SERBIA DAILY No 56

W Daily e-newspaper

• N° 56 • Belgrade, July 15, 2016

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WESTERN BALKANS e-MEDIA GROUP

Serbia Told to Adopt EU's Policy on Russia

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The European Union has to become even more visible and vocal in the Western Balkans, says David McAllister

erbia is on the European path, but it will maintain its good relations with Russia, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said yesterday.

"When there is something new that we should state our position about, we will do so," Vucic said.

When asked to comment on repeated messages from EU that Serbia should align its foreign policy with EU in regard to Russia, Vucic responded that he had had a good, long and fair conversation with European Parliament rapporteur David McAllister, a German MEP from the CDU party, who outlined "the EU's intentions, wishes and demands."

"And I told him what Serbia thinks," Vucic said, noting that Serbia was on the European path but that it would maintain the good relations with Russia.

McAllister, who visited Belgrade, stressed that the task of Serbia was to align its security and foreign policy with that of the EU "also when it comes to Russia."

"Serbia has traditionally strong economic, social and cultural ties with Russia.

However, Russia unilaterally changes European borders in order to try to expand its influence and expand its

Ivica Dacic, Serbian Foreign Minister: At the moment 336 members of the Army of Serbia are serving in multinational operations of the UN and the European Union, of which 29 members are in the EU peacekeeping missions

control over parts of territories of neighboring countries. This is one of the reasons, why Serbia needs to make strong efforts in aligning its foreign and security policy to that of the EU, including the policy on Russia," McAllister said.

"Serbia not seeking NATO membership is not an issue. The European Union has six member states - Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden that are not a member of NATO," McAllister also said.

Asked to comment on "a significant

Nathalie Tocci, Adviser to EU Foreign Policy and Security Chief: The EU's new Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy sees the Western Balkans as EU's strategic front yard, and envisions strict conditions in accession process

decline in support for EU membership in Serbia" and "the threat of Russian influences," McAllister replied: "The European Union has to become even more visible and vocal in the Western Balkans. Until the end of 2014, the European Union had spent 172 Million Euros for humanitarian and emergency assistance and reconstruction in the flood areas. I am not aware of any support like this from Russia.

These facts, however, are not perceived sufficiently among the Serbian public."

Maria Zakharova, Russian Ministry Spokesperson: Montenegro authorities will bear full responsibility for the consequences of their anti-Russian stance.

We took note of Montenegro's statements on 'Russian propaganda'

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Dodik Thanks Vucic, Nikolic for Support

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RS has Serbia's full support in terms of its stability, says Milorad Dodik

epublika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik said in Belgrade that this Bosnia and Herzegovina's entity has Serbia's full support in terms of its stability, thanking Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President Tomislav Nikolic for their readiness to discuss all matters affecting the RS. At a press conference with Vucic, Dodik thanked the Serbian prime minister for enabling him to meet with Germany's agriculture minister, who was in Serbia at Chancellor Angela Merkel's behest.

It was an excellent meeting, Dodik said, adding that Germany should be trusted about its expressions of willingness to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina - including Republika Srpska - on the European path.

He said that he had discussed many joint projects with Vucic.

Commenting on the July 11 commemoration of the Srebrenica crime, Dodik

said Serbs in Republika Srpska and Serbia had never denied that a crime had happened there.

However, the insistence that what happened there was genocide is telling us that Srebrenica has become completely politicized, he noted.

According to Djuric, Serbia will continue to support the Serbs of this area since they are surrounded by Albanians.

Serbs of Baje village informed Djuric, who was accompanied by Kosovo Local Government Administration Minister Ljubomir Maric, about the problems that about 200 Serbs of this area are facing.

Normalization of Relations Doesn't Imply Recognition The normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, which is being insisted on in Serbia's EU accession process, does not mean official recognition of Kosovo's independence, European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister said in Belgrade.

The normalization "is of utmost importance - that is why Chapter 35 (on

Kosovo) was opened at the beginning of the negotiation process and Chapter 35 will be closed at the end of the negotiation process," he explained at a press conference.

What we expect is that, "step by step," the relations are "normalized, that this normalization will mean, in the end, that both sides can fully exercise their rights," McAllister said.

Vucic to Meet John Kerry Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he would most likely meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Brussels on July 18.

"That is a great honour for Serbia and we are not going to miss that opportunity," Vucic told a press conference.

Markers

BY EMIR SALIHOVIC EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Truth on RTS Still Unknown

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Djuric Visits Kosovo Marko Djuric, the chief of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo, visited Skenderaj municipality.

In the village of Baje, inhabited by 95% of Serbs and where a parallel municipality of Skenderaj/Serbica is located, Djuric encouraged the Serbs of the village of Syrigane, Baje, and Cerkolez to stay strong because "Serbia will take care of them and will never leave them alone".

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The opening of Chapters 23 and 24 in Serbia's EU accession talks at a July 18 intergovernmental conference will be followed by a resumption of the dialogue with Pristina, which will also accelerate the opening of other chapters, Vucic said.

s Ivica Dacic, foreign minister, inspired by recent reviews of UK participation in Iraq war, uses the opportunity to ask for review of "responsibility and justification" of 1999 NATO military raid on Serbia, he should be careful not to awaken some skeletons from the closet that can still haunt the government and officials of Serbia.

I am referring to infamous bombing of Serbian Radio and Television (RTS) headquarters in Belgrade, which happened in the night of April 1999, when 16 RTS workers, who were in the building at the time, lost their lives.

