12.3.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY New Perspectives: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe and Central Asia, and OECD Countries March 27-29, 2007  Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina This workshop will introduce participants to the results of a recently completed social audit of local governments, which provides useful lessons and information on service delivery and citizen participation at local government level, as well as a preliminary look at public expenditure management practices in 20 municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the audit will provide the basis for the development of a two-year capacity building program at municipal level, and feed into the design of potential World Bank lending at municipal levels. The second day of the workshop will highlight presentations from OECD, Eastern European and Central Asian countries on innovative social accountability initiatives, based on a region-wide stocktaking of such initiatives recently completed by the World Bank Institute and OECD. Such presentations will include best practices in the areas of participatory budgeting, consultative citizen report cards, citizen charters, and other participatory mechanisms aimed at improving the relationships between citizens and local governments for improved service delivery and public management. The aim of this day is to draw upon regional practices to design and innovate similar programs within Bosnian municipalities, and to create a regional network of practitioners for continued information exchange. We expect this to be a good opportunity to learn more about participatory municipal management and social accountability initiatives across the region. Participants will include local and national government officials, NGOs from across the region, international experts and donor representatives. Location: HOTEL TERME Hrasnicka br. 14 71000 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina

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12.3.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

12/03/2007

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Democratic Union for Integration leader Ali Ahmeti, whose party left parliament two months ago, met last week to discuss the country’s political situation.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje - 12/03/07

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski encouraged the DUI to return to politics. [Getty Images]

In what is being hailed as a breakthrough move, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met with opposition leader Ali Ahmeti last week, following an almost two-month political crisis. The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) left Parliament in January because of the assembly’s non-compliance with the Badinter principle in decision-making. Under the principle, at least two-thirds of the members of Macedonian minorities in parliament should vote in decisions affecting minorities.

The absence of the DUI, and the lack of political dialogue, created a climate of exclusivity and affected the ability to adopt laws necessary for reforms required for EU and NATO membership. Prior to the meeting, the United States, NATO and the EU encouraged the opposition and ruling parties to sit down and discuss the problems.

After a long exchange of letters, the dialogue was resumed. Gruevski, Ahmeti and their respective teams discussed political issues for more than six hours. Ahmeti set a list of conditions, including a constitutional amendment under which the government would be elected under the Badinter principle, and the adoption of laws to solve the status and social problems of former National Liberation Army members.

Gruevski, however, rejected the two proposals. He said that would mean a change in the state arrangement of Macedonia. “There is no example in the world of such a way of government formation,” the prime minister said. He encouraged the DUI to return to politics and asked for support for government projects on compulsory secondary education, laws on the public prosecutor and information society, the parliamentary rulebook and constitutional amendments.

The meeting did result in an agreement on drafting a list of laws that would be adopted under the Badinter principle. A task group, consisting of representatives of the two parties, will be formed to submit a proposed list, which will become a component of the parliamentary rulebook.

A member of the DUI team, Agron Buxhaku, said exclusivity is no model for dialogue. He said the task groups should discuss all the issues, because without compromise, there cannot be further dialogue.

Foreign embassies’ representatives attended the meeting, a precondition set by the DUI, despite initial opposition from Gruevski.

Following the meeting, the US embassy and the EU, NATO and OSCE missions issued a joint press release, saying it was an exceptionally important step towards confidence building among parties. “We encourage all the parties to continue … in these efforts and work in the spirit of reaching a consensus. It is essential for continuation of the reform process in both the parliament and state institutions,” the statement said.

However, DUI said it would wait to see “concrete results” before returning to Parliament.

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12.3.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

06/03/2007

It is time to break down the barriers that have thwarted progress in the Balkans, US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said late last month.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje — 06/03/07

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns. [File]

Albania, Croatia and Macedonia’s entry into NATO in 2008 or 2009 should be a priority, according to US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns. At a gathering of NATO representatives and policymakers in Washington late last month, he stressed the importance of Euro-Atlantic accession for building stability in the region.

