Serbia n Montenegro.

[TsarSamuil]

I said this would happen!!! (in bold letters) anyone still doubt that Macedonism isn't a by-product of Yugoslavia/Serbia?

Is all these national experiments Tito's fault?

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Identity And Other Politics - Behind the Russophobia of Serbia's Quislings.

Antiwar.com
by Nebojsa Malic, November 05, 2011

The Empire-manufactured reality matrix continues to disintegrate. Aware that its grip on power is rapidly weakening, the quisling regime in Serbia is now trying to whip up anti-Russian hysteria. Their target is Moscow’s ambassador, Aleksandar Vasilevich Konuzin. Back in September, Konuzin stood up at a pro-NATO event in Belgrade, hosted by "NGOs" on Empire’s payroll, thundering, "Are there any Serbs in this room?" This was in response to NATO troops beginning an operation of seizing the north of the province for the "independent" Albanian regime; an attempt thwarted by the Kosovo Serbs themselves, despite Belgrade’s constant betrayal.

More recently, Konuzin attended a rally of the opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), and praised it for advocating change. This drew harsh criticism from the government and its hangers-on, who charged the Russian with "interference" and "disrespecting Serbia’s sovereignty."

The accusations reek of the worst kind of hypocrisy. First off, none of these people give a rotting rodent’s posterior about Serbia’s sovereignty. They are all too eager to surrender the occupied province of Kosovo, and give the Eurocrats everything they demand — and then some. Secondly, none of them have ever been bothered by interference or disrespect, so long as came from EU or Imperial ambassadors.

The Astroturf Opposition

Konuzin wasn’t out of line to appear at an opposition gathering. He was, however, mistaken about the object of his praise. Namely, the Progressives are an Astroturf party, a product of post-electoral engineering on par with the current governing coalition. The alliance of Democrats and Socialists put together in June 2008 (with the "assistance" of US and UK ambassadors) is a perversion of democracy, as the two coalitions ran against each other.

US diplomatic dispatches published by WikiLeaks reveal that it was a Democratic operative that persuaded Tomislav Nikolic, deputy leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), to split off and form the Progressives. SRS leader Vojislav Seselj has been imprisoned by the Hague Inquisition since 2003; unable to convict him on spurious "hate speech" charges, it has been keeping him imprisoned on repeated charges of contempt of court. Adding insult to injury, the Progressives got to keep the seats in the legislature, to which they were elected as Radicals. So, not only was the current government never elected as such, neither was the "opposition"!

Misdirections

Now, however, the government in Serbia is in trouble. An election is approaching in April, and they have nothing to offer. In 2008, the Democrats campaigned on a lie that they would fight for both European integrations and Kosovo. But the EU is in a major economic and political crisis, so few are likely to again buy the fantasy of money magically raining from the sky on Serbians loyal to Tadic. Furthermore, Brussels has clearly spelled out that recognizing the "independent" Kosovo is a prerequisite for further talks — about negotiating the possibilities of probability of maybe considering whatever may be left of Serbia (when everyone is done with it) joining someday.

The Kosovo policy was exposed as a fraud last year, and more so this fall, as Belgrade tried to backstab the Serbs standing up for their rights. The economy is a disaster. Mladjan Dinkic, the international bankster who ran Serbia’s economic policy since October 2000, recently left the government and reinvented himself as a champion of "regionalism", hoping no one will remember that the country’s ruin is largely his fault.

Meanwhile, the lunatic "Liberal Democratic" fringe is running on the platform of unconditional surrender to the Empire, pitching it as the pinnacle of patriotism. They call it "The Reversal" — of sanity, perhaps, but not of any government policy implemented by Tadic or his DOS predecessors.

The strategy seems to be to saturate the electorate with a plethora of options, all of which are run by Empire loyalists. Between that and post-electoral trickery, they aim to ensure the survival of their policies no matter who actually wins the vote.