NATO considered RTS as a propaganda tool of Milosevic's regime and therefore a valid military target, which was used to manipulate the citizens at that time.

However, the issue of 16 lost lives became a hot topic in Serbia.

According to Independent Association of Journalists, the government knew about the planned bombing of RTS building, and did nothing to evacuate the workers who were doing their night shift. Allegedly, they were intentionally sacrificed in order to arouse popular revolt among citizens against NATO and countries who allied in the raid.

Even Amnesty International characterized that bombing as a war crime.

Relatives of killed workers tried for many years to come to truth if the government knew about incoming bombing and sacrificed those lives for its propaganda goals, or not.

Non-governmental organizations were sending requests to government to access the documents that would shed light on this event, but without success.

Therefore, Dacic should be careful, as Vucic was the one who was the minister of information at that time, during the NATO raid.

His calls for review of what happened in 1999 may backfire by reviewing government's role in RTS bombing too, what is the truth that may be uncomfortable to many who still participate in political life of Serbia.

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PINION

Dialogue Dealing With the Past Both sides, Kosovo and Serbia, should agree explicitly to set aside arguments so that they can focus on mutual understanding

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he EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which began in 2011, aims to improve the everyday lives of people, resolve bilateral outstanding political and technical issues, and advance the region's European future.

Sustainable peace in Kosovo cannot be established without dealing with the past, namely: establishing the truth about the past, and ensuring an apology for war crimes and human rights abuses, the fate of missing persons, and reparation for material damages.

These outstanding issues, which have been so far ignored in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, are crucial for improving the everyday lives of people of Kosovo belonging to all ethnic groups.

Therefore, as a concerned citizen of Kosovo, and driven by the democratic conviction that the most solid peace processes are those that represent the voices of beneficiary communities, and are those that are inclusive, participatory and transparent, I propose that this agenda incorporate dealing with the past into the existing KosovoSerbia dialogue, and once and for all, resolve the painful issues that have been lingering Kosovo society in the past 17 years.

It is of urgent imperative that the following three topics become integral into next rounds of technical and political dialogue in Brussels.

Apology is unavoidable for dealing with the past and building a better, peaceful future. It entails the acknowledgment that human rights abuses and war crimes have occurred. It includes acceptance of political and moral responsibility for mistakes, it expresses regret, humility and remorse for the past violence and it explains the circumstances and role that individuals and communities have played in the conflict.

In addition, apology entails asking for forgiveness and affirmative commitment for avoiding similar conduct in the future, as well as offering some form of compensation for the human and material damage.

Apology frees societies from the past and helps the healing of survivors and the families of victims. While the Government of Serbia and the wider political leadership has offered a form of apology to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are yet to apology for war crimes and

BY NORA AHMETAJ KOSOVO 2.0

human rights abuses in Kosovo. An official apology for war crimes and human rights violations by the Government of Serbia would ease reconciliation and open up new possibilities for cross-border cooperation. Apology is a wellestablished European cultural value of peace and reconciliation.

The issue of missing and disappeared persons has been dragged since the end of the 1999 conflict and has caused unimaginable suffering to the families of those missing and disappeared and the entire society. As of today, there are still 1,621 missing and disappeared persons. Resolving the fate of missing and disappeared persons is crucial for leaving the past behind and looking forward towards a more peaceful future. The EU, as the facilitator of Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, should include the issue of missing persons as part of technical dialogue and encourage both governments, and Serbia in particular, to deliver on this protracted and lingering issue.

The families of victims and missing persons in Kosovo have the right to know about the truth for their beloved ones.

Almost 40 percent of all residential houses in Kosovo were heavily damaged or completely destroyed during the 1998-1999 war. Out of a total of 237,842 houses, 45,768 were heavily damaged and 46,414 were destroyed.

The issue of human and economic losses and the extent to which they are protected is a deeply complex issue that has affected all communities in Kosovo before and after the conflict. It affects all aspects of life in a society that remains deeply divided along ethnic and identity lines. In the period between the end of the conflict, June 1999, and the signing of the unilateral declaration of independence on February 17th, 2008, those ethnic lines have remained deep-rooted.

The Serbian Government is morally, legally, politically, and financially responsible to compensate the payment for unpaid debt to Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs from the end of 1998-1999.

Serbia should be determined to clear the past if it wants to get away with its ostracized position in the region and beyond, in order to be considered as a serious partner and an equal member of the international community.

Kosovo government should act as a serious partner and acknowledge that roughly 1,196 Serbs and 445 Roma were killed or reported unaccounted after abductions since the end of the conflict in Kosovo.

Both sides, Kosovo and Serbia, should agree explicitly to set aside arguments so that they can focus on mutual understanding. That's all what dialogue is about.

Publisher: WESTERN BALKANS e-MEDIA GROUP z POENTA d.o.o. Sarajevo, Augusta Brauna 3 z Editor - in - Chief: Emir Salihovic z Editors: VLASTIMIR MIJOVIC, AMRA ZIMIC, RASID KRUPALIJA, DANIJELA MRKIC, SANJA LJUBICIC z Director: Amra Zimic z Office Assistant: VERICA GRAOVAC, MUSTAFA BAHTANOVIC, DTP: Bekir Tvrtkovic z Marketing: KAROLINA MIHAJLOVIC z GSM: 00 381 61 2768568, 00 381 11 4086 992, serbiadaily@sbb.rs

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Brexit to Curtail UK's Engagement in Balkans

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An expert panel at London's LSE said Britain's exit from the EU will also lead to its de-facto exit from the Balkans

ritain's all-but-inevitable exit from the EU is likely to lead to a drastic curtailment of its influence and engagement with the Balkans - where it has been an active diplomatic force in favour of enlargement - a panel of experts told an audience at the London School of Economics, LSE. James Ker-Lindsay, Senior Research Fellow on South East Europe at LSE, said Britain had been an active, benign force in the Western Balkans, especially in Bosnia and Kosovo, even though the level of its engagement had noticeably declined in recent years. Earlier, however, it had been "extremely important" in the context of Kosovo's recognition as a state as well as "instrumental" in taking Serbia-Kosovo relations forward.