It is time to “finally break down the institutional and national barriers that have retarded the progress of the people of the Balkans, compared, say, to the peoples of Central Europe”, Burns said.

A future in NATO and the EU would “solidify for the people of the Balkans the same advantages that the West and Central Europeans have had since the end of communism 15, 16 years ago,” he added.

His remarks were welcomed in the three countries, members of the so-called Adriatic Charter. Together with Albania and Croatia, Macedonia is hoping to prove its readiness for membership in time for the next NATO summit, scheduled for early 2008.

Nikola Dimitrov, Macedonia’s national co-ordinator for NATO, described the statement from Burns as “very positive”.

At the same time, he stressed, it was not a promise of membership, but rather amounted to strong encouragement for Macedonia to finish its preparations and meet all requirements. While NATO has made a positive assessment of defence reform in Macedonia, criticisms are still being made concerning political dialogue in the country and about the progress of judicial reform.

During his speech, Burns listed Kosovo’s status and updating the Dayton Peace Accord as top policy goals for the Balkans. In addition, securing the NATO entry of the three Adriatic Charter members is an important priority for both the United States and the EU, he said.

Other countries in the region that aspire to join the Alliance are Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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12.3.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

12/03/2007

Zoran Djindjic, Serbia’s pro-reform prime minister, who fought to transform his country into a modern, democratic European state, was gunned down on March 12th, 2003, in an act that shocked the world.

(Blic, Beta, B92 — 11/03/07 - 12/03/07)

A woman lays flowers at the grave of slain Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic at the Novo Groblje Cemetery in Belgrade. [Getty Images]

Serbia’s democratic forces paid tribute Monday (March 12th) to late Prime Minister and Democratic Party (DS) leader Zoran Djindjic, who was assassinated four years ago.

A pro-Western reformist, who played a key role in toppling Slobodan Milosevic and handing him over to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Djindjic headed Serbia’s first non-communist government in January 2001. His mandate ended abruptly on March 12th, 2003, when he was gunned down outside the main government building in downtown Belgrade by nationalists, loyal to the former regime. They were enraged by Djindjic’s moves to extradite war criminals to The Hague and the crackdown on organised crime he initiated.

Members of the DS, now led by President Boris Tadic, visited Djindjic’s grave to mark the somber anniversary. The party also held an oration competition on the topic “If we should fail today, we have only ourselves to blame,” Belgrade-based Radio B92 reported.

Dragoljub Micunovic, a senior DS member described as Djindjic’s political mentor, said Djindjic had learned to appreciate time when it came to making decisions.

“In a slow and sluggish country, such as Serbia, it was very difficult to change the concept of time,” Radio B92 quoted Micunovic as saying. “Therefore, Djindjic tried to make a government out of younger people enriched with Western experience, who also learnt the value of it. I believe that Djindjic’s vision of Serbia’s spirit is still far from being dominant in our political and social setting.”

Former members of Djindjic’s cabinet laid wreaths at the site where he was fatally shot four years ago, as did outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and his ministers earlier in the day.

The assassination sent a wave of shock and dismay through Serbia and beyond, and was condemned by governments the world over.

In the aftermath of his assassination, the Serbian government issued a statement, blaming a Belgrade-based organised crime group known as the Zemun Clan for killing Djindjic, describing it as an attempt “to halt the fight against organised crime”. A state of emergency was immediately imposed and hundreds of people were arrested during the 45-day police crackdown on organised crime.

The trial against the alleged perpetrators and masterminds of Djindjic’s assassination opened in December 2003 and continues. Some of the key suspects are Milorad “Legija” Ulemek, who previously headed a special Serbian police unit — known as the Red Berets — that fought in the Balkan conflicts, and Dejan “Bagzi” Milenkovic, a senior member of the Zemun Clan.

“If someone thinks the law and the reforms can be stopped by eliminating me, then that is a huge delusion,” Djindjic said weeks before he was killed, following an apparent attempt on his life in which Milenkovic was reportedly involved.

Serbian media quoted Djindjic’s widow, Ruzica, as voicing hope Monday that her husband’s assassins receive the harshest punishment the law allows.

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