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☆ The West’s ‘see no evil’ approach to Serbia’s Vucic is destabilizing the Balkans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

The result is that, despite Serbia’s professed hopes to join the EU, Vucic has continued to walk a tightrope between Moscow and western powers. A Pristina government official told CNN that they did not want to “surrender” official government buildings to protesters. A decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes to fester over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. After such episodes, Joseph told CNN that the “see no evil” approach to Vucic’s regime may be starting to crack. “The situation is clear who the bully of the Balkans still is,” Meliza Haradinaj, Kosovo’s former foreign minister, told CNN.

Persons: Moscow’s, Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin, Daniel Mihailescu, ” Jasmin Mujanovic, Vucic, “, Mujanovic, Alicia Kearns, ”, –, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Albin Kurti, Serbia’s, you’ll, Kearns, wouldn’t, Putin, Viktor, Orban, ” Majda, you’re, Quint, ” Kurti, Kurti, Edward Joseph, Laura Hasani, He’s, Shqiprim Arifi, Arifi, Ben Kilb, ” Dusan, Milorad Dodik, Oliver Bunic, Boris Grdanoski, ” Joseph, Viktor Oban, Joseph, Biden, Aleksandar Vulin, ” “ He’s, ‘ we’re, ’ He’s, I’ve, ” Vucic, Meliza Organizations: CNN, European Union, Putin, Belgrade, Getty, Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, NATO, National Security, United Nations, Kosovo's, EU, Anadolu Agency, Gazprom, Serbian, European Council, Foreign Relations, ”, US, Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo’s, Johns Hopkins University, …, Kosovo Serb, Reuters, British, Kosovo, Kosovar Business Alliance, Kosovar, Serbs, “ Association of, Bloomberg, ASM, Russian, AP, Serbia ”, KFOR, NATO’s Kosovo Force, Red Star, Red Star Belgrade soccer Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Serbia, Europe, Belgrade, West, Kosovo, Kosovo’s, Kosovar, AFP, Russian, Balkan, Western Balkans, British, United, EU, Brussels, Belgium, Moscow, ” Kosovo, Serbs, France, Germany, Italy, Balkans, Pristina, … Serbia, Zvecan, Serbian, Presevo, Albanian, Leposavic, Republika Srpska, ” Republika Srpska, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dayton, Banja Luka, Kurti, Ohrid, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, appeasing Serbia

Archaeologists excavate the hull of a wooden ship, an ancient Roman flat-hulled riverine vessel at the ancient city of Viminacium, near Kostolac, Serbia, August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic/File PhotoKOSTOLAC, Serbia, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Serbia are painstakingly brushing sand and soil off the ancient woodwork of a Roman ship discovered by miners in a vast opencast coal quarry. "We may assume that this ship is Roman, but we are unsure of its exact age," he told Reuters at the dusty site hanging precariously above a vast open coal pit. The intention is to put the latest discovery on display with thousands of artefacts unearthed from Viminacium near the town of Kostolac, 70 km (45 miles) east of Belgrade. Mladen Jovicic, who is part of the team working on the newly-discovered ship, said moving its 13-metre hull without breaking it would be tough.

Persons: Zorana, Viminacium, Miomir Korac, Mladen Jovicic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Viminacium, Kostolac, Serbia, Roman, Moesia Superior, Belgrade

[1/5] People attend a protest "Serbia against violence" in reaction to the two mass shootings in the same week, that have shaken the country, in Belgrade, Serbia, May 27, 2023. REUTERS/Marko DjuricaBELGRADE, May 27 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands braved rain and wind in Belgrade on Saturday in an anti-government protest over two mass shootings that killed 18 people, blaming the deaths on a culture of violence that critics say authorities have allowed to permeate society. On May 3 a teenage boy killed nine pupils and a security guard in Belgrade in the first school mass shooting in Serbia, and a day later a 21-year-old man killed eight outside the city. It was the fourth such protest in as many weeks, with demonstrators turning up in similar numbers to the previous three rallies despite bad weather. On Friday, tens of thousands of people bussed-in from across Serbia, neighbouring Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and North Macedonia rallied in the centre of Belgrade in a show of support for Vucic.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pledged to "practically disarm" his country, with the government quickly launching a month-long amnesty for illegal weapons. Political opponents - who have long demanded tighter arms controls - call the move a populist step that cannot solve Serbia's illegal weapons problem, while organising mass protests against the violence they say permeates society. Prices of illegal weapons on the 1990s black market in Serbia were as low as $10 for a hand grenade and $150 for an assault rifle, and many were smuggled outside the country. Between 2012 and 2016 Serbia registered a total of 10,061 gun-related crimes, neighbouring Albania 6,815 and Bosnia 5,616, SEESAC's data shows. Duquet said that while the situation in Serbia was not comparable to the United States, which has far more frequent mass shootings, the country's latest attempt to disarm may form a useful precedent closer to home as war rages again in Europe.

