CorD Magazine No.47

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM H.E. Cameron Munter U.S. Ambassador to Serbia

CONGRESS DESTINATION -DVQD 'LPLWULMHYLý Managing Director of the Sava Centre

PM AT THE CENTRE *RUDQ 6YLODQRYLý 6HQLRU RIÀFLDO RI WKH 6WDELOLW\ 3DFW IRU Southeast Europe

interviews opinions news comments events www.cordmagazine.com

March 2008 / Issue No. 47 / Price 170 RSD

Sadness & Joy

CorD, February 2008

22 POLITICS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

INTERESTING TIMES

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32

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ROAD REQUIREMENTS

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CORD CLUB & B2B

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Business news summary and CorD Club news

Editorial commentary

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS SOCIETY

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

8

Interview: H.E. Cameron Munter, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia

PM AT THE CENTRE

16

,QWHUYLHZ *RUDQ 6YLODQRYLĂź Senior official of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe

MILO’S COMEBACK

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&RU'œV ,OLMD 'HVSRWRYLß ZHLJKV XS WKH SURV DQG FRQV RI 0LOR çXNDQRYLߜV imminent return to frontline politics

POĹ TA REMAINS STATE-OWNED

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,QWHUYLHZ *RUDQ ĂťLULĂź *HQHUDO Director of PoĹĄta Srbije

CONGRESS DESTINATION

26

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FOR LOVE & SPITE

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50

Faces & Places – LPDJHV RI WKH NH\ KDSSHQLQJV RI WKH SDVW PRQWK 58 Tales from the Big Plum – Pat $QÿHONRYLߜV ODWHVW LQVLJKWV RQ WKH 6HUELDQ psyche

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Ivica’s Edge – An alternative look at trends, fads and phenomena

Corporate Women interview: 6DUDK 0YXOD /D]RYLĂź )LQDQFLDO $VVLVWDQW ,QWHUQDWLRQDO )LQDQFLDO &RUSRUDWLRQ

POSITIVE SPIN

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PAN-BALKAN AIMS

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B2B Interview: Robert Schweizer, Global Investments Director at Merrill Lynch

CULTURE

62

Theatre in Exile – the Serbian Government plans to build a new theatre in northern Kosovo

64 68

Guardians of Tradition – äDUND 5DGRMD VSHDNV WR WKH 7HR¿ORYLß WZLQV

Creating Reality – 6RQMD ÝLULß reviews the latest Contemporary Art Gallery exhibition

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE MANAGING DIRECTOR $QD ,VDNRYLÞ a.isakovic@cma.co.yu EDITOR IN CHIEF 0DUN 3XOOHQ m.pullen@cma.co.yu CORPORATE EDITOR 7DWMDQD 2VWRMLÞ t.ostojic@cma.co.yu ART DIRECTOR =ODWNR -RYDQRYLÞ z.jovanovic@cma.co.yu EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS ,YLFD 3HWURYLÞ 9RMLVODYD 9LJQMHYLÞ 6RQMD ýLULÞ üDUND 5DGRMD PHOTO 6WDQLVODY 0LORMNRYLÞ ÿDVODY 9XNRMLĀLÞ -HOHQD 6HIHULQ &RU' $UFKLYH 7DQMXJ TRANSLATORS 'HMDQ =XEDF 0LOLFD .XEXURYLÞ 0RPĀLOR 'UDNXOLÞ EDITORIAL MANAGER 7DQMD %DQNRYLÞ t.bankovic@cma.co.yu SUBSCRIPTION & WEB ,YDQ /DNDWRä L ODNDWRV#FPD FR \X

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COMMENT

The curse of interesting times February, my last month as chief editor of CorD, has been a somewhat eventful month in Serbia, to say the least.With the second round of the presidential elections going down to the wire, and Priťtina’s unilateral declaration of independence leading to mass protests and a series of deplorable attacks against the embassies of several countries, most notably the U.S.’s, it would be true to say that Serbia has once again been struck by its curse to live in interesting times.

“it seems to me that PriĹĄtina’s decision is actually good for Serbia and bad for Kosovo.This is because Serbia is surely better off without the burden of that chaotic province around its neck, and the Kosovo Albanians would probably have achieved more for their people if they’d have got involved in Serbia’s political processes and controlled a strong minority of seats in the Serbian parliament.â€?

BY MARK R. PULLEN

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DIPLOMACY

H.E. Cameron Munter, Ambassador of the U.S. to Serbia

Exclusive Interview

CAUTIOUS

Despite security issues prompting the U.S. Embassy to withdraw nonessential staff and dependents from Belgrade last week, Ambassador Munter remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of Serbia.

8 CorD / March 2008

BY MARK R PULLEN; PHOTO: ý$6/$9 98.2-,ý,û 67$1,6/$9 0,/2-.29,û

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“The only violence that’s been committed has, regrettably, been incited by hardline nationalist Serbian leaders.The international press understands this truth, and we hope that the leaders here understand this truth.

If not, they are leading Serbia back into international isolation, which is in no one’s interest.�

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How much of a mistake was it for the Serbian leadership not to prepare the

BIZ SENTIMENT

KOSOVO STATUS

DIPLO CHILL

Those American businesses that have come here have assembled D WHUULĂ€F ORFDO ZRUNforce, and have seen great opportunities, and they know that it is worthwhile investing in Serbia.

If there had been a solution found to which Serbs would have agreed, that would have been preferable, but unfortunately neither side was able to come up with anything that was acceptable‌

Right now, there is a freeze on our relations with the government here‌Unfortunately, that limits the ability that I have to communicate with those here who want Serbia to move ahead.

CorD / March 2008 9

DIPLOMACY

“This is a country of sophisticated people with a strong background, who have had enough of this kind of war.

Yet, the cynical politicians who want to stay in power have abused that.”

HG D VLJQL¿FDQW VHFXULW\ IDLOXUH RQ WKH part of the local authorities. Some are suggesting that this was because, with ,QWHULRU 0LQLVWHU -RþLü LQFDSDFLWDWHG the authorities were badly prepared to handle the situation, while others are, perhaps somewhat cynically, suggesting that the U.S. and other embassies were deliberately left dangerously unprotected. What’s the feeling within the embassy and the State Department?

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Rebuilding Trust nation for the inevitability of Kosovo declaring independence, and preparing an orderly national response? , WKLQN WKH\ PDGH D WHUULEOH PLVWDNH E\ QRW EHLQJ UHDOLVWLF DERXW ZKDW ZDV JRLQJ WR KDSSHQ , EHOLHYH WKDW LW¶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¶UH VWXFN ZLWK D VLWXDWLRQ WKDW ZH ZLOO KDYH WR PDNH ZRUN :H ZLOO PDNH LW ZRUN , MXVW KRSH WKDW ZH GRQ¶W KDYH WR GR VR \HW DJDLQ DW WKH H[SHQVH RI WKH 6HUELDQ SHRSOH EHFDXVH RI EDG OHDGHUVKLS Last Thursday’s attack demonstrat10 CorD / March 2008

³:KHQ , ZDV LQ ,UDT LQ ODWH , RSHQHG WKH ILUVW RI ZKDW ZH FDOO WKH 3URYLQFLDO 5HFRQVWUXFWLRQ 7HDPV ± 357V ± LQ WKH WRZQ RI 0RVXO WKH VHFRQG ODUJHVW WRZQ LQ WKH QRUWK RI ,UDT 7KH SRLQW RI WKH 357V LV WR KDYH D FLYLO GHYHORSPHQW IDFH LQ WKH FRXQWU\ UDWKHU WKDQ MXVW KDYLQJ D PLOLWDU\ IDFH , OLNH WR WKLQN WKDW ZH ZHUH VXFFHVVIXO LQ DV PXFK DV ZH ZHUH DEOH WR SXW WRJHWKHU D WHDP RI DERXW SHRSOH WR ZRUN ZLWK WKH ORFDO DXWKRULWLHV LQ 0RVXO RQ LVVXHV RI JRYHUQDQFH HFRQRPLF GHYHORSPHQW LQIUDVWUXFWXUH LQYHVWPHQW UXOH RI ODZ DQG D ZLGH YDULHW\ RI RWKHU LVVXHV :H ZHUH GRLQJ PDQ\ RI WKH WKLQJV WKDW ZH DUH DFWXDOO\ GRLQJ KHUH WRGD\ L H HQJDJLQJ RXU H[SHUWV WR HQKDQFH WKH ZRUN RI WKH FRXUW V\VWHP LQ RUGHU WR HQVXUH WKDW WKH OHJDO V\VWHP FDQ HDUQ WKH UHVSHFW RI WKH SHRSOH DQG RYHUFRPH WKH VFHSWLFLVP WKDW KDV EHHQ HYLGHQW LQ WKH SDVW 7KH FKDOOHQJH RI D PXOWL HWKQLF SRVW 6DGGDP +XVVHLQ ,UDT LV WR UHEXLOG SXEOLF WUXVW LQ H[LVWLQJ LQVWLWXWLRQV ,Q WKH WLPH WKDW , ZDV LQ 0RVXO , WKLQN ZH KDG VRPH JHQXLQH VXFFHVVHV ZLWK ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW WKH MXGLFLDU\ HWF ³:KDW , SHUVRQDOO\ OHDUQHG LV WKDW WKH

SHRSOH RI WKDW FRXQWU\ DUH GHOLJKWIXO 0RVXO KDV D WUDGLWLRQDO FRPPXQLW\ PL[ RI &KULVWLDQ .XUGLVK 6XQQL 6KLD HWF ,W LV D IDVFLQDWLQJ SODFH ZLWK PDQ\ GHGLFDWHG DQG YHU\ WDOHQWHG SHRSOH ³0RVXO LV YHU\ FORVH WR 6\ULD DQG EHFDXVH RI WKH $O 4DHGD WKUHDW LW ZDV D YHU\ GDQJHURXV SODFH DQG ZH ZHUH RIWHQ DWWDFNHG +RZHYHU ,¶P FDXWLRXVO\ RSWLPLVWLF WKDW ZH DUH VXFFHHGLQJ DQG DUH VHW WR VHH PRUH SURJUHVV ³$W WKH HQG RI WKH GD\ HYHQ WKH SHRSOH ZKR IHHO IUXVWUDWHG DQG GLVHQIUDQFKLVHG E\ WKH ORVV RI WKH WUDGLWLRQDO 6XQQL OHDGHUVKLS XQGHU 6DGGDP +XVVHLQ DUH EHJLQQLQJ WR UHDOLVH WKDW WDOHQWHG HQJLQHHUV WHDFKHUV DQG FLYLO DGPLQLVWUDWRUV FDQ PHHW WKH QHHGV RI WKH SHRSOH DQG ZLWK RXU KHOS WKH\ FDQ VORZO\ EXW VXUHO\ EXLOG D FLYLO VRFLHW\ ³,UDT LV D GHHSO\ WUDXPDWLVHG FRXQWU\ ,W ZDV WUDXPDWLVHG ORQJ EHIRUH WKH $PHULFDQV JRW WKHUH EXW EHFDXVH RI WKH ZDU LW LV QRZ HYHQ PRUH WUDXPDWLF IRU WKH SHRSOH +RZHYHU MXVW DV , DP RSWLPLVWLF WKDW 6HUELD ZLOO PDNH LW ,¶P RSWLPLVWLF WKDW ,UDT ZLOO VXFFHHG DV D FRXQWU\ ´ Cameron Munter

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ZLOO KDYH WR ZDWFK GHYHORSPHQWV LQ WKH QH[W GD\V DQG ZHHNV LQ RUGHU WR PDNH VXUH WKDW SHRSOH DUH VDIH EHFDXVH QRERG\ FDQ OLYH LQ DQ DWPRVSKHUH ZKHUH WKH\ IHHO WKDW WKH KRVW JRYHUQPHQW IRU ZKDWHYHU UHDVRQ LV XQZLOOLQJ WR DIIRUG WKHP WKH SURWHFWLRQ WKH\ QHHG Â&#x201E; Watching the international news reports on that fateful Thursday made me feel nauseous, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not even from here. It just felt like all the good work done to rebuild the image of Serbia since 2000 had been dealt a massive blow. How much do you think the events of recent days have affected the way the world views Serbia? Â&#x2C6; , FDQQRW RYHUHVWLPDWH KRZ EDG WKLV KDV EHHQ IRU 6HUELD 7KHUH DUH SHRSOH IURP WKH :HVW ZKR ,ÂśYH PHW SHRSOH ZKR RQO\ KDG FRQWDFW ZLWK 6HUELD EHFDXVH RI WKH FULPHV WKDW ZHUH FRPPLWWHG LQ 6HUELDÂśV QDPH E\ 0LORĂŁHYLĂź DQG SHRSOH ZKR KDG WKHQ IRUJRWWHQ DERXW 6HUELD 1RZ ZKHQ WKLV KLW WKH KHDGOLQHV DJDLQ WKRVH ZKR ZHUH DOUHDG\ SUHGLVSRVHG WR WKLQN WKDW WKLV LV QRW D FLYLOLVHG FRXQWU\ VXGGHQO\ VWDUWHG VHHLQJ LPDJHV RI XQFLYLOLVHG DWWDFNV WKDW FRXOG RQO\ VHUYH WR JDOYDQLVH WKHLU RSLQLRQV 7KDW LV H[WUHPHO\ VDGGHQLQJ , VKDUH WKH QDWLRQÂśV IUXVWUDWLRQ EHFDXVH ZH DOO NQRZ WKDW 6HUELD LV EHWWHU WKDQ WKDW DQG ZH DOO NQRZ WKDW 6HUELD LV D IDEXORXV SODFH ,WÂśV D WHUULEOH WKLQJ WKDW KDUG OLQH QDWLRQDOLVW OHDGHUV LQ 6HUELD KDYH EHHQ DEOH WR PDQLSXODWH WKH SROLWLFDO VFHQH LQ RUGHU WR DOORZ WKDW WR KDSSHQ Â&#x201E; Was the decision to temporarily pull embassy staff and dependents out of Serbia your decision, or did it come from those within the State Department who maybe dealt with Serbia in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90s, and have certain prejudices 12 CorD / March 2008

against Serbia? Â&#x2C6; ,W ZDV SXUHO\ P\ GHFLVLRQ 0\ MRE ÂżUVW DQG IRUHPRVW LV WR HQVXUH WKH VDIHW\ RI RXU SHRSOH ,I \RXÂśG KDYH DVNHG PH D ZHHN DJR ZKHQ , ZDV VWLOO IHHOLQJ RSWLPLVWLF ,ÂśG KDYH VDLG WKDW WKH MRE RI P\VHOI DQG DOO RI RXU VWDII LV WR KHOS 6HUELD 7KDW LV VWLOO WKH FDVH EXW P\ SULRULWLHV GHPDQG WKDW , ÂżUVWO\ ORRN DIWHU WKH VDIHW\ RI WKH $PHULFDQ SHRSOH ZKR DUH KHUH Â&#x201E; Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk about what your expectations were when you arrived here seven months ago. Having served two postings in both Prague and Warsaw, at key transition points, you are well versed in democratic transition and consolidation processes. Â&#x2C6; 2QH RI WKH UHDVRQV WKDW , ZDV LQWHUHVWHG LQ FRPLQJ WR %HOJUDGH ZDV WKDW DSDUW IURP LW EHLQJ D WHUULÂżF SODFH ZLWK ZDUP DQG LQWHOOLJHQW SHRSOH WKLV SODFH KDG WKH IHHO IURP WKH RXWVLGH RI D FRXQWU\ WKDW ZDV DERXW WR WDNH RII LW KDG WKH IHHO RI D FRXQWU\ WKDWÂśV KDG WR HQGXUH D GLIÂżFXOW SHULRG OLNH WKH RWKHU FRXQWULHV \RX PHQWLRQHG Âą ZKLFK KDYH EHHQ WKURXJK D FRPPXQLVW SHULRG RU GLFWDWRUVKLS DQG HPHUJHG RQ WKH RWKHU VLGH Âą DQG WKDW LW ZDV SRLVHG IRU HFRQRPLF LQVWLWXWLRQDO DQG GLSORPDWLF VXFFHVV ,ÂśYH IHOW DQG VDLG WKDW WR WKH SUHVV WR WKH JRYHUQPHQW KHUH DQG WR P\ RZQ JRYHUQPHQW IRU WKH SDVW VL[ PRQWKV

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śirresponsible, hard-line nationalist politicians here have seized the agenda, for their own reasons.This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a genuine anger in this country about Kosovo, and I understand that, but taking this to the point where vioOHQFH LV FRQGRQHG RU HYHQ LQFLWHG LV RQO\ D WHUULĂ&#x20AC;F ZD\ WR VWLĂ H and crush the aspirations of the nationâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;?

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“I would like to think that the people who represent the majority in Serbia will order the priorities in such a way that they will be allowed to pursue what they genuinely want, and address the real issues of unemployment, corruption, European integration, etc.”

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16 CorD / March 2008

Â&#x201E; Pro-European forces did win the presidential election, but the blockade of the Government and the Parliament showed a big crisis in the governing coalition, which was only repaired at the very last moment through an agreement beWZHHQ 7DGLü DQG .RVWXQLFD" Â&#x2C6; 7KH *RYHUQPHQW LV LQ FULVLV EHFDXVH WKH SDUWLHV DUH GLYLGHG ZLWK UHJDUG WR SULRULWLHV ,W LV REYLRXV WKDW .RãWXQLFD¶V '66 FRQVLGHUV .RVRYR DV D SULRULW\ ZKLOH 7DGLü¶V '6 DQG * 3OXV WKLQN WKDW LW LV SRVVLEOH WR VWULNH D EDODQFH EHWZHHQ WKH *RYHUQPHQW¶V HQJDJHPHQW UHJDUGLQJ .RVRYR DQG QHJRWLDWLRQV ZLWK WKH (8 7KLV FULVLV ZDV LQGXFHG E\ '66 ZKR GRQ¶W ZDQW WR DOORZ 3UHVLGHQW 7DGLü WR FDSLWDOLVH RQ KLV YLFWRU\ DW WKH SUHVLGHQWLDO HOHFWLRQV 2QO\ KRXUV DIWHU WKH HOHFWLRQV WKH\ PDQDJHG WR GR WKDW WKH SUHVLGHQtial election was trivialised and placed within the context of the current political events. Kosovo, which was not the central politiFDO VXEMHFW HLWKHU IRU 1LNROLü RU 7DGLü ZDV UHWXUQHG DV WKH RQO\ subject on the agenda by the Prime Minister. With that he returned KLPVHOI DV WKH FHQWUDO SROLWLFDO ¿JXUH LQ WKH FRXQWU\ 7KH SRZHU KDV UHPDLQHG LQ WKH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU¶V KDQGV 3UHVLGHQW 7DGLü¶V SDUW\ KDV DFFHSWHG WKDW ¿UVWO\ EHFDXVH RI WKH IHDU RI XQFHUWDLQW\ UHJDUGing Kosovo, so Kosovo has remained the dominant political issue, and it will remain so for the forthcoming months. Â&#x201E; Will the crisis be renewed when the EU Stabilisation and $FFHVVLRQ $JUHHPHQW 6$$ FRPHV EDFN RQWR WKH DJHQGD"

Â&#x2C6; 7KH WUXFH ZLWKLQ WKH *RYHUQPHQW ZDV DFKLHYHG DIWHU WKH 3ULPH 0LQLVWHUÂśV SURPLVH WKDW DIWHU WKH FULVLV UHJDUGLQJ .RVRYR SDVVHV he will be sincerely interested in leading Serbia towards the EU, DQG ZLOO EH WKH SULPH PLQLVWHU ZKR ZLOO PDNH 6HUELD DQ RIÂżFLDO FDQGLGDWH IRU PHPEHUVKLS 7KDW ZDV D ELJ SURPLVH DQG LI LW LV IXOÂżOOHG LW ZLOO FHUWDLQO\ FRQWULEXWH D JUHDW GHDO Âą QRW RQO\ WR WKH stability of this Government, but the stability of the country as a whole. However, the level of mistrust is great and considerable wisdom will be needed from all of the political parties which PDNH XS WKLV JRYHUQPHQW LQ RUGHU WR DYRLG QHZ WHPSWDWLRQV DQG for the Government to last next year too. I am not sure that the SAA will come on the agenda soon. I am afraid that we have lost this year in terms of relations with the EU. Â&#x201E; +RZ JUHDW LV WKH SUHSDUHGQHVV RI 7DGLĂź DQG KLV SDUW\ QRW to give up the pro-European path in spite of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;populist coDOLWLRQÂś RI 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU .RĂŁWXQLFD ZKR FODLPHG WKDW VLJQing the Agreement with the EU is tantamount to recognisLQJ .RVRYRÂśV LQGHSHQGHQFH" , DVN \RX WKLV EHFDXVH WR GDWH 7DGLĂź KDV EDFNHG GRZQ WR .RĂŁWXQLFD RQ PDQ\ RFFDVLRQV Â&#x2C6; 7KH IHDU LV JUHDW DQG LV QRW PHUHO\ D FDVH RI '6 PHPEHUV IHDULQJ WKDW WKH\ ZLOO QR ORQJHU EH PLQLVWHUV 7KLV UHIHUV WR WKH fear that the scheduling of early elections at the moment when the independence of Kosovo has been declared could lead to a JRYHUQPHQW ZKLFK ZRXOG IXOO\ UH HVWDEOLVK 0LORĂŁHYLߜV UHJLPH DQG WKRVH SDUWLHV ZKLFK ORVW SRZHU LQ 7KH GLIIHUHQFH LV WKDW WKH OHDGLQJ UROH ZRXOG EH SOD\HG E\ WKH 5DGLFDOÂśV RI 9RMLVODY âHĂŁHOM ZKR LV FXUUHQWO\ EHLQJ WULHG LQ 7KH +DJXH 7KDW IHDU H[SODLQV '6ÂśV \LHOGLQJ , WKLQN WKDW 3UHVLGHQW 7DGLĂź GRHV QRW ZDQW to allow a complete change of the political scene in Serbia, and because of that he is trying to do anything he can in order to share responsibility for the whole political and economic situation in the country with the Prime Minister. He is, thus, accepting a greater burden and responsibility than he could really have LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFHG WKH SROLF\ RI 6HUELD LQ WKH ODVW VHYHUDO \HDUV :H ZLOO RQO\ EH DEOH WR PDNH D UHDOLVWLF HVWLPDWLRQ RI ZKHWKHU '6 LV FDUrying out the right or wrong policy when we see the results of the next elections. Until then, we have to support them in their intention of going through the current Kosovo crisis and, afterwards, concentrating on negotiations with the EU. I hope that they will have the strength for that. I also hope that our European partners will understand and support that.

'(.25 &(17$5 %$%,Ăź

Â&#x201E; How close are we to the potential collapse of the Government and the scheduling of extraordinary parliamentary elections or the formation of a minority government, or even D JRYHUQPHQW PDGH RI XS '66 DQG WKH 5DGLFDOV" Â&#x2C6; I hope that the crisis has been avoided and that this Government will remain after the local elections scheduled for May. If that happens, we can hope that there will be a different climate in the relations between the Prime Minister and the President. Â&#x201E; +RZ KDV WKH GHFLVLRQ RI 3ULĂŁWLQD WR XQLODWHUDOO\ GHFODUH

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FINAL PHASE CONSTRUCTION WORKS '$1,/$ %2-29,Ăź$ a BEOGRAD tel/fax: 011 39 71 547 e-mail: dekorcentar@beotel.net

INTERVIEW

.RVRYR¶V LQGHSHQGHQFH UHÃ&#x20AC;HFWHG RQ WKH VLWXDWLRQ LQ 6HUELD DQG ZLGHU LQ WKH UHJLRQ DQG KRZ ZLOO WKH VLWXDWLRQ UHÃ&#x20AC;HFW RQ WKH 6WDELOLW\ 3DFW" Â&#x2C6; , DVN P\VHOI WKDW YHU\ WKLQJ 2Q th February, the last meeting RI WKH 6WDELOLW\ 3DFW¶V 5HJLRQDO 7DEOH LV VFKHGXOHG WR WDNH SODFH LQ 6R¿D DQG DW WKH VDPH WLPH WKH LQDXJXUDO PHHWLQJ RI WKH 5HJLRQDO &RXQFLO IRU &R RSHUDWLRQ ± WKH QHZ RUJDQLVDWLRQ ZH KDYH FUHDWHG WR EH WKH OHDGLQJ UHJLRQDO RUJDQLVDWLRQ DQG WKH HQJLQH LQ WKH ¿HOG of energy co-operation, free trade, economic development, infraVWUXFWXUH MXVWLFH DQG VHFXULW\ HGXFDWLRQ HWF ± ZLOO EH KHOG 6R IDU ZH KDYH KDG D IUDPHZRUN DQG UXOHV ZKLFK SURYLGHG JRRG co-operation within the region. Kosovo participated in all activities under the UN flag and the sign on which UNMIK-Kosovo was written. I hope that this frame will also be satisfactory for Serbia and Kosovo in the future, and also for our neighbours; and I hope that the forthcoming meeting in Sofia will confirm that. On the other side, I am afraid of the increased expectations of the Kosovo Government that this may EH FKDQJHG QRZ MXVW DV , WKLQN WKDW WKHUH ZLOO EH JUHDW SUHVVXUH RQ WKH 6HUELDQ *RYHUQPHQW WR SUHYHQW WKH SDUWLFLSDWLRQ RI .RVRYR¶V UHSUHsentatives. If both of them manage to resist that pressure, we will manDJH WR VHW XS WKH EDVLV IRU JRRG UHJLRQDO FR RSHUDWLRQ 7KHUHIRUH D IHZ days before the meeting, I am not at all sure what we can expect, great success or a big crisis in regional co-operation. Â&#x201E; ,I 6HUELD LQ UHWXUQ LQWURGXFHV UDGLFDO PHDVXUHV WRZDUGV WKRVH FRXQWULHV ZKLFK UHFRJQLVH .RVRYR¶V LQGHSHQGHQFH such as the breaking off of diplomatic and economic relaWLRQV ZLOO VXFK PRYHV OHDG 6HUELD LQWR LVRODWLRQ" Â&#x2C6; 6HUELD ZLOO QRW EUHDN RII GLSORPDWLF UHODWLRQV 7KH VHW RI PHDVures which was prepared, and about which I was informed at the

:H PLVVHG WKH FKDQFH WR UHDOO\ SUHSDUH WKH SXEOLF LQ 6HUELD WR XQGHUVWDQG DOO RI WKH SRVVLEOH RXWFRPHV RI WKRVH QHJRWLDWLRQV DV ZHOO DV LQWURGXFLQJ WKHP WR WKH IDFW WKDW LQGHSHQGHQFH ZDV D SRVVLEOH RXWFRPH RI WKH GLSORPDWLF DFWLYLWLHV XQGHUWDNHQ E\ WKH PDLQ DFWRUV LQ %HOJUDGH 3ULäWLQD DQG WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPPXQLW\ PHHWLQJ RI WKH 0LQLVWU\ RI )RUHLJQ $IIDLUV &RXQFLO LV ZLGH DQG refers to strict diplomatic measures towards those countries which have decided to recognise Kosovo, steps directed in order for those decisions not to be made, to be contested, delayed or changed, but , WKLQN WKDW WKRVH PHDVXUHV DUH ZLWKLQ WKH IUDPHZRUN ZKLFK ZDV H[SHFWHG DQG ZKLFK DUH DFFHSWDEOH 7KH\ DUH ZLWKLQ OLPLWV ZKLFK will not isolate Serbia and which will not distance it from European policy, although that process will be slowed down for some time. Â&#x201E; 7KH (XURSHDQ 8QLRQ KDV QRZ VHQW LWV PLVVLRQ WR .RVRYR WR UHSODFH 810L. FLWLQJ 81 5HVROXWLRQ 7R ZKDW H[tent is that position based on the principles of internationDO ODZ L H LV D QHZ UHVROXWLRQ RI WKH 81 6HFXULW\ &RXQFLO which Serbia insists upon, really needed to legitimise such D PRYH" Â&#x2C6; I would leave the intricacies of international law to the experts. :H KDYH IRXQG RXUVHOYHV RQ WKH ¿HOG RI UHDO SROLF\ IRU PRUH WKDQ D decade, and therefore the return of everything that has happened in WKLV UHJLRQ WR WKH IUDPHZRUN RI FODVVLF LQWHUQDWLRQDO ODZ LV YHU\ VORZ 7KH SURFHVV RI WKH GLVLQWHJUDWLRQ RI WKH IRUPHU <XJRVODYLD ZDV IROlowed by a chain of exceptions regarding the former existing principles of international law, a chain of precedents and new rules. Â&#x201E; ,V WKH VXSSRUW RI 5XVVLD DQG D IHZ RWKHU FRXQWULHV HQRXJK for Serbia in her struggle for the preservation of territorial LQWHJULW\ ZKLFK RI¿FLDOV FRQVWDQWO\ HPSKDVLVH RU KDV RXU country missed the chance to obtain a wider circle of allies, LQFOXGLQJ WKH FRXQWULHV RI WKLV UHJLRQ" Â&#x2C6; , WKLQN WKDW 6HUELDQ GLSORPDF\ KDV LQYHVWHG D JUHDW GHDO RI effort in achieving what it has achieved, and we should not underestimate the results. Insisting on principles has opened up a very serious debate in the UN and other international organisations, as well as within the EU itself, about the basis of decisions which are made regarding the mission and the status of Kosovo.

7KHUHIRUH WKDW GHEDWH KDV EHHQ LQLWLDWHG DQG , WKLQN WKDW ZLOO JR RQ IRU VRPH FRQVLGHUDEOH WLPH DQG ZLOO H[HUW VRPH LQÃ&#x20AC;XHQFH RQ WKH (8 DQG LWV PHPEHUV¶ IXUWKHU EHKDYLRXU ZLWK UHJDUG WR PDQ\ other international issues.

7KH GLSORPDWLF HQJDJHPHQW RI 6HUELD ZDV DOVR YHU\ VWURQJ DV UHJDUGV WKH FRXQWULHV IURP RXU UHJLRQ , WKLQN WKDW HDFK LQGLYLGXal neighbouring country is being very cautious when establishing WKH LQWHUHVWV WKH\ KDYH LQ WKHLU UHODWLRQV ZLWK 6HUELD EHIRUH PDNing their decision on the recognition of Kosovo. , WKLQN WKDW DW WKH HQG RI 6HUELD KDG WKH ODVW FKDQFH WR GHfine a different policy regarding the future status of Kosovo, and to act differently during the negotiations. But once that decision was made, the position about the absolute unacceptability of the independence of Kosovo was consequently set in stone to this day. &RQVLGHULQJ WKH QHJRWLDWLRQ VWUDWHJ\ ZKLFK 6HUELD FKRVH DW WKH HQG RI ZH FDQ VD\ WKDW WKH PD[LPXP KDV EHHQ DFKLHYHG

6HUELD PLVVHG D NH\ FKDQFH LQ 18 CorD / March 2008

Â&#x201E; ,W FRXOG EH DUJXHG WKDW .RVRYR ZDV ORVW LQ ZKHQ ± DV D UHVXOW RI 0LORãHYLü¶V SROLFLHV ± 6HUELD ORVW DQ\ DXWKRULW\ LQ WKH 3URYLQFH 7KH FXUUHQW DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ VHHPV WR GLV-

6YLODQRYLĂ˝ RQ .RVRYR :H PLVVHG WKH FKDQFH WR UHDOO\ SUHSDUH WKH SXEOLF LQ 6HUELD WR XQGHUVWDQG DOO RI WKH SRVVLEOH RXWFRPHV RI WKRVH QHJRWLDWLRQV regard that fact, particularly the populist coalition which hardly admits that there are other problems apart from the .RVRYR LVVXH 7R ZKDW H[WHQW GRHV WKDW YLVLRQ SROLWLFDO DQG social, prevent Serbian society from gravitating towards deYHORSHG GHPRFUDWLF DQG (XURSHDQ VWDQGDUGV" Â&#x2C6; 7KDW LV H[DFWO\ ZKDW , PHDQW ZKHQ , PHQWLRQHG WKH GHFLVLRQ PDGH LQ $W WKDW WLPH WKH NH\ SROLWLFDO DFWRUV WKH VDPH DV today, tacitly agreed regarding some principles. One of them was WR EHKDYH DV WKRXJK LQGHSHQGHQFH ZDV QHYHU JRLQJ WR WDNH SODFH By removing the possibility of independence from the negotiating table, they in fact only obstructed the negotiations. Instead of insisting on playing a leading and active role in the negotiations, and really communicating with the Albanian side in order to be able to understand and hear what their side had to say, they GHFLGHG WR DGGUHVV RQO\ WKHPVHOYHV DQG WKH 6HUELDQ SXEOLF 7KH Albanian side also behaved in a similar way, and in fact we came WR D VLWXDWLRQ ZKHUH ZH WROG HDFK RWKHU WKLQJV EXW GLG QRW VSHDN WR one another; voices were heard but not understood.

