Belgrade Insight by Jelena Bralic

Issue No. 116 Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

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Serbia’s new team faces same old challenges Whichever parties form the new administration, they face the same old inherited headaches - from soaring debt and unemployment to endemic corruption and the unresolved issue of Kosovo.

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New countries, new views on Tito

Friday • June 13 • 2008

Boris Pavelić

erbia awaits a new government, but the tasks the new cabinet faces are quite old. The new administration must deal first with soaring debt, inflation and unemployment, as well as focusing on EU integration, dialogue with Kosovo and corruption, analysts say.

It’s the economy, stupid Once it assumes its duties, the new government will confront the problem of Serbia’s out-of-control national debt.

“J

Tomislav Nikolić and Boris Tadić agreed on Serbia’s main priorities.

This is now five per cent above the agreed limit of 45 per cent of GDP. As a result of this, the IMF has postponed a fresh arrangement with Serbia. The agreement was frozen in February after the IMF said Serbia had

projected a fiscal deficit reaching at least 5.25 per cent of GDP, having agreed that the deficit would not exceed 4.25 per cent of GDP [€1.3 billion]. Unemployment, meanwhile, stands

budget inconsistent with the agreed fiscal programme. While it was agreed that the fiscal deficit - the gap between state revenues and expenditure – would not exceed 4.25 per cent of GDP [€1.3 billion], the IMF mission to Belgrade said Serbia had projected a fiscal deficit reaching at least 5.25 per cent of GDP.

osip Broz Tito. Politician. He was the president of Yugoslavia. A womaniser. He had a lot of women. Everybody lived well during his times. There was a lot of money.” This was the way a high school student from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently described a photo of Josip Broz Tito. It illustrates, a bit grotesquely, how Tito is perceived within the education systems of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. Another high school student’s description of Tito was cited in a 2011 edition of “Skolegijum”, a Sarajevo based education journal: “I think this is Josip Broz Tito. He was at the top of the former Yugoslavia. He was a mechanic and a locksmith,” the student wrote after being asked to describe the man in the photo. Such distorted descriptions of Josip Broz Tito are the result of “de-titoisation”, a process which was “one of the main characteristics of the changes to history teaching after the dissolution of Yugoslavia”, as Zagreb-based historian Magdalena Najbar-Agičić puts it in the book “The myth of Tito“. “The impact of that change on the collective consciousness still hasn’t been sufficiently explored,” NajbarAgičić stresses.

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officially at 24 per cent. Inflation is another worry, as is the falling value of the national currency. The dinar hit a new low at the end of May, when it was worth 116 on the euro. Continued on page 3

Income tax reform may revive shaky finances Root and branch reform of the way Serbia assesses and collects income tax could inject valuable new funds into the depleted budget, analysts say.

Olivera Bojić Belgrader from Savski Venac municipality with an annual income of €1.6 million is the person with the highest registered income in the country, according to the Tax Administration, which says he owes 15 per cent of this

Belgrade Insight

Thirty two years after his death, the cult of personality built around Josip Broz Tito in history teaching across the old Yugoslavia has been replaced with narrower, nationalist interpretations.

Gordana Andrić

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amount, about €277,000, a year in personal income tax. He is one of a few who pay such high taxes in Serbia, where income tax as a percentage of national revenue is far below the European average. While in most OECD countries individual income tax provides a quarter of total tax revenue, in Serbia it provides only about 10 per cent.

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As the Serbian government’s arrangement with the IMF was put on hold after the national debt exceeded the agreed ceiling of 45 per cent of GDP, and is currently is at 50 per cent, Serbia must find new ways both to cut spending and increase tax collection in order to pump more money into the budget. The IMF agreement was frozen in February after the IMF deemed the 2012

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Issue No. 1 / Friday, June 13, 2008

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NEWS NEWS

Belgrade goes first with bills by text

Hollywood musters blockbusters to break all records

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

serbia

serbia Continued from page 1

Serbia’s new team faces same old challenges

Serbian Bosniaks condemn footballer’s ban

Parties in Serbia’s predominantly Muslim region of Sandžak have condemned the Serbian Football Association for banning a player who refused to sing the national anthem. Bojana BARLOVAC

he Bosniak Cultural Community, the biggest Bosniak [Muslim] party in the southwest Sandžak region, has accused Siniša Mihajlović, coach of the Serbia national football team, of discriminating against Bosniaks. On May 28th Mihajlovic banned Adem Ljajić, a Bosniak player, from the international squad after he failed to sing the national anthem before a friendly match with Spain on May 26th. Ljajić said he did not join in for “personal reasons” but that failed to satisfy Mihajlović. “This act of discrimination by the coach has confirmed that Bosniaks cannot merit a place in the [national] football team without giving up their identity,” the Bosniak Cultural Community said. Another Bosniak party, the Bosniak People’s Party, BNS, also condemned the move. The party said that Ljajić had shown he respected the constitution and the country by wanting to defend “the colours of Serbia”. “However, Ljajić must not be forced to sing the anthem which is only adapted to the Serbian people and Serbian citizens of the Orthodox religion,” the party said.

Serbia’s national anthem, “God of Justice”, reads: “God our Master! Guide and prosper the Serbian lands and Serbian race!” The party said if the team continued like this, Serbian Bosniak athletes would have no choice but to play for other countries. The Serbian Football Federation has defended Mihajlović’s move, saying that by failing to sing the anthem Ljajić breached the team’s code of conduct. The code is a set of rules Mihajlović issued last week that needs to be signed by all players and staff. The first item on the code is that everyone has to sing the national anthem. However, the football federation has refused to send the document to BIRN. “It is a secret document,” the federation said. Meanwhile, Mihajlović said the doors of the national team are not closed forever to Ljajić but he needs to change his attitude and officially notify Mihajlović that he has done so. “When his form merits it, he can return,” Mihajlović said. Video footage of the game shows that Ljajić wasn’t the only player who didn’t sing the anthem. Other non-singers included Neven Subotić.

“On the other hand, regardless of the shortcomings that might be found in Nikolić’s past, I’m confident that he wants to move Serbia closer to the EU,” Bakić added.

Analysts agree that dealing with economic issues and unfreezing the IMF agreement must be the first tasks of the new government in order to attract foreign investments. “An agreement with the IMF would bring macroeconomic stability, but I fear the new government will have no plan or strategy when it comes to introducing the measures we need, or the determination and courage to implement them,” says economist Saša Đogović. “However, as they have to work with the IMF…. I expect the IMF to push them to do what they have to do. They might try to stall, but they will have to do it,” he added. In order to avoid a Greek-style meltdown, Serbia will have to embrace unpopular measures. Đogović told BIRN that the government will probably have to increase VAT, currently AT 18 per cent, and reform the complex tax system. Public sector salaries will have to be frozen, the number of public employees reduced, subsidies to public companies cut and the pension age increased. Serbian civil servants currently retire at 65 for men and 60 for women. He suggested that the government will have to sell the stateowned Telekom company to fill the budget gap. “This government will have to deal with all themistakes made in

Serbia coach Siniša Mihajlović stands by his decision to drop Ljajić.

Press Round-up

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Coming up

POEMS ABOUT ĐOKOVIĆ SPARK GAMBLING ROW IN SERBIA

NIKOLIĆ TO BE INAUGURATED ON JUNE 11th

May 30th | Večernje Novosti

Serbia’s new president, Tomislav Nikolić, was sworn in on May 31st and will be inaugurated at a ceremony on June 11th.

A book of children’s poems about Novak Đoković, the world’s top tennis player, has caused indignation among parents and Đoković’s family. The book has been put on sale in Serbian schools, sparking an avalanche of negative reactions in Serbia as it appears to promote gambling among minors.

TADIĆ READY TO BE SERBIA’S PM May 28th | Blic

Boris Tadić, leader of the Democratic Party and outgoing president, has said that he is ready to take the prime minister’s role if future government coalition partners agree on the goals he sets.

NIKOLIĆ MEETS WITH PUTIN May 27th | Press

Tomislav Nikolić, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, and Serbia’s president-elect, has attended the congress of United Russia, Russia’s ruling party, and met with President Vladimir Putin.

BELGRADE HOSTS CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN FREEMASONS May 25 | Politika th

Around 250 freemasons from 20 European countries have gathered in Belgrade for the first time in 82 years for the two-day conference of the United Grand Lodge of Europe.

JEREMIĆ BIDS TO CHAIR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY Vuk Jeremić, outgoing Serbian foreign minister, is due to find out whether or not he will preside over the UN General Assembly on June 8th. The post of President of the General Assembly is mainly of a technical nature, but it still carries a certain amount of prestige and responsibility.

LITHUANIA TO RATIFY SERBIA’S SAA Lithuania is set to ratify Serbia’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement by the end of June, according to earlier announcements. Lithuania is the last EU country to ratify the agreement with Serbia and the SAA will finally come into force once Vilnius gives its approval.

South Africa to decide on extradition of Arkan’s murderer A Court in Cape Town is to decide on June 12th whether to extradite Dobrosav Gavrić to Serbia. Gavrić, who Serbian courts sentenced to 35 years for the murder of infamous paramilitary leader Željko Ražnatović Arkan, was arrested in South Africa in December 2011.

“This government will have to deal with all the mistakes made in the last four years.” Saša Đogović, economist the last four years. Unfortunately, I expect they will sell Telekom just to cover the deficit [rather than invest],” Đogović continued. Pavle Petrović, from the Fiscal Council, an independent body, said the government must implement tough measures to control inflation. “The exchange rate is like a high fever and behind that fever is a serious illness,” Petrović said. In an analysis that the Fiscal Council has prepared for the new government, the body warned that if reforms are not carried out as soon as possible Serbia could face the same problems seen further south in Greece.

Tackling corruption at last?

Milan Nikolić says Serbia will continue both EU integration and talks with Pristina.

No change on EU and Kosovo As almost all parties that have entered parliament agree that Serbia should continue EU accession talks and maintain dialogue with Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 [which Serbia does not recognise], analysts believe that the new government will follow the course set by the previous government in these fields. Serbia obtained EU candidacy status in March after reaching a deal on Kosovo’s right to participate in regional forums. Further progress in talks with Kosovo is one of the key conditions that Brussels has set for Serbia to take the next step – setting a date for accession negotiations. The European Commission can recommend a start to accession talks at any time and will not have to wait for the next progress report on Serbia, due in October. Although Serbia has said it will never recognise Kosovo’s independence, Belgrade and Pristina started EU-mediated talks in Brussels last March to solve practical issues such as freedom of movement, recognition of university diplomas,

electricity and communications. Milan Nikolić, from the Centre for Policy Studies, believes the dialogue will resume as soon as the new government is formed. “They will continue solving some practical issues… the talks may go back and forth, but they will go forward,” he predicted. Nikolić also believes that Serbia will gain a date for the start of accession talks and enter formal negotiations with the EU.