Then there is a cabal of separatists in the northern province of Vojvodina, seeking to establish a private satrapy with Empire’s backing – the way Milo Djukanovic did with Montenegro. It doesn’t matter that the vast majority of inhabitants in the province are ethnic Serbs; a campaign is already underway to convert them to "Vojvodinians", exactly the same way as the inhabitants of Montenegro were stripped of their historic Serbian identity. Leaflets that appeared in the northern city of Novi Sad this week, picturing Serbia kicking to the curb a slovenly, vodka-swilling Russian, have all the hallmarks of this group.

False Choices

Not surprisingly, the mainstream Western media are covering the issue as a question of choice between Russia and Europe. One example was a piece this week by WSJ blogger Goran Mijuk, who argued that, "Serbs will now have to find a compromise between the Russian and European option… But a solution is possible. As is the case with the Serbian script, which uses both Latin and Cyrillic, Serbs know how to emulate Western and Eastern standards."

In fact, Cyrillic is the native Serbian alphabet, while the Latin alphabet in use throughout the Balkans (and claimed by everyone else) is a letter-for-letter adaptation of it. But the real question is, why emulate at all? Can’t the Serbs just be themselves?

More to the point, the Russians aren’t asking the Serbs to emulate their ways, culture, traditions, or politics. All Moscow is asking is that the Serbs stand up for their own freedom and look out for their own interests. How on Earth is that questionable?

On the other hand, the Empire – through the quisling government and "civil society" groups — has demanded of the Serbs to give up Cyrillic, "reform" their Orthodox Christian church and undergo a wholesale "identity change" in order to be accepted by the EU and NATO. You know, the NATO that 12 years ago attacked Serbia and occupied Kosovo, where the EU is now building an Albanian "independent state"? None of that bothers the "reformers," while Russian support for Serb independence makes them see red.

It’s the Identity, Stupid

This deliberate conundrum about identity helps explain a peculiarity about last week’s jihadist attack on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo. Both local and Western media have described the attacker as "Serbian" – that is, a citizen of Serbia. Yet those very same media vocally insist that the Muslims living in that region of Serbia are "Bosniaks". So apparently, one can be a "Bosniak" when special privileges are about to be dispensed, but magically becomes "Serbian" upon engaging in terrorism.

Early in October, Canadian daily The Globe and Mail published a feature on a Quebecois composer of Serbian origin, who explained that only in Canada did she become aware of her roots and the richness of her native culture. While she still lived in Serbia, she believed, along with many others, that traditional identity and culture were something to be despised and ashamed of, cast aside in favor of some higher, global, cosmopolitan identity.

This was in the 1980s, before the wars that broke up Yugoslavia, or the "democracy" brought by NATO bombs, boots and bribes. Back then the identity to aspire to was that of the socialist workers of the world. Today it is of global conspicuous consumers. Either way, it was at the expense of genuine identity, culture and traditions. Back then, it was the Yugoslav Communists who demanded this. Today it is the Euro- Atlantic "Democrats". It makes one wonder what exactly is the difference.

[TsarSamuil]

Serbia Buys US Steel Plant for $1

Jan 31, 2012 by AssociatedPress

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8FzVJd7gis

The Serbian government has bought a money-losing plant from U.S. Steel for the sum of $1, hoping to avoid its closure and keep 5,400 workers employed. (Jan 31.)

[TsarSamuil]

Serbia should join NATO, party leader says.

Beta
Politics | nedelja 4.03.2012 | 13:13

NOVI SAD -- Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM) Ištvan Pastor has assessed that Serbia should stop being military neutral and join NATO.

He noted that this would speed up the country’s EU integration process.

“Serbia should become a western-oriented country that builds relations of European and Transatlantic alliance. There is not a single former socialist country that has not joined NATO ahead of the EU membership,” Pastor told Novi Sad-based Hungarian language daily Magyar Szo.

According to him, the step would greatly increase the country’s ability to attract capital since it was a well-known fact that investors are interested in stable and safe countries.

