Belgrade Insight, No. 8

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NEWS NEWS

Friday • June 13 • 2008

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Weekly Issue No. Oct. 23, 2008 Issue No.8,1 Friday, / Friday,Oct. June17 13,- 2008

SerbiaofSeeks Deal over EU Splits KosovoSocialists Mission Lure Tadic Alliance

Serbian President Boris Tadic said the country will accept EULEX‘s presence under certain conditions.

Group that divisions between While younger Socialists support joining a new, pro-EUCrisis government, old Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority and some 100,000 remaining Serbs have widened following Kosovo’s Milosevic loyalists threaten revolt over the prospect. unilateral declaration of independence on February partyfrom overSerbia which way to turn. 17.

The United Mission in “The situationNations in the party seems Kosovo, UNMIK, which has adminextremely complicated, as we try istered Kosovo since the end of the to convinceconflict the few between remainingSerb lag1998-1999 gards that we need to move out of forces and ethnic Albanians, has Milosevic’s one Socialist been wrappingshadow,” up its mission under a procedure it calls ‘reconfiguration’.

Party official complained.

EULEXwill is due to become the “Dacic eventually side with main bodyhis in party Kosovo, Tadicinternational in a bid to guide into although its powers will be largely the European mainstream, but much supervisory, particularly relating to of fields the membership offithe of policingand andmany the judicials may oppose that move.” ciary.

Nikolic agreed: “The But EULEX’s abilityquestion to fullyis deploy, eightormonths will the some party split will the after ‘oldBrussels okayed its biggest ever setimers’ back down,” he noted. curity and defence policy Fearing they might notoperation cross the has concerned Western powers.

5-per-cent threshold to enter parliaCritically, it lacks a mandate ment, the the Socialists teamedCouncil, up with from UN Security the Association of Pensioners andany the since Russia has vowed to block United Serbia Party, ledstatus by businesschanges to Kosovo’s which do notDragan have approval Serbia. man Markovicfrom “Palma”.

Belgrade leader, and Moscow have Pensioners Jovan Krkobaalso this argue bic,used Palma andshortcoming Dacic are alltopushing Kosovo’s independence is in fact for a deal with the Democrats. illegal under international law.

The reported price is woes the post of Adding to EULEX’s is the deputy PM, with a brief in charge of question of whether it could ever securityacross for the the Socialist leader. deploy whole territory of Kosovo.

In addition, the Socialists are barKosovo Serbs, particularly gaining for other ministries, includthose livinginvestments, north of the Kosovo River Ibar, ing capital and where they make up a majority, education, Belgrade media reported. have so far defied Kosovo’s indeTadic has denied of horsependence thanks to talk political and trading with the Socialists, maintainfinancial assistance from Belgrade. ingThey that ministries would to go put onlyup to are also likely stiff resistance to to theworking EULEXformisthose committed the sion. government’s “strategic goal”.

“UNMIK our seems only leAt the sameremains time, Dacic regitimate partner in Kosovo,” Serluctant to call off negotiations with bia’s Minister for Kosovo Goran the nationalists.

Bogdanovic said, rejecting the “If announcement we don’t reach that an agreement EU’s its miswith will the DSS and Radicals, the parsion be fully operational by December across whole territy leadership will the decide on future tory of Kosovo. steps”, Dacic announced, following

BUSINESS EDITOR’S WORD Natural gas prices jump 60 per cent, Political Predictability while Serbian privatisation is again delayed.

By Mark R. Pullen

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OUT & ABOUT This week we take a walk on the wild side of one of Serbia’s most well preserved national parks.

Many of us who have experienced numerous Serbian elections rate ourselves as pundits when it comes to predicting election results and post-election moves.

Page 9 We feel in-the-know because our experience of elections in Serbia has shownLIFE us that (a.) no single party coalition will everthat gain the We lookorinto regional foods cross ethnic andrequired national to borders. majority form a government, and (b.) political negotiations will never be quickly concluded.

Even when the Democrats Compromise with EULEX is possible but only with UN blessing, says Tadic Source: www.delo.si achieved their surprising result at last month’s general election, it with officials from Russia and the ment independence in Kosovo. We

By Rade Maroevic quickly became clear that the reUnited States, with everyone who are going to fight to make sure that in Belgrade sult was actually more-or-less the is vitally important to the future does not happen,” Tadic said. same as every other election result Socialist leaderPresident Ivica Dacic remains the Serbian kingmaker erbia’s Boris Tadic The move towards a comproof Kosovo and Serbia,” Tadic told in Serbia, i.e. inconclusive. says a compromise with Brus- Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. mise between Belgrade and Brusfaces extinction unless itby changes.

This is likely to continue as long Serbia’s late president, Slobodan

By Rade in Belgrade selsMaroevic is possible over the deploy- to However was also signalled the EU’s Tadic emphasised that sels ment of the European Union’s new Belgrade’s representative Kosovo, of the However, a strong in current also as Serbia’s politiciansPage form10new Milosevic, acceptance and reformists whoEurowant special law and mission to said direction, that “recent mission’s presence in Kosovo flows Feith, in the who opposite led political parties every time they the party to become a modern Euro- Pieter enseorder negotiations onKosovo. a new gov- pean SPORT Tadic saidhave Belgrade to would between Serbia, be conditional on it being consultations” by party veterans enraged by the the disagree with their current party pean social democrat organisation. ernment divided wants the ranks find a compromise over the deploy- given a green light by the UN Se- EU and New York opened the posSerbian football gives fans plenty to prospect of a deal with Tadic. leader (there are currently 342 regAfter eight years of stagnation, of the Socialist Party, which holds cheer about. ment of the 2,200-strong European curity Council, on the United Na- sibility for a widely acceptable soMihajlo Markovic, a founder of istered political parties in Serbia). the Socialists returned to centre stage the balance of power between the Union mission to Kosovo, known tions Mission retaining its neutral lution for EULEX. the party, recently warned of a crisis Drawn-out negotiations are also after winning 20 of the 250 seats in main blocs and has yet to announce as EULEX, but with blessing of the stance towards the status of Ser“There is a possibility that conif Dacic opts for theBelgrade, pro-European the norm. One Belgrade-based parliament the May 11 elections. which side they Security will support.

United Nations Council. between the bia’s formerinprovince and, last but sultations Thelooks world’s security bodywill re- notWith New York will result in least,theonpro-European the dropping plans EU bloc,and abandoning the Socialists’ “natAmbassador recently told me he andofnation“It as top if the Socialists mains the issue since of solution and the UN’s implement the blueprint for Ko- some ural” kind ideological partners. was also alarmed by the distinct blocs almost evenly matched, move divided towards on a government led veby toalist to-wielding member Russia, strongly EULEX. But I beindependence by authorisation Markovic, for a prominent supporter lack of urgency among Serbian the Socialists now have devised the final say the Democrats,” political analyst Mi- sovo’s Page 13 backs Serbia’s territorial integrity and former UN envoy and Nobel Peace lieve there is no real need for that,” of Milosevic during the 1990s, is politicians. “The country is at a on the fate of the country. lan Nikolic, of the independent Cenhas previously echoed Belgrade’s Prize laureate, Martti Ahtisarri.

Feith said, adding that the EU seen as representative of the “oldstandstill and I don’t understand Nikolic believes the Socialists, led looks tre of Policy “But concerns thatStudies, EULEXsaid. seeks tosuch forforward to cooperation with “Anyone who finds fault with WHAT’S ON timers” in the party who want to stay their logic. If they are so eager to by Ivica Dacic, will come over to a move might provoke deeper divimalise Kosovo’s independence. these principles has a problem Belgrade on the matter soon.

Your weekly listing and to the true to the former regime’s policies, progress towards the guide EU and enTadic, if only out of pragmaticpardesions“We and even split the party.” are working on that in with logic.

There area political These statements were followed arts and social scene. how come they all Simultaneous international forums, with held the ties are trying to foolsurvival.

Serbian by from international evenwarnings though these almost ruined the courage investors, sire that to ensure their political negotiations UN Council and and nationalthe EU, citizens that EULEX willSocialists imple- think-tanks such as the International Socialists for good. go home at 5pm sharp and don’t “The group of younger withSecurity the pro-European the first session of country’s new parSome younger Socialist officials work weekends?” gathered around Dacic seems to be ist blocs have drawn attention to a liament on Wednesday. have voiced frustration over the conSurely the situation is urgent in the majority”, Nikolic said, adding deep rift inside the Socialists. POLITICS ECONOMICS tinuing impasse within their own enough to warrant a little overtime. that these reformists believe the party This divides “old-timers” loyal Source: Balkan Insight (www.balkaninsight.com)

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Julijana Mojsilovic speaks with Aleksandar Vucic about his decision to THIS join forces withISSUE TomislavOF Nikolic in the new Belgrade Progressive Party.

Insight

IS SUPPORTED BY:

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Business Insight

Costs Mounting

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conomists are warning that pro-

NEIGHBOURHOOD longed uncertainty over Serbia’s The Croatian opposition reacts angrily to what it sees as government inaction following the ‘mafia-style’ slaying of Ivana Hodak.

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future could scare off investors, lead to higher inflation and jeopardise prosperity for years to come.

“This year has been lost, from the standpoint of economic policy,” says Stojan Stamenkovic of the Economics Institute in Belgrade. page 5

Serbia’s banking stocks experience a ‘dead-cat bounce’ late this week following earlyMatters indications Neighbourhood of a recovery.

Football Rebellion Page 5

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hile the football world watchBELGRADE es events unfold at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, Bosnia is experiencing a soccer rebellion, by fans, playFour houses near a led construction site disappear into astars holewho in are a Belgrade ers and former enraged neighbourhood, andasa corrupt city busleaders crashby what they see es into a photo store. of the country’s football association leaders. page 10

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Source: www.weather2umbrella.com

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Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

politics

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Expulsion A Step Too Far, Say Diplomats EU diplomats warn Belgrade to stop behaving as if former Yugoslav states are its provinces.

Doris Pack, German MEP

By Gjeraqina Tuhina in Brussels

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elgrade’s reaction to Montenegro and Macedonia’s decision to recognise Kosovo’s independence received a stern response in Brussels, with many EU officials saying Serbia has “crossed the line” this time.

This behavior may also endanger the speed of the country’s integration with the EU, they say.

“We cannot allow a country which wants to join us to behave in such a way,” Doris Pack, a member

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Source: www.europarl.de

of the European Parliament, told Balkan Insight.

“From now on, it will be more difficult for Serbia on the way to the European Union but they should have known that before they did this,” she said.

Belgrade reacted angrily to Macedonia and Montenegro’s decision to recognise Kosovo last week by giving the countries’ ambassadors to Serbia, 48 hours to leave the country.

The coordinated recognition of Kosovo by Skopje and Podgorica was seen by Belgrade as a “stab in the back” as it came only a day after the UN General Assembly voted in fa-

Serbia to Implement EU Deal

erbia is set to start unilateral implementation of the key Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, Vicepremier Mladjan Dinkic said on Wednesday.

“Implementation of the SAA will start on January 1,” the Belgrade News Agency, Beta, quoted Dinkic as saying.

The decision to start implementing the key deal came as Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen once again voiced his opposition to ratification of the agreement between Serbia and the EU, due to Belgrade’s failure to arrest Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic, who is wanted by The Hague Tribunal.

Instead, top European officials advised Serbia to begin implementing the deal unilaterally, despite the fact that there has been no EU consensus to back Belgrade’s drive for

membership. Only one country, the Netherlands, opposed ratification of the interim trade agreement with Belgrade.

“The trade agreement includes a reduction in import taxes for products made in the EU. Such a move will increase competition in the Serbian market and make products made in the EU more affordable,” said Dinkic, adding that the first step will be a reduction in import taxes on personal vehicles.

Serbia’s pro-european government has made EU integration its key priority. EU officials earlier signaled that Serbia could achieve candidate status next year.

When the Serbian parliament ratified the SAA, the Radicals, abstained from voting, a move which may be a signal of the emergence of greater national consensus on Serbia’s European objectives.

vor of Serbia`s motion for the World Court to rule whether Kosovo`s declaration of independence was in breach of international law.

The sudden recognition of Montenegro and Macedonia was viewed by many as a move directed by Washington aimed to diminish the Serbian success at the UN and undermine the significance attached to the World Court’s examination of the legality of Kosovo`s declaration of independence.

Diplomatic sources in Brussels confirmed that many EU member states have used diplomatic channels to send a clear signal to Belgrade that with the decision to expel the ambassadors, Serbia has “arrived at the limits of tolerance”, as one diplomat put it.

According to the source, the UK and Germany sent the harshest warnings.

Many diplomats have for some time considered that the EU has been too lenient with Serbia, and say that such behavior may bring the “honeymoon” to an end.

“If officials in Belgrade take further steps which might destabilize the region and might influence good-neighborly relations, then the European Union cannot cannot look the other way any more as it has done so far,” a western diplomat said.

He noted that Brussels has always supported the pro-European government in Belgrade, and has expressed understanding of all their actions “despite the fact that sometimes we didn’t agree”, and has prepared a plan on how to make Serbia an EU candidate as fast as possible.