Photo by Media Centre Belgrade

“After we start accession negotiations we’ll have to start changing our laws and continue reforms and their implementation,” he added. But political analyst Jovo Bakić said Tomislav Nikolić’s election could be a complicating factor. “The prejudice that Western Europeans have towards Nikolić, whom they regard as a nationalist, may be used as an excuse to slow down or postpone Serbia’s accession,” he said.

Both Nikolić and Tadić have agreed that one of the main goals for Serbia is a more effective fight against corruption. Petrus van Dijk, professor at Tilburg University in The Netherlands, said many people now believe corruption runs at the same levels in Serbia as it did during the rule of Serbia’s late strongman, Slobodan Milošević. “The number of people sentenced for corruption is lower than it was in the time of Milošević and the number of cases entering court procedures is lower now than it was in 2000,” Van Dijk said, presenting a report on corruption in Serbia on May 30th. Although experts believe the fight against corruption should be a key priority, they have little faith that the government will be seriously committed to tackling this issue. Dragana Boljević, president of the Serbian Association of Judges, said there was little political will to deal with corruption and the judiciary continued to face political pressure. “Political will means that all cases must be prosecuted, even if they are at the highest levels of government,” Boljević said. Nemanja Nenadić, from Transparency Serbia, says that a firmer stance against corruption looks doubtful if the new government is formed by the same parties that led the country last time. “If the composition of the new government is similar to the old one, there is no reason to think they will act differently,” he said. “But, you never know, maybe the new government will be more thorough,” Nenadić told BIRN.

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Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

Belgrade

Chris Farmer

ou cannot defeat the System. With the need for re-provision, I set out to a local and conspicuously Unnamed Supermarket (let’s call it “Mini”). I went through the traditional strolling of the aisles, pulling the never changing assortment of comestibles and detersives from the never changing assortment on the shelves and arrived in front of the Prepared Foods counter. This is the home of the lazy home economist. We look at the prepared foods, knowing that the cooks at “Mini” go through rigorous training for at least 15 minutes before getting the job, then we weigh up the benefits of food poisoning against our inherent laziness and laziness usually wins in my case. I ordered some different foods, including something from a vat that looked like stew but was probably more accurately called Guck, and made my way to the check-out tills. The person manning the cash register flew through my barcodes with deft alacrity, tossing the breakable and bruiseable items crashing down at the other end of the counter, while I scrambled to catch them mid-air. Then she arrived at the Guck. She ran the barcode three times until she discovered that there was no bar code. She called the Supervisor who arrived and spirited the Guck back to the prepared foods department to codify it. When he returned, he had a grave look on his face. “You cannot buy this,” he said. What? There is a full vat of this Guck back there and they have been doling it out to as many of us consumer idiots who are intrepid enough to try it. But, as I was told, it has no price entered in the System. So you cannot buy it, he repeated. Now, determined to have my Guck, I argued my point, saying that if it was on display and given to me on request and if this “Mini” (I looked around) is actually a supermarket, then I really should be able to buy it. No? The supervisor looked grave again, or maybe just bored. It is hard to tell. Sensing that I was not leaving without my Guck, he disappeared again. When he returned, he came back with three items that I did not want. Since “Guck” has no bar code, he said, he would run these three items, whose total price is apparently the same as Guck, onto my bill. That way, I suppose, we fool the System and I get my Guck. Although I am still not sure who won that round, I left the supermarket with one conclusion: fear of upsetting the system outweighs the urge to commit bad customer service. This knowledge of the existence of a Higher Power (i.e., the system) is somehow reassuring. Christen Bradley Farmer is founder and president of MACH IV Consulting. Farmer also regularly shares his observations on life Serbia in Politika daily, LivingIn Belgrade.com, and in his B92.net VIP blog.

Consumer Watch

belgrade

Fooling the System

City cleans up after election

Belgrade Design Week kicks off

The smiles on the faces of Serbian politicians are being peeled off Belgrade’s walls in the post-election clean-up. Gordana ANDRIĆ

Meet the future trends of the design world at the 7th annual Belgrade Design Week. Gordana ANDRIĆ

elgrade Design Week will gather designers from all over the world from June 4th to 10th in the National Library of

Serbia. Over the course of seven days, designers will have the chance to attend workshops and learn about digital, glass, furniture and industrial design and cultural management. Entry is free. Some world famous designers will present their works, including Austrian Thomas Feichtner, France’s Mathieu Lehanneur, Italian-British industrial designer Martino Gamper, British design studio Troika, Dutch agency 180 Amsterdam, British agency Fallon, Austrian architects Querkraft, Slovenian studio Enota, Croatian atelier 3LHD and interior designer Zoran Radojičić. While the days are scheduled for presentations, the evenings are reserved for exhibitions. Some of the

best Serbian designers, whose work will be presented during Milan Design Week, will be shown in the National Library on June 6th. On the same evening at the same venue Croatian designers will present the exhibition Common Sense and Sensibility, which shows how design and economy found a common ground in Croatia, while Slovenian designers will show their exhibition Silent Revolution, which gives insight into the Slovenian modern design scene. Designer Jorg Boner from Switzerland will demonstrate how much design depends on a producer through five of his new works. “Our design, our shapes are adapted to different situations, knowledge, history and cultures. We fully support the author’s design.” “Still, it will always be considered as something that serves a client or a collection, or to put in a context of particular purpose and circumstances, in line with production technology. With this exhibition, I wish to

he determined and serious face of Boris Tadić, Serbia’s former president, the smile of the President-elect Tomislav Nikolić and the open arms of Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberals, will no longer stalk Belgraders all over the city, as authorities have started the post-election clean up. More than half of the election campaign posters in the city centre were already removed in the first week following the presidential election, which was held on May 20th. The city’s secretariat for inspection is in charge of the cleaning and said that all the campaign posters will be removed in the coming weeks. Parties were only allowed to advertise on billboards or pillars on Knez Mihailova Street, however, most

hung posters wherever they found an empty space - on facades, electricity pylons or underground passages. Although very popular in previous elections, garbage containers were not used this campaign, as party activists concluded they were not an appropriate place for putting up posters. While the Progressives hung the largest number of unauthorised posters in Voždovac, other parties followed suit in different Belgrade municipalities. Almost all parties, including the Democrats, Liberals and the United Regions of Serbia, advertised their candidates in places where it was prohibited. “We found only one irregular poster of the Socialist Party of Serbia, near Crvena Zvezda football club stadium. When we informed them of this violation, they paid the penalty,” Zoran Marković, assistant secretary for in-

Through 100 posters, Spain will present its designers in Instituto Cervantes on June 7th. This year the entire Belgrade Design Week will be streamed live online for the first time at www.wallpaper.com.

SMS bill payments launched R Belgraders are the first people in Serbia who can now pay their electricity bills via text message.

Gordana ANDRIĆ

esidents of the Serbian capital have been able to pay their electricity bills via text message since May 23rd. For now the system is available only to Dina card

holders who use the Telekom mobile network, but the plan is to offer the same service to all Belgraders by the end of the year. In order to use the service, users first need to register for mobile payments in their banks, where they will be provided with their protective PIN number. The banks that offer mobile payment services are AIK bank, Banca Intesa, Čačanska Bank, Jubmes Bank, KBC Bank, OTP Bank, Piraeus Bank, Poštanska štedionica, Privredna banka Beograd, ProCredit Bank and Universal Bank. Once they register, customers simply send a text message containing “EDB – space – ED number” to 8008. The ED number is the identification number that Belgraders can find on their bill. Users will receive a message with their current debit that they need to forward to the number 8008. They will be asked to enter their PIN and confirm the transaction.

The service cost 5.9 dinars [€0.05] for every transaction. The system will soon be available to users of all payment cards and within a year it will include other payments, such as Infostan for communal services and BusPlus for public transport. Telekom Serbia and Power Distribution Belgrade, EDB, expect other Serbian cities to also introduce this service. “The service is available only in the capital for now, but EDB experts will gladly share their experience and technology with their colleagues from other cities so this service can be available throughout the country,” says Stevan Milićević, EDB director. Vladimir Lučić, from Telekom, said that the system is completely safe and that he believes the country’s other mobile companies, Telenor and VIP, will also offer their clients this service. The three companies already allow Belgraders to pay for parking via text message.

Post-election clean-up underway across the city.

Photo by Beta

Belgrade cinemalovers pay tribute to torched Kozara

Belgrade Design Week hosts Thomas Feichtner.

show this collaboration between author and factory,” Boner explained. During Design Week visitors will also have the opportunity to see the work of Spanish experts in the fields of graphic design, illustration, advertising design and architecture.

spection, told daily Politika. Marković said that tenants of residential buildings are obliged to clean the walls of their buildings, while the city’s public companies are supposed to clean public buildings and public spaces. Electricity Belgrade was the busiest public company in the post-election period, because their pylons were among the most popular advertising spaces. The city’s inspection secretariat filed 150 misdemeanour charges against political parties for putting up posters in places not intended for propaganda. The fines range from 2,500 to 1 million dinars [€21€8,600]. Since the launch of the election campaign in late March, 26 activists were caught hanging posters and 15 paid the fine on the spot. The fines range from 2,500 to 10,000 dinars [€21-€86].

Members of an NGO that is campaigning against the closure of Belgrade’s remaining old cinemas laid wreaths at the Kozara cinema, which burned down on May 26th. Bojana Barlovac

Mourning the death of entertainment.

Photo by Milena Anđela Mišić Atanacković

Hidden Belgrade

fter lighting candles and holding a minute’s silence, members of a Belgrade civic group called “Cinemas: The Return of the Written-Offs” and passersbys placed funeral wreaths at the entrance of the torched Kozara cinema. “We regret to announce that the Kozara cinema is dead after a long and

elgrade’s first outdoor street gallery is located in the Bezistan alleyway between Nušićeva Street and Nikola Pašić Square. The gallery always boasts some sort of exhibit, so don’t miss the chance to take a look when you pass by. Exhibitions will mainly present young and engaged artists and anyone is welcome to apply to present their works in this city centre exhibition space.

severe illness,” the group said in a statement. The cinema burned down on May 26th. Fire crews came to the spot immediately, but failed to put out the blaze in time. Police have yet to announce the cause of the fire, but the NGO blamed what it called systematic neglect on the part of Nikola Đivanović, owner of the company “Beograd film” and Ivica Todorić, owner of the actual premises.