He said that the main task of the new government would be to get a date for the beginning of the EU accession talks as soon as possible, adding that Serbia was losing EUR 1bn of development funds and EUR 1bn of agriculture incentives due to its slow EU accession progress.

The LSV leader pointed out that he believed that, aside from Vojvodina, other parts of Serbia should be granted autonomy, adding that Vojvodina should have legislative, executive and partial judicial autonomy in the future.

[TsarSamuil]

Tadić announces decision on presidential vote.

B92, Tanjug
Politics | April 4, 2012 | 12:39

BELGRADE -- Serbia’s President and ruling DS party leader Boris Tadić has cut his mandate short and will be a candidate in the presidential elections on May 6.

The president’s mandate will cease to exist the moment the president sends an official letter to Serbian parliament Speaker Slavica Đukić-Dejanović, informing her about his decision to resign.

Tadić will send the letter to Đukić-Dejanović on Thursday after which she will call the elections and schedule them for May 6, he announced on Wednesday.

B92 broke the news late on Tuesday, to report unofficially that Tadić would resign and enable for the vote to be held along with parliamentary and local elections.

According to the Constitution, the parliament speaker calls the presidential elections and the law on presidential elections envisages that the elections must be held 30 to 60 days since the day they were called.

Explaining his reasons for the decision, Tadić said Serbia was headed into a period of comprehensive reforms, which need to be conducted by reinvigorated institutions.

"These reforms require a new legitimacy and a strengthened mandate of all state institutions, and this legitimacy can come only from voters in an election. This is why it is most rational and practical to hold a general election," he pointed out, noting his decision came from a feeling of political responsibility.

"I will run in the election with a lot of optimism, due to the positive trends in our country," Tadić told reporters on Wednesday.

He said the election would be difficult but also gave people an opportunity to choose which path they want the country to take.

"I propose a path of European integration and preserving the country's integrity," said Tadić.

"We will not recognize Kosovo," he stressed and added: "I am still the president today and tomorrow".

"I have not been postponing this decision and I do not expect problems with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)," said Tadić.

He noted that political reforms would be stalled if the elections were held on different dates, and that the citizens he has met with recently have also told him it would be better not to stretch out the process over the entire year.

"Now no one can accuse me of not wanting to let go of my seat," Tadić joked.

"I am quite certain about winning," he noted, adding he would say who he considered his biggest rival once all the candidates are known.

He said economic reform would be the focal point of his campaign.

"There are no institutions in Serbia which should not be involved in economic reforms. We will continue our policy of preserving macroeconomic stability, improving the competitiveness of our products in foreign markets and raising employment," Tadić explained.

The president said he would respect all his rivals because he saw elections as a sport game.

Asked about the hardest moment of his presidency to date, Tadić said it came when Serbia was denied EU candidate status last year, bringing the country's whole policy into question.

Tadić said he is not afraid of losing the election.

"I only fear human greed, brutality, aggression, the evil which exists among people and institutions. I would simply like all of us to build a better society together," he concluded.

[TsarSamuil]

Former New York Mayor Giuliani helping Serbia’s nationalists ahead of elections.

By Associated Press, Published: April 20

BELGRADE, Serbia — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he could become an adviser to Serbian nationalists who were once allied with the late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic if they win an election race for the capital.

Giuliani said Friday that he, and his consulting company, will be advising the Serbian Progressive Party officials, if they win power in Belgrade after May 6 elections. The party is challenging the ruling pro-EU coalition at the polls.

Giuliani says that “we would be very honored to help.”

Giuliani’s visit angered Belgrade’s current mayor, Dragan Djilas, who blasted the former New York mayor for his support of NATO’s 1999 bombing of Serbia and its capital.

Djilas says Giuliani “is not the man to speak about the future of Belgrade.

[TsarSamuil]

Serbian presidential election goes to runoff.

B92
Politics | May 6, 2012 | 22:36

BELGRADE -- Early results based on 46% of counted ballots show the opposition Serb Progressives (SNS)led coalition winning 23.9 percent of the parliamentary vote.