The European Union decided to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia in April but its implementation is conditional on the arrest of war crimes fugitive general Ratko Mladic.

Another diplomatic source from an EU member state noted that Belgrade’s speedy reaction to Montenegro and Macedonia’s decision is “proof that everything was

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well planned in advance”.

“This is totally unacceptable and it seems that with these deeds Serbia will obscure its path towards the EU,” the diplomat said.

Other diplomats pointed out that Montenegro and Macedonia’s decision is in line with decisions taken by the majority of EU member states.

And while Serbia has so far withdrawn its ambassadors from the countries that have recognised Kosovo, it never declared the representatives of those countries in Belgrade ’persona non grata’ as it did with Podgorica and Skopje’s ambassadors, a move that has attracted allegations of “double standards” by Serbia over the treatment of smaller countries “If you are bigger you cannot behave differently towards smaller ones,” said Pack.

However, Serbia`s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told media that the decision to expel ambassadors was “an adequate measure considering the fact that all regional countries have a special responsibility for preserving peace and stability in the Balkans”.

The European Commission and Council both expressed their disappointment. They noted that Serbia is breaking a key European condition, to maintain good-neighborly relations.

“We can understand how difficult the question of Kosovo is for Serbia but only with good-neighborly relations we can stabilise the region,” Cristina Gallach, Javier Solana’s spokesperson, said.

“Regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations are of paramount importance and we expect that Serbia will respect these principles,” said Krisztina Nagy, spokesperson for the enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn.

For one EU diplomat Serbia’s latest move shows that country still does not understand that it cannot dictate decisions in other former Yugoslav states.

Source: BalkanInsight.com

Tadic Rejects Further Sanctions

erbia’s President Boris Tadic has rejected calls for further sanctions against Macedonia and Montenegro following their recognition of Kosovo’s independence last week.

Montenegro’s President Filip Vujanovic praised Tadic’s stance as constructive and benefiting the well-being of citizens of both countries.

Tadic has been under pressure from hardliners who say the move by their long-time allies to recognise Kosovo’s February 17 declaration of independence from Serbia amounted to a “stab in the back.”

Some of the sanctions being touted include blacklisting Montenegrin officials and other measures aimed mainly against Montenegrins living in Serbia.

“When, on both sides, we have anti-Montenegrin and anti-Serb sentiment as a manifestation of our relations ... then I have to ring the alarm bell and say ‘Stop!’ When Serbian lawmakers say that Montenegrin government officials are not safe in Serbia, then I have to say ‘Stop!’ It is a crime to threaten others,” Tadic said to Serbian daily Vecernje novosti.

“Being anti-Montenegrin or anti-Serb is not only pointless in a historical context but is also dangerous”.

Tadic also condemned the violence that followed this week’s pro-Serbian demonstrations in Podgorica, which resulted in dozens of injuries and arrests and a severe deterioration in relations between the ruling party and the opposition.

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New Party Targets Centre Ground Aleksandar Vucic, sees a bright future for the Progressives, as polls indicate a surge in support.

Interview by Julijana Mojsilovic in Belgrade

Aleksandar Vucic from Progressive Party

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hen Tomislav Nikolic, long the closest ally of the war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj, rebelled against his jailed boss and his ultranationalist party, the main question was “what would Vucic do?”

Almost a month after the party split, Vucic, the former head of the Radical caucus in parliament, sits in the office of Nikolic’s new party, the Serbian Progressive Party, surrounded by people who want to join.

He says his emotional nature prevented him from publicising his decision to bond with Nikolic earlier.

“But when it comes to realism, and when I started thinking where my future lies, it took me five seconds to decide,” Vucic, the new party’s deputy leader-to-be, adds.

“Something was brewing for quite some time,” he says, concerning the atmosphere that preceded the split in the ranks of the Serbian Radical Party. “It was as if people were waiting for something to happen, and not only the Radicals, but members of other parties as well,” he adds.

Newcomers to the party include former supporters of other political parties as well as those who used to be undecided.

Once the best student of his generation at the Belgrade Law Faculty, fluent in English, “good” in Russian and “not so bad” in French, Vucic, now 38, speaks in a soft voice. It sounds somehow different from the voice that he adopted during his time as the head of the Radical deputies’ club.

With the same energy that he once used to criticise his political opponents on behalf of Seselj and the Radicals, he now explains the bright future lying ahead for the new party.

To see more of the Vucic interview go to www.balkaninsight.com

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business

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Serbian Privatisation May Be Delayed

Mladjan Dinkic

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lthough Serbia wants to extend the number of state-run companies whose shares will be distributed to as many as 4 million citizens, this initiative may be delayed because of the global market crisis, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said.

Last year the Serbian government announced its intention to make an initial public offering, IPO, of some state-run assets and distribute free shares to citizens.

“It makes no sense for us to go

to the stock exchange under the circumstances; it is better to wait for a recovery of the financial markets to get better prices for shares that will be distributed to the people,” Dinkic told reporters in Belgrade.

In 2007, the government said shares of the Telekom Srbije telephony provider, the Elektroprivreda Srbije electricity utility, JAT Airways the national flag carrier, Galenika pharmaceuticals, the JAT Tehnika maintenance company and Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport would be included in the privatization program.

The government had since canceled the sale of JAT Airways as the company failed to attract any buyers.

Officials have already indicated that the listing of Telekom Srbije on the London Stock Exchange may be delayed, but steps are underway to move ahead with privatising the remainder of the list.

Government in Iveco Joint Venture Talks

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erbia will begin negotiations with Italy’s Iveco over a joint venture, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said.

Dinkic said the talks will be based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the government and Iveco, a division of the Fiat Group and Magnetti Marelli, on September 29 that proposes the creation of two joint ventures in the southwestern city of Kragujevac.

“Our goal is to have the deals signed by the end of 2008,” Dinkic said.

Under the agreement, Iveco, Magneti Marelli and Serbian government would form two separate joint ventures, both with 70 percent stakes owned by Italian companies.

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The initial investment of Italian partners would amount to 240 million, Dinkic said.

The prospective agreement comes alongside the September 29 deal with Fiat SpA. The partners have pledged investments of 950 million to develop the plant.

Iveco which already has a stake in Zastava’s subsidiary Zastava Kamioni, a truck manufacturer, said it would initiate production of as many as 2,200 buses and utility vehicles annually by 2012 and Magnetti Marelli will produce spare parts. “Both factories will be based in Kragujevac’s industrial area and will have a combined workforce of 2,350,” Dinkic sad.

Dinkic said that Serbia’s copper mining complex, RTB Bor, might also be included in the IPO list “if we find a serious strategic partner which will boost its (RTB Bor’s) value significantly in the coming years.”

“Some other companies that are using national resources might be included as well,” Dinkic said.

He said that people who applied for free shares will be issued with a certificate of share ownership, but they will not be allowed to use these certificates “until the end of the financial crisis.” The government had previously said that the value of each individual package would amount to some 1,000.

Dinkic said the government would consider whether it will amend the rules for privatising the remaining state-run assets. These rules allow investors to purchase local companies with a grace period of five years and a 30-per cent advance payment.

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he Serbian government and Italy’s Fiat Group have announced that the joint venture created in late September under the name of Fiat Automobili Serbia has been officially registered with the Registry of Companies.

In a statement, the Economy Ministry said the new company’s managing board will have seven members, two from Serbia and the remainder from the Fiat Group. The CEO of Fiat Automobili Serbia will be Giovanni De Fillipis, the statement said.

The Serbian government said it has provided capital funding of 231,000 to the new company, while the Fiat Group has still to make 469,000 available in order to complete the legal registration process.

Meanwhile, the worker’s at the Kragujevac plant have been offered a voluntarily redundancy package.

However, the company’s labor un-

ion is not satisfied with the plan, has blocked it and called for an immediate meetingwith management.

None of the workers have been guaranteed a job when Zastava merges with Fiat.

Opening of Serbian Factory Questioned

he opening of a textile factory in the southern Serbian town of Vranje which should employ 3,000 workers in this economically depressed area has come under question.

The construction company Meteor that had been contracted to build the Zamber factory has stopped work, and says it has sued the British investor in the project for an unpaid debt worth over 900,000, that Meteor claims it has spent on building the factory so far.

In 2006 the Serbian government promised to pay 6 million towards the Zamber factory. The British company has promised 3 million towards the project so far.

The construction of the Zamber

Serbia’s Natural Gas Prices to Rise Nearly 60%

erbia’s Srbijagas, a gas distribution utility, said it will increase monthly fees by up to 59.9 percent to compensate for the rise in raw material and transport costs, as well as the strengthening of the US dollar against the euro.

Srbijagas, which supplies as many as 60,000 households and 600 companies, released a statement on the price increase through the state-run Radio Beograd.

The current price of gas, mainly imported from Russia, is based on import costs of $ 250 per 1,000 cubic meters. “That price has doubled,”the statement said.

Individual comsumers account for 10 per cent of Serbia’s total imports of natural gas; the remainder goes to

Serbia and Fiat Register Joint Venture

textile factory should have been finished by the end of 2007.

Vranje is the centre of the Pcinj district in southern Serbia, and was a textile centre in the former Yugoslavia. Out of 80,000 people living in this town, 9,000 are officially unemployed.

Miroljub Stojcic,Vranje’s mayor, said that local authorities want this investment to go through.

“The employment of 3,000 people would mean a lot to our town. I expect the state to find common ground with Zamber,” said Stojcic.

Two years ago Zamber leased a plant from the financially ruined textile giant Jumko in Vranje, which currently employs 800 people. Dis-

satisfied with working conditions, workers have gone on strike on several occasions.

Nebojsa Ciric, state secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Privatisation, said that the state has met its share of obligations and that it would insist that British company meet its own.

The British company Zamber declined to comment on the new situation, while representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Local SelfManagement in charge of the matter do not intend to give up negotiations with Zamber’s owner Jani Savas.

The decision on whether the contract will be terminated will be made in a month at the latest, representatives at the Ministry of Economy said.

Interventions Fail to Stop Dinar’s Slide

heating utility companies and industrial facilities.

Serbia is seeking to improve its gas supplies and earlier this year it signed an agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom on the development of part of the South Stream gas pipeline and the sale of the NIS oil company.

Governor Jelasic is confident in the dinar’s stability

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ive interventions by the National Bank of Serbia on the domestic currency markets aimed at halting the weakening of the dinar against the euro failed lastweek, leading to a further1.5 per cent depreciation.

“The bank intervened to boost the liquidity of the market and prevent excessive oscillations of the exchange rate,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

The bank intervened with 60

million on the currency market on Tuesday, and in the past week has placed as much as 80 million to counter the dinar’s slide.

The domestic currency started depreciating late last week after foreign traders began pulling out funds amid crises in their own countries, and domestic traders started purchasing euros in response to more demand.

This triggered additional pressure on exchange counters and late last week stoked popular fears about a

Photo by FoNet financial slump in Serbia.

Central Bank Governor Radovan Jelasic sought to assure depositors that currency savings with commercial banks were safe and said that Serbia has 9.6 billion in currency reserves to defend the dinar’s exchange rate.

He also noted that commercial banks have compulsory reserves deposited with the National Bank amounting to 40 per cent of their cash assets.

business

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

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Serbia’s Currency Scare

Whilst the Government assures depositors that their money is secure, many are resorting to the safety of cash.

By Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade

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ast week Stojanka Djeric from Belgrade withdrew her six-month term 5,000 currency deposit from a local commercial bank.

She lost all her interest and had to pay penalties for breaking the contract, but at least her money for rainy days was safe, back in the sock where it, as she put it, it belongs – in euros, not dinars.

“I burned myself in the inflation of the 1990’s when I lost everything, I am not falling for the same trick again,” she said.

Domestic currency started depreciating late last week after foreign traders started pulling out their funds amid crises in their own countries and domestic traders started purchasing euros to answer to more demand.

Djeric, 63, a retired administrative clerk, said that the financial slump in key markets and banks and a 2.5 per cent slide in Serbia’s dinar against the euro prompted her to act.

“If the world has to go down, it doesn’t mean I will have to go with it.

Global markets fail, we fail; if we fail, there’s inflation; if inflation comes, the dinar goes to pot. That’s why I prefer euros and in cash,” she said.

Her remarks reflected the most dreaded of all fears among many Serbs who survived 13 years of tenure of former President Slobodan Milosevic, and the unprecedented hyperinflation in 1993 and 1994.

Back then, most who saved their foreign currency from the collapse of commercial banks during the breakup of communist Yugoslavia, lost everything in state-sponsored pyramid schemes and relentless trading on the black market for the then cherished German mark.Years of

effort by pro-Western governments that succeeded Milosevic in 2000 resulted in inflation dropping to single digit figures and people returning to the banks, seeking loans and participating in retirement plans and fund management.

Efforts by the country’s central bank Governor Radovan Jelasic to dissipate fears of the collapse of the banking system were not sufficient for Djeric.

“That’s it. I am safer this way,” she said.

Jelasic said that the National Bank of Serbia has as many as 9.6 billion in cash and securities to defend the dinar’s value. In the past two weeks, the bank placed some 80 million to boost liquidity of the currency market and halt the dinar’s slide from 77 to the euro last week to 81.9 on October 15.