In a post-exit UK, the future stability and integration of the Balkans will become "a very secondary issue" for Britain, however, as "the entire machinery of government" is reoriented towards managing highly complex negotiations on withdrawal from the EU, he warned.

As Britain recedes from the Balkan scene, Germany's role in the region will become ever more important.

It was already the "unassailable central power" in the European club, KerrLindsay observed, and Berlin was now "the place to go" for Balkan leaders

seeking advice and encouragement.

Denisa Kostovicova, Associate Professor in Global Politics at LSE, and educated at Belgrade University, agreed that the impact of Britain's withdrawal from the EU was likely to be negative for the Balkan region.

political and diplomatic terms, Peter Sanfey of the EBRD said the economic impact was least concerning.

Most Balkan states had reasonable growth prospects by EU standards of 2 to 4 per cent and were seeing major EUfunded infrastructure projects that

It would likely slow enlargement and thereby confirm a de-facto division of the Balkans into EU members like Croatia and a "non-EU enclave" comprising the rest, in which there was "divergence as opposed to convergence" with European norms and standards.

She called this prospect worrying in terms of the region's "shallow" integration with the EU, marked by superficial application of laws that are not implemented in practice.

While the panelists saw Brexit as a negative development for the Balkans in

should assist future growth and integration with European economies.

Regional banks were also well capitalized and resilient and, as relatively few people from the region lived in the UK, no impact was likely to be felt on the homeward flow of remittances - a highly important source of cash for some of the poorer Western Balkan states.

Sanfey said that "the indirect impact [of Brexit] on the eurozone generally is the real issue", as the UK is one of its more successful economies and a major contributor to EU funds.

US for Serbia's Sovereignty - but Without Kosovo Ivica Dacic says U.S. State Department official Victoria Nuland told him that her country has been "investing in Kosovo's independence" for 20 years now.

As ethnic Albanians in Kosovo unilaterally declared independence eight years ago, the Serbian foreign minister asked Nuland, who was visiting Belgrade earlier this week, "how it's possible that Americans have stood for it for two decades."

The independence proclaimed in Kosovo is considered by Serbia to be a violation of Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"When I told her that I thought the U.S. stood for Serbia's sovereignty in 1996, she said that they always stand for Serbia's sovereignty - but without Kosovo," Dacic recounted.

The minister, who serves in the country's caretaker government, spoke during a joint news conference with European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia David

McAllister, to add that he heard words to the same effect from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, when it comes to Crimea.

"I also told her (Nuland) that it's very interesting that I heard the same from Lavrov, who said Russia was in favor of Ukraine's sovereignty - but without Crimea. You see how different the interpretations are of various principles and terms," remarked Dacic.

And all of this, he continued, "brings up

some other questions."

"Let us be a little naive now, having heard for the first time that they've been investing in Kosovo's independence for 20 years - but it does bring up some other questions. The question of (NATO's) 1999 bombing of Serbia, and for that reason I think the time has come to consider not only Iraq, but (also) the issue of how justified the 1999 bombing of Serbia was," the minister said.

RS and Serbia Commemorate "Storm" Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik that Serbia and Republika Srpska will on 4 August together commemorate the anniversary of the 1995 expulsion of Serbs from the then Republika Srpska Krajina and

Croatia, known as "Operation Storm".

Vucic told a joint press conference with Dodik that the ceremony will be held in the village of Busije, stressing that the preservation of peace in the region is of crucial importance for the further progress of the Serbian economy.

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Dacic Calls for Review of 1999 NATO Bombing

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Iraq should not be the only thing considered, it is time to examine the responsibility for and justification of the 1999 NATO intervention, says Serbian foreign minister

erbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has called for "responsibility and justification" of NATO's 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia to be examined.

According to Dacic, who spoke in Belgrade, this should be done in the wake of a British report on that country's participation in the war in Iraq.

A special government commission recently established that Britain's decision to militarily intervene in Iraq, along with the Unites States, was made before exhausting all peaceful alternatives.

"Iraq should not be the only thing considered, it is time to examine the responsibility for and justification of the 1999 intervention. However, this has nothing to do with our path toward the European Union," said Dacic.

As he stressed, Serbia and the EU hold "different views of some things" - and this is well known "both in Moscow and in Beijing - where it is also known that the EU is Serbia's strategic goal."

Dacic also stressed that "common denominators need to be found for the path toward the EU, that will not lead Serbia toward not having aligned foreign and internal policies."

"I think the time has come to also reexamine what was done in Serbia in 1999, and not only in Iraq, because if one country's policy has been to invest in Kosovo's independence for 20 years, then I think the mistakes must be sought not only in our system," said Dacic, who was taking part in the "European Union's Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy and the Western Balkans" conference, also attended by EP rapporteur for Serbia David McAllister.

Dacic added, "There is a stance that Slobodan Milosevic was to blame, but there are other things that represent crude manipulation, untruths, and lies, as had been the case with the invasion of Iraq, something determined by the British commission."