We missed the chance to really prepare the public in Serbia to understand all of the possible outcomes of those negotiations, as

well as introducing them to the fact that independence was a posVLEOH RXWFRPH RI WKH GLSORPDWLF DFWLYLWLHV XQGHUWDNHQ E\ WKH PDLQ DFWRUV LQ %HOJUDGH 3ULĂŁWLQD DQG WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPPXQLW\ 7KH government also refused to accept any responsibility on the part of Serbia for such a development of events, as well as that of former democratic administrations since 2000. With that, in essence, they accepted personal responsibility for the consequences RI DOO 6HUELDÂśV SDVW SROLFLHV Â&#x201E;

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REGION

Miloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comeback As CorD goes to print, it seems as though the president of Montenegroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rulLQJ 'HPRFUDWLF 3DUW\ RI 6RFLDOLVWV 0LOR Ä&#x201A;XNDQRYLý WKH UHSXEOLF·V IRUPHU SULPH PLQLVWHU DQG SUHVLGHQW DQG WKH PDQ ZKR JDYH WKH WLQ\ FRDVWDO UHSXEOLF LWV VRYHUHLJQW\ LV VHW WR PDNH KLV UHWXUQ WR IURQWOLQH SROLWLFV IDLUV ´ VDLG Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü VRPH PRWKV DJR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; following the completion of his successful referendum campaign for Montenegrin sovereignty and the triumph of his parW\ LQ 3DUOLDPHQWDU\ HOHFWLRQV +RZHYHU LW ZDVQ¶W H[SHFWHG WKDW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü ZRXOG PDNH KLV UHWXUQ VR VRRQ 7KH SXEOLF EHlieved that he would rest for much longer from state duties, primarily because he is still relatively young and can deal in poliWLFV LQ KLV ROGHU \HDUV Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü WXUQHG WKLV PRQWK +H has dealt in politics almost half of his life, and was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the Association of Communists of Yugoslavia, as representative of the Association of Communists of 0RQWHQHJUR EDFN LQ %HIRUH WKDW KH was a member of the Montenegrin Youth Organisation, which also had para-comPXQLVW VWUXFWXUH )URP KLV SRVLWLRQ ZLWKLQ the higher echelons of state communism, Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü VXFFHHGHG LQ XQGHUPLQLQJ communist rule in Montenegro from withLQ +H ZDV RQH RI WKH OHDGHUV RI VR FDOOHG DQWL EXUHDXFUDF\ UHYROXWLRQ RI DQG IURP WKDW SRSXOLVW DQG SUR 0LORãHYLü UHYROW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü HPHUJHG WR DVVXPH WKH position of Secretary of the Presidency of the Association of Communists of 0RQWHQHJUR ,Q )HEUXDU\ RQ WKH RFFDVLRQ RI KLV th birthday, Milo became Montenegrin Prime Minister for the first WLPH +H ZDV WKH \RXQJHVW 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU LQ (XURSH 7R GDWH KH KDV KHOG WKH SRVW IRXU WLPHV ± KDYLQJ EHHQ 30 IURP WR 2006, with the exception of a six-year peULRG EHWZHHQ DQG ZKHQ KH ZDV

%< ,/,-$ '(632729,û rofessional discipline doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t DOORZ XV WR FRQILUP çXNDQRYLü as the new-old Prime Minister â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for a record fifth time in his career â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but there is little doubt that the Montenegrin Assembly will soon IRUPDOO\ HOHFW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü DV 30 0LOR¶V return follows the resignation of Prime 0LQLVWHU äHOMNR âWXUDQRYLü ZKR UHWLUHG

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20 CorD / March 2008

EHFDXVH RI LOOQHVV MXVW D \HDU DIWHU WDNLQJ XS WKH SRVW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLü¶V SRWHQWLDO UHWXUQ WR WRS VWDWH IXQFWLRQV LV RI FRXUVH QR VXUSULVH He announced such a possibility back in the autumn of 2006 when, on the occasion of stepping down, he announced that he was not bidding farewell to state functions IRU JRRG ³,I WKH FLUFXPVWDQFHV ZRXOG UHquire so, I would again resume state af-

êXNDQRYLý·V UHWXUQ WR VWDWH DIIDLUV ZLOO XQGRXEWHGO\ SURYH WR EH D QHZ FKDOOHQJH IRU WKH IRXU WLPH SUHPLHU +RZHYHU WKLV PDQGDWH FRXOG SURYH WR EH WKH EHJLQning of the end of his political career if he fails to offer QHZ LGHDV

WKH 3UHVLGHQW RI 0RQWHQHJUR Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLߜV \HDUV DW WKH WRS RI Montenegrin politics have brought him much kudos, but have also seen him heavily criticised for staying in power for too long, which, in this time of dynamic changes and increased sensibility for the need of quicker and more frequent democratic flucWXDWLRQ RI SROLWLFLDQV LV D IDFW 6RPH RSSRsition political parties in Montenegro, preFLVHO\ DV D UHVXOW RI çXNDQRYLߜV OHQJWK\ spell in power, evaluate that Montenegro is the only state where post-communist UXOH KDVQÂśW FKDQJHG 7KH VWUHQJWK RI WKDW impression mainly relates to the fact that Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź KDV EHHQ DW WKH WRS RI WKH VWDWH throughout the wars and the entire transiWLRQ SHULRG In a sense, there is some truth to such FODLP +RZHYHU KLV UHLJQ FDQ DOVR EH YLHZHG IURP D GLIIHUHQW SHUVSHFWLYH ,Q short, Milo has been in power for a long WLPH +H KDV FKDQJHG IXQFWLRQV EXW UHPDLQHG DW WKH WRS +RZHYHU WKURXJKRXW KLV WLPH LQ SRZHU çXNDQRYLĂź KDV XQGRXEWedly evolved as a leader, much in the way 0RQWHQHJUR KDV HYROYHG DV D VWDWH 3HUKDSV not so much has changed in essence, but the nominal and cosmetic changes of the ruling Montenegrin party have proved sufficient to leave the impression that, actual-

& Montenegro was unviable by launching the Movement for an Independent 0RQWHQHJUR Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź QRW RQO\ WUDYHOOHG WKDW SDWK but â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it could be argued â&#x20AC;&#x201C; literally built it, and as he has transformed politically, so the political concept of his party and VWDWH KDYH WUDQVIRUPHG Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź KDV been a communist, a socialist, a Yugoslav

Ä&#x201A;XNDQRYLý¡V \HDUV DW WKH WRS RI 0RQWHQHJULQ SROLWLFV KDYH EURXJKW KLP PXFK NXGRV EXW KDYH DOVR VHHQ KLP KHDYLO\ FULWLFLVHG IRU VWD\LQJ LQ SRZHU IRU WRR ORQJ O\ 0LOR ZDV DOZD\V ÂłQHZ´ LQ SROLWLFV ,W FRXOG EH VDLG WKDW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź KDV constantly been going through his own SDUW\ SROLWLFDO WUDQVLWLRQ )URP WKH FRPPXQLVW RIILFLDO RI WKH ÂłROG´ 0RQWHQHJULQ government, to Prime Minister of the ÂłQHZ´ 0RQWHQHJUR çXNDQRYLĂź KDV SDVVHG through various political and personal metDPRUSKRVHV When the former Association of Communists of Montenegro was transformed into the Democratic Party of 6RFLDOLVWV çXNDQRYLĂź FRQWLQXHG WR KROG WKH SDUWLHV WRS IXQFWLRQ +RZHYHU WKH SDUW\ ZDV ÂłQHZ´ DQG VR ZDV KH 7KHQ '36 DOso changed its politics, first it was pro-YuJRVODY L H SUR 6HUELDQ XQWLO WKHQ LW ZDV WRUQ DSDUW IURP ZLWKLQ ,W ZDV DW WKDW WLPH WKDW WKH SDUW\ DQG WKXV çXNDQRYLĂź began to gain strength as proponents of the pro-Montenegrin sovereignty movement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LQLWLDOO\ EHKLQG WKH VFHQHV EXW IURP by openly striving for a different position RI 0RQWHQHJUR ZLWKLQ WKH WKHQ )HGHUDO 5HSXEOLF RI <XJRVODYLD )LYH \HDUV EHfore the May Independence Referendum, DPS did practically everything possible to prove that the common state of Serbia

Unionist, a State Unionist with reservations, then a silent supporter of sovereignty and, in the end, an open supporter of ,QGHSHQGHQW 0RQWHQHJUR This is the reason why Milo was always ÂłQHZ´ LQ WKH SROLWLFV +H KDV XQGRXEWHGO\ been in power for a long time, but has ofWHQ EHHQ OLNH D ÂłQHZ HGLWLRQ´ +LV SHUVRQDO SROLWLFDO WUDQVLWLRQ LVQÂśW MXVW D PDWWHU RI his character and temperament, but also of WKH FLUFXPVWDQFHV WKDW KDYH DOVR FKDQJHG Pragmatic ideas of policy, which represent D PRGHUQ DSSURDFK WR WKDW MRE DUH ZLWKRXW QHJDWLYH FRQQRWDWLRQV 7KHUHIRUH WKH RSposition in Montenegro â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is envious of Milo in one way or another â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is not completely right when they stubbornly inVLVW WKDW Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź VKRXOG EH SROLWLFDOO\

UHWLUHG 2YHU WKH \HDUV KRZHYHU 0LOR KDV shown that he can embrace new political ideas and programmes, and can, thus, surYLYH LQ SROLWLFV çXNDQRYLߜV UHWXUQ WR VWDWH DIIDLUV will undoubtedly prove to be a new chalOHQJH IRU WKH IRXU WLPH SUHPLHU +RZHYHU this mandate could prove to be the beginning of the end of his political career if he IDLOV WR RIIHU QHZ LGHDV ,QGHHG D TXHVWLRQ PDUN UHPDLQV RYHU ZK\ KH FKRVH WKLV MXQFWXUH WR PDNH KLV FRPHEDFN MXVW D \HDU DIter he assured the Montenegrin public that he would be dedicating his time to business and would retreat from frontline politics in order to provide space for the strengthening of democratic institutions in 0RQWHQHJUR The analysts find reasons also in the poOLWLFDO FKDUDFWHU RI Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź KH LV DPELtious and charismatic, and the internal political situation in Montenegro undoubtedO\ UHTXLUHV D SROLWLFLDQ RI 0LORÂśV IRUPDW Moreover, the DPS leader also boasts invaluable international influence and is believed by many senior EU and Washington officials to be the one man able to lessen the influence of Russia over Montenegro DQG WKH ZLGHU UHJLRQ :KDWHYHU WKH UHDVRQ WKH QHZ Ä&#x2C6;XNDQRYLĂź ÂłHUD´ LV VHW WR EH DQ LQWHUHVWLQJ RQH DV LW LV widely believed that this energetic politician still hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t said everything he has to VD\ LQ SROLWLFV Â&#x201E;

Ä&#x201A;XNDQRYLĂ˝ QRW RQO\ WUDYHOOHG WKDW SDWK EXW ² LW FRXOG EH DUJXHG ² OLWHUDOO\ EXLOW LW DQG DV KH KDV WUDQVIRUPHG SROLWLFDOO\ VR WKH SROLWLFDO FRQFHSW RI KLV SDUW\ DQG VWDWH KDYH WUDQVIRUPHG Ä&#x201A;XNDQRYLĂ˝ KDV EHHQ D FRPPXQLVW D VRFLDOLVW D <XJRVODY 8QLRQLVW D 6WDWH 8QLRQLVW ZLWK UHVHUYDWLRQV WKHQ D VLOHQW VXSSRUWHU RI VRYHUHLJQW\ DQG LQ WKH HQG DQ RSHQ VXSSRUWHU RI ,QGHSHQGHQW 0RQWHQHJUR CorD / March 2008 21

INTERVIEW

*RUDQ ßLULý *HQHUDO 'LUHFWRU RI 3XEOLF (QWHUSULVH 377 &RPPXQLFDWLRQV ´3RäWD 6UELMH¾ 6HUELDQ 3RVW

Poťta remains state ´7KH SULYDWLVDWLRQ RI 3RäWD LV DQ LVVXH RI WKH VWDWH VWUDWHJ\ WKRXJK H[DPSOHV IURP WKH VXUURXQGLQJ FRXQWULHV WHOO XV WKDW QDWLRQDO SRVWDO VHUYLFHV DUH DOZD\V PDMRULW\ RZQHG E\ WKH VWDWH ¾ BY: 7$7-$1$ 2672-,Ý PHOTO: 67$1,6/$9 0,/2-.29,Ý

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oĹĄta Srbije (Serbian Post), the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest communications infrastructure system, has been functioning for over 166 years as a public service enterprise. Now, as of January, it has a new gen-

22 CorD / March 2008

HUDO GLUHFWRU LQ WKH IRUP RI *RUDQ ĂťLULĂź 7KLV month CorDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speaks to the post officeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new top man about his initial impressions of the company, and plans for the future. Â&#x201E; How have you settled into the work of PoĹĄta, and what deals have marked your honeymoon period with the company?

Â&#x2C6; 3RĂŁWD KDV EHFRPH WKH ÂżUVW SXEOLF V\VWHP to sign a collective contract with labour union representatives, in line with our business plan for 2008, which was approved by the Serbian Government. We have also signed a new contract with the City of Belgrade, covering our co-operation, the extension of our cable-distribution network, and the search for new models of co-operation and connections with some municipalities.

We have already made agreements with call centres about the delivery of registered documents through Post Express, and have signed an agreement with the

- owned Justice Ministry regarding the delivery of legal documents.

We signed an agreement at the standing conference of cities and municipalities, with regard to the implementation of the address code project, and we recently signed a contract with the World Student Games â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Universiadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. That is a major job that will require KDS (cable distribution system), Internet, the use of our integrated service, and the use of our call centre. Â&#x201E; ,V 3RĂŁWDÂśV RIÂżFLDO 'HYHORSPHQW 6WUDWegy still in preparation?

Â&#x2C6; The Telecommunication and IT Society Ministry has completed its compilation of this strategy. We expect public debate, but I think that the strategy will be adopted by the Government soon.

We could influence some solutions in that strategy, but we will work on strengthening our capacities in accordance with it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; paying particular attention to the fact that competition is set to grow with the liberalisation of our market.

Our advantage is our infrastructure. On the territory of Serbia we have 1,400 postal network branches, 3,500 windows, 5,000 postmen and 4,000 employees who work as tellers or are otherwise in direct contact with our clients. What is most important is the trust and tradition which PoĹĄta has in Serbia, primarily the trust of our clients and users.

One part of the development strategy will refer to the issue of trust, but also to the modernisation of operating and the jobs which we have to do, and which have been entrusted to us by the government and ministries.

PoĹĄta has not started to work on the strategy itself, because there are no strategic documents as yet, but we will certainly be changing the methodology of current operations once the strategy starts being implemented. We do have annual plans for 2009, but also a five-year plan that aims to bridge the gaps caused by the three to four year cycles we are in, as both an infrastructural system and a society as a whole.

I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vitally important to approach the issue of development in a serious way, and to take advantage of the experiences of compatible postal services from surrounding countries, as well as those of the EU. In recent years we have actually completed several projects with the Portuguese postal service. Their market is similar to ours, and is in a similar condition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; though they have already gone through phases which we will probably have to go through as a result of the expected liberalisation of the market. Â&#x201E; What new services does PoĹĄta plan to introduce in the forthcoming period? Â&#x2C6; Initially, we will work on increasing the quality and security of our services, reserving services and reducing the deadlines for postal deliveries. Next, we will work on increasing the quality of parcel processing. Simultaneously, we plan to make a major investment of â&#x201A;Ź40million

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ow are you handling the competition?

World-renowned operators are present in Serbia, and they are welcome, because it is as a result of their presence that we will increase our efficiency and quality. At the same time, we will try to overcome our technological shortcomings by introducing their latest technology into our system too. for the construction of main postal centres in Belgrade, Novi Sad and NiĹĄ. The construction of those centres will increase the quality of the parcel processing and, of course, reduce the deadlines for delivering parcels, and increase the quality and safety of parcel deliveries. This investment will increase the quality of services on the whole territory of Serbia. Apart from that, we have excellent individual solutions in PoĹĄta for major projects, such as a call centre or a centre for electronic operating.

Our post and branch network have improved to the point where they are very efficient in registering citizens for the division of free state-owned company shares. Â&#x201E; How is the registration of those free shares progressing? Â&#x2C6; The decree was adopted on 10th January, leaving us with just a short period â&#x20AC;&#x201C; until 25th January - to prepare everything. $W ÂżUVW DV H[SHFWHG ZH ZHUH XQGHU JUHDW pressure, but we successfully serviced between 100 and 130 thousand people per GD\ 1RZ WKH SUHVVXUH KDV GURSSHG VLJQLÂżcantly, though we are still handling around 50,000 people per day. So far we have registered around 1.6 million citizens.

It is important to note that we have developed the whole information system by ourselves, and built the entire network.

Apart from that, this recording process will allow us to improve and automate all 1,400 postal units â&#x20AC;&#x201C; up from the existing total of 800 automated units. I think that this job, in particular, will prove our firstclass qualification to complete big state jobs that are to be set in motion. Â&#x201E; Which state jobs are in the pipeline? Â&#x2C6; Firstly, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the plan to develop e-government, then there are geographical information systems, the modernisation and digi-

´2Q WKH WHUULWRU\ RI 6HUELD ZH KDYH SRVWDO QHWZRUN EUDQFKHV ZLQGRZV SRVWPHQ DQG HPSOR\HHV ZKR ZRUN DV WHOOHUV RU DUH RWKHUZLVH LQ GLUHFW FRQWDFW ZLWK RXU FOLHQWV¾ CorD / March 2008 23

INTERVIEW

, WKLQN LW¡V YLWDOO\ LPSRUWDQW WR DSSURDFK WKH LVVXH RI GHYHORS PHQW LQ D VHULRXV ZD\ DQG WR WDNH DGYDQWDJH RI WKH H[SHULHQF HV RI FRPSDWLEOH SRVWDO VHUYLFHV IURP VXUURXQGLQJ FRXQWULHV DV ZHOO DV WKRVH RI WKH (8 talisation of government institutional services, public and republican systems and public systems at local self government level.

the majority opinion is that electro distribution and state postal services should stay out of the privatisation process.

Â&#x201E; Will PoĹĄta be the subject of forthcoming privatisation? Â&#x2C6; The privatisation of PoĹĄta is an issue of the state strategy, though examples from the surrounding countries tell us that national postal services are always majority-owned by the state. If there was any increase in the capital stock that would only be done in order to provide the regulation of the reserving service, which we have as an obligatory VHUYLFH DQG ZKLFK LV QRQ SURÂżWDEOH PoĹĄta is tasked with providing adequate quality and the cheap delivery of parcels to every citizen in the state. The majority of countries do not want the postal service as a public system on their budgets, thus they activate profitable jobs and, therefore, we all struggle and improve, thanks to competition. I think that this should be the way of our postal service too. There are lots of countries around the world where the state owns 100% of their postal service. However, as a result of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decree and current privatisation of public systems, we can note that PoĹĄta is not on that list. That said,

Â&#x201E; 'R \RX SODQ WR LQWURGXFH QHZ WHFKnologies to the work of PoĹĄta? Â&#x2C6; Of course, there are lots of plans and many projects have already got underway.

Some good projects have been set in motion, but were not integrated through all of the services which PoĹĄta can offer. This includes projects in the IT sphere. Introducing the new integrated information system, SAP, will start from March. That will facilitate the optimalisation of the process: data inputted once will be visible in each part of the system. This is of exceptional importance, because of the jagged system

CorD / March 2008

which the PoĹĄta has in Serbia. Of course, this system will be helpful when it comes to making quality management decisions, DQDO\VLQJ WKH FXUUHQW VLWXDWLRQ DQG GHÂżQLQJ SURÂżW DQG H[SHQVH PDUJLQV ,W LV DOVR LPSRUWDQW IRU WKH LQFUHDVH RI HIÂżFLHQF\ DQG quality of our services. One of the important projects is introducing the translation of addresses into postal codes. That is a major state project, which provides the basis for a complete geographical information system.

This refers to a digitalised address with six digits, which will determine each address in Serbia and facilitate our work. We will complete this job in collaboration with the state administration and local self-government.

This is a huge undertaking that will ultimately provide an excellent picture of the network and an accessible database, able to be used for various purposes. This is important for us, because of the increase of the quality and security of our services that it will facilitate.

Other projects include introducing a KDQG WHUPLQDO LQ RXU SRVW H[SUHVV VHUYLFH we are already working on the mobile hand terminals project, which will be used to follow parcels. PoĹĄta has already implemented the tracking care system, which has to be finished off and will encompass our complex offer. That is one of the projects which started, but was not activated in an appropriate way. The new strategy opens up the possibility to do this in the right way, by increasing the information, cadre, software and telecommunications equipment, and through the optimising and more efficient delivery of parcels. At the same time, we will enable our 5,000 postmen to carry out financial transactions and payment collection through the mobile terminals. Â&#x201E; How much of a concern is the safety of postmen? Â&#x2C6; The introduction of the mobile terminals would immediately mean less money in circulation, and with that there would be less motivation for attacks on postmen.

The organisational decision, from the beginning of this year, is to separate the risk management sector from the legal department. This risk sector will deal exclusively with security, and that shows our desire to work on the increase of the security of our employees and services. Â&#x201E;

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etween 66 and 70 per cent of our income comes from letter distribution services. On the other side, we have informatics, the call centre and the centre for electronic business, which all serve to ensure that we are able to provide a whole set of new services. We expect to become the qualified body for the certification of electronic signatures. In that sense, the focus will be on the increase of electronic trade and the sale of those services.

At the same time, we have signed contracts with the local and state administration, as the only legal operator, and we expect that this part of the market will extend this year.

INTERVIEW

-DVQD 'LPLWULMHYLĂ˝ Managing Director of the Sava Centre

Congress destination

The Sava Centre was opened LQ LQ WLPH WR KRVW WKH Standing Conference for European Security and Cooperation (CESC). Almost 30 \HDUV RQ LQ WKH 6DYH Centre hosted the annual conference of the European Bank for Reconstruction DQG 'HYHORSPHQW (%5'

and in 2007 the VI Ministerial Conference on Environmental Protection was held at this great venue.

26 CorD / March 2008

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fter turning 30 in the last year, the Sava Centre has now entered a new phase in its development from the premier conference centre of Yugoslavia, to Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major congress and concert hall. In order to get the lowdown on the successes and shortcomings of the Sava Centre over the past 30 years, as well as an insight into plans for the future of this great Belgrade institution, CorD speaks WR -DVQD 'LPLWULMHYLĂź 0DQDJHU RI WKH Sava Centre.

Â&#x201E; In the last three years, the Sava Centre has experienced a new awakening, with congress and conference activity intensifying greatly. How was this turnaround achieved? Â&#x2C6; The Sava Centre celebrated 30 years RI LWV H[LVWHQFH LQ ,Q WKH ÂżUVW IRXU years of its existence, between 1977 and 1981, the international congress aspect of the Sava Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities was especially important, because during that period over 30 international events were held there each year. Those were mostly state gatherings, ministerial meetings and conferences. Today there are just a few Congress Centres that can boast such statistics.

In 2007 we hosted 20 major internation-

al meetings, out of which the most imporWDQW ZDV WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO )LIWK 0LQLVWHULDO Conference. Another five meetings have EHHQ KHOG LQLWLDWHG E\ WKH 0LQLVWULHV VWDWH bodies, institutions and establishments, and the others were mostly scientific seminars from different fields, mostly medicinal. Of extraordinary importance for the life of a congress centre and its continual activity is the international role of the state at every level and in every sphere - from scientific, to political, et al. It is also important that the city and the state initiate programmes to stage conferences, seminars and meetings. The Sava Centre has all the technical and spatial conditions required for holding top class business meetings, but the people in charge should initiate meetings in all the other facilities in Belgrade.

We consider â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and have underlined our position as such during the meeting weeks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that the congress industry can be a very important branch for the economic life of a country, and make a vital contribution to the development of a country. Why? Both the Annual Assembly of the EBRD, which ZDV KHOG LQ DQG WKH 9, 0LQLVWHULDO Conference on Environmental Protection, staged in 2007, included around 3,000 participants and were important gatherings, where the number of participants was representative and influences all factors of congress industry development, including catering, accommodation and the tourist offer of Belgrade and the country DV D ZKROH &RQJUHVV DFWLYLW\ FRQWULEXWHV to infrastructure, air transport, local transport, more intensive work of taxi services, sales of all types of products, not to mention the hotel industry. According to our estimate and analyses in congress industry, each participant of a major international congress spends between â&#x201A;Ź350 and â&#x201A;Ź750 per day. That figure includes air tickets, hotel accommodation, participation and conference fee, as well as the money spent on refreshments and shopping during breaks in the work of the conference.

I think that the country failed to work on that in the previous period, and by organising an international meeting one influences many factors that have a knock-on effect on economic development, as well as representation of the country and Belgrade as a congress destination, which is especially important.

Finances Â&#x201E; How well did the Sava Centre operate in the last year? Â&#x2C6; Revenue from congress activity in the Sava Centre last year was greater than that coming from revenue in culture. Otherwise, the Sava Centre is a self-funded public company.

Our revenue consists of sales of culture tickets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for programmes that are of great international importance, we have the support of the Belgrade Culture Secretariat.

Funds generated by congress activities and the rental of halls are secondary, while our third source of income is the leasing of business space.

8QWLO WKH 6DYD &HQWUH FRYHUHG DOPRVW SHU FHQW RI LWV FRVWV E\ JHQHUDWLQJ lease payments for its business space, with the remainder coming from culture and congresses. Today the situation is different: 50 per cent of revenue is from leasing space, while the other half comes from basic culture and congress activity. This positive factor not only illustrates major changes to the business sector in this country, but also changes that have taken place elsewhere in the region. /DVW \HDUÂśV DQQXDO UHYHQXH IURP FRQJUHVV DFWLYLW\ ZDV DURXQG Âź PLOOLRQ ZKLOH the total financial revenue of the Sava Centre company was â&#x201A;Ź7million.

Between 1988 and 2000, there were no international meetings held at the Sava Centre, but since 2001 we have hosted 169 international meetings with participants from all over the world, 115 domestic meetings with international participation and 20 official international meetings.

During that time, around 300,000 businessmen have passed through the Sava Centre, participating in those meetings. Â&#x201E; How can the Sava Centre, having been built back in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;70s, still boast all the technical requirements needed to host major international gatherings? Â&#x2C6; The Sava Centre may be 30-years-old, but the facilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total infrastructure was changed in 2005. The complete installation of the congress halls was renovated. As a result, the infrared systems we now have are the most current technical systems for the congress industry. That includes interpreting equipment and accessories. Our video and projection equipment was also completely renewed during the last three years. At this moment, we have the most modern projector in our country, which is something unique we have. A complete IT network has been installed throughout the facility. Everything has been made according to the standards valid in this category of facilities, so that the Sava Centre can provide 7,000 people with impeccable Internet connection, cell phone access, or

Of extraordinary importance for the life of a congress centre and its continual activity is the international role of the state DW HYHU\ OHYHO DQG LQ HYHU\ VSKHUH IURP VFLHQWLĂ&#x20AC;F WR SROLWLFDO et al. It is also important that the city and the state initiate SURJUDPPHV WR VWDJH FRQIHUHQFHV VHPLQDUV DQG PHHWLQJV

ability to digitally monitor the work of the conference â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either by video link or directly, with adequate language interpretation, if required. All video transfers during the work of a conference are possible within the facility. It is because of all this that organisers of major gatherings, such as the EBRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual meeting, say that they still FDQQRW ÂżQG DQRWKHU SODFH ZKHUH WKH\ KDYH access to everything in one place with the quality offered by the Sava Centre in Belgrade. That is something that has stimulated us, and proved an incentive for us to engage in lobbying to attracting international congress activities be they business, academic or political gatherings. ,Q 0DUFK WKLV \HDU ZH ZLOO PDUN \HDUV since the first meeting in the Sava Centre.

That commemorative gathering will be a political meeting to negotiate everything WKDW KDV SUHFHGHG WRGD\ÂśV (XURSHDQ 8QLRQ negotiations. Those international meetings are important, because in that way the best picture of the city and the state is presented to the world. It is precisely because of that that we expect tourist organisations, hotel owners, the Economic Secretariat and the ministries of economic development and tourism to let the world know that Belgrade is the place where the most important global decisions are passed, and that Belgrade, and the Sava Centre, is an excellent destination for their international conferences. Â&#x201E; Do you have good co-operation with the government and individual ministries in that sense? Â&#x2C6; We have adequate co-operation, though politicians should be a little more active in the initiating of the organising of important global and European meetings in our country. That type of initiative, coupled with the energy of the ministry, is important.

We were established by the Belgrade City Assembly, and the Sava Centre is unCorD / March 2008 27

INTERVIEW

&RQJUHVV DFWLYLW\ FRQWULEXWHV WR LQIUDVWUXFWXUH DLU WUDQVSRUW ORFDO WUDQVSRUW PRUH LQWHQVLYH ZRUN RI WD[L VHUYLFHV VDOHV RI DOO W\SHV RI SURGXFWV QRW WR PHQWLRQ WKH KRWHO LQGXVWU\ $FFRUGLQJ WR RXU HVWLPDWH DQG DQDO\VHV LQ FRQJUHVV LQGXVWU\ HDFK SDUWLFLSDQW RI D PDMRU LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRQJUHVV VSHQGV EHWZHHQ ½ DQG ½ SHU GD\ der the authority of the Belgrade Culture Secretariat, which has been regulated in the Articles of Association. The Sava Centre is still recognisable as a great culture hall and culture centre, but during the last two years we have paid more attention to the FRQJUHVV LQGXVWU\ WR WKH SRVVLELOLWLHV DQG capacities â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not only of the Sava Centre, but also of the other spaces, like the city IDLUJURXQGV (;32 FHQWUH DQG WKH 0DVWHU Centre in Novi Sad. We believe that this has helped us open up a new field to those who represent our country internationally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those who can use various meetings to launch initiatives to hold future conferences in Serbia.

At the international fairs we participate in, everybody approaches the stand of Belgrade and Serbia, because we are a new and intriguing destination. I think that the congress industry is a segment of work that can give greater results, and we can simultaneously more quickly represent Belgrade and Serbia in a positive light. Â&#x201E; What do you think Belgrade is missing when it comes to attracting and catering for congress tourism? Â&#x2C6; ,Q RUGHU WR FRPSHWH ZLWK 3UDJXH RU 9Lenna, which were the most popular conference venues in Europe last year, we lack more bespoke tourist destinations.

We have tourist locations, but there is not a functioning, overall tourist offer. In the 28 CorD / March 2008

sense of infrastructure, more should be done and everything should be shaped.

We have a good offer of souvenirs, but this hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been well processed by marketing and, thus, they are not easily recognisable. Of course, our basic weak point is hotel accommodation capacities. In Belgrade there are currently 3,000 beds in high category, while there are only slightly over 5,000 hotel beds in total. As such, every event with over 3,000 participants begs the question of how to accommodate them.

The World Student Games will be held in Belgrade in 2009. This will provide an example of how to work on that plan. The facilities that are being constructed to cater IRU WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ 2O\PSLFV DUH VXFK WKDW they will enable us to become a candidate to stage the full Olympics. And those jobs are also good because they give us an opportunity to work on congresses and conferences with a larger number of participants.

The next is element is air transport, the capacity of our airport and links to other airports in the region. This is because many of the participants of events in Belgrade DUH LQWHUHVWHG LQ YLVLWLQJ 0RQWHQHJUR RU Croatia for a few days. Â&#x201E; What are your main plans for 2008? Â&#x2C6; Around thirty international events of varying kinds have been planned for this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the most important being Eurovi-

VLRQ DV WKH RIÂżFLDO 3UHVV &HQWUH RI Eurovision is set to be in the Sava Centre.

The Eurovision press centre will include RIÂżFHV FRQWDLQLQJ FRPSXWHUV DQG DEOH to cater for 1,600 journalists. ,Q 0D\ ZH H[SHFW WR KRVW WKH ,QWHUQDWLRQDO Wine Fair, while in June the International Press Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world congress of print media will take place. That event will see owners and managers of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest print media companies become our guests in Belgrade, and the three-day congress will include an ancillary programme with organised tours around Belgrade. This is an extremely important meeting. With 500 representatives of the most influential media in the world meeting in Belgrade, it will send a sufficient signal to everybody, in the city and in the country, to make everything impeccable.

June will also see the staging of the international Balkan Congress of GeoPhysicists, while October will see a further four international meetings and in November will be Oncology Week. Finally, in December we shall have two international meetings of IT experts. This year our schedule is all about meetings that will each gather around 800-plus participants. Â&#x201E; $UH \RX VDWLVÂżHG ZLWK WKH XWLOLVDWLRQ of Sava Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacities? Â&#x2C6; It is not maximised. According to the number of days, in 2007 we had 304 meetings, which was 458 working days.

The weak point of the year for the Sava Centre, in a congress sense, is the summer months of July and August, when there are QR PHHWLQJV ,Q FRQWUDVW RQH FDQQRW ÂżQG a free hotel room or Congress Hall in IsWDQEXO LQ -XO\ 8QWLO UHFHQWO\ RXU FRQJUHVV activity formally ended on 15th June, but it then moved to the beginning of July.

However, July, August, half of September and half of January are empty days. It would be good to have, for instance, 354 meetings with a smaller number of days, or more state meetings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it would be good to have at least two or three ministerial conferences a year, with up to three thousand participants. Only then would we reach our maximum capabilities. Â&#x201E;

In order to compete with 3UDJXH RU 9LHQQD ZKLFK were the most popular conference venues in Europe ODVW \HDU ZH ODFN PRUH EHspoke tourist destinations. :H KDYH WRXULVW ORFDWLRQV EXW WKHUH LV QRW D IXQFWLRQLQJ RYHUDOO WRXULVW RIIHU

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RVRYR 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU Hashim Thaci vowed to guard jealously every â&#x20AC;&#x153;inchâ&#x20AC;? of its territory in late February, as Serbia threatened to sue the 8QLWHG 6WDWHV IRU UHFRJQLVLQJ D â&#x20AC;&#x153;phoney state.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will never allow .RVRYRÂśV WHUULWRULDO LQWHJULW\ which has been internationally recognised, to be jeopardised,â&#x20AC;?

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With the rhetoric nearing fever pitch, an advisor to Serbian 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU 9RMLVODY .RVWXQLFD WKUHDWHQHG WR WXUQ WKH GLVSXWH into a legal minefield, the Beta news agency reported. ³6LQFH WKLV RXWJRLQJ 86 DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ KDV UHFRJQL]HG WKH SKRQH\ VWDWH RI .RVRYR 6HUELDœV FKDUJHV ZLOO IROORZ ´ %UDQLVODY Ristivojevic told Beta.

5LVWLYRMHYLF VDLG ÂłLW ZRXOG EH EHVW IRU WKH SUHVHQW 86 DGPLQistration to annul the decision to recognise the phoney state, or for the new administration to do it immediatelyâ&#x20AC;? after Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s November presidential elections. Âł,I WKH 86 GRHV QRW DQQXO WKLV GHFLVLRQ WKDQ ZH ZLOO ILOH VXLWV against America before all international courts,â&#x20AC;? Ristivojevic told Beta.

3RODQG EHFDPH WKH ODWHVW (XURSHDQ 8QLRQ KHDY\ZHLJKW WR RIIHU UHFRJQLWLRQ 7XHVGD\ ZLWK )RUHLJQ 0LQLVWHU 5DGRVODZ Sikorski saying his cabinet hoped it would be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;stepping stoneâ&#x20AC;?

WRZDUGV (8 DFFHVVLRQ IRU ERWK 6HUELD DQG .RVRYR Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain remain opposed, while *UHHFH KDV DOVR H[SUHVVHG GRXEWV DIWHU .RVRYRÂśV $OEDQLDQ majority parliament unilaterally declared independence on February 17.

Source: AFP

â&#x20AC;&#x153;PARTITION WOULD SUBJECT SERBS TO VIOLENCEâ&#x20AC;?

DGD 7UDMNRYLĂź YLFH SUHVLGHQW RI WKH 6HUELDQ 1DWLRQDO &RXQFLO RI .RVRYR VD\V WKDW SDUWLWLRQLQJ .RVRYR ZRXOG not be a good idea, since it would expose Serbs to violence.