Marko, a financial advisor in a Belgrade-based commercial bank said that Djeric’s move was “nothing unexpected.”

“People are clearly afraid and for some there are no arguments I could use to explain to them that their money is safe with us,” he said. Marko used only his first name because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

Although measured in hundreds, the number of people who pulled out their savings from his bank after the dinar started depreciating last week, “is not as big as it was when Kosovo declared independence” on Feb 17, Marko said.

In a move to stave off the immediate effects of the crisis, the central bank decided to maintain its twoweek reference benchmark rate at the current 15.75 per cent.

Although Serbia’s core inflation used for setting monetary policies dropped this month by 0.1 per cent to 10.2 per cent, Jelasic remained optimistic that it would fall below 8.7 per cent by the end of 2008.

Veroljub Dugalic of the Association of Banks said that “commercial

In safe hands: Central Bank Governor Radovan Jelasic sought to reassure investors banks have funds of some 515 billion dinars against total savings on deposit of 430 billion.”

“This means we can service our customers at any time,” he told reporters.

However, many including Stojan, 56, a small entrepreneur from Belgrade, say the state should do more to assure people their savings are genuinely safe.

“I have 6,600 in the bank and less than half is insured by the state. And they expect me to trust them 100 per cent. I am very worried,” he said.

Under Serbian law, private savings of up to 3,000 are completely covered by state insurance.

“That is about 80 percent of all savings,” said Slobodan Ilic, State Secretary of the Finance Ministry.

He said that some 13 per cent of private savings are between 3,000 and 5,000, while only 7 per cent of deposits are more than 5,000.

In recent weeks, economists and several political parties have raised the issue of whether the state should increase insurance of deposits, after the United States increased it’s guar-

Source: www.fitnessessentials.ca

antee to $250,000 and the European Union to 50,000.

Dejan Soskic of Belgrade University’s School of Economics said that “the financial system is based on trust.”

“As long as people trust it, it’s solid,” he said.

He suggested that the “state should send a signal to the people that their money is safe by increasing the insured sum.”

“The state said there’s no risk banks will run out of cash and they should prove it,” Soskic said.

Companies & Markets

Securitas Completes Beer Unites Belgrade Purchase of SCP and Havana

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wedish security and guarding company, Securitas, has completed the purchase of Serbia’s third-largest security services firm, SCP, which has guarding and security operations in 45 towns across the country.

The purchase continues Securitas’ move into eastern European and Balkan markets and follows their recent purchase of Romania’s CPI Security Group. In 2007, the company acquired seven other operations worldwide.

Commenting on further expansion plans, Pavel Rafalski, vice president of Securitas for Eastern Europe, said that his company knew which companies it could take over, but that they were in no rush to complete further acquisitions.

The full details of the purchase have not been released, but the deal is reputedly valued at around 3.8 million.

J

elen Pivo, the local division of international brewing giant InBev, whose brands include Stella Artois, Leffe, Hoegaarden, and Becks, has begun exporting beer to Cuba.

The deal, which forsees Jelen becoming a major player in the Cuban market, initially involves the export of 33 cl cans of the brew to Havana. The Apatinska brewery has so far shipped 100,000 litres of beer.

Jelen exports grew by some 28 per cent last year and total production gew to 350 million litres, an increase of 6 per cent.

InBev is the world’s largest brewer, producing 273.9 million hectoliters in 2007. Currently, the company is completing a bitterly contested $52 billion ( 38.6 billion) take-over deal of AnhauserBusch, the brewer of Budweiser.

T

Bourse Narrows Share Price Bands

he Belgrade Stock Exchange said on Wednesday it would narrow the price band for shares which govern the maximum allowed fluctuation in traded prices, with new bands effective as of October 16.

“The price band for listed shares will be +10/-8 percent, while prices in the unregulated market can move in a +20/-12 percent range,” the

bourse said in a statement.

The bourse did not say whether the new rule was permanent.

Serbia’s stock market regulator said that the measures would help to avoid sharp price swings and protect small shareholders from speculators.

The bourse has so far only changed the way it calculates the published closing price of equities to take in all transactions in a session,

BELEX Report: Bank Recovery Falters

W

hat looked like a developing recovery in the banking sector in the early part of the week, proved itself to be little more than what UK traders often call a “dead-cat bounce”.

By mid afternoon on Thursday, shares in all of the banks listed on the exchange were looking dis-

tinctly unhealthy, with many off by more than 10 per cent on the their Wednesday close.

Cacanska Banka in particular, had fallen off a cliff, trading more than 11 per cent off Wednesday’s close, representing a 52 week low at less than 17,000, against a price, less than a year earlier, of 102,000.

rather than just those in the last 30 minutes of trading.

It is also expected to set the minimum transaction size, to minimise sharp price swings during the 30minute blackout at the end of the trading day.

The market has seen some deep declines this year, with the value of the main index of most actively traded assets falling 65 per cent.

6

belgrade chronicle

I

“I was in the store with my collegue and some customers when all of a sudden there was a huge noise.

Everything was shaking. Suprisingly, something hit the wall of the store and it collapsed. For a second, I was paralysed and terrified. I had no idea what had happened. When I calmed down, I went outside and saw the devastation. I don’t wish to think about what could have happened. It’s good that no one was hurt.”

Serbian daily Blic reports, moments before the accident the driver left the running vehicle on the bus stop at Zeli Venac and went to a nearby grocery store. The bus started out on Jug Bogdanova street, travelled a few metres, turned left

Consumer Watch More consumer hell from Chris Farmer

The destruction on Jug Bogdanova street Source: www.blic.co.yu and crassed into three containers, getting out, and further investigation one of which was completely ru- of the bus itself will show whether ined. After that, the bus hit the wall his statement is valid.

“I was hardly able to avoid the of Kolor 2010.

Blic reports that according to the bus crashing into me,” said a man driver, he stopped the vehicle and who was on the street at the time of applied the emergency brake before the crash, Bozdar V.

New Bookstore in Town

ou know how difficult it is to find good books in English, even in Serbia’s largest city.

Though you may find a fair assortment of English classics or science fiction in local bookstores, the city is lacking in other genres.

F

Feeling Original

Driverless Bus Crashes into Store

t’s a miracle that no one was hurt! Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. a bus crashed through three rubbish skips and broke through the wall of a store called Kolor 2010.

The bus on line 75, was on Jug Bogdanove street with thirty passengers, and four people were in the store at the time. No one was hurt in the accident.

At the moment of the crash, the driver of the bus was not in the vehicle. Further investigation will show whether the driver forgot to apply the brake, or whether the bus’ brakes failed.

“I was scared like I’ve never been before in my life,” said an employee of Kolor 2010.

Y

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

our houses were completely demolished on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. when the earth below them caved in. The houses were destroyed in only five minutes and fell into a 15-metre hole.

No one was hurt in this strange and unusual occurrence on Cubura, but the residents of the houses expect that the accident was caused by under-ground water deposits, which softened the ground. This destroyed the support systems of the houses, they say.

“It was unbelievable! Everything happened in under five minutes! I was talking in my back garden with my neighbor, Grandma Milka, when suddenly her house started crashing down,” said Vlada Lazic, one of the owners of the destroyed houses talking to Serbian daily Blic.

“In 30 seconds her house was completely underground. We didn’t even get a chance to understand the situation before another house started disappearing. In a five-minute period, four houses including my own, ended

However, the book-lover’s woes may soon be lessened with Monday’s opening of Belgrade’s only English bookstore, English Book, on Kralja Petra 51.

English Book, carry over a thousand titles, published mainly by the Oxford University Press and McMillan.

“You can find books from all professional fields like chemistry, maths and physics. Also, we have dictionaries from all publishers, literature, books of general interest, and a very rich selection of childrens’ books,” said the manager Bojan Hiti for Serbian daily 24 Sata.

Hiti said that all of the books are in English and suited for all ages.

The store is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

116 years of Belgrade trams

T

he first tram to take to the streets in Serbia’s capital did so 116 years ago last Wednesday.

On June 22, 1892, the first tram took off on the Kalamegdan-Slavija line. The first tram was horse-drawn.

Belgrade was among just a few cities at the time with horse-drawn trams, alongside New York, Paris, London and Berlin.

Two years later, on the Terazije-Topcider line, Belgrade got it’s first electric tram and in 1904, Belgrade finished full

electrification.

Bus traffic was introduced to the city in 1928. However, it wasn’t until 1936 when the city started seriously investing in it’s bus lines and got a fleet of Mercedes buses.

Today, over 1.6 million people travel on a total of 144 Belgrade public transport routes, which include 12 tram and 124 bus lines. The city’s public transportation service, Beograd, employs over 6,000 people, has over 1,200 vehicles.

Four Houses Disappear in Five Minutes up in the whole. Practically nothing is left of my house.”

Two houses on Dubljanska street were destroyed. A construction site is located on this street. Two other houses from Stojana Protica street, located on the other side of the construction site, were also destroyed.

One more house tilted over, and there exists the possibility that it will have to bedemolished.

“I was sitting in my house when I heard a really loud noise. It sounded like an explosion. I went outside to see what had happened, and when I saw that a house was crashing down, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said the owner of a neighboring house that was not destroyed, Danijela Bozovic.

“We can not allow the residents of neighboring houses to stay here because of the possibility of danger.

However, the investors have an obligation to find places for these people to stay,” says Dragana Pesic from the Construction Inspection Agency.

Optos, a construction company, is

planning to build a four story apartment building on the site, which would also have four underground levels for parking.

“It’s been at least a month since underground water had appeared on the construction site. The investors told us that a pipe had burst and that they had protected the construction site from potential dangers. It is in-

teresting that they started digging over two years ago, but on the sign at the site says that they got a licence to start building this year” says one resident of the neighborhood who asked to remain anonymous.

Nedeljko Prelic a spokesperson for the company, appeared on the site shortly after the incident and declined to comment “at this early stage”.

The15 metre hole engulfed four houses

Source: www.blic.co.yu

The mysterious depths of the average Serb’s obsession with ‘real’ brands.

T

here is a word we use in Serbia as a mark of quality, which does not get used in many parts of the world nearly as much as here.

It designates the distinction we draw between the products we buy, the food we eat, the cigarettes we smoke and the perfume we wear, and raises those mundane, ordinary commodities to higher levels. We distinguish between what is original and what is not.

A lingering remnant of the days of sanctions still remains among us in Serbia, and no matter how much the holders of brands try, they cannot shake it. It is the concept of fakes and counterfeits on sale instead of the bona fide Real Thing.

Case in Point: Last year my cleaning lady decided that she would no longer use the brand of laundry detergent which I had bought. In a hushed and secretive tone she confided that it was INFERIOR. It was not the same Tide that Procter & Gamble sell in other countries. I asked where she came upon this information. “We know,” she said.

When pressed, she pointed out the bar code, noting that it was preceded by the number 5. To her, this meant inferior-and-possibly-toxic-productto-be-sold-in-the-former-Yugoslavia.

The bar code I wanted, she told me, was 4. That was what Italian, French, and German clothes get washed in.

Not this rip-off 5 stuff.

Case Two: As I often travel to Italy, I am put upon to purchase products that are readily available there and “smuggle” them home in my suitcase. A certain night-cream, for example. The one we buy here “must be a fake”. I brought one back. I put it next to another that I had bought here. Aside from the Italian language instructions, there was no difference between them. But one – I was informed – would give me a deadly rash. And the other… well, it’s original.

Case Three: My neighbour, whom we shall call “Mikica,” steadfastly refuses my offer of a cigarette. It is a Marlboro, made in Nis. He would rather walk back to his desk, take his own brand (marked Duty Free) and come back to complain about my fakes.

Trust in brands has been dealt a severe blow in Serbia. We like our brands and we buy our brands, but secretly we know it is all a Big Lie. The West (or so goes the thinking) must be dumping their left-overs and factory defects here, while keeping the originals for themselves. It is all part of the Great Conspiracy. Or so they say.

What is real and what is not? The main point is that we cannot know for certain where the truth lies. But if you ask me, I would rather buy Novi Pazar Levis and live with the illusion of originality than know better and travel to San Francisco to buy a pair of jeans touched by the heirs of Mr Levi Strauss. And by the way, Levi was not his ORIGINAL name. It was Loeb.

Chris Farmer is the founding partner of Farmer & Spaic, Business and Media Consulting, and a regular commentator in various Belgrade media.

neighbourhood

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

7

Croatian Gangster Style Killing Sparks Anger

The killing of a 26-year old trainee lawyer has prompted many Croats to question their government’s law and order credentials. ing the first week were impeded by the governmental shuffle.

By Tena Erceg in Zagreb

Mafia-style Attacks

T

he investigation into the mafia style execution in broad daylight of the daughter of a prominent Croatian lawyer has ignited a political storm and left many questioning the government’s commitment to combat organised crime.

The murder prompted the biggest ever government reshuffle in Croatia. In an effort to deflect criticism, only nine hours after the murder, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader dismissed Interior Minister Berislav Roncevic, Justice Minister Ana Lovrin and Chief of Police Marijan Benko.

