Regional Plenum Quo vadis, Balkan? in Sarajevo: Serbia and the Western Balkans – One Aggressive Actor is Enough for Conflict
The fifth Regional Plenum Quo vadis, Balkan? is being held in Sarajevo from June 6 to 8, and, as every year, it will gather a large number of experts, officials, organizations, academic and state institutions, decision-makers, as well as representatives of the media, diplomatic delegations, and the academic community.
This year, the partner of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development from Novi Sad and the Center for Civic Education from Podgorica in organizing the Plenum is the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, and it is realized with the support of the European Fund for the Balkans. The Regional Plenum Quo vadis, Balkan? is one of the most significant regional initiatives that brings together prominent civil society organizations, experts, and activists dealing with the topics of democracy, reconciliation, and regional cooperation.
The third panel at this year’s plenum was dedicated to the role that Serbia has in the Western Balkans. The speakers on the panel were Azem Vlasi, politician and lawyer from Kosovo, Izabela Kisić, deputy president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Branislav Radeljić, professor and consultant, Roman Jakič, former Minister of Defense in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, and Adelheid Woelfl, journalist from Austria. The panel was moderated by Balša Božović, president of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development.
Azem Vlasi stated that the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia began with the regime of Slobodan Milošević in Kosovo and that at the time everyone turned a blind eye, thinking that Serbia had some problem with Kosovo and that it was not a problem of Yugoslavia. He emphasized that the conflict with Greater Serbian politics, whose foundations were laid by the SANU Memorandum of 1986, started then and continued in 1989 when Kosovo’s autonomy was forcibly abolished. He pointed out that today, Kosovo is fully functional and has achieved its goals in that sense. He said that Kosovo has learned significant lessons from the past because it has been in the focus of Serbian politics from Milošević until today. He stressed that Serbia emphasizes Kosovo more than Vojvodina in its Constitution. He said that Serbia tries to create a separate entity connected to the Serbian government from the Association of Serb Municipalities and does not want to close the issue with Kosovo. Analyzing the idea of the Western Balkans, he said he believes it is Vučić’s idea, initially naively embraced by Edi Rama, but he is deeply convinced it is a Serbian-Russian project from which Rama quickly exited, realizing what it was about.
Branislav Radeljić said that when we talk about states within regional relations, power is the key term. Whether it’s about the struggle for power, the consolidation of power, or the manifestation of power, power is always at the center of state actions, and Serbia is no exception in this regard. He emphasized that it is important to ask why the regime in Serbia receives support from the West, although it is clear that it continuously seeks alternatives and does not clearly commit to EU membership.
Roman Jakič, former Minister of Defense in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, said that when talking about Serbia, we must look at the period before, during, and after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Regarding the period before, we must be aware that Yugoslavia did not break up because there were no solutions, but because all proposed solutions were rejected by Slobodan Milošević. What happened during the breakup of Yugoslavia does not need special explanation in Sarajevo, which endured the longest siege in the history of warfare, with an average of 329 shells falling on the city daily, and in a country where genocide was committed. Regarding the period after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Jakič emphasized that Serbia needs a democratically oriented leader who would be a visionary, build bridges, and recognize European values. He concluded that due to the lack of such a policy, Russia has increased its influence not only in Serbia but also in the Western Balkans, aiming to provoke various conflicts to divert attention from its own actions. Speaking about Montenegro, he said it is unfortunate that Montenegro managed to ruin two decades of development in just four years.
Adelheid Woelfl highlighted that since coming to power, Vučić had the support of powerful parties from the European People’s Party (EPP), to which his party belongs. Many politicians in Europe thought that Edi Rama and Aleksandar Vučić would accelerate European integration and that Serbia was treated as a champion in European integration, although this was not true. She pointed out that it is extremely dangerous that many accepted even his stance that borders in the Balkans are negotiable.
Izabela Kisić said that Serbia is still trapped in the nationalism of the 1990s and that a debate like this would be impossible at Serbian universities. She emphasized that this does not mean that students and younger generations are not interested, and that the UN Resolution on Srebrenica opened this topic in society. She said that this resolution is extremely important in this sense and that the international community must insist on its implementation, especially in Serbia and Republika Srpska. Kisić said that Serbia expects a change in geopolitical circumstances, hoping that Ukraine will lose the war, which would create a new world order. She emphasized that although the regime in Serbia declares itself on a European path, it constantly stresses that geopolitical circumstances are changeable and acts accordingly. She concluded that this policy cannot be attributed to one person alone – neither to Milošević in the past nor to Vučić in the present. She highlighted that the ongoing annexation of Republika Srpska by Serbia is evident and that the adoption of documents and narratives accompanying numerous events organized by the state, including the All-Serbian Assembly scheduled for June 8, indicate this. She said that future developments will greatly depend on international circumstances. She expressed fear that the real goal of nationalist elites in Serbia is Republika Srpska. Commenting on the creation of the Association of Serb Municipalities, she said that she believes the Serbian government sees it as an opportunity to divide Kosovo and has promised this to Kosovo Serbs, keeping them in a constant state of conflict.