The Democrats (DS) and their coalition have received 22.7 percent, according to these unofficial results.

These coalitions are trailed by that led by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) (14.8 percent), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) (7.1 percent), the LDP-led coalition (6.8 percent), and the United Regions of Serbia (5.3 percent).

At this point, the parties and coalitions that are left below the five percent threshold are the Serb Radicals (SRS) (4.7 percent), and the Dveri Movement (4.1 percent)

At the same time, the presidential race is set to be decided in the runoff two weeks from now, considering that none of the candidates won over 50 percent of the votes cast this Sunday.

The Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) announced in Belgrade that unofficial results showed DS candidate Boris Tadić had won 26.8 percent, followed by Tomislav Nikolić with 25.6 percent of the vote.

Leader of the Socialists (SPS) Ivica Dačić has received 15.2 percent, according to these results.

DSS leader Vojislav Koštunica came in at number four with 7.7 percent.

Other candidates fared as follows: Zoran Stanković (URS), 7.1 percent; Čedomir Jovanović (LDP), 5.3 percent; Jadranka Šešelj (SRS), 3.9 percent.

The turnout in the elections has been estimated at 58.7 percent.

Analysts are warning that the results could change once the ballots cast in Kosovo and Metohija have been counted during the night, but that there is no doubt that presidential elections will be decided in the second round.

The state election commission (RIK) is yet to publish its preliminary results.

Serbians on May 6 elected the country's new parliament, local governments, and the provincial assembly of Vojvodina, and voted in the first round of the presidential election.

[TsarSamuil]

Tadic Loses Serbian Presidential Elections to Nikolic.

Novinite.com
World | May 20, 2012, Sunday| 1157 views

Incumbent Boris Tadic has lost the presidential elections in Serbia to his opponent, Tomislav Nikolic from the Serbian Progressive Party.

Nikolic has won 49.2% of the votes in the runoff of the Serbian presidential elections on Sunday vs. 47.5% for Tadic, according to data of the Serbian Center for Free Elections and Democracy, cited by Radio B92 and Focus.

The data is based on the processing of 70% of the cast votes. According to the Center, the chance for a reversal of the result is very small.

The Serbian Progressive Party declared its triumph in the second round of the presidential elections late Sunday night. According to the party's deputy chair Alexander Vucic, Nikolic has won with a lead of 1.5%, as cited by C Media.

In the spring of 2012, Boris Tadic resigned as President of Serbia in order to bring about an early vote betting his bid on the country's unconditional EU accession.


Boris Tadic (right) has lost the Serbian Presidency to his opponent Tomislav Nikolic (left). Photo by novosti.rs

[TsarSamuil]

"I'm both nationalist and democrat," president says.

Tanjug, RT
Politics | May 29, 2012 | 09:15

BELGRADE -- Serbia's newly-elected president Tomislav Nikolić told Russia Today that he is a nationalist, but also a democrat who will respect European values.

This respect comes "because of the Serbian Constitution", he said, and added he took part in writing it along with former President Boris Tadić, and former PM Vojislav Koštunica.

"Probably a lot of time will pass till the western press accepts me and treats me fairly, as during many years they wrote negatively about me," Nikolić said in an interview for the Russian TV station.

Speaking about Serbia's EU path, he said that the process should stop "only if they ask us to renounce a part of our territory - Kosovo and Metohija."

"The moment they impose such conditions I will tell people immediately," Nikolić said, and added that if the citizens no longer want to see him in the position, he will resign as the president.

Asked whether a referendum on joining the EU will be held, he replied positively, adding that this will be done the moment when all the conditions are fulfilled for Serbia's entry to the EU.

"My only fear is that they will impose conditions that I personally wouldn't accept, but the citizens would probably say 'let's fulfill them, too, because we want to be in the EU'. I won with the support of 50 percent of voters, I know the other half did not support my ideas. That's why I believe I should ask them too, " Nikolić added.