Sanader then set a precedent by appointing people for these positions who were not from the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ. But these moves have failed to stem the criticism. Despite the new appointees’ non-partisan and professional background, some analysts doubt that the new appointments will be enough to uncover Croatia’s criminal underground.

Ivana Hodak’s murder at around 11 o’clock on October 6 outside her parents’ apartment in the centre of Zagreb shocked the public, causing demands for the government`s resignation. Angry demonstrators asked how the killer could get away with such ease when Hodak lived only 100 meters away from the police station.

The 26 year-old legal trainee working at her fathers practice was what the local media have dubbed one of the country’s “golden youth” – the offspring of Croatia’s new political and business elite.

The daily newspaper `Jutarnji List’ wrote that investigations dur-

The murder was the latest in a series of mafia-style attacks that have taken place in recent months. An official from Zagreb’s City Council, a journalist and the CEO of the building company Industrogradnja, have all been physically attacked in recent months. The police still don’t know who ordered these attacks and why. In addition, there have been two teenage murders in Zagreb during the same period.

Ivana Hodak’s mother, Ljerka Mintas Hodak, held several important posts, including that of deputy prime minister in HDZ governments during the 1990s. Her father, Zvonimir Hodak, is a prominent lawyer, who is currently defending Vladimir Zagorec, a Defence Ministry official during the 1990s.

Zagorec was extradited to Croatia three days before Ivana Hodak’s murder to be tried for allegedly stealing five million dollars worth of jewelry intended for the defence of Croatia during the war.

Many believe that his forthcoming trial will open the way for a series of revelations about war profiteering.

Ranko Ostojic, a chief of police during the last government of the SocialDemocratic Party, SDP, told Balkan Insight he had “documents proving that 150 million euros of citizens’ money ended up in the pockets of chosen HDZ officials and businessmen”.

Revelations during Zagorec’s trial could also be dangerous for Hrvoje Petrac, the alleged leader of the Zagreb mafia in the 1990s.

Petrac is currently serving a sixyear prison sentence for abducting Zagorec’s son. He is also the one who accused Zagorec of stealing the jewels.

The link between Zvonimir Hodak and Hrvoje Petrac has raised suspicions about the murder because

Hodak, the father of the victim, and Zagorec former Defence Ministry official the victim was dating Petrac’s lawyer Ljubo Pavasovic Viskovic.

Zvonimir Hodak said “the person who, three days after my client came to Croatia, decided to execute my daughter, was afraid that, because of her relationship with his lawyer, she could have told him some facts that she would then tell me.”

Political Spin The controversy is being used by politicians to call for early elections and talk about war-time crimes.

Zoran Milanovic from the SDP accused Sanader’s government of “not doing anything in the fight against organised crime,” and announced he will ask Parliament to call new elections.

“The foundations of the state system have been shaken,” he said.

Jadranka Kosor, the Vice-President of the Government, was quick to reply, noting that in order to call

Bosnian Serbs Send Demands to Federation Banja Luka_The assembly of the Serb-dominated Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska ended a tense session by drawing up a long list of tough requirements designed to strengthen the entity’s position within the Bosnian state.

The conclusion which was adopted on Wednesday stopped short of mentioning a referendum for independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Wednesday’s session was a continuation of an extraordinary session called on Monday, after the Bosniak member of country’s tripartite presidency, Haris Silajdzic, in speeches to the UN and EU that had not been agreed to by the other members of the presidency, blasted Republika Srpska for genocide committed during the 1992-95 war.

This infuriated Bosnian Serb politicians, who threatened to use “all legal and political means, including the right to a referendum” for the protection of their entity. The situation was further aggravated by the

Republika Srpska Premier Milorad Dodik, who in a TV interview said he was ready to “wrestle around” with any western troops to lead his entity “to independence.”

Western and other local officials reacted strongly to this provocation, which apparently persuaded Bosnian Serbs to tone down the conclusions of their assembly session.

The final conclusion denounced Silajdzic’s speeches and demanded the Serb member of the presidency Rajko Kuzmanovic block any future public appearances by Silajdzic without having previously agreed to a joint platform. Kuzmanovic was also tasked to put together and submit to the Assembly a platform for future constitutional changes.

The Assembly ordered the RS government to analyse all entity responsibilities that were in the past transferred to the state level, and demanded that entity and state institutions establish a legal framework for any such transfers in the future.

The conclusion also criticized the BiH Federation for falling behind in economic, legal and social reforms, thus jeopardizing the entire country.

It also stated that the Office of the High Representative has been “exhausted” and demanded all foreign judges and prosecutors to leave Bosnia’s judicial system.

The demands are likely to trigger further tussles between Republika Srpska and international and local officials.

Milorad Dodik

for new elections “Milanovic would have to have a majority in the Parliament, something he never wanted to admit he doesn’t have”. Kosor added that the Prime Minister has the support of not only his coalition partners, but also “citizens, who have been sending telegrams of support”.

Milanovic’s initiative has not won the support of the other parties. The Opposition Croatian People’s Party, HNS called it “irrelevant” and argued that “the ongoing crisis is no time for political rivalries”.

The Istrian Democratic Union has called for a government of national unity to be established, while the Independent Democratic Serbian Party, SDSS, which is HDZ’s coalition partner, has dismissed the call for new elections, insisting instead that “the new appointments clearly show that the Government wants to protect the state system, institutions and citizens and create a sense of security”.

Source: www.dnevnik.hr

Vesna Pusic from the opposition HNS took more cautious stance, expressing her confidence that the new ministers “will be more competent than the previous ones”. She told Balkan Insight that the removals came too late and noted that only a week ago former Minister of the Interior Roncevic “boasted in the Parliament with shining statistics that allegedly prove Croatia is one of the safest countries in Europe”.

Hannes Swoboda, European Parliament’s special rapporteur for Croatia said that he “doesn’t have doubts about the former ministers’ good will, but does have them when it comes to the government’s determination and capabilities to implement measures and actions”. Swoboda added he hoped the new officials would be “more successful than the previous ones”.

Source: BalkanInsight.com

First Arab Country Recognises Kosovo Pristina_The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday recognised the independence of Kosovo, becoming the first Arab country to recognise Kosovo’s secession from Serbia.

“The UAE declares its recognition of Kosovo as an independent sovereign state,” the official WAM news agency said.

The move is in line with the UAE’s “support for peoples’ legitimate right to self-determination”, WAM said.

Fifty countries, including several European Union members and the United States, have so far recognised Kosovo’s unilateral secession from Serbia on February 17.

Kosovo’s Foreign Minister has not responded to the announcement yet.

The UAE, which is an ally of the United States and has contributed a contingent to the NATO-led international force deployed in Kosovo since 1999, is the first Arab country to recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Serbia still considers Kosovo as one of its provinces and Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN

Security Council, has backed its ally Belgrade in the dispute.

The International Court of Justice said on Friday it had received a request from the UN General Assembly to examine the legitimacy of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia.

UAE recognises Kosovo

8

neighbourhood

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Clashes Erupt in Montenegro over Kosovo Recognition Podgorica_Blasts were heard and ambulances streamed to the centre of Montenegro’s capital as pro-Serb demonstrators clashed with police during a rally against Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

Some 10,000 pro-Serbian protesters took to the streets of Podgorica for a rally against the government’s decision last week to recognise the independence of Kosovo, as the opposition harshly criticised the ruling coalition for “stabbing Serbia in the back.”

The protesters chanted “Treason!

Treason!” and “Kosovo is Serbia!”, as opposition leaders gave Premier Milo Djukanovic a 48 hour deadline to annul the recognition of Kosovo, or face a referendum on the issue.

Both demonstrators and police officers were among the injured and witnesses saw a number of ambulances taking the wounded to a nearby hospital.

It is not clear what exactly triggered the clashes, but the violence broke out as protesters marched by the government building, reportedly throwing firecrackers and molotov cocktails towards the police cordon which was securing the area.

Demonstrators also demolished the fence around the government building, and police responded by firing the tear gas into the crowd.

In addition, police helicopters hov-

Riots in Podgorica went on long into the night ered over the centre of Podgorica.

Police have made at least a dozen arrests.

Following the violence, protesters dispersed across the capital but sporadic clashes were reported late into the night.

Miodrag Vukovic, a high-ranking official from the ruling Democratic

Macedonian Reporters Held in Greece Skopje _ Several Macedonian journalists trying to investigate reported arrests of ethnic Macedonians from northern Greece ended up being detained by police themselves, local media reported.

Reporters from A1 TV, A2 TV and the Nova Makedonija daily were detained, questioned and later escorted

by Greek police to the nearest border crossing near the northern Greek village of Lofi close to the border with Macedonia, A1 reported.

The journalists were investigating reports of arrests of ethnic Macedonian villagers from that region after they allegedly tried to stop the Greek army from conducting exercises.

“This is shocking news. This crosses all boundaries,” Macedonia’s PM Nikola Gruevski Tuesday said to local Sitel TV in reaction to the reports.

Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry sent an official protest note to the Greek liaison office in Skopje. In it, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki stated that the Greek move represented an `uncivilised act’ against press freedom.

The Greek liaison office explained that the journalists were detained because they were filming near strategic military instalations. A1 reported that after checking their footage they were immediately released The incident has come at a time of worsening relations between Skopje and Athens. Both countries are engaged in UN sponsored talks to find a solution to their long standing dispute over Macedonia’s name which the Greek government believes implies sovereignty over their northern province of the same name.

Ex-Kosovo Envoy Ahtisaari Wins Nobel Prize Pristina _ The former United Nations envoy for Kosovo’s final status, Martti Ahtisaari, has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced.

“Ahtisaari is an outstanding international mediator,” a committee spokesman said, announcing his win.

The committee cited Ahtisaari’s “significant” role in establishing Namibia’s independence and his “central” part in mediating the conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh in 2005.

In winning the prize, the former Finnish President joins the ranks of Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King.

The laureate wins a gold medal, a diploma and ten million Swedish kronor (just over 1 million).

In 2005, Ahtisaari was appointed as the United Nations special envoy for talks on the final status of Kosovo,

seven years after he played a key role in bringing an end to hostilities there.

Following the stalemate in the talks between Serbian and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian officials he recommended ‘supervised independence’ for Kosovo.

The Ahtisaari plan served as the basis for Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17, and the reforms it prescribed were pursued in the following months by Kosovo’s government.

Martti Ahtisaari

Photo by FoNet

Party of Socialists, blamed the incidents on the opposition, saying his political rivals have chosen a poor tactic to express their dissatisfaction.

“This looks like the 1997 attempt to overthrow the government... But Montenegro has matured since then,” Vukovic said.

About a third of Montenegro’s

population declare themselves as Serbs, while ethnic Albanians make up around seven per cent of the population of this small coastal republic.

Montenegro was in a loose federation with Serbia up until a referendum on independence in 2006.

Podgorica recognized Kosovo`s independence on October 9, leading

Belgrade to expel Montenegro’s ambassador.

Montenegro’s decision came just a day after the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of Belgrade’s request for the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.

Albania Whistleblower’s Death ‘Accident’ Tirana _ The Prosecutor’s office in Korca, in southeastern Albania, has closed an investigation into the death of Kosta Trebicka, a key figure in an arms trafficking case.

The case was closed after a number of experts, including a US investigator, concluded that his death was as a result of a car accident.

The sudden death of the Albanian businessman on Sept 12, well known for having denounced a shady arms deal between the Tirana government and a US arms contractor, caused a political and media frenzy.

The businessman was considered an important witness in a corruption scandal that has reached the doors of the Prime Minister’s office.

Trebicka had helped the New York Times investigate an article published on March 27, accusing Albanian of-

ficials of murky deals with Miamibased Pentagon contractor, AEY Inc. Recently, the firm had its contract with the US military to supply the Afghan army revoked, amid claims by the newspaper that it supplied ammunition that was decades old.

It is alleged that the Tirana government and AEY used a third company, Cyprus-based Evdin Ltd, a company subcontracted by Albania’s trading giant, MEICO, to coordinate the deal between the Albanian military and the US company.

Trebicka, in the New York Times article, claimed the Head of MEICO, Ylli Pinari, doubled the real price of the munitions and pocketed the difference, sharing the proceeds among Albanian politicians.

Pinari is under arrest on mass murder charges following a deadly am-

munitions blast near Tirana on March 15. He has denied any wrongdoing over the arms transfers.

A federal grand jury in Miami, indicted four officials from AEY for fraud on June 21.

Trebicka was allegedly involved in repackaging the ammunition sold by Tirana to AEY. He turned whistleblower after the Albanian defence ministry pushed him out of the contract and appointed another in his place.

In a taped telephone conversion between him and Deviroli, published in the New York Times, Albanian leaders are suspected of profiting from the arms deal.

The trafficking row followed a deadly explosion in the village of Gerdec on March 15, which left 26 people dead, 350 wounded and more than 3,000 displaced.

Bosnian Serbs Ban Dutch Ambassador Sarajevo _ The government of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity has banned the Dutch ambassador from its territory after he likened the entity’s Prime Minister to the President of Belarus.