Đivanović bought Beograd Film from the state in 2007 for €9.2 million, to be paid in six annual instalments. Since then, Kozara, along with another 13 cinemas run by Beograd Film, have not functioned. Members of Cinemas: Return of the Written-Offs have been staging performances in the city, reminding people of “the killing” of Belgrade’s old cinemas and their replacement by multiplex cinemas.

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

regional

New countries, new views on Tito

Bulgarian journalist threatened

idia Pavlova, an investigative journalist from Bulgaria who covers organised crime in the southwest of the country, was threatened on May 25th when her car was set alight in Dupnitsa. The incident was not the first time Pavlova’s car has been vandalised in response to her investigations. Over the last four years, Pavlova, who works for Blagoevgrad-based daily Struma, received several threats and her son Ivan Pavlova received two brutal beatings.

Region in brief

Continued from page 1

Macedonian puritans restore Prometheus’s modesty

unicipal authorities in Skopje have responded quickly to have a recently erected nude bronze of Prometheus covered up following complaints from unidentified “women’s organisations”. After just a few days of complaints, the municipal authorities arranged for a bronze loin cloth to be welded to the statue, restoring Prometheus’s modesty. The statue was erected opposite the Parliament building in early May.

Albania fails to elect new president

he Albanian Parliament failed to elect a new head of state in the first round of voting on May 30th. The ruling majority proposed candidate Xhezair Zaganjori, a constitutional court judge, but his nomination did not even make it to a vote. The opposition Socialists rejected Zaganjori’s nomination as ‘one-sided’ and called for talks between the parties to select a candidate who would also receive the blessing of the opposition.

British experts help Bosnian war rape victims

he British government has decided to form an investigative team to help prosecute wartime sexual violence. The team will include police officers, lawyers, psychologists and forensic experts who will travel to war zones in order to gather evidence about mass sexual violence. Up to 50,000 women were raped in Bosnia during the conflict of the early 1990s, but only about 30 direct perpetrators were convicted by local courts or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.

Romania jails former agriculture minister for USAID fraud

omania’s Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling that jailed former Agriculture Minister Ioan Avram Muresan for seven years for embezzlement on May 28th. Muresan is Romania’s first highranking official to be jailed for corruption. The former minister was found guilty of embezzling US$1.2 million in grants from the United States Agency for International Development, USAID.

Josip Broz, aka Tito, (far right) with his Partisans. The former Yugoslav leader’s image has changed with the times.

Together with “de-titoisation”, which has affected the teaching of Tito in all the countries established after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the “nationalisation“ of Tito’s legacy has also been pursued. Twenty two years after his death, the communist personality cult of the founder and lifelong president of socialist Yugoslavia has been replaced with narrower, nationalist interpretations of Broz as a person and his historical importance in school history teaching. Before the nineties, Josip Broz Tito’s historical image, as in Yugoslav society as a whole, was in line with the communist idea of their leaders as perfect and unquestionable heroes. Najbar-Agičić stresses that Tito’s personality cult was one of the “basic cohesive factors for creating a feeling of unity among the citizens of Yugoslavia.”

“Tito was not only an unquestioned authority in all domains, but also a symbol of a common history, stemming from the people’s liberation struggles during WWII,” writes Najbar-Agičić. After 1990, that interpretation changed rapidly and radically in Croatia. But the process was to some extent similar in all the countries which emerged from the former republics of the socialist Yugoslavia. Serbian historian Dubravka Stojanović has analysed the way interpretations of Tito changed in Serbia in several of her works and has identified two main phases of change after 1990. Until 2000, wrote Stojanović in the book “The Culture of Remembrance – 1941-?”, the Second World War was interpreted “in an ideologically confused way, a way which generally fits the pe-

riod of Slobodan Milošević’s rule.” “The Partisan and Chetnik movements were interpreted through a deliberately ambivalent ideological amalgam of communist and nationalist ideology, which meant that the formerly unquestioned image of Josip Broz Tito and his Partisan movement was mechanically merged with an idealised image of Draža Mihailović and his Chetniks,” Stojanović explained. After 2000, the process advanced towards an on-going idealisation of Mihailović’s Chetniks and a minimisation of the role of Tito and the partisans. “A new version of the major events of WWII was written into schoolbooks in Serbia, a process which could be described as ‘revising the revision’,” Stojanović wrote. According to her, the roles of the

main actors in the war were switched around from communist times “Chetniks became the ‘good guys’, and partisans the ‘bad guys’.” “This was a very dangerous intervention which added to the destabilisation of an already highly disrupted Serbian society,” Stojanović claimed. A similar, if not so radical transformation occurred in Croatia. Croatian historian Snježana Koren explained to BIRN how Tito’s image changed in Croatia, saying that “the interpretation of Tito changed in the first schoolbooks after 1990“. “Data about Tito became very basic. His role in the war and his resistance to Stalin were still recognised, but negative characteristics began to come to the fore: Tito started to be interpreted as a dictator and his responsibility for mass murders after the war and the political liquidation of his comrades started to be mentioned,” Koren said. However, the Zagreb-based historian also emphasised that “the main thrust” of Croatian schoolbooks after 1990 was that “Tito was to blame, not so much for the fact that he was a communist, but primarily because he was not Croat enough“. “Tito was shown as an enemy of Croatian statehood,” Koren said. Unlike Serbia, Tito’s image in today’s Croatian schoolbooks “is somewhat more positive than during the nineties,” Koren says. His role in resisting Stalin’s dictates has been positively evaluated, but his alleged responsibility for the death of his war time comrade Andrija Hebrang and the torture that took place in the Lubyanka-style prison of Goli Otok is always emphasised. Two schoolbooks currently in use in Croatia interpret Tito’s death as “the beginning of the dissolution of Yugoslavia,” Koren noted. In today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina three “official” histories exist, and therefore three “official” interpretations of Tito: Serbian, Croatian and Bosniak. The Serbian version has been dictated by the institutions of Republika

Srpska and implemented by the Ministry of education, which controls the production of history textbooks. Željko Vujadinović, a historian from Banja Luka, explained to BIRN that in Republika Srpska textbooks “basic data about Josip Broz is given”, although “many biographical details are omitted”. The WWII period is explained in more detail, with an emphasis on the role of Tito’s communist party in leading the Partisan movement. “The spontaneous resistance of the Serbian people, in answer to the crimes of the independent state of Croatia, NDH, is mentioned,” Vujadinović said. The other two “official” interpretations of Tito exist side by side in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite the fact that history teaching is theoretically the responsibility of the education ministries for each of the ten cantons of the Federation, in practice two “national” approaches exist: Bosniak and Croatian. The Bosniak version was analysed in a 2011 issue of Skolegijum by Enes Kurtović, using an example textbook for the 8th grade of primary school, “History 8”, published by the Sarajevo publishing house, Bosanska Knjiga. Tito was mentioned in the chapter about the “people’s liberation movement in Bosnia”, but “there was nothing specific written about him as an historical figure, as Elvis Presley was written about for instance.” Kurtović ironically concludes that the “textbook’s authors used the tried and tested method of holding their tongue about problematic matters.” As in Croatia, the Sarajevo textbook considers Tito’s death as the beginning of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, but with the additional slant that “Serbian political and intellectual circles then openly started to ask for the 1974 Constitution of Yugoslavia to be terminated.” History textbooks for Croats in Bosnia, as Kurtović showed in his article, are in many ways similar to those in Croatia.

“History 8”, a textbook for the 8th grade pupils in Croat primary schools in Bosnia, published in Mostar, cites a Croatian encyclopaedia in giving Tito credit for the return to Croatia of the regions of Istria, Rijeka and the islands. Even so, “Tito was responsible for acts of revenge and repression at the end of WWII”, and he also “ruled Yugoslavia

“Josip Broz Tito. Politician. He was the president of Yugoslavia. A womaniser. He had a lot of women. Everybody lived well during his times. There was a lot of money.” School pupils’ description of Tito for 35 years, trying to reconcile national equality with communist rule.” “Although he was the absolute ruler for more than three decades, Tito left the state in complete disorder,” states the Mostar textbook. In Montenegrin schoolbooks the overall image of Tito is a positive one, Radovan Popović from the Montenegrin state education bureau told BIRN. “In line with our guiding principles, Tito is presented as a positive historical figure,” said Popović. “Unlike previous eras, his image is shown to scale, plainly and without being idolised. Tito is described as he

was, as a man who marked an epoch in his own way,” he added. In Macedonia, “the overweening importance” that was attributed to Tito’s role in old Yugoslavia, was replaced by “world and Balkan history instead of a purely Yugoslav history“ after 1991, history teacher Igor Jurukov states in his analysis “History teaching in the Republic of Macedonia“, published online. “History teaching has undergone a great deal of change over the last 15 years, incorporating new trends, but also focusing on the needs of Macedonian citizens, the events and historic, well-known personalities that might be seen as ‘connectors’ leading to a new vision of a common Macedonian history,” Jurukov said. There have also been attempts to teach history in the Balkans in a different, non-nationalist way. In 1999, the Centre for Democracy in Southeast Europe (CDSEE) launched “The Southeast Europe joint history project”, in which four history textbooks were written in English by prominent historians from the region and then translated into seven regional languages. The textbooks focused on the Ottoman empire, the birth of nation states, the Balkan wars and WWII. The editor of the Serbian edition, Dubravka Stojanović, explained that “the project went much further than the Franco-German joint textbook which deals with the non-confrontational part of their joint history after 1945”. “Our project is an avant-garde one and can cause dramatic reactions in a closed and lazy society, because it questions the basis for our self-containment and self-isolation,” Stojanović said. The CDSEE textbook, in addition to basic facts about Tito, provides a number of descriptions of Tito by the people who met him and worked with him, including Fitzroy Maclean, a British army liaison officer with Tito’s Partisans in WWII. The joint regional schoolbooks were given a great deal of publicity when

Nostalgia for Tito’s Yugoslavia is still common throughout the former country.

they were published, but did not take root in everyday school history teaching in Balkan countries. So the national emphasis on the interpretation of Tito still remains the main methodological approach. With that in mind, Stojanović’s opinions on the Serbian history experience could contain a lesson for other post-Yugoslav countries. “History science and teaching have more often served as a kind of military training than as a critical thinking discipline. They were often used to adjust

history to the needs of the present, to ‘change’ the past and to justify what’s happening now, or to incorporate current ideological motives into an acceptable, rather than a real, historical context.” This kind of history teaching, which includes how Josip Broz Tito is taught, seems to be very much alive and well in the Balkans. Boris Pavelić is a journalist with the Croatian daily newspaper, Novi List.

