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STOP DISINTEGRATION OF THE OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTION
January 28, 2012 |
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The alliance of human rights
associations, the Human Rights and Democracy House (Civic Initiatives, Belgrade Centre for
Human Rights, Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Serbia and Policy Centre), requires from the Government of the Republic of... More >>> |
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 83
A
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO SOCIAL TOPICS
Helsinki Committee in the Period August-November 2011
November 2011 |
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In the past period the
Helsinki Committee, committed to its long-term strategy and mission, was endeavoring to
open up the issues crucial for Serbia's standing as a modern...
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CONTINUOUS TENSION IN SOUTH SERBIA
Belgrade, November 22, 2011 |
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The Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in Serbia is deeply concerned over recent developments in the municipality of
Medvedja, South Serbia. On Saturday, November 19 in the village of Grbavica a local police
officer assaulted villager Ismailj Sokolj in his own backyard. Mr. Sokolj was seriously
hurt in his head with a grip of police handgun. Two... More >>> |
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 82
KOSOVO
PARTITION: A MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
October 2011 |
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The Serb elite saw the
upcoming decision on the country's EU candidacy as its last opportunity to round off the
"unfinished" Kosovo task. Some politicians have been openly speaking about the
partition scenario since this spring. Division of Kosovo - Belgrade's longstanding plan -
has...
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PRIDE PARADE 2011: A TEST OF INSTITUTIONAL POWER
Release
Belgrade, September 30, 2011. |
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Twenty days ago the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights in Serbia called this year's Pride Parade a test of Serbia's
social and political emancipation. At that time the Committee released that the actual
government had already hesitated too long about... More >>> |
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APPEAL TO
DECISION-MAKERS
A New Consensus on Kosovo: A Road to Europe
6. September 2011. |
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Bearing in mind the deep
economic and political crisis challenging today's Serbia, we appeal to all decision-makers
to make an attainable goal - continuation of the process of EU integration - the priority
of all priorities. The only way Serbia could possibly secure its economic... More >>> |
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 80
KOSOVO: AN
UNSUSTAINABLE STATUS QUO
August 2011 |
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The customs seal provoked
crisis that escalated at Brnjak and Jarinje border crossings (July-August 2011)
dramatically laid bare the crux of the Belgrade-Pristina argument and enforced the problem
of North Kosovo on the agenda. Belgrade insists...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 79
A STEP
CLOSER TO NATO
June 2011 |
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On June 13-15, 2011 Belgrade
hosted the Strategic Military Partner Conference organized by NATO Allied Command
Transformation. That was the biggest military conference at global level in 2011. In
Serbia it reopened the debate on its relationship with North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and, in a way, tested the...
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Press release
POLICE TORTURE AT
YOUTUBE.COM
Belgrade, June 25, 2011
video |
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The Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in Serbia appeals to the Ministry of the Interior to immediately investigate
the authenticity of the video clip placed at Youtube.come that clearly shows illegal use
of force against a younger man in a police station. The Helsinki Committee requests the
Ministry to determine identities of the persons involved, the date of the incident
and... More >>> |
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A RIGHT-WING
OR A NAZI ORGANIZATION?
Serbian Constitutional Court's Decision to Ban the National
Formation /Nacionalni Stroj/
Belgrade, June 13, 2011 |
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The anti-fascist past and the
values on which today's Europe rests - and on which ex-Yugoslavia rested as well - have
been pointedly replaced in Serbia by some new historical "truths." Before and
after the ouster of October 5 the Ravna Gora movement has been...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 77
PROGRESSISTS:
A TRIAL OF STRENGTH
May 2011 |
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Serb Progressive Party /SNS/
leader Tomislav Nikolic's "hunger and thirst" strike was a political failure.
For, neither the general public, Serb Orthodox Church /SPC/, European nor Russian
officials supported him in a way he might have expected. Democratic Party /DS/ profited
from his strike by rebuffing it from the very beginning as a non-European method of...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 76
RUSSIA: A
MYTHICAL ALLY
April 2011
Russian Premier Vladimir Putin's brief visit to Belgrade (March 23,
2011) brutally exposed the irrationality and disorientation of Serbia's foreign policy.
Though the visit itself was unofficial, the manifestations of "worship" for
Putin - in public and in the media - came as a surprise even to Russian reporters is his
suite. Servility and humbleness showered on the practically "self-invited"
guest, as some sources claimed, and meant to neutralize Moscow's month-long grudge,
bordered on kitsch and...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 75
THE OPEN
'SERB ISSUE' - A CONSTANT THREAT TO REGIONAL STABILITY
March 2011
The preconditions for the normalization of relations in the region
still have not been attained. Bosnia and Herzegovina is blocked by an internal crisis,
which is exacerbated by its surroundings. For Macedonia, the issue with Greece relating to
Macedonian state identity (name) is still open, which has slowed down its European Union
accession process and has dragged the country into a regressive process. The consequences
of this unresolved issue are also reflected onto the region...