[1/5] People attend a protest "Serbia against violence" in reaction to recent mass shootings that have shaken the country, in Belgrade, Serbia, May 8, 2023. Crowds in numbers not seen in the Balkan country for years, solemnly marched through the city centre behind a banner reading "Serbia Against Violence". Opposition parties and some rights groups accuse President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of autocracy, oppressing media freedoms, violence against political opponents, cronyism, corruption, and ties with organised crime. In response to the shootings, Serbia's police on Monday started a one-month amnesty for surrendering illegal weapons. In addition to existing gun laws, Vucic announced police checks of registered gun owners.

[1/6] People pay tribute following a school mass shooting, after a boy opened fire on others, killing fellow students and staff in Belgrade, Serbia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Antonio BronicBELGRADE, May 4 (Reuters) - Two pupils wounded in Serbia's first mass school shooting were in critical condition on Thursday, health officials said, as the country prepared for three days of national mourning. A teacher and six pupils were wounded. Milika Asanin, director of the University hospital, said that the condition of a severely wounded boy treated there had improved, but was still considered critical, the Tanjug news agency reported. The remaining children and the teacher treated in the two hospitals were in stable condition, both Ducic and Asanin said.

BELGRADE, May 3 (Reuters) - Serbia, where a schoolboy opened fire on his classmates on Wednesday, has an entrenched gun culture, especially in rural areas, but also strict gun control laws. Tens of thousands of illegal firearms have since been handed over or registered in amnesties. People over the age 18 may own firearms only with a permit issued after a thorough background check with police. Gun owners are also required to pass a training course and a questionnaire about gun legislation. In the deadliest shooting in Serbia since the 1990s, Ljubisa Bogdanovic killed 14 people in the central village of Velika Ivanca in 2013 before committing suicide.

BELGRADE, April 7 (Reuters) - Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo will not participate in local elections due to be held later this month - a move likely to aggravate current disagreements over Pristina's rule. The elections for municipal bodies were postponed in December 2022 after Serbs blocked roads and border crossings. Representatives of Serbs from northern Kosovo, including the Belgrade-backed Serbian List party, want to see an association of Kosovo Serb municipalities set up before they take part in the vote. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has repeatedly called on Serbs to participate in the local vote. Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade and Fatos Bytyci in Kosovo; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] A taxi waits for pedestrians at a street crossing under a pre-election billboard of candidate Jakov Milatovic in Podgorica, Montenegro, March 30, 2023. Montenegro, whose economy relies on tourism generated by its scenic mountains and seaside, ditched a state union with much larger Serbia in 2006 and declared independence. A row between lawmakers and Djukanovic over his refusal to name a new prime minister deepened the political paralysis. "I am here to lead Montenegro to success because for too long we have been led by the unsuccessful," Milatovic told a campaign rally. After the invasion of Ukraine last year, Montenegro signed up to EU sanctions against Russia.

[1/6] Milo Djukanovic, President of Montenegro and a candidate from the Democratic Party of Socialists, visits a polling station during the presidential elections in Podgorica, Montenegro, March 19, 2023. Milatovic described his result as a victory of "a beautiful, better, just ... and European Montenegro." Djukanovic has served as president or prime minister for 33 years. "We are content with this level of support, it is a good foundation ... that will carry us to the victory in the run-off," Djukanovic said. A victory in the run-off would bolster the chances of his DPS party in the parliamentary vote.

[1/5] Milo Djukanovic, President of Montenegro and a candidate from the Democratic Party of Socialists, speaks to the media at a polling station during the presidential elections in Podgorica, Montenegro, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Stevo VasiljevicPODGORICA, March 19 (Reuters) - Montenegro's veteran President Milo Djukanovic will face a run-off on April 2 against a pro-Western former economy minister, after no candidate secured a 50% majority in a first round election on Sunday, according to a vote projection. The Center for Monitoring and Research polling group (CEMI) projected Djukanovic would end up with the most votes, with 35.5%, based on results tabulated from a statistical sample of votes cast. Djukanovic has served as president or prime minister for 33 years. A victory in the presidential election would bolster the chances of his DPS party in the parliamentary vote.

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