Strategic Analysis Balkan Brief

Second half of November 2024

Petra Bošková,  Dominik Boris, Kristína Piknová, Kristína Šebová, Matúš Vicen, Zuzana Šmilňáková

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Albania
Albanian Opposition Leader Freed Amidst the Protests

A series of anti-government protests in Albania, which started at the beginning of autumn and intensified during October, continues. The protesters demand Edi Rama’s government to step down and a technocratic government to lead Albania ahead of the parliamentary elections, which are to be held in spring 2025. Furthermore, the protesters long called for the release of the opposition Democratic Party leader, Sali Berisha, who was charged with corruption and held under house arrest since December 2023. On November 27, Albania’s Special Court for Corruption and Organised Crime lifted the house arrest of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Albania’s government is currently led by the Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, who has been in office since 2013. The protesters accuse him and the ruling party of widespread corruption, manipulation of election results, and influence in the judiciary. The protests have, at times, turned violent and resulted in serious altercations with the police. On November 26, the police in Tirana fired tear gas and used water cannons against the protesters.

The most recent round of protests in Tirana, during the last week of November, was led by the conservative opposition Democratic Party and its coalition. They claim that the corruption charges brought against the leaders of the party, the former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the former President Ilir Meta, are politically motivated.

On Wednesday, November 27, Sali Berisha was released from house arrest and later visited his supporters at the headquarters of the Democratic Party, where he urged Prime Minister Edi Rama to appoint a caretaker government. Berisha was accused of approving a law that allowed the privatisation of sports facilities in 2008 when he led the government. This law allegedly enabled his son-in-law to gain millions of EUR in the development of construction. While Berisha was released by the Special Court for Corruption and Organised Crime, the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK, vowed to appeal the court verdict.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina
Confiscation Of The Flag Of The Republic Of Bosnia And Herzegovina During Statehood Day  

On November 25, a group of women from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) unfurled the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina flag in Banja Luka to celebrate Statehood Day. Women were reported to the police by citizens and detained for disturbing public order and peace. The police confiscated the flag on the spot and escorted the women out of the city, with several media outlets reporting that the police had abused the group of women. The whole process provoked reactions from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) political representatives and the Republika Srpska (RS).

The Federal Minister of the Interior, Ramo Isak, asked the Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska, Siniša Karan, to investigate. “I have contacted Minister Karan because any harassment of our citizens is unacceptable, especially because they carry the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina flag,” Isak said. SDA party vice-president Haris Zahiragić criticised the police, saying, “I guess they are cowards used to harass women, children and unarmed civilians”. He added that the RS police is “the only police force in the world that has ever been convicted of genocide, so it is not surprising that they behave like this”.

President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik stated on the social network X that everyone is welcome in Banja Luka, but not people who want to provoke the Serbian people with war flags. “The gathering of a group of women in the park’ Petar Kočić’ and unfurling the war flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an unnecessary provocation,” President Dodik wrote. The Head of the Republika Srpska Prison Camp Detainees Association, Anđelko Nosović, believes that women from FBiH taking photos in Banja Luka with the BiH war flag represents an insult to the Serb victims and a perpetual “putting finger in the Serb people’s eye”.

The flag flown by the women in Banja Luka was the official flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1998, recognised by international institutions. It is, therefore, impossible to speak of a war flag as the police and political representatives of the Republika Srpska state.

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Montenegro
Montenegro Names Valentina Pavličić as New Supreme Court Leader After Lengthy Vacancy

After nearly three years of vacancy, Montenegro’s Supreme Court has a new leader. The Judicial Council elected Valentina Pavličić as the court’s president, a role unfilled since December 2020. Pavličić, previously Montenegro’s representative at the European Court of Human Rights and a former judge at the Higher Court in Podgorica, takes on the position amid challenging conditions in the judiciary.

In her address to the Judicial Council following the appointment, Pavličić emphasised the pressing need to rebuild trust in the judicial system, which has faced persistent criticism. “I did not assume this role to sit idly by,” she stated, pledging to work tirelessly to strengthen the judiciary’s integrity.

The decision was made unanimously by seven council members present at the session, although the council, which typically has ten members, currently operates with one vacant seat due to the death of a member. Another member, being a candidate for the same post, abstained from voting, and the Justice Minister was absent.

The Supreme Court presidency has been temporarily managed by Vesna Vučković since September 2021. Pavličić’s candidacy was endorsed by a majority of judges during a general session earlier in November. At that time, she highlighted the importance of defending the honour and reputation of the judicial profession, declaring that the Supreme Court must serve as the pinnacle of justice.

The vacancy arose after former president Vesna Medenica resigned in December 2020. Her third term had been widely criticised by the European Commission and Montenegrin NGOs. In April 2022, Medenica faced legal trouble when allegations surfaced implicating her and her son in organised crime activities, including drug and cigarette smuggling.

Medenica was charged with abuse of power and briefly detained before being released pending trial. Her son, Miloš, remains in custody, suspected of leading a criminal group involved in smuggling and corruption. Recently, Medenica received a six-month prison sentence in a first-instance verdict for enabling a judge under investigation to continue working.

Pavličić’s appointment marks a turning point for Montenegro’s judiciary, with hopes pinned on her leadership to restore credibility and enhance the judicial system’s performance.