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ASSOCIATION "EDUCATION BUILDS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA"
FORWARDS A MESSAGE OF JOVAN DIVJAK TO BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN AND WORLD PUBLIC
Dear friends,
thanks to you I am encouraged and ready to defend my soldier's honor and my wartime
background, personal and overall dignity as well as moral purity of defenders of Bosnia
and Herzegovina in 1992-1995. Your solidarity is proof of the willingness of citizens of
our country to build a politically and economically sustainable Bosnia and Herzegovina,
based on the principles of democracy and fairness. Due to the fact that I can not
personally ... More >>> |
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THE VICTIM BECOMES THE CRIMINAL
Belgrade, February 4th, 2011.
The arrest of Jovan Divjak symbolizes the continuation of
counterproductive behavior of Belgrade when it comes to interpreting the recent past from
the nineties. After arrests of Ejup Ganic, Ilija Jurisic and recently Tihomir Purda, who
were arrested and acquitted for lack of evidence, the "Divjak" case only deepens
mistrust of the countries in the region towards the intentions of Belgrade. Such behavior
puts Belgrade in the role of prosecutor and the factor...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 74
THE 'HUNT'
FOR MLADIC
January 2011
The 'Mladic case' is the paradigm of Serbia's social reality - of its
attitude towards the past, towards reforms (of the security sector), towards justice and,
finally, towards its neighbours. The alleged drama surrounding his arrest is a spectacle
everyone is a part of. One of the key reasons for Serbia's delayed progress towards
joining the EU lies in the fact that Ratko Mladia has not yet been arrested and extradited
to The...
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PETITION
January 30, 2011
Dear Mr. President of the Republic,
We are writing to you on the occasion of the release of Veselin Vukotic, a hitman and one
of the most hardened criminals from the ranks of Milosevic's secret police, who was
sentenced to 20 years of prison in Montenegro in 1997, for murdering sea captain Dusko
Boskovic. As the citizens of this country, we are disturbed by the fact that Veselin
Vukotic was released soon after being arrested, just before the New Year's...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 73
EARLY
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN KOSOVO
January 2011
The high turnout of Serbs at the December 2010 elections and their
willingness to participate in Kosovo's institutions points to a substantial change in
Serbia's electorate, which is the result of a more mature political attitude within the
Serb community in the past decade. During the election campaign, representatives of the
Serb community have prioritized the economy, employment and infrastructure...
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ENDANGERED
Belgrade, December 18, 2010.
On the evening of December 16, 2010 journalist Branko Zivkovic was
assaulted while walking his dog. An unidentified person brutally attacked him from the
back and hurt him in his head. On the following day Mr. Zivkovic went to the Emergency
Center where he was given anti-tetanus protection and advised to rest for a week. Hit in
his head, Zivkovic now suffers from amnesia and cannot recall what... More >>> |
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Petition
THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL
COMMITTEE
Oslo
December 8, 2010
With this petition, we, the undersigned human rights defenders and
democracy activists, speak in the name of thousands and thousands of citizens of Serbia,
eager to see their country firmly committed to European course and the highest values of
the contemporary world. Hence, we, the undersigned, strongly...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 72
THE PRIDE
PARADE - 'VIOLENCE CULTURE' AND THE OFFENSIVE FROM THE RIGHT
November 2010
Serbia has been destabilized by organized crime, extreme calls for a
Greater Serbia from militarist organizations and enraged sports fans who resemble their
striking fist. Having been announced for a long time, Belgrade's first Pride Parade was fi
nally held on October 10th, 2010, followed by varying assessments and...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 71
SERBIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH ON THE BRINK OF SCHISM
November 2010
The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) is a bastion of Serbian nationalism.
Its ideology is drawn from the radical right and it is very close to groups at the
rightist end of the political spectrum. With this ideology, the Church played a very
important role in mobilisation and the prelude to war and, to this day, has made no
attempt to distance itself from...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 70
SHIFT IN
BELGRADE'S KOSOVO POLICY AND ITS IMPACT
November 2010
The political atmosphere in Serbia has changed signifi cantly thanks to
a shift in the attitude of the political leadership to Kosovo. Following submission of the
joint EU and Serbian resolution to the UN General Assembly, and the International Court of
Justice's advisory opinion on the independence of Kosovo, Serbia's political life has
undergone some...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 69
NATIONAL
BOSNIAK COUNCIL ELECTION:
TEST FOR SERBIAN GOVERNMENT
October 2010
For the past two decades, Sandzak has been a crisis point which could
rapidly be activated and come to the forefront. Belgrade policies served to radicalize the
Muslim population in Yugoslavia ahead of the wars of the nineties. One of the theses used
to justify them is that radical Islam brought Yugoslavia down. Nor did...
