Belgrade Insight, No. 31

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NEWS NEWS

Friday • June 13 • 2008

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1 / Friday, 13, 2008 Weekly Issue Issue No. 31,No. Friday, Apr. 10June - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

KLA Ran Torture Camps in Albania

Lure of Tadic Alliance Splits Socialists

While younger Socialists support joining a new, pro-EU government, old Milosevic loyalists threaten revolt over the prospect.

party over which way to turn. situation in the party The Kosovo Liberation Army maintained a network of prisons in their bases in Albania and“The Kosovo during andseems extremely complicated, after the conflict of 1999, eyewitnesses allege. Only now are the details of what occurred there emerging.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 for a deal with the Democrats.

The reported price is the post of Socialist leader Ivica Dacic remains the Serbian kingmaker deputy PM, with a brief in charge of security for the Socialist leader. faces extinction unless it changes. to Serbia’s late president, Slobodan

By Rade Maroevic in Belgrade In addition, the Socialists are barHowever, a strong current also Milosevic, and reformists who want gaining for other ministries, includflows in the opposite direction, led the party to become a modern Euroense negotiations on a new goving capital investments, Kosovo and by party veterans enraged by the pean social democrat organisation. ernment have divided the ranks education, Belgrade media reported. prospect of a deal with Tadic.

After eight years of stagnation, of the Socialist Party, which holds Tadic has denied talk of horseMihajlo Markovic, a founder of the Socialists returned to centre stage the balance of power between the trading with the Socialists, maintainthe party, recently warned of a crisis after winning 20 of the 250 seats in main blocs and has yet to announce ing that ministries would go only to if Dacic opts for the pro-European parliament in the May 11 elections. which side they will support.

Photo by Altin Raxhimi those to by working bloc, abandoning Socialists’ “nat- Roma the pro-European nation“Itthis looks as building if the in Socialists willjust to a With Today, disused Kukes is home few scratching chickens, butand ten years ago it was a prison cell wherethe Albanian ‘collaborators’, andcommitted Serbs were held the KLA. for the government’s “strategic goal”. ural” ideological partners. alist blocs almost evenly matched, move towards a government led by At the same time, Dacic seems reMarkovic, a prominent supporter the Socialists now have the final say the Democrats,” political analyst MiBut, during the NATO bombing of At least 25 people were im- UNMIK for some time. One of them luctant to call off negotiations with of Milosevic during the 1990s, is on the fate of the country. lan Nikolic, of the independent Centhe former Yugoslavia, from March prisoned in Kukes, witnesses say. is still holding a high position in the By Raxhimi, Michael the nationalists. seen as them representative of Kosovo the “old- Kosovo Nikolic believes Socialists, led Amongst tre Altin of Policy Studies, said. “But such to June judiciary, Balkan Insight 1999, this the facility took on were three Montgomery Vladimir Karaj “If we don’t reach an agreement timers” women. in the party who want stay understands.

by Ivica Dacic, Itwill overbyto Albanian a move mightand provoke deeper divi- another purpose. wascome occupied In the camp at to least insions Kukes, Bajram Curri, Tropoja, Bislim an official ofthe theparaTadic, guerrilla force, Liberapeople were killed, while policies, others with theZyrapi, DSS and Radicals, to the former regime’s if only outtheofKosovo a pragmatic de- 18true and even split the party.”

Kruma, Prizren, Pristina and Interior Ministry, whoonwas rescued byalmost NATO ruined troops.the Kosovo KLA, a support base were ty leadership will decide future evenlater though these sire Army, to ensure theiraspolitical survival.

Simultaneous negotiations held tion Tirana for their operations across the border It appears that Kukes housed one responsible for KLA operations in steps”, Dacic announced, following Socialists for good.

“The group of younger Socialists with the pro-European and nationalin Serbian-ruled Kosovo. of a number of secret detention cen- Kukes, told Balkan Insight that there session of country’s Some younger Socialistand officials gathered to be tres in ist blocs have drawn attention to a people killed, either atnew theparAlbania and Kosovo, that werethenofirst But thearound factoryDacic was seems not merely n rift a run-down industrial com- the on Wednesday. have voiced over theone con- baseliament in the majority”, for Nikolic said, adding deep inside the Socialists. or outside of it. werefrustration transferred from headquarters guerrillas fight- prisoners pounddivides with shattered windows the Insight KLA’s former top regime of Slobodan tinuingto another. impasse within their own Two thatthe these reformists believe Milosethe party facility This “old-timers” loyal ing Source:of Balkan (www.balkaninsight.com) and peeling plaster in Kukes, Al- vic to secure the independence of Even after the NATO interven- leaders rejected the allegations in bania, chickens rummage for food Kosovo from Serbia. tions, a camp was maintained in Ba- separate interviews with the BBC. and two trucks sit idle in a courtKosovo’s Prime Minister, HashIt assumed more sinister pur- balloq/Babaloc in Kosovo, holding THIS ISSUE OF ware- poses: yard, surrounded by rusted Business Neighbourhood Matters 30 Serb and Roma prison- im Thaci, who was then the politidozensInsight of civilians, mainly around houses and a crumbling two-storey Kosovo Albanians suspected of col- ers, whose current whereabouts are cal director of the KLA, and Agim Belgrade Insight supplyISbuilding. laboration, but also Serbs and Roma unknown. Other camps in Albania Ceku, former Prime Minister and SUPPORTED BY: In the middle of the compound were held captive there, beaten and may have held Serbs kidnapped in former chief of the KLA headquarstands a cinderblock shack that was tortured. Some were killed, their Kosovo after the war, according to ters, told the BBC they were not conomists are warning that prohile the football world watchonce the office of a mechanical plant remains aware of any KLA prisons where never recovered. The men four sources. uncertainty over Serbia’s es events at the Eurothat produced everything from man- who longed The names ofunfold several alleged allegedly directed the abuses hole covers to elevator cages. future could scare investors, lead perpetrators pean Championships Austria to and Continued on page 6 have beenin known were officers of theoff KLA. to higher inflation and jeopardise Switzerland, Bosnia is experiencing DINING prosperity OUT for years to come. a soccer rebellion, led by fans, SPORT play“This year has been lost, from the ers and former stars who are enraged standpoint of economic policy,” says Violence, by what once they again, see as reared corruptitsleaders Spaghetteria Trag is located in unugly Stojan Stamenkovic of the Econom- head of the country’s football association promising surroundings, but serves at the Partizan - Red Star derby uncomplicated, good value food. match. ics Institute in Belgrade. leaders. page 5 page 10

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Costs Mounting

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Football Rebellion

EDITOR’S WORD POLITICS

Political Predictability

The system for funding political parties is widely discredited.

By Mark R. Pullen

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Many of us who have experiBELGRADE enced numerous Serbian elections Personal safety is as a big issue inwhen someit rate ourselves pundits European capitals, but Belgrade resicomes to predicting election redents, it seems, have less to worry sults and post-election moves. about.

4 We feel in-the-knowPage because our experience of elections in Ser&usABOUT bia hasOUT shown that (a.) no single party or coalition will ever gain the Priboj sparequired is perhaps a place for the majority to form a governmore adventurous traveller. This ment,we and (b.) political week, check it out. negotiations will never be quickly concluded.

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 as Serbia’s politicians form new political parties every time they Page 9 disagree with their current party leader (thereARTS are currently 342 registered political parties in Serbia).

The Beldocs festival showcases some Drawn-out negotiations are also of the finest documentaries from the the norm. One Belgrade-based last year.

Ambassador recently told me he 11 was also alarmed by Page the distinct lack of urgency among Serbian GOING OUT is at a politicians.

“The country standstill don’t Bordel is a and chic Inew barunderstand and nightclub Dorcol. theirinlogic.

If they are so eager to progress towards the EU and encourage investors, how come they go home at 5pm sharp and don’t work weekends?”

Surely the situation is urgent enough to warrant a little overtime.

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Source: www.weather2umbrella.com

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news

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

EUFOR Raids Bunker Complex Searching for Mladic

EUFOR searched a bunker complex for information on Mladic (centre), without success.

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U peacekeeping forces raided a logging company in Republika Srpska early on Tuesday April 7th, in search of information that could reveal the whereabouts of war crimes indictee Ratko Mladic, who is still at large.

The operation was carried out at

the behest of the International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, ICTY. It started at 6:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday in the eastern town of Han Pijesak, Lt. Cdr. Pat O’Callaghan told Belgrade Insight.

The target of the raid was the local outlet of Srpske Sume, the main log-

ging company in the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska.

Lt. Cdr. O’Callaghan said that EUFOR troops left the scene after a few hours, leaving local police and ICTY investigators to finish the inspection.

So far, no materials have been reported seized.

Ratko Mladic was a Bosnian Serb war-time military commander and is now the only remaining Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect still in hiding, 13 years after the war. He has been indicted by the ICTY on numerous counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

Throughout the past two decades, the town of Han Pijesak and the Srpske Sume logging company have been associated with Mladic. During and immediately after the war, he often resided in the town, and, in subsequent years, the lumber company was believed to have been contributing funds to help him evade capture.

The small and remote mountainous town of Han Pijesak served as the headquarters for the Bosnian

Serb military during the 1992-1995 war. General Mladic and his staff were based in a well-protected underground bunker, built by the former Yugoslav communist regime on a hill overlooking the town.

The bunker was built to be the last defensive position for the whole of Yugoslavia, in case of any larger conflicts. It was built to sustain a nuclear attack, and had its own underground fresh water supply, communication rooms and accommodation for sleeping. The bunker was closed and sealed by EUFOR five years ago.

Over the past few years, Mladic has been believed to be hiding in Serbia, although no confirmed sightings have been reported. The United States government has offered a $5 million (€3.8 million) reward for his arrest, while the Serbian government has offered another €1 million for information leading to his capture.

Source: www.BalkanInsight.com

Serbia Reveals €1 Billion Saving Plan

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he Serbian government has announced savings of one billion euros as part of its economic stability plan.

Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said on Tuesday that 85 per cent of budget savings will be generated by cutting costs, and the other 15 per cent by increasing revenue.

“Besides cheaper public administration, the new package of economic measures will also guarantee social responsibility and maintain the standard of living, stimulate production and employment, and give support to public works and capital investment in infrastructure,” he said.

Some of these measures, he added, were temporary because of the economic crisis, while others were strategic and their goal was to increase the

efficiency of public administration.

The new measures include cutting ministry spending by a quarter, generating €430 million in savings, freezing or cutting public sector salaries and axing one in ten jobs in public administration.

Among other measures to be introduced are increases in fuel excise and a temporary tax on mobile phone charges, expected to generate €86 million altogether.

Albert Jaeger, head of the IMF mission to Serbia, told daily Blic that there was no deadline for the new measures to be adopted.

“We will be able to react fairly quickly, once the government takes its decision and begins to take reliable steps towards filling the budgetary Cvetkovic has announced a programme of new savings. hole,” said Jaeger.

Weekly Press Roundup POLITIKA - The Bishop of Nis, Irinej Gavrilovic said that Catholics in Serbia have right to invite Pope Benedictus XVI to Serbia, but it would be nice if they asked Serbian Ortodox Church for approval. „That kind of decision can not be made by any individual, or by the Holy Synod.

Only the Holy Archibishop Council can decide if the Pope should come to Serbia“, said the Bishop.

DANAS - The Administrative Board of the Serbian Parliament decided to donate another 128,000 dinars (€1,359) to charity. The money is collected from financial penalties levied on ill-disciplined deputies in Parliament.

VECERNJE NOVOSTI - About 6,000 scientists employed in institutes in Serbia financed by the state

have been unpaid for two months.

The Minister of Science and Technological Development, Bozidar Djelic. claims that his ministry is not responsible for the error.

POLITIKA - According to the latest information from the Ministry of Justice, during 2008 courts in Serbia largely handed down the minimum sentence for even for the most serious criminal offenses. In cases of first degree murder sentences can range from 10 to 40 years. Last year 76.5 per cent of those convicted of this crime were punished with the minimum sentence.