"Will Serbia enter the EU? I don't know," said the new president-elect, and pointed out that today it is clear that the country will not be in the EU in the next 10 years.

When asked whether he is ready to maintain dialogue with Priština and its prime minister, Nikolić said he is ready for talks but not with Hashim Thaci, because of the suspicions that he committed crimes against Serbs.

Speaking about the idea of a partition of Kosovo, Nikolić said that at this moment, and from the point of view of the Constitution, this is not possible.

"If the majority of the citizens of Serbia say yes in a referendum? I don't know," he added.

Nikolić said that he would prefer not to have to make the choice between the EU and Russia, saying that his victory in the presidential elections was that of "both EU and Russia", rather than "EU or Russia":

"I would like Serbia to be a home with two doors, one to the West, and the other to the East. Serbia simply belongs to the East as well as to the West. I know where my heart is and everybody in Serbia knows that, but I also think that we can be a good bridge between Europe and Russia and the best partner of Russia in the EU."

"Serbia will never join NATO, as this is the will of the majority of the Serbian people," Nikolić said, and voiced belief that the EU will never impose this request as a condition for full-fledged membership.

[TsarSamuil]

Catherine Ashton, Robert Cooper Filmed Clueless about Serbia's New President.

Novinite.com
Bulgaria in EU | June 19, 2012, Tuesday| 142 views

European Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton and her envoy to the Balkans Robert Cooper have been caught on camera wondering what Serbia's new President Tomislav Nikolic looks like.

Despite the fact that Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and that Ashton’s service is deeply concerned over the nationalist past of President Nikolic, a former ally of former Slobodan Milosevic, the pair have not familiarized themselves with a photograph of him before sensitive talks, The Telegraph reported.

As she prepares to enter the room to welcome Nikolic before the critical negotiations, Ashton panics because she does not know whose hand to shake in greeting.

“Robert, somebody has got to come with me because I don’t know what he looks like,” she says, turning back from the meeting room.

Robert Cooper, who is the EU’s lead negotiator with Serbia and a senior British diplomat, replies: “Nor do I.”

Getting increasingly anxious and as the Serbian leader waits in the room, Lady Ashton asks urgently, “Who knows, who knows what he looks like?”.

A full blown diplomatic crisis is only averted when a more junior official, whose face cannot be seen, curtly injects to say, “I have a picture.”

After a short pause the film, which has become a hit on Twitter and been likened to the political satire The Thick Of It, shows Lady Ashton warmly greeting a man who she would not have recognized just a few seconds before.

The Telegraph points out that in the run-up to the talks, President Nikolic, who was elected on 21 May, alarmed the EU by insisting that the town of Vukovar in Croatia, which joins the EU next year belongs to Serbia.

He also claimed that Srebrenica – which EU institutions designate as a Serb genocide of Muslims – was not genocide.

[TsarSamuil]

Prosecute a nun!?

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"Threats sent" to Montenegrin accused of chauvinist outburst.

B92, Vijesti
Region | July 31, 2012 | 16:48

PODGORICA -- A Montenegrin man who last week threw a mother, her five children, and a nun out of his restaurant because they were Serbs says he has been receiving "threats".

Milo Kadija - who previously explained to the media that he had expelled his guests from the premises for their ethnicity - said that he reported the threats to the local police.

Podgorica-based daily Vijesti says that police took his mobile phone in an effort to determine where the alleged threatening text messages came from.

On Monday, the media reported that Kadija said he had decided to deny service to the two women and the five minor children because he was "a Montenegrin nationalists", who "cannot stand Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church".

Also on Monday, the Institute for Social Inclusion NGO filed criminal charges against him, accusing him of hate crimes.

"We expect the (Montenegrin) Prosecution to take appropriate official action in order to determine whether Kadija's actions contained elements of criminal acts motivated by intolerance," the group announced.

They also filed a complaint with the Montenegrin ombudsman in the wake of the chauvinist incident, saying that the restaurant owner's behavior was "a drastic example of open discrimination of citizens based on their ethnicity and religion".
Serbian vs. Montenegrin polenta

After speaking for Vijesti on Monday, Kadija spoke publicly again, this time for the Analitika website.