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PRIDE PARADE AND PARADE OF VIOLENCE
Belgrade, October 10, 2010 |
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Today's first-ever
"Pride Parade" in Belgrade was staged successfully as numbers of policemen were
protecting participants. However, what surrounded the event was a brutal... More >>> |
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 68
FOREIGN
POLICY U-TURN:
THE FAILED MANIPULATION OF KOSOVO
September 2010
The opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo's
independence, Serbia's agreement to a joint resolution on Kosovo with the EU in the UN
General Assembly and the refusal of a London court to extradite Ejub Ganic at Serbia's
request all testify to the Serbian national program coming up...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 67
MEDIA IN
SERBIA: LOST AND LOBBYING FOR THE STATUS QUO
August 2010
Serbia's media scene is merely a reflection of society's loss of
bearings and moral devastation. This is especially so because, like all other national
institutions, the media gave full support to the national projects embodied by Slobodan
Miloševia at the end of the twentieth century. Above all, the media's weakness is seen in
its attitude to the...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 66
INTERNATIONAL
COURT OF JUSTICE DELIVERS ADVISORY OPINION ON KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE: A TURNABOUT IN THE
INTERPRETATION OF THE YUGOSLAV CRISIS
July 2010
On July 22, 2010 the International Court of Justice /ICJ/ delivered an
advisory opinion on Kosovo independence - Kosovo's Declaration of Independence, ruled the
ICJ, did not violate the international law. For Serbia, this piece of news...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 65
WEST
BALKANS AND EUROPEAN UNION AFTER THE MEETING IN SARAJEVO
June 2010
The EU - Western Balkans Ministerial Meeting of June 2, 2010 in
Sarajevo was a failure in terms of the messages stemming from it. After the Sarajevo
meeting the ten-year endeavor to bring the Western Balkans closer to EU looks like a
paradox: Europe has never before been farther from the Balkans. Even though the...
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ARREST OF RATKO MLADIC IS
SERBIA'S MORAL OBLIGATION
Fifteen years have passed since the genocide in Srebrenica and the main
culprit of that crime Ratko Mladic is still at large. This is a moral mortgage which
prevents us from moving forwards. Many new generations are hostage to this mortgage and
the lack of government's readiness to fulfill its obligations toward the Hague Tribunal.
But first and foremost its moral commitment toroward the victims and Serbia's future...
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PRESS RELEASE
The United Nations and Genocide: On behalf of the Mothers of
Srebrenica, German human rights activists build a "Pillar of Shame" against
United Nations' arrogance
Berlin/Sarajevo, 13.05.2010
The 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide will be marked by a new
form of a memorial: made of 16,744 shoes (representing the 8,372 victims), two gigantic
letters, 'U' and 'N', cast in shimmering white concrete will be erected against the
arrogance of the United Nations. "The Pillar of Shame will... More >>> |
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 64
TURKEY: A
FACTOR OF REGIONAL STABILITY
May 2010
Over the past year Turkey has emerged as a major factor in the Balkans.
Turkish diplomacy mediated not only between some countries - between Serbia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina in the fi rst place - but also in sensitive, internal disputes. Serbia
has been in the focus of Turkey's activities as a potential generator of regional
instability. This primarily refers to Serbia's attitude towards Republika Srpska, but also
towards...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 63
SERB
PROGRESSIVE PARTY PREPARES THE TERRAIN FOR ELECTIONS
April 2010
Serb Progressive Party (SNS) is vigorously preparing the terrain for
elections - either early on which it insists or regular scheduled for 2012. Its major
objectives at this stage are to attract as many as possible voters of Serb Radical Party
(SRS) and to demonstrate its power at local elections called in certain towns in Serbia.
