bitter end, at least to reward their frenetic fans for their support through thick and thin. If they fail to progress to the last eight, they will surely be left wondering what might have been if they had been able to keep their nerve in the many see-saw battles they lost before the Novi Sad fightback.

a rampant start in Group B, in which they demolished Germany, Macedonia and overcame Russia after being held to a surprise draw by Romania. The Montenegrins, meanwhile, upset Spain 8-7 and pulled off a shock 10-9 win over Hungary after a last-gasp 7-6 defeat to world champions Croatia, who will have to win a play-off against Italy to book another meeting with Montenegro in the semi-finals. Horrific injuries suffered by Serbia’s top player, Danilo Ikodinovic, in a motorcycle crash a fortnight ago appear to have galvanised his teammates, who showed grim determination and ruthless efficiency in front of goal. Aleksandar Sapic again demon-

strated his lethal firepower with a total of 20 goals in five matches and Serbia’s defence also held firm when it needed to, especially after trailing the Italians 7-4 midway through the third quarter of their thrilling encounter. The Hungarians are hot favourites to beat Germany in the other play-off and face old foes Serbia in the semis, but their unconvincing performances in Group A suggest they might have to work harder than expected to reach the last four. Should the Serbs advance to the final against Montenegro, they will surely take heart from the 13-3 drubbing they handed their “younger brothers” in the recent FINA World League semi-final before they went on to win the lucrative month-long competition.