The Embassy of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina had no official comment on the matter, while a spokesman for the Dutch Foreign Ministry at The Hague told Balkan Insight that that their ambassador will talk to Bosnian authorities about the situation.

The incident was triggered after the Dutch Ambassador to Bosnia, Karel E. Vosskuhler, in an interview published by Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz, claimed Milorad Dodik, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, is worse than the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko’s regime was previously described by the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as “the last dictatorship in Europe.”

“Dodik is worse than Lukashenko,” Avaz quoted Vosskuhler as saying. Later, he added that after international pressure and sanctions, Lukashenko has “learned the lesson” and improved his behavior.

On Wednesday evening they announced that the Dutch Ambassador is “not welcome” in Republika Srpska. The government also said that Bosnian Serb representatives in the Bosnian presidency and foreign ministry will demand Vosskuhler to be proclaimed a persona non grata across the whole of the country.

“Obviously Mr. Dodik didn’t appreciate this interview,” the spokesman for the Dutch foreign ministry,

Aad Meijer, told Balkan Insight.

He refused to say whether the comparison with Lukashenko represents an official position of the Dutch government.

out & about

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

9

Take a Walk On The Wild Side of Tara

Enjoy the stunning views, pine-scented air and chuckling rivers in this pristine national park - just don’t get eaten by the bears!

By Aleksandar Vasovic

S

tanding an average of 1,500 metres above sea level, the Tara National Park is one of only a few wild places in Serbia that remain untouched by mass tourism.

Legends say Tara received its name from the Slavic tribes who named it after the friendly god Tar who, enchanted with its beauty, chose to spend his divine life there.

The park is bordered by the Drina river to the north, the Derventa and Beli Rzav to the west, the ravines of Mokra Gora and Kremna to the south and the rivers Pilica and Solotuska Reka to the east. It covers an area of

A picturesque waterfall on the Rzav

19,175 hectares, including the mountains of Tara, Crni Vrh, Zvezda, Stolac and the Drina canyon, the world’s third-deepest.

The mountain range is not especially high – the highest peak at Kozji Rid is 1,591 metres above sea level.

As a result, although it has significant snowfall, it is covered in forest and has never gained a reputation as a skiing centre, unlike Kopaonik.

Tara is a getaway of choice between May and the end of the Indian Summer in October. “Kopaonik or Zkatibor may be more famous but Tara is for connoisseurs,” says Zoran Dimitrijevic, a regular visitor from Belgrade.

Source: www.sxc.hu

The centre is the Kaludjerske Bare plateau, which is home to three of the park’s largest hotels and the bulk of the park’s services and facilities. The Tara Hotel, still owned by the military, the Omorika, the Beli Bor and the Javor offer decent food and accommodation and are open all year round. Other nearby hotels include the Mitrovac and a children’s camp of the same name.

Tara covers a large area, and most of it is not accessible by road. Entire areas are not visited by anybody, except an occasional ranger, from one year to the next. “When I want to escape, I come here, take a tent, inform the rangers where I will be and van-

Rafting on the Tara

ish for a few days,” says Strahinja, a backpacker from Belgrade.

The hills are clad in dense forest where visitors may spot Panciceva Omorika, a variety of spruce unique to the Balkans. The forest is also abundant in wildlife and is among the few places in Serbia with large populations of bears, roe deer, wild boar, wolf and wild cat.

Faced with overpopulation, after bears fled to the area from Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war, environmental organizations have relocated some bears to Mt Juzni Kucaj, in eastern Serbia.

“Bears mainly live in the canyons of the Raca and Derventa, but some-

Photo by Sandra Uzelac

times they wander around campsites looking for food, so campers should never leave food in the open,” Strahinja says.

For birdwatchers, Tara is a paradise. “Take a stroll for a few kilometres with a pair of binoculars and just enjoy,” says Wayne a US ornithologist now living in Ukraine. He regularly sees golden eagles, harriers, peregrine falcons, grouse and woodcock.

“I came here in 2001 to visit a friend and now come back every spring – the bird watching here is so good that I don’t mind the 1,700 kilometre trip for a one-week stay,” he adds.

Tara offers some of the best hiking and trekking routes in Serbia. A few hours of relatively easy walking will bring visitors to impressive viewing points from the Banjska stena at Mitrovac, Biljeska Stena, some six kilometres from Predov Krst, Crnjeskovo Kaludjerske Bare, and Omar and Zboriste.

The waterfalls on the river Rzav in Peruca and others on the Derventa are also worth seeing. All hiking paths are clearly marked, but “make sure you bring plenty of water and a sandwich or two,” says Nebojsa, a local ranger.

“Make sure you tell someone which direction you are going and stay on the path. Tara is big and people may get lost,” he adds.

Hunting is banned in most parts of the Tara but can be arranged in nearby areas operated by hunting clubs in nearby Bajina Basta and Uzice.

Fishermen can try trout fishing or fishing for grayling in the Rzav, Raca and Derventa and pike and catfish in the Perucac artificial lake.

Those keener on adrenalineloaded sports can go rafting down the Drina canyon. Perhaps it is little slower than the now-famous rafting down the river Tara in Montenegro, but the canyon itself offers stunning views.

Trips on log rafts last from between two hours to a full day departing from the starting point in Perucac down to Bajina Basta, Rogacica or as far as Ljubovija. Every July the tourist board stages the Drina River Grand Regatta along the 25 kilometre route from Perucac to Rogacica.

Tara is conveniently close to Zlatibor, the ethno-villages of Sirogojno and Mećavnik, owned by the film director Emir Kusturica, and many picturesque villages and medieval monasteries.

Aleksandar Vasovic is a reporter for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and balkaninsight.com. www.tara-planina.com/mitrovac.html www.tara.org.yu HOTEL OMORIKA 31250 Bajina Basta, Tara Tel: 031 593901 HOTEL BELI BOR 31250 Bajina Basta, Tara Tel: 031 593852

The park is accessible by road from Belgrade in around 5 hours

Source: www.sxc.hu

TOURIST GUIDES Milos Nesovic Tel: 064 2456969 Nedeljko Stamenic Tel: 064 5700552

10

life

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Serb and Albanians Taste the Difference They may be at odds over most things, but these two peoples do share a love of soupy beans and tender kebabs. We tuck in.

By Nikola Lazic in Bujanovac

W

hen several years ago we, in South Serbia, hosted Adem Demaci, a dissident in the time of Josip Tito, and the chief ideologist of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the time of Slobodan Milosevic, he open-heartedly asked for “soupy beans with no meat” for lunch. The grey-haired old man ate his portion with delight, and commented between mouthfuls that while Albanians also cooked beans, they could not make it as well as Serbs.

Poor Demaci did not even suspect that his lunch had been ordered at the Narodna kujna (People’s Kitchen), a place run by a Gorani, after we had been through all the Serbian restaurants in vain and where grilled meat prevailed.

This may not be to the liking of national purists and professional patriots of all ethnicities, but beans are not the only dish prepared in both Albanian and Serb homes.

Same beans, different twist The Serbs, of course, prefer the dish with smoked pork ribs, something the Muslim faith does not permit their Albanian neighbours. The Albanians, though, serve it with sudzuk, a delicate beef sausage, which requires particular skill for preparation.

Pilaf, the famous Turkish specialty, is made, according to custom, with mutton, and Elbasan Stew with lamb, over which scrambled eggs and yoghurt are poured. Everything is the same in Serbian and Albanian kitchens except the chosen meat.

However, the Serbs also like aveal, chicken and particularly lamb.

According to Albanian tradition, enshrined in the The Code of Leke

Dukagjini, an Albanian’s home belongs to God and his guest. Hence, a guest will be properly welcomed and entertained at an Albanian home, even if it only means a cup of coffee. If you happen to be formally invited, you will not be able to leave the house without partaking in a feast held in your honour.

As a rule, women do not sit in the reception room with guests, but, together with the children, serve them.

In addition to the delicacies already mentioned, laknur on the table is a must. This is a traditional pie, which Serbs also like. And then roast chicken or leg of lamb, it doesn’t matter which, and finally baklava, a pastry dessert with chopped, not ground, walnuts – served widely in Albanian homes. And, of course a variety of salads – that goes without saying.

However, what Albanians particularly take pride in is a recipe that cannot be found on the menus of any of their Serbian neighbours. A delicacy that Albanians call flija which is prepared in a deep round baking dish.

Flija is, made with batter similar to that used for pancakes which is applied in layers as the cooking progresses and is then covered and baked over an open fire.

The culinary repertoire also features veal and chicken in all forms, but both communities love to spitroast out in the open on a grill in front of the restaurant. Albanians and Serbs are attached to their respective cultural mythology and traditions so it may well happen that you order Albanian Skenderbeg (Skenderbey) or get a schnitzel named after the famous Serbian leader of the uprising against the Turks, Karadjordje.

Let’s not forget tea, which Albanians drink with particular pleasure and a ritual almost like the British.

This is a very strong and aromatic “Russian” tea, prepared in special teapots. It’s drunk from small glasses like those used for rakia, the strong local brandy. Albanians often have curd cheese with their tea.

Now let’s go back to the Gorani people that I mentioned at the beginning. The Gorani are a Muslim Bal-

kan ethnic group who many believe pre-date the Slavs in the region and who have long lived in the mountain regions of Albania, Macedonia and Southern Serbia. Their cafes and restaurants are famous in this multicultural southern part of Serbia and bring people of different nationalities together. Their kebab places and pastry shops are frequented by both the Serbs and the Albanians - good food transcends any ethnic differences, it seems.

Of great note are the Zvezda pastry shop and the Kod Prizrenca kebab restaurant.

When you set your foot in Zvezda, your first impression is that you have stepped back in time to the Ottoman east. The interior and furnishings have been refurbished and updated very little over the past half-century, and the staff still wear white aprons and triangular caps. Golden tulumbas, baklavas

and kadaifs, the best of desserts with walnuts and raisins - unbeatable.

Zvezda, Bujanovac’s star baker At Zvezda, the finest burek, a traditional dish of meat and filo pastry, is served in the morning with yoghurt. Don’t miss out on the local version of a spritzer or salep, a fabulous oriental beverage still made at Zvezda.

Prizrenac’s kebabs melt in your mouth and are served on small metal plates together with legendary flat round bread just baked by Kamer, the Albanian baker.

Nothing goes better with one of Prizrenac’s kebabs than a beer, preferably drunk straight from the bottle! After ten of Nesa’s kebabs, all the problems of this multiethnic community suddenly appear easier to cope with.

Italy in Bujanovac The current vogue among the Albanians in Bujanovac is for pizzerias where you can also order grill specialties. As a rule, these restaurants bear the names of Italian or other cities and towns where the owners once earned their living as guest workers.

Thus, in Bujanovac, you can have a meal in Toscana, Verona or Düsseldorf, while watching a horse-drawn cart followed by the most recent Mercedes model pass by in the streets outside. This sort of contrast does not seem to strike the locals as unusual.

Beans with smoked ribs, Serb style

Albanian style beans with sausage

the belgrader

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Burek and Boza Some of us can’t start a day without a slice of Serbia’s favourite, finger-lickin’, flakey pie, but are less addicted to the pleasures of the country’s traditional breast-boosting beverage.

By Pat Andjelkovic

W

e all have our comfort food, that little something that we just have to have when a craving strikes, be it plain spaghetti with garlic, gobbled at midnight, coffee ice cream devoured directly from the carton, or hot, fried sardines washed down with cold beer. To each his pleasure. So, what are some typical Serb cravings?

Some mornings my brain awakes before my eyes open, alerting my stomach that breakfast is near. My stomach rumbles in response, demanding to know what’s on the menu: crunchy, warm toast, eggs once over easy, crispy bacon, a warm, flaky croissant, or cereal.

“No!” screams my stomach, and my eyes flash open. Burek and only burek will do this morning! Neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night will prevent my trek to the bakery. No matter how early I get there, there’s already a slice missing from the round burek pan. Some Serb has awoken with the

same craving, and is off somewhere, munching blissfully.

Burek is a type of pie popular throughout the former Ottoman Empire, and we all know that Serbs are constantly reminding us that the Turks were here for 500 years. It’s made from thin, flaky filo dough, and filled with salty, fatty cheese, minced meat, potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, or any combination of those. Serbia has modified burek to suit itself, and here it’s prepared in a large, round pan and cut into portions after baking. The recipe for modern round burek was developed in Nis, where it was introduced by a Turkish baker in 1498.

Burek is available at most regular bakeries and is usually eaten as a “fast food,” often accompanied by yogurt, but the best burek is sold in specialised stores called buregdzinice. Such stores are typically the no-frills kind - just white tiles, neon lights, and aluminum fixtures.

Employees in white aprons greet you with a smile, ask you if you want your burek “za ovde” or “za poneti” (for here or to take away), and then slice you a big hunk of golden, steaming-hot burek. If you’re dining in, they’ll plop the burek on a plate, give you a fork and maybe a napkin, and off you go to either sit at a small table or stand at a counter in front of the shop window to watch passers-by stare back at your greasy lips.

The best way to eat burek, some say, is to just ask for it “za poneti.”