According to Dacic, "everyone knows it well that in the village of Racak in Kosovo, where a crime allegedly occurred that was the immediate cause for the bombing of the SRJ (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro), some civilians are not buried in that place, and when one asks the villagers they say those are (buried) in a military cemetery."

"How is it, then, that civilians were killed?" asked Dacic.

"17 years after the bombing we cannot say just like that, that we will align completely our foreign and security policy, because everyone in the EU is our friend. I must say that, unfortunately, it's not quite like that, and that's a fact. We want to take our part of the responsibility and carry our cross, but we can't be the only ones," he said.

Dacic pointed out that the desire for compromise is often interpreted as weakness, while there's the attitude that Serbia, "which is now being lectured about respecting human rights by Turkey," should be moved against.

As for Serbia aligning its foreign policy

with that of the EU, the minister said he hoped the level of alignment "will be back to 90 and something percent in the coming years."

He then explained that his hope is based on "(EU's) relations with Russia normalizing - and then there will be no reason not to agree with some European positions and resolutions."

Serbia's stance on anti-Russian sanctions has also been mentioned in the context of Kosovo. According to Dacic, "friends of Kosovo's independence and those supporting some things against Serbia cannot expect Serbia to close the door on, and impose sanctions on its friends."

"That is not normal, no country in the world would do that, so Serbia won't, either. If Russia and China are the ones preventing the issue of Kosovo's independence, and Serbia's territorial integrity, from being resolved in the UN Security Council by outvoting, then we have a national and state interest that certainly requires carefully approaching these topics, and I know very well that your countries are conducting a similar policy," Dacic told the conference in Belgrade.

Vucic Hails Appointment of Boris Johnson Serbian PM-designate Aleksandar Vucic says Britain's new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, is a friend of Serbia.

"Insults are being heard at his expense from various quarters. He was here in 1999 (the year Serbia was bombed by NATO), as one of rare people from the

West who did that," Vucic said.

Vucic added that he recently met Johnson in London, and that Serbia now wants to be the host to the former London mayor in his new role - and that the same goes for Britain's new prime minister, Theresa May.

"The last time a British PM visited Serbia was Margaret Thatcher attending Josip Broz Tito's funeral, nobody was here after that. The news that Johnson has become foreign minister is certainly not bad, on the contrary," said Vucic.

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Stroke Unit in Kamenica to be Repaired

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There are two stroke units at the institute in Sremska Kamenica, so at the moment the number of interventions is significantly reduced

he Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina in Sremska Kamenica should by the half of August have ready and functional its stroke unit which was out of order due to the malfunction on the roentgen tube.

Provincial government did recently set aside 6.4 million dinars for the repairs of the tube at an urgent sitting, and the procurement procedure is underway.

There are two stroke units in the Institute, so at the moment the number of interventions is significantly reduced. Still, in the only unit which is at hand doctors perform ten appointed procedures every day, as well as various urgent interventions for patients from the whole of Vojvodina.

The Director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina in Sremska Kamenica, professor dr Aleksandar Reuek says that Provincial Government and the Provincial Secretariat of Health reacted really fast and secured the money for the repairs of the roentgen tube in the stroke unit.

"Procurement procedure is underway, and by the beginning of August we expect tender to be opened, and to have all works finished by the half of the month. We expect that stroke unit will be in function by the half of August", dr Reuek says for "Dnevnik". "We have some 900 patients on a waiting list, and bearing in mind that cardiovascular illnesses is an endemic disease in

Vojvodina, we initiated a "STEMI" (ST-segments Elevation Myocardial Infarction) network few years ago which enables direct transport of patients from the whole of Vojvodina. Lack of stroke units is the greatest problem for the speed of care of the patients with myocardial infarction", Reuek states and notices that Provincial Government showed wide understanding for solving of this problem and upgrade of stroke units in Vojvodina to a greater number.

The idea is to open those stroke units in three more centers, in Sombor, Subotica and Zrenjanin, and the doctors from the Institute for CVD would educate their colleagues. So, with two units that the Institute has in old object, as well as one more in the "Kamenice 2" building which is waiting for Technical Acceptance, Vojvodina would have six stroke units. The same level of health protection would be available to all the citizens of the Province, and that would

eliminate the waiting list.

Reuek says that 4.875 procedures were performed last year in the Institute, and a bit less previous year, 4.794 interventions, in both cases more than twice than Serbian average.

"More efficient treatment of cardiovascular diseases would reduce mortality, but also long lasting effects to the health of the patients and their functioning. Timely opening of the artery saves the heart muscle, so the patients retain their working capability, they even don't have to attend long rehabilitations which certainly means additional costs", dr Reuek explains.

One catheterization hall is, according to the world standards, necessary on every 300.000 people. There are presently 22 halls in Serbia from which two are situated in Vojvodina, which has two million citizens. Belgrade has 13, and the rest of Serbia has another seven catheterization halls at disposal.

Aid Workers Under Pressure At this point there are around 1,200 refugees in Belgrade each day, while there are at least 500 at any given moment, according to data from the Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations of the Republic of Serbia.

Compared with the situation a year ago, from the beginning of July 2015, this is a significant increase in Belgrade.

Compared with the situation a year ago, from the beginning of July 2015, this amounts to a significant increase in Belgrade.

The Asylum Center in Krnjaca is full and often turns back newcomers. Due to insufficient capacity, refugees are sent to other centers, including Sid, Tutin, Banja Koviljaca. Now between 150 and 200 refugees sleep in the parks and that number is growing every night.

