SERBIA: NATO on Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue & more – 22nd Oct 2024

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 22nd of October twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

On Friday the 18th, NATO defense ministers of member countries held a meeting regarding their missions in Kosovo and Iraq. During the meeting, Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General, raised concerns about the lack of progress in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. He spoke about NATO’s efforts to maintain a peaceful and secure environment in Kosovo, but he also underlined the presence of tensions in the Western Balkans. Rutte noted that the dialogue process between Pristina and Belgrade is not progressing as NATO expects, adding that Serbian president Vucic still refuses to sign the two peace agreements he and Kosovo’s PM reached in twenty twenty-three. Additionally, Rutte said he suspects that Russia is fueling division among the Balkan countries, in an attempt to separate Serbia from the West.

The EU has since confirmed that a new round of the Kosovo-Serbia talks will take place next week in Brussels, which aims to normalize relations between the two.

Since we mentioned Vucic, he announced on Sunday the 20th that he had spoken with President Putin about several topics, including Serbia’s actions regarding the war in Ukraine. During a phone call that lasted for nearly three hours, Putin asked Vucic about his decision to attend the BRICS summit - an international relations conference - in Kazan, Russia. Vucic confirmed his absence due to conferences and visits from EU officials. He had already said that he wasn’t going to attend in early September, when Putin invited him.

However, Vucic went on to thank Putin for supplying Serbia with natural gas for an affordable price. Additionally, the two presidents discussed the conflict in Ukraine, which resulted in Vucic promising Putin never to impose sanctions on Russia. The conversation symbolically occurred on the 80th anniversary of Belgrade’s liberation during World War II, accomplished mostly thanks to the Soviet Red Army.

In internal affairs, protests broke out over the weekend due to the government's plans to open a new lithium mine in the west. Organized by the Association of Environmental Organizations of Serbia, the protest gathered locals and environmental activists at the Loznica-Valjevo roads and lasted for about an hour. Members of the organization We Will Not Give Jadar away or Ne damo Jadar said that the protests over the weekend are a prelude to the blockades that should take place throughout Serbia in the upcoming days. The protesters held signs that called for the halt of lithium mining in the country altogether in order to protect the rivers and mountains from irreversible water and land pollution.

Speaking of environmental protection, two environmental organizations - Polekol and the Right to Water Initiative, announced the successful prevention of urbanization plans for the Rtanj mountain in the south of Serbia. After mass citizen participation in the public hearing that took place two weeks ago, the local government of Sokobanja changed the draft called Spatial Plan for the Special Nature Reserve Rtanj. Members of the Sokobanja Ecological Society expressed gratitude for the city commission’s acceptance of the public's objections, adding that almost all Sokobanja citizens united against excessive urbanization.

The draft initially included the construction of wind farms, quarries, ski resorts, and small hydropower plants. Such plans would require massive destruction of forests and would cause degradation of habitats for rare species like the golden eagle. However, after the public hearing, all of these plans were scrapped.

In other news, Freedom House, a Washington-based rights organization, published a report on Wednesday the 16th titled Freedom on the Net twenty twenty-four, which focused on internet freedoms worldwide. When it comes to Serbia, the report said that the country sees a persistent presence of censorship and misinformation on the internet. Serbia mostly suffers from politically manipulated online space, which sees an increase during elections. The report mentioned that ahead of the twenty twenty-three elections, tabloids spread false and misleading information about the opposition and independent media all over the internet, including fake videos of opposition members buying votes. Freedom House concluded that such hate campaigns curbed many opposition parties’ ability to reach supporters, while also making it more difficult for citizens to access independent reporting about the electoral process.

On that note about hate campaigns, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office reported that they had seen more than forty cases filed in connection with threats and attacks on journalists since the start of twenty twenty-four. The Association of Independent Electronic Media said that threats to journalists have gotten more violent and frequent in the past few years, noting that seventy percent of them targeted female journalists. Additionally, women in journalism faced explicit threats of sexual violence, which usually aimed at dehumanizing them. The Independent Journalists Association of Serbia said that the country has seen a total of 120 attacks on journalists so far in twenty twenty-four, with eight being physical.

Since we are talking about threats of sexual violence against women, BBC Serbia, a public service broadcaster, reported on the increase in digital sexual violence cases as technology advanced. They noted that more than half of girls aged fourteen to nineteen have been subject to sexually suggestive comments; ten percent had their private photos or videos shared on the internet, while around eight percent have experienced sexual blackmail. BBC Serbia said that digital sexual violence is particularly harmful as it can spread quickly, reach a large number of people, and cannot fully disappear from the internet.

When it comes to preventive measures, pedagogues say that the introduction of sexual education in schools could be a way to go. They believe that children must be taught responsible behavior regarding both posting and using content online, which could prevent children from becoming targets of digital sexual violence.

Next up, several employment and insurance organizations conducted an annual research on benefits and well-being support of Serbian employees titled What Keeps Employees Going. This year’s research involved more than 700 decision-makers from companies of different sizes, along with nearly 3,000 employees from various sectors, including retail, healthcare and Information Technologies.

The results showed that nearly all responding employees reported facing well-being issues, with the most common being stress, loss of energy, and lack of motivation. Additionally, flexible working hours and working from home remain high on employees’ priority lists. The research also showed that only eighteen percent of employees in Serbia are satisfied with their current earnings.

While on the topic of economy, the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, announced on Wednesday the 15th that they reached a deal with Serbia aimed at supporting the country's economic reforms. The non-financial agreement titled Policy Coordination Instrument will run from December twenty twenty-four to December twenty twenty-seven, and will focus on maintaining Serbia’s fiscal discipline while also allowing for public investment. The IMF predicts that the country’s economy will grow by around four percent over the coming years, noting that its financial sector is doing well.

In healthcare updates, the Pulmonology Clinic in Belgrade announced on Thursday the 17th that they would start conducting screenings for the early detection of lung cancer in November. An advisor to the Minister of Health noted that Serbia ranks second in Europe in the number of lung cancer cases and deaths. Doctors at the Pulmonology Clinic recommended that long-time smokers, as well as those over the age of fifty, should participate in the screenings as they are most likely to develop lung cancer. They added that if the public interest is high, clinics in other cities will organize screenings as well.

And for our final story, some cultural news. From the 24th to the 28th of October, Belgrade will host its annual Belgrade Jazz Festival under the slogan Jazz Heritage. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the festival will include performances from both local and international artists, such as Big Band RTS, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Buena Vista All Stars ensemble. Tickets for individual concerts are available at the eFinity box office and online. For more information, check out the link in the show notes!

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

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Do daljnjeg, zbogom!