7UDMNRYLĂź VDLG WKDW D SDUWLWLRQ ZRXOG FUHDWH SUREOHPV IRU the Serbs living in enclaves that are not located in the north RI .RVRYR Âł,I WKHUH ZDV D SDUWLWLRQ $OEDQLDQV ZRXOG KDYH no reason to secure living conditions for Serbs. There would be abuse of the Serbs both within and outside the institutions just to make them leave their homes. I am talking about physLFDO DEXVH DV ZHOO ´ 7UDMNRYLĂź WROG 1RYL 6DG GDLO\ *UDĂżDQVNL OLVW 6KH VDLG WKDW WKHUH LV ÂłQR URRP´ LQ QRUWKHUQ .RVRYVND 0LWURYLFD IRU WKH 6HUEV OLYLQJ LQ HQFODYHV GHVFULELQJ the city as one with â&#x20AC;&#x153;four streets, and not whole ones at that.â&#x20AC;?

7UDMNRYLĂź VDLG WKDW WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPPXQLW\ LV QRW LQWHUested in discussing a partition either, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;it would PDNH WKH UHWXUQ HIIRUW RI 6HUEV WR .RVRYR HYHQ PRUH GLIILcultâ&#x20AC;?.

Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug

R

avier Solana told German daily Die Welt that, in his opinion, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s place is within the European familyâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe that co-operation, dialogue and peace are the central points of the relations between Serbia DQG WKH (8 3HRSOH LQ Serbia have a European perspective and Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s place is within the European famLO\ ´ WKH (8ÂśV IRUHLJQ DQG security policies chief said.

He condemned the violent protests in Belgrade in late February, calling on the people of Serbia to refrain from such violence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From our point of view, the violent protests of last Thursday in Belgrade are not acceptable. I sincerely hope that they will not reoccur in the future,â&#x20AC;? Solana said, comPHQGLQJ 3UHVLGHQW %RULV 7DGLߜV FDOOV IRU SHDFH DQG UHVWUDLQW Solana called on all parties in Serbia to behave responsibly and appealed to the Serbian government to guarantee protection for all foreign embassies, â&#x20AC;&#x153;according to its obligations by internaWLRQDO ODZ ´ %HOJUDGH LV UHMHFWLQJ .RVRYR $OEDQLDQVÂś XQLODWHUDO GHFODUDWLRQ RI LQGHSHQGHQFH DQG WKH VHQGLQJ RI DQ (8 PLVVLRQ to the province as illegal.

Source: Tanjug

6&$1'$/286 $17, Ä ,1Ä ,Ăť 5(0$5.6 21 RUSSIAN TV

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comment about late Prime 0LQLVWHU =RUDQ Ä&#x2C6;LQĂżLĂź heard on Russian state stirred spirits in late February.

The Russian reporter from the riots in Belgrade said that the scenes of young rioters on the streets ZHUH UHPLQLVFHQW RI WKH 2FWREHU HQG RI WKH 0LORĂŁHYLĂź UHJLPH DV ZHOO DV IURP WKH SHULRG IROORZLQJ Ä&#x2C6;LQĂżLߜV PXUGHU $W RQH SRLQW KH VDLG WKDW Ä&#x2C6;LQĂżLĂź ZDV D Âł:HVWHUQ SXSSHW´ ZKR ÂłGHserved the bulletâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Precisely these fans, intoxicated with liberDO SURPLVHV ZHUH VD\LQJ JRRGE\H WR WKH :HVWHUQ SXSSHW =RUDQ Ä&#x2C6;LQĂżLĂź Âą WKH PDQ ZKR GHVWUR\HG WKH OHJHQGDU\ 6HUELDQ PLOLWDU\ DQG VHFXULW\ VHUYLFHV WKH PDQ ZKR WXUQHG RYHU WR 7KH Hague the heroes of the Serbian resistance in exchange for abstract economic aid, and who, for this, got the deserved bullet.â&#x20AC;? Âł7KLV 6HUELD YRWHG IRU 7DGLĂź ZKR RQ D GD\ RI QDWLRQDO PRXUQLQJ had nothing better to do than travel to Romania. And after all, it is possible to come up with a thousand excuses as to why nothing is being done, but in the end, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all really very simple: either you stand up or are submissive and quiet,â&#x20AC;? the journalist said.

7KH /LEHUDO 'HPRFUDWV /'3 DQG WKH 'HPRFUDWLF 3DUW\ '6 UHacted by saying that the comment was unacceptable, at the same time demanding an urgent apology from the television outlet.

The Russian authorities were quick to distance themselves from the journalistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement.

Source: B92, Beta CorD / March 2008 29

INFRASTRUCTURE

Road requirements Vojvodina is the most economically advanced region of Serbia. It LV D à DW SURVSHURXV SODLQ WKDW QDWXUDOO\ OLQNV 6HUELD WR QHLJKERXULQJ FRXQWULHV \HW WKUHH TXDUWHUV RI 9RMYRGLQD¡V NP ORQJ URDG QHWZRUN UHTXLUHV UHYDPSLQJ RU FRPSOHWHO\ UHFRQVWUXFWLQJ BY '5$*$1 672-$129,Ý PHOTO: 9/$',0,5 -29$129,Ý

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viable, well-maintained, highspeed road transport system is a prerequisite for the development of an economy such as Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, which is heavily dependent on agriculture and transportation. But Vojvbodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road network is well below par.

Vojvodina roads are grouped into 11 arterial and 45 regional routes across the province. There are 110 kilometres of highway, 138 kilometres of freeway, 1,326 kilometres of arterial roads and 1,702 kilometres of regional roads, making a grand total of 3,276 kilometres of roads.

Among works overdue or delayed, a major section of one of Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most VWUDWHJLF PRWRUZD\V WKH +RUJRĂŁ 3RĂĽHJD Highway, is yet to be completed. Until recently, the concession for its completion

30 CorD / March 2008

was smeared in controversy and accusations of a lack of transparency with regard to the contract. However, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s question is not about the subject of the contract, but rather why not a single post-WWII government in the country has set out to meet Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transportation needs. This question can still be asked today, and will more than likely linger in the political and economic vacuum for some time to come.

There is no clear, transparent, long-term plan for the development of Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road infrastructure, regardless of the fact that the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall share of traffic and connections in GNP (gross national product) is 6.78%, and that the lionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s share of Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport needs are met by road transportation.

REQUIREMENTS According to Public Utility Company Putevi Srbije (Roads of Serbia), around 70 per cent of arterial and regional roads have

ROADS OF WORTH

R

ailway traffic is arranged in 59 rail sections, while river traffic in Vojvodina has great potential, with a total of around 14,000 km of navigable waterways. The main navigable routes flow along the Danube and Sava rivers, which are navigable throughout their flow across Vojvodina. Nonetheless, the number of passengers transported via the river is almost negligible. Until the NATO bombing of 1999, river traffic mostly served for the transportation of goods and raw materials. However, after 1999 the scope of non-passenger river traffic fell to a bear minimum, due to broken bridge debris littering the riverbed.

been ruined or are in a very bad or poor state. Only the main highway is in a slightly bit better condition, primarily due to reconstruction, but there are still disputed parts of the contract signed by the state with the concessionaire consortium, who took over arranging and limited use of the highway. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Three quarters of roads in Vojvodina require repairs and reconstructions. If we

add the fact that 20 per cent of bridges have significant structural damage, and that half of them have minor structural damage, it is clear what situation we are in. The state of the roads is largely a consequence of inadequate financing of road maintenance, together with insufficient repairs in the crisis years of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90s,â&#x20AC;? explains SiniĹĄa Isakov, Assistant Provincial Secretary for Economy in charge of Transport and Telecommunication.

The Provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Executive Council and the Vojvodina Assembly have suggested that laws should regulate funding so that 25 per cent of the sale price of fuel would be set aside for maintenance of the transport network. Unfortunately, the proposal didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pass and the old rule remains in force. According to that, a certain percentage is set aside from the excise paid on fuel, which equates to around five per cent of the fuel price - much less than the proposed 25 per cent. Moreover, the money received from the fuel price doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come directly into the cash register of Putevi Srbije, but rather reaches them indirectly through the national budget, after a significant delay. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thus, we have reached a situation where road companies calculate the lateness of the payment in the maintenance price, leaving us with a much more costly maintenance price. Together with this, one must consider that ten per cent of all roads should be repaired annually, i.e., all roads should be renewed every ten years. Of course, we should do that as soon as possible, because our closest neighbours are already in the European Union, or are close

´7KUHH TXDUWHUV RI URDGV LQ 9RMYRGLQD UHTXLUH UHSDLUV DQG UHFRQVWUXFWLRQV ,I ZH DGG WKH IDFW WKDW SHU FHQW RI EULGJHV KDYH VLJQLĂ&#x20AC;FDQW VWUXFWXUDO GDPDJH DQG WKDW KDOI RI WKHP KDYH PLQRU VWUXFWXUDO GDPDJH LW LV FOHDU ZKDW VLWXDWLRQ ZH DUH LQ Âľ to it. Progress also depends on whether we invest in Corridor 10 alone, or whether other states will pay (financial) attention to regional roads,â&#x20AC;? insists Isakov.

LOAD CAPACITY The most heavily laden road in Vojvodina, after the main highway, is road M 21, linking Novi Sadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Petrovaradin to Ĺ abac, via Irig and Ruma. This road is used on a daily basis by between 8.5 and 9,000 vehicles, with a large percentage of those being cargo vehicles. The Novi Sad â&#x20AC;&#x201C; HorgoĹĄ road, and

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

T

he Republic of Serbia has a network of state roads of first and second degree, with a total value estimated at $13billion. According to the claims of the management of Public Company â&#x20AC;&#x153;Putâ&#x20AC;? (Road), Serbia is a European country with medium density of population and a well developed network of roads. The total road network of the Republic of Serbia covers 40,845km. Of that, 5,525km cover 1st class state roads, 11,540km are state roads of secondary priority, and there are a further 23,780km of local roads.

The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total road network includes 498km of toll-booth administered highways and 136 km of toll-booth administered semi-highways. Throughout the whole road network, 2/5 sections are covered by broken stone or dirt road surfaces.

Some 32 per cent of Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first and second priority roads are over 20 years old, and only around 14 per cent are less than ten years old. Due to insufficient investment into maintenance and road reconstruction over a long period, the current status of the road network is unsatisfactory.

WKH %HOJUDGH Âą 3DQĂžHYR Âą 9UĂŁDF VHFWLRQV are also overloaded, from a cargo transport perspective, and so both of these road sections are in need of investment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The quality of roads has improved in the last couple of years, and many regional roads have been qualitatively reconstructed.

The maintenance of roads largely depends on several factors, including the good will of state authorities and local self-governPHQW ´ VD\V 9XN %RJGDQRYLß RI 1RYL 6DGœV Transportation Faculty.

KEY ROUTES Important regional transportation roads pass through Vojvodina. This, primarily, includes the highway going from Central Europe via the HorgoĹĄ border crossing with Hungary, through Novi Sad to Belgrade, and further south and east to NiĹĄ, where it splits into two directions: one section leading east towards the border with Bulgaria, the other heading south through FRY Macedonia to Greeceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Thessalonica. The third highway section branches off to the west in Srem, heading towards neighbouring Croatia and beyond, towards Western Europe. A network of local road and rail routes has been developed around the highway. In the south of Vojvodina, at the start of the MoravaVardar Valley, the most important communication road between the north and the south of the Balkan peninsula lies. This road crosses the Danube near Belgrade, heading east-west and making a geo-strategic knot. This road makes the geo-strategic position of Vojvodina more beneficial and important for Serbia. The basic problem of the transport network, however, is the quality problem: weak maintenance of the road transport infrastructure. Â&#x201E; CorD / March 2008 31

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LEISURE & LIFESTYLE CORPORATE WOMEN

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1LNROD ZDV YHU\ DQJU\ ZLWK KLV JUDQGIDWKHU 0\ IDWKHU RI FRXUVH WKRXJKW WKDW P\ FKLOGUHQ KDG EHHQ WRR VSRLOW Â&#x201E; Do you like Serbian cuisine? Â&#x2C6; ,Q =DPELD SHRSOH GRQ¶W HDW PXFK SRUN SUREDEO\ EHFDXVH RI WKH KHDW 7KHUH ZH PRVWO\ HDW FKLFNHQ DQG ¿VK ,Q WKH EHJLQQLQJ , RQO\ OLNHG SLJOHW HDUV DQG WDLO EXW WRGD\ , GRQ¶W HYHQ HDW WKDW , OLNH ODPE DQG SUHSDUH LW P\VHOI DV ZHOO DV SUHEUDQDF EDNHG EHDQ VSHFLDOLW\ $W KRPH , XVXDOO\ SUHSDUH 6HUELDQ IRRG EHFDXVH P\ FKLOGUHQ DUH DFFXVWRPHG WR LW $XQW 0LOHQD P\ KXVEDQG¶V DXQW SUHSDUHV WKH EHVW PHDW DVSLF LQ 6HUELD VWXIIHG SHS34 CorD / March 2008

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Â&#x201E; When you compare Zambia and Serbia, now and in the past, what has changed? Â&#x2C6; 7KH SHRSOH KHUH KDYH UHPDLQHG WKH VDPH 7KH\ DUH DOZD\V UHDG\ WR KHOS $QG ZKHQHYHU , JR WR =DPELD , DP DOZD\V GLVDSSRLQWHG 0XFK KDV FKDQJHG QRZ WKHUH DUH H[WUHPHO\ ULFK DQG H[WUHPHO\ SRRU SHRSOH D VPDOO QXPEHU LV LQ WKH PLGGOH 7KHUHIRUH , IHHO D OLWWOH ELW RGG EHFDXVH , FDQ¶W EHOLHYH WKDW WKRVH DUH WKH =DPELDQV , RQFH NQHZ ZKLOH KHUH LQ 6HUELD IRU LQVWDQFH WKH KRPHURRP WHDFKHU ZKR UHDOO\ FDUHV DERXW P\ FKLOG PDNHV PH ORRN VWULFW DQG WKHQ VKH WHOOV PH ³:HOO \RX QHHG WR XQGHUVWDQG \RXU FKLOG ³ 2U ZKHQ WKHUH ZDV QR PLON P\ QHLJKERXU ZRXOG OHDYH PLON IRU PH $OWKRXJK ZH KDYH SDVVHG WKURXJK PDQ\ WKLQJV WKH SHRSOH KDYH UHPDLQHG YHU\ NLQG , JHW DORQJ ZHOO ZLWK P\ KXVEDQG¶V IDPLO\ DQG ZH NHHS LQ WRXFK DQG WKH QHLJKERXUV LQ %ROHþ DUH DOVR IDQWDVWLF Â&#x201E;

BRANDING

Positive Spin This month we discuss the image of Serbia and the importance of branding with world-renowned marketing guru and brandLQJ H[SHUW .HYLQ /DQH .HOOHU DQG 5DGH 3ULELýHYLý GLUHFWRU RI corporate and regulatory affairs at Danube Foods Group BY ä(/-.2 323,92'$ PHOTO: '5$*$1 0,/2â(9,û

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36 CorD / March 2008

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śany branding has to be a function of who you are and what you are.

You cannot hide or run away from that.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kevin Lane Keller WHQG WKH LQWHUQDWLRQDO %UDQG)DLU DQG OHFWXUH DW %HOJUDGH 8QLYHUVLW\ &RU' FDXJKW XS ZLWK .HOOHU DQG ILUVW DVNHG KLP ZKDW KLV LQLWLDO LPSUHVVLRQV RI %HOJUDGH ZHUH Âł$ ORW RI WKH WLPH ZKHQ \RX JR LQWR FLWLHV LQ (XURSH HVSHFLDOO\ (DVWHUQ (XURSH WKH ILUVW LPSUHVVLRQ \RX KDYH LV RI WKH ROG FRPPXQLVW WLPHV DQG WKH KHULWDJH ZKLFK LV QLFH 7KHQ WKHUHÂśV DOVR WKH EOHQG RI WKH QHZ ZLWK PRUH PRGHUQ SDUWV RI WKH FLW\ EHLQJ EXLOW , DOZD\V ILQG WKDW EOHQG RI ROG DQG QHZ YHU\ LQWHUHVWLQJ HVSHFLDOO\ LQ WKH ROGHU SDUWV RI (XURSH ´ Â&#x201E; What do you think of the brand that is Serbia at the moment? Â&#x2C6; ,WÂśV D EUDQG WKDWÂśV VWLOO LQ WKH SURFHVV RI EHLQJ GHYHORSHG , WKLQN :KDW PDNHV WKH

Â&#x201E; Considering the old adage that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no such thing as bad publicity, and that Serbia somehow already has this image as something of a warrior nation, do you think it would be viable, and even advisable, for Serbia to try to put a positive spin and advance that image, rather than attempting to rid themselves of that brand and start from scratch? Â&#x2C6; :HOO ÂżUVW RI DOO DQ\ EUDQGLQJ KDV WR EH D IXQFWLRQ RI ZKR \RX DUH DQG ZKDW \RX DUH <RX FDQÂśW KLGH RU UXQ DZD\ IURP WKDW 6R ÂżUVW RI DOO \RX KDYH WR UHĂ&#x20AC;HFW WKDW 7KDW VDLG ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR D ZKROH FRXQWU\ WKHUH DUH VR PDQ\ GLIIHUHQW DVSHFWV WKDW FRPH LQWR SOD\ DQG \RXU LPPHGLDWH H[WHUQDO FRQFHUQV DUH XVXDOO\ UHODWHG WR DWWUDFWLQJ WRXULVP GHYHORSLQJ EXVLQHVV DQG IXUWKHULQJ LQYHVWPHQW WUHQGV 6R RQ WKH WRXULVP VLGH WKH ZDUULRU QDWLRQ DVSHFW PLJKW QRW EH VR UHOHYDQW EXW RQ WKH EXVLQHVV VLGH LW PLJKW EH EURXJKW LQWR SOD\ :KDW \RXÂśUH UHDOO\ WU\LQJ WR ILQG LV VRPHWKLQJ DERXW 6HUELD WKDW ZLOO UHDOO\ VSHDN WR ERWK RI WKRVH WZR DXGLHQFHV Âą WRXULVWV DQG LQYHVWRUV ,W PD\ QRW EH RQH TXDOLW\ EXW UDWKHU D FRPELQDWLRQ RI WKLQJV WKDW FRPH WRJHWKHU 6R WKH NH\ LV WR WU\ WR ILQG RXW WKH WUXWK DERXW ZKR 6HUELD LV EXW DOVR WR WU\ WR XQGHUVWDQG ZKDW PDWWHUV WR WKRVH SHRSOH ZKR DUH WKLQNLQJ RI YLVLWLQJ RU GRLQJ EXVLQHVV LQ 6HUELD

Kevin Lane Keller: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What \RX¡UH UHDOO\ WU\LQJ WR Ă&#x20AC;QG is something about Serbia that will really speak to both of those two audiences â&#x20AC;&#x201C; tourists and investors. It may not be one quality, but rather a combination of things that come together.

6R WKH NH\ LV WR WU\ WR Ă&#x20AC;QG out the truth about who Serbia is, but also to try to understand what matters to those people who are thinking of visiting or doing business in Serbia.â&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; How does one decide when to give up on a brand? For example, a few years ago British clothing retailer C&A felt that their brand image had become so degraded at home that they opted to close all of their UK-based outlets in order to concentrate solely on overseas activities. How does that decision to give up altogether on a market or a brand come about? Â&#x2C6; 7KH GHFLVLRQ WR JLYH XS RQ D EUDQG RQO\ FRPHV ZKHQ WKH QHJDWLYHV DUH VR VWURQJ WKDW WKH\ MXVW FDQÂśW EH RYHUFRPH 7R EH KRQHVW LWÂśV YHU\ UDUH WKDW VRPHWKLQJ OLNH WKDW KDSSHQV DQG LI D EUDQG LV PDQDJHG SURSHUO\ WKDW VKRXOG QHYHU KDSSHQ %UDQG PDQDJHUV VKRXOG EH FRQVWDQWO\ PDNLQJ LPSURYHPHQWV DQG DGGUHVVLQJ LVVXHV WR PDNH VXUH WKH EUDQG QDPH GRHVQÂśW GHWHULRUDWH EXW WKHUH DUH WLPHV ZKHQ \RX GR \RXU UHVHDUFK DQG FRPH WR UHDOLVH WKDW WKHUHÂśV MXVW

Real estate Rent and sale YBC Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 10 l, lokal VP 47, tel: 011 / 2143 576, 062 / 440 169, 064 / 676 72 99

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BRANDING

UHFWO\ FRPSDUH \RXU SURGXFW WR WKDW RI D ULYDO 7KDW VDLG WKH RQO\ WLPH \RX ZDQW WR GR WKDW LV ZKHQ \RXÂśUH DEVROXWHO\ VXUH WKDW \RX GR KDYH DQ DGYDQWDJH DQG \RX ZDQW WR PDNH WKH FRQVXPHU XQGHUVWDQG WKDW

5DGH 3ULELĂ˝HYLĂ˝ ´$OO WKDW LV KDSSHQLQJ RQ WKH PDUNHW LV JRRG primarily for the consumer. Increased competition forces us all to become better, faster, cheaper, and more inventive. If you remember our market 10 years ago, Knjaz MiloĹĄ had almost no competitors. Now we have over 30 mineral water bottlers.â&#x20AC;?

QRW PXFK \RX FDQ GR EHFDXVH WKH EUDQGÂśV LPDJH LV VR QHJDWLYH LWV SRVLWLRQLQJ LV VR RXW RI ZKDFN WKDW WKH RQO\ RSWLRQV EHFRPH VHOOLQJ RU NLOOLQJ RII WKH EUDQG DQG VWDUWLQJ DJDLQ IURP VFUDWFK Â&#x201E; How well do you think the next generation of marketing professionals here are learning about global trends in branding? Â&#x2C6; ,W LV LPSRUWDQW IRU WKHP WR ERWK XQGHUVWDQG WKH PHWKRGV RI PDUNHWLQJ DQG DOVR WKH SV\FKRORJ\ RI FRQVXPHUV DQG EDVLF HFRQRPLFV EHFDXVH WKHUH DUH D ORW RI HFRQRPLF WKHRULHV WKDW FDQ EH XVHG LQ EUDQGLQJ ,I , ZHUH D VWXGHQW LQ 6HUELD OHDUQLQJ DERXW EUDQGLQJ ,ÂśG EH RQ WKH ,QWHUQHW XVLQJ P\ (QJOLVK VNLOOV DQG JRLQJ WR D ORW RI WKH VLWHV WKDW SURYLGH H[DPSOHV RI FDVH VWXGLHV DGYLFH DQG OHVVRQV RQ EUDQGLQJ 2QH LQ SDUWLFXODU WKDW ,ÂśG PHQWLRQ LV EUDQGFKDQQHO FRP $ FRXSOH RI GD\V DJR , OHFWXUHG DW %HOJUDGH 8QLYHUVLW\ +RZHYHU DV LW ZDV D OHFWXUH , XQIRUWXQDWHO\ RQO\ JRW WR NQRZ D OLWWOH DERXW ZKDW WKH VWXGHQWV NQHZ DQG WKRXJKW ZKHQ WKH\ DVNHG PH TXHVWLRQV DIWHU WKH OHFWXUH Âą WKRXJK WKH\ GLG DVN JRRG TXHVWLRQV VSHFLILFDOO\ DERXW HQYLURQPHQWDO LVVXHV JOREDO PDUNHWLQJ WUHQGV HWF 7KDW VDLG , GR WKLQN WKDW LQ PDQ\ PDUNHWV WKH OHYHO RI VRSKLVWLFDWLRQ DQG NQRZOHGJH RI EUDQGLQJ LV QRW ZKDW LW VKRXOG EH Â&#x201E; How in tune with new trends, and the need to constantly work on brandLQJ GR \RX ÂżQG WKH ROGHU PRUH ÂżUPO\ 38 CorD / March 2008

established world brands? Â&#x2C6; ,WÂśV D UHDO FKDOOHQJH ZKHQ \RX JR WR VRPH RI WKH ELJ IDPLO\ ÂżUPV 2QH PXVW EHDU LQ PLQG WKDW PDQ\ RI WKH VWURQJHVW EUDQGV LQ WKH ZRUOG KDYH EHHQ HVWDEOLVKHG E\ HQWUHSUHQHXUV ZKR KDYH WKHQ OHIW WKHLU EUDQGV LQ WKH KDQGV RI WKHLU RIIVSULQJ 7KH SUREOHP ZLWK WKDW LV WKDW DIWHU D IHZ JHQHUDWLRQV WKDW SDVVLRQ WKDW PDJLF DQG WKDW GULYH WHQG WR GU\ XS 7KDWÂśV ZKHUH WKH FKDOOHQJH OLHV Â&#x201E; When does a company opt to go after its rivals through aggressive branding? Â&#x2C6; 7KHUH DUH WZR W\SHV RI DJJUHVVLYH EUDQGLQJ WKHUHÂśV FRPSHWLWLYH EUDQGLQJ ZKHUH \RX VHW RXW WR EHDW VRPHRQH HOVH WKHQ WKHUHÂśV FRPSDUDWLYH EUDQGLQJ ZKHUH RQH H[SOLFLWO\ FRPSDUHV RQH EUDQG WR DQRWKHU Âą 3HSVL Y V &RFD &ROD LV RI FRXUVH WKH FODVVLF H[DPSOH 7KDW RIWHQ GHSHQGV RQ WKH FRXQWU\ EHFDXVH WKHUHÂśV D ORW RI OHJLVODWLRQ DQG JRYHUQPHQW UHJXODWLRQV FRQWUROOLQJ WKDW ,Q WKH 6WDWHV ZKHUH , FRPH IURP \RXÂśUH DOORZHG WR GR WKDW +RZHYHU LQ D ORW RI FRXQWULHV \RX VLPSO\ FDQÂśW GL-

Â&#x201E; Do you agree that, despite new trends and advances in psychological approaches and presentation methods, the global factor of the Internet has only served to ensure that word of mouth is more important than it has ever been? Â&#x2C6; :RUG RI PRXWK LV DEVROXWHO\ PRUH LPSRUWDQW WKDQ HYHU VLPSO\ EHFDXVH RI WKH ,QWHUQHW 7KH QHW FRQWDLQV YDVW TXDQWLWLHV RI LQIRUPDWLRQ DERXW EUDQGV ZLWK SLFWXUHV DQG SURPRWLRQDO ÂżOPV UHYLHZV FRPPHQWV GLVFXVVLRQ ERDUGV HWF 7KLV KDV DGGHG GHSWK WR EUDQGLQJ EXW KDV DOVR FUHDWHG QHZ FKDOOHQJHV IRU D PDUNHWHU EHFDXVH VRPH RI WKH ,QWHUQHW FRQWHQW LV JRRG DQG FRPSOLPHQWDU\ EXW VRPH RI LW LV QHJDWLYH DQG RI FRXUVH LWÂśV YLUWXDOO\ XQFRQWUROODEOH To get a local perspective on brands and branding, we spoke to the Salford ,QYHVWPHQW *URXSÂśV 5DGH 3ULELĂźHYLĂź Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Danube Foods Group. Â&#x201E; Do you believe that Serbian brands ZLOO ÂżQG WKHLU ZD\ WR WKH FRQVXPHU LQ developed West European countries? Â&#x2C6; 7KLV LV GHÂżQLWHO\ SRVVLEOH $OUHDG\ QRZ WKHUH DUH 6HUELDQ EUDQGV WKDW GR QRW ODJ EHKLQG WKHLU LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPSHWLWRUV ZKDWVRHYHU LQ WHUPV RI TXDOLW\ DQG GHVLJQ 7KH SUREOHP WKHUHIRUH LV QRW WKH EUDQGV QRU ZLOO LW HYHU EH LQ EUDQGV 7KH HQWU\ LQWR GHYHORSHG VDWXUDWHG PDUNHWV LV KDUG VLQFH LW UHTXLUHV KXJH UHVRXUFHV IRU PDUNHW FRPPXQLFDWLRQ DQG HQWU\ LQWR WKH RUJDQLVHG WUDGH L H FKDLQV WKDW PDNH XS DV PXFK DV SHU FHQW RI WKH PDUNHW LQ GHYHORSHG FRXQWULHV Â&#x201E; Companies acquired by you are experiencing production growth; their brands hold leading positions on the market in various categories. Knjaz MiloĹĄ has, for instance, expanded its portfolio by 30 new brands since 2005. The competitors are following

Kevin Lane Keller: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The net contains vast quantities of inforPDWLRQ DERXW EUDQGV ZLWK SLFWXUHV DQG SURPRWLRQDO Ă&#x20AC;OPV UHviews, comments, discussion boards, etc.This has added depth to branding, but has also created new challenges for a marketer, because some of the Internet content is good and complimentary, but some of it is negative and, of course, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s virtually uncontrollable.â&#x20AC;?

5DGH 3ULELýHYLý ´,W LV KDUG WR WHOO EXW WKH IDFW is that we own some of the local iconic brands.

Knjaz MiloĹĄ, Kravica and Plazma are among the biggest and most valuable Serbian brands.These brands were big even before our time, but we redesigned them, expanded their range and brought them closer to consumers.â&#x20AC;? suit, and vice versa, so we now have a full scale brand war on the market, crowded shelves...confused or contented Serbian consumer? What does your research show? Â&#x2C6; $OO WKDW LV KDSSHQLQJ RQ WKH PDUNHW LV JRRG SULPDULO\ IRU WKH FRQVXPHU ,QFUHDVHG FRPSHWLWLRQ IRUFHV XV DOO WR EHFRPH EHWWHU IDVWHU FKHDSHU DQG PRUH LQYHQWLYH ,I \RX UHPHPEHU RXU PDUNHW \HDUV DJR .QMD] 0LORĂŁ KDG DOPRVW QR FRPSHWLWRUV 1RZ ZH KDYH RYHU PLQHUDO ZDWHU ERWWOHUV 7KH IDFW WKDW ZH DUH VWLOO WKH XQGLVSXWHG OHDGHU LV WKH EHVW SURRI RI RXU VXFFHVV

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Â&#x201E; To what extent have the brands increased the value of companies in Serbia to date? Â&#x2C6; ,W LV KDUG WR WHOO EXW WKH IDFW LV WKDW ZH RZQ VRPH RI WKH ORFDO LFRQLF EUDQGV .QMD] 0LORĂŁ .UDYLFD DQG 3OD]PD DUH DPRQJ WKH ELJJHVW DQG PRVW YDOXDEOH 6HUELDQ EUDQGV 7KHVH EUDQGV ZHUH ELJ HYHQ EHIRUH RXU WLPH EXW ZH UHGHVLJQHG WKHP H[SDQGHG WKHLU UDQJH DQG EURXJKW WKHP FORVHU WR FRQVXPHUV 7KH FXOW EUDQG VWDWXV LV YHULILHG LQ UHSHDWHG DZDUGV DQG UHFRJQLWLRQ WKDW EUDQGV UHFHLYH Âą .QMD] 0LORĂŁ ZDV DZDUGHG EHVW GRPHVWLF EUDQG LQ 3OD]PD ZDV DZDUGHG WKH WLWOH RI WKH EHVW ORYHG GRPHVWLF EUDQG LQ WKH UHFHQW %UDQG )DLU

Â&#x201E; What is, actually, the true agenda of Salford, that is, DFG on the Serbian market? Â&#x2C6; 6DOIRUG HQWHUHG WKH 6HUELDQ PDUNHW RU UDWKHU RXU UHJLRQ ZLWK WKH LGHD RI FUHDWLQJ D FRQVROLGDWHG V\VWHP RSHUDWLQJ LQ WKH IRRG SURFHVVLQJ LQGXVWU\ 1RZ ZH FDQ VD\ WKDW ZH KDYH VXFFHHGHG LQ WKDW :LWK RXU GDLULHV LQ 6HUELD %RVQLD DQG 0DFHGRQLD ZH DUH QRZ WKH ODUJHVW PLON SURFHVVLQJ GLYLVLRQ LQ &HQWUDO DQG (DVWHUQ (XURSH :H KDYH QRZ IXOO\ LQWHJUDWHG WKH V\VWHP DQG DUH LQ D SRVLWLRQ WR XVH WKH V\QHUJHWLF SRVVLELOLWLHV LW RIIHUV

Â&#x201E; The beginnings in Serbia for Salford Investment Fund were pretty stormy.

The acquisition of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the Serbian economy, Knjaz MiloĹĄ, Bambi and Imlek, amidst privatisations gone sour and scandals in the local market, was only the tip of the iceberg for the suspicious, prejudiced public. What were you faced with in this initial phase? Â&#x2C6; 7KLV LQLWLDO SKDVH ZDV TXLWH VWRUP\ LQGHHG LQ SDUWLFXODU LQ WKH FDVH RI .QMD] 0LORĂŁ 6LQFH WKH WDNHRYHU WRRN SODFH RQ WKH 6WRFN ([FKDQJH ZH ZHUH QRW LQ D SRVLWLRQ WR SHUIRUP D JRRG GXH GLOLJHQFH VWXG\ 7KH FRQVHTXHQFH ZDV WKDW ZH IRXQG WKDW WKH FRPSDQ\ ZDV LQ D IDU ZRUVH VWDWH WKDQ ZH KDG H[SHFWHG Âź PLOOLRQ RI GHEWV IRU LQVWDQFH :H XQGHUWRRN FRPSUHKHQVLYH UHVWUXFWXULQJ PHDVXUHV ERWK LQ .QMD] DQG LQ RWKHU FRPSDQLHV 6XFK PHDVXUHV UHODWHG WR OLWHUDOO\ DOO VHJPHQWV RI WKH EXVLQHVV Âą KXPDQ UHVRXUFHV SURGXFWLRQ

Â&#x201E; After Imlek, Salford acquired another four Serbian dairies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Impaz, ZePXQVND 1RYRVDGVND DQG 6XERWLĂžND Recently, the Anti-monopoly Commission has accused you of abusing your dominant market position. Have you? Â&#x2C6; 1R 7KH &RPPLVVLRQ HUURQHRXVO\ HVWDEOLVKHG WKH SHUFHQWDJH RI RXU PDUNHW VKDUH DQG DFFXVHG XV RI DEXVH ZKHUH WKHUH LV QRQH ,W LV D TXHVWLRQ RI WKH PDQQHU WKH LQGXVWU\ RSHUDWHV :H ZLOO DFW LQ FRPSOLDQFH ZLWK WKH &RPPLVVLRQÂśV RUGHUV EXW ZLOO LQLWLDWH DGPLQLVWUDWLYH SURFHHGLQJV EHIRUH WKH 6XSUHPH &RXUW RI 6HUELD WR DSSHDO WKH 'HFLVLRQ RI WKH &RPPLVVLRQ ,W LV ODPHQWDEOH WKDW WKLV LV KDSSHQLQJ WR XV VLQFH ZH KDYH FRQWULEXWHG PRUH WKDQ DQ\ERG\ HOVH WR WKH GHYHORSPHQW RI PLON SURGXFWLRQ LQ 6HUELD 7KUHH \HDUV DJR ZKHQ ZH HQWHUHG SHU FHQW RI PLON VROG ZDV LQ FRPSOLDQFH ZLWK WKH (XURSHDQ TXDOLW\ VWDQGDUGV ZKHUHDV WRGD\ LW LV FORVH WR SHU FHQW 7KLV ZDV SRVVLEOH SULPDULO\ RZ-

LQJ WR RXU LQYHVWPHQWV LQ WKLV VHFWRU $QG ZH LQYHVWHG Âź PLOOLRQ LQ SULPDU\ PLON SURGXFWLRQ VR IDU 7KH NH\ ZRUG LV TXDOLW\ DQG TXDOLW\ LV VRPHWKLQJ QRERG\ PHQWLRQV Â&#x201E; You stated earlier that 2008 is the year of the exit phase â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is of talks, negotiations with prospective buyers.

