Pages 2 and 3 2and Pages Radicals Against Counteroffensive Stage Muslims Balkan are striking back. striking are organisations Islamic official and activists parents, now but abroad, fight to them convince and them radicalise to seeking extremists for target easy beenan have youth Balkan +381 11 4030 306 114030 +381 of Zagreb of Defence Defence Page 10 In Issue No. No. Issue [email protected] 239 Friday, November 03 - Thursday, November 16, 2017 16, November -Thursday, 03 November Friday, Explores Balkans’ Balkans’ Explores New Exhibition Exhibition New Post-Ottoman Post-Ottoman Heritage Page 13 BELGRADE INSIGHT IS PUBLISHED BY INSIGHTISPUBLISHED BELGRADE ORDER DELIVERY TO DELIVERY ORDER [email protected] Photo: Flickr/IanBancroft Photo: cause. theIslamist for fight to Sandzakleft from 50 people around Serbianpolice, to According YOUR DOOR YOUR +381 11 4030 303 114030 +381 Friday • June 13 • 2008 NEWS NEWS 1 9 7 7 1 ISSN 1820-8339 8 2 0 8 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 Issue No. 1 / Friday, June 13, 2008 EDITOR’S WORD Lure of Tadic Alliance Splits Socialists Political Predictability While younger Socialists support joining a new, pro-EU government, old By Mark R. Pullen Milosevic loyalists threaten revolt over the prospect. party over which way to turn. “The situation in the party seems extremely complicated, as we try to convince the few remaining lag- gards that we need to move out of Milosevic’s shadow,” one Socialist Party official complained. “Dacic will eventually side with Many of us who have experi- Tadic in a bid to guide his party into enced numerous Serbian elections the European mainstream, but much rate ourselves as pundits when it of the membership and many offi- comes to predicting election re- cials may oppose that move.” sults and post-election moves. Nikolic agreed: “The question is We feel in-the-know because will the party split or will the ‘old- our experience of elections in Ser- timers’ back down,” he noted. bia has shown us that (a.) no single Fearing they might not cross the party or coalition will ever gain the 5-per-cent threshold to enter parlia- majority required to form a govern- ment, the Socialists teamed up with ment, and (b.) political negotiations the Association of Pensioners and the will never be quickly concluded. United Serbia Party, led by business- Even when the Democrats man Dragan Markovic “Palma”. achieved their surprising result at Pensioners leader, Jovan Krkoba- last month’s general election, it bic, Palma and Dacic are all pushing quickly became clear that the re- for a deal with the Democrats. sult was actually more-or-less the Socialist leader Ivica Dacic remains the Serbian kingmaker The reported price is the post of same as every other election result deputy PM, with a brief in charge of in Serbia, i.e. inconclusive. By Rade Maroevic in Belgrade to Serbia’s late president, Slobodan faces extinction unless it changes. security for the Socialist leader. This is likely to continue as long Milosevic, and reformists who want However, a strong current also In addition, the Socialists are bar- as Serbia’s politicians form new ense negotiations on a new gov- the party to become a modern Euro- flows in the opposite direction, led gaining for other ministries, includ- political parties every time they ernment have divided the ranks pean social democrat organisation. by party veterans enraged by the ing capital investments, Kosovo and disagree with their current party Tof the Socialist Party, which holds After eight years of stagnation, prospect of a deal with Tadic. education, Belgrade media reported. leader (there are currently 342 reg- the balance of power between the the Socialists returned to centre stage Mihajlo Markovic, a founder of Tadic has denied talk of horse- istered political parties in Serbia). main blocs and has yet to announce after winning 20 of the 250 seats in the party, recently warned of a crisis trading with the Socialists, maintain- Drawn-out negotiations are also which side they will support. parliament in the May 11 elections. if Dacic opts for the pro-European ing that ministries would go only to the norm. One Belgrade-based “It looks as if the Socialists will With the pro-European and nation- bloc, abandoning the Socialists’ “nat- those committed to working for the Ambassador recently told me he move towards a government led by alist blocs almost evenly matched, ural” ideological partners. government’s “strategic goal”. was also alarmed by the distinct the Democrats,” political analyst Mi- the Socialists now have the final say Markovic, a prominent supporter At the same time, Dacic seems re- lack of urgency among Serbian lan Nikolic, of the independent Cen- on the fate of the country. of Milosevic during the 1990s, is luctant to call off