BLIC - The Serbian Government announced on its website the exact salaries of managers of public companies and agencies. On February 26th, the Government instructed the companies and agencies to make these details public.

PRESS - At the Belgrade Car Fair, 2,500 cars were sold and more than 50 per cent of them were sold for

cash. The most expensive car at the fair cost €177,000.

DANAS - Jelko Kacin, the European Pralament’s Serbia representative said that arresting Hague fugitive Ratko Mladic is a neccesary condition in order to continue the process of Serbia’s European integration and for the full implementation of a Trade Agreement with EU and ratification of The Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

POLITIKA - Belgrade Mayor, Dragan Djilas, said that those Roma people who are not registered as Belgrade residents and are living in the slum near the Universiade Village, will have to leave Belgrade and go back to the towns where they are registered.

VECERNJE NOVOSTI - The Minister of Economy, Mladjan Dinkic, and officials of Fiat Serbia visited the Zastava car factory in Kragujevac. The plant’s water supply was recently cut for three weeks for nonpayment of bills. Dinkic intervened, and the water was turned back on.

Profile of the Week

Diana Dragutinovic

Professor with Portfolio

By Slobodan Georgijev

Diana Dragutinovic holds one of the highest profile positions in the national government.

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iana Dragutinovic, 51, minister of finance, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade and mother of two, has found herself holding a key position in the government during a serious economic crisis whose depth may not yet be fully appreciated.

A finance expert, she has no developed political pedigree, so her appointment was surprising.

With some of her recent actions, she in a way confirmed what critics have said: that she has no sense of a political moment, that she does not have the political weight for the position and that this is why she is not making some difficult decisions.

In Serbia, everyone remembers Lazar Pacu, a minister of finance from the early 20th century, who was so rigorous that he did not give loans even to the Serbian king.

Compared to him, Dragutinovic is unfortunately in a position where you only have to be good at maths and able to count the money out for everyone who asks for it, since the decisions are made elsewhere.

Her discreet public appearances, whether in media or in the parliament, make her a media target – she’s just too reasonable for them! She has introduced a spark of decency and honesty into Serbia’s political arena.

For example, she said of a recent government decision: “This time, as a state, we have not been up to the task. I am personally ashamed.”

That budget revisions occur during spring, might make it seem that she was failing in her role, but even a casual observer of Serbian politics would eventually conclude that the blame lay with the Tadic-DacicDinkic triangle.

Before she joined the government, Dragutinovic, a native of Belgrade, acquired a PhD, engaged in scientific work and raised a family, whilst managing to stay out of the public eye, despite being hired by the administration in 2001 - first as an advisor in the ministry of finance, then as vice-governor of the Serbian National Bank.

She is not linked to any controversey, and is a favourite of President Tadic, who, it is rumoured, was the one who insisted she be appointed minister of finance. But she has also known Prime Minster Mirko Cvetkovic since she worked with him at CES Mecon, a business and economic consulting firm, during the 1990s.

politics

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

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Serbian Parties Keep Quiet About Their Big Donors Lack of transparency in political financing and the unchecked flow of money from business to political parties is undermining democracy.

Many agree that the rules governing party financing need to be changed, but there is little agreement on how to do it.

By Branka Trivic in Belgrade

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ue to a lack of independent auditing and limiting legislation, Serbian parties currently swim in murky waters when it comes to financing, with no efficient external controls over donations.

This may soon come to an end, thanks to a new law, now in preparation, which proposes to abolish the current limits on donations to the parties, in exchange for ensuring greater transparency surrounding the money flow, so that voters can know who the parties’ donors are, as well as the size and source of their donations.

The current law on financing parties forbids anonymous donations, and does not allow parties to obtain funds from private sources amounting to more than 20 per cent of the funds they get from the state for an election campaign.

The funds allocated by the state are too small to meet their real election campaign costs, which are usually between €500,000 and €2 million.

This hole is thus filled by tycoons who hope to be rewarded by the winning parties with hefty tenders, public procurement offers and other deals.

The lack of transparency in financing of political parties is the main generator of systemic corruption in the country, says Verica Barac, head of the governmnent’s own advisory council on the fight against corruption.

“Political parties and their election campaigns must not be financed by secret flows of private money,” she said.

“Those not willing to act transparently… cannot take part in public life.”

Barac said secret financing was changing the very meaning of the term ‘political party’ in Serbia.

Political parties were becoming “virtually secretive private enterprises, interested above everything in reaping profits or advantages for their leadership,” she said.

“Once these semi-secret organisations win an election, they intentionally pass laws with corruption built-in.”

Barac said that Serbia is the only country in Europe in which there is no independent control of the state budget, public enterprises, tenders or financing of political parties.

Other experts note that parties’ financial reports are inadequate and incomplete, failing to disclose vital data on private donations.

The Center for Free Elections and Democracy, CESID, says all the main parties have breached the current tight limits on the percentage of donations a party may seek from outside sources.

Nemanja Nenadic, executive director of Transparency Serbia, an NGO, also says the current tight limits on funding are pushing the parties to seek secretive private donations.

Since large financial donations are prohibited, and the allocated state funds are too small to meet campaigns’ real costs, parties accept private money but do not declare it in their reports.

In these cases, the donations are not deposited in party accounts but used to pay for election TV adverts, for billboards and so on.

“One cannot see the private donors before one checks party election financial reports,” Nenadic told Balkan

Photo by FoNet

Insight, adding that Transparency International has obtained data that questions officially declared party election expenditures.

Even though the current law does not allow parties to accept funds from state-owned enterprises or companies in which the state has an investment, there are some indication that such transactions are taking place all the same.

Although the law gives citizens the theoretical right to inspect public companies’ tenders and procurement contracts, as well as to access their financial reports, in practice they cannot exercise this right, Rodoljub Sabic, the public information commissioner, said.

“Serbian citizens have the right to see presentations of these companies’ important financial data and their business dealings on the Internet,” he said.

“We will keep fighting for such a practice to be properly introduced.”

When news of irregular or unreported donations to parties occasionally leaks out, it is usually after a political scandal has erupted, or as a result of internal party turmoil.

This is what occurred last September, when the Serbian Radical Party’s number two, Tomislav Nikolic, left the party.

He told a B92 television show that Milorad Miskovic, Serbia’s biggest tycoon, owner of the huge Delta company, and businessman Milan Beko, had helped pay for a TV advert for the Radicals in the May 2008 run-up to the parliamentary election. Neither Miskovic nor Beko have denied his claim.

Generally, neither the parties nor the businessmen speak in public about this topic but occasionally snippets

of information on tycoons’ donations have leaked out.

Many in Serbia recall the colourful first ‘people’s capitalist’, Bogoljub Karic. Several years ago, before he fled the country, he openly spoke of having financed all the parties in turn.

In the wake of the January 2007 parliamentary election, the head of the Liberal-Democratic Party, Cedomir Jovanovic, also touched on the issue, though only to say that he did not want to disclose his party’ financiers because he wanted to maintain confidentiality A poll conducted by the Politika daily in September 2008 among Serbia’s 14 top businessmen, who were asked whether they donated to any political parties over the past few years, resulted in seven refusing to answer.

Five claimed they had not, and only two admitted to financing politicians.

Serbian law is also weak on the auditing of party financing.

Campaign reports are audited by the state electoral commission, RIK, which itself is made up of members of various parties.

Regular year-end party reports are checked by the finance commission of the Serbian Parliament, which also consists of members of the same parties.

As it stands, RIK has yet to make public any figures from the last campaign, even though elections were held almost a year ago.

Only now, more than nine years after the end of the rule of Slobodan Milosevic, has an independent auditing institution been approved, though due to lack of money and resources, it will start functioning only next year.

“This brings to mind the popular Serbian saying about leaving goats to take care of cabbages,” says Professor Zoran Stojiljkovic of Belgrade University, a member of the council of the newly founded government agency for combating corruption, which is to take over the job of auditing.

“Secret financial incest is going on, not only between big business and parties, but between state-owned companies and parties,” he added.

Many people doubt whether legislation alone, or new anti-corruption agencies, will change the deeply embedded political culture in Serbia, at least in the short term.

Global Integrity, an independent, non-profit organisation tracking corruption around the world, gave Serbia 17 out of 100 points in its 2008 report Grand Corruption List, saying that it had weak anti-corruption safeguards.

Nathaniel Heller, managing director of Global Integrity, said promoting transparency around the flow of private money into election campaigns and political party coffers was one of the country’s greatest challenges.

“Increased transparency around donations to political parties and candidates, and better enforcement of existing regulations and sanctions, should be put at the top of the governance reform agenda,” he said.

“The current tight limits on funding are pushing the parties to seek secretive private donations” Nemanja Nenadic, executive director of Transparency Serbia

“Once these semisecret organisations win an election, they intentionally pass laws with corruption built-in” Verica Barac, President of the government’s Anti-Corruption Council

“Secret financial incest is going on, not only between big business and parties, but between state-owned companies and parties” Zoran Stojiljkovic, Professor of Political Sociology at Belgrade University

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belgrade chronicle

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

Belgrade: Safe City Belgrade has a reputation as one of Europe’s most peaceful cities and, unless you are a member of the underworld, our investigations would seem to uphold this view.

o enter a residential building in Moscow, you need an access code. By the time you reach the apartment, you are likely to pass through three more doors all designed to keep out unwanted visitors and criminals. Some buildings even have security and video surveillance. Parts of Milan, Paris, London and other larger European cities are ‘no go areas’, where personal security cannot be guaranteed and street crime is rife.

But it seems that Belgrade has been largely spared. Darko Senic, Head of the Criminal Department of the Belgrade police says that Serbia’s capital was ranked among the safest cities in terms of reported crime at a recent meeting of European police forces.

Local media do report cases of murder and robbery, but such incidents are usually committed within criminal groups or are family-related. It is very rare to hear of a case in which a passer-by or tourist is attacked. What’s more, in Belgrade, the ‘bad guys’ are much more likely to be caught than in other European cities – the Belgrade police’s clear-up rate of 60 per cent compares favourably with other big cities. In London, for example, just 17 per cent of cases are solved.

Belgrade is a transit hub for the region; criminals spill in from the surrounding area to augment local criminal gangs. However, police cooperation with authorities from those

countries is improving every year to meet the challenge. The Ministry of Internal Affairs contributes greatly to Interpol’s work via communication officers and also works bilaterally with neighbouring police forces, Senic stated.

Most crime in Belgrade is petty and property-related. Of the 2,206 robberies recorded in the last year, most of them were related to theft from stores and businesses, and 40 per cent of those were solved. What worries the authorities is the rise of juvenile delinquency, serious crime and murder, especially gangland killings which, from time to time, are particularly gruesome. In one recent case, the severed head of a young man was found on Boulevar Aleksander, and his body in Karadjordje Park.

Senic explained that 60 per cent of murders originate from rivalry between drugs gangs. Last year, Belgrade police broke up no less than eleven criminal gangs dealing in narcotics. Another criminal group from Romania and Bulgaria was apprehended, suspected of the misuse and falsification of credit cards on a massive scale. Car theft is on the decline but, these days, insurance fraud associated with it is on the rise. Senic estimates that, out of every seven cars reported stolen, one is falsely reported missing as part of an insurance claim fraud.

Visitors are, if anything, even safer in the city than their Serbian hosts.

Serbians, as a whole, are regarded as being hospitable and are renowned for their friendly – if somewhat conservative – attitude towards people from abroad. This trait is becoming even more obvious these days, as

broken personal and business connections with people in neighbouring countries are being re-established. “[Last] summer, the police put in place special measures in order to heighten security for travelling foreigners. There have been no assaults on foreigners since the beginning of 2009,” explained Senic.

However, it is still not recommended to stand out when it comes

to religious and sexual orientation or personal appearance – ideological logos and sport-related emblems, in particular, are best avoided – as these can lead to unpleasant situations with those who do not share the same view. Such problems can be easily seen when soccer and other sports games take place in the city, although the presence of security forces is boosted accordingly,

I think Belgrade is a safe place. There are some crimes related to drugs or robbery, things like that. I think Belgrade is safe for foreigners – people from any country will be OK here.