Has that phase already begun? Â&#x2C6; 7KDW SKDVH KDV EHHQ DQQRXQFHG DQG LV LQ LWV YHU\ LQIDQF\ 7KHUH KDYH EHHQ LQLWLDO FRQWDFWV ZLWK LQWHUHVWHG EX\HUV EXW LW LV VWLOO WRR HDUO\ WR WDON DERXW VDOH Â&#x201E; Finally, how do you see the Serbian PDUNHW GHYHORSLQJ LQ WKH QH[W ÂżYH years? Â&#x2C6; $VVXPLQJ WKDW WKLQJV GHYHORS ÂłQRUPDOO\´ LQ ÂżYH \HDUV WKH 6HUELDQ PDUNHW ZLOO UHDFK WKH QH[W OHYHO RI VRSKLVWLFDWLRQ OLNH VRPH RWKHU FRXQWULHV WKDW KDYH DOUHDG\ FRPSOHWHG WKH WUDQVLWLRQ SURFHVV VXFK DV +XQJDU\ 7KH GLYHUVLW\ RI VXSSO\ ZLOO EH JUHDWO\ LQFUHDVHG DQG RZLQJ WR WKH LQWHJUDWLRQ SURFHVVHV LQ WKH UHJLRQ DQG KRSHIXOO\ EURDGHU GRPHVWLF EXVLQHVVHV ZLOO QR ORQJHU HQMR\ WKH SURWHFWLRQ RI WKH ORFDO PDUNHW EXW ZLOO KDYH WR FRPSHWH ZLWK LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPSHWLWRUV RQ D OHYHO SOD\LQJ ÂżHOG , DOVR WKLQN WKDW WKHUH ZLOO EH VRPH FRQVROLGDWLRQ LQ WHUPV RI UHGXFLQJ WKH VFDWWHUHG VXSSO\ E\ VPDOOHU SURGXFHUV 7KH\ ZLOO HLWKHU KDYH WR VSHFLDOLVH RU GLVDSSHDU Â&#x201E; CorD / March 2008 39

B2B INTERVIEW

Robert Schweizer, Global Investments Director at Merrill Lynch

Pan-Balkan Aims Merrill Lynchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rob Schweizer is no stranger to this region, having spent the last 15 years co-ordinating this global investorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities in all of Central Europe. But it is Belgrade that he is now calling his home away from home, since the U.S. giant signed a deal to acquire a 25 per cent stake in local company MPC Properties.

BY MR PULLEN; PHOTO: ý$6/$9 98.2-,ý,û his month CorD speaks to Mr. 6FKZHL]HU DERXW WKH ORFDO DQG UHJLRQDO EXVLQHVV FOLPDWH WKH UHDO HVWDWH VHFWRU DQG 0HUULOO /\QFK¶V SODQV IRU LWV SDUWQHUVKLS ZLWK 03& &RPSDULQJ DQG FRQWUDVWLQJ %HOJUDGH WR WKH RWKHU FLWLHV RI WKH UHJLRQ WKDW KH KDV FRPH WR NQRZ 6FKZHL]HU H[SODLQV ³2EYLRXVO\ WKHUH¶V EHHQ D ORW PRUH SURJUHVV LQ WKH PRUH QRUWKHUQ &HQWUDO (XURSHDQ FRXQWULHV VXFK DV 3RODQG WKH &]HFK 5HSXEOLF HWF EXW ZKHQ , FDPH WR 6HUELD LW ZDV UHDOO\ WKH SHRSOH WKDW VXUSULVHG PH , IRXQG WKHP YHU\ IULHQGO\ DQG

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YHU\ ZHOO HGXFDWHG 2EYLRXVO\ WKH KLVWRU\ RI <XJRVODYLD DQG LWV DGYDQFHG VWDJH \HDUV DJR OHQGV LWVHOI WR WKDW ´ Â&#x201E; Is that difference in the base starting point between the former Yugoslav states and the former Eastern Bloc countries still noticeable? Â&#x2C6; 3HUVRQDOO\ , GRQ¶W UHDOO\ VHH WKDW VR PXFK DQ\PRUH WKRXJK ZKHUH \RX GR VHH LW LV LQ WKH ZRUN RI VRPH RI WKH ORFDO FRQ-

Temporary setback HUULOO /\QFK UHFRUGHG D QHW ORVV RI VRPH ELOOLRQ RQ LWV FRQWLQXLQJ RSHUDWLRQV LQ WKH ODVW ILQDQFLDO \HDU &RXOG \RX WHOO XV PRUH DERXW KRZ WKLV KXJH ORVV FDPH DERXW DQG ZKHWKHU \RX WKLQN WKH 8 6 DQG VXEVHTXHQWO\ WKH :HVWHUQ ZRUOG LV KHDGLQJ IRU D UHFHVVLRQ" 7KH PDMRULW\ RI WKH ORVV UHDOO\ VWHPPHG IURP WKH VXE SULPH LVVXH LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DQG VR LW ZDV YHU\ PXFK IRFXVHG RQ RQH RSHUDWLRQ LQ 0HUULOO /\QFK 2EYLRXVO\ WKHUH¶V QR GRXEW WKDW LW ZDV D VXEVWDQWLDO DPRXQW RI FDSLWDO EXW LW ZDV YHU\ FRQFHQWUDWHG LQ WHUPV RI WKH W\SHV RI RSHUDWLRQV :LWK WKH KRXVLQJ PDUNHW RQ WKH GHFOLQH LQ WKH 8 6 0HUULOO /\QFK MXVW JRW VWXFN KROGLQJ FHUWDLQ VHFXULWLHV WKDW ZHUH GHFUHDVLQJ LQ YDOXH 6R LW WRRN DQ DJJUHVVLYH SRVLWLRQ ± OLNH DOO EDQNV KDYH ± WR EDVLFDOO\ ZULWH RII LWV HQWLUH VXE SULPH SRVLWLRQ ZKLFK UHVXOWHG LQ WKLV ORVV 7KDW VDLG ,

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40 CorD / March 2008

WKLQN SHRSOH FDQ VHQVH D ERWWRP LQ WHUPV RI WKH VXE SULPH DQG FHUWDLQO\ WKH KRXVLQJ PDUNHW ± DV HYLGHQFHG E\ KRXVLQJ VWRFNV ZKLFK DUH SRWHQWLDOO\ VWDUWLQJ WR UHERXQG ,Q D GHDO DQQRXQFHG WRGD\ 6RYHUHLJQ )XQG LV WDNLQJ D ORRN DW D 6SDQLVK SURSHUW\ FRPSDQ\ WKDW¶V KHDYLO\ ZHLJKWHG WR WKH UHVLGHQWLDO VHFWRU VR , WKLQN SHRSOH DUH VWDUWLQJ WR VHQVH WKDW SHUKDSV ZH DUH QHDU WKH ERWWRP $V WR \RXU TXHVWLRQ DERXW ZKHWKHU ZH¶UH KHDGLQJ WRZDUGV D UHFHVVLRQ RU QRW , WKLQN HVSHFLDOO\ DV HYLGHQFHG E\ WKH ODWHVW 8 6 HFRQRPLF GDWD ZKLFK FDPH RXW UHFHQWO\ WKDW WKH HFRQRP\ FDQ FRQWLQXH WR VXUSULVH SHRSOH ± DV LW KDV RYHU WKH ODVW ILYH \HDUV 7KH UHVLOLHQF\ RI WKH 8 6 FRQVXPHU LV MXVW PLQGERJJOLQJ , WKLQN WKDW SHRSOH DUH H[SHFWLQJ GLIILFXOWLHV LQ WKH ILUVW VL[ PRQWKV RI WKLV \HDU EXW DUH JHQHUDOO\ RSWLPLVWLF DERXW WKH VHFRQG KDOI RI

VWUXFWLRQ FRPSDQLHV 7KRVH RSHUDWLQJ KHUH ZHUH WUXO\ LQWHUQDWLRQDO FRPSDQLHV EHIRUH ZKHUHDV WKH OLNHV RI 5RPDQLD DQG %XOJDULD QHYHU KDG WKDW <RX FDQ VHH LW WKURXJK WKH OHJDFLHV RI FRPSDQLHV OLNH WKDW EXW LQ WHUPV RI WKH UHDO HVWDWH PDUNHW RU WKH EXVLQHVV HQYLURQPHQW WKHVH RWKHU FRXQWULHV KDYH FHUWDLQO\ SXOOHG DKHDG LQ P\ YLHZ 7KLV LV HVSHFLDOO\ WKH FDVH ZKHQ \RX ORRN DW IRUHLJQ GLUHFW LQYHVWPHQW Â&#x201E; What prompted Merrill Lynch to choose Serbia and MPC Properties for investment? Â&#x2C6; )LUVW DQG IRUHPRVW ZH¶UH D JOREDO LQYHVWRU 6R DV SDUW RI RXU GXH GLOLJHQFH ZH ORRN DW WKH PDFURHFRQRPLF WUHQGV DQG D ORW RI RWKHU IDFWRUV EHIRUH GHFLGLQJ ZKHUH ZH ZDQW WR LQYHVW :H¶YH KLJKOLJKWHG PDUNHWV VXFK DV 5XVVLD DQG 7XUNH\ DV EHLQJ FKRUH VWUDWHJLF PDUNHWV WR 0HUULOO /\QFK EXW WKH %DONDQV DOVR UHSUHVHQWV D YHU\ LQWHUHVWLQJ SODWIRUP IRU LQYHVWPHQW IRU D IHZ UHDVRQV 7KH ¿UVW LV WKDW WKH JHQHUDO *'3 WUHQGV VKRZ JURZWK RI DURXQG VHYHQ SHU FHQW ZKLFK LV DWWUDFWLYH DQG KLJKHU WKDQ QHLJKERXULQJ FRXQWULHV 6HFRQGO\ ORRNLQJ DW WKH UHDO HVWDWH PDUNHW LQ SDUWLFXODU RYHU WKH ODVW WHQ RU PRUH \HDUV WKHUH¶YH EHHQ D ORW RI SUREOHPV ZKLFK KDYH HQVXUHG WKHUH KDVQ¶W EHHQ WKH VDPH VRUW RI OHYHO RI GHYHORSPHQW WKDW¶V EHHQ VHHQ LQ RWKHU SODFHV $V VXFK WKHUH¶V D QHHG WR KHOS EULQJ 6HUELD DQG %HOJUDGH EDFN WR WKH OHYHOV LW ZDV DFFXVWRPHG WR EHIRUH 7KLUGO\ LW¶V DOO DERXW ORQJ WHUP SURV-

SHFWV DQG ZH WKLQN WKDW 6HUELD¶V ZHOO SR- calculate the retail potential of a city construction development begins to VLWLRQHG WR FDSLWDOLVH LQ WKH IXWXUH ± SUR- or country, and in how much detail do cope with the rising demand? Â&#x2C6; , SHUVRQDOO\ GRQ¶W WKLQN %HOJUDGH¶V UHDO YLGHG WKDW RXWOLHUV GRQ¶W KDSSHQ DV PLJKW you look at these factors? Â&#x2C6; ,W¶V RQH RI WKH WKLQJV WKDW ZH OLNH WR GR HVWDWH LV PRUH H[SHQVLYH WKDQ RWKHU FLWLHV EH H[SHFWHG 2QH RI WKH NH\ HOHPHQWV LV WKDW 0HUULOO TXLWH D ELW RQ :H ORRN DW GLIIHUHQW PDU- WKRXJK WKDW GHSHQGV RQ ZKDW PHWULF \RX¶UH /\QFK LV SUREDEO\ WKH PRVW DFWLYH ODUJH NHWV WR WU\ WR JDLQ SHUVSHFWLYH )RU H[DP- ORRNLQJ DW ± ZKHWKHU LW¶V FDSLWDO YDOXH SHU VTXDUH PHWUH RU LQWHUQDWLRQDO LQI think Belgrade still has some compelling valuation to offer potenRQ D \LHOG EDVLV YHVWPHQW EDQN LQ ,Q %XFKDUHVW 6HUELD ,W¶V QRW OLNH tial investors, though I think rents will certainly decline as a lot of IRU H[DPSOH RIZH¶YH MXVW GHFLGHG new stock comes onboard. On the regional side, I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot ¿FH EXLOGLQJV WR FRPH WR 6HUELD of money to be made, because capital rates will continue to comDUH WUDGLQJ DW QRZ :H¶YH EHHQ press as more foreign investors enter the market.

DURXQG RQ DFWLYH IRU WKH ODVW FDSLWDO UDWH DQG IHZ \HDUV DQG KDYH GRQH WUDQVDFWLRQV WKURXJK RXU HTXLW\ FDSL- SOH ZKHQ , JR WR UHJLRQDO FLWLHV LQ D SODFH SULFHV SHU VTXDUH PHWUH DUH DURXQG IRXU WDO PDUNHWV JURXS RXU GHEW FDSLWDO PDUNHWV OLNH 3RODQG ,¶P DOZD\V DVWRXQGHG E\ WKH WR VL[ WKRXVDQG HXURV :KLOH LQ %HOJUDGH JURXS HWF 6R ZH WKLQN WKDW ZH KDYH D ORW RI QXPEHU RI VKRSSLQJ FHQWUHV WKDW DUH WUDG- RQ D \LHOG EDVLV SHRSOH DUH QRZ WDONLQJ ORFDO NQRZOHGJH DV DQ LQVWLWXWLRQ 7KDW VDLG LQJ UHDVRQDEO\ ZHOO GHVSLWH WKH IDFW WKDW DERXW D FDSLWDO UDWH RI WR SHU FHQW IRU WKH FXUUHQW SROLWLFDO VLWXDWLRQ LV FHUWDLQO\ DW WKH PDFURHFRQRPLF LQGLFDWRUV DUHQ¶W YHU\ &ODVV $ SURSHUWLHV ZLWK FDSLWDO SULFHV SHU WKH IRUHIURQW RI HYHU\ LQYHVWRU¶V PLQG %XW VWURQJ ,Q WKHVH SODFHV \RX¶YH JRW QHW PL- VTXDUH PHWUH RI DURXQG ¼ , WKLQN %HOJUDGH VWLOO KDV VRPH FRPDJDLQ ZH¶UH QRW LQYHVWLQJ KHUH WR PDNH D JUDWLRQ GHFOLQLQJ SRSXODWLRQV DQG IDOOTXLFN EXFN DQG WXUQ RXU FDSLWDO WRPRUURZ LQJ UHDO VDODULHV \HW WKH\¶UH VWLOO DEOH WR SHOOLQJ YDOXDWLRQ WR RIIHU SRWHQWLDO LQYHV5DWKHU LW¶V DERXW WKH ORQJ WHUP SURMHFWLRQV VXSSRUW IRXU WR VL[ PDMRU VKRSSLQJ FHQ- WRUV WKRXJK , WKLQN UHQWV ZLOO FHUWDLQO\ WUHV ZLWK SRSXODWLRQ EDVHV RI WR GHFOLQH DV D ORW RI QHZ VWRFN FRPHV RQRI ZKHUH ZH WKLQN 6HUELD FDQ JR ERDUG 2Q WKH UHJLRQDO VLGH , WKLQN WKHUH¶V SHRSOH Â&#x201E; Could you tell us something about ,W¶V YHU\ GLIILFXOW WR HVWLPDWH H[DFWO\ EXW D ORW RI PRQH\ WR EH PDGH EHFDXVH FDSLyour strategic plans for the region?

ZKHQ \RX ORRN DW %HOJUDGH RQ D SHU FDSLWD WDO UDWHV ZLOO FRQWLQXH WR FRPSUHVV DV PRUH Â&#x2C6; 4XLWH VLPSO\ ZH WKLQN WKDW 03& 3URS- EDVLV WRGD\ LW LV REYLRXV LQ DQ\ DVSHFW ± KR- IRUHLJQ LQYHVWRUV HQWHU WKH PDUNHW , DOVR HUWLHV UHSUHVHQWV RQH RI WKH PRVW DWWUDFWLYH WHOV RIILFH UHWDLO ORJLVWLFV HWF ± WKDW WKHUH WKLQN WKHUH¶V D VWURQJ UHWDLO GHPDQG VWRLQYHVWPHQW RSSRUWXQLWLHV IRU XV 7KH\¶YH LV PDMRU XQGHUGHYHORSPHQW LQ DOO DUHDV U\ WKDW FRXOG H[HUW SUHVVXUH RQ UHQWV LQ WKH FHUWDLQO\ GRQH VRPH JUHDW WKLQJV EXW OLNH $QG , WKLQN RXU SRUWIROLR DQG GHYHORSPHQW QHDU WHUP GXH WR D ODFN RI KLJK TXDOLW\ UHZLWK DQ\ JUHDW FRPSDQ\ WKHUH¶V DOZD\V SLSHOLQH LV YHU\ ZHOO SRVLWLRQHG WR FDSLWDOLVH WDLO VWRFN ,Q WHUPV RI UHVLGHQWLDO FDSLWDO URRP IRU LPSURYHPHQW :KDW ZH¶UH JRLQJ ZKHUH ZH WKLQN WKH UHDO WUHQGV DUH UDWH YDOXHV KDYH EHHQ LQFUHDVLQJ TXLWH D ELW WR GR LV WU\ WR DGG WR WKH DOUHDG\ VWURQJ DQG DPD]LQJO\ WKH\¶UH XS WR ¼ SHU PDQDJHPHQW WHDP WR DGG VRPH DGGLWLRQDO Â&#x201E; Do you plan to increase your 25 per VTXDUH PHWUH LQ VRPH DUHDV QRZ +RZHYHU LQWHUQDWLRQDO SHUVSHFWLYH LQ RUGHU WR WU\ WR cent stake in MPC Properties?

KHUH WKHUH DUH QRZ PRUWJDJHV DYDLODEOH IRU JHW D XQLTXH FRPELQDWLRQ RI ERWK ORFDO DQG Â&#x2C6; :H GR KDYH Ã&#x20AC;H[LELOLW\ WR LQFUHDVH RXU XS WR SHU FHQW RI WKH YDOXH RI WKH SURSLQWHUQDWLRQDO VNLOO VHWV LQ RUGHU WR WKHQ WU\ VWDNH DQG REYLRXVO\ ZH¶OO LQFUHDVH WKDW HUW\ ZLWK SUHWW\ DWWUDFWLYH LQWHUHVW UDWHV WR FUHDWH DQG GHYHORS WKH EHVW SURSHUWLHV RSSRUWXQLVWLFDOO\ WR WKH H[WHQW ZH ¿QG LQ- DQG D ORW RI SHRSOH DUH WDNLQJ DGYDQWDJH RI LQ WKH PDUNHW 2XU YLHZ LV WKDW WKHUH¶UH YHVWPHQW RSSRUWXQLWLHV 6R 0HUULOO /\QFK 6ZLVV )UDQF RIIHUV ORWV RI RSSRUWXQLWLHV EXW ZH ZDQW WR PDNH LV FRPPLWWHG WR LQYHVWLQJ PRUH LI DQG ,W VRPHKRZ DVWRXQGV PH EXW , GR WKLQN VXUH WKDW ZH DUH DEOH WR GHYHORS WKH KLJK- ZKHQ WKH RSSRUWXQLWLHV DULVH WKDW LQ WKH QHDU WHUP SULFHV ZLOO SUREDEO\ HVW TXDOLW\ SURMHFWV WKDW ZLOO EH YLHZHG DV FRQWLQXH WR ULVH ,QGHHG SHRSOH DUH IRUHÂ&#x201E; Is Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate overpriced, FDVWLQJ DV PXFK DV WZHQW\ WR WKLUW\ SHU FHQW YHU\ DWWUDFWLYH DVVHWV 7KH JDPH SODQ ZLOO EH YHU\ VLPSOH :H and will prices come down as greater JURZWK LQ WKH UHVLGHQWLDO PDUNHW WKLV \HDU Â&#x201E; DLP WR EHFRPH D SDQ %DONDQ UHDO HVWDWH SOD\HU DQG DUH DOUHDG\ ORRNLQJ DW GHDOV We aim to beLQ IRXU RI WKH IRUPHU <XJRVODY UHSXEOLFV come a pan-BalWKDW ZH WKLQN ZLOO DOORZ XV WR VWDUW EHFRPLQJ PRUH RI D SDQ %DONDQ SOD\HU GXUkan real estate LQJ WKH QH[W VL[ PRQWKV 7KDW VDLG ZH ZLOO player, and are VWD\ KHDYLO\ IRFXVHG RQ WKH UHWDLO VLGH DQG already looking ZLOO KDYH D SRUWIROLR FRQWDLQLQJ IRXU RU at deals in four ILYH YHU\ DWWUDFWLYH KLJK SURILOH ORFDWLRQV VXFK DV WKH VKRSSLQJ FHQWUHV WKDW \RX VHH of the former LQ %HOJUDGH EXW DOVR SURSHUWLHV LQ GLIIHUHQW Yugoslav repubFRXQWULHV 7KHQ WKHUH¶V WKH UHVLGHQWLDO PDUlics that we think NHW WKH RIILFH PDUNHW KRWHOV 6R WKH UHWDLO will allow us to VLGH ZLOO EH OLNH RXU FDOOLQJ FDUG EXW ZH¶OO DOVR FRQFHQWUDWH RQ WKHVH RWKHU PDUNHWV start becoming Â&#x201E; +RZ GLI¿FXOW LV LW WR JHW WKH EDODQFH right when embarking on construction projects in places like this, i.e. how do you estimate the amount of Class â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; RI¿FH EXLOGLQJV UHTXLUHG KRZ GR \RX

more of a panBalkan player during the next six months.

CorD / March 2008 41

B2B PROAGRO LEADER 2007

P

roCredit Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition for the most successful agricultural farm in Serbia in 2007 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ProAgro Leader 2007 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; drew over 200 farms, which applied for this competition.

The ProAgro leader jury, comprising representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the European Agency for Reconstruction, the media and ProCredit Bank, chose three of the most successful farmers in the categories of micro, small and medium-sized agricultural farms. The best farmers will have the opportunity to travel to Slovenia and familiarise themselves with the work of Slovenian farms.

Companies are offered the possibility to change the old Cisco network equipment, or other production equipment, for new equipment at special prices and under special financing conditions until 1st June 2008.

OLD FOR NEW isco, the leading international producer of network and communications solutions, has made a special offer for the change and expansion of companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; existing network equipment, with the aim of improving and modernising their businesses.

Companies are offered the possibility to change the old Cisco network equipment, or others producersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; equipment, for the new Cisco equipment at special prices and under special financing conditions until 1st June 2008.

Cisco Srbija sales manager, Suzana 5DGRYLĂź DQG WKH UHJLRQDO VDOHV PDQDJHU $QD %RĂŁNRYLĂź SUHVHQWHG WKH FRQGLWLRQV for the exchange of old equipment and loans at a recent press conference.

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WITHOUT EMBARGO FOR KOSOVO

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he introduction of any kind of economic embargo or other economic measures would be unprincipled, has said Trade Minister Predrag Bubalo.

According to Bubalo, the story about Kosovo & Metohija is not finished, so Serbia cannot introduce an economic embargo on part of its territory, at least not at the moment when few nations have recognised such a false country.

Bubalo emphasised that â&#x20AC;&#x153;we should firstly take care of those people who recognise the state of Serbia, who are loyal to the state of Serbia and who only have the state of Serbiaâ&#x20AC;?. The Minister added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;we cannot punish those people because of one part of the citizenshipâ&#x20AC;?.

Source:Tanjug 200 CROATIAN COMPANIES IN SERBIA Around 200 Croatian companies are operating in Serbia, while only five to

Growth in all business segments of Piraeus Group

50% INCREASE IN NET PROFIT

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he acceleration of Piraeus Group volumes in 2007 exceeded past performances, with an increase in total assets by 50% reaching â&#x201A;Ź46billion. Similar growth rate by 50% was recorded in profitability that amounted to â&#x201A;Ź653million, before the additional tax burden incurred in January 2008 to banking capital gains retroactively as of 2007.

The international market turmoil found Piraeus Bank Group reinforced both in capital adequacy and liquidity, with improved â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;loans to depositsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ratio at 127% at year-end compared to 130% a quarter earlier. The increase in deposits the previous year

42 CorD / March 2008

ten Serbian companies are present on the Croatian market. The Director of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Belgrade, Goran Masnec, said that Serbian companies are present in Croatia mostly through Croatian distributors, adding that this is not a good long term solution ant that concrete investments are needed.

Serbia is a very important area for Croatian exports, but also the third country according to size of Croatian investments, said Masnec adding that Croatian investments in Serbia have reached $100million.

He stated that the biggest investors are Agrokor, the Nekse Grupa and Lura.

Masenec also said that the exchange in goods between Serbia and Croatia last year reached around one billion dollars, which is 40% more than in 2006. Croatia exported goods to Serbia worth $650million, while Serbian exports to Croatia amounted to $350million, thus the Serbian deficit was $300million, said Masnec. Source:Beta AGREEMENT REACHED TO ADOPT BILL ON INVESTMENT PROJECTS

HUELDQ 'HSXW\ 3ULPH 0LQLVWHU %RüLGDU çHOLß 6HUELDQ 0LQLVWHU RI 7UDGH DQG Services, Predrag Bubalo, and representatives of other relevant ministries held a

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reached 33%, while the increase in absolute figure was more than doubled during the last quarter 2007 compared to the respective increase recorded in the 4th quarter 2006, reassuring the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effectiveness and resilience against changing market conditions.

The upward course of Piraeus Bank Group is also continuing in 2008. The fundamentals for Greece, a market that contributes 80% of the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total operations and 87% of profitability respectively, remain solid, while international operations are also expected to continue growing at a substantial pace. Piraeus Bank Group is now present in 9 countries abroad including its expansion in Cyprus where operations recently commenced, further improving the diversification of its activities. These developments reassure the soundness of the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business Plan targets through to 2010, which we recently communicated.

%8',0,5 %2ĂŁ.2 .267,Ăť HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION

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aiffeisen banka has established the ³%XGLPLU %RãNR .RVWLß´ +XPDQLWDULDQ Foundation, with the intention of offering help to individuals and institutions in need. Apart from this, the intention of the founder is, among other things, to keep alive the memory of the first director of Raiffeisen banka in Serbia.

During his time in management, besides having achieved exWUDRUGLQDU\ EXVLQHVV VXFFHVV ZLWK 5DLIIHLVHQ EDQND %RĂŁNR .RVWLĂź also made additional efforts as regards humanitarian activities and became known for constantly fostering broad participation in

meeting in mid-February with representatives of the construction and building materials industries, as part of an ongoing dialogue with exporters.

Agreement was reached at the meeting that the government will draft a new law on investment projects which will regulate the payment of tax on building works, the avoidance of double taxation and the incomes of those employed abroad which will encourage Serbian firms registered abroad to return to the country.

It was stressed that Serbian construction companies must return to the traditionally strong markets of the former Soviet republics, Middle East and North Africa, even though they now have more projects within the country.

Merging two funds for financing and export credit insurance, the AOFL and the SMECA, and their recapitalisation with $50 million will make it possible to finance export business under more reasonable conditions.

Considering the fact that the strategic goal of the government is for Serbian firms to be contractors and not subcontractors for construction work being carried out in the country, it is necessary to issue licenses to all construction companies, regardless of their particular activities, which will make certain that they are able to compete on an equal basis for tenders and public procurement.

It was also agreed that the settlement of old state debts to businesses in the construction sector should be accelerated.

The construction and building materials industries in Serbia employ some 120,000 people, while the volume of services provided abroad are worth some â&#x201A;Ź300million

humanitarian activities.

One of the core business principles of the whole Raiffeisen Banking Group is the permanent effort to take care of its environment through socially responsible behaviour. Raiffeisen banka in Serbia also strives to show a high level of social consciousness. %XGLPLU %RãNR .RVWLß JDYH D VSHFLDO WRXFK WR WKHVH HIIRUWV RI Raiffeisen banka, with his personal feeling for humaneness, and helped shape the direction of the business strategy in that field. ,Q WKH IXWXUH WKH ZRUN RI WKH ³%XGLPLU %RãNR .RVWLß´ Foundation will be performed in parallel with further donation activities by Raiffeisen banka, which will be realised apart from the activities of the Foundation itself.

annually.

Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s draft export strategy will be drawn up by the end of February and submitted to exporters for consideration, reads the statement issued by the Serbian Deputy Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cabinet.

Source: newbalkan, Serbian Govâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t RADUJKO APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF TELEKOM he Telekom Srbija management board has appointed Branko Radujko general director of that company. Radujko replacHV 'UDĂŁNR 3HWURYLĂź ZKR ZDV WKH FRPSDQ\ general director from the end of 2000 until 27th January this year. Branko Radujko was born in Knin in 1974 and graduated in law. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was so far the Serbian President, %RULV 7DGLߜV VHFUHWDU\ JHQHUDO The conditions for the changes in Telekomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s management arose on Thursday, 31st January when the Serbian Government entrusted the management of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;golden shareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to the Finance Minister, 0LUNR &YHWNRYLĂź '6 DIWHU ZKLFK WKH QHZ management board was established whose president is Dragor Hiber. The new members of the management board are Ivica 6WHYDQLĂź 3UHGUDJ 0DUNRYLĂź 5DGRMNR 2EUDGRYLĂź -DVPLQD /RSLĂžLĂź /MXERPLU .RYDĂžHY .RQVWDQWLQRV +ULVWRSXORV DQG Paraskevas Pasijas.

Source:Beta

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US STEEL & ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY SIGN AGREEMENT erbian Minister of Environmental Protection, SaĹĄa Dragin, and General Director of US Steel Serbia, Richard Vietch, signed an agreement in early February, under which US Steel will invest $50million in environmental projects by the end of 2009.

The projects will improve the environmental situation and reduce pollution while the Ministry will offer professional assistance.

Dragin said that US Steel is the first private-owned company to sign such an agreement with the Ministry, which makes this agreement particularly important.

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Economic development that is not harmonised with nature is not sustainable and negative effects of such unharmonised development will surpass the positive effects sooner or later, the Minister stressed noting that investment in environmental protection is an investment in better life of our citizens and all future generations.

I am very pleased that US Steel has recognised that and decided to take this path of sustainable development that will not detriment citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; health. I believe this will be a signal for other companies to realise the importance of investment in environmental projects, said Dragin.

Vietch explained that the aim of US Steel is to become leader in environmental protection and recalled that the company has made huge efforts in the past years to improve performance in environmental protection.

Our aim is to be good neighbour and to continue to work for the benefit of our shareholders, employees and their families, as well as local community where our company is doing business, he stressed. *RYHUQPHQW RI 6HUELD

$25MILLION IN COMPENSATION The assistant to the Minister of the Economy and Regional Development, 1HERMĂŁD ĂťLULĂź VWDWHG WKDW DURXQG Âź PLOlion will be set aside from the money paid for the Bor copper mining and smelting FRPSOH[ 57% IRU FRPSHQVDWLRQ WR WKH companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employees.

Ten thousand former employees and pensioners of RTB, who recently organised major protests in Bor and Majdanpek, and blocked the entry to RTB, think that they have a legal right to compensation.

Source:Beta GAZPROM WILL BUY NIS VERY SOON verything is ready for Gazpromâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major acquisition in Serbia, Dmitry Medvedev says. The Russian natural gas giantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s president of the board of directors was visiting Belgrade yesterday when he said all the pa-

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CorD / March 2008 43

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pers were now ready, and that a contract on the sale of Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil monopoly, NIS, will be signed â&#x20AC;&#x153;very soonâ&#x20AC;?. Medvedev, likely to win Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presidential ballot in Russia, also visited NIS refineries in 3DQĂžHYR MXVW QRUWK of Belgrade, and held a meeting with the management that was closed to the public. At the same time, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller signed an agreement with Srbijagas General Director 6DĂŁD ,OLĂź HVWDEOLVKLQJ D MRLQW 6HUER 5XVVLDQ company that will design and organize the construction of a trunk gas pipeline through Serbia. Both deals are a part of a broader energy sector co-operation deal between the two countries, signed in Moscow on 25th January, at the highest state level. NIS *HQHUDO 'LUHFWRU 6UĂżDQ %RĂŁQMDNRYLĂź VDLG after meeting with Medvedev that he agreed the deal should be signed as soon as possible, so that â&#x20AC;&#x153;real investment can beginâ&#x20AC;?.

Medvedev specified that the overall investment will stand at â&#x201A;Ź900million. Gazprom will, according to the protocol signed in January, acquire a 51 per cent stake in NIS for â&#x201A;Ź400million, and invest at least â&#x201A;Ź500million by 2012. A Serbian government delegation has travelled to Moscow on to conduct talks with an expert working group, set up to improve economic and trade ties between Serbia and Russia. One step already taken is visa abolishment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; government officials say all visas between the two countries will be abolished shortly, and explain this is very important â&#x20AC;&#x153;for strengthen-

ing future relations between Belgrade and Moscowâ&#x20AC;?.

Source: B92, Beta GREAT A INTEREST IN FREE SHARES ince the application for free shares started, 1.45 million citizens of Serbia have applied for them via PoĹĄte Srbije.

During that period, those citizens who did not have a current account opened 839,111 accounts in PoĹĄte Srbije, and commissions which register disabled people for free shares came out on the field 6,731 times.

The application for free shares in stateowned companies will last until 31st July this year. All citizens who reached legal age by the end of last year and Serbian citizenship by 3rd of January this year and had residence in Serbia on 30th June last year have the right to apply for free shares.

Another condition is to be registered on the electoral list and proof that they have not received any free shares so far. ID and the bank card of the bank in which citizens have an account are the only necessary documents, and PoĹĄtanska ĹĄtedionica will open an account for those who do not have one free of charge. Source:Tanjug

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INTENSIVE INVESTMENT IN EQUIPMENT epresentatives of the Italian company Biesse, which is one of the leading manufacturers of wood-processing machines in the world, claim that their researches showed Serbia will triple the furniture export within next two years.

Commercial Manager of Biesse for East (XURSH äHOMNR 6WXGHQ VXSSRUWHG VXFK claim with the data showing that Serbia invests â&#x201A;Ź1million in import of Biesse equip-

R

ment every month.

