Pedestrians walk in the Serb dominated northern part of the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ
If the dialogue on normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia was not complicated enough, the COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of complexity. So has the recent vote of no confidence in the Kosovo Government.
Our analysis explores the challenges facing negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, over and above the usual disagreements. Analysts seem to agree that it is unrealistic to expect any progress until the pandemic subsides. Yet even after that, numerous challenges will remain – Serbia will hold elections, while Kosovo will need to resolve its own political crisis. Not least, rival mediators are competing to lead the dialogue.
Turkish Military Cargo Plane which carries medical aid lands Sarajevo International Airport Photo: Twitter account of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo
Powers great and small from around the world are competing with each other to provide medical aid to the countries of the Balkan region – at least in part to counterbalance each other’s influence – albeit at differing speeds.
Despite a growing pandemic crisis at home, Turkey is racing not to be outdone, or at least to remain at the table. Turkish military planes bearing aid landed in Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo and Skopje bearing medical aid on April 8. The aid came with the best wishes of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yet while Turkey rushes to project power in the region, a crisis rages closer to home.
People in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR
In what seems to have been a clumsy attempt to prevent the spread of COVID 19, Bosnia’s Croat-dominated Canton 10 attempted on March 22 to prevent the entry of other Bosnian citizens – apart from the police, army and medics – into the canton. The rationale was that the canton was, on the one hand, still corona-free, while on the other it lacked the resources to handle any outbreak.
The decision was quickly withdrawn after outrage in Sarajevo, where Bosniak politicians saw the move as unconstitutional, even claiming it smacked of separatism, or an attempt to force the creation of a long-mooted third entity. In light of this, Valentino Grbavac offers a thought-provoking analysis of what Bosnian Croat politicians really want. Despite their rhetoric about a third entity, as well as broad support among Bosnian Croats for the idea, Grbavac argues that those same political elites would stand to lose much from the implementation of such an idea.
Migrants at a military barrack in Blazuj, suburbs of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: EPA-EFE/FEHIM DEMIR
One of the neglected aspects of the coronavirus pandemic in the Balkans is how it is affecting migrants and refugees stuck in camps along the ‘Balkan route’. Social distancing and lock downs are bad enough for those stuck in their homes.
But what about those stuck in camps which lack basic amenities even at the best of times? Our report looks at how migrants and refugees stuck in these camps are coping in Bosnia and Serbia.
Power plant Kostolac, B block, in eastern Serbia. Photo: eps.rs
Air pollution is one of the biggest, yet probably least talked about killers in Serbia, as in much of the Balkans. Some estimates put the number of pollution-related deaths at 175 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in Europe. The World Health Organization estimates that around 6,500 people die prematurely in Serbia due to poor air quality each year.
Despite this, the Serbian Government has done remarkably little to reign in the country’s coal-fired power plants, one of the main sources of the problem. At the beginning of the year, Europe’s Energy Community opened proceedings against Serbia due to the country’s failure to adopt a national harmful emissions strategy. We analyse the scale of the problem and what is (not) being done about it.
Young Montenegrin girls wrap the national flag. Photo: EPA/BORIS PEJOVIC
Flying flags might seem like a benign topic at first sight, but in many countries it is a sensitive issue. This is particularly so in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, with their burdens of recent wars and sizeable ethnic minorities.
Montenegro is one country which has, until recently, had very restrictive laws on the flying of flags of other nations. Last December, the law was relaxed somewhat to allow the flying of flags of recognized minorities, albeit alongside the Montenegrin flag. Yet many representatives of non-Montenegrin communities complain that the legal framework is still too restrictive.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