negotiations with politicians. “The country is at a tre of Policy Studies, said. “But such Nikolic believes the Socialists, led seen as representative of the “old- the nationalists. standstill and I don’t understand a move might provoke deeper divi- by Ivica Dacic, will come over to timers” in the party who want to stay “If we don’t reach an agreement their logic. If they are so eager to sions and even split the party.” Tadic, if only out of a pragmatic de- true to the former regime’s policies, with the DSS and Radicals, the par- progress towards the EU and en- Simultaneous negotiations held sire to ensure their political survival. even though these almost ruined the ty leadership will decide on future courage investors, how come they with the pro-European and national- “The group of younger Socialists Socialists for good. steps”, Dacic announced, following go home at 5pm sharp and don’t ist blocs have drawn attention to a gathered around Dacic seems to be Some younger Socialist officials the first session of country’s new par- work weekends?” deep rift inside the Socialists. in the majority”, Nikolic said, adding have voiced frustration over the con- liament on Wednesday. Surely the situation is urgent This divides “old-timers” loyal that these reformists believe the party tinuing impasse within their own Source: Balkan Insight (www.balkaninsight.com) enough to warrant a little overtime. THIS ISSUE OF Business Insight Neighbourhood Matters Belgrade Insight IS SUPPORTED BY: Costs Mounting Football Rebellion conomists are warning that pro- hile the football world watch- longed uncertainty over Serbia’s es events unfold at the Euro- Efuture could scare off investors, lead Wpean Championships in Austria and to higher inflation and jeopardise Switzerland, Bosnia is experiencing prosperity for years to come. a soccer rebellion, led by fans, play- “This year has been lost, from the ers and former stars who are enraged standpoint of economic policy,” says by what they see as corrupt leaders Stojan Stamenkovic of the Econom- of the country’s football association ics Institute in Belgrade. leaders. page 5 page 10 2 BELGRADE INSIGHT, Friday, November 03 - Thursday, November 16, 2017 BELGRADE INSIGHT, Friday, November 03 - Thursday, November 16, 2017 3 SERBIA SERBIA Continued from page 1 Balkan Muslims Stage Counteroffensive Against Radicals BIRN TEAM knew little about faith,” a 31-year-old Muslim from Sarajevo told BIRN, re- membering his introduc- tion to radical Islam. “I“In high school, we did everything but study - concerts, pot and alcohol,” he recalled. “After high school, I took a break from college and got a job as a waiter because I could no longer live on a dol- lar or two from my parents. There I met a girl who took me into the world of Is- lam,” he said. He joined the Salafi movement and soon became, as he put it, “very radi- cal”. “I started fasting every other day, be- cause I thought I needed to catch up… I grew a beard, went to the [Saudi Ara- bia-funded King] Fahd Mosque. A lot of brothers were there. I met them and then joined in some of their activities. I went to Brijesce [district of Sarajevo], to the dzemat [unregistered mosque] of theirs for lectures,” he said. Most of his radical ‘brothers’ at the dzemat ended up joining Islamic State in the Middle East, he said - but he, on the other hand, started focusing on his studies again and dropped out of Islamist circles after four years. If he had not, he could have ended up like Esad Kundakovic’s son, who was killed four years ago when Syr- ian President Bashar Al Assad’s forces launched an offensive against the city of Aleppo. Eldar Kundakovic, a student of psychology who came from the Ser- bian town of Novi Pazar in the major- ity Muslim-populated Sandzak area, decided to travel to Syria to “help his Muslim brothers”, his father Esad Kundakovic explained. Esad Kundakovic knew about his son Eldar’s intention to go and fight and tried to prevent him, but Eldar was convinced that his mission was just. He told his father he was going to Istanbul to study, but he ended up in Aleppo. The last time Esad Kundakovic heard from his son was in the spring of Sarajevo has seen an increase in radical Islamism, and young people have been joining the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the Middle East. Photo: Flickr/Andreas Lehner Due to the bad economic situation in the Balkans, young people’s expectations are not being fulfilled, Photo: Medija Centar Beograd 2013. In May, he was killed. says Predrag Petrovic from the Belgrade Centre for Security Studies. Since his son’s death, Kundakovic has tried to help prevent other young- He also talks to young people online negative role in pushing youngsters inviting him to roundtables where is- Official Islamic bodies in Albania the time.