It will be handed to you wrapped in paper. It’s heaven, say those connoisseurs, to eat it warm directly off the paper, either on a park bench or even in the buregdzinica, suck your fingers, and slurp thick, cold yogurt

Eyes on the prize?

Conflict resolution involves making tough and painful choices but the prize is worth it in the end.

By David Dowse

M

y grandfather had a very tough war. A sergeant in a front line infantry regiment, he was captured during the British Army’s retreat from France in the early days of the Second World War and sent to a German prisonerof-war camp, where he was treated appallingly.

Along with several of his comrades, he eventually escaped through a tunnel dug under the fences, and somehow made his way back to England in a small sailing boat. He was permitted only a few days of compassionate leave with his family before reporting back to his regiment for duty.

That duty soon involved a long journey to the new theatre of war, in

South East Asia. After a few weeks of vicious jungle fighting, he was captured once more, and spent the rest of the war in a Japanese prison camp.

I was born just 10 years after the war ended. Like most young boys at the time, war was a glamorous thing for me and I remember often trying to get my grandfather to tell me stories of his heroic exploits. He refused to say anything, except that he wished he had never escaped from the German camp.

Until he died, he was unable to be in the same room with anyone from Japan, or even watch movies that featured them. But despite his personal memories of horror, he never once tried to turn my young mind against the nations that had tortured him.

In the 1970s, my father’s job in early computers took him many times to Germany, by now on the way to becoming the economic miracle of Europe. He made German friends. They came to visit us on holidays, and we went camping there, in our new Volkswagen camper van. I learned German in school.

As Japan’s economy also boomed, we bought Japanese consumer electronics and aspired to drive their cars, which were so much more reliable and packed with features than our own. In just a few years, everything

from the carton. Make sure it leaves a white moustache, too.

Although traditional burek usually offers savoury fillings, there are sweet versions with sour cherry or apple, and oddly enough, empty (prazan) burek but in my opinion, if you’re going to down a lot of white flour, fatty cheese, and lard, you might as well go ahead and put something in it. I have heard rumors of a pizza burek, but I’m hoping that’s not true, and if it is, I’m going to boycott it. Sacrilege.

Burek isn’t just for breakfast, be it a European one at 7 or 8am or a Serbian one at 10.30am. It’s also the equivalent of French onion soup after the theater, the pastrami midnight snack, the little something you want at any hour just to hit the spot. It’s the ultimate Serbian comfort food, so popular that it’s lent its name to one of the largest internet communities in southeastern Europe, www.burek.co.yu.

Now, although I’ve been here quite some time, there’s one thing lots of Serbs love that I do not. On friends’ insistence, “Oh, you have

to try the one they make in (name of shop) on (name of street) in (name of neighbourhood). Theirs is the best!”

Maybe so, but I don’t like it. But popular it is, and so I must tell you about boza.

Boza is a popular fermented beverage in Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, parts of Romania, and of course Turkey.

You could perhaps grow to like it, but I think you have to grow up with it. It’s an acquired taste, like peanut butter, root beer, or Marmite.

Boza is made from corn, wheat, and in some areas millet flour. It has a thick consistency and a low alcohol content (usually around 1 to 4 per cent), and a sweetish-sour flavour, just enough to make me think I’m drinking something rancid. You can easily find it in sweet shops and ice-cream parlours.

The golden age of boza was under the Ottomans, and boza-making became one of the principal trades in towns. Until the 16th century it was drunk freely everywhere, but the custom of making opium-laced Tar-

The ultimate Serb comfort food, Burek, comes in endless variations.

Japanese was “cool”.

Last week, some 13 years after the war in Bosnia ended, I attended a major conference on regional development and European integration in Sarajevo. The great and good from (almost) every country in the region debated how the Balkans can move ahead. But there was one glaring omission, from both the delegate list and the speakers’ platform – not a single senior Serbian representative appeared. How can any regional development programme that excludes

a major player like Serbia expect to be taken seriously? Either Serbian representatives were not invited, or they were invited and chose not to attend. Both explanations are equally retrogressive and shameful.

The point about conflict resolution is that all parties win. To find a path towards a better future for (all) our children does not disrespect the suffering of our forefathers – even if it means sitting down with those whose forefathers killed and maimed our own. If we fail to do so, we have

Sergeant Dowse: a P.O.W. in both Germany and Japan

11

tar boza brought the authorities down on the drink, foreshadowing the fate of absinthe in France.

Like beer, boza allegedly has the ability to enlarge women’s breasts, stimulate lactation, and is healthy and nourishing. One litre has a thousand calories, four types of vitamins A and B, and vitamin E, and during fermentation, lactic acid is formed, which facilitates digestion. That’s fine, but I’ll stick to beer.

Boza’s fame has reached far and wide. In January 2007, an Australian newspaper reported the following: “European men are flocking to Bulgaria to buy ‘breast-boosting beer’ after the country’s accession to the EU has meant that customs’ duties on this drink have been abolished... Now thousands of tourists are traveling to buy boza for their wives and partners.” So there you go. If Serbia manages to get into the EU, it’s got another source for the tourist trade.

Pat Andjelkovic is a teacher, writer, and long-term expat.

Source: www.chron.com learned nothing, and they suffered in vain. Surely, that would be real disrespect. In the Balkans, it is all too easy to position the carrying of a sword of revenge down the generations as an honourable thing. But it’s the breaking of the cycle that takes real courage. As Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye will just make the whole world blind.”

David Dowse, is a Senior Partner at Webb Dowse Intelligent Corporate Communications.

Photo by David Dowse

12

the belgrader

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Going out

Ona a Ne Neka Druga

It’s not everybody’s idea of a fun night out but if you’re prepared to let your hair down,t it’s a riot.

By Sophie Cottrell

T

he invitation for my first girls’ night out in Belgrade did not sound too promising. It’s not that I’ve completely grown-up, it’s not that I have to dress up to have fun, it’s not that I have to have male company, it’s just that a place where unaccompanied men are banned, where ‘jeans are just fine’ and where the rules (yes there are rules) dictate that ‘only girls are allowed to dance on the tables’ was sounding just a little bit too much like ‘structured play’. And the kindergarten feel was reinforced when I learnt that the place has a live internet feed so that your boyfriend/husband/mother can watch and keep tabs on your behaviour.

So you’ll understand that I approached the night with a little trepidation. My mood did not improve

when we pulled up outside what appeared to be a shabby house in a residential district of Zemun. And to all intents and purposes that’s entirely what it was. Two main rooms with shabby furniture and less than skillfully painted flowers on deep red walls. The larger room has a bar and a small space for a band. There’s a toilet and very little else.

I can’t understand really why, given this unpromising set of circumstances, I had such a good night.

Maybe it’s just that everyone seemed determined to have fun. Maybe something rubbed off on us from the Hen Party in the corner or maybe it was just the shots of Baileys, but within what seemed like no time at all I was singing along to the band (I don’t sing) and doing that self-conscious shuffle that I try and pass off as dancing.

This you’ll gather is not a sophisticated place – no checking to

see if the mojitos are as good as the cosmos because a cocktail bar this ain’t. Stick to beer, reasonable quality vranac and chardonnay, rakija and throw in some Baileys and the world will be just fine! Oh and eat before you come, because unless you’re a big fan of peanuts you’ll be going home hungry.

The band was playing Serbian folk from from Haris Dzinovic and Toma Zdravkovic with the occasional Beatles or other classic thrown in to please the few of us English speakers and everyone, and I do mean everyone, was singing along. When the band was off, the music continued in a similar vein.

What an unusual mix of people!

There were black Audi’s parked outside alongside the Skala’s, D&G and discount store inside and no barriers, everyone, it seems, was letting their hair down.

Misbehaviour is positively encouraged by the friendly staff who always seemed to be there whenever another unnecessary shot of rakija was called for and when, many, many shots past all reasonableness, the night came to a close, the bill was not too much of a shock either. Our night of excess

Guys, please, no dancing on the tables sent us home happy for around 2,500 dinars each following the course of 3 or 4 solid hours drinking.

Some tips I picked up from regular visitors. Don’t go before about 10:00 - 10:30 because it doesn’t pick up until then; make a reservation – this place gets busy; ask the staff where the cameras are pointing before you misbehave!

Source: www.nadlanu.com

I’ve had more sophisticated nights, and I’m not especially proud of the way I staggered out at the end of the evening but it’s been a long time since I had this much fun anywhere.

Oh, and was I dancing on the tables? You should have been checking the internet feed.

Sophie Cottrell is studying in the UK, but is a regular visitor to Belgrade.

Dining out

Pire Slow Food

Already well known to Belgrade’s cognoscenti, it seems, this little restaurant has clearly been influenced by some of London and New York’s trendiest eateries.

By “Trencherman”

“

It’s been here a year,” he said.

So why had no one ever told me? It’s not that it was quiet.

On the contrary, we were lucky to get a table. It’s hidden away, so it was a pure accident that I saw the place as I was searching out a parking space late last week. But I can’t believe that I am so without connections in this town and so uncool that no one had ever told me it was there.

Anyway, that must indeed be the case.

Now my opening is perhaps a little breathy, so you can probably tell that I was fairly impressed by Pire, which isn’t to say that it doesn’t have its faults, just that it’s the most complete package that I’ve come across in town so far. A stylish, modern environment - as you’d expect from a restaurant backed by Dragana Ognjenovic, one of the country’s top fashionistas - contemporary food, a serious wine list and excellent service. Let me take you through it…

Tucked away on Cara Lazara, with perhaps not more than 5 metres of frontage to the street, this is not a big place. Inside, it’s all white walls, soft lighting and mellow music. Someone with an eye for design has been involved.

At the back are low tables and comfy seating. There are perhaps just 20 covers at the front of the res-

taurant and comfort levels are low – these tables have been shoe-horned in. But somehow that doesn’t seem to matter. The tables are set with quality cutlery and big glassware and the overall impression is classy.

The English-speaking staff were friendly and we were greeted by the Maitre d. on arrival, who also offered us aperitifs and took us briefly through the menu. The menu is big on interesting salads - five leaves, five herbs – fennel carrot and apple – mango almond and shrimp, and big on soups – leek and potato (vichyssoise) - sole and shrimp – miso, and then leads into pasta and risottos, before taking us into fish and meats.

On his recommendation we ordered some focaccia, and then a warm potato, cheese and leek salad, and a tomato and basil soup. The focaccia, when it came, was not focaccia at all but strips of pizza-style dough, but it was nevertheless good – hot, with a crispy crust and doughy interior, baked with fresh herbs and it went well with the oil and balsamic dip that came alongside. The soup was prepared with a good stock base, no cream, no roux, just fresh tomato, with a hint of acidity and a very upfront kick of basil. The potatoes, leeks and cheese were bound with a light mayonnaise and although the curd cheese chunks would perhaps have been better substituted with a firmer cheese with a more upfront flavour, say a nutty Gruyere or even perhaps a Roquefort, the combination worked well.

“Integral?” “That’s wholemeal”, I said, so why she was surprised when the spaghettini with calamari and shrimps came with wholemeal spaghettini is anybody’s guess. Now

Pire: chic, contemporary dining I’m not normally a fan of ‘healthy food,’ to me it smacks of ‘boring food’ or ‘diet food’ neither of which, in my mind are reasons to spend good money in a restaurant and which are best left for periods of post-Christmas abstinence. But, you know, it really wasn’t bad. Al dente, with some good olive oil and heavy with calamari and shrimp. As for me, I took marinated steak with mash, a la Karpov. Karpov, it seems, as well as being our Maitre d. also doubles as the executive chef. Now, I’m not too sure what the steak was marinated in, I detected just salt and pepper, but it was a good piece of fillet, cooked as ordered and the mash, well the mash was the business. A smooth puree not too runny, not too stiff, creamy and just, well, ‘potatoey’!

Now given that “pire” is Serbian for mash, it would have been a serious issue had it not been good, I suppose,

Source: www.nadlanu.com but it most certainly was. Eight other variations on the mashed potato theme are on the menu, including ‘with crispy bacon, garlic and parsley’, ‘with horseradish’, and ‘with truffle’.

Deserts did not, unfortunately meet the same high standards. The apple pie was not spectacular and came at room temperature with no accompaniment and precious little apple, and whilst the chocolate mousse had a hint of orange to make it a little out of the ordinary, it was turgid and heavy.

Regular readers will know that I’m a little sceptical about the value for money offered on most wine lists in town but whilst nothing in Pire is a bargain, someone has made an effort to put together an interesting selection of wines from across the world and priced them, in the main, at just below the pain threshold. On the Maitre d.’s recommendation we

took a Bovin Disan 2003. From Macedonia, made with the Vranac grape, this was a serious wine, with depth, and fullness, still with some tannins up front and a lingering berries and cherry finish. At 3,300 dinars it wasn’t cheap, but it was value for money.

The combination is so very nearly right. Great atmosphere, polished service, chic surroundings, a quirky, interesting menu and cooking which, deserts aside, is worthy of note.

Price Guide: approximately 3,000 dinars per head, for three courses with a modest wine.