For comparison, monthly sales of Biesse machines on the Italian market amounts to â&#x201A;Ź4million.

Source: newbalkan, SIEPA TELENORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PROFIT he operational profit of Telenor in Serbia reached â&#x201A;Ź53.9million in 2007, stated Telenor Srbija.

The profit, i.e. gain before WD[ DQG LQWHUHVW (%,' ODVW \HDU ZDV PDGH on the basis of income which exceeded RSD 29 billions, i.e. â&#x201A;Ź365million. The executive director of finances of Telenor 6UELMD *DERU .RĂžLĂŁ VWDWHG WKDW FRPSDQ\ increased the number of clients in 2007 by almost half a million whereby the total number of subscribers reached 2.924 millions. In this way Telenor occupies 40% of the mobile telephony market in Serbia.

Since 2007, when Telenor purchased Mobi 63 for â&#x201A;Ź1.513billion, the number of users has increased by 700,000 new users. .RĂžLĂŁ HPSKDVLVHG WKDW 7HOHQRU KDV LQvested around RSD6.8billion, i.e. â&#x201A;Ź85million, in the extension and modernisation of the network in Serbia. In the last quarter of 2007, Telenorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income was â&#x201A;Ź92.5million, which is 30% more than in the same period last year.

Source:B92

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VIŠNJICA TO CHANGE OWNER XVLQHVVPDQ çRUÿL 1LFRYLß KDV DQnounced his intention to take over 5.96% of shares in the Viťnjica Company 9683 ,Q WKLV ZD\ KH ZRXOG EHFRPH WKH owner of 100% of the company shares, because he now has 15.3% of shares and his company, Irva Investments, owns 78.74%

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VOLVOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S L SUCCESSFUL SERBIAN COMEBACK

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ith a new authorised distributor, Grand Motors Company, Volvo automobiles have successfully come back to the Serbian market in 2007, after several yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; break. In Serbia Volvo have built a very good reputation in the past.

Official sales restarted last March, during the Belgrade Auto Fair, which coincided with the opening of a new Grand Motorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; business centre in New Belgrade.

Grand Motors is satisfied with initial sales results, and judging by the interest shown by potential buyers, they could be even better in 2008 - deliveries of between 160 and 180 automobiles of this famous and prestigious brand are expected.

In their implementation of that ambitious plan, the authorised distributor will certainly be assisted by a couple of new models, which are expected to arrive on the local market this year.

Amongst them are the new XC70, which can already be seen at the sales salon in New Belgrade.

Buyers in Serbia are especially interested in four-wheel-drive models. Amongst the traditional clients of that brand throughout 44 CorD / March 2008

the world, and also in Serbia, already for decades are diplomatic-consular representative offices, major companies, and others who cherish the proverbially high Swedish quality, comfort, durability and excellent driving performance.

Volvoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exclusive distributorship contract with Grand Motors brought many benefits to the owners of Volvo automobiles, who have purchased them earlier, because besides the original spare parts they are also offered expert service in a top notch service centre in New Belgrade.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE CULTURE L OF DRIVINGâ&#x20AC;? or the 78th time, the Geneva Motor Show will open itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doors this year. As of 4th March, the eyes of automobile journalists will focus on the second-largest city in Switzerland, when new cars from around the world are presented in the halls of the Geneva Palexpo. In total, more than 260 exhibitors will cover more than 82,000m2 of exhibition area. The organisers assume that the number of visitors this year will exceed last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s number of 730,000 visitors.

The Geneva International Motor Show is the only European Motor Show that takes place every year and counts as one of the Top 5 such shows worldwide. At this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz will be presenting four innovations in line with its motto â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Culture of Drivingâ&#x20AC;?: the new generations of the SL and the CLS will be celebrating their world premiere, and

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- making a total of 94.04% shares in the company.

According to data from the Belgrade Stock Exchangeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prospectus, ViĹĄnjica has 6,371,28 square metres of land on which %HOJUDGHÂśV UHVWDXUDQWV 0RUQDU 8ĂŁĂźH ,PD GDQD 'DĂžD 'HYHWND DQG %OHG WKH )RQWDQD business centre, the ToĹĄin bunar and Stara +HUFHJRYLQD EDUV WKH 'RUĂźRO VKRS DQG other premises are located.

The ownership transformation of this company started in 1991, when it started the sale of shares at a discount. Until 1999 7.8% of the capital became private, and in that year 10% of the capital was transferred to the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund and 60% was divided between employees and former employees.

The company increased the capital stock by selling shares at a discount from 1999 until 2006. ViĹĄnjicaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shares have been on the Stock Exchange since 4th February 2003 and the market stock increase is estimated at RSD465.65million. The share price on the Stock Exchange amounts to RSD2,840 and the last trade was marked on 1st February when 173 shares were sold at the price of RSD2,840 for the total of RSD491,320.

The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income in 2006 was RSD325.49million, while expenses totalled 304.84million. The net income was RSD19.54million. According to media reSRUWV 1LFRYLĂź RZQV VHYHUDO FRPSDQLHV LQFOXGLQJ 3,. %HĂžHM WKH 7R]D 0DUNRYLĂź construction company, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Prvi majâ&#x20AC;? textile company from Pirot and part of Kluz.

Source:Beta

the new generation of the SLK and the new CLC sports coupe will be providing further highlights. smart will be on hand with its entire model range, as well as a special model.

Maybach will feature the Landaulet, which is available to customers upon special request and unites luxury and comfort at the very highest level.

The 2008 Show symbolises dynamic interface between emotional response and environmental responsibility, which will form the spotlight in which the future of the motorcar will be presented.

SENTA T : BIO-ETHANOL REFINERY TO BE BUILT L

I

nternational bio-tech company Alltech is planning to build a bio-refinery for the production of bio-ethanol in Senta, Vojvodina.

The owner of the company, Pierce Lions, said that 70 per cent of production would come from corn and 30 per cent from cellulose.

Bio-ethanol will be produced using new technology being the first of a kind in Europe.

On the occasion of the announcement, Serbian Environmental Protection Minister, SaĹĄa Dragin, said that any green technology is welcome. Minister Dragin announced that the state is preparing some benefits for investments in such technologies.

Source: SIEPA

Ă˝2.$¡6 ,19(670(176 LQRSURGXNW Ă˝RND IURP 6XERWLFD KDV invested around a million euros in the Macedonian wine cellar, Ohrid, in which it has a 50% stake. &RPSDQ\ GLUHFWRU =RUDQ 7ULSNRYLĂź VDLG WKDW 9LQRSURGXNW Ă˝RND SODQV WR LQYHVW â&#x201A;Ź500,000 this year, and that the capacity of the Ohrid wine cellar is five million litres. He said that through a capital stock increase in August last year Vinoprodukt Ă˝RND EHFDPH WKH FR RZQHU RI WKH 2KULG wine cellar with the Eko Invest Company from Ohrid. The reason for purchasing this wine cellar in Ohrid was the quality on that market, said

V

7ULSNRYLĂź DGGLQJ WKDW WKH 6HUELDQ PDUket has a shortage of Macedonian wines, which is an additional reason for investments Source:Beta AGROKOR LEFT WITHOUT MIGROS urkish Koc Holding announced that they sold 50.08% of the shares in Migros for $1.65billion to the Moonlight Company, which is controlled by BC Partners. According to that price, the value of the biggest Turkish retail chain is 3.9 billion liras, 10% more than the current market price of that company, which is 3.53 billion liras.

There were indications that Croatian Agrokor, in co-operation with American investment company, Blackstone, would be the most likely owner of Migros. At that time a bid of $3.2billion was mentioned as the amount offered by Agrokor and Blackstone.

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A-TEC SECURES MONEY FOR RTB BOR ustrian A-Tec stated that the company has secured the money for purchasing the Bor copSHU PLQLQJ DQG VPHOWLQJ FRPSOH[ 57%

A-Tec, which signed the sales contract and contract on the transfer of exploitation rights in RTB Bor with the state, stated that the company has secured the money for closing the financial construction

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and taking over the assets of the biggest Serbian produce of copper and precious metals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the money for taking over RTB will be in cash, while we secured the rest from the loan approved by the consortium of western European banksâ&#x20AC;?, said the president and the major owner of A-Tec, Mirko .RYDĂž .RYDĂž GHQLHG UHSRUWV E\ VRPH PHGLD that the approved loan will be guaranteed by the RTB company assets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the contrary, since we are convinced of the value of RTB, A-Tec is prepared, if needed, to guarantee the whole financial transaction ZLWK LWV RZQ DVVHWV ´ HPSKDVLVHG .RYDĂž The Privatisation Agency confirmed to daily Blic that A-Tec has paid in the whole bank guarantee of ten million dollars for purchasing TRB Bor, but that the Austrian company has not yet provided the second guarantee of 60 million dollars. The agency claims that A-Tec has to deliver the second guarantee before paying in the sales price of $466million. The deadline is 25 working days since the signing of the contract, and considering that the contract was signed on 7th February A-Tec is supposed to provide the guarantee by 13th March.

6RXUFH %OLF 9HĂžHUQMD 1RYRVWL ISO 22000: 2005 TO SUNOCO ompany Sunoco was granted the ISO 22000:2005 certificate, established by the World Organisation for Standardisation, which refers to food secu-

C

rity management systems. This certificate was granted by SGS, which is the local representative of the World Organisation for Standardisation. Sunoco, the biggest domestic producer and exporter of sugar, was founded in June 2006.

Sunocoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major owner is German Nordzucker AG, the second largest sugar producer in Germany and the EU. 6XQRFR KDV IRXU VXJDU IDFWRULHV LQ 3HĂźLQFL .RYDĂžLFD %DĂž DQG 9UEDV DQG WKH\ ZHUH all issued with the ISO 22000:2005 certificate.

Sunacoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participation in the total production of sugar in Serbia is 49%.

Sunacoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investments in sugar factories totalled eight million euros in 2006, and 13 million in 2007. In 2008 the company is planning to invest five million euros in its four sugar factories. The aim is to achieve higher quality sugar and to reduce the energy and production expenses.

PRIVATE BANKING t the end of December 2007, UniCredit Bank opened a branch specialising in services in the field of private banking. This branch is the first one of its kind in Serbia. The basic condition for a person to become a client of UniCredit Bank in the field of private banking is a portfolio of â&#x201A;Ź200,000 minimum in the bank or a monthly income of over â&#x201A;Ź5,000.

UniCredit Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private banking manages a portfolio of 12 million euros for 44 clients, and is intended for those who need sophisticated banking services. It offers

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TEAM VISA FIGHTS FOR SERBIA AT THE OLYMPICS

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ebruary saw Visa commence its national sponsorship programme â&#x20AC;&#x153;Team Visaâ&#x20AC;? in Serbia.

Team Visa combines the popularity and authority of legendary Olympic KHURHV ³2O\PSLF PHQWRUV DPEDVVDGRUV´ ZLWK WKH SRVLWLYH LPSDFW WKH\ would have on new, young Olympians and para-Olympians.

This project shows the dedication of Visa to the Olympic movement, national Olympic committees and national teams, which is an important factor providing for the continued success of the Olympic games.

Visa International will support a big group of Olympic hopefuls all around the world, by offering direct financial contributions and assistance through Team Visaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Olympic mentors.

The Visa Team for Central Europe, the Middle East and $IULFD &(0($ LQFOXGHV HOHYHQ WDOHQWHG VSRUWVPHQ ZKR DUH offered a chance to co-operate with three Olympic heroes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Alexei Nemov, Sergey Bubka, and Rick Nettling, who shall be mentors to young sportsmen.

46 CorD / March 2008

them a wide range of products and services, which are adapted to their individual wants and needs. Private banking includes advice in the process of property management, i.e. preserving and increasing assets, investment banking, broker services as well as advice in the real estate field.

TOURISM FAIR he recently finished International Tourism Fair in Belgrade, the biggest of its kind in the region, gathered over 800 domestic and foreign tourist organisations, major tourist agencies, hotels, banks, insurance companies and ticket reservation systems, which offered their programmes for the forthcoming spring and summer season. For the first time, tourist organisations from Austria and Croatiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dalmatian coast, and one tourist agency from Australia, had their stands at the Belgrade Tourism Fair.

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ASTRA FROM KRAGUJEVAC t was agreed in the negotiations in Germany that experts from Opel become involved in the preparations for the production of the Astra Classic in the Zastava vehicles factory in Kragujevac, which is supposed to start in the second half of this year. Zastava announced that the tender for the procurement of the new production equipment will be announced in the next few days. This is supposed to be a big investment achievement, similar to that before the production of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Zastava 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; model.

6RXUFH 'DQDV

I

Team Visaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian members are three sporting hopefuls for the Olympic and Paralympics teams to compete for Serbia in Beijing later this year. The Serbian WHDP FRQVLVWV RI /LGLMD 0LKDLORYLĂź FXUrently ranked third in the world in air rifle VKRRWLQJ %RULVODYD 3HULĂź 3DUDO\PSLFV games participant in table tennis and number one of the world ranking list for Beijing, and Goran Jagar, one of the most promising young rowers.

Speaking about the Team Visa proJUDPPH 9ODGLPLU Ä&#x2C6;RUĂżHYLĂź 9LVD UHSresentative for Serbia and Montenegro, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We support Visa Team throughout the region of Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, because the Olympics trigger pride in us regarding the national team; it celebrates national differences by cheering the domestic sports heroes.

That is also a way in which Visa CEMEA tries to raise the future of the Olympics by investment to a new level; to help and stimulate young sportsmen to use their abilities in the best way; to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things, as well as to assist the next generation of top sportsmen in achieving their dreamsâ&#x20AC;&#x153;.

NEW VOLKSWAGEN SALES-SERVICE CENTRE OPENS

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s one of the biggest European distributors in the field of automobile industry, Porsche Holding continues to expand its presence in Serbia by respecting all its top standards established in other European countries.

Porsche Belgrade 6HYHU 1RUWK LV D QHZ sales-service centre for the Volkswagen brand, worth around â&#x201A;Ź7million, that opened its doors to the public on 8th January 2008. The newly constructed facility is located in the Belgrade municipality of Palilula, at Zrenjaninski put 11.

Porsche New Belgrade, authorised dealer and servicing agent for the Volkswagen brand, started to work in April 2004. It quickly succeeded in securing an important slice of the market.

Addresses press and guests at the centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opening, Manolito 9XMLĂžLĂź *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU RI 3RUVFKH 6&* H[SODLQHG WKH FRPSDnyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress to date, saying that Company Porsche SCG, which has been in Serbia and Montenegro since January 2004, as a subsidiary of Austrian Porsche Holding, became the General Importer and Distributor for Volkswagen brand economy and passenger vehicles,

WASHING MACHINES FROM VALJEVO

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orenje is planning to open a washing and drying machines factory in Valjevo. The director of Gorenje Valjevo, 0LUNR 0HĂĽD VDLG that this company is interested in purchasing another five hectares of land near the present company premises and to build a factory for washing machines. They would initially employ 200 people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The factory could be finished by 2009, and we are currently negotiating to get 340 thousand euros from the SIEPA programme for employing 200 new people in this Greenfield LQYHVWPHQW´ VDLG 0HĂĽD 7KH GLUHFWRU RI Gorenje in Valjevo noticed that negotiations with Valjevo Municipality regarding the land â&#x20AC;&#x153;are not going easilyâ&#x20AC;? because â&#x20AC;&#x153;it seems that politics have also become involved here tooâ&#x20AC;?. He also mentioned the possibility that the next investment in Valjevo could be a tools factory for Gorenjeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs.

Source:Beta

NEW FERRARIPLAST FACTORY SECTION he Ferrariplast production section in Sombor, in which more than million euros was invested will be completed by the end of March. The company di-

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as well as Audi, Seat and Porsche vehicles in 2004. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Besides the importerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job, we are developing and expanding our own dealersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; network, by opening up retail sales outlets in Serbia. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have started with two facilities, in a rented space; Porsche Belgrade IRU EUDQGV $XGL DQG 6HDW

and Porsche New Belgrade IRU EUDQGV 9RONVZDJHQ DQG 3RUVFKH

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In March 2006 we opened up a dealership facility, Porsche Novi Sad, where we sell and service passenger and economy programme for Volkswagen, and in August the same year we established the first object in our ownership, Porsche Belgrade Ada, the biggest sales-service centre in this region for brands Audi, Porsche and Seat.â&#x20AC;?

He continued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, in your presence, we are opening up Porsche Belgrade Sever â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the biggest and most modern regional centre for sales and servicing of Volkswagen brand vehicles, constructed in accordance with the high European standards of Volkswagen AG. â&#x20AC;&#x153;By opening up the biggest regional centre - Porsche Belgrade Sever - we are showing that we have a serious presence on the Serbian market and that we intend to continue our growth and expansion.â&#x20AC;?

UHFWRU 'DQLOR %XOXWLĂź VDLG WKDW WKH SURduction section of the plastic producer, Ferrariplast, majority owned by the Italian company, Thermoplast, will have 4,000 VTXDUH PHWUHV $FFRUGLQJ WR %XOXWLĂź DIter this object, the construction of a production hall of 6,000 square metres is also planned which will be used as storage space and space for assembling final products.

Source:Beta EXPORT BAN ON WHEAT CONTINUES 00,000 tonnes of duty free wheat could be secured from import, in order to

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meet demand and control the prices. This was announced by Minister of Agriculture 6ORERGDQ 0LORVDYOMHYLĂź ZKR VDLG WKDW KH would propose extension of the export ban on wheat and corn until the next harvest.

The minister says that until then the required quantities of wheat and the entire yield would be defined. In the meantime, 200,000 tonnes of duty free wheat could be secured from import, in order to fill the Serbian demand and control the market SULFHV 0LORVDYOMHYLĂź DGGHG WKDW WKH GHFLsion on import permit for wheat could be expected in a couple of weeks. The ban was introduced last August after a drought that significantly reduced the crop yields.

Source: Beta, EM Online NEW PRESIDENT OF NIS MANAGEMENT BOARD he former general director of NIS, 6UĂżDQ %RĂŁQMDNRYLĂź KDV EHHQ HOHFWed president of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managePHQW ERDUG %RĂŁQMDNRYLĂź LV D PHPEHU RI the Democratic Party of Serbia to which, according to the coalition agreement, the position in the national petrol company belongs. So far he was considered as the most serious candidate for the president of Srbijagas. According to media reports, the rival for the position of the first man of NIS was the former Telekom director, 'UDĂŁNR 3HWURYLĂź %RĂŁQMDNRYLĂź KDV EHHQ WKH JHQHUDO GLUHF-

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CorD / March 2008 47

B2B DHL CENTRE FOR THE REGION

G

eneral Manager of DHL International Beograd, Darko Babic, announced that DHL plans to introduce daily flights from the DHL centre in Leipzig to Belgrade, thus making the Serbian capital a key link between the Western Balkans and the rest of the world.

Belgrade will be receiving express DHL deliveries from Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, which will then be forwarded throughout the world.

Source: newbalkan.com

HALF A MILLION CUSTOMERS

tor of NIS since May 2006, and before that he was the executive director of the NISTNG branch.

Source: B92, Politika SWISSLION VALUED AT A BILLION EUROS he owner of Swisslion Takovo, 5RGROXE 'UDĂŁNRYLĂź VDLG WKDW YDOue of this food company is over one bilOLRQ HXURV 'UDĂŁNRYLĂź FODLPV WKDW WKLV FRQcern is not planning to purchase any company in Croatia or Slovenia, because it is more profitable to build new factories than to renovate the old ones. Draskovic em-

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phasised that that he is intending to focus on the development of the food industry and to build factories and invest in modern technologies and equipment.

The owner of Swislion Takovo announced that the project for the construction of the modern milk producing factory which will cost â&#x201A;Ź15million in the first phase will soon reach completion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole project is supposed to start in 2008 and in the next three years we will extend the dairy selection with all kinds of fruit yogurt, special cheeses and even ice FUHDPV´ VDLG 'UDĂŁNRYLĂź Source:Beta

V

ip mobile gave a review presentation of its activities in 2007. In six months than half a million customers joined Vip. During this period of time prepaid, postpaid and small business offers were launched. In addition, Vip vas the first to introduce BlackBerry from Vodafone to the Serbian market. As largest Greenfield investment, Vip invested â&#x201A;Ź99.4million in 2007, employed 445 local experts and opened 20 own sales centers by the end

AUDI

L

ate January saw an official promotion of the new Audi A4 at the Audi salon with sales-service centre Porsche Belgrade Ada. Around 400 invitees attended the promotion.

Amongst them were media representatives, representatives of the diplomatic community and many other important persons from the world of fashion and arts.

After the official promotion, guests had a unique opportunity to enjoy the real Audi atmosphere and in the voice of Vlada Georgijev, who embellished the day with his mini-concert!

The new Audi A4 is brisk, light and very precise for driving. It is a supreme sports automobile with excellent road performance. With its construction, the new A4 unveils its sporting, progressive character.

The engines driving this passenger model represent a combination of perfectly distributed power and a high utilisation level, enabling us a new way of driving. Compared with the previous mod-

48 CorD / March 2008

el, new A4 is launched with the selection of five strong, state of the art engines.

The new A4 model is a car showing the outer world one sure peculiarity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; impression based on wide, low set sport-like shaped decorative coolerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mask.

Xenon front headlights, as an additional option, are a technical work of art, with a strong visual accent deriving from their electro-chromed â&#x20AC;&#x153;wingsâ&#x20AC;? and standard daily light for driving, each daily light for driving consists of 14 white LED lamps.

This modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior has a clear survey and very attractive appearance. Inside the new A4 model there is a feeling of light and spaciousness that would suit an automobile of much higher category.

The new A4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sporty behaviour on the road and the comfort of a big automobile were the end goals of the new A4 model dealt with

by Audiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Designers.

TREND OF THE FUTURE At the biggest fair of mobile telecommunications in the world, company CiscoÂŽ presented its solutions for modern needs of mobility. isco, a global leader in the production of network solutions presented applications for mobile access at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Promising to change the way in which people connect, co-operate and access their data in movement, including entertaining contents, Cisco management explained that those services represent a strategic opportunity for service providers to address the needs of users to have access to information and to be online from any place at any time.

Mobility offers the opportunity for people to move freely, and simultaneously to be incessantly connected to the Internet and connected with others, using the device as they choose. Mobility enables people to cooperate better and more effectively during movement, which is inspiring a new productivity wave.

Amongst the solutions demonstrated by Cisco to conference attendees, there are solutions for mobile broadcasting of televiVLRQ FRQWHQWV '9% + 0RELOH 7HOHYLVLRQ 6ROXWLRQ DV ZHOO DV

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solutions enabling exchange of contents between devices like television set, computer and other mobile deYLFHV 7KUHH 6FUHHQ 9LGHR )L[HG Mobile Communications or so-called Mobile Office is a solution enabling service providers to offer to companies and small and medium size companies flexible environment for transfer of data, voice and exchange of messages. We shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget Broadband Wireless, portfolio end-to-end broadband wireless solutions, amongst which are Wireless Mesh Network, WiMAX radio network, ASN Gateway and the others.

Besides numerous mobile solutions presented at the Congress, a course intended for professionals in the field of service providing has also been presented in Barcelona. This program has been envisaged following the initiative of Cisco Company, in cooperation with GSM Association, with a goal to offer training to engineers, in order to use Internet technologies to develop and use new services based on Internet protocol, and which would enable their users to be on-line and active in business in any place any time.

of that year. Vip finished last year with almost six percent of market share.

EU METHODOLOGY: JANUA U RY INFLATION A A AT 0.9% nflation in Serbia in January, measured by the EU methodology monitoring consumer prices, was 0.9%. This was announced yesterday by the Statistical Office, RSZ, in Belgrade. The result shows that prices were up 11.5% on January last year.

The EU methodology measures the inflation by the average change of retail prices and those of personal services. It takes into account the price of apartment rents, financial, education and catering services. The RZS used its own methodology to come up with the same inflation figure for the first month of this year.

Source: B92

I

BELGRADE SALE SCRUTINISED report is questioning the sale of a 40-per cent stake in the Port of Belgrade company.

The September 2005 acquisition by Luxembourg-based Worldfin, cost the state at least â&#x201A;Ź21millionn, the report claims.

Chairwoman of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Anti&RUUXSWLRQ &RPPLVLRQ 9HULFD %DUDĂź VD\V that the state has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;seriously harmed by the privatisation of the Port of Belgrade and that such a privatisation allowed a monopolyâ&#x20AC;?. According to the commission, the â&#x201A;Ź21million figure is the difference between the estimated value of stocks of the port, and the paid price. The purchase price was RSD800 per share, while the estimated value was 1,774.

Source: B92, Beta

A

CorD / March 2008 49

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FROM THE WORLD PRESS

SE RT S E IA B O VO R F EF H T UT URE BY : NYT EDITORIAL UB P ISH L D:6TH FEBRUAR E Y 2008 erbia’s voters wisely chose future hopes over past resentments in handing a narrow but important re-election victory to President Boris Tadic.

Mr. Tadic is a rare moderate in a country too often tempted by the siren songs of demagogues. He wants to ally Serbia with the West, though he opposes the European Union-backed plan for conditional independence for the province of Kosovo.

And he favors cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal that is still seeking justice for the 1990s Balkan horrors. His defeated challenger urged closer ties with Moscow and threatened vigorous resistance to independence for Kosovo.

Mr. Tadic’s re-election makes it possible to avoid the worst dangers surrounding Kosovo’s long-delayed independence. That will require patience and sensitivity on the part of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leaders — and their supporters in Washington and Brussels — and political courage from Mr. Tadic. Washington and Brussels also need to quickly find ways to strengthen Mr. Tadic’s hand.

Mr. Tadic’s presidential majority was slim, and his parliamentary position is even more precarious, and depends on support from more nationalist elements. Kosovo’s independence is no longer negotiable.

But rather than forcing an immediate crisis, the West should urge the Kosovars to wait a few more months before declaring independence. The European Union could make clear to all Serbs the rewards of moderation by quickly lowering some trade and travel barriers.

Europe rightly insists that Serbia cannot join its Balkan neighbors on the path to formal membership until it turns over the leaders who orchestrated the mass killings in Bosnia. Brussels is prepared to sign an

S

interim agreement with Serbia this week to maintain momentum until the war criminals are delivered to the tribunal.

Serbia’s voters and politicians have been slow to come to terms with the crimes and consequences of Slobodan Milosevic’s murderous dictatorship. Mr. Tadic’s reelection is a hopeful sign that many of them, if still not able to fully acknowledge that past, are prepared to embrace a more constructive, realistic future.

SE RIA B D N A S O KO VO ;E S LSO S N RM F OA S ET T IMR O BY : VARIOUS AUTHORS UB P ISH L D: 17TH FEBRUAR E Y 2008 s one of those lawyers who does “fret over precedent” (Roger Cohen, “Europe’s new state,” Globalist, Feb. 14), I fear that the looming independence of Kosovo will prove to be too strong a temptation for other ethno-secessionist movements to resist.

While independence may now be the only viable option for Kosovo, the prospect of trapping 100,000 Serbs in a state that they reject is no more appealing (or morally justifiable) than trapping 2 million Albanians in Serbia. The one option that might have led to a mutually agreeable solution - a minimal partition of Kosovo, allowing the area north of the Ibar and its 50,000 Serbs to remain within Serbia - has been consistently rejected by so-called mediators, without explanation. The facts on the ground speak otherwise, however, and one awaits with curiosity the justifications to be given by NATO and the UN for rejecting Serbian self-determination, having championed it for Kosovars.

Hurst Hannum, Professor of public law, University of Hong Kong Roger Cohen asserts that Slobodan Milosevic “gambled away Kosovo long ago with his murderous nationalism” and

A

that Serbs should now look forward to the West instead of East. While it is probably true that 20 years ago Milosevic gave the Kosovo Liberation Army a good pretext to light the fire of what would become a NATO-backed war for independence, it is the West at Yalta in 1945 that traded away Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia when Churchill and Roosevelt decided to let Tito’s Communists rule this country.

Had the West prevented this Balkan region from falling into Communist hands after World War II, Kosovo and Serbia (individually or as a part of Yugoslavia) would have no doubt long ago followed the rest of Western Europe’s path to democracy and the European Economic Community.

Marco Popov, Opio, France Lessons from East Timor The attempted assassination of President José Ramos Horta and other leaders of East Timor shows the vulnerability of the country’s democracy. But it is also an opportunity to take an important step toward building the state.

At the time of my last visit as president of the Portuguese Republic, in February 2006, divisions were beginning to appear among the East Timor defense forces. During my talks with all the Timorese leaders, especially with President Xanana Gusmão and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, I underlined the need of the government to support its senior officers.

Unfortunately, the presence of international military forces, including detachments of the Portuguese National Republican Guard, under the framework of the United Nations continues to be necessary for security reasons. They should

never have left.

The lesson to be taken from the crisis is the need to impose the authority of the state and of the armed forces of East Timor with firmness, for they can no longer tolerate an ambiguous co-existence with armed rebels.

Ramos Horta will have the opportunity to unite the Timorese leaders within the Council of State and other institutions. The leaders who founded the Timorese state, such as Xanana Gusmão, Ramos Horta and Mari Alkatiri, must show that they continue united in essential matters.

This will not be the last crisis. But preventing the first new democratic state of the 21st century from becoming yet another failed state lies largely in the hands of Portugal, Australia and the UN. It would be a mistake to give up halfway. This warrants continued international effort and cooperation in East Timor.

Jorge Sampaio, Lisbon The writer is the former president of Portugal

IT R E T N LA A N IO N MMUN O C Y IT DIV IDD EV R E O RE ITF N G O C O S O KO VO BY : DW STAFF (NDA) UB P ISH L D: 18TH FEBRUAR E Y 2008 he divisions over Kosovo’s independence, clearly seen in the different reactions on the streets of Pristina and Belgrade, are forcing members of the international community to choose sides.

While the street sweepers of Belgrade and Pristina had very similar tasks on the morning of Monday, Feb. 18, it was the differences of their clean-up operations which summed up the feelings not only of their country folk but those of the international community at large.

In Kosovo’s capital, the detritus of celebration littered the streets as the sun rose on the country’s first full day of self-declared independence from Serbia. Tens of thousands of people celebrated long into the night in central Pristina on Sunday in recognition of the Kosovo parliament’s formal vote to break from Serbia, a move that completed the conflict-strewn breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

However, as the first rays of light settled on Belgrade, the night’s events in the

T

Serbian capital told a different story.

The rubble, broken glass and spent tear gas canisters spoke volumes about the Serbian response: Riots in protest against Kosovo’s declaration had swept through the streets for several hours, with the wrath of the crowd focused on the symbols of those they perceived as helping tear Serbian’s heartland province away.

Riot police battled hundreds of youths with batons after the baying mob had smashed two McDonald’s restaurants and attacked the US and Slovenian embassies with stones. Hospital officials said at least 50 people, including 20 policemen, were injured during the rioting, but none seriously.

Earlier, in the south of Serbia, members of the Kosovo police service stopped several hundred former Serbian army reservists dressed in military uniforms from crossing into the province ahead of the declaration.

International reactions reflect divide Away from the streets, the international community soon began positioning itself in the two camps of “for” and “against.”

The trickle of responses began early, with those opposing the move striking quickly.

Serbia’s President Boris Tadic attempted to calm fears of escalating violence by speaking diplomatically, but the message was clear: Serbia would not recognize this new Kosovo and would work to stop its independence in its tracks.

“Serbia has reacted and will react with all peaceful, diplomatic and legal means to annul this act committed by Kosovo’s institutions,” he said.

Serbia’s main ally, Russia, soon threw its considerable weight behind Tadic’s message by calling a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the issue late Sunday, but failed to secure backing for its call to declare Kosovo’s declaration “null and void.”

China expressed concern about the effects Kosovo’s declaration would have on peace in the Balkans, urging the two governments to work out their problems through dialogue.

“Kosovo’s unilateral act can produce a series of results that will lead to seriously negative influence on peace and stability in the Balkan region and on the reali-

zation of building a multiethnic society in Kosovo, which China is deeply concerned about,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

“China calls on the two sides of Serbia and Kosovo to continue to seek a proper solution through negotiation within the framework of international law, and the international community should create favorable conditions for this,” he added.

Concerns over wave of separatist declarations Sri Lanka, a country with its own problems with separatism, said it was concerned about Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, as it could set a precedent in other parts of the world and hurt nations.

“The unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could set an unmanageable precedent in the conduct of international relations, the established global order of sovereign states and could thus pose a grave threat to international peace and security,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “This action by Kosovo is a violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which enshrines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.”

Sri Lankan forces have been fighting a 25-year insurgency by Tamil separatists, who want an independent homeland in the east and north of the island.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that her country would not recognize an independent Kosovo, saying it was never the government’s position to offer diplomatic recognition in such circumstances.

“We neither recognize nor not recognize,” she said. “We are not intending to make a formal statement.”

Supporters say stability comes from recognition Australia led the early calls of support for independent Kosovo, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announcing that Australia would recognize the new state.

“The sorry history of Kosovo means that we’ve got to do whatever we can do to ensure the citizens of that part of the world are protected into the future,” Rudd said. “This would appear to be the right course of action. That’s why diplomatical-

FROM THE WORLD PRESS

ly we would extend diplomatic recognition at the earliest opportunity.”

Taiwan’s independence-leaning government echoed Australia’s stance.

“Self-determination is a right recognized by the United Nations, and it is the people who are masters of their nation’s future,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “In no way should the independence of one nation be denied by another.

“Taiwan is a member of the international community that cherishes democracy and freedom, and the government is delighted that the people of Kosovo have the fruits of independence, democracy and freedom to look forward to,” it said.

Western powers biding their time The United States and the European Union were to make formal statements later in the day, but were both expected to recognize the new Kosovo, despite a split over independence in the EU. Britain, France, Germany and Italy are expected to officially give recognition, but Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Bulgaria have all expressed their opposition.

Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, told reporters that he understood that “many EU member states” would recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“I understand that many EU member states will recognize” Kosovo’s independence, he said as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, adding that there was likely to be “a lively discussion.”

“Recognition is not a matter for the EU as a whole. It’s member states who will decide,” he added.

“I cannot tell you what we shall conclude at the end, but certainly I expect that we shall continue with this tradition of unity that we have established” with the creation of a new EU justice mission to Kosovo, said Rupel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would not make a decision on the recognition of Kosovo yet, as the main priority was for the European Union to act together on Kosovo.

“Germany will not take a decision [on the recognition of Kosovo] today. The aim is to have a platform of unity within the EU, on which each member state can act,” Merkel told Germany’s Foreign Press Association (VAP).

SE RIA BIV S E G RE MN D I R EF O DE EUN C N IA F DR E MIL SE O IC V %< 9(61$ 3(5,û =,021-,û IN BELGRADE PUBLISHED: 23RD FEBRUARY 2008 erbia’s relationship with the EU is in crisis after Belgrade’s failure to intervene to halt violence sparked by the West’s endorsement of Kosovo’s independence.