Just be sensible – don’t walk in dark alleys and so on. I feel very safe walking around Belgrade’s parks with my kids. The people are laid-back, and it’s a safe place for foreigners.

I think Belgrade is a safe place for foreigners, although it depends on who they hang out with, of course. There is crime in Belgrade, but it is the capital city, so that’s to be expected.

There is some crime, but the main problem is dangerous driving. I always feel safe here because I am with friends when I go out at night. Belgrade is safer than other towns in Europe, and all foreigners are welcome here.

Nikola, Belgrade

Eluda, Zambia

Milan, Belgrade

Ana, Kragjavac

By Duska Stefanovic and Tom Fuller

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Capital cities are often unfriendly places and alongside the buzz of big city life come the problems of petty theft and street crime, but it seems that Belgrade is a

especially when foreign clubs come to Belgrade.

Speaking to people on the streets of the city, Belgrade Insight found that Belgraders and foreigners alike believe it to be a safe place, especially when compared to other European cities. With normal, sensible precautions, citizens from anywhere in the world should be out of harm’s way.

Milan, 28, from Belgrade said that, if foreigners “associate with the right people, they will be safe,” whilst Eluda, 31, from Zambia told us that she feels safe at night, although she always makes sure to stay away from dark alleys.

On the other hand, Diana from Kraljava complained that the police are “usually not where they need to be,” and that racism can be a problem, especially for people from neighbouring states.

Everyone we spoke to said that they hear and read about street crime through the media, although none of them had been a victim of, or witnessed, such an incident.

Foreigners are advised to stay out of risky situations, but also to remain worry-free, as it is most likely that nothing bad will happen while they are in Belgrade and Serbia,” said Senic.

This can only be a good thing for the hordes of people – both tourists and locals – drawn out onto the streets of Belgrade as the temperatures rise, the cafes spill out into Knez Mihajlova and the splavs throw open their doors to the crowds along the river, all enticing them to enjoy warm, fun and safe evenings in Belgrade.

belgrade chronicle

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

Belgrade Through the Eyes of…

Pavlina Filipova Program Officer, Balkan Trust for Democracy Nationality: Bulgarian In Belgrade since: 2008 The best thing about Belgrade is: The people ... and the atmosphere of the city is wonderful The most annoying thing about Belgrade is: Poor transport connections with other countries and capitals.

Sometimes is difficult to find information about public transport.

If I was mayor for one day:

a much safer place than many other European capitals.

Belgrade Diary

Two Impressions of New Belgrade

In comparison to Sofia, Belgrade is much cleaner and has better infrastructure. But still it needs improvement. If I was mayor for one day, I would build more bridges over the rivers, move the highway far away from the city, improve the public transport, repair the open markets and would attract more tourists by better advertising, opening more hotels and creating better attractions (especially around the rivers).

I feel at home because:

By Ivan Zec New Belgrade, March 2007

J

ust like me, citizens of Belgrade take to the streets to enjoy a beautiful March day: some of them are walking and others are sitting on benches, discussing things. Among the skyscrapers, children are playing on green fields. At every corner there is a kiosk, where cigarettes, newspapers, soft drinks and everyday necessities can be bought.

Built under Tito, after World War Two, New Belgrade differs from the rest of the city by its urbanism.

Huge concrete housing blocks irresistibly remind me of some of our neglected French suburbs known as ‘defavorisées’, especially Nanterre, a fascinating urban complex on the outskirts of Paris, a frightening ur-

ban landscape where I spend most of my time when I am in France.

But for some unexplained reason, it seems that people in New Belgrade are living better than in our banlieues.

With its graffitied walls, decrepit facades, and old cars, I would suggest that the New White City no longer deserves its name. But I wonder whether I would like Belgrade so much if it became clean and new again. Greyness and mess contribute to a special ambience and lend the city its charm. And its smell! I would recognise the smell among thousands of others, one intake of breath is enough to cause an irresistible Belgrade nostalgia!

New Belgrade, March 2009 Again in the Balkans! For the umpteenth time! I have returned to Belgrade, the city I love, probably for the fifteenth time.

I can proudly show you the passport which almost has no empty space in it: stamps of Croatian, Macedonia and Serbian authorities and customs are filling it up to the last page! But Belgrade has not moved since my last visit. And to be completely frank, instead of conso-

lation, this time the neglected walls and streets Belgrade are offering me only desperation.. The day is cold and grey as if we were in the midst of winter. As I always do, I set off from downtown towards Kalemegdan to watch the sunrise.

It’s morning, six o’clock, and the thermometer in Republic Square shows +1C°. Obviously it isn’t my day today, I certainly won’t find any answers meditating over the impressive view from Kalmegdan.

Beside the Old Bridge, nothing has changed: no facade has been reconstructed, nowhere in sight is there a bit of freshly painted surface to refresh the view. Not even the Usce shopping mall, built in the meantime in New Belgrade, manages to disperse the overall greyness. It is as if the architect wanted to play the card of camouflage: he chose grey as the dominant colour!

I ride the bus on route 65, which goes to Fontana. Suddenly, in front of a dirty entrance where every-

thing is falling apart, I have to rub my eyes: the curvaceous silhouette of a pretty girl, beautifully dressed, enters the decrepit building!

My doubts are gone: girls are still pretty here, people are likeable and welcoming, and the music is still enchanting.

One thing is certain: for an ethnomusicologist like me, Belgrade remains a dream despite many of its citizens still living an economic nightmare which cannot be camouflaged.

We fly for your smile.

We’d love to hear your thoughts too. Tell us what you like about Belgrade, what really makes you fizz with anger and what you would change if you were in charge.

Send us your thoughts, tell us a little bit about yourself, and send a photo too, if you like.

Send your contributions to: belgradeinsighteditor@birn.eu.com

People are warm and very friendly When friends visit I always take them: To Kalemegdan, Saint Sava and Saint Marko Cathedrals, the old town of Zemun, Knez Mihailova, the Ethnographic Museum, Vintage Car Museum, etc. and, of course, to feel the atmosphere of the Belgrade’s ‘kafana’ and ‘splavovi’ and to take a boat cruise around Ada.

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regional investigation

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

KLA Ran Torture Camps in Albania

Continued from page 1

captives were abused or where civilians were held.

Thaci said he was aware that individuals had “abused KLA uniforms” after the war, but said the KLA had distanced itself from such acts. He added that such abuse was “minimal”. Ceku said that the KLA fought a “clean war”.

However, Jose Pablo Baraybar, the chief of the Office of Missing Persons and Forensics within UNMIK for five years, says: “There were people that are certainly alive that were in Kukes, in that camp, as prisoners. Those people saw other people there, both Albanians and non-Albanians. There were members of the KLA leadership going through that camp. Many names were mentioned, and I would say that that is an established fact.”

Baraybar tracked missing citizens in Kosovo and across the border in Albania.

Karin Limdal, spokeswoman for the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, told Balkan Insight that the mission is aware of the allegations concerning the Kukes case, and that prosecutors are looking at the evidence to see if they can bring indictments.

Yellow Mercedes of Death These grave allegations about the Kukes camp, in the north west of Albania, are based on interviews with several sources: two eyewitnesses – one former inmate and one member of the KLA, records from a cem-

etery in Albania and UN documents that we have gained access to, which detail the testimonies of people illtreated in Kukes.

Together, they paint a portrait of a brutal prison regime that is at odds with the claims of former KLA leaders, who say they adhered to international human rights conventions and never detained civilians.

The abuses in Kukes may not have been isolated events. According to former KLA fighters who talked to us, as well as independent testimony provided to UN investigators, the KLA maintained a loose network of at least six secret jails in the dozen or so bases they operated in Albania and the two they had in Kosovo during and after the 1999 war.

Those jails were used for interrogations that routinely included torture, according to sources interviewed for this story.

Most former KLA soldiers we interviewed are proud of their war with the Serbian forces, whose bloody actions forced the mass flight of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians from their homes in 1999.

But some said they felt shamed by what some KLA commanders and leaders had done under the cover of war.

“It didn’t seem strange at the time,” one former KLA soldier, who witnessed the events, said. “But now, looking back, I know that some of the things that were done to innocent civilians were wrong. But the people who did those things act as if nothing happened, and continue to hurt their own people, Albanians.”

Another eyewitness, a Kosovo Albanian, says he was held at the KLA base in Kukes on the pretext of being a Serbian spy, an allegation he vehemently denies.

This man, who did not wish to be named, described witnessing KLA soldiers abusing and torturing prisoners at the base for weeks, often under the supervision of KLA officers.

“I saw people being beaten, stabbed, hit with batons,” he said.

“I saw people left without food for five or six days. I saw coffins being thrown in graves. I’ve seen people killed.”

This man claimed most of the captives held at Kukes were noncombatant civilians, mainly Albanians accused of working for the regime, and some Roma. There were also some KLA soldiers, imprisoned for disciplinary measures.

According to both sources, three prisoners were Kosovo Albanian women. Two were Roma from Prizren. The rest were young Kosovo Albanian males, aged between 20 and 27, all accused of collaborating with Serbian forces. The inmate said he also heard shouts in Serbian from prisoners who were being tortured a short distance away from the compound.

The inmate said that he heard “people crying and yelling at being tortured, and I could specifically distinguish native Serbian being spoken there.”

He said some Kosovo Albanian prisoners were shot or beaten to death on the base, while others were driven off in a yellow Mercedes.

One Kosovo Albanian prisoner died in front of him and five other inmates, after being shot in the calf by his interrogators and then left untreated.

Records from the cemetery in Kukes shed light on the man who died after being shot in the calf.

According to cemetery records, he was buried on June 6th 1999, four days before Serbian forces pulled

Inside this disused industrial complex, 25 civilians were kept prisoner during the NATO strikes on Serbia. At lea

out of Kosovo, in a plot reserved for Kosovo Albanians who died in Albania during the conflict.

“Every time I saw the yellow Mercedes, someone was taken in that car and then I would never see that person again,” he said. “They were never found.”

The same former inmate said he believed the people had been taken captive for various reasons, which included revenge and greed, as well as allegations that they were Serbian spies.

One prisoner had worked as a policeman in the western town of Gjakova/Djakovica under the Milosevic regime. He was taken away in the yellow Mercedes and has not been seen since.

Another had been a teacher, whose apparent offence was to have a license to carry a gun issued by the Serbian authorities.

The inmate said he believed that more than 25 people were held there from March to June 1999, from the start of the NATO bombing of the

Burrel: KLA Training Camp

F

rom April 1999 until the end of the conflict in Kosvo, the Albanian army base outside the town of Burrel – 120 kilometres south of Kukes and 90 kilometers north of Tirana – served as a KLA training camp.

About 2,000 KLA volunteers, most coming from Western Europe, were trained there in total.

In 2003, an UNMIK and ICTY mission visited a house 40 minutes away from Burrel, in the village of Rribe, to investigate allegations that organs from Serbs abducted in Kosovo had been “harvested” there.

The issue gained prominence last year when Carla del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor for the ICTY, mentioned these allegations in a book she wrote about her time in office.

Although a forensic team went to look at the house, the inquiry never went anywhere. Meanwhile, the case itself became a hot political issue between Albania, Kosovo and Serbia.

The Kosovo and Albanian authorities argued that the investigation never progressed because the allegations were unfounded, malicious and “cooked up by Belgrade” in order to undermine the legitimacy of Kosovo’s fight for independence.

In Belgrade, officials have highlighted the organ harvesting claims as “proof” that the Albanian guerrilla war against Serbia was a brutal criminal enterprise.

Meanwhile, the issue remains open. The number of Albanians who ‘disappeared’ during the Kosovo conflict is now believed to have fallen from 1,800 to 1,200, while the number of Serbs who ‘disappeared’ has remained roughly the same, at around 400.

Were all or some of these 400 killed in Albania? The mystery of their disappearance has not been Burrel solved.

regional investigation business

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

were released by German KFOR troops, who stormed the building.