It has been successful in both up to now. Its weaknesses...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 62
SERBIA
TRAPPED IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE: FROM REPUBLIKA SRPSKA TO KOSOVO
March 2010
Serbia's behavior - notably at international level - is dictated by its
proclaimed strategic goals and priorities summed up in the slogan "Both Kosovo and
EU." These are mutually opposed goals and contrary to the criteria and preconditions
for EU membership. Controversial behavior at both domestic and international scenes stems
from inner tensions and the pressure from...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 61
MACEDONIA:
UNDER CONSTANT PRESSURE FROM ITS NEIGHBORS
March 2010
Macedonia's statehood, nation or church have been denied by its
neighbors ever since its independence. Has it not been for EU, US and NATO it would have
been thorn by internal conflicts and, probably, by foreign aggression. However, despite
the multitude of domestic problems, Macedonia managed to survive and even obtain EU
candidacy and...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 60
SERBIA AND
THE WORLD IN 2009: STILL STANDING AT A CRUCIAL JUNCTURE
February 2010
Having applied for EU candidacy (in late 2009), the Serbian government
made the first real breakthrough in its proclaimed EU-oriented policy that can not be
revoked. Besides, the EU annual report was mostly affirmative for Serbia, the EU also
unfroze the Transitional Trade Agreement with it, whereas Serbia met the preconditions for
the...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 59
MONTENEGRO:
REGIME IN PODGORICA CONSTANTLY CRIMINALIZED
February 2010
Relations between Serbia and Montenegro aggravated after Montenegro's
recognition of Kosovo (October 2008) to which Belgrade responded by expelling the
Montenegrin Ambassador. When Podgorica and Prishtina established diplomatic relations
(November 2009) Belgrade withdrew its ambassador to Montenegro. Montenegrin President...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 58
RESOLUTION
ON SREBRENICA: DEBATE OPENED, NOTWITHSTANDING
February 2010
President Tadic's initiative for a parliamentary resolution on
Srebrenica triggered off a debate that laid bare the proportions of Serbia's frustration
manifested in its denial to face up the recent past, the Bosnian war in particular. The
existence of Republika Srpska /RS/ - actually the very fact that it exists for fifteen
years now - strengthened the Serb...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 57
CONSOLIDATION
OF KOSOVO STATE AND BELGRADE'S RESPONSE
February 2010
After independence declaration Kosovo entered the phase of state
consolidation. While trying to prevent it at any cost, official Belgrade channeled all its
diplomatic energy into lobbying against Kosovo's international recognition. Its turning to
the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion about the legality of Kosovo's
independence is meant for the same...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 56
SERB
PROGRESSIVE PARTY: A PRETENDED TRANSFORMATION
January 2010
Serbia's entire political establishment and some other elites - those
in the judicial branch in particular - welcomed the transformation of a part of the Serb
Radical Party /SRS/ into the Serb Progressive Party /SNS/. There is no doubt that Vojislav
Seselj's inappropriate behavior before the ICTY that compromised SRS was among the reasons
why...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 55
NEW
PATRIARCH - NO BASIC CHANGES
January 2010
A change at the throne of the Serb Orthodox Church /SPC/ will
effectuate no major changes in the SPC structure, organization and functioning or, for
that matter, in its secular ambitions. In this context, newly elected Patriarch Irinej
(Gavrilovic), former bishop of Nis, guarantees continuity. In other words, SPC will be
trying to safeguard the space it has occupied at Serbia's...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 54
ANTI-EUROPEAN
BLOC GOES ON COUNTER-OFFENSIVE
January 2010
The Serbian cabinet's decision to apply for EU candidacy in late 2009
was a breakthrough in Serbia's history as a European country. The decision provoked
strong, though not necessarily overt, resentment of the anti-European bloc. Apart from
populist parties (DSS, SNP, SRS, NS, etc.) the bloc assembles the greatest part of the
country's scholarly elite...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 53
SERBIA AND
CROATIA: PAST STILL IN THE WAY
January 2010
Almost two decades after the end of the war and fourteen years after
the establishment of diplomatic relations, Serbia and Croatia still move from one crisis
to another - each reviving traditional and carefully cherished mutual animosities.
Belgrade is responsible for such oscillations in the first place: not only when it comes
to Croatia but also...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 52
HOOLIGANISM
SPILLS FROM POLITICAL ONTO SPORTS TERRAINS
December 2009
Ex-Yugoslavia's bloody disintegration advanced violence into a way of
life. After October 5, Vojislav Kostunica, the Serb Orthodox Church and scores of various
organizations were preoccupied with rounding-off an ethnic state and hence reshaped the
Serb nationalism. Kostunica's two premierships were...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 51
VOJVODINA'S
STATUTE: FIRST MAJOR STEP TOWARDS MODERNIZATION AND DECENTRALIZATION
December 2009
Adoption of Vojvodina's Statute is a major event indicative of an
irrevocable trend. Though obstructed and postponed so many times, the adoption of the
Statute is a step towards a new frame within which the province will be making better use
of its own resources and the...
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Helsinki Bulletin, No. 50
EU
CANDIDACY - A HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGH
December 2009
After three decades of wandering, the defeat of the Greater Serbia
project and all the attempts to keep it alive, the Serb elite was divided over a crucial
issue: accession to EU. During his two-year premiership (2001-2003) Zoran Djindjic defined
Serbia as a European country. Contrary to all expectations, his...
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