After almost eight years of bridgebuilding with its European neighbours, Serbia this week witnessed scenes reminiscent of the Milosevic era. Anti-Western feelings have been stoked by the authorities with even American television shows pulled off state television. An attack by rioters on the US embassy on Thursday night left one person dead and has raised fears of further violence.

The US and UN condemned the events in Belgrade but the EU warned that a failure to clamp down on violence could harm Serbia’s prospects of eventual EU membership and the promise of millions of euros in aid and free trade concessions. “These acts of violence lead nowhere and they cannot help anybody,” said the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “Things will have to calm down before we can recuperate the climate that will allow for any contact to move on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.”

His rebuke came as EU defence ministers met in Slovenia to consider their reaction to the crisis and the risk of violence spreading to Serb parts of Bosnia. The EU commissioner for enlargement, Olli Rehn, said: “I appeal for calm in Serbia and in the wider region. We urge all Serbian politicians to call for restraint and avoid statements that could further inflame the situation.”

But President Vladimir Putin yesterday issued a sharp warning to the West about the consequences of recognising Kosovo’s independence. The com-

S

ments, made during an informal meeting of leaders from ex-Soviet republics, were the strongest by the Russian leader since Sunday when Kosovo made its declaration of independence.

“The Kosovo precedent is a terrifying precedent,” he said. He added that those who have recognised Kosovo “are miscalculating what they are doing. In the end, this is a stick with two ends and that other end will come back to knock them on the head someday.”

The recent election of the pro-Western president Boris Tadic had bolstered hopes that Serbia would move to tighten ties, eventually leading to inclusion in the EU family, but the declaration of independence by Kosovo has revitalised the nationalist hardliners, including the Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

After blocking the signing of an interim agreement with the EU earlier this month, he helped organise Thursday’s rally of a 250,000 people. “[It] was magnificent and showed what the people of Serbia thought about Kosovo,” said Mr Kostunica. “Most of all, Serbia’s youth has sent a message that Serbia is for law, justice and freedom and that it rejects the bullying policy of Western countries.”

But it was from this crowd that several hundred young men broke off to smash their way into the US embassy. Police yesterday confirmed that the charred remains of a young man had been found in the embassy, but did not reveal his identity, and said that they had arrested almost 200 people. Around 130 people were injured in the clashes, including 50 police officers.

Belgrade residents expressed anger at the government for not moving to curb the violence sooner. For many, the atmosphere is reminiscent of the anti-Western sentiment whipped up into a fury following the Nato bombing in 1999, when Mr Milosevic was trying to cling to power and prevent the collapse of what remained of Yugoslavia. Different nationalist groups are also distributing leaflets in the capital with calls for a boycott of international banks and imported goods in shopping malls all over Serbia.

“This is ridiculous,” said analyst Misa Brkic. “More than 35,000 people in Belgrade work in international banks, which are mixed Serb and international companies. Self-isolation of such kind can bring nothing good.”

This was a view echoed across the new border in Kosovo, by the Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci. In an interview with AP, he called on Serbs to reject old habits: “My message to Serbs in Serbia is to look forward and not to work with the mentality of the past, with the mentality of Milosevic’s time.”

FO IR R W ES K DD O L P X E E. RS O H NE R WE SO UN DD E. SO E H T N IO T A N FO O S KO RT C D E A E

D N A VO S A W

BY: PETER POPHAM IN PRIŠTINA PUBLISHED: 18TH FEBRUARY 2008 “It’s the biggest day for a million years!” declared an ecstatic Kosovar, celebrating his country’s independence along with tens of thousands of other ethnic Albanians in Pristina last night.

Fireworks exploded over the city, thousands of cars paraded through the streets, horns blaring and bonnets strung with Albanian flags, while men and women in traditional costume banged drums and danced and sang.

Kosovo became the world’s 193rd nation state yesterday. For the Albanians who constitute 90 per cent of Kosovo’s people, the declaration marked the end of generations of oppression by Serbs, who claim Kosovo as their historic homeland but for centuries have accounted for a minority of its population. Yet for all the euphoria, there was a decorous, almost sombre edge to the festivities. Kosovo takes to the world stage with the less than unanimous backing of Europe and amid angry denunciations by Serbia and Russia.

The declaration of independence by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was immediately followed by a statement from his Serb counterpart, Vojislav Kostunica, vowing that Serbia would never recognise it. In Mitrovica, the main flashpoint of ethnic tensions during the Balkans’ dark days, grenades were thrown, although they caused no injuries. Jubilant Kosovars shrugged off the threat.

“We don’t worry about Serbia,” said Mehmet Osmani, 49, a Pristina businessman celebrating with his brother. “Serbia lost Kosovo totally in 1999. This is the last moment they can tell us what to do – now we are equal. The Serbs are nervous now but in time they will calm down. And that goes for Serbians living in Kosovo. No one will do them any harm.”

Nine years after the Nato bombing campaign – sparked by fears that Slobodan Milosevic was planning ethnic cleansing against the Kosovars – the country’s 39year-old Prime Minister announced the long-awaited birth of the new country.

“This day has been long in coming,” he said, “But ... from this moment on, Kosovo is proud, independent and free.”

The former guerrilla and political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army showed scant emotion as he read out the declaration. Referring to his own life, he said: “My family, like yours ... never wavered and never lost faith in our countrymen. From the brother who left his family to fight, to the farmer who would not cede his land, to the women and men who opened their homes and taught our children, to the student who stood up and said ‘No more’ ... we never wavered and never lost faith in our countrymen.”

MPs cheered as Kosovo’s new flag, with the country’s outline on yellow under six gold stars on a dark blue background was hoisted above the assembly. Also witnessing the scene was the family of the late writer turned pacifist leader Ibrahim Rugova, the man who did more than anyone to foster Kosovo’s sense of destiny.

This was not the first time Kosovo has declared itself independent – Mr Rugova announced it way back in 1992.

Seven miserable years followed during which the government of Milosevic drove Albanians out of public life to keep the province in subjection. Kosovo has been straining at the leash ever since Serbia’s defeat in the 1999 bombing campaign but was held back by the compulsion of its international backers to obtain international consensus for the move. It never arrived.

After a year of intensive negotiations with both sides, the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari concluded that a compromise between Serbs and Kosovars was impossible, and instead recommended “independence supervised by the international community”.

That was expected to become a reality last year until Russia changed its mind and vetoed the proposal in the UN Security Council.

It has been nearly a year since Mr Ahtisaari’s report was delivered but the EU, stiffened by the US, has finally got up the courage to defy Moscow and Belgrade.

As Mr Thaci underlined before parliament, the challenges this tiny state faces are daunting. With the youngest population in Europe, 40 per cent unemployment and little in the way of industry or exports, it will have a hard job making its way in the world. Serbia has long threatened to implement a “secret plan” of retaliation if Kosovo broke away, which could include cuts in energy exports and road blockades. Serbia has also threatened diplomatic and trade measures against states that recognise Kosovo’s independence.

Mr Thaci’s speech was filled with references to the multi-ethnic nature of the new state. But the Serb government has instructed Kosovo’s Serbians to boycott its institutions and has vowed to regain the province.

Ever since the end of the war, Kosovo’s Serbians have followed orders from Belgrade to ignore the Albanian administration while accepting the role of the UN and Nato. With the UN mission Unmik to be phased out and replaced by a 2,000strong European force of police, prosecutors and judges, relations with the Serbians are likely to worsen, as Belgrade has condemned the EU mission as illegal.

Yesterday, hand grenades aside, there were no signs of the violence of Kosovo’s earlier rites of passage. Kosovars had been implored by their government to “celebrate independence with dignity for a bright start”. “If I am happy, the Serbians should be happy, too,” said one reveller last night. “Every Serbian who is honest and did not commit crimes is welcome to live with us.”

SOCIETY

TALES FROM THE BIG PLUM

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

You know your street address, but do you know who it’s named after?

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In 2004 about 50 street names were changed, and the process continues today.The initial changes caused celebration among many Serbs, since the old signs conjured up negative communist-era connotations (Dosvidanya, Lenin Boulevard!). Some were given back their former names RI 6HUELDQ KLVWRULFDO Ã&#x20AC;JXUHV ´%XOHYDU 2VRORERÄ&#x201E;HQMDµ RU /LEHUDWLRQ %RXOHYDUG probably pleased everybody, leaving interpretation wide open from whom the liberation was: the Turks, the Germans, a regimeâ&#x20AC;¦

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SOCIETY

IVICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EDGE

Institutional mafia We could say that the public is rightly upset by the fact that almost every day some new ´PDĂ&#x20AC;DÂľ DSSHDUV LQ 6HUELD $V VRRQ DV RQH UHFRYHUV IURP WKH VKRFN RI GLVFRYHULQJ WKDW there are people who actually charge for passing exams and, thus, are members of the VR FDOOHG HGXFDWLRQ PDĂ&#x20AC;D RQH Ă&#x20AC;QGV DQRWKHU RUJDQLVHG FULPLQDO RUJDQLVDWLRQ LV ZDLWLQJ DURXQG WKH FRUQHU ,I RQH UHDOO\ ZDQWV WR IROORZ WKH DFWLYLWLHV RI DOO WKRVH PDĂ&#x20AC;D FDUHIXOO\ RQH ZLOO QHHG ORWV RI SDWLHQFH WRQQHV RI SDSHU IRU QRWHV DQG WKH HQWKXVLDVP RI D PLQHU

BY ,9,&$ 3(7529,Ăť f you find out about the existence of the transport mafia today, by tomorrow you will have heard that the sports mafia has been uncovered. After that, you will find other mafia goons lining up as though attending a formal event in the film, the Godfather. You will find out that the pharmaceutical mafia, the sports mafia, the construction mafia, education, drugs mafia, people trafficking mafia, the road mafia, etc., are all operating in Serbia and, on the whole, have been completely overlooked in Serbia.

At first glance, ordinary people welcome every success of discovering and bringing to justice these aforementioned â&#x20AC;&#x153;mafiasâ&#x20AC;?. The average citizen will certainly tell you that these gangsters have made themselves far too comfortable in Serbia, and are endangering the livelihoods of ordinary people, as well as that the fight against organised crime and corruption is something that we all demand from politicians.

Politicians declaratively fulfil the wishes of their voters; the fight against crime and corruption is highly ranked in all electoral campaign promises. Moreover, it cannot be said that those promises have not been at least partially fulfilled, because in the last several years the police have achieved extraordinary successes in uncovering and bringing down various mafia groups. However, problems of false successes arise if you recall some of those mafia a few months later and attempt to find out what happened to those people, who were arrested in such a spectacular fashion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; most commonly in the presence of TV cameras â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and who were sent to appear before judicial organs to answer to the serious evidence collected. You will tend to find that those trials are still ongoing, that some of the accused have been released again, and that

I

60 CorD / March 2008

,YLFD 3HWURYLĂź

Turbo-folk megastar Svetlana ´&HFDÂľ 5D]QMDWRYLĂ˝ was arrested during Operation Sabre in 2003, and was again accused as part of the recent football PDĂ&#x20AC;D VFDQGDO

the original serious charges have been reduced to the level of negligible misdemeanours.

On one side, these shortcomings serve to prove the critics of the judicial system right.

It can often be heard that the Serbian judicial system has not been sufficiently reformed, and that this is one of the basic problems of transitional Serbia. In fact, it is difficult to establish precisely where the problem lies, but it is obvious that something in the legal triangle (police â&#x20AC;&#x201C; prosecutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office â&#x20AC;&#x201C; court) is not being done properly. However, that is only one side of the problem.

If all police successes are analysed, it becomes clear that the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest media houses, political parties and most popular analysts, have given the greatest attention to cases involving celebrities from the world of sport, businesses and entertainment. Such scandals have proved a veritable gift from the God for the hungry media in Serbia. If some celebrity is involved in cases of corruption, then the local media are provided with enough material for several months. However, on that level it is easy to see how difficult is to obtain the threads of personal and business interests and how far the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; co-operation between certain public figures extends. For instance, famous folk-singing star Svetlana â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cecaâ&#x20AC;?

5DĂĽQMDWRYLĂź ZDV DUUHVWHG GXULQJ 2SHUDWLRQ Sabre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which followed the assassination of 30 çLQĂżLĂź LQ Âą RQ WKH EDVLV RI VHULRXV accusations that she had attempted to provide an alibi for the criminal group which killed the late prime minister, a large number of media condemned her arrest.

The accusations were pushed to one side or were completely ignored, enough for the friendly media to launch a strong campaign against the arrest of this single mother of two. Somewhere in that world it was probably concluded that single mothers have immu-

nity in criminal responsibility, even in cases of serious accusations. Of course, nobody is guilty until proved so, and Svetlana 5D]QMDWRYLĂź ZDV UHOHDVHG IURP FXVWRG\ DIWHU D IHZ PRQWKV Since then it has remained practically unknown what happened to those serious accusations made against her.

WLRQHG LQ WKLV FRQWH[W DV VRPHRQH ZKR Âą WKURXJK WKH 2ELOLĂź Football Club of which she was president â&#x20AC;&#x201C;had embezzled vast sums of money. $ VXSSRUW OHWWHU IRU 'ĂĽDMLĂź FDPH IURP IRUPHU IRUHLJQ PLQLVWHU 9XN 'UDĂŁNRYLĂź 7KH 6HUELDQ 5HQHZDO 0RYHPHQW OHDGHU

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The latest arrests of members of the so-called sports mafia have also stirred public emotion. The scene when the legends of Yugoslav sport and long term officials in the Red Star Sports Club, footEDOOHU 'UDJDQ 'ĂĽDMLĂź and basketball player 9ODGLPLU &YHWNRYLĂź were arrested, handcuffed and driven away in a police van in front of TV cameras shocked the whole nation. On one side,

has no doubt about 'üDMLߜV LQQRFHQFH and is not interested in the court trial at all. According to 'UDãNRYLß WKH HVsence of the case is that Delta Holding president Miroslav 0LãNRYLß LV WU\LQJ to buy the Red Star FOXE DQG 'üDMLß LV apparently opposing the deal, and had nothing to do with the embezzled millions and secret accounts. One could openly ask where

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the comments that their human rights were seriously violated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; because TV cameras mean the demonstration of power and the desire to humiliate the arrested persons â&#x20AC;&#x201C; were fully justified, but the accusations again remained in the background.

It seems that the media are not interested in the truth, which should be a matter for the independent judiciary. As a result, the whole problem was reduced to whether or not the legends of Serbian sport should be arrested. At the time of the sporting legendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; arrests, the media pathetically repeated how many JRDOV DQG EDVNHWV 'ĂĽDMLĂź DQG &YHWNRYLĂź KDG VFRUHG UHVSHFWLYHly, and it seems that nobody was interested in the serious accusations that they had embezzled millions of euros, controlled secret accounts and generally acted in breach of the law. &RLQFLGHQWDOO\ RU QRW 6YHWODQD 5DĂĽQMDWRYLĂź ZDV DOVR PHQ-

such an open attack of solidarity without any doubt comes from.

Of course, it would be wrong to accuse somebody without the courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s verdict, but it seems that some relations in Serbian society have gone very deep and have spread in all directions.

Therefore, it might be difficult to expect some things to remain within the domain of the independent judiciary, because the independent judiciary does not exist in Serbia, and it is hard to expect that judiciary to receive political support, because political and financial interests have become so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them. As a particular result of this, every pompous accusation and every exclusive or shocking report, and all those stolen millions, finally end up with somebody, without the pomp and TV cameras, coming out through the back door in silence. Â&#x201E; CorD / March 2008 61

CULTURE

Theatre in EXILE Thanks to state money, the construction of the building for the PriĹĄtina National Theatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble will start in Kosovska Mitrovica this May. BY 621-$ Ăť,5,Ăť ince their eviction from the building of the National Theatre in PriĹĄtina back in 1999, the members of the PriĹĄtina National Theatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble have been nomadically wandering the towns of Serbia.

However, the recent announcement of the construction of a home for Kosovoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble marks the beginning of the end of their state of limbo.

Despite the construction project taking

S

place on the territory of Kosovo, Eighty per cent of the required â&#x201A;Ź1.5million will be provided by the Serbian Ministry of Culture, with the remainder coming from international organisations.

When they had to leave their home theatre back in 1999, the ensemble continued to work in those towns in Kosovo & Metohija which still had a Serbian population. For some time they were in Zvecan, then in Zubin Potok and finally Kosovska Mitrovica. They performed in community halls, culture centres, schools, etc.; rehearsals were improvised and organised in private houses. Over time, the ensembleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s members dispersed to various theatres around Serbia. However, after news about the building broke, the Serbian Drama Ensemble gathered again. At this moment, apart from two actors who live in Kosovo, all other members are currently residing in Belgrade.

Âł,W LV D ELW WHQVH KHUH IRU PH HYHU\ERG\ is rushing somewhere all day along. Life is much nicer in Mitrovica,â&#x20AC;? says Nenad 7RGRURYLĂź GLUHFWRU RI WKH 3ULĂŁWLQD 1DWLRQDO 7KHDWUHÂśV 6HUELDQ 'UDPD (QVHPEOH Âł, ZDV ERUQ LQ 0LWURYLFD EXW , VWXGLHG LQ 3ULĂŁWLQD so the news that we will return to Kosovo, to Mitrovica, means a great deal to meâ&#x20AC;?.

While director of the PriĹĄtina National Theatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble, 7RGRURYLĂź GLUHFWHG WKH WKHDWUHÂśV LQWHUSUHWDWLRQ RI %LOMDQD 6UEOMDQRYLߜV Family Stories. They performed the premiere and the second showing, but then, in March 1999, they all had to leave their theatre.

Later he worked in other cities in Serbia, serving as the director of the Theatre in Leskovac for three years. But then he was recalled to gather the Serbian Drama Ensemble and become the director of the theatre in exile, which was to be resettled on the second floor of a residential build-

7KH 1DWLRQDO 7KHDWUH LQ 3ULäWLQD ZKLFK KRXVHG WKH 6HUELDQ 'UDPD (QVHPEOH XQWLO WKH PHPEHUV ZHUH IRUFHG WR à HH LQ 62 CorD / March 2008

Kosovoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble currently boasts a team of 47 staff, including 30 actors. From Belgrade, where the majority of the actors now live, they travel to perform in those places in Kosovo where they are still welcome.

LQJ LQ /HSRVDYLĂź Eventually, the ensemble was again relocated â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this time to a three-storey house in Kosovska Mitrovica with access to the VWDJH RI WKH =YHĂžDQ &XOWXUH &HQWUH Âł:H started the new theatre life with 16 actors in the ensemble. We continued where we had left off: we resumed Family Stories. The National Theatre from Belgrade helped us IURP WKH EHJLQQLQJ :KHQ 0DUNR 1LNROLĂź DQG %RULV 3LQJRYLĂź YLVLWHG XV ZLWK WKH SOD\ The Mysterious Variations, the whole town turned their heads.â&#x20AC;?

Kosovoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Serbian Drama Ensemble currently boasts a team of 47 staff, including 30 actors. From Belgrade, where the majority of the actors now live, they travel to perform in those places in Kosovo ZKHUH WKH\ DUH VWLOO ZHOFRPH Âł, GR QRW have to explain how difficult that is. There we have to sleep in our hostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s houses, and the knowledge that we are probably the only theatre in exile is not a happy thought DW DOO´ 7RGRURYLĂź DGPLWV WKDW WKH\ ZHUH sceptic at the beginning; they feared that there would be no interest in their plays, but he is now happy to have been mistaken. â&#x20AC;&#x153;PriĹĄtina had an educated audience, an experienced one â&#x20AC;&#x201C; plays from Belgrade and other bigger cities were often performed there, thus we were afraid that in some places where, for instance, not a single play has been performed for 30 years, people would not be interested in theatre.

However, we were wrongâ&#x20AC;?.

They perform several plays a month in Kosovo, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;when you make one performance in one place there is no need to perform it again, because everybody has already seen that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those places are very smallâ&#x20AC;?.

Such a situation, of course, impedes the maintenance of the repertoire, which mainly consists of so-called scholarly text ZULWHUV Âł,I ZH ZDQW WR SUHVHUYH RXU FXOWXUal identity, we have to play domestic clasVLFV ´ VD\V 7RGRURYLĂź $W WKLV PRPHQW WKH UHSHUWRLUH LQFOXGHV %RULVODY 0LKDMORYLĂź Mihizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Prince Marko, Marivoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Game of Love and Events, Martin Mac Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lieutenant %RULVDY 3HNLߜV General, etc. :H KDYH SUHPLHUHV LQ =YHĂžDQ 2UDKRYDF and Kosovska Mitrovica. Since we were

6HUELDQ 0LQLVWHU RI &XOWXUH 9RMLVODY %UDMRYLĂ˝ VD\V WKH QHZ EXLOGLQJ LQ 0LWURYLFD ´Ă&#x20AC;WV LQWR RXU SROLF\ RI SUHVHUYLQJ DQG EXLOGLQJ FXOWXUDO PRQXPHQWV LQ the state of Serbia within internationally recognised bordersâ&#x20AC;?. evicted from, PriĹĄtina we have never played there. Who would we play for anyway, considering that there arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even 30 Serbs living there any more?â&#x20AC;?

Part of the Serbian Drama Ensemble is currently in the Belgrade National Theatre SUHSDULQJ %UDQLVODY 1XãLߜV Mrs Minister.

At the end of January two theatres signed a Protocol Agreement on Co-operation, which considers the National Theatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aid to their colleagues from Kosovo. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cooperation between our two theatres has been ongoing for several years, and it has had its ups and downs,â&#x20AC;? says Predrag Ejdus, director of the National Theatre. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are the national theatre, so it is normal for artists to find shelter here. Our WKHDWUH KDV DOUHDG\ SOD\HG LQ =YHĂžDQ DQG /HSRVDYLĂź 7KLV FR RSHUDWLRQ ZLOO HQFRPpass whatever our colleagues from the Province need, in both a technical and an artistic sense.â&#x20AC;?

The premiere of Mrs. Minister will take place on 1st April.

The members of the ensemble say that they are soon to be liberated from one major worry: that of their residency. They will soon be going home, to take up residency in their new building in Kosovska Mitrovica, which is scheduled for completion by May 2009.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were given construction land of 4,000 square-metres from the local administration in Kosovska Mitrovica. We will not use all this land for the building; we need only a small building of around 1,000 square-metres, which can cater for an audience of around 200 people and hold a VWDQGDUG VL]HG VWDJH ´ VD\V 7RGRURYLĂź â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do not need a bigger theatre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is important that we have a full theatre not only for the premiere, but all the time.â&#x20AC;?

Serbian Minister of Culture, Vojislav %UDMRYLĂź VD\V WKDW WKH 0LQLVWU\ ÂľZHOFRPHV with pleasureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the news that Serbian drama will make a permanent return to Kosovo through its new theatre in Kosovska 0LWURYLFD $FFRUGLQJ WR %UDMRYLĂź WKLV LV because the move â&#x20AC;&#x153;fits into our policy of preserving and building cultural monuments in the state of Serbia within internationally recognised bordersâ&#x20AC;?. %UDMRYLĂź HPSKDVLVHV ÂłLW LV LPSRUWDQW that the living word, our classics and modern drama texts are nurtured, and how can you nurture something if there are no premises where we can nurture that?â&#x20AC;? ,I HYHU\WKLQJ JRHV DFFRUGLQJ WR SODQ and if next May the Kosovo actors hear applause from their building, it will mark the end of their exile precisely ten years after they became homeless. Â&#x201E;

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a bit tense here for me; everybody is rushing somewhere all day along. Life is much nicer in Mitrovica,â&#x20AC;? says Nenad 7RGRURYLĂ˝ GLUHFWRU RI WKH 3ULäWLQD 1DWLRQDO 7KHDWUH¡V 6HUELDQ Drama Ensemble. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was born in Mitrovica, but I studied in PriĹĄtina, so the news that we will return to Kosovo, to Mitrovica, means a great deal to meâ&#x20AC;?.

CorD / March 2008 63

CULTURE

GUARDIANS OF TRADITION 7KH 7HRÃ&#x20AC;ORYLþ EURWKHUV

They are mediators between the past and the present; the guardians of the primordial Serbian identity through ancient music and voices that hark back to times of old to entertain new generations.

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64 CorD / March 2008

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Performers like the 7HRÃ&#x20AC;ORYLý EURWKHUV WHQG only to be appreciated in Serbia after they achieve success abroad, or decades after that, only when time shows that what they did is really worthy of praise. It remains to be seen if their efforts to preserve Serbian music from oblivion will be VXIÃ&#x20AC;FLHQW IRU WKHP WR UHmain remembered.

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…mostly without any instrumental support, without ornaments, with their voices alone, they make ancient memories glisten again. By singing, with power and ease at the same time, Ratko and Radiša lead us to a whirlpool of love and melancholy – those two greatest of Balkan vices.

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CULTURE

Creating REALITY T Belgrade art lovers are currently enjoying the rare opportunity to see an exhibition of the work of Swedish artist Ola Pehrson - an exhibition which, unfortunately, neither the artist himself nor his hometown fans in Stockholm have had the chance to see.

68 CorD / March 2008

BY 621-$ û,5,û he Ola Pehrson: Retrospective exhibition, currently showing in Belgrade’s Contemporary Art Museum, was organised in co-operation between galleries in Stockholm, Ljubljana and Belgrade.

The story about this co-operation adds a special quality to Pehrson’s retrospective.

Ola Pehrson was born in Sweden in 1964. He is a painter by vocation, but was

never as attracted to painting as he was to multimedia art. Perhson’s work was marked by a strong interest in media and communication, technology and the huge systems that determine our behaviour and mark our lives. He plays with metaphors and makes visible (and audible) the powers and structures which define us as individuals and govern our societies. Before his tragic death in a car accident in 2006, he acquired international recognition and

SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ ELHQQDOHV LQ ,VWDQEXO 7LUDQD and Sao Paolo. He held solo exhibitions in the Lars Bohman gallery in Stockholm, Noua in Bucharest, the Collective Gallery in Edinburgh and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. His work was exhibited in group exhibitions in the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the MalmĂś Konsthall in Sweden and the Yamaguchi Museum of Art in Japan.

At an international exhibition in Tirana at the end of 1999, he met SaĹĄa Nabergoj â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a museum curator from Ljubljana and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how everything started. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We held endless talks about the books we read, subjects we were interested in, projects we were going to prepare, etc. We exchanged catalogues and texts and from time to time

we met at exhibition openings around the world,â&#x20AC;? explains SaĹĄa Nabergoj. ,Q 1HEHUJRM DQG 3HKUVRQ FDPH up with the idea of organising an exhibition of Olaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The subjects he dealt with, the influence of technology on man and the power of the mass media were also popular at that time in the artistic world, so he often participated in major exhibitions all around the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, he used to exhibit for only RQH RU WZR ZRUNV WKXV , SURSRVHG WR PDNH an authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exhibition for him. Nobody in the world had seen anything like that.

My idea was that this exhibition would go to three galleries in three cities: Ĺ KUC (Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Culture Centre) in Ljubljana, the Belgrade Contemporary Arts Museum,

because we have excellent co-operation with that museum, and finally, in October, to exhibit it in Stockholm at the Centre for Contemporary Art,â&#x20AC;? explains Nabergoj.

Those plans were cut short when Pehrson tragically died. Âł$IWHU WKH LQLWLDO VKRFN , UHDOLVHG WKDW the planned exhibition, the attempt of the superstructure of two artists, would JURZ LQWR D UHWURVSHFWLYH KRPDJH , IHOW an obligation to realise this project,â&#x20AC;? says Nebregoj, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but it seemed all but impossible to me. Namely, it was characteristic of Ole Pehrsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practice that his works emerged on the spot, in the galleryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premises, and after the exhibitions they were immediately disassembled. As such, in order to organise the retrospective we had first to form his works.â&#x20AC;?

Nabergoj explains that she knew how those works looked, having seen them at exhibitions and been present in his studio during certain phases of their emergence, but that was of no great help. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had to dig through computers and talk to many people in order for this exhibition to start to materialise. Only the last and most famous of Oleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works, Hunt for the Unabomber was easy to get and set up, because the Moderna Museet from Stockholm had bought it. All of the others had to be found and reconstructed.â&#x20AC;?

A particular difficulty was posed by the fact that Pehrsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works were assembled from different media, perfectly and precisely selected for the story they were designed to tell. Pehrson was intrigued by the accumulation of information and the creation of reality. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He constantly researched those subjects and he was perfect at finding the means and ways to portray possible answers,â&#x20AC;? says Nabergoj.

Two threads run through his works: fascination with the mass-media and technology; experiences from his private life.

For instance, his work the Birthday Party, a combination of wood, prints and video, was based on a private story: Pehrson had video recorded a party in his parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; house in the suburb of Stockholm where he was born, held to mark the occasion of his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 65th birthday. He recorded that private event using modern technology with 10 cameras to record every detail of each guest that evening. Then he made a wooden house, a replica of the real house and inside it, with video, he conMXUHG XS WKH ELUWKGD\ SDUW\ Âł,Q WKLV Ĺš NAZDAQ Vocal Index: Pehrsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NASDAQ Vocal Index, in which he connected chorale music and the stock exchange; transforming index changes on the international market into chorale music.

CorD / March 2008 69

CULTURE

Hunt for the Unabomber: Pehrson’s most famous work, Hunt for the Unabomber, which was inspired by events linked to the famous Unabomber.

way he erected a monument to something which was repeated every year for decades, in the same way, according to the same rules, each time like the first time,” explains Nabergoj.

His piece Cookbook+(menus) corresponds with the Birthday Party ,W LV EDVHG on notes about guests and menus for the meals which his mother prepared for 45 years. She wrote down precise details about each meal, the way she prepared it and the guests’ names.

“This note-taking can be interpreted as man’s need to emphasise his role

LQ WKH ZRUOG ,W UHPLQGV XV RI WKH GHWDLO from Ole’s most famous work, Hunt for the Unabomber, which was inspired by events linked to the famous Unabomber – a solitary American man who made and posted letter-bombs to people who were, according to him, guilty of the technological destruction of the world. The

Marxist Suit: Pehrson’s early work, the Marxist Suit, sees the first chapter of Karl Marx’s the Capital printed on a man’s suit.

Unabomber recorded everything in his diary. That too is an example of man’s need to keep records of his existence” says Nabergoj.

One of his famous works is the NASDAQ Vocal Index, in which he connected chorale singing and the stock exchange; transforming the changes on the international market into chorale music. To that purpose, software was developed which transformed the changes on the stock market in America into musical notes. Choirs were organised in various countries, with the members singing the indexes of the most successful companies. The biggest indexes were sung by basses, and the smaller ones by sopranos.

The motive for the Marxist Suit, Pehrson’s early work, was also research into the individual’s influence on reality. The first chapter of Marx’s the Capital was printed on the fabric of a man’s suit, and then the suit was made.

“He always does the same thing: researches the creation of reality; who influences the creation of reality and which forces affect reality. Marx’s Capital is a text which patterned one part of the world, and the suit made of the fabric with that text was a commentary on the fall of Marxist ideas,” explains Nabergoj.

The author of Ola Pehrson’s 5HWURVSHFWLYH LV KRSLQJ WKDW WKH DXGLHQFH in Stockholm will welcome Pehrson’s work in the same way the Ljubljana and Belgrade audience have.

Birthday Party: Pehrson’s the Birthday Party: a video-filled wooden house in which Pehrson recreated his mother’s 65th birthday party at the family’s Stockholm home.

70 CorD / March 2008

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Wednesday, 5th March, 6pm, 0XVLF *DOOHU\ &\FOH %HOJUDGH *XLWDU 6FKRRO Free Entrance Saturday, 8th March, 8pm %HOJUDGH 'L[LHODQG 2UFKHVWUD Sunday, 9th March, 11am $QD 0LORVDYOMHYLü YLROLQ 1DGD .ROXQGåLMD SLDQR Free Entrance Sunday, 9th March, 8pm

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72 CorD / March 2008

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violin -RYDQD 1LNROLü 6HUELD SLDQR Saturday, 22nd March, 7pm 6DYD &HQWUH Great Hall 2SHUD ³$LGD´ Monday, 24th March, 8pm $UWJHW *DOOHU\ Ana Kokir, SLDQR Programme:

4th March, 8pm 6DYD &HQWUH *UHDW +DOO Concert: 7RQL &HWLQVNL DQG 0LFKDHO Bolton

Bach, Ravel, Schumann -HOHQD .DQGLü YLROLQ 1DWDOLMD 0ODGHQRYLü SLDQR

4th March, 8.30pm Belgrade Arena &KULV 5HD

Sunday, 30th March, 8pm $UWJHW *DOOHU\ %LOMDQD 0LORYDQRYLü 6WDIDQVRQ VRSUDQR /MLOMDQD 0LORYDQRYLü -RYDQRYLü VRSUDQR 0LOLFD 0LOHQNRYLü 6WDI SLDQR

18th March, 8pm 6DYD &HQWUH *UHDW +DOO Concert: &XOWXUDO DQG IRON ensemble Talia 19th March, 8pm 6DYD &HQWHU *UHDW +DOO

Band 29th March, 8.30pm Belgrade Arena 72.,2 +27(/ ANNUAL EVENTS Festival of Archaeological Film 3rd â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9th March 1DWLRQDO 0XVHXP $WULXP 7UJ 5HSXEOLNH D 6FUHHQLQJV (YHU\ HYHQQJ DW &R RSHUDWLRQ ZLWK )UHQFK &XOWXUDO &HQWHU @ FEST %HOJUDGH¶V WUDGLWLRQDO DQQXDO ¿OP festival, FEST, is one of the most LPSRUWDQW FXOWXUDO HYHQWV RQ WKH 6HUELDQ FDSLWDO¶V FXOWXUDO PDS FEST Ã&#x20AC;OPV LQ Belgrade cinemas Love in the Time of Cholera Premiere FEST - Sava &HQWUH th )HEUXDU\ ,Q &LQHPDV IURP th March 'LUHFWHG E\ 0LNH 1HZHOO 6WDUULQJ -DYLHU %DUGHP Giovanna Mezzogiorno, iLev 6FKUHLEHU /DXUD +DUULQJ &DWDOLQD Sandimo Moreno, oJ hn L eguizamo

Francophone Month This annual manifestation, celebrating the French culture and language, has its central GDWH RQ th 0DUFK )UDQFRSKRQH 0RQWK ZDV RUJDQLVHG IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH \HDUV DJR LQ 6HUELD DQG LQ RWKHU FRXQWULHV WKH ZKROH RI March is dedicated to the French language and culture.