The same sources estimated that as many as 18 captives may have been killed in Kukes.

The source who was a member of the KLA said: “I understand that they had cooperated with the Serbs and had done a lot of harm. This would make people mad when one thinks of the massacres happening across the border. But their treatment was brutal. At times, I was sorry for them.”

The former inmate we spoke to was sceptical about whether any of the captives had actively collaborated with Serbian death squads.

“But even if they deserved punishment, no-one had the right to do that [torture] to someone [else],” he said. “No-one has the right to do such things to other human beings.”

A Network of Camps

Photo by Altin Raxhimi

ast 18 of the captives were killed, according to eyewitnesses. No charges have ever been brought.

former Yugoslavia until NATO forces moved into Kosovo.

The inmates were mostly from the city of Prizren and surrounding villages. The KLA had apprehended them after waves of Kosovars entered Kukes during the NATO bombing. At least one was arrested as far away as Durres, or Lushnja, in central Albania, according to both sources.

Our source, who was an inmate, recalls another inmate, a Kosovo Albanian, yelling from the barred win-

dows to the troops in the yard, telling them that if they killed him, he had six brothers who would avenge him.

“What would you do about them?” he challenged them.

According to the same two sources, and UNMIK documents from their investigation into the case, some of the survivors were transferred in the aftermath of the war to detention cells at the police station in Prizren, in Kosovo.

On June 18th, they, and other people detained by the KLA in Prizren,

Kukes was an important strategic location for the KLA. Weapons, uniforms, cash and fresh recruits all flowed through the warehouses and storage buildings at the site.

The base was also important for the KLA military police, which reportedly rounded up suspects from among the mass of civilians who fled to Albania, or were expelled by Serbian forces.

A unit of the Albanian army, stationed at the base in Kukes, assisted the KLA to set up its military police operations, according to several policemen we interviewed.

It appears that Kukes was one of many detention centres in Albania and Kosovo, and prisoners would be transferred from one to another.

Two captives were brought to Kukes from a similar KLA facility near the town of Burrel, where the KLA ran a barracks for training soldiers during the last two months of the war, said the former inmate.

“They told us about people being killed there, people put into lime pits there,” he said. “I could also see what was going on in Burrel from the state [in which] they were brought in...

They’d been tortured badly.”

According to the UN documents, the interviews with KLA members and the inmate, other captives were transferred to Kukes from KLA facilities in at least two other places Durres, and after the war, Prizren in Kosovo itself.

The KLA had intelligence units and military police in most bases they maintained in Albania.

Halil Katana, a military journalist from Tirana, in his authorised biography of Kudusi Lama, the commander of the Kukes division, ‘Kudusi Lama: War General’, writes: “Those units [of the KLA military police] played an important role in establishing the discipline in KLA groups trained in the Kukes area, and in seizing Serb agents who entered the country amongst refugees from Kosovo.”

These units maintained detainment cells in Babine, a logistics centre near the border region of Tropoja; in the training camp of Burrel and at a KLA base in Durres, according to our third source, another member of the KLA. Bislim Zyrapi, currently an official at the Interior Ministry of Kosovo, was responsible for the KLA operations at the base in Kukes from early May to the end of the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia on June 10th.

He says that the people detained at the jail in Kukes were soldiers with disciplinary problems, and that there were no people killed at the base, or outside of it. But he added that he found the KLA in disarray, with armed soldiers and individuals who wandered freely in town and elsewhere in Albania. “One of the first things I had to do was to discipline them,” he said.

Perpetrators at Large According to eyewitnesses, two Albanian citizens involved with the KLA took part in these interrogations.

One man, described as having long black hair, was especially brutal to the Roma from Prizren, according to one source.

One source said KLA fighters coming back from fighting in Kosovo sometimes took out their rage on the inmates.

The other said the prisoners were tortured into admitting they had cooperated with the Serbian state security forces, UDBA. The interrogators wanted to record the prisoners confessing collaboration with the Serbs.

The same sources that witnessed the base in Kukes, told us that the interrogators in Kukes were KLA officers who had been involved in the

7

capture of suspected collaborators.

Both our sources concerning the base, identified several KLA officers involved in the abuses at Kukes.

One of them is currently in a top position in the judicial system in Kosovo.

We have withheld names of the alleged perpetrators, so as not to endanger our sources.

Some men involved in the abuses at Kukes were also involved in abducting Kosovo citizens after the war, according to former KLA soldiers we interviewed.

Their targets were not Albanian ‘traitors’, but Serbs or Roma who had remained in Kosovo after NATO troops entered the territory.

One Kosovo Albanian who returned to fight in Kosovo after spending many years abroad, told us he saw nearly 30 Serbs and Roma held in a KLA camp in Baballoq/Babaloc, near Decan in western Kosovo, after the war, in summer 1999.

He said he heard screams from the location and assumed the inmates were being tortured. When NATO patrols passed through the area, the prisoners were hidden in a workhouse, the same source added.

This former KLA fighter said he suspects the group was taken over the border to Albania and killed. “I never saw them again, never read anything about them in the newspaper,” he said. “So they probably disappeared into the mountains.”

Altin Raxhimi is a freelance journalist based in Tirana. Michael Montgomery is a special correspondent for the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, California.

Vladimir Karaj is a reporter with ‘Korrieri’, a Tirana daily.

The research for this story was funded by the Alumni fund for the Balkan Fellowship for Journalism Excellence. Part of the funding was provided by SCOOP, a structure of the Danish Association for Investigative Journalism that helps fund investigative journalism in Eastern Europe. © The full text of this article is the copyright of the Balkan Investigative Journalism Network, BIRN, and its authors. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of BIRN. Requests for syndication should be directed to ana@birn.eu.com

The KLA: From Guerrilla Wars to Party Plenums

T

he Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, was an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group that came to the fore in the mid-1990s, demanding the unification of Albanian territories in the former Yugoslavia with Albania.

The political parties behind the KLA were two fringe groups of emigres and nationalist political prisoners, the People’s League of Kosovo, LPK, and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo, LKCK, which advocated an armed struggle for the liberation of the Albanians in the former Yugoslavia.

These groups’ aims were different from those of the more mainstream Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, led by Ibrahim Rugova, which advocated a peaceful struggle for the independence of Kosovo.

Their focus was Kosovo, which was where most LPK members came from and where the Albanian popula-

tion in former Yugoslavia was concentrated.

The KLA organised armed resistance to, and conflict with, Serbian security forces during the period of 1997 to 1999, initially using hit-andrun tactics. Later, they claimed to have liberated territory in Kosovo.

They achieved more fame as a result of the harsh reprisals that Serbian security forces took against the civilian Albanian population.

The KLA core leadership dated back to the nationalist demonstrations Kosovo Albanians staged in 1981, when protesters demanded republican status for the then autonomous province. But it was never rigidly structured, more resembling an association of clans than a hierarchical military force.

In the early 1990s, following the fall of the communist regime in Albania, LPK officials established a presence there too. There they

sought to train themselves militarily and smuggle weapons into Kosovo.

These actions intensified and became easier after 1997, when Albania became awash with weapons after the collapse of various pyramid savings schemes led to a period of virtual anarchy.

They also formed close ties with the then ruling Socialist Party of Albania, which tolerated the arming and movement of KLA forces in Albania along the Albanian border.

During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the KLA announced it was forming a provisional government and enlisting young Kosovo Albanians to fight in Kosovo. In Albania, it tried to build up a more institutional army, equipped with its own intelligence unit, military police, logistics operations and more, according to several books on the KLA and interviews with its leaders.

.It established itself in Durres and Tirana in central Albania, but also used at least ten bases along the border with Kosovo and three training and logistics centres further inland, according to several KLA members from Albania.

In August 1999, after NATO moved into Kosovo and the province was handed over to the United Nations to administer, the KLA was disbanded under international pressure.

Some of its members found new jobs with the Kosovo Protection Force, TMK, and with the Kosovo Police Service.

Its leaders now formed their own parties. A Drenica group within the LPK formed the Democratic Party of Kosovo, led by Hashim Thaci, currently Prime Minister of Kosovo. Ramush Haradinaj, the KLA commander of the western Dukagjini area, along the border with Albania, formed the Alliance for Kosovo’s Future.

Several former senior KLA officials were involved in the conflicts that spilled over from Kosovo into other ethnic Albanian areas of the former Yugoslavia, namely, the Presevo valley of southern Serbia and western Macedonia.

They were active in the formation of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac, a guerilla force in southern Serbia, and in the Albanian National Army, ANA, which operated in Macedonia.

Two ANA leaders, Gezim Ostreni and Ali Ahmeti, had once been active in the KLA in the Dukagjini and Prizren areas of Kosovo. Ahmeti and Ostreni have since formed the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, which currently forms part of the coalition government in Macedonia, and which Ahmeti leads.

8

business

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

Serbia’s City of Jeans Fears Threadbare Future Novi Pazar’s textile workshops have long been the economic mainstay in the impoverished Sandzak region - but for how much longer?

By Zoran Maksimovic from Novi Pazar

T

he cancellation of the annual International Fair of Textile, Clothes, Leather and Shoes in Novi Pazar comes as another sign that the economic crisis is having grave consequences for the so-called ‘Valley of Jeans’, as the area is nicknamed because of its once thriving trade.

Each March in recent years, thousands of visitors and buyers have flocked to see around a hundred exhibitors from home and abroad display their wares at the fair.

But after no exhibitors applied to show their goods this year, the event was called off.

Sefkija Halilovic, director of the Agency for Economic Development of Sandzak, an ethnically mixed region in southwest Serbia, blames global economic trends.

“The economic crisis that has struck the world has prevented many foreign companies from confirming their participation, while numerous local manufacturers who in past years had been present at the fair, have given up as well,” he says.

The textile industry in Sandzak has been in crisis for years and the current world downturn has only added fuel to the flames. The consequences, meanwhile, will be felt by the whole region in terms of layoffs.

Small plants have already started closing, local manufacturers say. They would like aid from the state, but none has been forthcoming so far.

Novi Pazar’s jeans industry boomed in the 1990s, during the era when international sanctions were imposed on the regime of Slobodan Milosevic.

Counterfeit brand-name jeans were manufactured in dozens of small workshops in Novi Pazar and then sold as originals at home, or smuggled across the border to be sold in the West.

Novi Pazar became famous far and wide for its pirated jeans. Around 15,000 people were employed in workshops, producing over 20 million pairs of jeans each year.

Belex

A

Once the centre of a thriving trade in illicitly manufactured clothing, Novi Pazar has suffered in recent years.

The good times ended after peace returned to the former Yugoslavia and sanctions on Serbia were lifted. Sandzak smugglers lost their competitive advantage, as cheap clothing began pouring into Europe from the Far East.

This resulted in locks being put on the gates of hundreds of smaller operations, and only those with larger capacities survived.

Slavka Bakracevic, a journalist who has been covering the economy in Novi Pazar for years, says the opportunities for smuggling, present in the 1990s, have disappeared. Many companies would have faced major difficulties in surviving even without the current economic crisis.

Unable to compete with cheaper imports from Asia, many local textile factories in this part of Serbia went bust over the last five years.

But the most sought-after jeans in

the former Yugoslavia still come from Novi Pazar and, though considerably weakened, the textile industry is still the primary industrial earner here.

According to data from local unions, around 200 textile companies are still working, employing between 7,000 and 10,000 staff. The real number of workers in the trade is probably actually higher, because many work illegally or unofficially.

Tigrin Kacar, owner of children’s brand ‘Stig’, says textile manufacturers are already cutting production and considering sacking workers.

“Everything that is going on in the world affects consumers psychologically, so they buy less. Demand has dropped a lot,” he says.

Edin Medjedovic, owner of the Medaki company and president of the Association of Textile Manufacturers, agrees that layoffs will be inevitable

The Bear Snores On

By Tijana Cvetkovic

modest decline and slack turnover were the key featurss of the market between April 6th – April 9th.