Comment

“Croatia’s Putin” takes over Tuđman’s party K Drago Hedl

Newly elected head of HDZ, Tomislav Karamarko, wins the post by reviving the nationalist rhetoric of the 1990s.

aramarko, 53, a longtime head of Croatia’s secret services and interior minister in the governments of Ivo Sanader and Jadranka Kosor, was elected president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) on May 20th, beating off four rival candidates including former party president and prime minister, Jardranka Kosor. Karamarko is now leader of the parliamentary opposition, since the HDZ, which was in power for 17 of the 21 years since independence, lost the December 2011 general elections. Because of his association with the secret services – and because he clearly sees himself as the next president of

the Republic – some media commentators have dubbed Karamarko “Croatia’s Putin”. Karamarko only rejoined the HDZ in November last year, shortly before the parliamentary elections. He had left the party in the 1990s as he disagreed with Tuđman over his policy of dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time Karamarko sided with HDZ dissidents led by future Croatian President Stjepan Mesić. After Tuđman’s death, in December 1999, Karamarko managed Mesić’s election campaign and when Mesić won he took over the National Security Office (UNS). Karamarko has assumed the leadership of the HDZ when the party is experiencing perhaps the most difficult period since its inception. Last year’s elections saw the party record its worst

ever result. The party is currently facing court proceedings over slush funds allegedly generated by siphoning off huge amounts of money from major state-owned companies. Prosecutors say the money was used to finance HDZ election campaigns and some of it disappeared into the pockets of private individuals. The party has faced a barrage of charges. Former prime minister and HDZ president Ivo Sanader is currently being tried on charges related to corruption and organised crime. Two former HDZ ministers, Damir Polančec and Berislav Rončević, have been convicted of crimes in this area and a third, Petar Čobanković, is awaiting trial. These unpromising circumstances may have helped Karamarko’s bid for

the party leadership. Analysts point out that the HDZ’s decline has been so precipitate that none of its established leaders were seen among rank-and-file members as compelling candidates. Nor was Kosor viewed as a figure who could revive the party’s fortunes. Karamarko, by contrast, was viewed as a clean break – he was not part of the HDZ establishment when the country’s resources were being looted through what is now widely regarded as a criminalised privatisation programme, or during the subsequent series of corruption and crime scandals. This party legacy explains why Kosor suffered two major defeats in six months, probably ending her political career for good. In December 2011 she lost the parliamentary elections and before the May 21st poll for the HDZ

presidency she was eliminated in the first round of voting. But it is not just Kosor who will now go. The whole class of HDZ “pharaohs” who have been in power for years will leave too. Karamarko’s broom has already swept aside HDZ founder, parliament speaker and close Tuđman associate Vladimir Šeks, former defence and health minister Andrija Hebrang, wartime interior minister Ivan Jarnjak and veteran finance minister Ivan Suker. During the party leadership campaign Karamarko reverted to the nationalist rhetoric that was current in the early nineties. He justified this by saying it was a way of returning to HDZ roots and Tuđman’s original philosophy. He said that when he came to power he would ban “five-pointed

stars and Kozaracko kolo [collective folk dance of peoples of Yugoslavia]” in Kumrovec, the birthplace of former Yugoslav President Josip Tito. Tito’s partisans and sympathisers customarily hold gatherings at Kumrovec. Karamarko also said he would never enter a coalition with the party of Croatia’s Serb minority. Sanader and Kosor had entered such coalitions. Tuđman, however, is not recorded as having said any of these things. Karamarko’s radical rightist rhetoric appears to have been designed to attract support from the remnants of the crushed Croatian right and make this constituency a natural partner of the HDZ, in the hope that right-wing parties will join or at least ally themselves with the HDZ in the next parliamentary elections in three and a half

years’ time. But there is at least one problem with this strategy, since the nationalist right may find it hard to forgive Karamarko for his role as intelligence chief when the security services located fugitive general Ante Gotovina. Gotovina, regarded by many on the right as a Croatian patriot, was sentenced by the ICTY to 24 years in prison for war crimes. Nor will right wingers forget that Karamarko was interior minister when police investigated Branimir Glavaš, a politician who first came to prominence as a leader in the defence of Osijek in 1991, for war crimes committed in that town. Glavaš was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison. Those close to Karamarko say his life’s dream is to become president

of the Republic. As head of Stjepan Mesić’s successful presidential campaign, he knows how to go about winning power and he has already demonstrated this by securing the HDZ presidency. However, President Ivo Josipović is riding a tide of popular support and still has more than three years to go before the end of his first mandate. Barring unforeseen events, Josipović will be hard to beat if he runs for a second term. But Karamarko is relatively young. He can afford to wait. In the meantime he must consolidate his control over the HDZ and turn it into a revived political force that is capable of running a government.

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

business

Out and About

Chinese fakes of Serbian products

erbian company Strauss Adriatic has filed suit against two Chinese traders for selling mugs sporting fake logos of the company’s Doncafe brand. Company legal representative Nenad Milovanović said that police had seized thousands of the brand copying mugs in the past few years. Company Metalac, which manufactures dishes, also said that several Chinese producers had forged copies of their dishes for the Macedonian and Bosnian markets. While Metalac merely warned the forgers, Strauss Adriatic is suing the distributers “in order to dissuade other potential counterfeiters from doing the same”.

Flights between Belgrade and Split restored

roatian Airlines launched a new regular flight between Belgrade and the coastal city of Split as of June 1st, marking the restoration of a route that has not been flown for over 20 years. Flights from Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport will run twice weekly until September 28th, with tickets costing from €125. Serbia’s JAT Airways is also to introduce two weekly flights to Split. The line between the Serbian capital and Croatia’s Adriatic city was cancelled with the outbreak of hostilities between the former Yugoslav republics in 1991.

EU permits Serbian potato imports

he EU has terminated an import ban on the Serbian potato that was introduced in 2000 over the Clavibacter bacteria. According to the European Commission, Serbia has shown that since 2009 all necessary controls have been conducted and the country has eradicated the bacteria that cause potatoes to rot. Serbia currently produces about 900,000 tonnes of potatoes annually, though the Serbian Chamber of Commerce insists production could be increased by another 100,000 tonnes.

Business in brief

Continued from page 1

Income tax reform may revive Serbia’s shaky finances Since then the government has not cut public spending. In fact, although the government is obliged not to increase the budget deficit by more than €224 million in first three months of 2012, it spent almost double that amount, €413 million, in that period. Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, recently told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that one of the causes of the Greek crisis was Athens’ poor rate of tax collection. “I think they should also help themselves collectively. By all paying their tax,” Lagarde told the Guardian. Analysts say that Serbia also needs to reform its income tax laws and rate of collection in order to bring in more money. They say this could be achieved through the introduction of progressive taxation - charging more to those who earn more - and introducing an income tax system that would mean taxpayers paying taxes on all their incomes together, not divided into income from wages, real estate or copyright. Taxable income in Serbia includes salaries, revenue from agriculture and forestry, revenue from copyright and self-employment and revenue from real estate. Personal income tax is fixed at 12 per cent on salaries and 20 per cent on other personal income. In addition, taxpayers whose annual personal income on all revenues exceeds €16,200 pay another 10 to 15 per cent of their annual income. Those earning between €16,200 and €33,000 pay 10 per cent extra, while those whose annual incomes exceed €33,000 a year pay 15 per cent extra. In the collection of individual income tax, the largest amount comes from taxes on salaries. Only about 22,000 people in Serbia earn more

than €16,200 and pay annual personal income tax. The amount that the state gets from them is about €17 million. Most of the money collected from personal income taxes goes to local government, not the state budget. Under the Law on Financing Local Government, which came into force last October, 80 per cent of the revenue from personal income tax goes to local authorities and 20 per cent to the state budget.

Nothing certain but death and taxes? Although many people quote the saying that nothing is certain but death and taxes, in fact many Serbs pay no personal income tax. While the official unemployment rate is 24 per cent, about 700,000 people in Serbia

€5.7 billion of total tax revenue for 2011.

work in the so-called grey economy, working unofficially and thus paying no taxes on their salaries. As contributions on wages that include personal income tax are equivalent to about 62 per cent of a salary, employers are not keen to register their employees, even if they work full time. With weak controls in place, many landlords also rent out real estate for years at a time to clients without declaring it or paying any tax on the earnings. Analysts say that the rate of collection of personal income tax would be much higher if employers’ contributions to wages were lower, as employers then would have more incentive to officially employ people. Saša Ranđelović, from the Faculty of Economics, says the authorities should also introduce tougher controls on employers to ensure they pay taxes and contributions for their workers. “The total tax base would then be broader and salary taxes could be collected from more employees,” Ranđelović told BIRN. Also, with average salaries of only €350 a month, Serbian employees are not adding much to the state budget. As the personal income tax rate on salaries is 12 per cent, the average monthly revenue that the state gets from each employee is about €42. In order to pay less taxes and contributions in general, many employers report that they and their employees earn only minimal wages, while they get far more money in cash. Ranđelović explains that the state could more efficiently monitor whether people are reporting lower incomes in order to avoid tax and contributions. By comparing whether someone’s property is in line with their declared income, the Tax Administration could get some idea about whether a taxpayer has paid tax on their real income. “Such a mechanism would especially affect people with high incomes, which would additionally help reduce disparities and motivate other taxpayers to regularly settle their obligations,” Ranđelović said.

Milan Knežević advocates tax reform.

Photo by Media Centre Belgrade

€610 million from personal income tax revenue. Thorough reform needed Most analysts agree that the whole income tax system needs to reform in order to increase revenues, cut administrative costs of collecting tax and introduce an equitable tax system. Milan Knežević, from the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, says the existing system of double taxation - one paid monthly and another paid annually by those earning above €16,200 - creates more work for state officials and thus costs more. Knežević believes that Serbia should go for a system that would mean taxpayers paying tax on all their income together, not divided into incomes from wages or real estate. This system also means that all income could then be taxed at progressive rates and that taxable incomes would include capital income, such as stock dividends. Economist Jadranka Đurović-Todorović said this system would significantly increase budget revenues. “This system is on one hand fairer, because currently a person who earns €200 and one who earns €1,000 pay the same tax of 12 per cent on wages. “On the other hand, it would bring more money into the budget, because those who earn more would pay more [than 12 per cent],” Đurović-Todorović told BIRN. Economist Saša Radulović believes that tax rates on those working for minimum wages should be zero, the rate should be 20 per cent for those working for any amount above the minimum and 30 per cent and higher for those earning significantly more than the average. Such tax rates, with lowered or cancelled contributions on wages, such as those for health and pension insurance, would revive the economy. “In a year or two this would put an end to the grey economy and significantly increase state income and overall economic growth,” he maintains.