Every day, new and growing groups of

returnees are arriving from Hungary, whose authorities are sending them back to Serbia outside international procedures and protocols, using radical repressive measures. There is a large number of new arrivals from Bulgaria and Macedonia while a significant number is made up of refugees who have been stuck for a long time in Belgrade, without funds to continue their journey.

Belgrade is almost certainly moving toward the situation similar to August 2015 when the parks were full of refugees.

Info Park, which currently operates as an umbrella for a number of organizations helping refugees in the park, distributed a total of 1,260 meals, which is also a record figure in 2016.

Organizations such as Refugee Aid

Serbia, Covekoljublje, Caritas and JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) currently defend the park from a humanitarian catastrophe, but this assistance is not sufficient, as there is a shortage of of bottled water and groceries adjusted to the weather conditions, primarily hot meals.

The risks for humanitarian workers in the park have also greatly increased. So far there have been several attacks that have thankfully passed without serious consequences. Although under stress due to the reduced level of protection, refugees are now showing a very high level of responsibility for peace and security in the park and usually regulate the distribution of food, clothing and hygiene items themselves, and isolate potential troublemakers.

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Telenor Gets New Charging and Billing System

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Telenor Serbia can now support full range of charging and billing needs for residential, corporate, mobile and fixed subscribers

ricsson has been selected by Telenor Serbia to deploy the Ericsson Charging and Billing in One (CBiO) solution as the CSP's new real-time convergent charging and billing platform.

As a result of the deployment, Telenor Serbia can support a full range of charging and billing needs for residential, corporate, mobile and fixed subscribers.

Ingeborg Ofsthus, the chief executive of Telenor Serbia, said: "In cooperation with Ericsson, Telenor Serbia has implemented a convergent billing system which enables us both to meet our customers' expectations and introduce new trends on the market. This system enables flexibility of the offer, broader spectrum of promotions, discounts, incentive programs, targeted campaigns, packages combining different services, as well as offer of different tariffs to customers. And all of that is enabled in real time, in line with customers' needs, providing them with full cost control. I am proud to say that we are the first mobile operator in Serbia to fully shift to convergent system of charging and billing and we manage to do it only in one year thanks to

extraordinary common team effort with company Ericsson. With CBiO system, we are giving our customers more reasons to love us. For Telenor, this is a significant step towards becoming the favourite partner in their digital life."

Ericsson has already successfully finalised the migration of Telenor Serbia's complete subscriber base to CBiO, which represents Ericsson's first CBiO live reference in Europe.

Antonio Passarella, the head of Ericsson Serbia, said: "Convergent, real-time charging solutions are essential for

Succession of SFRY Property Continues Serbia has recently handed over the consulate in Sao Paolo and a mansion in Brasilia in the total amount of around a million dollars to Slovenian diplomats as part of the process of the succession of property after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The handover of another 11 pieces of property will be carried out this year, the value of which amounts to nine million dollars, of which three more pieces of property will go to Slovenia (in the amount of USD 3.9 million), four to Croatia (USD 2.5 million) and two to Bosnia and Herzegovina (USD 2 million).

It remains, as the secretary general at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Veljko Odalovic, says, for the inheritor-states to divide another 51 pieces of property, worth USD 110 million, of which Serbia will get 39.5%, Croatia 23.5%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 15%, Slovenia 14% and Macedonia 8%.

Among these are five exclusive structures, two in New York and one each in

Tokyo, Bern and Bonn, whose value was estimated at around USD 80 million at the beginning of the 1990s.

According to Odalovic, based on certain quotas, those five structures couldn't go to either inheritor-state, which is why it has been decided that they should be sold.

"These days, the first official estimates are being made, that is, an international invitation has been opened for the international agencies for the assessment of market value. After that, the second phase should begin, where we will offer those objects for sale in the international market", Odalovic said and added that Serbia should get USD 35 to 40 million.

A large part of the property, consisting of the most valuable and the most attractive items, has already been divided among the states, Odalovic said, and the remaining property is mostly of the kind nobody wants or consists of those items over which certain states claim exclusive rights.

operators to meet the growing demands of today's always connected consumers. This deployment showcases Ericsson's unique capability to drive complex transformation projects within short timeframes, and clearly demonstrates our leadership in both business support systems (BSS) and systems integration."

In addition to the migration to CBiO, the project includes the implementation of over 100 business requirements as part of Telenor Serbia's ongoing digital business transformation project.

Belgrade Airport Earns 86 Million The Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is currently one of the most profitable companies in the region, with a total income of EUR 86 million, an operative income of more than EUR 66 million and a profit of over EUR 26 million, stated the acting director general of the airport, Sasa Vlaisavljevic.

As he said, "whereas the majority of the largest airports are being financed through loans, the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is operating without loan debts".

This principle of operations and management increases the profitability of the company, so that the EBITDA margin of the Belgrade Airport is at the level of the best companies in this industry. The Airport has a profit margin of 21% and a ROE of 7% Vlaisavljevic stated.

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First Problems in Smederevo Steel Mill

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New Chinese owners dissatisfied with possible penalties about alleged dumping of prices, and with current adviser

ess than two weeks after the arrival of the Chinese Hesteel to Zelezara Smederevo, the first problems between the company and the Serbian authorities appeared.

According to Blic newspaper, the first problem relates to possible consequences arising from the investigation by the European Commission over the alleged dumping prices of steel in the export from Serbia to the EU and the possible penalties which might be placed on the new owner. The second one relates to hiring Peter Kamaras as the new owner's adviser.