The, index of the most liquid shares,the Belex15 ended the period 0.9 per cent weaker at 394.86 points, while the composite Belexline index lost 4.17 points or 0.5 per cent, ending at 852.02 points on

Thursday. Total turnover in this period declined in comparison to the previous week, reaching just 310 million dinars.

Investors showed greatest interest for the shares of AIK Bank, with around 28.1 million dinars of equities traded.

Other well traded issues were edible oil producer Dijamant from Zrenjanin and Becej based Sojaprotein, turning over 5.6 million dinars and 5.1 million dinars respectively. Sojaprotein announced the beginning of the process of registration for a new issue of 5,390,000 shares, equals to the current issued capital. Recapitalisation funds will be used to ease the company’s credit burden and increase the working capital.

Foreign investors’ participation between April 6th and 9th amounted to around 16.3 per cent of turnover, with

more activity again on the sell-side. Telefonija recorded the highest gain this week, advancing 18.1 per cent, but with only 289 shares traded. Metalac from Gornji Milanovac and Komercijalna Bank followed, gaining 5.9 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively. On the down side, pharmaceuticals producer Velefarm dipped 9.6 per cent, AIK Bank were off 7.6 per cent and Jubmes Bank dropped 6.1 per cent.

Government FX bonds realized over €2.3 million, around70 per cent of the turnover of last week. The most traded bond series was A2016, with turnover of €564k.

Tijana Cvetkovic Head of corporate services department FIMA International a.d. Belgrade

if the present difficult situation continues.

“We are trying to solve some problems with the help of the association, but without aid from the state and local authorities, it’s going to be difficult,” he says.

Fahrudin Kladnicanin, a student of economics and an NGO activist, fears that only a small number of companies can survive, and predicts mass layoffs.

That prospect worries many people in Novi Pazar because the city already has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

Aida Bojadzic, from the Employment Service office in Novi Pazar, says they expect a sudden rise in unemployment in June, connected to layoffs already announced. Several thousand workers could lose their jobs, says Ramiz Paljevac, head of the city hall’s Department of Economy.

“All that will have consequences for the economic situation in the city and the wider region, because a large number of workers are in the [textile] industry,” he says.

“And this will affect the city budget, which comes from taxes… fewer companies means fewer tax-payers,” Paljevac adds.

One textile worker said that while working conditions were tough, she would still rather work in almost impossible conditions than be left without a job.

“They’re announcing layoffs. I hope I don’t end up on the redundancy list, because I feed my family from this job,” she says.

This article is produced through training on Economic Reporting made possible by International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the United States Agency for International Development USAID and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Expanding East and West Comment by Ian Mihajlovic

W

hile Serbia’s bid to join the EU will remain on hold until the Dutch government becomes convinced that Serbia is doing all it can to cooperate with the Hague tribunal, the country is in an ideal position to ramp up cooperation with old allies. In recent weeks, Serbia has signed new free trade agreements with Russia and Belarus, and is presently negotiating a similar agreement with Iran that may increase pressure on the European Union to show clearer intentions regarding Serbia’s membership.

The government this week announced the expansion of its free trade agreement with Russia to include 95 per cent of all goods, excluding cars, something slated for negotiation in the coming months.

Serbia’s close relationship with Russia has been further strengthened recently with Gaprom’s 51 per cent acquisition of NIS, while a series of other transactions are in the pipeline, such as the routing of Russian gas through the country.

Serbia’s increasingly close trade cooperation with Russia reflects Serbia’s sometimes ambiguous foreign policy strategy, and is part of a larger trend in which Serbia is forging closer trade relationships with other, sometimes ‘problematic’, countries.

Last month, Serbia and Belarus signed a free trade agreement that is expected to boost trade fivefold between the two countries, according to Serbian Ambassador to Belarus, Srecko Djukic. Trade between Serbia and Belarus stood at $57.1 million (€43.3 million) in 2008. The agreement has scrapped import duties on all products except cigarettes, alcoholic drinks, sugar, some vehicle categories and tyres.

Meanwhile, Serbia is in advanced talks with Iran to sign another free trade agreement. Iran already uses Serbia as a transit country for goods. Serbia’s favourable geographic position and strong trading relationships throughout Europe are attractive to Iranian companies that are restricted from cooperating with many countries.

Key sectors for cooperation include petrochemicals, metals, food and the pharmaceutical sector. There is demand in Iran for car and tractor parts, railcars, and buses produced in Serbia. In 2008, Serbia’s exports to Iran reached $40 million (€30.3 million), up 250 per cent on 2007 and, according to the president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Milos Bugarin, Iran’s Oil Ministry has expressed interest in forging a strategic partnership with state petrochemical producer HIP Petrohemija.

The trade initiatives are expected to stimulate not only SMEs in Serbia, but also larger sectors of the economy. These are likely to be watched closely by the international community, which considers Serbia pivotal to economic stability in the region.

out & about

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

9

Exploring the Priboj Spa Priboj spa is perhaps a place for the more adventurous traveller, but the idyllic scenery of the local countryside more than makes up for the basic facilities.

By Duska Stefanovic

K

ing Uros, we’re told, suffered from a skin disease, and, seeking a cure, the king took the waters at Priboj, and soon after, he realised his disease had disappeared. Uros was so pleased with his newfound health that he named the spot where he stood Radiona, or ‘place of joy’.

Perhaps he should have given that name to the spring, the source of the waters that cured him. Despite that slight, in the centuries since then, Pribojska Banja has remained a balm to the sick and refreshment for the healthy.

I learned of Priboj Spa on previous visits to Zlatibor and the Zlatar mountains and, on a recent trip to Montenegro, decided to stop there to see what it was all about. After crossing the mountains and following the river Lim through its canyon, I knew I was approaching the spa when I saw, rising above the forested hills, the white church of St. Nikola. The church is part of an 11th century monastery, which once owned the land where the spa now stands. Now the village of Banja and the Rehabilitation Centre and its swimming pools have joined the monastery at the spring.

The 36ºC water flows out of the ground into one outdoor and three indoor pools. Rich in minerals, the water is claimed to be effective in treating a huge array of ailments. I climbed into the outdoor pool, where a small crowd of people were splashing about in the water. This was my first time at a thermal spa, and the maintenance here looked pretty haphazard and I must admit I was a little worried, but I was assured that the water is constantly replenished and therefore clean.

AGS_Belgrade_90x88 en hi res.pdf So I joined the people in the pool.

I couldn’t believe how pleasant it

was. I decided to put off Montenegro and stay a few more days, to meet the local people and swim some more.

All the rooms in the spa’s Rehabilitation Centre were occupied, so I asked around about private accommodation. Most of the houses in Banja have rooms for rent, and some, like the first house I visited, rent beds in rooms individually. This house was poorly maintained with old furniture, and the bathroom was far from the bedroom. The owner said that all the houses in the area were full, so, essentially, I should take it or leave it.

I left it.

With darkness falling, I grew discouraged, but then I met a woman who took me to a new house where a double room with a shared balcony and a view of the river Lim went for 400 dinars, tourist tax included. It was an amazing deal.

I shared the balcony with the two older ladies from the next room, who in turn shared their coffee, cookies and stories about Priboj and their families with me.

The next morning, I walked to the indoor pools, where about 20 women in bathrobes were waiting outside for their turn. Women and men use the pool in hourly single-sex sessions. If you’re feeling flush, after 8 p.m. you can rent one of the indoor pools for one hour for just 360 dinars; the outdoor pool is free.

After each session, the indoor pools are emptied and refilled from the spring. Next to the pool are wooden benches with rusty metal trim, and the pool bottom has a layer of scattered pebbles and, to be honest, the place won’t win any beauty contests but the water is perfectly clear. Work is in hand to renovate the Rehabilitation Centre, adding a 20 x 10m hydromassage pool and new rooms.

Many of the gray-haired women 2/12/2009 08:06:42 AM in the pool apparently didn’t know how to swim, but they laughed and

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Photo by Duska Stefanovic

The 36ºC spa waters run through the resort. There are three indoor pools and one outdoors.

screamed gleefully. Some sang folk songs. They told stories about their health and explained to me the tradition of either dropping a coin into the pool or collecting coins from the pool to buy grapes to give to infertile couples – their potency is apparently legend!

After my bath, it was time to rest, so I went to the Rehabilitation Centre for lunch. Meals cost 160-250 dinars and are prepared according to strict dietary rules under the supervision of the spa’s doctors. To be honest, although well prepared, it was all a little bland for me.

Restaurants outside the spa offer more traditional Serbian menus featuring all the grilled meat you could ever want!

After a bath, some fresh air and lunch, it was time for a nap. I returned to my room and fell deeply, refreshingly asleep within seconds.

The town of Priboj, the administrative centre of the area, is just 3 km from the spa. The region is culturally mixed, which is evident in local customs and architecture. Local bakeries and restaurants offer Serbian, Montenegrin and Bosnian-Turkish specialties.

You can get to Priboj by bus or train, but it is best to visit by car so you can freely explore the region.

14th century documents describe the town as a major trading centre and, besides the monastery, there are Ottoman-era mosques and other historical sites. Radiona, where King Uros marvelled at his cure, is on a hill near a man-made lake on the Uvac River, and is a good spot to camp. A kilometre from the spa, toward Radoina, is the ’Ethno Village Gaj’, which has a restaurant and four 2-bed cottages (1,100 dinars bed and breakfast or 1,500

including lunch). The nearby Tajna pension charges €5 per night.

At the spa, they say that it takes up to 20 days of bathing to heal some ailments, and that five days of bathing will refresh a healthy person.

The pools and the centre are not luxurious, so don’t expect costly, exotic beauty treatments, but the warm spring waters; the fresh, pine-scented mountain air; bird songs and good company are good enough reasons to visit the Priboj spa.

For more information: Ethno village Gaj: 064 615 6171 Banjaturs agency: 033 454 662 and 064 615 6171 Rehabilitation Center: 033 445 709 and 033 445 133 Tourist Organization of Priboj: topriboj@yahoo.com, http://www.topriboj.org.yu

CMY

K

AGS BELGRADE Niski Autoput 17, 11050 Belgrade Tel: +381 11 347 23 21 Fax: +381 11 347 23 32 Email: belgrade@agsmovers.com

www.agsmovers.com

The Radoina lake is a peaceful place for a picnic, some fishing or just to rest and take in the scenery.

Photo by Duska Stefanovic

10

the belgrader

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

Dining Out

Spaghetteria Trag Most towns used to have a place like this, serving unpretentious food in modest surroundings, but they’re fast becoming a thing of the past, as style takes over from substance.

By Trencherman

T

rag was a recommendation and, without it, we would never have come across this busy restaurant, tucked away in very unpromising surroundings in Djordja Jovanovica.

One of the guys in the office described it as unpretentious, good value pasta and as I’ve avoided the value end of Belgrade’s restaurant scene lately, I thought I’d check it out.

The main dining room is large, perhaps 80 - 100 covers, and there’s a smaller basement dining area which seats perhaps another 30. Each table around the outside of the room is separated from its neighbour by what looks like garden trellis. There are no unnecessary frills in the dining room.

The crowd was almost exclusively local – I certainly heard no English spoken, but as you know, in Serbia, that wouldn’t have been a problem for any diner struggling with the language.

We ordered two salads, vegetable soup, spaghetti frutti di mare and tagliatelle with mushrooms and shrimps and a bottle of chardonnay.

The chardonnay, when it arrived, was from Tikves, a huge Macedonian producer, whose products from this end of the price spectrum (995 dinars) are reliable if not spectacular, and so it was here. Fruity, but with little depth and finish.

We had a Greek salad which could perhaps have done with an olive or two more, but made up for that with a lot of tomato, cucumber and feta. The dressing was a little acidic, and the presentation a little wayward but, for a basic salad, the whole ensemble was fine. The green salad was entirely composed of round lettuce and, again, the dressing was heavy on the vinegar but there was a lot of it, and what there was, was crisp and fresh.

The soup was a disappointment.