Sun-kissed bay of legends and prayers Walled towns, an ancient cathedral, pilgrimage chapels in the sea and days and days of summer sunshine are just some of the attractions of Kotor Bay. Nemanja Čabrić

oka Bay’s necklace of towns and cities, carved in the steep rocks that surround the 28-kilometrelong bay, tell the history of this bewitchingly beautiful part of the Mediterranean. In the turquoise waters there still lie ancient shipwrecks, some of which have been constructed into artificial islands. The mysterious landscape makes it fertile soil for myths and legends. Fine examples of church architecture, both Catholic and Orthodox, some dating back to the 12th century, make it a popular pilgrimage site. The series of bays starts with the Bay of Herceg Novi. This narrows into the Kumborski Tesnac Gorge. From there it continues into Tivat Bay and then through Verige it ends up in Risan and Kotor Bay, on the opposite sides of the old town of Perast. At the entrance to Boka from the sea, between Cape Prevlaka and Lestica, is a small circular islet, only 200 metres in diameter, named after Lazar Mamula, the Austro-Hungarian general from the mid-19th century who built a fort here. It was used as a prison in both world wars. The 13-kilometre-long peninsula on the right, called Lustica, is rarely crowded and has only dozen villages because most the land was long under the ownership of the army. Now it is discovering its true tourist potential, thanks to its untouched natural landscape, as well as archaeological remains and shipwrecks that attract divers and researchers. The most famous village, Rose, is a typical Mediterranean settlement with

stone houses tightly packed around the shoreline. This small hamlet at the very entrance to Boka is home to a resident population of only 10 people outside the tourist season. Further down are Topla Bay on the left and Herceg Novi Bay on the right.

Igalo, Herceg Novi and Tivat The town of Igalo in Topla Bay became a tourist spot in the former Yugoslavia largely thanks to the medicinal qualities of the local mud. Since then it has continued to attract crowds each summer, which lasts for a long time here and normally counts some 260 sunny days a year.

Gospa od Škrpjela was built on a rock after two Venetian sailors found an image of the Virgin Mary there in 1452. Neighbouring Herceg Novi was founded in the 14th century by Tvrtko I Kotromanić, the ruler of Bosnia, as a harbour independent of Dubrovnik. In the late 15th century it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, and then from the late 17th century onwards it was ruled by Venetians and then by the Austrians. The town is known for its old church-

es and forts built in various styles and its charming centre. Several religious sites lie here, among the oldest of which are the Savina monastery, dating from the 15th century, the Church of the Archangel Michael, dating from the late 19th century and the, Church of Saint Anthony, which dates from the 16th century. The oldest fort in the centre is the Espanola, so called by the Spaniards who seized Herceg Novi from the Turks for a year in 1538, when the fort was built. The Kanli, Sahat, and Jeronima towers date from mid-17th century.

Risan, Perast and Kotor The earliest mention of Risan dates back to the 4th Century BC. In 229 BC it was the main fortress in the Illyrian state, where Queen Teuta took refuge during the Illyrian Wars. It submitted to Rome in 168 BC. The most prosperous time for Roman Rhizinium came during the 1st and 2nd centuries, when large villas were built in the area and the city housed some 10,000 inhabitants. Five mosaics are the most valuable extant remains of that period. The best preserved of them depicts Hypnos, the Greek deity of dreams. In Risan on February 25th 1851 the Gorski Venac play was performed for the first and only time during the lifetime of its author, Petar Petrović Njegoš, despite orders by the Austrian authorities forbidding the performance. Perast is an ancient town that has had many rulers. Venice governed it between 1420 and 1797 as part of Venetian Albania. The town’s 16 Baroque palaces were mostly built in this period, as were its 17 Catholic churches and

Stunning sites from the Montenegrin “fjord”.

two Orthodox churches. Near Perast are two small islands, St George’s island and “Gospa od Škrpjela”, or, “Our Lady of the Rock”, each of which has a picturesque chapel. Gospa od Škrpjela was built on a rock after two Venetian sailors from Perast found an image of the Virgin Mary there in 1452 and decided to found a church in her honour. Every year in a celebration called the Fasinada, locals take to their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island. St George’s Island is home to a Bene-

dictine monastery from the 12th century and a graveyard for the old nobility from Perast and Kotor Bay. Nearby Kotor, one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic, is a UNESCO world heritage site. It hosts several summer events, such as the Summer Carnival, or Bokeljska Noć. It is home to numerous sights, such as the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, built in 1166, and the ancient walls that stretch for 4.5km directly above and around the city. The cathedral is one of two Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro and is the seat of a Bishopric.

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10 Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012 11

ARTS

Dining Out

Andrej KLEMENČIČ

here used to be two seasons for blockbusters: summer and Christmas. It took a century or so for the film industry to realise that people go away for long periods of time during the summer and often travel to see family during the short winter break. Belatedly, autumn and spring have become the high seasons for film.

This spring’s batch of big films is set to bust box office records with ‘The Avengers’ as a contender for best-grossing film of all time. But this is just a fraction of the heavy ammunition that Hollywood is preparing to unveil.

Student photo exhibition at Dom Kulture Studentski grad

n Tuesday June 5th Dom kulture Studentski grad will show an exhibition of student Visual Art, Photography and Digital Presentation. The exhibition opens at 6pm.

decision the studio could have made. He plays the charismatic and introverted character developed in the first two films by Lee Jones flawlessly. This time the studio bosses decided to entrust most of the working job to Ethan Cohen, resulting in some of the funniest moments on film. However, we miss some of the infantile gags from parts I and II.

Dark Shadows In the opposite corner when it comes to fulfilling expectations stands Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows. Despite being considered as one of the Hollywood directors least likely to make a disappointing film, Dark Shadows is surely close to being one of his poorest achievements. This film, about a man turned into a vampire in the America of the early settlers, who then wakes up after some 300 years in the U.S. of 1972, the time of Vietnam and Hippies, is an idea whose realisation could hardly have failed. Add to that a haunted mansion and Michelle Pfeiffer as the head of a once rich but now dysfunctional family and you have material for an ingenious story.

Boris Bogdanović ceramics at ULUPUDS

he Association of Applied Arts Artists and Designers of Serbia (ULUPUDS) presents an exhibition of ceramics by artist Bogdan Bogdanović from June 5th to 15th at the ULUPUDS Small Gallery.

But with Dark Shadows it mostly remains just material. The excellent music and great atmospheric shots by director of photography Bruno Delbonnel make the first 20 minutes a treat. But what follows is a thin mix of vampire-costumed Johnny Depp and lavishly dressed Eva Green as a blonde witch. Despite an uninspiring scenario, the film is saved by the old English brilliantly used by Depp’s character, Barnabas Collins. This 18th-century English is blended with 20th-century surroundings with much wit and eccentricity, characteristics that have served Burton well throughout his career and which make his films special.

Men in Black III Another director who has made it by turning out eccentric films, in this

World premiere of short musical piece in Belgrade

he RTS Symphonic Orchestra will perform the world premiere of “Eight Songs” by Ivan Jevtić, based on the verses of Momčilo Nastasijević. The Kolarac premiere will take place on Wednesday June 7th at 8pm.

case after leaving a career in hardcore pornography, is Barry Sonnenfeld. Back in 1997 he made a film about two agents assigned to keep aliens living on Earth from causing trouble. Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as agents J and K, became an instant success with audiences worldwide. While the first two films were mostly easily digestible humour, the third part is slightly more on the serious side. In this instalment J needs to go back in time in order to save K from being killed and history from being changed. To prevent the alien invasion in the alternated version of history, J goes back to 1969 where he teams up with the young K. Josh Brolin is chosen to personify K in his early career and this was the best

Belgrade Philharmonic at the Kolarac

he Belgrade Philharmonic will perform at Kolarac on June 8th as part of “Walking on a String”. The performance includes the Dances of Galanta by Kodaly, the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra by Bartok and Schumann’s Symphony No 4. The concert starts at 8pm.

After Ali G, Borat and Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen comes back as The Dictator. To silence critics who said that his previous films were not based on candid camera principles, but were, in fact, covert features, Cohen decided to make a no-improvisation feature film. In it he plays dictator Aladeen, whose country has oil but also plans to develop nuclear weapons. On his travels to New York, where he plans to mock the UN, Aladeen is kidnapped. After his double takes his place, the latter announces the introduction of democracy in the country. This Aladeen cannot allow and he embarks on a path that includes many funny moments to make sure his country never embraces democracy. Alongside the politically incorrect humour typical of Cohen, there is a lack of substance. However theatrical the improvisation from his earlier films might have been, it gave them a special feel of Cohen up against the stupidity of the Western world. In Dictator it is just about Cohen making you laugh. He does that, but so does any good comedy. The spring blockbuster season will continue in the coming weeks with Snow White & the Huntsman with Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron as the Snow White and Queen Ravenna. Sci-Fi horror Prometheus is the highly anticipated prequel to Alien, directed by Ridley Scott. Ice Age: Continental Drift brings back for the fourth time the popular cartoon characters.

Harvard Choir in Belgrade

he Harvard University Choir will perform at Kolarac on Sunday June 10th from 8pm. Choir members will be joined on stage by Belgrade’s Collegium Musicum choir. Entrance is free.

It always begins with a simple question: ‘Can you bring me the wine list’? Everything else that follows is a complex matter and cannot be measured only by how much is left in the bottle after dinner. Pavle GOLICIN

French bistro finally came to town, my friends told me the other day! The fact it’s just around the corner in my neighborhood raised expectations even more. For quite a while we were waiting for the first sunny day to pay a visit to ‘Jelena Anžujska’. Sunny days never came, but it was enough that it was not raining, so we could eventually sit down outside. The scene was set at this cozy place in this quiet corner of downtown where the traffic is limited, along with the polite chef welcoming guests in that best tradition and ancient European ‘institution’ that has nowadays all but been forgotten: hospitality. The wine list, however, did not match the rest of place. It is part of the food menu and is organised in the usual way, divided into red, rose and white, but the lack of any sparkling wines came as a big surprise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not expecting vintage Champagne in the bistro, but a nice Crémant d’Alsace wouldn’t hurt anybody. However, it is possible to bring your own wine and pay the ‘corkage fee’, so you can make your own wine and food combination. The wine list isn’t long and of the dozen or so bottles on offer only a few are actually French. A blend of Syrah and Grenache from the South and a couple of ‘clarets’, as Bordeaux wines are commonly named in Britain. There are also a few off-beat choices, such as Croatian Pinot Noir or Slovenian Pinot Gris. Only two wines from the house list are offered by the carafe or glass. One of them is simply ‘Ć’ which was obviously a spelling mistake. It put a smile on our faces, especially because friendly and the charming staff – the veritable flagship of this restaurant – managed to explain it nicely. By the way, the list is full of spelling mistakes, which does not influence your choice, but rather gives the wrong impression. It would be more appreciated if the wines were hand-written on a blackboard, something that is perfectly acceptable for a bistro. However, according to Serbian legislation, no flexibility is allowed; you need to have a printed menu at each table. The ‘Ć’ wine was actually ‘Mali podrum Radovanović’ by the way. Mark-ups are standard and the glassware is typical for a bistro. ‘Jelena Anžujska’ is not a place for wine lovers who are looking for ‘serious’ French bottles, nor a place for students to pop up for a quick cocktail or two. Nevertheless, this bistro has a lot of potential to become a wine corner. The French list, no matter how short, coupled with a few cleverly selected Serbian wines, would be a perfect match for this hospitable place. It is a place to feel at home where, as the chef put it, ‘the customer is always king’.