Programme: 13th March, 8pm 6WXGHQW &XOWXUDO &HQWUH &DUPHQ DQG 'DYLG ± FRQFHUW 17th March, 7pm Belgrade Drama Theatre Childrensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; play Evening of Stories Melancolie Motte (Belgium)

CorD / March 2008 73

CULTURE CALENDAR

<XJRVODY )LOP $UFKLYH .RVRYVND /RYH VWRULHV GLUHFWHG E\ IDPRXV French director Francois Truffaut Sunday, 2nd March, 6pm )UDQFRLVH 7ULIR DXWRELRJUDSK\ GRFXPHQWDU\ ÂżOP GLUHFWHG E\ $QQD Andre Sunday, 2nd March, 8pm Jules and iJm &DVW -DQD 0RUR 2VFDU :HUQHU Anrie Ser, Marie Duboat Sunday, 9th March, 8pm 7HQGHU 6NLQ

&DVW )UDQFRLVH 'RUOHDN -HQ 'HVDL

Muriele Bloch (France) 18th March, 6pm ([KLELWLRQ WKH 6HUELDQ 1DWLRQDO %DQN DQG WKH )UHQFK &HQWUDO %DQN LQ WKH )LUVW :RUOG :DU 1DWLRQDO %DQN 1HPDQMLQD 18th March, 7pm 6WXGHQW &XOWXUDO &HQWUH &RPSHWLWLRQ )UDQFRSKRQH &KDQVRQHV Thursday, 20 march, 6pm )UHQFK &XOWXUDO &HQWUH Film: 1LFROD %XYLHW +RVSLWDO Street Film about French writer and SKRWRJUDSKHU

Sunday, 16th March, 8pm Two English aLdies and the &RQWLQHQW

&DVW -HDQ 3LHU /HR .LND 0DUNDP Silvia Meriot Sunday, 23rd March, 8pm 7KH /DVW 0HWUR

&DVW &DWULQ 'DQHY *HUDUG 'HSDUGLHX -HDQ 3RDUHW

GORAN MICEVSKI - TRAVEL GUIDES, PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION. 12th February â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15th March 1DWXUDO +LVWRU\ 0XVHXP *DOOHU\ JOURNEY WITH DARWIN Exhibition SUHVHQWV DQ interesting MRXUQH\ through KLVWRU\ evolution, the oceans, nature and the future

)HVWLYDO RI )UDQFRSKRQH $PDWHXU Theatre (High school theatres) 7KHDWUHV IURP % + 0RQWHQHJUR Romania, Morocco, Serbia

FILM PREMIERS Atonement

In cinemas from 28th February 'LUHFWHG E\ 0LNH 1LFKROV 6WDUULQJ 7RP +DQNV -XOLD 5REHUWV $P\ Adams There Will Be Blood 'LUHFWHG E\ 3DXO 7KRPDV $QGHUVRQ 6WDUULQJ 'DQLHO 'D\ /HZLV 3DXO 'DQR &LDUDQ +LQGV 5XVVHOO +DUYDUG

Francophone Month will also include lectures, panel discussions, sporting events, etc.

FILM CYCLE YUGOSLAV FILM ARCHIVE AND FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE )UDQFRLV 7UXIIDXW Âą 3RUWUDLWV RI )LYH :RPHQ

74 CorD / March 2008

Sunday, 30th March, 8pm :RPHQ IURP WKH QHLJKERXUKRRG

&DVW *HUDUG 'HSDUGLHX )DQQ\ Ardant, Henri Garsen ART EXHIBITIONS 22nd February â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5th March %HOJUDGH &XOWXUDO &HQWUH $UWJHW *DOOHU\ FICTION IN PHOTOGRAPHY REALITY AND FICTION 2JQMHQ 7RSDORYLĂź 'UDJLĂŁD 3DYORYLĂź 3DYOH -RYDQRYLĂź 3KRWRV RQ FDQYDV

7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26 March %HOJUDGH &XOWXUDO &HQWUH $UWJHW *DOOHU\ th

th

No Country For Old Men In cinemas from 6th March $ ÂżOP E\ (WKDQ DQG -RHO &RHQ 6WDUULQJ 7RPP\ /HH -RQHV -DYLHU %DUGHP -RVK %UROLQ :RRG\ Harrelson Charlie Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s War

Until 30th March %HOJUDGH &XOWXUDO &HQWUH $UWJHW *DOOHU\ '86$1 3(7529,Ăť 6FXOSWXUHV

th

21st, 22nd & 23rd March at 9am 7KHDWHU 6ODYLMD 6YHWRJ 6DYH

In cinemas from 13th March 'LUHFWHG E\ -RH :ULJKW 6WDUULQJ -DPHV 0F$YR\ .HLUD .QLJKWOH\ 6DRLUVH 5RQDQ %UHQGD %OHWK\Q

Dom Omladine Belgrade FILM PROGRAMME 1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO 6DWXUGD\ st March, 8pm Sport & politics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lenny American Corner 'RFXPHQWDU\ Ă&#x20AC;OPV 03.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anne Frank: The Story of a Young Girlâ&#x20AC;? at 4:00 PM Description: oYung Dutch eJ wish girl Anne )UDQN ZKRVH ::,, GLDU\ ZULWWHQ ZKLOH KHU IDPLO\ KLG IURP 1D]L SHUVHFXWLRQ KDV EHFRPH RQH RI WKH ZRUOGÂśV EHVW VHOOLQJ ERRNV ever) has become an international V\PERO RI WKH KRUURU DQG KDWUHG RI WKH 1D]L UHJLPH DQ LQQRFHQW LQWHOOLJHQW \RXQJ JLUO VZHSW XS E\ their voracious killing machine. The document she left behind (one of D YHU\ IHZ WKLQJV QRW WDNHQ ZKHQ the German soldiers raided the secret annex of the Frank home in Amsterdam) is a remarkable testament to the strength of the KXPDQ VSLULW XQGHU WKH ZRUVW RI FRQGLWLRQV ,Q WKLV PRYLQJ HSLVRGH RI %,2*5$3+<Â&#x160; WKH GHWDLOV RI $QQHÂśV OLIH RXWVLGH WKH DWWLF DUH UHYHDOHG )URP WKH FDUHIUHH GD\V RI KHU HDUO\ FKLOGKRRG LQ *HUPDQ\ WR WKH KDUURZLQJ PRQWKV VKH VSHQW DW Bergen-Belsen before succumbing

WR W\SKXV VFKRODUV DQG VXUYLYRUV WHOO ZKDW WKH\ NQRZ RI WKH \RXQJ JLUO who has become a worldwide icon.

Duration: 50 minutes 05.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;BIOGRAPHY: Sandra Day Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connorâ&#x20AC;? at 3:00 PM Description: 6KH LV WKH ÂżUVW ZRPDQ HYHU WR VLW RQ WKH 6XSUHPH &RXUW :KLOH KHU DVFHQVLRQ WR WKH EHQFK PDGH KLVWRU\ LW ZDV WKH ODWHVW LQ D ORQJ OLVW RI ÂżUVWV IRU D PRGHUQ GD\ SLRQHHU 6DQGUD 'D\ 2Âś&RQQRU LV RQH RI WKH PRVW SRZHUIXO SHRSOH LQ $PHULFD $V D VZLQJ YRWH RQ D GHHSO\ GLYLGHG &RXUW VKH LV RIWHQ WKH -XVWLFH ZKRVH GHFLVLRQ VKDSHV WKH ODZ 4XLHWO\ GHWHUPLQHG DQG FOHDUO\ LQGHSHQGHQW VKH ORQJ DJR SURYHG WKDW VKH GHVHUYHG KHU SODFH )URP KHU 7H[DV FKLOGKRRG WKURXJK KHU HQWU\ LQWR SROLWLFV DQG KHU ULVH WR QDWLRQDO SURPLQHQFH %,2*5$3+<Â&#x160; FKURQLFOHV 2Âś&RQQRUÂśV FDUHHU ZLWK WKH KHOS RI WKRVH ZKR NQRZ KHU best. Insights from close friends and IDPLO\ DQG UDUHO\ VHHQ SKRWRV VKLQH D OLJKW LQWR KHU OLIH DZD\ IURP WKH

Riefenstahl â&#x20AC;&#x153;Olimpyaâ&#x20AC;? /HFWXUHU 6UĂżDQ 0LWURYLĂź SURGXFHU GLUHFWRU 1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO Âą 6XQGD\ nd March, 8pm Sport & politics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Part II â&#x20AC;&#x153;Holiday of beautyâ&#x20AC;?

1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO Âą 6XQGD\ th 0DUFK SP Star Wreck (Finland) 6DPXOL 7RUVVRQHQ FUHDWRU SURGXFHU 7LPR 9XRUHQVROD 'LUHFWRU 1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO Âą 6DWXUGD\ th March, 8pm 6RXWK .RUHDQ DQLPDWHG ÂżOP Manhwa, teacher 1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO Âą 6DWXUGD\ nd March, 8pm David Lynch as a portrait artist 1st Ă&#x20AC;RRU KDOO Âą 6DWXUGD\ th March, 8pm David Cronenberg & art Dom Omladine Belgrade ART PROGRAMME Gallery Exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fraktaliâ&#x20AC;?

5$.$ -29$129,Ăź (26th )HEUXDU\ WR th 0DUFK

Saturday, 1st March, from 5pm to 7pm Public guide through the exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fraktaliâ&#x20AC;?, with author DUWLVW 5DND -RYDQRYLĂź speaking about her work 7XHVGD\ th March, 7pm Exhibition opening: Âł2QH´ E\ 61-(ä$1$ 725%,&$ 7XHVGD\ th March, 7pm Exhibition opening: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Zemljaâ&#x20AC;? ANA 3(-,Ăť ([KLELWLRQ UXQV XQWLO th $SULO March 2008 bench, and legal scholars examine KHU SODFH LQ MXGLFLDO KLVWRU\ DQG $PHULFDÂśV OHJDO ODQGVFDSH Duration: 50 minutes 10.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not For Ourselves Aloneâ&#x20AC;? at 4:00 PM Description: Two women, one allegiance.

7RJHWKHU (OL]DEHWK &DG\ 6WDQWRQ DQG 6XVDQ % $QWKRQ\ WKH\ IRXJKW IRU ZRPHQ HYHU\ZKHUH DQG WKHLU VWURQJ ZLOOSRZHU DQG VKHHU GHWHUPLQDWLRQ VWLOO ULSSOHV WKURXJK FRQWHPSRUDU\ VRFLHW\ .HQ %XUQVÂś VWLUULQJ GRFXPHQWDU\ UHFRXQWV WKH WULDOV WULEXODWLRQV DQG WULXPSKV RI WZR SLRQHHUV VWULYLQJ WR JLYH ELUWK WR WKH ZRPHQÂśV PRYHPHQW 1RW XQWLO after their deaths was their shared YLVLRQ RI ZRPHQÂśV VXIIUDJH UHDOL]HG 17.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She Says: Women in Newsâ&#x20AC;? at 4:00 PM Description: 7KLV SURJUDP H[SORUHV WKH LPSDFW of having more women in decision-

making roles in journalism on the news, the news room culture and WKH VRFLHW\ 6LQFH WKH HDUO\ GD\V RI WKH :RPHQÂśV 0RYHPHQW WKH QXPEHU RI ZRPHQ LQ ERWK SULQW and electronic journalism has LQFUHDVHG E\ PRUH WKDQ 7KLV GRFXPHQWDU\ IHDWXUHV ZRPHQ LQ SRVLWLRQV RI SRZHU LQ MRXUQDOLVP who are changing the agenda of QHZV DQG E\ FKDQJLQJ WKH VWRU\ are changing the world.

19.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;BIOGRAPHY: Evita: The Woman Behind The Mythâ&#x20AC;? at 3:00 PM Description: To some, she was a hero. To RWKHUV VKH ZDV D V\PERO RI naked ambition. To the world, she remains a legend.Eva Duarte de Peron Evita is one of the most controversial figures LQ KLVWRU\ $ PLQRU DFWUHVV when she married Argentine SUHVLGHQW WR EH -XDQ 3HURQ KHU SROLWLFDO SRZHU DQG SUHVWLJH HYHQWXDOO\ HTXDOHG DQG SHUKDSV HFOLSVHG KLV :DV VKH D SRZHU

KXQJU\ 0DULH $QWRLQHWWH DV GHWUDFWRUV FODLP" 2U ZDV VKH UHDOO\ WKH VDYLRU RI WKH ZRUNLQJ SRRU" ,Q WKLV UHPDUNDEOH SURJUDP UDUH SKRWRJUDSKV DQG ILOPV WHOO (YLWDÂśV UHDO VWRU\ from her humble birth to her tragic death of cancer at 3. &ORVH DLGV DQG ELWWHU HQHPLHV offer their firsthand accounts, DQG FRQVLGHU ZK\ VKH FRQWLQXHV WR IDVFLQDWH XV WRGD\ Duration: 50 minutes 26.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ourselves, Our Bodies: The Feminist Movementâ&#x20AC;? at 3:00 PM Description: ,Q WKH SROLWLFDOO\ FKDUJHG HQYLURQPHQW RI WKH V movements emerged which would forever change the $PHULFDQ SROLWLFDO FXOWXUDO DQG VRFLDO ODQGVFDSH 3HUKDSV QRQH was more influential than the SULQFLSOH WKDW ZRPHQ VKRXOG EH able to control their own bodies DQG GHFLGH LI DQG ZKHQ WKH\ would have children.

:KHQ WKH 6XSUHPH &RXUW UXOHG that efforts to ban abortion were illegal, it validated the feminist movement and set off a debate ZKLFK PD\ QHYHU EH DQVZHUHG Thoughtful, balanced and H[KDXVWLYH 2856(/9(6 285 %2',(6 XQUDYHOV RQH RI WKH most contentious issues in modern America.

Duration: 50 minutes 31.03.2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Women, One Voteâ&#x20AC;? at 4:00 PM Description: How could America call itself the ZRUOGÂśV JUHDWHVW GHPRFUDF\ EXW FRQWLQXH WR GHQ\ WKH ULJKW WR YRWH to more than half of its citizens?

7KLV SURJUDP GRFXPHQWV WKH struggle which culminated in the SDVVLQJ RI WKH WK $PHQGPHQW LQ WKH 8 6 6HQDWH E\ RQH YRWH :LWQHVV WKH \HDU VWUXJJOH IRU ZRPHQÂśV VXIIUDJH 'LVFRYHU ZK\ the crusaders faced entrenched RSSRVLWLRQ IURP PHQ DQG ZRPHQ ZKR IHDUHG WKH ZRPHQÂśV YRWH would ignite a social revolution.

Duration: 106 minutes CorD / March 2008 75

CULTURE

FEST 2008

Evolution or REVOLUTION?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;FEST absolutely has to become a competitive festival, and that the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;5th Octoberâ&#x20AC;? should be done with FEST too.â&#x20AC;?

- $OHNVDQGDU -DQNRYLĂź

Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional annual Ă&#x20AC;OP IHVWLYDO )(67 LV RQH RI WKH PRVW LPSRUWDQW FXOWXUDO HYHQWV RQ WKH 6HUELDQ FDSLWDO¡V FXOWXUDO PDS +RZHYHU WLPH KDV WDNHQ LWV WROO RQ WKLV WUDGLWLRQDO HYHQW )(67 LV QHLWKHU DV JODPRURXV QRU GD]]OLQJ DV RQFH LW ZDV ZKLOH WHFKQRORJLFDO DGYDQFHV DQG FXOWXUDO WUDQVIRUPDWLRQV KDYH FKDQJHG WKH DXGLHQFH¡V KDELWV $V D UHVXOW UHFHQW \HDUV KDYH VHHQ )(67¡V OHDGHUV IDFH LQFUHDVLQJ FULWLFLVP DQG FDOOV IRU WKH IHVWLYDO WR HYROYH WR VXLW WKH WLPHV Ă&#x20AC;QG QHZ SHRSOH DQG SUHVHUYH WKH FLW\¡V ORYH RI JRRG Ă&#x20AC;OPV BY ,9,&$ 3(7529,Ăť

F

EST 2008â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme consists of 75 new films from all around the world, laureates of the most prestigious film festivals and the works of top contemporary filmmakers and actors from the international cinematographic scene.

Since its inception back in 1971, FEST has included various special guests from abroad, including filmmakers, actors and producers, who attend the festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official screenings. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guest of honour will be German filmmaker Volker Schlondorff, and the festival will be divided into several programmes, including a cycle of modern Asian film entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fantasyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, another called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sincerely from

76 CorD / March 2008

Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dedicated to current Russian cinematographic trends, a cycle of young filmmakers entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and films as part of the programme â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Europe Out Of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, showcasing cinematography from Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-EU countries as part of the competitive programme.

Volker Schlondorff â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest film, Ulzhan, will open the festival, while Darko Bajicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s On the Beautiful Blue Danube will bring FEST 2008 to a close.

Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Culture Secretary, Darijan 0LKDMORYLĂź WROG &RU' WKDW SHRSOH visited FEST last year, adding that preparations for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FEST got underway in good time. The festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organisers hope to up the number of visitors from last year and, according to FEST art diUHFWRU 0LUROMXE 9XĂžNRYLĂź WKLV \HDUÂśV SURgramme has been designed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;satisfy dif-

ferent interests, from intellectual to emotional onesâ&#x20AC;?.

Preparations for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event got underway a full eight months ago, with key contracts signed back in late November and December of last year. Nevertheless, as FEST draws closer, the list of films to be screened continues to be amended on a daily basis. Three such amendments have seen media announce that the previously expected Redacted, by Brian de Palma, Todd Haynesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Not There, and Wong Kar Vaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s My Blueberry Nights, will not appear at FEST â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;08.

Though FEST was the only film festival in the region to attract big Hollywood stars and directors during the Cold War years, in more recent years it has often been marred by controversial issues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the cancelling of films, to disputa-

ble selections of guests, and controversy surrounding the artistic management of the festival. Indeed, the guest appearance of celebrated French actress Catherine 'HQHXYH ZKR RSHQHG WKH rd FEST in 2005, was described locally as â&#x20AC;&#x153;an insult to both film and the festivalâ&#x20AC;?, because her guest appearance had cost organisers Âź Âą QRW RQO\ DQ H[RUELWDQW IHH EXW also a direct violation of festival rules not to pay fees for guests. Adding insult to injury, many had recalled Deneuveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s negative comments about Serbia during the NATO bombing campaign six years earOLHU $OHNVDQGDU -DQNRYLĂź ILOP KLVWRULDQ critic, and professor at the Dramatic Arts Faculty, told CorD that there are numerous reasons why FEST should be adapted in order to be harmonised with the times in which we live: â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the time it was established, FEST was one of the most important film festivals. However, in the 1960s and 1970s people experienced cinema completely differently, therefore it is difficult to compare FEST before and FEST now. We can say that FEST was a significant festival until the mid 1990s, and after that it was a festival which needed to change. The perception of cinema and cinematic culture has now significantly altered, therefore I can indeed say that in the last ten years FEST is a second class selection of films which time has simply passed by. Some other festivals in the region have proved that, such as the one in Sarajevo, which in only a few years has become more important than FEST.â&#x20AC;?

Disputes about the artistic management of the festival are by no means a recent occurrence. The last several years have seen debates raging over whether the festival should be edited artistically, who should do that and whether the concept of the fes-

3URIHVVRU $OHNVDQGDU -DQNRYLĂ˝ ´7KH QHZ KDELWV RI WKH 6HUELDQ DXGLHQFH LQ WKH GLJLWDO HUD KDYH DOVR OHG WR D GLIIHUHQW SHUFHSWLRQ RI PXOWLPHGLD HQWHUWDLQPHQW *RLQJ WR WKH FLQHPD LV QR ORQJHU D FXOWXUDO ULWXDO Ă&#x20AC;OP FXOWXUH LV DFTXLUHG WKURXJK SLUDWH FRSLHV ZDWFKHG SULPDULO\ LQ D KRPH VHWWLQJ 7KHUHIRUH LW LV GLIĂ&#x20AC;FXOW WR VHSDUDWH WKH IDWH RI )(67 IURP WKH IDWH RI FLQHPDV LQ %HOJUDGH DQG 6HUELDÂľ

tival (which has meant that is has not been of a competitive nature since its very beginning) should be changed. According to -DQNRYLĂź LQ WKH ODVW IHZ \HDUV )(67 KDV been transformed into something which is seen as a necessary evil developed through inertia:

9RONHU 6FKORQGRUII ¡V ODWHVW Ă&#x20AC;OP 8O]KDQ RSHQHG WKLV \HDU¡V )(67

7KH IHVWLYDO¡V RUJDQLVHUV KRSH WR XS WKH QXPEHU RI YLVLWRUV IURP ODVW \HDU DQG DFFRUGLQJ WR )(67 DUW GLUHFWRU 0LUROMXE 9XÿNRYLý WKLV \HDU¡V SURJUDPPH KDV EHHQ GHVLJQHG WR ´VDWLVI\ GLIIHUHQW LQWHUHVWV IURP LQWHOOHFWXDO WR HPRWLRQDO RQHV¾

â&#x20AC;&#x153;FEST, particularly in recent years, is a selection of films with no identity or integrity, and there is really no point in patching up something which is, in fact, sinking. It is actually necessary to start from WKH EHJLQQLQJ ´ WKLQNV -DQNRYLĂź Âł:H QHHG new, fresh people in order for FEST to establish a new identity. I am not talking here about pirate films, and about the majority of films we have already seen, but about the fact that FEST absolutely has to become a competitive festival, and that the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;5th Octoberâ&#x20AC;? should be done with FEST too. As it stands, we only have an illusion of something we like. We will attend FEST, but it would be better for the

festival to be redefined. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new habits of the Serbian audience in the digital era have also led to a different perception of multimedia entertainment. Going to the cinema is no longer a cultural ritual; film culture is acquired through pirate copies watched, primarily, in a home setting. Therefore, it is difficult to separate the fate of FEST from the fate of cinemas in Belgrade and Serbia,â&#x20AC;? says -DQNRYLĂź â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our cinema culture, in contrast to the western one, has been reduced to maybe three to five really good cinemas. Our cinema culture is fading away, or is even perhaps in reanimation, and in that context there is a certain stratum of people who like to go to festivals. The paradox is that films are watched more at FEST and Cinemania than in cinemas. As such, it would seem that there is an audience, but it has to be entertained in a completely different way than has been the case to date.

The current situation is not at all encouraging, because in a capital city of two million inhabitants 25 cinemas do not work.â&#x20AC;?

What is worse is that even the cinemas that do work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Takvud, Roda, Ĺ umadija and Dom sindikata â&#x20AC;&#x201C; do not fill their auditoriums in accordance with the potential this city has. This not the case of issues relating to the current existence of the socalled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kiosk cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, because at the kiosk we also buy books, films and music; nor is it linked to the fact that the young generation is growing up having never bought an original DVD or CD. Rather, it is a matter of idleness and inertia. Simply put, there is no consumer desire to see a film at the cinema, which is not in harmony with international trends. The CD culture is fading away, and in America and Europe cinemas are becoming increasingly more popular and the cinema culture has never been better. That change here will certainly not happen by proclamation or marketing, but by an increase in the standard of living. Â&#x201E; CorD / March 2008 77

CELLULOID POPCORN

Media revolution 7KLV PRQWK &RU'¡V &HOOXORLG 3RSFRUQ VSHDNV WR ,JRU $OHNVLĂ˝ one of Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most renowned and awarded TV journalists, and a founding director of both the Serbian-American Friendship Association and the Annual TV Festival of Miniatures â&#x20AC;&#x153;Press Vitezâ&#x20AC;? which has become an internationally recognised event in only the second year of its existence.

BY VIK JENSEN; TRANSLATED BY DIJANA HINIC ecalling the initial spark of his interest in journalism and meGLD $OHNVLĂź WHOOV &RU' ÂłDV children we dream of becoming this or that, but when we grow up we usually end up doing something we never dreamt of. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different with me.

In second grade I learnt the art of writing a basic news story, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when my first text was published. After that I knew that journalism was my only choice.â&#x20AC;?

Fast forwarding to the start of his fledgOLQJ FDUHHU ,JRU VD\V ÂłSULRU WR WKH RXWEUHDN of the civil war, luck smiled upon me more

R

78 CorD / March 2008

than once. In 1989, with my colleague 7LMDQD .QHĂĽHYLĂź , ZDV QDPHG DV WKH EHVW young journalist of the then Yugoslavia.

That award opened the media door for me, while I was still very young.â&#x20AC;? $OHNVLĂź ZHQW RQ WR ZRUN IRU QHZVSDSHUV and radio, before taking his first steps as a TV journalist at TV Novi Sad in 1994. There he served as editor and also authored documentary films and presented. He continXHV ÂłEHWZHHQ DQG WKH HQG RI ODVW \HDU I worked as video-journalist for The Voice of America, and at the moment I am resting until I decide what to do next in my career. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m DQG KDYH ZRUNHG LQ PHGLD IRU \HDUV so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logical for me to take a little break.

But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll most probably continue my career in some of our biggest media houses.â&#x20AC;?

HIGHLY ACCLAIMED Â&#x201E; You have been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Belgrade Gold Medal for directing, the Bar International Olive for author reporting (1999 in Montenegro), a special award for journalistic FRXUDJH LQ 6ORYDNLD LQ DQG <RXU GRFXPHQWDU\ ÂżOP Visa Dream, about the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young people and their dreams of travelling, won the Grand Prix at one of the oldest TV festivals in Europe, in the Slovakian city Kosice. Have these awards helped your career and did they make you feel like a star? Â&#x2C6; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there are TV stars in Serbia.

Journalistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wages are too modest, journalists arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t protected enough and, above all, I consider that to feel like a star itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to have fans, the people who would be happy to see you. The happy times havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t arrived for many people here, so I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there are any stars. I have never seen

myself as a star, although people have recognised me in the street and shown their appreciation for my work, which is very satisfying to any normal person. It might seem odd, but I consider my greatest success to be that I never thought about myself as a star. I made viewers and ordinary people stars, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always loved to put OLIH ÂżUVW SHRSOH OLNH PH WKDW ZD\ DQG WKDWÂśV what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m proud of.

Even in the darkest of times, viewers have approached me in the street and told me something positive about my work.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m extremely proud of the trust that viewers have in my work. Awards only helped me to find new jobs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they are useful when you show your CV to a new employer, but they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help you with your everyday work. No matter how long they have worked, the journalist must always think like they are at the beginning of their career, because they must prove themselves everyday as if it is their first.

GLOBE TROTTER Â&#x201E; What inspired you to initiate The TV Festival of Miniatures PRESS VITEZ? Â&#x2C6; I was lucky to be able to travel throughout Europe and America as much as I wanted. There were moments when I wanted to leave Serbia, but in the end my love for Serbia won out. I decided not to JR EXW WR VWD\ DQG ÂżJKW IRU D EHWWHU OLIH LQ my own country. Since Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not a banker, but a journalist, I created the TV Festival of Miniatures PRESS VITEZ. The aim of this festival is to promote good journalism, to be a institution without political connotations which connects people from within the region and internationally, and above all gives them valuable awards.

A major problem of the region is that journalists are not educated well enough, so one of the festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main missions is to award University Scholarships. Thanks to the Information Secretariat of Vojvodina and the Serbian Ministry of Culture, we FRYHUHG RXU FRVWV LQ WKH ILUVW \HDU

That year the running costs of the festival ZHUH DERXW Âź DQG WKH DZDUG IXQG ZDV Âź ,Q RXU VHFRQG \HDU WKH FRVW RI WKH IHVWLYDO ZDV DERXW Âź EXW WKH YDOXH RI WKH DZDUG URVH WR Âź Âą DOORZLQJ us to offer scholarships for basic and postgrade studies to twenty one media professionals. That fund was mostly provided by the Megatrend University from Belgrade, and partly by the Singidunum University,

EUROPEAN THERAPY Â&#x201E; For many years you have reported from Kosovo. What is your opinion on how to solve the independence deadlock? Â&#x2C6; It would be best if the whole of Serbia, without any conditional policies (which obviously yields no results together with Kosovo) and under special international surveillance, were to be accepted into the EU. That would be the only way to make the borders irrelevant to both sides. Â&#x201E; Do you believe in continuing a dialogue with the Albanians? Â&#x2C6; Yes. A dialogue indicates the desire of both sides to speak. It will take more time to create a normalised situation, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that people with strong motivations from both sides should stop discussing any possible solutions.

also from Belgrade and the Novi Sad Faculty of Management. It was organised by the Serbian-American Friendship Association and the Association of Journalists of Serbia.

How was the second instalment of this annual festival realised? :H KDG DERXW FDQGLGDWHV IURP DOO over the former Yugoslavia. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll name just VRPH RI WKHP 79 +<$7 IURP %RVQLD & Herzegovina, TV POP from Slovenia, Croatian national TV, HRT, national TV RI 0RQWHQHJUR 57&* 79 IURP )<5 Macedonia, TV BN from Republika Srpska, DQG WKH ELJJHVW 79 VWDWLRQV IURP 6HUELD 576 % 79 3,1. 79 )2; 79 $9$/$ TV VOJVODINA, TV STUIO B, etc. Of course, there were also dozens of local TV stations who were given many scholarships WKURXJK WKH V\VWHP RI DIILUPDWLYH DFWLRQ Canal 9 from Kragujevac, TV YU ECO from 6XERWLFD 79 3/86 IURP .UXĂŁHYDF DQG VR on. You can find all the details about the festival on our website at www.tv-festival.org. Â&#x201E; Amongst your other duties, you are also president of the Serbian-American Friendship Association. Why did you choose the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) to be the partner of the festival, as opposed to the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), whose members are more western orientated? Â&#x2C6; Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great question. The Associations of Journalists of Serbia has a traGLWLRQ GDWLQJ EDFN WR ZKLOH WKH Independent Association of Journalists RI 6HUELD KDV H[LVWHG IRU RQO\ WKH ODVW ÂżIteen years. In the almost two centuries that they have existed, the UNS have had their dark times, which was particularly the case during the regime of Slobodan

NUNS vs. UNS: I consider that Western principles and values should be spread to places where they are lacking, not where they are already used... However, you can feel that the UNS wants to turn the page and â&#x20AC;&#x153;head Westâ&#x20AC;?.

0LORãHYLß %XW QRZ WKH 816 KDV HUDVHG those dark years. I consider that Western principles and values should be spread to places where they are lacking, not where they are already used... However, you can feel that the UNS wants to turn the page DQG ³KHDG :HVW´ :H FDQQRW LJQRUH WKH fact that the UNS gathers together around MRXUQDOLVWV ZKLOH WKH 1816 JDWKHUV only a third of that number. I think that the NUNS is a great organisation, but the UNS should also be revived through its inclusion in good projects. Not long ago I became a member of the UNS committee. I think it would be ideal if they were to unite, because Serbia needs a strong organisation of journalists.

The PRESS VITEZ Festival has a large Jury, comprising some fifteen television, film and university professionals. How did you select the members, and how did they choose the winner? $W WKH $ZDUGV WKHUH ZHUH SURfessional colleagues in the jury. The main condition was that they be experienced professionals. They came from many different PHGLD VHFWRUV IURP 576 % 79 3,1.

79 )2; DQG HYHQ $XVWUDOLD Âą DQG LQFOXGed staff of various universitiesâ&#x20AC;Ś The best thing about this festival is that it manages to unite people with different political and media opinions. Not just members of the jury, but also the people who participated and came from TV stations that are often opponents in real life; this is a rare and extraordinarily special jury.

Every TV miniature Jury member gives a written grade, and grades are later arranged by the middle or average grade.

7KLV \HDUÂśV ZLQQHU RI WKH *5$1' 35,; 35(66 9,7(= ZDV *DVSHM /XEHM IURP Slovenia, who was awarded for his short, analytical TV story entitled Fight for journalism. He had one of the biggest average scores and I, as president, also give him WKH ÂłJROGHQ YRLFH´ EHFDXVH KLV ZRUN LV exceptional from both aspects, journalistic and technical. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting to know that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give awards only to journalists, but also to cameraman and editors, ensurCorD / March 2008 79

CELLULOID POPCORN

$OHNVLĂ˝ WKLQNV 6HUELD LV SURJUHVVLQJ LQ DOO DUHDV ing ours is a high profile TV festival.

7KH IHVWLYDO ZDV KHOG LQ %HOJUDGH Novi Sad & Subotica. Why did you decide to organise it in three different cities?

The Jury screening and public voting ZDV KHOG LQ %HOJUDGH DW WKH Âł-XJRVORYHQVND Kinotekaâ&#x20AC;?. In Novi Sad we welcomed guests from within the region and handed out the official awards, and in Subotica we organised the open discussion & lecture about the media in Kosovo.

I was taught by my experiences of the American nation that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to act locally, but think globally. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big festival, which needs to be shown in everyday life.

I hope we managed to do that.

Subotica City Hall served as the venue for the lead discussion and theme Âł.RVRYRÂśV 0HGLD WRGD\´ :KDW ZDV VDLG" Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve recently trained a number of Serbian journalists in Kosovo. Then I visited Albanian Radio and Television services in Kosovo, and invited independent Albanian journalists to visit Subotica.

Frankly, it was there that I came across the idea to organise the lecture. But we only succeeded in bringing representatives of minorities that have complained of the 80 CorD / March 2008

Ghetto effect and lack of professional behaviour among journalists in Kosovo. My own experience can confirm that. There are neither Serbian nor Albanian media professionals in the province, and without knowing it they only serve to further complicate an already complicated situation in Kosovo. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary to invest in their education. The most important part of that education would be to eliminate the speech of hatred.

The festival is set to become more international this year. What are your plans and will there be any Albanian journalists in the jury?

Of course, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re enough opportunities for them to be members of the jury, or participants within the contest itself. We invited them last year, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll make more effort to ensure that they come this year. The fes-

WLYDO ZLOO EHFRPH LQWHUQDWLRQDO LQ VR our journalists will be able to compare their work with that of colleagues from the rest of the world, but the concept will stay regional.

University scholarships will be given to journalists from within the region, and to journalists from Serbia that work abroad, so we help the Serbian media abroad to develop.

In only its second year, the festival gained an international reputation. Why do you think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s become so popular so quickly?

TV professionals felt that the festival hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t merely been created so that some people could get paid or just another award night for friends to be awarded, but rather to really improve the profession itself.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also very important that we managed to abolish any and all politics from the festival, and that we award only journalists personally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as opposed to awarding their media house. I truly believe that the festival succeeded, because we have managed to unite different TV stations from all over the regain, and a large section of professionals as jury membersâ&#x20AC;Ś In the Balkans, politics and politicians are everywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201C; except at our festival.

Serbia boasts a plethora of local and regional television stations. How important is their role and how do they effect State television (RTS)? /RFDO PHGLD VWDUWHG FRQWULEXWLQJ WR freedom of speech even before they promoted democratic values. Today, their role is different. They can be rivals to RTS because they report on local events in their area in more detail, which is more interesting to the local audience.

How do you see the future of TV in Serbia?