Clear stock, with a little carrot and potato sunk in the broth. Little time or effort had gone into the preparation, and it was not even worth the very modest 174 dinars that it cost.

Portion size on the main dishes was generous and the pasta was well prepared. The frutti di mare sauce was a little thick and cloying but had

Photo courtesy of www.spaghetteriatrag.com

Spaghetteria Trag serves good value Italian food, perfect for a weekday supper.

a fresh tomato taste. As perhaps could be expected for the modest price, the mix of seafood was limited to a little white fish, some small prawns and squid. The tagliatelle came in a creamy sauce with a fair portion of field mushrooms and small, warmwater prawns. In all, not fancy, no finesse, but workmanlike and perfectly acceptable.

Profiteroles and ice cream finished off the meal. The first, filled with a

chocolate mousse and topped with a little whipped cream, the second, two small scoops of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and a scattering of nuts.

The bill for all this came to less than 3,500 dinars, which for three courses with wine strikes me as being a very reasonable price for what was competently produced and professionally served food.

Trag is not going to impress your girlfriend, and it’s not a place to con-

clude that million Euro business deal, but for a weekday supper after a hard day’s work, then it fits the bill quite nicely.

Spaghetteria Trag Djordja Jovanovica 2 Tel: 011 3227495 Price guide: 1,250 – 1,750 dinars for three courses with a modest wine.

We Recommend Every week we feature a selection of restaurants picked by our team. They give a flavour of what’s out there on the Belgrade restaurant scene and should provide you with a few alternatives to get you out of your dining rut. Our choices may not always have had the full Trencherman treatment, but you can be sure that one of us has eaten there and enjoyed it.

Monument

Manjez

Madera

Tucked away behind the Foreign Ministry, this busy, unpretentious restaurant serves reasonable international cuisine at fairly reasonable prices. The salads come highly recommended - our correspondent describes them as “tasty and generous”.

Take a trip back 30 years, just by walking through the doors. Traditional old-school Serbian cuisine, in old-school surroundings. Great oldschool service, too.

Close enough to the parliament building for you to take out your guide to Serbian society and play ‘spot-the-politician’ – we reckon that more government business is done here than in the ministries! Good international food and a lovely summer terrace.

Admirala Geprata 12-14 Tel: 011 3617254

Svetozara Markovica 49 Tel: 011 3066602

Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 43 Tel: 011 3231332

Mama Mia The good thing is that they don’t play ABBA (well, not often). One of the few places in town where they understand that sometimes you don’t have 2 hours for lunch, and can speed the service up accordingly. Good value pizzas, pasta and salads in pretty runof-the-mill surroundings.

Resavska 70 - 72 Tel: 011 2687683

the belgrader

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

11

Beldocs

By David Galic

B

elgrade’s new international documentary film festival, BELDOCS, was conceived with the goal of providing film enthusiasts the opportunity to see both some of the most highly-acclaimed international documentary films of the year as well as some of the best that domestic producers have to offer.

Though documentaries are not as popular as mainstream Hollywood features, they can be just as thrilling, emotional and full of adventure. Some of the best creations from across parts of the world will be shown during the festival, which lasts until April 13th.

There will be a total of 15 foreign films presented, including ‘Man on Wire’, which won an Oscar this year for ‘best documentary’. In addition, there will be 10 regional films competing for honours at the festival, which will be judged by experienced documentary-makers.

According to Beldocs’ organisers, the films must be current, original and provocative to make the cut. Outside the headline international and domestic documentaries, another 30 new documentaries, which are yet to premier commercially around the world, will also be shown, giving moviegoers an enormous number of options, and making sure that there is something for everyone at the festival.

As with most similar events, the films will be accompanied by lectures, roundtable discussions, workshops and master classes with world-renowned directors and producers.

Amongst the many films on show, highlights include the aforementioned Oscar-winning ‘Man on Wire’ – the story of Philippe Petit, who hid with a few friends inside the World Trade Centre in New York in 1974, set up a wire between the twin towers, and walked from one to the other, much to the amazement of the New Yorkers who witnessed the bizarre stunt. The documentary takes a detailed look at Petit’s crazy plan, and what had to be done in order to pull it off, including interviews with the man himself and some of the friends that helped him pull it off.

Another interesting offering is ‘Red Race’, which documents China’s gruelling system for finding talented children and turning them into Olympic champions. It investigates the drastic measures these children have gone through for a shot at an Olympic medal, and the accompanying mental anguish, physical strain and emotional stress they live through.

On a somewhat lighter note, there is also ‘Carmen Meets Borat’, the story of villagers from the Bulgarian village of Glod (meaning mud) who, in search of a better life, decided to press charges against the team that filmed the comedy movie ‘Borat’ for falsely depicting their community, the lives they lead, and the values according to which they live.

These and many, many more await film fanatics at the Culture Hall (Dom Kulture) in the Studentski Grad neighbourhood in New Belgrade and at the Balkan Theatre. For detailed information on the event’s venues and schedules, visit Beldocs’ official website at www.beldocs.rs.

Source: www.verzio.ceu.hu

The Beldocs festival will be showing some of the past year’s best documentaries, including ‘Stone Silence’.

Belgrade Children’s Fair 2009

Photo courtesy of www.decijisajam.co.rs

The Belgrade Children’s Fair has everything you need to educate, clothe and entertain the little ones in your life.

I

t’s spring time again, and the kids need new clothes, toys and whatnot – thank goodness for the Belgrade Children’s Fair, where busy parents can find everything they need in one place, with the latest and most exclusive new products to choose from.

Now in its fourth year, this is the first time that the fair will be held in spring. Last year’s event, which took place six months ago in the Expo

Centre, was visited by 40,000 people checking out new products from over 90 different companies.

This year’s fair will include everything from books to toys and clothing, from renowned Serbian and international brands.

Brand new collections of maternity and baby clothing, children’s cosmetic products, sports-related goods, baby food and children’s furniture

will all be on display. Children’s music, movies, television programs, games and magazines will also be on offer at special prices for the event.

Some products will be exclusive to the fair, and this Friday’s opening will witness some companies’ debuts on the Serbian market, with many free samples available.

There will be a series of lectures and presentations on child-rearing,

behaviour, education and child development techniques, with accompanying literature provided. Also, every day, parents and children will be treated to theatre performances, fashion shows, children’s choirs and other assorted musical performances.

The fun doesn’t stop there for the kids. There will be rock-climbing sessions, and playgrounds set up in

the expansive hall where children’s sports clubs will be competing in tournaments, as well as surprise guest athletes that the children will be able to meet and take pictures with.

The fair will be open from Friday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. A detailed list of exhibitors, products and events is available on the fair’s official website at www.decijisajam.rs.

12

the belgrader

Going Out

Bordel

This Dorcol cafe-bar is fast becoming a ‘must visit’ for a weekend night on the town.

By David Galic

Reporting from Belgrade

B

ordel (Brothel) is a new cafe/ club in the Dorcol neighbourhood of Belgrade, which can be a place to dance the night away, or a calm and relaxed spot to come and grab a drink with someone special, depending on the day of the week and the time of day.

Bordel’s first big plus is that it is located in trendy, downtown Dorcol, but not on Strahinica Bana, where most of Belgrade’s stuffier clubs – replete with patrons’ expensive cars parked illegally out front – are located.

Thankfully, the decor inside Bordel is not nearly as risque or exotic as the name might suggest. There are no cages, lava lamps, naked women, beaded curtains, nor anything else one might expect to see in a brothel…not that I’ve been anywhere near Photo by Sophie Cottrell to a real one, honest!

In fact, the interior is rather tame. Bordel plays cool commercial house and mainstream dance music in relaxed surroundings.

Tasteful paintings of pretty women adorn the walls of the small club, groups. Just on a hunch from observing it would be a great place to host a with circular light fixtures beaming the patrons, I would guess that the own- more personal party – a birthday, a subtle, red light. The bar is well- ers of the cafe are young, native Dorcol business social, or even an engageequipped and stocked, and the serv- dwellers and that many of the people ment, perhaps. who frequent their place are either their Bordel is a great place to either ice is very friendly. have a late afternoon coffee with a The prices are good, especially friends, or know someone who is.

The demographic is mostly mid- friend, or somewhere to take a first considering the location: whether you are craving an espresso during 20s to mid-30s, which gives the date in order to get to know each the day or a beer at night, neither will place a pleasant, well-mannered yet other. Although it’s very thoughtfun-spirited vibe. I would recom- fully done up and almost looks posh, set you back more than €2.

On Friday and Saturday nights, mend this place to those who like the prices do not scream “I’m trying Bordel can get pretty packed, al- to hang out in nice-looking cafes in to impress you!” The staff are courthough this is not a difficult achieve- the daytime, but who are turned off teous, and the music is played at a ment, since it is fairly small. There is, by the exclusive, ritzy, gaudy feel of very sensible volume. There is also however, an upstairs area that is more Strahinica Bana’s clubs for their fix a selection of music, fashion and arts magazines to scan through if you are laid-back on party nights. The main of Belgrade’s nightlife.

However, if you’re looking for dropping by alone for a quick drink. area of the cafe has padded, bootha nightclub for ‘serious’ dancing, I I can see this place becoming a style seating lining one side.

The music is mostly commercial would recommend going somewhere popular stop-off before a gruelling house and an assortment of other else. The building is just not large night out for locals, and for people mainstream dance setting the tone enough to host a huge party, nor does just looking to catch up in the early the music stand to impress anyone evening with a friend for some drinks for the night. in a smart-looking cafe in a prime, Many of the people here appear who is really into the club scene.

However, Bordel seems as if central city location. to be locals, usually coming in larger

My Picks

Boutique Chic Every week, Rian Harris tells us one of her favourite places to shop. I can’t give you a rundown on what

brands are available, as unfortunately this is one of those places that cuts all the tags off their clothing for reasons unclear to me. I did spot a couple of Chloe pieces, though, and I can tell you that they offer bags by top designers such as Miu Miu and Prada.

They’ve also got an outrageous shoe collection. Prices are steep: a strappy

By Rian Harris pair of heels with a dragonfly motif was 17,000 dinars, whilst many of f you’re heading somewhere their tunics and short dresses were in swanky for the Easter holidays the 14,000 dinar range. and need to find something special fast, you might want to swing by Boutique Chic Boutique Chic and check out their Resavska 12h very upmarket, hip women’s wear. Mon-Fri 9:00-21:00, Sat 9:00-16:00

I

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

We Recommend Friday

Crvena Jabuka One of the most popular pop rock groups from the former Yugoslavia, Crvena Jabuka (Red Apple), will be playing their traditional spring show in Belgrade’s Sava Centar.

Find out what made them so big, and observe legions of Yu-nostalgics singing along and perhaps shedding a few tears to classic pop songs from their youth. Sava Centar, Milentija Popovica 5

Saturday

Shackleton

One of the most sought-after dubstep producers in the world right now, Shackleton will delight fans of his increasingly popular style of UK dance music, masterfully lacing dark and brooding two-step, garage and dub beats.