The Dictator

The Avengers In The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye assemble when Loki, a demigod from another world with a love of irony and severe family problems, decides to attack Earth with help of slimy-looking aliens. His big brother, Thor, comes with a mighty hammer from their home planet to teach Loki a lesson and take him back home before he destroys the galaxy. Superhero egos, mechanical worms from outer space and New York landmarks in danger of demolition stand in the way of a happy ending. Various individual films about Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk and Thor in recent years have shown that the film industry can surprise us all by making mega-expensive films that have the quality to match the special effects. Luckily, assembling all the characters in one film has not changed this winning formula. Despite some childishly predictable dialogue, the film distributes the time it apportions to every superhero, both with action and drama, fairly well. When their stand on behalf of mankind culminates in the New York battle scene, you can easily see where most of the dollars spent on special effects went. Much as we love to criticise gadgetladen films, they do sometimes deliver the right amount of everything that a blockbuster should have. Such is the case with The Avengers.

Wine Corner

Hollywood musters blockbusters to break all records

French bistro Jelena Anžujska

Jelena Anžujska: unique eatery This original French restuarant is far from being just another fancy place to dine in the city. Duda & Vlada

n the knowledge that Belgrade is measured by one’s ability to tell locations relative to old kafanas, downtown alleys and small streets with odd names; at least in the circles that dub themselves “old Belgraders”, the location is never simply described in the form of a street name plus a number – no, that would be far too obvious and easy, as well as being the tell-tale sign of a newcomer. Instead, one should describe a location through a semi-understandable stream of directions that use an old kafana as a starting point and throw in a dubious alley or two – and there you have the typical old fashioned, time consuming yet charming method of native Belgraders. If you wish to participate in this little game with the natives, or happen to be a native yourself (such as yours truly), here is a real treat: there is a new, tiny French bistro in town, well hidden in the densest area of Belgrade. Do you know where Mišarska Street is? If you don’t, it’s about time you check it out on the map. It’s a small, hardly noticeable pedestrian street that looks more like a passageway - a perfect place to hide. Of course, a hidden place has to be approached through a courtyard, and bistro Jelena Anžujska has a really pleasant one. Apart from the unique location, there’s not much else to say about the space. Not only is it small, but is completely basic,

lacking anything other than tables and chairs and even lacking any idea of design or comfort. But Jelena Anžujska is not just a restaurant and its atmosphere is not built on decorations. It’s all about the people, not about the space. The restaurant is actually part of the international “Agape” programme established by the French Committee for Child Protection. It employs a chef-instructor and ten students selected from the Belgrade School of Tourism, Management and Hospitality. As part of this programme, students are given the opportunity to spend some time learning the secrets of French cuisine and the French language in Belgrade, before mastering their skills with work placements in Parisian restaurants. Both the chef and his young apprentices do their best to make you feel very welcome. The atmosphere is warm and casual, although the students’ approach is rather formal – these young men take their jobs seriously and one cannot blame them for doing so. The menu is relatively brief and also seasonal. We caught the last glimpse of the spring menu, which is to be succeeded by the early-summer version, which in turn gives way to the mid-summer menu, then the autumn selection and so on. As the chef explained, succinctly but precisely, “We do not have a deep freezer”. As one would expect, every dish on the menu is authentically French – from

Top class food with a few charming mistakes and overly high prices.

typical Beef Bourguignon and stuffed squid Provence-style, to lemon meringue tart and pear flambé. If it is your first time here, try the Foie gras – a homemade goose liver pate. A far cry from the haute cuisine version, the one served at “Jelena Anžujska” has a wild domestic flavour, is not perfectly smooth and has a strong bite of French liquor - great stuff. We tried another “compulsory” starter in the form of French onion soup. Served with slices of baked bread covered in cheese, this soup was a bit pale in colour and a bit too gentle in taste, but it did give us the unmistakable warm and replenishing feeling so typical of French onion soup; thumbs up. The main courses that followed were nice and tasty, but more than the starters (or the desserts that followed), they clearly displayed the form and taste of domestic cuisine. The good old home cooking style is generally expected and welcome in a bistro, yet they have maybe – just maybe – taken it too literally here. In any case, the traditional Beef Bourguignon was a hearty single-pot dish with potatoes, shalots, bacon cubes and tenderly cooked beef, just as you would get it if your grandmother was Burgundian: a dish with a strong taste of red wine. Another main course, Beef steak with winter garnish and cheese sauce, had the distinction of boasting blue cheese in the sauce that is potent, tasty and overall

much better than the mediocre Belgrade standard. In France it may be usual, but for us it was a real treat. We went with the standard dessert options of Crème brûlée and Floating Islands. The Floating Islands were very good, with an authentic homemade taste dominated by egg yolk. The same could be said of the Crème brûlée, only the “crème” title didn’t stand as it was far too watery. And since the crust of burnt sugar cannot be properly broken with a spoon on top of liquid, the French would not be proud of this one. Being the only real French bistro in Belgrade, as well as a school and restaurant in one, Jelena Anžujska definitely gives its guests a unique experience. The food isn’t perfect but, knowing the story behind it, some mistakes are tolerable and expected, even charming in a way. However, the prices are not so charming. They are at the same level as you would find in many rock solid, well-known Belgrade restaurants, despite the fact that with its ambiance, food and service this tiny bistro cannot (and should not have to) compete at that level. The whole experience is well worth a visit, but with the current prices we surely will not become regulars. Jelena Anžujska Mišarska 7, tel: 011 3234776 Price guide: 1,300-2,200 dinars per person for three courses without wine

Basic Info

Rating

Overall

Average

Wine selection

Average

Wine service

Good

Wine pricing

Average

Wine and food pairing

Average

Price range: 850-1,500 dinars

12 Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012 13

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Friday Jun 1 

Cinemas

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Belgrade’s cinemas only publish their schedules one week in advance. Listings for future weeks are available from the cinemas. All provide information in English.

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_________________________ RODA CINEPLEX / Požeška 83A, tel: + 381 11 2545260 Požeška 83A, tel. 011 2545260 The Dictator – 3.10pm, 6.45pm, 8.30pm, 10.15pm The Avengers (3D) – 3pm Dark Shadows – 10.30pm Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (3D) – 4.15pm Men in Black 3 (3D) – 5.45pm, 8pm, 10.20pm Snow White and the Huntsman – 6pm, 8.20pm The Intouchables – 10pm

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__________________________ DOM SINDIKATA Trg Nikole Pašića 5, tel: + 381 11 3234849 The Avengers (3D) – 4pm, 6pm The Dictator – 7pm, 8.30pm, 10pm Men in Black 3 (3D) – 8pm, 10pm The Intouchables – 8.15pm, 10.15pm Snow White and the Huntsman – 3.30pm, 5.45pm, 8pm, 10.15pm __________________________ CINEPLEXX / Delta City, Jurija Gagarina 16, tel: + 381 11 2203400 American Reunion – 4.50pm Iron Sky – 3pm Snow White and the Huntsman – 3.10pm, 5.40pm, 8.10pm, 10.40pm Dark Shadows – 6pm, 8.20pm, 10.30pm The Avengers (3D) – 7.20pm The Intouchables – 8.50pm Men in Black 3 – 10pm Sea Level – 3.40pm Men in Black 3 (3D) – 4.20pm, 6.30pm, 8.40pm, 10.50pm Legend of a Rabbit (3D) – 5.30pm

__________________________ TUCKWOOD CINEPLEX / Kneza Miloša 7, tel: + 381 11 3236517 The Intouchables – 3.15pm, 5.30pm, 7.45pm Men in Black 3 – 3.30pm, 5.45pm, 8pm, 10.10pm American Reunion – 4.20pm, 6.30pm Men in Black 3 (3D) – 6.40pm, 8.45pm Dark Shadows – 4pm, 6.10pm, 8.20pm, 10.30pm Snow White and the Huntsman – 4.15pm, 10.50pm Project X – 10pm Clip – 8.40pm, 10.40pm __________________________ KOLOSEJ CINEMA / Usce Shopping Centre, Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 4, tel: + 381 11 2854495 C lip – 10.45pm Alvin and the Chipmunks: ChipWrecked – 2.15pm Safe – 9.50pm The Avengers – 2pm, 4.45pm, 7.30pm, 10.15pm The Dictator – 3.15pm, 5.20pm, 7.10pm, 9pm, 10.50pm The Dictator (VIP Hall) – 3.15pm, 5.20pm, 7.10pm, 9pm, 10.50pm Men in Black 3 – 3.25pm, 5.40pm, 7.50pm, 10pm Snow White and the Huntsman – 3.30pm, 6pm, 8.30pm, 11pm Mirror Mirror –3.50pm Dark Shadows – 3.35pm, 5.50pm, 8.20pm, 10.40pm The Woman in Black – 6pm, 8.50pm The Avengers (3D) – 5.30pm, 8.15pm, 11pm The Intouchables – 5.45pm, 20.10pm, 10.30pm The Hunger Games – 6.05pm Project X – 2pm, 6.10pm, 8pm Men in Black 3 (3D) – 2.10pm, 4.20pm, 6.30pm, 8.40pm, 10.50pm Iron Sky – 3.40pm

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Clubbing: Mash Up or Shut UP – Me – High – Low, Povetarac, Brodarska bb, 11pm Commercial Cutz DJ Ike & DJ Prema, Feestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am House Night at Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Just Friday – Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am Belgrade Disco Mafia, Sound, Brodarska bb, 12am Opening Night, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 11pm Live music: Ana Štajdohar + Bend + Ognjen Krstić, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10pm Neša Bend 100%, Hua Hua, Ada Ciganlija bb, 10pm Balkan Express, Reka restoran, Kej oslobođenja 73bb Tamburaši, Kod Bake, Sinđelićeva 31, 9pm Marko Žujović, Akapulko splav, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 10pm Blah Blah Bend, Cantina De Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm Vesko Vučković, Sindikat, Brodarska bb, 11pm

