SERBIA: A smear campaign & more – 6th Aug 2024

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 6th of August twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

Last week, the Minister of Information and Telecommunication issued several statements targeting Tamara Skrozza, a Serbian journalist, for her comments about the political state of Yugoslavia in the nineties. Skrozza’s statements originate from a month-old interview, in which she said that nineteen nineties Yugoslavia without some people would have made Serbia a better country today. By saying that, she referred to many officials who supported the corrupt regime at the time, which affected Serbia’s reputation drastically.

Several pro-government media outlets launched a smear campaign against Skrozza, accusing her of calling for Vucic’s murder, as well as some other politicians, as they were all officials in Yugoslavia in the nineties. However, on Wednesday the 31st, the Serbian journalists’ associations condemned the Ministry for supporting the mainly tabloid smear campaign, adding that the accusations against Skrozza are unfounded and false. Zeljko Bodrozic, president of the Independent Journalists’ Association, or IJAS, called the Ministry’s actions shameful, noting that by targeting Skrozza, they are risking her safety. IJAS, along with six other media associations, called for the Minister of Information and Telecommunication to resign, labeling his statements as shameful.

Still on Serbia’s reputation, the government’s Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy said that a tender for a campaign aimed at improving Serbia’s image in the world is scheduled for September. In the procurement process, the office will choose one or more companies to implement the campaign. Additionally, the office is also planning on launching tenders related to organizing events both domestically and internationally, about art, culture, science, and similar topics. They also plan on organizing activities aimed at promoting Serbian history, language, and sports, among other things, to the world. For these plans, the office reserved more than three million dollars from the current budget.

Going back to the topic of nineteen nineties Yugoslavia, the western Serbian town of Loznica held a ceremony on Saturday the 3rd commemorating the victims of Operation Storm, a major battle that killed more than 600 and exiled more than 200,000 Serbian civilians. The battle, which took place on the 5th of August nineteen ninety-five, was part of the Croatian War of Independence and is considered to be the largest European land battle since World War II.

During the commemoration ceremony, Serbian President Vucic pledged that he would never allow the Serbian people to be persecuted anywhere again. In addition to Vucic, the ceremony also included speeches from Milorad Dodik, a contentious pro-Russian president of Republika Srpska, as well as the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije.

Since we mentioned Vucic, on Thursday the 1st, he announced pension increases of around 11 % before the end of the year. Additionally, he said that the government is focused on allocating funds for the support of families with children. Namely, as of November, the government assistance for the first newborn child will amount to nearly 5,000 dollars, which is an increase of around 30%.

As for a second child, the assistance will amount to 5,500 dollars, marking an increase of more than 60%. Vucic went on to announce a salary increase for education workers, adding that a basic teaching salary would amount to around 900 dollars a month. He also mentioned that by December, the average salary in Serbia is expected to stand at around 900 dollars a month.

On that note about salaries, miners from Kosovo’s Trepca complex, Europe's largest lead-zinc and silver ore mine, are continuing their weeks-long strike due to unpaid wages. Thursday the 1st marked the 23rd day of protest, as the workers did not receive their salaries for July and June. On the same day, Kosovo’s government said that their Economy Ministry provided more than 3 million dollars in subsidies, but that this amount is not enough to cover operation and salary costs.

The head of the Independent Union of Trepca Miners said that he and the rest of the workers feel abandoned by their government, as months went by without any payments. The government has since issued a statement noting that they are reviewing plans to decrease costs and start increasing production in the Trepca complex.

On the topic of the economy, the National Bank of Serbia, or NBS, noted that domestic companies in Serbia increased their credit obligations by more than 700 million dollars in twenty twenty-four alone. By the end of June twenty twenty-four, their loans to commercial banks in both domestic and foreign currency amounted to more than thirteen billion dollars. NBS said that from January to June twenty twenty-four, domestic companies most frequently took out loans for liquidity and working capital.

In some environmental news, Sara Pavkov, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced that the state has approved around 1.5 million dollars for subsidizing the purchase of electric vehicles. She added that individuals, legal entities, or entrepreneurs can apply for subsidies, which range from 250 to 5,000 dollars, until the 31st of October. Pavkov noted that the ministry’s focus this year was on electric vehicles, as they are completely eco-friendly. She said that by promoting the use of such vehicles, the country is progressing through its green transition and decarbonization efforts to reduce pollution.

Speaking of pollution, over the past few months, several fires broke out at multiple landfills all over Serbia, engulfing the air with thick, black smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency noted that there are many factors to this issue, with the main being inadequate waste management and improper storage of combustible materials. They said that Serbian landfills see several million tons of municipal waste annually, with only around 160 of them being legal.

On the other hand, there are more than 3,000 illegal landfills all throughout the country, with improper waste management. These unregulated landfills accept all sorts of materials, some of which are highly reactive, and cause explosions and fires. Experts in the field noted that one of the biggest concerns of landfill fires is the production of toxic particles which can affect human respiratory organs and can even lead to cancer. They then called on the citizens to participate in reducing waste by reusing products and recycling.

On an unrelated note, the State Statistical Office, or RZS, reported that Serbia has seen an increase in foreign tourists of around 7% in June twenty twenty-four compared to the same period last year. The south of the country was more popular with domestic tourists, with more than 190,000 arrivals in the last year, while the north saw more foreign tourists, about 160,000 in the last year. Turkish travelers visited Serbia the most, with around 25,000 arrivals in June, followed by Chinese with around 17,000 arrivals, and Bosnians with around 16,000 arrivals. The most popular destinations were Vrnjacka Banja, Zlatibor, and Belgrade.

Contrary to tourists, however, the number of migrant arrivals in twenty twenty-four has seen a significant decrease compared to twenty twenty-three. The Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and Migration reported that this year, reception centers accommodated around 10,000 migrants, which is 80% less than in the same period of last year. Currently, there are roughly 450 migrants in private centers. Due to this shift, the reception and asylum centers in Serbia decreased as well, with only seven remaining.

On a health related note, the Institute for Public Health of Serbia announced that the cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise since May. Last week, they noted that roughly 1,200 people were tested, and around 300 of them were positive for COVID-19. Although the symptoms are mild in most of these cases, the institute warned that the elderly, as well as people with health issues, are more likely to experience more severe symptoms. They called on the citizens to maintain their personal hygiene, wash their hands regularly, drink enough fluids, and ventilate rooms.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Do daljnjeg, zbogom!