According to him, the two women and the children arrived at the restaurant and ordered "Serbian polenta", to which he replied that he served "only Montenegrin polenta".

The nun then allegedly wondered "how that was possible, when things here are half Serbian and half Montenegrin". Kadija said that he replied that "everything here is mine and Montenegrin", after which they "laughed and left".

Meantime, the restaurant owner said, "about 200 messages" arrived on his phone, containing "very coarse profanities" addressed at him, "Turks, Montenegrin men and Montenegrin women".

Kadija apparently denied that he told the Vijesti daily that he threw his guest out because he "does not like Serbs", by saying that he "works with Serbian agencies and employs Serbian waitresses".

Lastly, he announced that he had decided to press charges against the woman and the nun for "endangering the safety of him, his family, and his establishment.".

[TsarSamuil]

Montenegro's Rulers Victorious in Parliamentary Vote.

Novinite.com
World | October 15, 2012, Monday| 229 views

Montenegro's ruling coalition won the most votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday and appears certain to remain in power.

The European Montenegro coalition led by Milo Djukanovic has won 45.6% of the vote, or 39 out of 81 seats in the future parliament, according to the results released by the monitoring group which counted nearly 95% of the ballots.

The major opposition party, Democratic Front, was second with 23.7%, or 20 parliamentary seats, followed by the pro-Serb Socialist People's party with 10.5% of the vote, or nine seats.

"As of tomorrow, we will start work on the creation of a government that will continue to lead Montenegro on its path to European ... integration and work on improving the living standards of every Montenegrin citizen," Djukanovic has told supporters, as cited by EurActiv.

It is still unclear whether Djukanovic, who has served Montenegro's President or Prime Minister for most of the past two decades, intends to pursue the Prime Minister's post once again.

Montenegro is expected to become the next country to join the EU after Croatia.

[TsarSamuil]

Montenegrin politician criticizes Bosnian official.

Tanjug
Region | October 26, 2012 | 19:21

PODGORICA -- Nebojsa Medojević has asked Valentin Inzko to question Bakir Izetbegović over his statement that Bosniak Party (BS) should enter a new government of Montenegro.

The leader of the opposition Movement for Changes (PzP) met with Inzko, who serves as high international representative in Bosnia, while both were in Berlin.

Medojević protested over what he said was meddling in internal affairs of Montenegro, perpetrated by Izetbegović.

Izetbegović, Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency, made the controversial statement during a recent visit to Montenegro. Other political parties in the country also saw it as interference in its internal matters.

Medojević previously stated that Izetbegović had allegedly “received millions” from the current Montenegrin authorities to egg the Bosniak Party on to try and re-enter the Montenegrin government, after the parliamentary elections held on October 14.

[TsarSamuil]

Milo Djukanovic named as Montenegro's PM-designate.

English.news.cn 2012-11-10 06:38:08

BELGRADE, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Montenegro's President Filip Vujanovic on Friday named Milo Djukanovic as prime minister-designate after consultations with political parties, accordin g to news reaching here.

It paved the way for the formal return to power of Djukanovic, a pivotal political figure in Montenegro over the past two decades.

Djukanovic's candidacy was proposed by his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

Montenegro's ruling coalition, which consists of the DPS and the Social Democrats Party (SDP), won a parliamentary election on Oct. 14 but failed to secure an absolute majority in the 81-seat legislature.

The current coalition government, with 43 seats in parliament, was formed with the inclusion of Bosniak, Croatian and Albanian minority parties.

Djukanovic's nomination will be presented at the next session of the parliament where its passage is considered a mere formality.

In 1991, Djukanovic became the youngest prime minister in Europe at the age of 29. He later held the position of president and was instrumental in Montenegro's independence movement, which ended the country's union with Serbia in 2006 in a referendum.