Saturday Jun 2              

Clubbing: Feel the rhythm, Kontra Bar, Strahinjića Bana 59, 9pm Dancing Party, Povetarac, Brodarska bb, 11pm Club House DJ Mirko & DJ Meex, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am Soundilicious, Sound, Brodarska bb, 12am House Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Dj Dulex, BlowUp bar, Bulevar Despota Stefana 36 a, 10pm Live Music: Sloba Bajić i Hua Hua bend, Hua Hua, Ada Ciganlija bb, 10pm El Jazzyra + DJ Peđa, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10.30pm Bojan Jevtić & Silver Bend, Akapulko splav, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm Live Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm Vesko Vučković Bend, Cantina De Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm Tamburaši, Kod Bake Kafana, Sinđelićeva 31, 10pm Perpetuum Mobile, Bitef Art Café, Skver Mire Traiković 1, 10pm Salsa Y Punto, Café Buena Vista, Turgenjeva 5, 11pm

Sunday Jun 3 Clubbing:  S uprise Party DJ Mirko & DJ Meex, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  Funk’d, Disco Bar Mladost, Karađorđeva 44, 10pm Live music: N ada Pavlović, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10.30pm  Live Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  Live Serbian Folk, Acapulco, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm  Mia Borisavljević i Davor Jovanović, Time Out Club, Ada Ciganlija bb, 11pm  Marina Visković, Akapulko, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm  Libra Band, Reka, Kej Oslobođenja 73b, 10pm Monday Jun 4 Clubbing:  S weet and Rough, BlowUp Barka, Savski Kej, BB, 9pm

D ie Beste, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  K araoke, Danguba, Ćirila I Metodija 2, 10pm  Ž eljko Šašić, Serbian Folk, Acapulco, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm  That’s it band, Principal, Usce bb, 9pm  S erbian Folk, Oppening Night, River, Brodarska bb, 12am Tuesday Jun 5 Clubbing:  9 0’s Night DJ Playa, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  R etro resident Dj’s, Republika Bar, Pariska 1a, 10pm Live music:  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm D enis & Obule, pop rock, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  S alsa Night, Abra café, Resavska 76, 9pm Wednesday Jun 6 Clubbing:  I love R&B, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  Z wein Wednesday, Disco Bar Mladost, Karađorđeva 44, 11pm Live Music:  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  L ibertango Band, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm M agic Beans, Villa Maska, Rankeova 7, 9pm Thursday Jun 7 Clubbing:  1 -1 Party DJ Yabba & DJ Nikola, Freestyler, Brodarska BB, 12am  80’s night, Sound, Brodarska bb, 11.30pm  ReMake, resident Dj’s, Republika Bar, Pariska 1a, 10pm  Club Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Live Music:  S erbian Folk, Blaywatch, Brodarska bb, 12am G itarsi, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm Friday Jun 8       

Clubbing: M ash Up or Shut UP – Me – High – Low, Povetarac, Brodarska bb, 11pm J ust Friday, Feestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am D isco party, Sound, Brodarska bb C lub-House, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 12am R eMotion, Republika, Pariska 1a, 10pm H ouse Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Live music: A na Štajdohar + Bend + Ognjen Krstić, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10pm

Welcome to Event Club! All events in Serbia are now available on www.eventclub.rs. Event categories include culture, sport, music, business, performance, fashion, festivals and so on. Our website is available in Serbian and English and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We hope you enjoy our site!

N eša Bend 100%, Hua Hua, Ada Ciganlija bb, 10pm  B alkan Express, Reka restoran, Kej oslobođenja 73bb  Tamburaši, Kod Bake, Sinđelićeva 31, 9pm M arko Žujović, Akapulko splav, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 10pm  B lah Blah Bend, Cantina De Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm  Vesko Vučković, Sindikat, Brodarska bb, 11pm

D ie Beste, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  K araoke, Danguba, Ćirila i Metodija 2, 10pm  Ž eljko Šašić, Serbian Folk, Acapulco, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm  That’s it band, Principal, Usce bb, 9pm  S erbian Folk, Opening Night, River, Brodarska bb, 12am Tuesday Jun 12

Saturday Jun 9 Clubbing:  I granka, Povetarac, Brodarska bb, 11pm  C lub House DJ Mirko & DJ Meex, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  What’s that Sound, Sound, Brodarska bb, 11.30pm H ouse Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm D isco House, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 12am Live Music:  S loba Bajić i Hua Hua bend, Hua Hua, Ada Ciganlija bb, 10pm  S erbian Folk, River, Brodarska BB, 12am  E l Jazzyra + DJ Peđa, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10.30pm  B ojan Jevtić & Silver Bend, Akapulko splav, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm  Vesko Vučković Bend, Cantina De Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm  Tamburaši, Kod Bake Kafana, Sinđelićeva 31, 10pm  S alsa Y Punto, Café Buena Vista, Turgenjeva 5, 11pm Sunday Jun 10 Clubbing:  S uprise Party DJ Mirko & DJ Meex, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  F unk’d, Disco Bar Mladost, Karađorđeva 44, 10pm Live music:  E xtra Orchestra, Mr Stefan Braun, Nemanjina N ada Pavlović, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10.30pm  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  L ive Serbian Folk, Acapulco, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 11pm Monday Jun 11 Clubbing:  S weet and Rough, BlowUp Barka, Savski Kej, BB, 9pm  C lub House, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 11pm

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Vašingtona 12, 8pm

Live Music:

Clubbing:  F oam party, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 12am  9 0’s Night DJ Playa, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am Live music:  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm D enis & Obule, pop rock, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  S alsa Night, Abra café, Resavska 76, 9pm Wednesday Jun 13 Clubbing:  B uzzin’ R’n’B & Hip-Hop DJ Ike & DJ Prema, Freestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am  Z wein Wednesday, Disco Bar Mladost, Karađorđeva 44, 11pm Live Music:  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  L ibertango Band, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm M agic Beans, Villa Maska, Rankeova 7, 9pm Thursday Jun 14 Clubbing:  1 -1 Party DJ Yabba & DJ Nikola, Freestyler, Brodarska BB, 12am  80’s night, Sound, Brodarska bb, 11.30pm  ReMake, resident Dj’s, Republika Bar, Pariska 1a, 10pm  Club Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Live Music:  S erbian Folk, Blaywatch, Brodarska bb, 12am G itarsi, Cantina de Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm  L ive Jazz, Iguana, Karađorđeva 2-4, 9pm Friday Jun 15 Clubbing: M ash Up or Shut UP – Me – High – Low, Povetarac, Brodarska bb, 11pm  J ust Friday, Feestyler, Brodarska bb, 12am D isco party, Sound, Brodarska bb  C lub-House, Plastic Light, Brodarska bb, 12am  R eMotion, Republika, Pariska 1a, 10pm H ouse Night, Informbiro, Studentski trg 11, 10pm Live music: A na Štajdohar + Bend + Ognjen Krstić, Brankow Bar, Crnogorska 10, 10pm N eša Bend 100%, Hua Hua, Ada Ciganlija bb, 10pm  B alkan Express, Reka restoran, Kej oslobođenja 73bb  Tamburaši, Kod Bake, Sinđelićeva 31, 9pm M arko Žujović, Akapulko splav, Kej Oslobođenja bb, 10pm  B lah Blah Bend, Cantina De Frida, Karađorđeva 2-4, 10pm  Vesko Vučković, Sindikat, Brodarska bb, 11pm Programmes may be subject to change. Please check online for more information at http://www.hot-spot.rs/

Live music FRIDAY JUNE 1 Zaz , Nouvelle Vague, Belgrade Arena, Bulevar Arsenija Čarnojevića 58, 9pm Vra čar Rocks: Kristali, Virvel, Wooden Ambulance, Božidarac, Radoslava Grujića 3, 9pm SATURDAY JUNE 2 Dis -Patch 3/3: Bitipatibi, Chad Valley, High Places…Mostarska Street Courtyard, 9pm Lou d, Consecration, BIGZ, Bulevar Vojvode Mišića 17, 10pm SUNDAY JUNE 3 Han g, Tea Break, SUS, Psychosonic Boris, Fest, Gradski Park 1, Zemun, 4pm SATURDAY JUNE 9 Mar ilyn Manson, Laibach, Mizar, Block Out, Belgrade Arena, Bulevar Arsenija Čarnojevića 58, 9pm Dje čaci, Dom Omladine, Makedonska 22, 9pm Gor an Bare and Majke, Dom Omladine, Dečanska 22, 9pm MONDAY JUNE 11 St range Brew, Sinobusi, Studentski Grad Cultural Centre, Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 177, 9pm WEDNESDAY JUNE 13 Svi Na Pod, Studentski Grad Cultural Centre, Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 177, 9pm THURSDAY JUNE 14 Smo fte Haye, Elias and The Animal Orchestra, 6Kornbrot, GRAD Cultural Centre, Braće Krsmanović 4, 9pm

Opera, Ballet, Classical

SUNDAY JUNE 10 Vasilisa Obradović- piano, Guarnerius, Džordža Vašingtona 12, 8pm TUESDAY JUNE 12 H2 Saxophone Quartet, Guarnerius, Džordža Vašingtona 12, 8pm

Theatre

FRIDAY JUNE 1 The Misanthrope (Moliere), The National Theatre, Francuska 1, 7.30pm

THURSDAY JUNE 14 Cab aret (Ebb, Kander, Masteroff), Terazije Theatre, Terazije 29, 8pm

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Exhibitions and Events

MONDAY JUNE 4 Dea th Is Not a Bike (Srbljanović), Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Kralja Milana 50, 8pm

FRIDAY JUNE 1 Gon gbi painting of China, Belgrade City Library, Knez Mihajlova 56, 6pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 6 Me tamorphoses (Ovid), Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Kralja Milana 50, 8pm

SATURDAY JUNE 2 Kva drat Film School student films, Studentski Grad Cultural Centre, Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 177, 6pm

TREEHOUSE STORYTELLING CENTRE & CIRCUSFERA PRESENT

FUNDAY SUNDAY

Family event, every Sunday at 11 AM

Storytelling performances in English, Serbian & French, Magic & illusion, Circus acts: juggling, unicycle, acrobatics, aerials, stilts, Visual arts & music workshops, Face paint Bulevar Kneza Aleksandra Karadjordjevica 6, Dedinje Tel: +381 11 2661 140 www.nassvet-eduarts.org TUESDAY JUNE 7 Har old and Maude (Higgins), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Mileševska 64, 8pm FRIDAY JUNE 8 Zor an Đinđić (Frljić), Atelje 212, Svetogorska 21, 8pm