As Blic has found out, Kamaras and his HTP Engineering will be special advisers to the Chinese owner in the transitional period before a team of Chinese managers take over the running of the company.

"His appointment was the first stumbling block. The Serbian side believes that it's not appropriate that Kamaras should be hired as an adviser after the Assembly of Zelezara terminated the agreement on management with him on the account of the loss of EUR 150 million. Our reaction to this move was mild, but the Chinese expressed great dissatisfaction after the EC started the investigation over the alleged dumping prices of steel in the export to the EU", a Blic source from the Government says.

He adds that the Chinese have been demanding the explanation from the prime minister's cabinet since last week.

"They had been assured that such a situation could not arise because everything had been done in line with the recommendations by the EC. Serbia had also given strong guarantees that the state hadn't been financing Zelezara since February 1, 2015. They are asking for a meeting in order to learn whether the Government will compensate them for the damage they might take if Brussels bans the export to the EU market or if the Smederevo steel starts being treated like Chinese steel, which entails customs duties of 25%. In addition to that, they demand to be explained what will happen if Belgrade fails to convince Brussels that the amount of state aid from 2012 till 2015

Talks on Fruska Gora Corridor Started Talks between the representatives of the competent Republic and district authorities about the construction of Fruska Gora corridor began at the Ministry of Transport.

The construction of the Novi Sad-Ruma highway will be carried out in four phases. In the first phase, the section between Ruma and the entrance to the tunnel passing through Fruska Gora will be built, the second phase entails the construction of a 17 km tunnel, the

third phase entails the construction of the exit from the tunnel all the way to the Miseluk interchange and in the fourth phase, the bypass route around Petrovaradin will be built. As Dnevnik reports, the Provincial Government has made this project its priority.

The construction of the Novi Sad-RumaSabac highway will begin in 2017 and that the necessary documentation is being prepared at the moment.

Fruska Gora corridor will be connecting Corridors X and IV and will be the shortest link between Bosnia and Romania. The significance of the Novi Sad-Ruma corridor with a tunnel is that it will provide the solution to the enormous problem of the passage of trucks across Fruska Gora and through Irig, through which the busiest route in Serbia passes, with a daily average of 10,000 to 12,000 vehicles.

was half of what the future Chinese investments will be, and they've been announced to start at EUR 300 million. In that case, the EU will ask that Hesteel returns the overpaid amount to Serbia", the same source says.

Nobody in the Government or Zelezara wanted to comment officially on the current situation. Zeljko Veselinovic, president of the Union Sloga confirms that there's some difficulty in the communication between the Chinese and the Government of Serbia.

"The Chinese don't want to pay for the Serbian penalties and are demanding to meet with the authorities, so that, in the case that the EC imposes sanctions, the damage is compensated for by the state. As for Kamaras, I don't think they've made a right choice in hiring him", Veselinovic says.

Local Companies to Construct New Bus Station The company Bauwesen from Lazarevac, in cooperation with the Institute of Transportation CIP, Meta Balkan, Geomehanika and Krip Engineering from Belgrade, has gotten the job of constructing the first building of the future Main Bus Station in block 42 in New Belgrade.

They've won the recently finalized tender, after having offered the price seven million dinars lower than that of the competing companies Koto, Masinoprojekt, Jugo Biro...

According to the tender documentation, Bauwesen and its cooperators will have 320 days to complete the construction.

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9

INTERVIEW

To Affirm Good Neighborly Relations The past decade was marked by the strong progress of Montenegro on its path towards the EU, says Filip Vujanovic, President of Montenegro who recently visited Serbia

O

n its path to EU, Montenegro has opened 22 negotiating chapters and closed two.

Relations between Serbia and Montenegro are improving, but there are still open bilateral issues that should be resolved as soon as possible, in order for the two countries to be able to speed up the process of EU accession and contribute to the further stabilization of relations in the region, says Vujanovic in interview to CorD. Montenegro r ecently c elebrated the t enth a nniversary o f i ts d eclaration o f i ndependence. H ow d id y ou experience t his d ate?

I've always had ambiguous feelings about the restoration of Montenegro's statehood: as the fulfillment of the debt to the past in which Montenegro was an internationally recognized state, and as a chance to promote its best interests for the benefit of all citizens of Montenegro by exercising its full sovereignty within the international community. In Montenegro there is a thousandyear state tradition and respect towards the international recognition of the country since the reign of the last ruler of the Petrovic dynasty, Duke and King Nikola. There was also a pragmatic need to promote, through our state, the values of Montenegro in the international community and provide a better quality of life for all of our citizens.

How d o y ou s ee t he p rocess regarding P rotocol o n t he A ccession o f M ontenegro t o N ATO? As the finale of the very complex and demanding process of Euro-Atlantic integration, which represents great recognition for Montenegro's success in attaining NATO standards. In just one month, the Accession Protocol has been ratified by the parliaments of four NATO member states, which also refers to the expectation of good pace of membership ratification. Euro-Atlantic integration is proclaimed as our integration preference in the Constitution of Montenegro and in the Declaration of an independent Republic of Montenegro from 3rd June 2006, and based on the need for permanent security, economic and political benefits and the acceleration of European

integration. Of the 28 EU member states, 22 are members of NATO, nine out of every ten EU citizens live in NATO states, so it is natural that membership in NATO means additional encouragement to EU membership.

How d o y ou c onsider R ussia's o pposition t o N ATO e nlargement t o y our country?