Pire Slow Food Cara Lazara 11 011 2634994 Monday to Saturday 08:00 -24:00 “Trencherman” is Belgrade Insight’s resident gourmand.

sport

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

13

Blatter Relishing Trip To Uncharted Territory The FIFA President expects Serbia to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and hopes for a trouble-free tournament, the first be held in the impoverished yet soccer-crazed continent.

By Zoran Milosavljevic

“

See you in South Africa. That, of course, is a wish, while the will should be yours,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter told the Serbian Football Association’s (FSS) top officials during his brief visit to Belgrade last week. Where there is a will there is a way and Serbia duly obliged with a 3-0 win over Lithuania that put them top of Europe’s qualifying Group Seven before Wednesday’s clash with Austria in Vienna.

Serbia’s most impressive performance of late reinvigorated hopes that Blatter’s wish, shared by millions of soccer fans in a country so deprived of international success, may become reality at the end of a long road into uncharted territory.

For Blatter, Serbia and everyone else involved that is, as the 2010 tournament in South Africa will be the first to be staged in a continent where the passion for soccer is as awesome as the poverty engulfing most of its population.

Blatter is nevertheless confident it will be a trouble-free tournament in a country with a staggering crime rate and hopes it will provide a beacon of

light for millions of South African soccer fans and those expected to flock in from abroad.

“I am convinced it will be a superb tournament and that South Africa will do a great job organising it,” he told reporters in Belgrade.

“What is more, I have every confidence the entire infrastructure will be completed in time for next year’s Confederation Cup,” he added. Indeed, the 2009 dress rehearsal, featuring the six continental champions, the hosts and world champions Italy will provide some of the answers to a range of questions raised over South Africa’s readiness to stage an event of this magnitude.

Does Serbia have the mettle to get there?

One must imagine so, after living up to their potential against Lithuania, the surprise package of the opening two rounds who failed to muster a single shot on target at Red Star’s Marakana stadium. Coach Radomir Antic’s no nonsense policy of picking form ahead of reputation has paid instant dividends and produced the consistency Serbia so sadly lacked in Euro 2008 qualifying, having missed out on the finals after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Kazakhstan and turgid goalless draws with Finland and Armenia.

Croatia’s fate hangs in the balance following an equally drab 0-0 stalemate in Ukraine which put Croatian coach Slaven Bilic in the line of fire from the country’s media, insensed by his cautious approach in Kharkiv.

Once-bitten twice-shy Bilic deployed

The Serbian team gave their fans plenty to cheer about against Lithuania a single striker in Ukraine after a painful 4-1 home defeat by England in September and his men must now find their Euro 2008 form to keep their proud record of reaching every major tournament since they became an independent country but one, the Euro 2000 finals when they were eliminated by the former Serbia and Montenegro state union then playing as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

England seem to have no such

Partizan, Red Star Off To Perfect Starts

By Zoran Milosavljevic

I

f the opening three rounds of this season’s regional NLN Basketball League are anything to go by, it could develop into the most fascinating battle yet as 14 teams from the former Yugoslavia aim to reach the Final Four in April. Defending champions Partizan Belgrade maintained their perfect start with a 74-73 win at 2005 winners and fellow Serbian rivals Hemofarm Vrsac thanks to an outstanding performance by their power forward Novica Velickovic, who scored 20 points with 8-of11 shooting from the field. The lead changed hands several times in the see-saw thriller and Hemofarm guard Nebojsa Joksimovic missed a baseline jumper at the buzzer that would have clinched it for Hemofarm had it gone in.

Croatian champions Zadar also improved their record to 3-0 with a 101-57 whitewash of Bosna Sarajevo, with Macedonian centre Todor Gecevski pouring in 23 points and Julius Johnson adding 22 to boost their confidence ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Partizan in Belgrade’s Pionir Sports Arena (4 p.m.).

Montenegro’s Buducnost Podgorica retained their own 100 percent record after strolling to an 85-68 defeat of Split as did Red Star Belgrade with a hard-fought 84-77 home win over plucky customers Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia.

Red Star’s close season acquisition Andre Owens, a former NBA prospect, led his team with a majestic performance capped by a gamehigh 24 points and 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range. However, it was FMP Belgrade centre Miroslav Raduljica who earned the week’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after registering 22 points and 11 rebounds in their 99-90 overtime win against Vojvodina Novi Sad. “He had a brilliant second half and that swung the tie our way,” FMP coach Slobodan Klipa said after seeing his side snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. (For detailed statistics, results and standings go to www.adriaticbasket.com)

Red Star edged Olimpija in a tight game

worries after cruising to a 5-1 drubbing of Kazakhstan at Wembley, where 90,000 or so home fans showed little appreciation for a third consecutive win under Fabio Capello, albeit one the pundits must have chalked up even before the kick off.

Instead, they lambasted left back Ashley Cole for handing the Kazakhs their goal on a platter with an aimless back pass, prompting a fiery response from the Italian and captain Rio Fer-

Jankovic’s Hat-Trick

By Zoran Milosavljevic

O

nly an unlikely late dip in form can prevent Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic from ending the 2008 tennis season as the world number one after she won her third straight title with a 6-2, 6-4 rout of Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in the Kremlin Cup final in Moscow last weekend.

Following her conquests at the China Open in Beijing and the Stuttgart Grand Prix, Jankovic continued to torment her rivals in the Russian capital and appears set to produce more of the same when she enters the WTA tournament in Zurich as the top seed. Compatriot Ana Ivanovic, on the other hand, continued to struggle as she bowed out of the Kremlin Cup with a second round defeat to Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova. The two may well cross swords in Zurich and it would be their first meeting since their epic French Open final in June, when Ivanovic overpowered her compatriot to go top of the world rankings.

Jankovic’s surge to the top was recognised by Zvonareva, who praised the impeccable performance that condemned the Russian to her third successive defeat by Jankovic in just two weeks. “She can adapt her game to any opponent and it’s no fluke that she is the world number one at the moment,” said the despondent Russian. “She was ready

for whatever shot I threw at her and had me on the back foot throughout,” she said.

However, Jankovic is still to capture a Grand Slam event and the Australian Open in January appears to be the perfect opportunity for the 23-year old to silence her critics, who argue that she is not worthy of the WTA pinnacle unless she wins one of the season’s four biggest tournaments.

Jankovic was unstoppable in Moscow

Photo by FoNet dinand, who got a timely reminder what a hard bunch to please football fans can be at times.

Especially in places like England and the Balkans, where football has the reputation of being the “most important trivial thing in the world.”

Trivial? No way.

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

Selected Events

Friday, Oct 17: Tennis: ATP Masters in Madrid (Sport Klub 2.00 p.m.), WTA tournament in Zurich (Eurosport 2.00 p.m.); Basketball: NBA preseason (Wizards v Hornets OBN 9.30 p.m.)

Saturday, Oct 18: Basketball: Partizan Belgrade v KK Zadar (FOX Serbia 4.00 p.m.); Soccer: Manchester United v West Bromwich (RTS 2 6.30 p.m.), Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid (FOX Serbia 8.00 p.m.), Espanyol v Villareal (FOX Serbia 10.00 p.m.)

Sunday, Oct 19: Formula 1: China Grand Prix in Shanghai (FOX Serbia 9.00 a.m.) Soccer: Indoor World Cup Final (Eurosport 2 2.30 p.m.), FK Napredak Krusevac v Red Star Belgrade (RTS 2 2.00 p.m.), Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur (RTS 2 5.00 p.m.), Roma v Inter Milan (Avala, 8.30 p.m.), River Plate v Boca Juniors (Sport Klub + 9.20 p.m.)

Monday, Oct 20: Handball: Barcelona v Kiel (Eurosport 2, 5.00 p.m.); Soccer: Premier League Highlights (RTS 2, 8.00 p.m.).

Tuesday, Oct 21: Soccer: European Champions League: Juventus v Real Madrid (B 92, 8.45 p.m.)

Wednesday, Oct 22: Soccer: European Champions League: Chelsea v Roma (B 92, 8.45 p.m.)

Thursday, Oct 23: Tennis: WTA Tournament in Linz, Austria (Eurosport, 2.00 p.m.), ATP Tournament in Basel, Switzerland (Eurosport, 6.15 p.m.); Soccer: UEFA Cup: Dinamo Zagreb v NEC Nijmegen (HRT 2, 8.45 p.m.), Partizan Belgrade v Sampdoria (RTS 2, 9.00 p.m.) UEFA Cup highlights (Eurosport 11.00 p.m.)

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the belgrader

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

Must-Sees

Victims of Fascism Museum of Banjica’s concentration camp victims.

This memorial museum is dedicated to the victims of Nazi regime in Serbia during WWII. Over the course of the Nazi occupation more than 250.000 people

passed through the camp and 30.000 were killed in Jajinci, near Belgrade.

A sombre place to reflect on the past, the Museum holds a huge range of artefacts from the camp and belongings from some of the victims and has faithful re-constructions of facilities of the concentration camp.

Located near the the FC Red Star stadium in northern Banjica, the museum is a must-see for anyone wishing to better understand this harrowing period of Serbian history.

Address: Pavla Jurisica Sturma 33 Tel : 011 3674877

Cruising around Belgrade Make the most of the Indian Summer by spending an hour or two cruising the Sava and the Danube. Boats leave from the port on the Sava and will take you past Ada Ciganlia, back down to the Danube and over to Zemun, returning to the port in around 2 hours. The city takes on a whole new

perspective from the river. Some boats offer refreshments or even a buffet style lunch or dinner. We recommend the Sirona which ties up just below the Brankov bridge. Prices start from 600 dinars for a daytime cruise through to 2,000 for a night cruise with dinner.

Tel: 011 2610308

BALLET

EXHIBITIONS

What’s On CINEMAS

CONCERTS

Roda Cineplex Požeška 83A , tel: 011 2545260

Bizarre Contact Psychedelic sounds from this Israeli DJ Duo.

Turneja(The Tour) 18:00, 20:15 & 22:30 Wall - E 16:00 Mirrors 22:00 Journey to the Center of the Earth 16:15 Mamma Mia! 18:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 16:30 Ljubav i drugi zlocini (Love and Other Crimes) 20:00 Max Payne 18:30, 20:30 & 22:30

Student Cultural Centre (SKC) Kralja Milana 48 October 18, 22:00 Tickets available at SKC ticket office

Ster City Cinema Delta City, Jurija Gagarina 16 (Blok 67), tel: 011 2203400 Turneja (The Tour) 12:10, 13:10, 14:20, 15:50, 16:40, 18:10, 18:50, 20:20 & 22:30 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 13:30, 15:30 & 17:30 Wall - E 12:30, 14:30 & 16:30 Tropic Thunder 19:40 & 21:50 Max Payne 12:50, 15:00, 17:00, 19:10, 21:20 & 23:00 Mirrors 21:00 & 23:10 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 18:30, 20:40 & 22:50 Mamma Mia! 13:00, 15:10, 17:20, 20:00 & 22:10 Tuckwood Cineplex Kneza Miloša 7, tel: 011 3236517 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 17:00 & 19:00 Mirrors 16:30, 18:50, 21:15 & 23:30 Tropic Thunder 15:30 & 17:45 Milos Brankovic 21:00 & 23:15 Max Payne 15:45, 18:00, 20:15 & 22:30 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 20:00 Turneja (The Tour) 15:30, 18:00, 20:30, 22:15 & 23:00

Museum of Yugoslav Film Archive in association with 53rd International Belgrade Book Fair presents a week of Japanese cinema.

Museum of Applied Art Vuka Karadzica 18 Tuesdey, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday. 12:00 - 20:00 Sunday 10:00 - 14:00

Museum of Yugoslav Film Archive Kosovska 11 October 25 - 30, 18:00 Tickets available at Museum of Yugoslav Film Archive ticket office

OPERA

Dom sindikata Trg Nikole Pašića 5, tel. 011 3234849 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 16:15 Mirrors 20:15 & 22:15 Ljubav i drugi zlocini (Love and Other Crimes) 18:15, 20:15 & 22:15 Turneja (The Tour) 16:00, 18:00, 20:00 & 22:00 Mamma Mia! 16:15 & 18:15 Max Payne 16:30, 18:30, 20:30 & 22:30

Japanese Cinema Week

National Theatre Trg Republike 1a

Dusan Petricic: a retrospective exhibition of works by this renowned Serbian cartoonist and illustrator.

October 1 - 23

Giselle Ballet by Adolphe Adam, featuring international ballet star Anton Bogov.

October 18, 19:30 Ticket available at National Theatre ticket office

THEATRES

Animal Collective Avant-garde US musicians who claim to perform “psych folk” or “noise rock”.

Student Cultural Centre (SKC) Kralja Milana 48 October 19, 21:00 Tickets available at SKC ticket office National ensemble “Kolo” Renowned Serbian dance ensemble representing and showing folk art and cultural heritage of Serbian people and ethnic groups.

Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation Hall Studentski trg 5 October 21, 20:00 Tickets available at Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation Hall ticket office

National Theatre Trg Republike 1a Cavalleria rusticana Famous opera in one act written by Pietro Mascagni.