Shackleton – founder of the Skull Disco label – does not make a habit of performing live or touring too often, so be sure not to miss this if you are a dubstep devotee. Apartman, Karadjordjeva 43

Sunday

Chamber music An evening of relaxing chamber music by the Jelena Duo, featuring violinist Jelena Zivkovic and cellist Jelena Uscimlic. The repertoire for the evening will focus on compositions by mainstays such as Bach and Mozart, but will also feature some of Honegger’s work for variety. Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, Studentski Trg 5

Monday

Classical Duos SANU Gallery’s series of weekly classical mini-concerts continues with Soprano Biljana Valcic-Bulatovic performing classics by Rachmaninov and Strauss, accompanied on piano by Milica Miljanic this week. SANU Gallery, Kneza Mihaila 35

Tuesday

Goribor One of the most critically-acclaimed groups to appear in Serbia over the last ten years, Goribor play an eclectic brand of rock that dabbles in everything from electronica to blues and alternative noise. Aleksandar Stojkovic, the band’s eccentric vocalist, provides stream-of-consciousness lyrics and unpredictable behaviour, guaranteeing a captivating performance. REX, Jevrejska 16

Wednesday

Exhibition: Installations This exhibition closes on Monday, so make sure to stop by and have a look! The artists with work on display are Elise Vandewalle and Andres Ramirez, and their installations were made possible here in Belgrade through a cooperative project between the Belgrade Arts University and Paris art school, Ecole des Beaux Arts. A joint exhibition by students from both schools is scheduled for next April, so look out for that as well. SKC Gallery, Kralja Milana 48

Thursday

Rozenhill Rozenhill are a new, young Swedish metal band, coming to Serbia to promote their debut album, ‘King Without Domain.’ They play a modern form of what Sweden has been known for most over the last 15 years – scorching melodic death metal. Supporting them will be two excellent Serbian rock bands, rap/metal newcomers Decontrolled and death metal masters Through Art. Living Room, Kralja Milana 48

the belgrader

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

13

What’s On CINEMAS Roda Cineplex Pozeska 83A, tel: 011 2545260 Bolt: 16:15 Monsters vs. Aliens: 16:30, 18:15 Race to Witch Mountain: 18:00, 20:15 Milk: 22:15 Dom sindikata Trg Nikole Pasica 5, tel: 011 3234849 Marley and Me: 16:20 Monsters vs. Aliens: 16:30 Race to Witch Mountain: 18:00 Gran Torino: 18:15, 20:15, 22:30 The Wrestler: 18:00, 22:00

Yu Rock, White, Pariska 1a, 23:00 Can’t Stop the Rock, KST, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 76, 23:00 Deep in Disco, Disco Bar Energija, Nusiceva 8, 23:00

Other: Exhibition: Aleksandar Zaric, portraits, Student Cultural Centre, Kralja Milana 48, 17 Translating (play), Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Srpskih Vladara 50, 20:00 Ceif (play), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Milesevska 64

Saturday, April 11 Music:

Ster City Cinema Delta City, Jurija Gagarina 16 (Blok 67), tel: 011 2203400 Race to Witch Mountain: 11:10, 13:10, 15:10, 17:10, 19:10, 21:10 Monsters vs. Aliens: 11:50, 14:10, 16:30, 18:50 Marley and Me: 23:10 Transporter 3: 21:50 The Reader: 12:20, 14:50, 17:20, 19:50, 22:20 Tuckwood Cineplex Kneza Milosa 7, tel: 011 3236517 He’s Just Not That Into You: 22:15 Race to Witch Mountain: 16:15, 18:30 Dusk: 15:45 The Pink Panther 2: 16:00 Marley and Me: 17:45, 20:00 The Baader Meinhof Complex: 17:00 Gran Torino: 18:00, 20:15, 22:30 7 Lives: 23:15

Friday, April 10 Music: Letu Stuke, Skroz, Sikter, Student Cultural Centre, Kralja Milana 48, 23:00 Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra with Ronald Colman and Maxime Risanov, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Studentski Trg 5, 20:00 ProRock, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00 Odium, Danguba, Cirila i Meotdija 2, 22:00 Leone Kate Tuccinardi, programme: Scarlatti, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Artget Gallery, Trg Republike 5, 20:00

Sara Dominici, piano, programme: Mozart, Liszt, Busoni, Artget Gallery, Trg Republike 5, 20:00 Ensemble Renesans, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Studentski Trg 5, 20:00 HammerFall, Student Cultural Centre, Kralja Milana 48, 21:00 Consecration, Hesus Ator, Organized Chaos, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00

Nightlife: Orestis, xLagoom, Svetozara Radica 1, 23:00 Saturday Night Fever, Baltazar, Karadjordjeva 9, 23:00 House Fever, Mr. Stefan Braun, Nemanjina 4/9, 23:00 Disco House Night, White, Pariska 1a, 23:00 Domacica, KST, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 76, 23:00 Human Blue, Namaste, Budimska 16, 23:30 DJ Djole Alempic, Batler, Francuska 12, 23:00

Other: The Power of Destiny (opera), National Theatre, Trg Republike 1, 20:00 Exhibition: The Face of Italy Changing, Italian Cultural Centre, Kneza Milosa 56 Exhibition: Bojana Dimitrovski, Illustrations, Students Cultural Centre, Kralja Milana 48, 17:00

Sunday, April 12

Nightlife:

Music:

Biennal Tehran Urban Jealousy, CZKD, Bircaninova 21, 21:00 Clap.Beep.Boom, DJs Felony Flats, Abdul Tom, Moodswinger, Siprazje, Golsvortijeva 13, 22:00 DJ Stevie, Underworld, Corner of Ruzveltova and 27. Marta, 23:00 Vocal House, Mr. Stefan Braun, Nemanjina 4/9, 23:00

Azra Live Tribute Band, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00 Demo Masters 202, Danguba, Cirila i Metodija 2, 22:00 Jelena Zivkovic and Jelena Uscumlic, (chamber music), programme: Bach, Mozart, Honegger, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Studentski Trg 5, 11:00

Nightlife:

Nightlife:

Thursday, April 16

Timbe, Dvokasetas, Francuska sobarica, Francuska 12, 23:00 Sportsman Night, White, Pariska 1a, 23:00 Shaker Party, Mr. Stefan Braun’s Garden, Vojislava Ilica 86, 23:00 Karaoke, Miss Moneypenny, Ada Ciganlija (Makiska side 4), 21:30 Leftovers, Blue Moon, Kneginje Ljubice 4, 23:00 Lazy Sunday Afternoon, Fest, Gradski Park 2, 22:00 Hip hop & drum’n’bass, Underworld Corner of Ruzveltova and 27 Marta, 23:00

Psychodelic Tuesday, Underworld, Corner of Ruzveltova and 27 Marta, 23:00 Diesel Party, Mr. Stefan Braun, Nemanjina 4/9, 23:00 Discount Night, Fest, Majke Jevrosime 20, 22:00 Pertipikulator, Blue Moon, Kneginje Ljubice 4, 23,00 Riffs, Francuska Sobarica, Francuska 12, 23:00 Zex Kazanova, Bambo Bar, Strahinjica Bana 71, 22:00

Music:

Other:

Romance (play), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Milesavska 64, 20:00 Don Krsto (play), Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Srpskih Vlada 50, 20:00 Exhibition: Curatorial Workshop, Goranco Gjorgjevski, Remont Gallery, Makedonska 5, 17:00 Exhibition: Momcilo Moma Antonovic, New Paintings, Gallery 107, Glavna 53, Zemun, 19:00

The Smell of Rain over the Balkans (play), Madlenianum, Glavna 32, Zemun, 20:00 Exhibition: Mirjana Djosic, Zaprokur Gallery, Rige od Fere, 4

Monday, April 13 Music: Concert of Serbian and Italian pianists, Artget Gallery, Trg Republike 5, 20:00 Project: Russian Culture in Serbia Olga Kalinina (soprano), Svetlana Vilinova (piano), Guarnerius, Dzordza Vasingtona 12, 20:00

Nightlife: DJ Moodswinger, Lukatoyboy, MrNana, Francuska sobarica, Francuska 12, 23:00 Zlo & Naopako, Student Cultural Centre, Kralja Milana 48, 23:00 Video concerts, Fest, Gradski Park 2, 22:00 Dj Dutya, Francuska Sobarica, Francuska 12, 22:00 House Party (DJ Kobac), Blue Moon, Kneginje Ljubice 4, 23:00 Bla Bla Band, Vanila, Studentski trg 15, 22:30

Other: Carmen (opera), National Theatre, Trg Republike 1, 19:00 Emanuel Gat Troupe: Winter Voyage/ Rites of Spring (Belgrade Dance Festival), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Milesevska 64, 20:00 Exhibition: Mladen Tusup, Collages, Akademija, Rajiceva 10, 19:00

Tuesday, March 14 Music: Metal Battle, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00 Trio Tchaikovsky, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, 20:00 Goribor, Rex Cultural Centre, Jevrejska 16, 21:00

Other:

Wednesday, April 15 Music: Point Blank, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00 VIS Bolonjci, Danguba, Cirila i Metodija 2, 22:00 Jelena Djajic-Levajac, piano, programme: Lj. Maric, Hayden, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Studentski Trg 5, 18:00 Rajko Radovic, guitar and voice, Guarnerius, Dzordza Vasingtona 12, 20:00

Nightlife: Play Loud, KST, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 76, 23:00 Cocktail Wednesdays, Mamolo, Ilije Garasanina 26, 21:00 Dark Industry, Underworld, Corner of Ruzveltova and 27. Marta, 23:00 Salsa Night, Havana, Nikole Spasica 1, 22:00 Samba, Bossa, Jazzy, Salvador Dali, Hilandarska 20, 22:00 Diesel Party, Mr. Stefan Braun, Nemanjina 4/9, 23:00

Other: Elling (play), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Milesevska 6, 20:00 Exhibition: Fashion at the 60’s Mirror, Ethnography Museum, Studentski Trg 13, 17:00 Exhibition: Carnevalization of artistic consciousness, Progress Gallery, Knez Mihajlova 27, 19:00 A Flea in the Ear (play), Bojan Stupica Scene, Kralja Milana 50, 20:30

Rozenhill, Decontrolled, Through Art, Living Room, Kralja Milana 48, 22:00 ProRock, Danguba, Cirila i Metodija 2, 22:00 Choir and Symphonic Orchestra of Radio Television of Serbia, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment Studentski Trg 5, 20:00

Nightlife: Gothic and Electro, KST, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 76, 23:00 Trashcoteque, Energija, Nusiceva 8, 23:00 A Little Bit of 90s, Mistique, Aberdareva 1b, 23:00 Ladies’ Night, Mr. Stefan Braun’s Garden, Vojislava Ilica 86, 23:00 Playground Radio Show Live, Tapas Bar, Dositejeva 17, 22:00 Karaoke Night, Gaucosi, Dunavska 17a, 23:00 DJ Krsh i Lom, Underworld, Corner of Ruzveltova and 27. Marta, 23:00

Other: The Merchant of Venice (play), Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Kralja Milana 50, 20:00 Exhibition: Enchantment, Vedrana Kuburovic, Art@Art , Kralja Milana 48, 19:00 Exhibition: Mediaphosis by Selena Savic and Marija Djorgovic, Dom omladine, Makedonska 22, 19:00 Delirium Tremens (play), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Milesevska 6, 20:00

14

sport

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

Derby Overshadowed

by Fresh Outburst of Madness More than 50 Red Star fans were arrested after they clashed with police and set the northern tier of Partizan’s stadium on fire following their team’s 2-0 defeat in the Belgrade derby.

By Zoran Milosavljevic Reporting from Belgrade

W

ednesday’s clash between Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade and their bitter rivals Red Star produced good football and, sadly, another outburst of the mindless violence which has plagued the domestic soccer scene for the last two decades. Partizan edged closer to their 21st league title after superb goals from Lamine Diarra and Nikola Vujovic gave them a 2-0 win, but events on the pitch were once again overshadowed by incidents in the terraces. Frustrated Red Star fans, watching their team hit its lowest ebb since it won the European Cup in 1991, set fire to the northern tier of Partizan’s stadium after the final whistle, having

fought running battles with riot police outside the ground before the kickoff. The fire brigade had to move in to extinguish dozens of blazes as smoke billowed into the warm air in one of Belgrade’s most densely populated residential areas.

The fixture, Yugoslavia’s and then Serbia’s ‘eternal derby’, has a history of crowd trouble and there have been several fatalities down the years in fierce clashes between rival fans, who are divided by neither ethnicity, nor religion, nor the territorial ‘demarcation lines’ that exist in other soccer hotbeds across the world. In fact, there is nothing apart from club colour separating hordes of angry young men in Belgrade, who are unworthy of calling themselves football fans after driving away most decent supporters to watch their football from the safety of their living rooms.