I see it as an example of relations between Russia and NATO and a consequence of the geopolitical context. I have already stated that our constitutional preferences are European and Euro-Atlantic integrations. We have always been clear about that to everyone, including our friends from Moscow.

We are ties to Russia by more than three centuries of a tradition of state relations.

In all of our communications with Russia's senior officials we have clearly communicated our Euro-Atlantic ambitions and, with their well-known attitude towards NATO enlargement, they've always admitted the fact that this is the sovereign right of Montenegro.

How w ould y ou a ssess c urrent r elations w ith S erbia?

I experience them as being close, meaningful and friendly. I have always said and I will repeat - with Serbia we must have closest relations and be an example of intimacy in the international community. We are tied together by many values of shared history, many close things in the present and commonalities in many ways in our vision for the future. I am convinced that mutual respect, non-interference in internal

affairs, the affirmation of closeness and understanding of diversity, secure precisely such a relationship between these two friendly countries. That is undoubtedly in the interest of all citizens of both countries, and whoever is responsible for state policy should bear this in mind.

You were born in Belgrade. How often do you visit your hometown and do you see it today as part of a foreign country?

Not only was I born in Belgrade, but I also studied in Belgrade and had the first years of my working life in Belgrade.

In my years of study and work, Belgrade, undoubtedly, was a prestigious city in the Western Balkans in many respects, but the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia and the sanctions impacted negatively on the capital of Serbia. I am glad that Belgrade is restoring its shine and I see it as the capital of a neighbouring and close country and wish it full prosperity.

It is o ccasionally s tated in Montenegro t hat S erbia i nterferes i n the c ountry's i nternal a ffairs. A re those s tatements j ustified?

It is clear that our two countries have differences that should be respected and there should be no interference in internal affairs. I am not concerned about occasional public exposure of those differences, because I think that our closeness is constant and that differences can't affect that in any way.

How i s y our c ooperation w ith Serbian P resident T omislav N ikolic?

I recently had the most open, friendly and constructive meeting with Serbian President Nikolic in Sarajevo during the Summit Initiative Brdo Brioni. We noted the closeness of our countries and citizens, affirming the need to respect the similarities and differences with the necessity of improving cooperation, especially in the economic sphere, and within it the improvement of transport and energy infrastructure. In the field of infrastructure we have always emphasised the importance of the reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railway, which should facilitate communication between citizens and ensure better trade and overall economic cooperation.

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Kosovo Probes Suspected Mass Grave at University Forensics officials in Kosovo have launched excavation work on the campus of Pristina University after receiving information that there could be a wartime mass grave at the site

T

he search for buried bodies on the Pristina University campus started on the order of the Kosovo Special Prosecution, and is expected to last for several days.

The search began after someone living close to the site told the Kosovo authorities that Serbian forces had buried victims under the lawn between the Serbian Orthodox church which stands on the university campus and the National Library.

The head of the Kosovo government's Missing Persons Commission, Prenk Gjetaj, said that Serbian officials had been informed about the excavations.

"The Belgrade side has been informed about the time and place in order to participate as in previous cases. I hope that this cooperation will contribute in easing tensions and avoiding the politicization of suspected sites," Gjetaj said.

He added that the Serbian Orthodox Church had given consent for excavations near St Nikola's Church.

Construction of the church started in the mid-1990s, when Slobodan Milosevic was in power in what was Yugoslavia, but it has remained unfinished since the war in 1999.

Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Branimir Stojanovic, who attended Wednesday's excavations, said that the church should not be seen as a political object.

"There were attempts to call this temple 'Milosevic's Church', which has never been the case. No church could

Search for a mass grave in central Pristina (Photo: BIRN)

belong to Milosevic or any other politician," Stojanovic said.

"This church was built for people who lived in Pristina region and who were in greater numbers than they are now," Stojanovic said, referring to thousands of Serbs who fled Kosovo after 1999.

The church has proved controversial in the past. In September 2012, the University of Pristina sued the Serbian Orthodox Church, accusing it of illegally occupying more than four hectares of land where the church was built. No final court verdict has been issued on the case.

So far, mass graves containing the bodies of more than 1,000 Kosovo

Albanians killed during the war have been found in four locations in Serbia at a police training centre in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica, in Lake Perucac, at a police centre in Petrovo Selo and at the Rudnica quarry near the town of Raska.

Around 1,670 people are still missing after the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999.

The last search for a Kosovo war grave near the southern town of Novi Pazar in April - conducted by both Serbia and Kosovo's missing person commissions as well as the Serbian war crimes prosecution and the EU's rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX - failed to yield any results.

"Captain Dragan" Pleads Not Guilty Wartime paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic pleaded not guilty at preparatory hearing at the county court in the Croatian coastal city of Split.

"I don't consider myself guilty," Vasiljkovic told the court.

His trial will start on September 20 and the state attorney office put forward a list of 50 witnesses it wants to testify.

Vasiljkovic is accused of war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war in Croatia between 1991 and 1993.

He is accused of planning an attack on the town of Glina and surrounding villages in central Croatia in July 1991, which resulted in the death of two civilians, one of them a German journalist, Egon Scotland. Property was also looted and destroyed.

He is also charged with the torture and mistreatment of imprisoned Croatian soldiers and policemen in June and July 1991 at the fortress in Knin, and ordering the execution of two prisoners of war in Brska, near the southern town of Benkovac, in February 1993.

Vasiljkovic has been in custody in Split since July 2015, after he was deported from Australia, where he lived for many years under the name Daniel Snedden and worked as a golf instructor.