October 19, 12:00 & 19:30 Tickets available at National Theatre ticket office

Exhibition of Japanese Potters

by Niimi Takatoshi and Ito Hitoshi

Two Scents of a Rose Musical melodrama based on the story by contemporary Mexican author Emilio Carballido.

October 15 - 22

October 19, 19:30 Tickets available at Terazije Theatre ticket office Madlenianum Glavna 32 Quartet Heavyweight drama on exploring the transience of opera by Ronald Harwood.

ANNUAL EVENTS

October 20, 19:30 Tickets available at Madlenianum ticket office and Billet Service, Trg Republike 5

53rd International Belgrade Book Fair More than 800 local and international publishers will participate in 53rd International Belgrade Book Fair.

Belgrade Fair, Halls 1 and 14 Bulevar Vojvode Misica 14 October 20 - 26, 10:00 - 20:00 Tickets available at Belgrade Fair ticket office

Terazije Theater Terazije 29

Student Cultural Centre (SKC) Kralja Milana 48 Don Pasquale Comic opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti

Harlequin\Don Giovanni Italian production company Patakin da Venezia with a show they bill as “art comedy”.

October 22, 19:30 Tickets available at National Theatre ticket office

October 23 - 25, 20:30 Tickets available at SKC ticket ofice

Belgrade Fair, Hall 14 Bulevar Vojvode Misica 14 Mon - Sun 10:00 - 20:00 Photo exhibits “Kyoto” and “Contemporary Architecture” October 20 - 26 Gallery Chaos Dositejeva 3 Mon - Sat 12:00 - 20:00 Dark side of the ocean Exhibition of drawings by renowned Serbian artist and Academy professor Zoran Vukovic.

October 14 - November 1 Gallery Progres Zmaj Jovina 8 - 10 Mon - Fri 10:00 - 21:00 Saturday 10:00 - 16:00 “Monastery Hilandar - photographs on canvas” by Misa Brankovic October 9 - 22

directory

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

TAXI SERVICES

Beo Taxi 011 9801 Blue Taxi 011 555999 Joker Taxi 011 3971174 Lux Taxi 011 3033123 Pink Taxi 011 9803 Taxi Bell 011 9808 Yellow Taxi 011 9802

BEAUTICIANS

MIOLIFT STUDIO Trg Nikole Pasica 8 Tel: 011 3340554 www.centarlepote.co.yu NENA Terazije 42, 1st floor Tel: 011 3619115, 011 619577 WELLNESS CENTAR ZORICA Dobracina 33, Bulevar Despota Stefana 71, 2nd floor Tel: 011 3285922, 011 3243940, 063 356001 www.zorica.co.yu SPA CENTAR Strahinjica Bana 5 Tel: 011 3285408 www.spacentar.co.yu office@spacentar.co.yu

BUILDERS ENJUB Bulevar Mihajla Pupina 20 Tel: 011 2601673 www.enjub.co.yu info@enjub.co.yu

COSMETIC & HEALTH SERVICES KOMNENUS Kraljice Natalije 19 Tel: 011 3613677 www.komnenus.com office@komnenus.com ANTI-AGING CENTAR Nikolaja Ostrovskog 3 Tel: 011 2199645 www.aacentar.com EPILION dermatological laser centre Admirala Geprata 13 Tel: 011 3611420, 011 3615203 www.epilion.co.yu, info@epilion.co.yu

DENTISTS BIG TOOTH Mite Ruzica 10a Tel: 063 8019190 www.big-tooth.com dr.ilic@beotel.yu FAMILY DENTIST Bulevar Dr Zorana Djindica bb Tel: 011 136437 www.familydentist.co.yu ordinacija@familydentist.co.yu BELDENT Brankova 23 Tel: 011 2634455 APOLONIJA Stevana Sremca 13, Tel: 011 3223420 DUKADENT Pariske Komune 11 Tel: 011 3190766

ESTATE AGENTS

NTERNET HOTSPOTS

AS-YUBC ESTATE Bul. Mihajla Pupina 10a Tel: 011 3118424, 063 371 879 as.yubc@sbb.co.yu EURENT Dobracina 21 Tel: 011 3038662 www.eurent.co.yu info@eurent.co.yu

123 wap Vase Pelagica 48 Absinthe Kralja Milutina 33 Backstage Restaurant Svetogorska 19 BAR Central Kralja Petra 59 Bistro Pastis Strahinjica Bana 52B Bizzare Zmaj Jovina 25 Café bar MODA Njegoseva 61 Café Biblioteka Terazije 27 Café Koeficijent Terazije 15-23 Café Nautilus Turgenjeva 5 Café Paleta Trg Republike 5 Celzijus Dzordza Vasingtona 12 Coffee dream Kralja Petra 23 Café Pianeta 27. Marta 141 Colonial Sun Bul. Vojvode Putnika 32-34 Cuba Café Kneza Viseslava 63 Extreme kids Cvijiceva 1 Gradski Macor Svetozara Markovica 43 Ice bar Kosovska 37 Idiott Dalmatinska 13 Insomnia Strahinjica Bana 66A Ipanema Strahinjica Bana 68 Journal Kralja Milutina 21 Koling Klub Neznanog junaka 23 Kontra Bar Strahinjica Bana 59 Langust Kosancicev venac 29 Mart Caffe Krunska 6 Monin Bar Dositejeva 9A Monument Admirala Geprata 14 New York, New York Krunska 86 Oktopus Brace Krsmanovic 3 O’Polo Café Rige od Fere 15 Pietro Dell Oro Trnska 2 Pomodoro Hilandarska 32 Que pasa Kralja Petra 13 Rezime Centar Cafe Kralja Petra 41 Veprov dah Strahinjica Bana 52 Vespa Bar Toplicin venac 6 Via Del Gusto Knez Mihailova 48

EVENTS & CATERERS Villa catering Krunska 69, Beograd Tel: 011 3442656, 3835570, 063 207976 www.villa-catering.com office@villa-catering.com

PARTY SERVICE Tel: 011 3946461 GODO Savski kej bb Tel: 011 2168101 BUTTERFLY CATERING Tel: 011 2972027, 063 7579825 office@butterfly-catering.rs Aleksandra-Anais Tel/fax: 011 4898173 063 7775889 office@aleksandra-anais.co.yu CATERING CLUB DB Tel. 065 8099819 Fax: 011 2980800 cateringclubdb@eunet.yu CATERING PLUS Palmira Toljatija 5 Tel: 011 2608410 office@catering.co.yu DIPLOMAT CATERING Josipa Slavenskog 10 Tel: 011 3672605 diplomatcatering@icomline.net EURO CATERING Prve pruge 2 11080 Zemun Tel/fax: 011 3190469 office@eurocatering.co.yu

FLORISTS

MALA VRTNA RADIONICA Spanskih boraca 22g Tel: 011 3130300 www.mvr.co.yu mvr@verat.net CVET EXPRES Rajka Od Rasine 28 Tel: 011 2545987 INTERFLORA Vojvode Stepe 405 Tel: 011 462687 TELEFLORA Svetogorska 11 Tel: 011 03030047/048

HAIR STYLISTS HAIR FACTORY Kosovska 37/10 Tel: 011 3227775 www.hairfactory.co.yu vlada@hairfactory.co.yu EXCLUSIVE UNISEX HAIR SALONE ALEKSANDAR Bulevar Despota Stefana 96 Tel: 011 2087602 www.aleksandar.weebly.com fsaleksandar@gmail.com

GYMS, LEISURE & SPORTS CENTRES EXTREME GYM TC ABC Cvijiceva 1 Tel: 011 2768255 www.x3mgym.com extremegym@x3mgym.com LPG Centar YU BIZNIS Centre, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 10b Tel: 011 3130806 lpgstosic@eunet.yu, www.lpgsalon.co.yu

RELAX PLATO Beogradjanka Tower Masarikova 5, 5th floor Tel: 011 3061765 www.relaxplato.com Golf Club Beograd Ada Ciganlija 2 Tel: 063 8963816 Partizan Shooting Club Tel: 011 2647942, 064 801 9900 Fax: 011 2647261 www.partizanshooting.rs info@partizanshooting.rs Hippodrome Belgrade Pastroviceva 2 Tel: 011 3546826

LEGAL SERVICES ILS Ltd. in association with Clyde & Co Gospodar Jevremova 47 Tel: 011 3038822 www.clydeco.co.uk clyde@clyde.co.yu HARRISONS SOLICITORS Terazije 34 Tel: 011 3615918 www.harisons-solicitors.com KARANOVIC&NIKOLIC Lepenicka 7 Tel: 011 3094200 www.karanovic-nikolic.co.yu info@karanovic-nikolic.co.yu

MASSEURS

HEALTHCARE BEL MEDIC Viktora Igoa 1 Tel. 011 3065888, 011 3066999, 063 206602 www.belmedic.com BEL MEDIC Koste Jovanovića 87 Tel. 011 3091000, 065 3091000 www.belmedic.com Dr. RISTIC HEALTH CENTRE Narodnih Heroja 38 Tel: 011 2693287 www.dr-ristic.co.yu zcentar@dr-ristic.co.yu LABOMEDICA Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 193a Tel: 011 3088304 www.labomedica.net klinika@labomedica.net Privatna Praksa Petrovic Kralja Milutina 10 Tel: 011 3460777 Dom Zdravlja “Stari Grad” Obilicev venac 30 Tel: 011 635236 Dom Zdravlja “Vracar” Kneginje Zorke 15 Tel. 011 2441413

MOVERS ALLIED PICKFORDS SERBIA Zarka Obreskog 23 Tel: 011 8487744 www.alliedpickfords.co.yu movers@alliedpickfords.co.yu AGS Belgrade Niski autoput 17 Tel: 011 3472321 www.agsmovers.com belgrade@agsmovers.com

OPTICIANS

EUROOPTIC Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 278 Tel: 011 2415130 www.eurooptic.co.yu OPTIKA BEOGRAD A.D. Cara Urosa 8-10 Tel: 011 2629833

PRINTERS DIGITAL PRINTING CENTAR Cvijiceva 29 Tel: 011 2078000 www.dpc.co.yu office@dpc.co.yu DIGITAL ART Tel: 011 3617281

VETS&PETS

NOVAK VETERINARIAN CLINIC Veselina Maslese 55 Tel: 011 2851856, 011 2851923 www.vetnovak.co.yu novak@ptt.yu Veterinarska stanica Lazarevic Zrenjaninski put 30 Tel: 011 3319 015, 063 216 663 Fax: +381 (0)11 2712 385 Oaza Miklosiceva 11, Tel: 011 4440899

Bookstores

PLUMBERS HAUZMAJSTOR Francuska 56 Tel: 011 3034034 office@hauzmajstor.co.yu HIDROTEK Ljutice Bogdana 2 Tel: 011 2666823 kontakt@hidrotek.co.yu

SOLARIUMS BEAUTY CENTAR Traditional Thai Massage Centre Knez Mihajlova 2-4 Tel: 011 3030003 www.menta.co.yu menta_bg@ptt.yu

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SUN FACTORY MEGASUN Maksima Gorkog 82 Tel: 011 3440403 sun.factory.megasun@gmail.com ORNELA MEGASUN Njegoseva 56 Tel: 011 2458398 ornelakbl@eunet.yu Studio miolift Beograd, Trg Nikole Pašica 8 Tel: 011 3033211, 064 2351313 Aleksandar team Bulevar Despota Stefana 34a Tel: 011 3225632 www.aleksandar-team.co.yu Sun look Makedonska 5 Tel: 011 3343810 www.sunlook-bg.com

TICKET SERVICES BILET SERVICE Trg Republike 5 IPS & MAMUT MEGASTORE Knez Mihajlova 1 Tel: 011 3033311 www.ips.co.yu

TRANSLATORS TODOROVIC AGENCY Tel: 011 2188197 BELGRADE TRANSLATION CENTRE Dobracina 50/11 Tel: 011 3287388 www.btc.co.yu natasa.ralic@btc.co.yu LEXICA TRANSLATION AGENCY Beogradska 35 Tel: 011 3222750 www.lexica.co.yu office@lexica.co.yu

Akademija Knez Mihailova 35 Tel: 011 2627846 Antikvarijat Knez Mihailova 35 Tel: 011 636087 Beopolis Makedonska 22 Tel: 011 3229922 Dereta Dostojevskog 7 Tel: 011 3058707, 011 556-445 Kneza Mihaila 46 Tel. 011 3033503, 011 3030 514, 011 627-934 Geca Kon Kneza Mihaila 12 Tel. 011 622073 IPS Mercator, Bulevar umetnosti 4 Tel: 011 132872 Super Vero Milutina MIlankovica 86a Tel: 011 3130640 IPS BOOK & MUSIC STORE Beoizlog, basement, Trg Republike 5 Tel: 011 3281859 Plato Knez Mihailova 48 Tel: 011 625834 SKZ Kralja Milana 19 Tel: 011 3231593 Stubovi kulture Knez Mihailova 6 Tel: 011 3281851, 011 632384 The Oxford Center Dobracina 27 Tel. 011 631021 We welcome suggestions for inclusion in the directory.

Please send details to: belgradeinsightmarketing@ birn.eu.com

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advert

Friday, Oct. 17 - Oct. 23, 2008

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