Montenegro currently suffers from an economic crisis after years of growth buoyed by tourism and a real estate boom and is also facing European Union membership talks.

[TsarSamuil]

Ethnic Albanians in south seek help from Tirana.

Tanjug
Politics | January 13, 2013 | 12:28

PREŠEVO -- Representatives of ethnic Albanians from southern Serbia have called for internationalization of the Preševo Valley crisis.

They also opposed the removal of a monument honoring members of the so-called Liberation Army of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa (UCPMB).

After a joint Saturday meeting, representatives of ethnic Albanians from the southern Serbian municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa called on Albania to help get international institutions involved in resolving Preševo Valley issues.

The councilors of the joint Albanian Preševo Valley assembly adopted a political declaration against a proposed removal of the controversial monument which was unveiled in downtown Preševo on November 16, 2012.

The declaration contains a total of ten conclusions in which the councilors of the ethnic Albanian assembly call on governments of Albania and Kosovo to influence the authorities in Serbia and encourage a dialogue with the “legitimate political representatives of the Preševo Valley.”

The Albanian councilors are fully committed to finding political solutions to Preševo Valley problems and call on international institutions of the UN, NATO, OSCE, CoE, and the EU to encourage the Serbian government to continue the dialogue with the political representatives of the Preševo Valley, reads the declaration.

In one of the conclusions, the ethnic Albanians stressed their right to the use of symbols expressing national identity and opposed every form of forcible removal of such symbols, including the controversial monument in Preševo.

The councilors consider an erection of a memorial to Serbian Gendarmerie members in southern Serbia a severe provocation and they condemned “threatening statements” made by Serbia's state officials regarding their own memorial.

The assembly meeting was attended neither by representatives of the Belgrade and Priština governments nor by representatives of international organizations and foreign diplomats, despite announcements about their arrival.

Chairman of the Serbian government's Coordination Body for Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa Zoran Stanković also did not attend the session since he had not even been invited, despite his demands to be present at the session, Tanjug learned from the government's body on Saturday.

Preševo Mayor Ragmi Mustafa was resolute in reiterating his stance that he would resign as a mayor if the Serbian authorities forcibly removed the monument from the central square.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić said late on Friday that the Serbian government would remove the controversial monument in Preševo if no agreement was reached with local authorities, adding that the illegally set up memorial plaque was a grave provocation directed against all Serbs.

He had earlier announced the removal of the monument “by hook or by crook.”

The memorial has inscribed on it the names of 27 ethnic Albanians killed during the period between the end of the NATO bombing campaign in June 1999 and May 31, 2001, the day which marked the end to the inter-ethnic conflict in southern Serbia.

The OVPMB was an offshoot of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Kosovo.

The Albanian councilors' session was held in the municipal assembly building, located in the square where the disputed memorial to the fallen soldiers was set up.


The controversial monument in Preševo (Beta, file)

[TsarSamuil]

Montenegrin language "fails to take root"

Dan, Tanjug
Region | February 6, 2013 | 17:00

PODGORICA -- A Montenegrin University professor has said that the uptake of the Montenegrin language in that country has been "a fiasco".

Even the politicians who demanded its official introduction do not speak the language today, Dragan Koprivica charged.

Koprivica also blamed former PM Igor Lukšić for the fact that a commission set up to produce school curriculums for "Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian language and literature", is yet to finish its work a year later.

According to the professor, Lukšić reached an agreement with opposition parties on equality of languages, "but did nothing after that in order for the document to be implemented".

Koprivica told Podgorica's Dan newspaper that only those who seek to present Montenegrin as the sole official language could profit from the current situation, and added that, considering that most citizens speak Serbian, "that does not correspond with reality".

Considering that there has been no agreement on a program for the "Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian language and literature" course, Montenegrin schools are teaching according to last year's curriculums.

According to the official data from Montenegro's census published in the summer of 2011, 36.97 percent of the country's 625,266 inhabitants said they spoke Montenegrin, while 43.88 percent said they spoke Serbian.