 

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Kosovo
Kosovo and Serbia in tension over water infrastructure damage

On Friday, November 29, around 7 pm local time, an explosion occurred in the Ibar-Lepenac canal in Kosovo, near the town Zubin Potok. The situation led to cooling problems in Kosovo’s two main power plants. The canal supplies, among other places, several towns in Kosovo.

The situation seems to be stabilised for the time being. Kosovo’s economy minister said on Saturday that six temporary pipes had been put in place at the site of the blast to supply water and power. Drinking water supplies have been interrupted in some areas of Kosovo. As far as the electricity supply is concerned, according to CNN, it is mostly intact.

On Saturday, November 30, Kosovo police confirmed the arrest of eight people in the context of the explosion. The police claimed most of the people arrested belonged local Serb organisation Civilna Zastita (Civil Protection), which is declared as a “terrorist organisation” by the Kosovo government.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Serbia of staging a terrorist attack aimed at damaging critical infrastructure, which Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic strongly rejected, saying that “the baseless accusations made against Serbia, which were made hastily and without any supporting evidence, are deeply irresponsible and worrying”. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric also rejected “baseless allegations” of Belgrade’s involvement in the blast, suggesting that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government was involved without giving evidence.

The explosion occurred in the northern part of Kosovo, 16 kilometers from the border with Serbia. This area is inhabited by a Serb minority that also refuses to recognise Kosovo’s statehood and considers Belgrade, rather than Pristina, to be their capital.

The situation in Kosovo has not gone unanswered by the international community. The US Embassy in Pristina said the US is monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide assistance with the necessary investigation. Kosovo also has the support of Albania, whose Prime Minister Edi Rama said that “the explosion was sabotage and serious crime against  Kosovo”.

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Photo: Shutterstock.com

Serbia
“Address passivisation” enforcement in Albanian majority municipalities in southern Serbia continues

The Serbian government has been enforcing so-called “Address passivisation” in certain southern Albanian-majority municipalities for years now. The “passivisation” is a process of inactivating addresses of legal Serbian citizens, which consequently violates the exercise of basic human rights. To this day, it prevents thousands of ethnic Albanians in Serbia from renewing their citizenship, which means it denies them access to voting rights and other basic citizenship amenities such as public health care.

Documented cases from 2019 onwards describe the process as relatively fast and without any questions or court pre-trials. The decision from the Ministry of Interior is sent by post with the information that the address is considered inactive due to the false reporting of the address as permanent residency. It affects citizens who work abroad or travel, exclusively Albanians. According to the expert Flora Ferati-Sachsenmaier, this process has been used systematically and targeted at the Albanian minority to make southern Serbia more Serbian. According to her findings, this process was intensified mainly from 2015 to 2019, parallel to the EU-facilitated talks between Serbia and Kosovo and during the so-called „land swap“ talks.

The EU has recognised and condemned this practice of the Serbian government multiple times. The condemnations and calls of the EU for the clarification and justification of abusing these practices were sparked again by the ruling of the Serbian Constitutional Court approving “Address passivisation” by rejecting an appeal of an Albanian resident for reversing the decision of the Ministry of Interior. The EU has recently addressed this issue in the last Progress report regarding the Serbian EU enlargement process, and at the same time the European Commission’s spokesperson for EU enlargement said that this issue will be dealt with in the enlargement process.

Alongside the European Union, Albania and Kosovo criticised Serbia over the ruling of the Serbian Constitutional Court. Kosovo’s president, Vjosa Osmani,  in her annual speech to the parliament, stressed that there are still Albanians who experience ethnic discrimination and they need international attention. Osmani called this practice “Ethnic cleansing through the passivisation of addresses, a violation that is also confirmed by the European Parliament, the US Department of State”. Albania called for the “protection of the rights of Albanians in the Presevo Valley”. It stated that it will continue to follow the situation and seek commitment to protect human and minority rights by international law.

The Serbian government has been left with no response.

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North Macedonia
Radmila Sekerinska appointed as a new NATO Deputy Chief

Since October 1, NATO has had its new Secretary General, Mark Rutte, former Dutch Prime Minister. On November 19, he appointed Radmila Sekerinska from North Macedonia as the new Deputy Secretary General.

On the NATO website is Ruttes’s official statement: ”I am happy to announce the appointment of Radmila Shekerinska as the next Deputy Secretary General. She is a true believer in NATO, knows the work it takes to join the Alliance, and what it means to be a full member. I look forward to working with her as she takes up this vital role.”

Radmila Sekerinska was previously a Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Defence of North Macedonia. During her career in this office, North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020 (she was in the office during the election cycle 2017-2020).

The official NATO website stated that she will take up her post later this year. Among other candidates have been former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kititarovic, former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel and former Montenegrin Defense Minister Olivera Injac, currently the mayor of Podgorica. Sekerinska will replace current Deputy Chief Boris Ruge, who took office earlier this fall from Mircea Georana, who resigned to run a presidential election campaign in Romania.

Sources:
  • RFE/RL. RadioFreeEurope RAdioLiberty. “North Macedonia’s Sekerinska Becomes NATODeputyChief”.https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-sekerinska-rutte-geoana-ruge/33207929.html
  • NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION Website. “NATO Secretary General appoints Radmila Shekerinska as next Deputy Secretary General”. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_230683.htm

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