The Red Star fans have once again shot their club in the foot, as their rampage is more than likely to result in serious repercussions from the Serbian Football Federation and the government. A hefty fine is the

Photo by FoNet

The fire brigade had to move in to extinguish fires in the northern section of Partizan’s stadium after Belgrade’s soccer derby. Partizan beat Red Star 2-0 to edge closer to their 21st league title.

least punishment that Red Star can expect, and it’s the last thing they need while battling a dire financial crisis and rifts within a board incapable of dealing with a €20 million debt and with revenues falling on a daily basis. Red Star’s glory days, epitomised by their 1991 European Cup conquest, are a distant memory – not least because the present outfit is so devoid of any quality that it would

struggle in the lower tiers of a halfdecent European league, never mind the continent’s top flight.

For what it’s worth, Partizan dominated an entertaining derby from start to finish and celebrated their first home win over Red Star in eight years after Diarra tapped in a fine low cross by talented winger Nemanja Tomic and Vukovic rifled an unstoppable second into the top corner. But

the joy of Partizan’s fans was shortlived, as they could only watch helplessly as the northern tier of their stadium went up in flames after the final whistle. If this was not the last straw for the football authorities, then the Serbian game is in trouble.

Zoran Milosavljevic is Belgrade Insight’s sports writer and also a regional sports correspondent for Reuters.

Rampant Murray Ousts Djokovic in Miami Britain’s Andy Murray has crept closer to Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings after his impressive win over the Serb, his close friend and bitter on-court rival, in the Miami ATP Masters.

By Zoran Milosavljevic Reporting from Belgrade

I

t would be audacious to say that Andy Murray is the next world number one at this stage of his young tennis career, but the 21-year old Scot has dispelled any remaining doubts over his potential after a brilliant week in Miami. Although he played neither newly-crowned king Rafael Nadal nor his predecessor Roger Federer in Miami, Murray was impressive in his ruthless 6-2, 7-5 win over Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final. Although Djokovic will hold on to the number three spot after the

defeat, he is perilously close to being leapfrogged by Murray, who has few points to defend in the upcoming clay season, whereas Djokovic, his close friend off-court and ferocious rival on it, has a more difficult job after doing exceptionally well in 2008.

Slowly but surely, Murray is becoming Djokovic’s nemesis, having won their last three meetings after losing the opening four. Following his hard-fought win over Federer in the semi-finals, when the outgoing Swiss maestro mangled and disfigured his racket in a fit of rage, Djokovic surrendered rather tamely to Murray, in what turned out to be a one-sided affair. Having lost the open-

ing set without putting up a decent fight, Djokovic went 5-2 up in the second, before Murray staged a spirited fightback to claim his third Masters. With the score level at 5-5 in the second, it was clear from Djokovic’s body language that the fight had gone from him.

“I was, I think, the biggest enemy to myself. I was struggling again and trying to adjust to the heat,” Djokovic told reporters after the match. “But I was really impatient at the start. I made a huge number of unforced errors and he was just playing very solidly and waiting for his chances and serving quite well, moving superbly all over the court,” added Djokovic.

“I managed to come back in the second set but I didn’t play smart at 5-3. I had two set points, I should have taken those opportunities and then who knows what could have happened in the third set.”

Murray was understandably pleased with his effort. “I played a very good first set and then Novak called the trainer after I broke him in the first game of the second set,” he said. “We had a little break and then he started to come to the net on 60, 70 percent of the points, while I lost my rhythm for a little while.

But obviously I managed to find it, when it was important, at the end of

that set. Any time you win a tournament, it obviously gives you confidence. The Masters series have always been the big ones after the grand slams - they’re tough tournaments to win,” Murray said.

Djokovic’s attention will now inevitably turn to next month’s Serbia Open in Belgrade, the first ATP tournament ever to be held in the country.

The tournament, organised by the 21year old Serb and his family, will draw very few top players, but huge crowds are nevertheless expected to turn up for the May 2nd - 10th event, taking place at the rebuilt tennis courts situated on the banks of the Sava river.

directory

Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009

15

Accounting & Auditing

Fitness Clubs

Lawyers

Photo service

BDO BC Excell, Knez Mihailova 10, 011 3281299.

ConsulTeam, Prote Mateje 52, 011 3086180.

Deloitte, Kralja Milana 16, 011 3612524.

Ernst & Young, Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 115d, 011 2095700.

KPMG, Studentski trg 4, 011 3282892.

Pricewater House Coopers, Omladinskih brigada 88a, 011 3302100.

SEECAP, Marsala Birjuzova 22, 011 3283100.

Extreme Gym, Cvijiceva 1, 011 2764335, 08:00 - 24:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 22:00.

Power Gym, Steve Todorovica 32, 011 3545935, 09:00 - 22:00.

Wellness Centar, Kraljice Natalije 38-40, 011 2686268, 07:30 - 23:00, Sat, Sun 09:00 21:00.

Zvezda City Oaza, Ada Ciganlija, 011 3554652, 07:00 - 22:30, Sat, Sun 09:00 22:30.

Baklaja Igric Mujezinovic in Association with Clyde & Co, Gospodar Jevremova 47, 011 303 8822 Harrison Solicitors, Terazije 34, 011 3615918.

Law Office, Takovska 13, 011 3227133, 063 383116, www.businesslawserbia.com.

Color Foto, Svetogorska 4, 011 3245982.

Foto Studio 212, Cvijiceva 63, 011 3374015.

Models, Svetog Save 16-18, 011 3449608.

Aikido Real Aikido World Centre, Slavujev venac 1, 011 3089199.

Ballet classes Orhestra Ballet Studio, Cirila i Metodija 2a, 011 2403443.

Majdan Children’s Cultural Centre, Kozjacka 3-5, 011 3692645.

Bookshops

Gifts & Souvenirs Adore, New Millennium Shopping Centre, entrance from Knez Mihailova 21, Delta City 011 2625056, 10:00 - 20:00, Sat 10:00 - 15:00, closed Sun. Beoizlog, Trg Republike 5, 011 3281859, 09:00 - 21:00, Sat 09:00 15:00, closed Sun. Singidunum, Terazije 42, 011 2643158, 09:00 - 21:00, closed Sun. Zdravo-Zivo, Nusiceva 3, 063 8785988, 12:00 - 16:00, closed Sun, www.serbiasouvenirs.com

Apropo, Cara Lazara 10, 011 2625839, 10:00 - 20:00, Sat 10:00 - 16:00, Closed Sun. IPS-Akademija, Knez Mihailova 35, 011 2636514, 09:00 - 23:00.

Mamut, corner of Sremska and Knez Mihailova, 011 2639060, 09:00- 22:00, Sun 12:00 22:00.

Golf

Bowling

Health

Colosseum, Dobanovacka 56 (Zemun), 011 3165403, 11:00 - 01:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 02:00.

First bowling, Gradski Park u Zemunu, 011 3771612, 11:00 - 01:00, Sat, Sun 11:00 17:00.

Kolosej, Jurija Gagarina 16 (Delta City), 0113129944, 09:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 09:00 02:00, Sun 09:00 - 24:00.

Anlave CD, Vase Pelagica 68, 011 3175929, www.anlave.co.yu.

Bel Medic General Hospital, Koste Jovanovica 87, 011 3091000, www.belmedic.com.

Bel Medic Outpatient Clinic, Viktora Igoa 1, 011 3091000, www.belmedic.com.

MEDIX, Novopazarska 30, 011 3085805, www.medix.co.yu.

Golf Klub Beograd, Ada Ciganlija, 011 3056837.

Belgrade Arena, Bulevar Arsenija Carnojevica 58, 011 220 22 22, www.arenabeograd. com.

Business connections Belgrade Stock Exchange, Omladinskih brigada 1, 011 3117297, www.belex.co.yu.

Business Registration Agency C-2, Trg Nikole Pasica 5, 011 3331400, www.apr.sr.gov.yu.

Chamber of Commerce of Belgrade, Kneza Milosa 12, 011 2641335, www.kombeg.org.yu.

Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 15, 011 3617583, www.merr.sr.gov.yu.

Ministry of Trade and Services, Nemanjina 22-26, 011 3610579.

Privatization Agency, Terazije 23, 011 3020800, www.priv.yu.

Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Resavska 13-15, 011 3300900, pks. komora.net.

SIEPA - Investment and Export Promotion Agency, Vlajkoviceva 3, 011 3398550.

Horse riding Aleksa Dundic Riding Club, Belgrade Hippodrome, Pastroviceva 2, 011 3541584.

Children’s playrooms Extreme Kids, Cvijiceva 1, 011 2764335.

Puf-Puf, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 165a, 011 3111793.

Consulting CES Mecon, Danijelova 12-16, 011 3090800, www.cesmecon.com.

Dekleva & Partners Ltd., Hilandarska 23, 011 3033649, www.dekleva1.com.

EKI Investment, Kralja Milana 16, 011 3613164, www.eki-investment.com.

Dentists (on duty 24 hours) Stari Grad, Obilicev Venac 30, 011 2635236.

Vracar, Kneginje Zorke 15, 011 2441413.

Dry cleaners Cleaning Servis, Palmoticeva 10, 011 3233206.

Pop’s, Mercator Shopping Centre, Bulevar Umetnosti 4, 011 3130251.

International schools Anglo-American School, Velisava Vulovica 47, 011 3675777.

Britannica International School, Uzicka 21a, 011 3671557.

British International School, Svetozara Radojcica 4, 011 3467000.

Chartwell International School, Teodora Drajzera 38, 011 3675340.

Ecole Francaise de Belgrade, Kablarska 35, 011 3691762.

Deutsche Schule Belgrad, Sanje Zivanovic 10, 011 3693135.

International Nursery School, Nake Spasic 4, 011 2667130.

International School of Belgrade, Temisvarska 19, 011 2069999.

Kindergartens Sunasce, Admirala Geprata 8a ulaz 5/1, 011 3617013.

Marry Poppins, Kursulina 37, 011 2433059.

Real estate

Money transfer

Eurodiplomatic, Dravska 18, 011 3086878.

Mentor, Milesevska 2, 011 3089080.

Slavija rent, Beogradska 33, 011 3341281.

Western Union, Kosovska 1, 011 3300300.

Shoe repairS

Open Markets

Sasa M, Kosovska 35, 011 3227238.

Air Zak, Kralja Aleksandra 254/a, 011 2413283.

Bajlonijeva Pijaca, Dzordza Vasingtona bb, 011 3223472, 07:00 - 16:00 Blok 44, Jurija Gagarina bb, 011 2158232, 07:00 - 16:00.

Kalenic Pijaca, Maksima Gorkog bb, 011 2450350, 07:00 - 16:00.

Zeleni venac, Jug Bogdanova bb, 011 2629328, 07:00 - 16:00.

Opticians Diopta, Kralja Milana 4, 011 2687539.

La Gatta, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 43, 011 3244914.

M&M optic, Jurija Gagarina 153/18, Novi Beograd, 011 1760772.

Pharmacies (on duty 24 hours) Aqua Pharm 2, Corner of Kneza Milosa and Visegradska Streets, 011 3610171.

Bogdan Vujosevic, Goce Delceva 30, 011 2601887.

Miroslav Trajkovic, Pozeska 87, 011 3058482.

Prvi Maj, Kralja Milana 9, 011 3241349.

Sveti Sava, Nemanjina 2, 011 2643170.

Zemun, Glavna 34, 011 2618582.

Spa & Beauty Salons Jai Thai, Vase Pelagica 48, 011 3699193.

Spa Centar, Strahinjica Bana 5, 011 3285408.

St Angelina, Karnegijeva 3, 011 3232058.

Sun Beauty Center, Strahinica Bana 29, 011 2182090.

Zorica, Dobracina 33, 011 3285922.

TAXI SERVICES Beotaxi, 011 970 Beogradski taxi, 011 9801 Lux taxi, 011 3033123 NBA taxi, 011 3185777 Pink taxi, 011 9803 Translators Association of Technical and Scientific Translators of Serbia, Kicevska 9, 011 2442729.

Belgrade Translation Center, Dobracina 50, 011 3287388.

Center Lomonosov, Hilandarska 23, 011 3343184.

16

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Friday, Apr. 10 - Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009