SUNDAY JUNE 3 Duo Maska, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, Studentski Trg 5, 11am

SATURDAY JUNE 9 Zor ba The Greek (Kazantzakis), Terazije Theatre, Terazije 29, 8pm

TUESDAY JUNE 5 Bal let: Who’s That Singing Over There? The National Theatre, Francuska 1, 7.30pm

SUNDAY JUNE 10 Pla y It Again Sam (Allen), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Mileševska 64, 8pm

THURSDAY JUNE 7 RTS Symphonic Orchestra with Bojan Suđić- conductor and Nataša Trivić- soloist, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, Studentski Trg 5, 8pm

SUNDAY JUNE 3 Exh ibition: Miroslav Babić, Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, Knez Mihajlova 53, 7pm TUESDAY JUNE 5 Exh ibition: Boris Bogdanović – Inner State, ULUPUDS Gallery, Uzum Mirkova 12, 7pm

Exh ibition: Everything But The Kitchen Sink, international group exhibition, Dom Omladine, Makedonska 22, 7pm Exh ibition: Mark Brusse – collages, Haos Gallery, Dositejeva 3, 8pm WEDNESDAY JUNE 6 Exh ibition: Serbian film producer Đoka Bogdanović, Kinoteka, Kosovska 11, 12am THURSDAY JUNE 7 Exh ibition: Belgrade Illustrated Press – covers, The museum of Applied Arts, Vuka Karadžića 18, 7pm FRIDAY JUNE 8 Pho to fair and exhibition (Belgrade Raw), Rex, Jevrejska 16, 7pm SUNDAY JUNE 10 Exh ibition: Božica Rađenović, Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, Knez Mihajlova 53, 7pm TUESDAY JUNE 12 Las er Summit – book promotion, GRAD Cultural Centre, Brace Krsmanović 4, 7pm Exh ibition: Nada Serafimović, Singidunum Gallery, Knez Mihajlova 40, 7pm THURSDAY JUNE 14 Doc umentary Film: Biba Struja, Studentski Grad Cultural Centre, Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 177, 9pm

* International and domestic readership * Citywide distribution * Competitive prices

FRIDAY JUNE 8 Bel grade Philharmonic with Vladimir Kulenovićconductor and Milan Milisavljević- viola, Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, Studentski Trg 5, 8pm SATURDAY JUNE 9 Duš ica Blaženović- violin, Guarnerius, Džordža

Publisher: BIRN d.o.o. Gospodar Jevremova 47, 11 000 Belgrade Phone/Fax: +381 11 334 62 09 Editor in Chief: Gordana Igrić BIRN editorial team: Ana Petruševa, Marcus Tanner, Gordana Andrić, Mark Pullen

WEDNESDAY JUNE 13 Dea th and The Dervish (Selimović), Belgrade Drama Theatre, Mileševska 64, 8pm

SUNDAY JUNE 3 Chi cago (Fosse, Ebb, Kander), Terazije Theatre, Terazije 29, 8pm

SATURDAY JUNE 2 Ope ra: La Traviata, The National Theatre, Francuska 1, 7pm

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TUESDAY JUNE 12 Som e Like It Hot (Stone, Merrill, Styne), Terazije Theatre, Terazije 29, 8pm

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14 Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012

Belgrade Insight, Friday, June 1, 2012 - Thursday, June 14, 2012 15

sport

going out VOLLEYBALL

Kolaković names squad for Japan

erbia national team coach Igor Kolaković picked his squad to travel to Japan for the upcoming Olympic qualification tournament, which will be held in Tokyo from June 1st to 10th and will see the winning team and the top Asian team will qualify for the London Games. Kolaković said that his players must not burden themselves with the ‘favourites’ tag they earned after winning this year’s European championships. “We are number one in Europe, but we know how we earned that title. We dare not think we’re favourites, despite having the highest world ranking among the competing teams,” said Kolaković. “We are not starting from the premise that we are favourites, but rather that we are a team that wants to get to the Olympic Games. This is the greatest possible motivation for us.” In addition to Japan and Serbia, the Olympic qualifiers in Tokyo will include Australia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, China, Iran and South Korea. “It is well known how tough we had to play against Japan and Iran and we will have to play our best against the other teams. It will be tough. Ahead of us are seven games in ten days and we need to play really well to win this tournament,” said Kolaković. Serbia’s top volleyball players play their first game today (Friday June 1st) against Japan at noon CET, followed by games against South Korea, China, Australia, Puerto Rico, Iran and Venezuela.

Dawn of a festive summer Belgrade’s summer festival promises to fill the warmer months with almost three months of continuous cultural and entertainment events featuring more than 300 artists.

David GALIĆ ong known as a defining characteristic of summers in Belgrade, the prestigious Belef festival is focusing this year on unity and community by becoming an umbrella festival composed of several festivals. Belef already kicked off on May 25th, but it won’t end anytime soon. The festival promises a remarkable 83 days of cultural activities, lasting until August 15th. Belef will have 14 festivals within the festival itself, with over 300 artists participating.

Belef tries to offer the best and latest in music, performing arts and visual arts to everyone spending the summer in the capital. Already considered the soul of the Belgrade summer experience, the decision to turn it into an all-encompassing umbrella festival further solidifies the importance of this festival to Belgrade’s cultural identity. The Belef experience will give visitors a peek into all of the best festivals that are held in Belgrade throughout the year and show them what they might have missed over the year by skipping these great cultural events.

Exit beefs up electronic music programme

Independent comic strip festival expands locations

With this year’s Exit rapidly approaching, organisers continue to announce new performers. Most recently they added a whole slew of DJs to the lineup, among them DJ Skream & Sgt Pokes, Sub Focus DJ Set & ID and MistaJam. The festival’s cutting-edge electronic music stage ‘Happynovisad’ has confirmed, among others, Jimmy Edgar.

The Novo Doba (New Era) independent comic strip festival is scheduled to take place in both Belgrade and Pančevo from June 5th to 10th. Exhibitions, screenings, workshops and concerts will take place at a variety of locations, including the Rex Cultural centre, Inex Film and the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Pančevo.

Examining the entire repertoire is a daunting task, but among many other things, Belgrade’s dwellers and visitors will be able to experience cutting edge musical acts through the already independently important RingRing and Resonate festivals, laugh with more than 20 stand-up comedians from the region and the UK, and enjoy the famed Macedonian Basker Fest, which includes international street theatre and the many acrobats, magicians, jugglers, clowns, mimes and puppeteers who will perform. Along with the two popular music festivals, Belef organisers have announced that another major concert Famed BBC DJ to visit Belgrade again

One of BBC Radio’s top DJs, Gilles Peterson, will visit Belgrade for the tenth time on June 22nd to spin music in the outdoor garden venue of the Sava Centre. Peterson is known as one of the most relevant authorities on all kinds of dance music and also runs his own record label as well as performing live and hosting his own radio programme.

Belef will have 14 festivals within the festival itself, with over 300 artists participating.

will be held at Kalemegdan Fortress, though the performers are still being kept secret. Impressively, Belef ’s 2012 programme will include over 30 musical performances and concerts, close to ten various art exhibitions, three full film festivals, educational seminars, literary festivals, poetry readings, stage performances, theatre productions, dance recitals and just about any other type of cultural event imaginable. Belef will even include events related to the UEFA Euro 2012 football tournament, which begins on June 8th and will last for the duration of the month.

Local bands given spot at Belgrade Calling

After three days of major foreign bands in Ušće Park, the Belgrade Calling festival will have a fourth day featuring Serbian bands. The final day, scheduled for June 30th, will be free for those who bought a ticket for at least one day of the festival. This final day will also be used to stage the finals of the Jelen Top 10 competition.

Best of all, most of the events will occur outdoors under the day and night skies of the city, which adds to its appeal as an enjoyable way to spend the summer. So if you are strapped for cash and trapped in the city for the duration of the summer, there is no need to fret. Belef will provide you with entertainment until at least mid-August, and like every year, all the events will be free of charge. For more details on events, concerts, exhibitions and performances you might want to check the festival’s official website http:// www.belef.org/ for the latest news and announcements.

Serbia draws Croatia in Olympic handball group The men’s Handball draw for the Olympic tournament has pitted Serbia against neighbouring Croatia, which recently beat Serbia in the final of the European Championships.

Championships on home soil in January this year, marking the team’s best result at a European Championships since 1998, when they came fifth in Italy. Serbia’s team has failed to make an impact at the sport’s world championships since 2001, when the team won bronze in France. This will be the first Olympics for most of the team, but coach Veselin Vuković won gold as a player for Yugoslavia at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

erbia will play in group B at the London Olympics, alongside Spain, Hungary, Croatia, Denmark and South Korea. Handball is growing in popularity in Serbia, with the national team returning to the Olympics after a gap of almost a decade – the country’s men’s handball team last participated at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, coming fourth after losing the bronze medal game. Serbia took silver at the European

TENNIS

World Cup belongs to Serbia

erbia’s World Cup tennis team won the title in Duesseldorf on May 26th after reaching an insurmountable 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic in the final. Similar to the Davis Cup final two years ago, the decisive point for Serbia

was won by Viktor Troicki when he defeated Radek Štěpánek 2:6, 6:4, 6:3. Serbia initially took the lead through Janko Tipsarević, who won a tight duel against Tomáš Berdych 7-5, 7-6. This is Serbia’s second World Cup title, following their triumph in 2009.

Rainy weather sends Zaz show to arena

French singer Zaz, who is very popular in Serbia for some inexplicable reason, held her recent Belgrade concert at the Belgrade Arena instead of the initially scheduled Kalemegdan Fortress. The concert was moved to avoid the unseasonably inclement weather in the Serbian capital.

Troicki demonstrated in Duesseldorf that he is slowly returning to form, winning four consecutive singles matches, however, Tipsarević showed even better form in also winning all his matches. Troicki started poorly against Štěpánek and despite breaking his opponent in the first set, lost three of his own service games to gift the Czech a convincing 6-2 set victory. Troicki, however, soon played better after drastically improving his first serve percentage from 40% in the first set. The decisive break in the set was made early, though there were opportunities later in the set for Štěpánek to break back. Troicki saved three consecutive break points in the eighth game and then missed two break chances of his own in the ninth. The following game saw Štěpánek again miss a chance to draw level. The decisive moment came in the third set, when Troicki won his rival’s service game before a second break ended the match, which was followed by a massive on-court celebration to the patriotic anthem “March on the Drina.”

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