Serbian FM: Special court to be set up as soon as possibleNew York, 30 August 2014 (MIA) - Serbia expects a special court to be set up as soon as possible, by the beginning of the next year at the latest, before which indictments will be raised against leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes, Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic stated in New York, Tanjug reports.
We believe that all countries that respect international law would insist on this, Dacic said at the UN Security Council session late on Friday (CET).
He noted that the scope of crimes listed in the report by Chief Prosecutor (of the special investigative team) Clint Williamson call for a court epilogue because only in such a way justice and peace for a great number of victims and their families can be achieved.
He called on relevant factors in the international community to do all that needs to be done so that the special court could be set up by the beginning of the next year, and warned that acquittal due to lack of evidence must never again be allowed for individuals responsible for the crimes because of witness intimidation.
Dacic said that all those involved in intimidation of witnesses also have to be prosecuted and found guilty.
Serbia will continue doing all it can, just as it has done in the past, to help collect additional evidence for organ trafficking, but other countries also need to invest efforts so that the evidence could find its way to the special court, he noted.
Belgrade calls on all political factors in Kosovo to bear in mind that whether justice will be achieved depends on their conscientious actions, he said.
Dacic said that Serbia is deeply committed to the continuation of a constructive dialogue with Pristina on all levels and the implementation of the agreements reached so far, adding that it expects the EU to facilitate the dialogue.
Serbia has conscientiously fulfilled all the obligations it took on so far, but the same cannot be said for Pristina, Dacic stated and noted that Belgrade expects Pristina to end the post-election procedures in the foreseeable future so that the community of Serb municipalities (ZSO) could be set up.
Dacic warned against the essential gap between international standards and legislations on one side and on the other, the actual situation in the field which is characterised by inter-ethnic incidents, unsolved property issues, limited approach to public services for members of non-Albanian communities and their distrust in the work of institutions.
The situation in Kosovo-Metohija remains difficult, Serbs are living in constant fear and unemployment rates in Serb municipalities have reached record figures. This all constitutes an obstacle to the normalisation of relations and establishment of inter-ethnic trust, as well as a potential threat to stability and security in the wider regional context, the Serbian foreign minister said.
In this light, he also mentioned the arbitrary arrests of local Serbs and the case of (leader of Citizens' Initiative Serbia, Democracy, Justice) Oliver Ivanovic.
The Serbian government issued guarantees that Ivanovic will come forth in the process, and the refusal to release him pending trial constitutes disrespect for the Serbian government which contributed to the normalisation of relations to such a large extent, he noted.
We request that Oliver Ivanovic be released from detention, Dacic said.
Belgrade is closely following the court process against the so-called Drenica group and is concerned because three out of seven indicted members of former KLA managed to escape from the institution where they were undergoing medical treatment, he added.
Dacic also reflected on the June events at the bridge in Kosovska Mitrovica and pointed out that the removal of roadblocks on the northern (Serb) side of the bridge over the Ibar River was a sign of good will by the local Serb population, while the reaction of their Albanian fellow-citizens was not good-intentional and it only contributed to the deepening of intolerance.
According to Dacic, privatisation of public and social companies in Serb environments conducted by the Kosovo Privatisation Agency also remains a major problem.
Dacic believes that the conditions have not been met for the focus of the UNSC to be shifted from Kosovo, which is further supported by the recent incident in the Ground Safety Zone that claimed the life a member of the Serbian Gendarmerie.
Serbia is willing to invest maximum efforts in further stabilisation and normalisation of situation in KiM because Serbia's vital interest is peace, Dacic concluded. sk/12:22
###
Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro step up cooperation in search for missing persons
Mostar, 29 August 2014 (MIA) - Presidents Ivo Josipovic of Croatia, Tomislav Nikolic of Serbia, Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro, and Bakir Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) signed an International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP) Declaration on Friday, undertaking to improve cooperation in the search for persons who disappeared in the 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia, of whom 12,000 are still missing.
The ICMP's goal is to establish cooperation between states in the tracing and identification of persons gone missing during wars or as a result of human rights violations. The Declaration signed in Mostar, BiH is aimed at improving international cooperation in the search for the missing by more clearly defining the governments' role in the process, Hina reported.