Serbia is one of the poorest countries in Europe, but it is modernising in all areas. Serbian television stations will increase their standards in all areas, especially journalistically and technically.

The transfer from analogue and old digital technologies to HD-TV will occur later here than in the rest of the Europe, but LW ZLOO KDSSHQ , WKLQN E\ ZH VKRXOG have full HD-TV. Maybe we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have expensive or up-to-date technology at the moment, but we can improve our knowledge. Small countries, no matter how poor, should invest in education, which is the main motto of the TV Festival of 0LQLDWXUHV 35(66 9,7(= NQRZOHGJH LV wealth, only one intelligent word can be worth more than a million dollars. Â&#x201E;

State vs. Local: Local media started contributing to freedom of speech even before they promoted democratic values.Today, their role is different.They can be rivals to RTS because they report on local events in their area in more detail, which is more interesting to the local audience.

CorD \ .OVEMBER

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CULTURE

0DJQLĂ&#x20AC;FHQW SEVEN 4WK (XURSHDQ 'RFXPHQWDU\ )LOP )HVWLYDO =RUDQ DQG 6YHWODQD 3RSRYLĂ˝ ZHUH WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW SHRSOH LQ 6HUELD WR MRLQ WKH (XURSHDQ 'RFXPHQWDU\ 1HWZRUN ('1 $QG QRZ LQ RQO\ LWV WK \HDU WKH 0DJQLĂ&#x20AC;FHQW 6HYHQ IHVWLYDO KDV EHFRPH RQH RI WKH PRVW SRSXODU )HVWLYDOV LQ 6HUELD DQG EH\RQG 7KLV PRQWK &RU' WDNHV D FORVHU ORRN DQG IROORZV WKH IHVWLYDO IURP RSHQLQJ QLJKW BY: VIK JENSEN PHOTO: KRISTOFFER KLEM BERGERSEN The 4th annual Magnificent Seven Documentary Film Festival was opened to a packed house at the Sava Centre by the now legendary Mr. Tue Steen MĂźller with the quote â&#x20AC;&#x153;A documentary a day keeps the doctor awayâ&#x20AC;? Â&#x201E; You have successfully run your own SURGXFWLRQ FRPSDQ\ DQG ÂżOP VFKRRO for many years. Could you tell as about their origins and some of the obstacles youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve encountered over the years? Â&#x2C6; :H ÂżUVW VWDUWHG RXU ÂżOP VFKRRO WKH ÂżUVW SULYDWH ÂżOP VFKRRO LQ WKH IRUPHU <XJRVODYLD EDFN LQ $W WKDW WLPH WKH VWDWH XQLYHUVLW\ÂśV )DFXOW\ RI 'UDPDWLF $UWV ZDV WKH RQO\ HGXFDWLRQDO LQVWLWXWLRQ IRU ÂżOP LQ WKH FRXQWU\ 0RUHRYHU GXULQJ WKDW SHULRG WKH PDMRULW\ RI WKH FRXQWU\Âś PDQ\ ÂżOP FOXEV 82 CorD / March 2008

ZHUH FORVHG GXH WR WKH LQFUHDVLQJ SRSXODULW\ RI YLGHR UHQWDO FOXEV ZKLOH RQ WKH RWKHU KDQG WKH LQWHUHVW RI \RXQJ SHRSOH LQ ÂżOP knowledge was very high. Our main aim ZDV WR SURPRWH ÂżOP NQRZOHGJH DQG WKH FXOWXUH RI ÂżOP WKURXJK PRVW RI RXU DFWLYLWLHV I must say that we encountered numerous obstacles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; principally related to the general economic and political situation GXULQJ WKH Âľ V +RZHYHU WKH LQFUHDVLQJ interest of young people for filmmaking always gave us the strength to overcome the problems we faced. Â&#x201E; 6HUELD LV IDU IURP ODFNLQJ LQ ÂżOP IHVtivals. What inspired you to add to the ÂżOP IHVWLYDO FDOHQGDU ZLWK WKH HVWDEOLVKLQJ RI WKH 0DJQLÂżFHQW 6HYHQ )HVWLYDO" Â&#x2C6; Serbia has a very long tradition of SURGXFLQJ VKRUW GRFXPHQWDULHV DQG RXU ÂżUVW GRFXPHQWDU\ ZRUNVKRSV ZHUH EDVHG RQ WKDW WUDGLWLRQ +RZHYHU DV WKH IHDWXUH

documentary became more and more interesting in Europe and in the world at the HQG RI WKH Âľ V RXU LGHD ZDV WR FUHDWH WKH VSDFH IRU SURPRWLQJ QHZ PRGHUQ GRFXmentaries made for cinema audiences. Â&#x201E; How complicated has it proven to secure private sponsorship and funding for the festival, and how forthcoming have state institutions been? Â&#x2C6; This festival became an important culWXUDO HYHQW GXH WR WKH LQLWLDO JUHDW VXSSRUW and partnership with the Sava Centre.

The Serbian Ministry of Culture and the City of Belgrade are great supporters of most cultural events in Belgrade and Serbia. Those institutions were the first to recognise the importance of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Magnificent Sevenâ&#x20AC;? festival by including it in annually supported events.

Private sponsorship is growing as the IHVWLYDO JURZV $W WKH VDPH WLPH ZH KDYH additional support from some cultural cenWUHV DQG HPEDVVLHV VLQFH WKH IHVWLYDO LV DOso a forum for the promotion of European culture and contacts. Â&#x201E; One of the honoured guests at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival was Mr. Tue Steen

MĂźller, a leading authority on docuPHQWDU\ ÂżOPPDNLQJ DQG IRXQGHU RI WKH ('1 :KDW W\SH RI DIÂżOLDWLRQ LV WKHUH between Mr. MĂźller and the festival? Â&#x2C6; 0U 7XH 6WHHQ 0Â OOHU ZDV D ÂżOP VHOHFWRU IRU WKH IHVWLYDO IRU WKH IRXUWK WLPH DQG HYHU\ WLPH KH LV D YHU\ VSHFLDO JXHVW DV one of the most important people on the (XURSHDQ GRFXPHQWDU\ VFHQH EXW HYHQ more as a great enthusiast and friend.

The initial idea for the festival was developed with him from the very first moPHQW DQG DV LV WKH FDVH ZLWK PDQ\ RWKHU IHVWLYDOV DQG HYHQWV LQ (XURSH KH JDYH KLV IXOO VXSSRUW DV D ILOP DQG JXHVW VHOHFWRU and as workshop developer and moderator. ,Q VKRUW 0U 0Â OOHU LV RQH RI WKH SHRple responsible for the increasing popularity and success of the festival. Â&#x201E; 'RFXPHQWDU\ ÂżOPV IRU WKH IHVWLYDO are chosen on the basis of their diverVLW\ DQG RULJLQDOLW\ +RZ GLIÂżFXOW GRHV LW SURYH WR PDNH WKH ÂżQDO VHOHFWLRQ DQG what other factors are taken into consideration during the selection process? Â&#x2C6; 2XU VHOHFWRU 0U 0Â OOHU GRHV D JUHDW job every year. First of all he watches QXPHURXV LPSRUWDQW GRFXPHQWDULHV EXW EHVLGHV ÂżQGLQJ WKHP DW ELJ GRFXPHQWDU\ IHVWLYDOV RIWHQ KH JRHV GLUHFWO\ WR DXWKRUV DQG EULQJV ÂżOPV VWUDLJKW IURP SRVWSURGXFtion studios or editing rooms. We are honoured and privileged to see one of the best IHDWXUH GRFXPHQWDULHV LQ (XURSH VR LWÂśV very hard to make the right choices with VR PDQ\ ÂżOPV IHVWLYDOV DQG DXWKRUV There is always one criterion above all others: high quality. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Magnificent Sevenâ&#x20AC;? is the selection of the seven best of the best (XURSHDQ IHDWXUH GRFXPHQWDULHV RI WKH \HDU and on the other hand it is always a very special and personal choice of the selector.

'DQLVK GLUHFWRU 3HUQLOOH 5RVH ZKRVH Ă&#x20AC;OP Âś7KH 0RQDVWHU\¡ FORVHG WKLV \HDU¡V 0DJQLĂ&#x20AC;FHQW )HVWLYDO

=RUDQ 3RSRYLĂ˝ DQG 7XH 6WHHQ 0XOOHU Â&#x201E; What made you decide to become an EDN (European Documentary Network) member? Â&#x2C6; Since Serbia suffered severe economic DQG FXOWXUDO LVRODWLRQ GXULQJ WKH Âľ V HYHrybody felt the lack of communication with WKH ZRUOG $QG DV RXU PDLQ DLPV ZHUH WR educate young people in documentary ÂżOPPDNLQJ DQG WR SURPRWH FRQWHPSRUDU\ GRFXPHQWDU\ FXOWXUH ('1 PHPEHUVKLS was the natural answer for us. Â&#x201E; :KDW EHQHÂżWV GR \RX WKLQN WKH ('1 has provided your festival and the widHU ÂżOP LQGXVWU\ LQ 6HUELD" Â&#x2C6; EDN is a network spread all over EuURSH DQG JHWWLQJ 6HUELD LQWR WKDW QHWZRUN was very important. It is basically about EULQJLQJ SHRSOH WRJHWKHU PDNLQJ FRQWDFWV 6WDUWLQJ ZLWK 0U 0Â OOHU ZKR LV RQH RI WKH IRXQGHUV DQG WKH ILUVW GLUHFWRU RI ('1 all the EDN people that we were in contact with gave great support to our ideas and helped in staring projects that involved more and more people here.

When â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Magnificent Sevenâ&#x20AC;? festival VWDUWHG WKHUH ZDV KDUGO\ VSDFH IRU PRGern documentaries and most of the film students and young film directors considered the documentary format to be merely a means of helping kick-start the making of fictional feature films.

1RZDGD\V WKH VLWXDWLRQ LV YHU\ PXFK changed and a significant number of young filmmakers are involved in documentaries with great enthusiasm and high hopes. Â&#x201E; You offer a workshop and Master class free of charge during the festival. +RZ ZRXOG \RX GHÂżQH WKH PDLQ DXGLence attracted? Â&#x2C6; One of the basic concepts of the festival ZDV WR KDYH DXWKRUV RI DOO ÂżOPV DV JXHVWV and to get the most from their presence. )RU ÂżOP VWXGHQWV DQG \RXQJ GRFXPHQWDU\ PDNHUV LQ 6HUELD PHHWLQJ WKHVH LPSRU-

tant authors meant the possibility to learn PRUH QRW RQO\ WKHRUHWLFDOO\ EXW WR JHW close to authorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; precious experiences.

7KHUH LV DOZD\V RQH FULWHULRQ DERYH DOO RWKHUV KLJK TXDOLW\ ´7KH 0DJQLĂ&#x20AC;FHQW 6HYHQÂľ LV WKH VHOHFWLRQ RI WKH VHYHQ EHVW RI WKH EHVW (XURSHDQ IHDWXUH GRFXPHQWDULHV RI WKH \HDU DQG RQ WKH RWKHU KDQG LW LV DOZD\V D YHU\ VSHFLDO DQG SHUVRQDO FKRLFH RI WKH VHOHFWRU Â&#x201E; There is a major movement towards recording on HD. What effect do you think this is having on the industry DQG PRUH VSHFLÂżFDOO\ RQ FLQHPDV" Â&#x2C6; +' LV MXVW DQRWKHU WHFKQLFDO FKDQJH WKDW will improve the quality of picture. But the revolutionary change has already ocFXUUHG Âą QDPHO\ GXH WR '9 DQG '9&$0 technology thousands upon thousands of documentary projects are made every year.

That technology has provided the freedom WR SURGXFH DW UHGXFH FRVWV %XW PD\EH LQ the future will be able to discover more SRVVLELOLWLHV RIIHUHG E\ +' WHFKQRORJ\ Â&#x201E; Where do you see the future of the festival movement and the documenWDU\ ÂżOP LQGXVWU\ LQ 6HUELD" Â&#x2C6; )RU WKH PRPHQW ZH DUH OLYLQJ WKH IXture that we dreamt about four years ago.

The festival is becoming more and more LPSRUWDQW IRU WKH 6HUELDQ FXOWXUDO DQG ÂżOP VFHQH <RXQJ SHRSOH DUH PRUH DQG PRUH HQWKXVLDVWLF DERXW PDNLQJ GRFXPHQWDULHV and supporting all of that is our constant DLP 0RUHRYHU WKH IHVWLYDO LWVHOI LV DOVR becoming more and more important on the European documentary scene. Â&#x201E; CorD / March 2008 83

TOS RECOMMENDS

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CorD / March 2008 87

LEISURE & LIFESTYLE

Vojvodinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bird paradise All the deep rich soil of Vojvodina produces an abundance of grain, and of course other crops.The wheat, corn and sunĂ RZHU RI WKH SURYLQFH VXSSRUW D WUXO\ PDUYHOORXV IRRG FKDLQ It is our larder; our feed store for livestock, and with the SULFH RI FHUHDOV OHDSLQJ XSZDUGV LW LV D YLWDO H[SRUW LQGXVWU\ %XW , DP LQWHUHVWHG LQ WKH UROH WKLV SOD\V LQ D ULFK HFRORJLFDO ZHE EHFDXVH 6HUELD DQG HVSHFLDOO\ 9RMYRGLQD KDV VSHFWDFXODU ZLOGOLIH HVSHFLDOO\ WKDW PRVW YLVLEOH SDUW RI LW WKH ELUG OLIH TEXT & IMAGES: ROB MACCURRACH

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here are fine grain-growing areas in Germany and France, but the remorseless commercial pressure has only served to catastrophically reduce the biodiversity of arable farmland. In Serbia, thanks, perhaps so far to a more benign pace of development and lack of capital, ecological degradation has not yet taken place. The land is rich, and we share it with a glorious abundance of wildlife.

I met a Bulgarian wildlife tour operator who was beside himself with excitement to hear that Vojvodina had a good population of Saker falcon, that larger and fiercer steppe version of the Peregrine falcon.

The reason it is flourishing in Vojvodina, apart from the fact of less industrial persecution, is the abundance of quarry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from duck and wild doves, to ground squirrels.

There is a truly breathtaking abundance of birds of prey. In the right season, you can see Marsh harriers and Hen harriers, Saker falcon and Merlin, Goshawk and sparrow hawk, Long-eared owls and Little owls.

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88 CorD / March 2008

The most spectacular predator may be the White-tailed eagle, a flying barn door of a bird that breeds successfully along the Danube and Tisa rivers; seeing an eagle drop like a thunderbolt on a wild goose is something you never forget.

This abundance of predators only exists in Vojvodina because there is the food to support them. The grain supports a healthy rodent population, and thanks to owls and birds of prey, there is a fierce balance maintained between predator and prey. Organic farmers know all about this, and leave rough field edges and encourage nesting sites so that nature keeps things in a healthy equilibrium.

One of the most remarkable birding days I have had was during a severe freeze up with a good covering of snow to make life difficult for ground-feeding birds. We found a field of unharvested sunflower, with their seed-heavy heads bowed and frozen above the snow. It must have been

All you need to know: Birdwatching and wildlife trips www.wild-serbia.com and www.birdwatchserbia.com Mail milruzic@bridwatchserbia.com 0LODQ 5XĂŚLĂž LV D SHUVRQDEOH knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide.

Self-catering farmhouse where you can take a break www.stara-moravica.com Mail rob@eunet.yu Phone +44 7990 921 405 or +381 63 7082 680 Tours and itineraries can be arranged. 3 minutes on a bike to local lake full of birds.

7RXULVP DFFRPPRGDWLRQ WRXUV www.visitserbia.org Photographs are by Katarina 3DXQRYLĂž VHH KHU RXWVWDQGLQJ galleries at www.wild-serbia.com the best feast for many miles, because tens of thousands of finches had congregated there. Colourful bramblings, goldfinches, greenfinches, chaffinches, linnets, redpolls; they were all there, along with bewildered predators wondering which way to hunt.

The birding hotspots are inevitably the

extensive carp ponds. Again, it is thanks to the grain that the carp are fattened so successfully. Wheat is literally shovelled into the ponds for the carp and cat-fish to fatten like pigs. But where there is shallow water and Turska reed, there is also a whole world of water birds. In May the reed beds are almost deafening with the singing of reed warblers and the calling of frogs, while penduline tits are building their perfect hanging-basket nests hidden in the bending willows. If you sit quietly by a fish pond in the evening, you will see Great bitterns, Little bitterns, Great egrets and Little egrets, Water rails and spoonbills, herons and cormorants.

The diversity and the pure concentra-

tion of all this bird life is the finest theatrical event. The sounds, the dramas, the unexpected; the hunting and the hunted, all come out onto this watery stage to thrill and leave us marvelling.

If asked, I would choose Autumn as my favourite time of the year. The diversity is less spectacular, but these grain lands and wetlands harbour great congregations of visitors from the Arctic. Duck begin to fill up the carp ponds, reed beds hide rafts

the cranes pass over, just as old people point when the first storks return in Spring, circling over the â&#x20AC;&#x153;stork villagesâ&#x20AC;? along the TamiĹĄ river, where huge and ancient nests rest on the roofs and electricity poles.

Whether you are a serious birder, with field guide and binoculars, or simply someone who loves to celebrate all this diversity and beauty, while sitting by a lake with a bottle of beer, there is a mass of it to be enjoyed in Serbia. Noticing it and recog-

of new visitors every wind swept morning, the wild geese arrive to glean the stubbles, but best of all are the wonderful cranes.

They gather in their thousands in Banat, where they spend the winter feeding and surviving, flying out in straggling skeins with their trumpeting calls. Every villager will look up with pleasure when he hears

nising it, hearing familiar bird calls, making friends with your wildlife neighbours, becomes a delightful habit with its endless seasonal cycle. Like the migration call of the birds, we somehow recognise something ancient within us, perhaps from a distant hunter-gatherer past when we needed to notice these things and follow their secret signs. Â&#x201E;

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CorD / March 2008 89

TECHNO TALK Packard Bell Compasseo Manufacturer: Packard Bell Price: â&#x201A;Ź175 url: www.packardbell.com As you bomb along the Belgrade-NiĹĄ Motorway, burek in one hand, iPod in the other, steering wheel being handled by your dextrous knees, you will need a few things from your sat-nav. One: that it has a wide 3.4in screen for seeing your next manoeuvre before you hear LW WZR WKDW LW KDV VSHHG FDPHUDV DQG 70& WUDIÂżF LQIRUPDWLRQ EXLOW in; three: that it has a decent speaker â&#x20AC;&#x201C; without a hand free to change JHDU 7KH QHZ 3DFNDUG %HOO &RPSDVVHR VDWLVÂżHV DOO RI WKHVH QHHGV Now we just have to wait for Serbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport systems to catch up.

Tesla Roadster Manufacturer:Tesla Motors Price: $98,000 url: www.teslamotors.com After the Sinclair C5 debacle, electric power was rightly deemed unsuitable for any road vehicle other than a milk Ă&#x20AC;RDW 1R ORQJHU 7HVODÂśV USP PSK 5RDGVWHU LV WKH PRVW H[LFLWQJ PRWRU YHKLFOH RI WKH GHFDGH LWV EKS PRWRU ZLOO WDNH LW WR PSK LQ OHVV WKDQ IRXU VHFRQGV Âą WKDWÂśV DV TXLFN DV D /DPERUJKLQL 0XUFLHODJR Âą EXW LWÂśV PRUH HIÂżFLHQW WKDQ DQ\ SHWURO GLHVHO RU K\EULG FDU RQ WKH SODQHW ,WV ÂľSURSHU VSRUWV FDUÂś KDQGOLQJ FRPHV FRXUWHV\ RI D Lotus Elise-inspired chassis. Though it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t roar, it will get you up to warp speed with RQO\ URDG QRLVH IRU FRPSDQ\ 0RUHRYHU WKDQNV WR WKH WRUTXH JHQHUDWHG by the electric motor, it only needs two gears. Tru Truly a vehicular revolution.

iAudio Q5 A Manufacturer: Cowon Ma rrice: â&#x201A;Ź620 url: r www.cowonglobal.com You o donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t read the spec sheet of Cowonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new iAudio Q5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it ho at you like a child on the mother of all sugar highs shouts IW DIWHU VFRIÂżQJ SDFNV RI âWDUNÂśV EDQDQLFD 7KLV 303 SDFNV t a touch-sensitive, 5in display that offers an LCD TV-baiting FRQWUDVW UDWLR IRU WKH EODFNHVW EODFNV WKLV VLGH RI .HLWK

Richardsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; i lungs. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got Wi-Fi for Flash-enabled internet access Q DQG %OXHWRRWK $ '3 IRU ZLUHOHVV PXVLF VWUHDPLQJ ,WÂśOO a every digital video and audio codec you can think of â&#x20AC;&#x201C; play [ H[FHSW SHUYHUVHO\ $SSOHÂśV SUHIHUUHG $$& DQG K Âą DQG VWRUHV WKH ORW RQ D *% RU *% KDUG GLVN R

90 CorD / March 2008

L Linx Dragon-I M Manufacturer: LINX Price: â&#x201A;Ź95 P url: www.linx-av.com u Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve reached stalemate.

Y IItâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been four hours ssince you got home and ddiscovered your iPod eensnared by a beast from aan alternative dimension.

IIts four pseudopod heads watch you silently; you w watch back. Later, you w ppluck up the courage to aapproach and discover tthat some human virus has kkilled it. But it turns out its QQHFNV DUH Ă&#x20AC;H[LEOH DQG WKDW yyour iPodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music comes oout of its heads if you press SSOD\ <RX FDQ ÂżUH VRXQG LQ many directions, truly an m aalien desire.

Elonex LNX PF7501 Manufacturer: Elonex Price: â&#x201A;Ź140 url: www.elonexdirect.com As a rule, digital photo frames are boring. Not just boring, but supremely boring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like taking a trip to a museum of beige paint samples with Melvyn Bragg. Thankfully, Elonexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s does more than scroll through your snaps, cramming a digital TV, Freeview tuner DQG 03 SOD\HU LQWR LWV VOLJKW LQ DVSHFW UDWLR VKHOO 7KH (3* shows you whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on TV and a schedule function reminds you about programmes you want to watch. The digital picture frame functions mean you can view your pictures and vides as a slideshow, rotate them and zoom in but, like we said, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the boring bit.

Evesham Zieo NX600-HDX Manufacturer: Evesham url: www.evesham.com $VLGH IURP WKH *XLWDU +HUR 5RFNV WKH (LJKWLHV ÂżHU\ ÂżQJHUHG FODVVLF 3OD\ :LWK 0H Âľ V KDLU PHWDO KHURHV ([WUHPH KDYH done very little for the world of gaming. Conversely, Intelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ; ;WUHPH SURFHVVRU LV QR JRRG DW ZULWLQJ SRZHU EDOODGV but will deliver gaming greatness, especially packed into (YHVKDPÂśV QHZ =LHR JDPLQJ ODSWRS ,W LQFOXGHV D 0% 19,',$ *H)RUFH 0 *7 JUDSKLFV FDUG D *% hard drive, a dual-layer DVD-RW drive and ,QWHO +LJK 'HÂżQLWLRQ VSHDNHUV into a decidedly attractive shell. How much do we like this? More than words.

CorD / March 2008 91

TECHNO TALK

Ricoh GR Digital II Manufacturer: Ricoh Price: â&#x201A;Ź540 url: www.ricoh.com Popular digital cameras are all good and well, but they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attract any attention. Âľ2K WKDWÂśV WKH 7 Âś SHRSOH VD\ ÂľWKH RQH ZLWK the touchscreenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. What do you do? Deny it? Better to bin it and get a more obscure camera, like the Ricoh GR Digital. Âľ%OLPH\ Âś WKH\ FU\ ÂľZKDWÂśV WKDW"Âś :LWK Q Âľ, FDQÂśW EHOLHYH \RX GRQÂśW knowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shrug, you tell them that this LV WKH 03 *5 'LJLWDO ,, WKDW LW has ferret fur micro-mirrors, a nanoODVHU Ă&#x20AC;DVK DQG D OHYHO VHQVRU SLFWXUH optimiser. Of these, only the last is actually true. But they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that.

Intempo t iDAB Manufacturer: n Intempo cce: â&#x201A;Ź80 url: w www.intempodigital.com Likee one of those birds that clean food from alligatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teeth, the Intempo iDAB AB perches at the feet of the iPod, grabbing a lifeline but giving something et in return.

Plug it in to your pod and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll add DAB radio, allowing you to set ten fa favourite stations and scroll through them on its four-line LCD display. a Because it knows diversity is the key to survival, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also plug directly into d speaker clocks and blends in with its surroundings via a range of iPodiPod mp complementing colours.

3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator Manufacturer: 3D Price: â&#x201A;Ź55 url: www.3dconnexion.com It can all be traced back to your childhood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; not so good at maths RU VSRUW \RX IHOW FRPSHOOHG WR EHFRPH D ÂľFUHDWLYHÂś WR KLGH WKHVH shortcomings. Twenty years later, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still winging it. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the RQO\ 0DF XVHU LQ \RXU RIÂżFH <RX ZHDU SROR VKLUWV JR WR JDOOHU\ openings and recently binned your mouse in favour of a trackball.

But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not working. You need the SpaceNavigator: a mouse designed for professionals that use 3D workspaces. You only use it to buzz around in Google Earth like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at the helm of a spaceship but, temporarily at least, you look the part.

92 CorD / March 2008

Creative Zen Stone Plus Manufacturer: Creative Price: ÂŁ70 (4GB); ÂŁ70 (8GB) url: www.creative.com We used to have a stack of stone-based puns but since the Zen Stone Plus came along, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used them all up. Now Creativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back again carving more features into its soundslinging slab. The Nano may feel smug in its new video-playing shell, but the Zen Stone 3OXVÂśV QHZ *% DQG *% FDSDFLWLHV SOXV WKH DELOLW\ WR SOD\ '50 IUHH $$&V ÂżOHV PHDQ it could well be knocked from its pedestal.

Especially since this rolling Zen Stone gathers less costâ&#x20AC;Ś

Oakley Split Thumps Manufacturer: Oakley Price: tba (due March â&#x20AC;&#x2122;08) url: www.oakley.com Once wearing shades indoors was the preserve of rock stars and fading screen icons, but now it seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry is doing it. So, a word of advice: we recommend you use the new Oakley Split Thumps in their natural habitat, i.e. on the slopes. Like the Thumps of old, they include a built-in MP3 player, but this time the controls are LQWHJUDWHG LQWR WKH Âľ2Âś ORJR DQG WKH HDUSLHFHV DUH GHWDFKDEOH $YDLODEOH LQ EODFN RU ZKLWH WKH\ÂśUH OLNHO\ WR EH SULFH\ DQG ZLOO FRPH LQ 0% *% RU *% YHUVLRQV BluFM; Gear4 BluStream RX Manufacturer: Gear4 Price: BluFM: â&#x201A;Ź70; BluStream: â&#x201A;Ź70 url: www.gear4.com Bluetooth is the Donald Trump of data standards. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a tendency to marry inappropriate women or DU ZHDU LWV KDLU LQ DQ XQĂ&#x20AC;DWWHULQJ ERXIIDQW EXW LW o want to take out everything. As part of does W LWV TXHVW WR DFTXLUH DOO RI \RXU JDGJHWV LWV hhiding in the BluFM and BluStream RX fr from Gear4. BluFM is an FM transmitter that w will play music from any MP3 player and aaccept calls from a Bluetooth-enabled mobile.

T The BluStream RX hooks up to your stereo tu turning it into a Bluetooth speaker for mobile ccalls and wireless streaming. Soon nothing w will be safe. Next stop, the Bluetooth tumble dr dryerâ&#x20AC;Ś

CorD / March 2008 93

Z Z Z V Z D W F K F R P Knez Mihajlova 28, 011 303 69 69 Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 88, 011 302 06 60 Delta City, blok 67, 011 312 95 16 Representative for Serbia and Montenegro LukaFood 11000 Belgrade Kneginje Zorke 84/II tel/fax: +381 11 244 3708, 344 2329 H PDLO RI多FH#MREVRQ FR \X

SPRING SUMMER COLLECTION 2008

Z Z Z V Z D W F K F R P Knez Mihajlova 28, 011 303 69 69 Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 88, 011 302 06 60 Delta City, blok 67, 011 312 95 16 Representative for Serbia and Montenegro LukaFood 11000 Belgrade Kneginje Zorke 84/II tel/fax: +381 11 244 3708, 344 2329 H PDLO RI多FH#MREVRQ FR \X

SPRING SUMMER COLLECTION 2008

HOW TO...

â&#x20AC;ŚGet food delivered day and night?

Fancy some take-away food, but not sure where and what you can get? Check out the website www.donesi.com. This innovative site, available in both English and Serbian, lists restaurants by type of cuisine and provides details of the menu on offer, including prices, location, delivery zone and working hours.

CR SWO O D R

Solve this crossword puzzle and test your Serbian â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the clues may be in English, but the answers should be entered in Serbian

â&#x20AC;ŚGo skating?

,I \RX ÂżQG \RXU GHVLUH IRU VNDWLQJ IUXVWUDWHG E\ WKH VDOW DQG grit laying on Belgrade streets this winter, why not visit one of Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skating rinks and enjoy warming refreshments while you skate the day away? Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Olympic-sized skating rink at â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hala Pionirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is open to the public year-round, and also stages LFH KRFNH\ HYHQWV DQG ÂżJXUH VNDWLQJ FRPSHWLWLRQV 'XULQJ WKH winter months, the fresh air skating experience is provided at the romantic setting of Kalimegdan fortress. Situated beside the basketball and tennis courts, Kalimegdanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skating rink is open throughout the winter months and offers skating to music, as well as a snack bar.

â&#x20AC;ŚVisit the Royal residence?

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Find yourself frustrated by your inability to say simple things in 6HUELDQ" +HUH DW &RU' ZH DUH HQGHDYRXULQJ WR PDNH \RXU VWD\ LQ the region a tad less alien by providing a few simple phrases that will help you make yourself understood: Ă&#x17D; Is this your responsibility? Ă&#x17D; Da li je ovo vaĹĄa odgovornost? Ă&#x17D; Where was this manufactured? Ă&#x17D; Gde je ovo proizvedeno? Ă&#x17D; Is there a hotel in this town? Ă&#x17D; Da li postoji hotel u ovom gradu? Ă&#x17D; I would like to buy some milk and cheese? Ă&#x17D; äHOHR ELK GD NXSLP POHNR L VLU" Ă&#x17D; When does the train to Zagreb depart? Ă&#x17D; Kada polazi voz za Zagreb? Ă&#x17D; Serbia has great nightlife, if you know where to look Ă&#x17D; 6UELMD LPD GREDU QRĂźQL SURYRG DNR ]QDWH JGH GD JD SRWUDĂĽLWH 98 CorD / March 2008

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11 12 13 HORIZONTAL: 1.Part of Belgrade, around Technical Universety,2 1DPH RI DFWHU 'HORQ VOLPH WKDW GULSV IURP D QRVH 3.

Then, therefore-catle breeding,4.Yell of impatience-Handball Club (short)-Toward, in a direction of, 5.Car plate for LoznicaHopeless situation-Symbol of phosphorus,6.Symbol of sulphur-A big elevator (plural),7. City in Romania, 8. Town in Southern Serbia-Symbol for neutron,9. Registration plate for Romania-River ZKLFK GLVHPERJXH LQ 'DQXEH LQ %HOJUDGH 5HJLVWDUWLRQ SODWH IRU Valjevo,10.Fashion magazine for women from Paris-Same letteresStatue,11 $IÂżOLDWLRQ RI VHYHUDO FRPSDQLHV IRUHLJQ 7RZQ LQ %DQDW birth place of Mihajlo Pupin,12. Kitchen dish-French harbor at Lamansh,13.â&#x20AC;?Villageâ&#x20AC;? which Emir Kusturica built at Mokra Gora.

VERTICAL: 1. Gas combined with butane used in the home; the inside part of a coat, 2. part of an animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body that wags (plural); American journalistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; association (abb.); name of a British actor â&#x20AC;Ś Guinness, 3. name of American actress â&#x20AC;Ś. Williams; Serb holy land on Halkidiki, personal pronoun, 4. British chess player Michael â&#x20AC;Ś ; a thousandth of something; vehicle symbol for Tunisia, 5. movement of water along a river, Serbian positive word; hypothetical citizen of the moon, 6 SORXJK D ÂżHOG V\PERO IRU QLWURXV GUDJRQ 7. on top; decoration on the head of a rooster; area meant for building a house, 8 WKH QDPH RI RXU ÂżUVW DFWUHVV ÂŤ 5KLQH DQ LGHDO JHRPHWULFDO picture; to damn someone, 9. value in money; symbol for argon; mountain pass, 10. Biggest peninsula in the world; city in Pakistan

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â&#x20AC;ŚMake yourself understood?

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Sick of being unable to explain just how much your tooth hurts to your Serbian dentist? Why not try out the services of dentist .DWDULQD *DĂžLĂź D Ă&#x20AC;XHQW (QJOLVK VSHDNHU &RQWDFW .DWDULQD RQ RU YLD HPDLO RQ NDWDULQDBJDFLF#KRWPDLO FRP

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â&#x20AC;ŚFind an English-speaking dentist?

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Luxury transportation is available from Limousine Service. With their luxurious, stylish and glamorous vehicles, Limousine Service will ensure an unforgettable ride for those choosing to hire one of their cars. Make reservations by email, fax or phone. First-time ULGHUV VKRXOG YLVLW WKH FHQWUH LQ SHUVRQ ZLWK YDOLG ,' 6XEVHTXHQW WULSV FDQ EH ERRNHG KRXUV LQ DGYDQFH RYHU WKH SKRQH RU YLD HPDLO &RQWDFW /LPRXVLQH 6HUYLFH RQ RU YLVLW WKHP online at www.limoservis.co.yu.

If your car breaks down while you are driving in the city, or even in the countryside, you are best advised to contact the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;International Touring and Information Centre of the Automobile Association of Serbia & Montenegroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. If you happen to be D PHPEHU RI WKLV RUJDQLVDWLRQ RU VLPLODU DIÂżOLDWHG IRUHLJQ organisations, you can receive special terms. All relevant LQIRUPDWLRQ FDQ EH REWDLQHG KRXUV D GD\ E\ FDOOLQJ RU RU YLD WKH ZHEVLWH DW ZZZ DPVM FR \X

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â&#x20AC;ŚGet emergency car repairs or roadside assistance?

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Ever wondered how the royals live? Now you can see for yourself. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Aleksander Karadjordjevic and family welcome visitors to Belgradeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royal Palace for tours and to view the artistic treasures of the residence. Those wishing to visit need merely contact the Palace ,QIRUPDWLRQ DQG 3UHVV 'HSDUWPHQW RQ )LQG RXW more information at www.royalfamily.org.

â&#x20AC;ŚHire a limousine?

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