He was sent to Croatia after losing a nine-year battle against extradition.

Vasiljkovic denied the allegations and sought to avoid extradition from Australia on the grounds that he would not have a fair trial in Croatia.

Belgrade also lobbied the Australian government for Vasiljkovic to be prose-

cuted in Serbia rather than Croatia, also alleging that he would not get a fair trial.

During the early 1990s, Vasiljkovic came to the Knin region of Croatia to train a special armed unit of Serbian rebels, known as the Knindze - a pun on the words 'Knin' and 'ninja'. They helped carve out a territory later proclaimed as the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

Vasiljkovic also instructed the notorious Serbian warlord Zeljko Raznjatovic, alias Arkan, and members of his Tigers paramilitary unit, amongst others.

Hague Tribunal in 2007 named him as a participant in crimes against Croats and other non-Serbs in the case of former Croatian Serb leader Milan Martic, but did not request his arrest.

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Volunteers From Lapovo Save Horses

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Led by Zeljko Ilicic, enthusiasts invest effort, time and money to take care of abandoned or hurt animals

are Kasta, a horse which had wonderful racing future in front of her, did not allow to be taken to her final logging, in the barn with no return. Smallish and weak donkey Miki was not so lucky. As in fairy tales, where some force does not allow unrighteous ending, in the tragic story of these two animals, which brought people nothing but joy, one Balkan horse asylum "Staro Brdo" from Lapovo stepped in. Because of them, after this story there won't be a tear on the face or bitterness in the mouth. Or it might be?

The best friends, Mare Kasta and donkey Miki, were taken on the road with no return, but‌ there were volunteers of the horse asylum! Zeljko Ilicic, in charge of the horse asylum, said that Kasta and Miki are friends, they lived together in a park, and brought joy to children and grownups that came there just to see them.

Someone had a sinister idea to take Kasta and Miki by fraud and lead them outside the park, said Ilicic.

"Miki then entered the trailer and was dropped off in a small and stinking barn. Kasta did now allow to be taken away. She refused to enter the trailer because she felt that she will never come back from that place alive. They did not manage to take them by force or tools. Legs cut by the ropes, face torn of the whip hitting, stabbed chest and all beaten up, Kasta remained to lie helpless in the park and wait for her death, right there where she spent her life", said Ilicic.

"Luckily for her, before the malefactor has finished her, random passers intervened, took away his fork and called the police. Poor animal survived despite blood lose and dozens of wound. With the efforts of a volunteer of the park where Kasta lived, she was transferred

Zeljko Ilicic with one of horses

to our asylum. No one ever again will raise their voice at her, and let alone whip or fork. Unfortunately, Kasta is only one of the small number of horses who had the luck to be saved here".

And no, the donkey Miki was not forgotten! No, because the volunteers of the asylum in Lapovo, even if they barely survive financially, they do not forget donkeys either.

"Fortunately, we came to him and evacuated him before he died. From a wonderful animal that played with children in the park, it became a pale shadow of former self in just a short time. In wounds, losing hair, wounded body and dreadfully overgrown hoofs, young Miki let himself go to the destiny. Every step was like putting nails in his hoof. Eyes hurting from daylight. Not trusting anyone anymore. It will take lots of care, attention and interventions on hoofs to get him back to normal. We will give our best to bring him to health and give him a will to live", promises Ilicic.

Telegraf visited the horse asylum "Staro brdo" in Lapovo for the first time right before opening almost a year ago and reported with how much sacrifice group of volunteers lead by Zeljko Ilicic work,

who did not only give his love and effort, but also great part of his property for the area where horses taken from the slaughterhouse could run free.

Asylum buys the horses and "snatches" them on the way to the slaughterhouse, then puts them in the home, brings them to health and gives away as a present.

But, no matter how much love the animals need, they cannot eat love.

"There will be less and less horses in our asylum with the current situation.

Financial situation is a disaster, in the few spring months we did not gather enough resources to support a single horse, let alone all of them that are here on the collective care", concluded Zeljko Ilicic and added: "Our personal resources have been depleted, we have nowhere to go. It doesn't take much, it is enough for each of us to give up one coffee a month or half a pack of cigarettes, and that would be enough to maintain the existing horses and to save a few more every month. It's not such a big sacrifice if we all work together. The few of us that are still in the asylum are at the end of our strength, we got nowhere else to go to", said Ilicic.

Jumped Off a Bridge Because of a Song 20 year old girl jumped off a bridge in Novi Sad. Bridge is around 25 meters high over Danube, and she jumped "for fun", was not injured, but promised never to do that again.

"I wanted to know if I can do it or no. And now I know I can. I will not do it again, because police forbade me, since the laws do not allow jumping off the bridge, it is very dangerous", said the girl who wished to remain anonymous.

She was sitting in a coffee shop at the Novi Sad beach Strand, near the Freedom bridge, the biggest and tallest bridge over Danube in Novi Sad, from which she jumped off, and she did it because it was "her song" at the moment.

Police showed up very quickly after she jumped off, who were called by the people as soon as they noticed she stepped over the bridge railing, because they

thought she was trying to kill herself.

"Police asked me if I knew that it was illegal and if I tried to kill myself, but I just wanted to jump because of adrenaline rush. I did not want to kill myself, I love life, even although I live it a bit crazy", told the girl.

She added that police instructed her to wait for the ambulance, who examined her and determined that she was not harmed.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Protest of Let’s Not Drown Belgrade yesterday at City Assembly

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