Croatia is still looking for 1,628 persons whose fate cannot be cleared up without stronger cooperation in the region, which will also help with reconciliation and trust, said President Josipovic.
"The issue of missing persons is a matter of truth and justice, of a resolute fight against impunity and the enforcement of the rule of law as the only lasting foundations of sustainable peace and stability," he said at the signing ceremony.
Croatia is still waiting for answers about the missing from Serbia and BiH, he said. "This issue, unfortunately, has been a constant of Croatia-Serbia relations too long, unnecessarily burdening them and posing an obstacle to a genuine normalisation of relations. I welcome any progress in that field and any information which the Republic of Serbia is willing to provide."
Izetbegovic, Chairman of the BiH Presidency, said more than half of the 40,000 disappeared during the wars on the territory of the former Yugoslavia were from BiH. He said light had been shed on the fate of 20,000, while 8,000 are still listed as missing.
He said hiding the bodies of the missing was a new, horrible crime. "I call on everyone who has any information to cooperate with domestic and international institutions. It's a debt owed to the victims and their families who have been looking for their dearest ones for decades."
Izetbegovic said the whole world was dumbfounded at the victims of the Srebrenica genocide and the recent discovery of the largest mass grave in Tomasica near Prijedor, where the bodies of hundreds of Bosniaks and Croats were found.
The fate of the missing has been burdening relations in the region for years, President Nikolic said, adding that Serbia expected from Croatia information on 1,751 missing persons, mainly Serbs whose families fled to Serbia. "Serbia will not give up on finding the missing and prosecuting those responsible. We will do everything for the missing on our territory to be found and expect the same of others."
President Vujanovic said Montenegro jointed the initiative to step up the search for the missing as an important contribution to the improvement of relations.
The signing of today's declaration is a historic day that will be a message to other countries around the world, said ICMP Chairman Thomas Miller.
As the first signatories, you are an example to the countries of the region and the world, given that 12,000 persons in this region are still listed as missing. The Declaration is a symbolic step towards regional stability, he said. ba/17:27
###
Leftists march against neo-Nazi politicians in Athens
Athens, 29 August 2014 (MIA) - Greek capital Athens is bracing for trouble as leftist parties gather to protest the swearing in ceremony for the new Athens municipal council which will include high ranking members of the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.
The ceremony is planned for Friday afternoon in the Athens amphitheatre. Leftist movements began gathering in front of the building to try and stop the Golden Dawn councillors from entering. Some of the Neo-Nazi politicians who have been arrested in a crack down after their fights with leftist groups turned deadly last year, will attend the swearing in. One of them is Ilias Kasidiaris, who was allowed by the prison authorities to attend. Two other Golden Dawn members, Panayotis Iliopoulos and Nikos Kuzillos, elected to the council, are also released to attend the ceremony.
Meanwhile, in the city of Thessaloniki, re-elected mayor Yannis Boutaris donned the yellow Star of David, like the ones forced up the Jews by Nazi regimes in World War Two, during his swearing in ceremony. Boutaris (72) pinned the star on his jacket during the ceremony held on Thursday to protest the presence of the Golden Dawn councillors. The Thessaloniki ceremony was also marred by noisy protests and shouting matches between the leftist and the neo-Nazi supporters.cc/15:29
###
Djukanovic: Berlin conference met my expectations
Podgorica, 29 August 2014 (MIA) - Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, who attended the Balkan conference in Berlin on Thursday, said he suggested that the European Commission creates a broader infrastructure investment package for the Balkan countries.
According to Djukanovic, the conference hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel met his expectations and covered both political, security and development issues.
- In terms of the politics and the security situation, we discussed the open issues we brought to the new millennium from the last decades of the past century, from the days of the Yugoslav crisis, Djukanovic said.
The Prime Minister of Montenegro, in his comments following the conference, concluded that it is very important the Germany and the European Commission showed fresh initiative toward the western Balkans countries, and pledged faster and enhanced integration of the Balkan countries.
|