CorD magazine 63

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| cord, septemBer 2009 intervieW

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28 PoliticS & diPlomAcy

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Comment:

By Vladan Alimpijević

Interview: Dragan Šutanovac, Serbian Defence Minister

Interview: Muhamed Filipovic, member of the Accademy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia & Herzegovina

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Yahya S. M. Al-Gorani, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq

BuSineSS & current AffAirS

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Serbia is not doing what it should in this crisis

Maja Piščević, Executive Director of the Serbian Association of Managers

CAPITAL FLOWS AND GROWTH IN CEE

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Interview: Francois Xavier Mahot, CEO of Heineken’s United Serbian Breweries

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culture & Art

STEERING THROUGH TIMES OF CRISIS

Erste Group: Special Report

46 MONKEY ART 50 Ken Russell, director

SPort

WHY SPORT’S GOOD FOR SERBIA, BUT NOT VICE VERSA

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Credit rating agency D&B

Sporting Midsummer Night’s Dream

leiSure & lifeStyle

SERBIA IS STILL A HIGH RISK COUNTRY

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Pioneers of New Capitalism in the former Yugoslavia

Jovan Ćirilov, Art Director of Bitef

CORD-LEADERS

CULINARY COMMENTARY What fish, bolan?

Society

CORD-PROFILE

editor in chief Vladan Alimpijević, v.alimpijevic@cma.rs ASSiStAnt editor Mark R. Pullen Art director Tamara Ivljanin, t.ivljanin@cma.rs editoriAl contriButorS Jelena Jovanović, ljubodrag Stojadinović, Sonja Ćirić, Jelena mickić, Andrej Klemenčič Photo Slobodan Jotić, Časlav Vukojčić, Cord Archive, fonet

The National Alliance for Local Economic Development(NALED)

CREDIBLE PARTNER OF GOVERNMENT

HALF A CENTURY OF FRIENDSHIP

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27 31

BOSNIA NEEDS AND AGREEMENT FREE OF TUTORSHIP

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Interview: Mila Jezdimirović, Managing Director of Dunav osiguranje insurance company

NEW PROJECTS IN KRAGUJEVAC

WEAPONS ARE PRODUCTS OF POLITICS

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INSURING BUSINESS

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EAR TO THE GROUND

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52 TOS AND CORD RECOMMEND

THE SECRET OF THE FIRST MILLION

trAnSlAtorS Snežana Bjelotomić, milenko Pećanac editoriAl mAnAger Tanja Banković, t.bankovic@cma.rs Project mAnAger Vesna Vukajlović, v.vukajlovic@aim.rs, maja Vidović, m.vidovic@aim.rs generAl mAnAger Ivan Novčić, i.novcic@cma.rs finAnciAl director Ana Besedić, a.besedic@cma.rs Printing / rotografika d.o.o

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diStriBution / futura Plus Cord is published by: alliance intrenational media Knjeginje Zorke 11b, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Phone: +(381 11) 308 99 77, 308 99 88 fax: +(381 11) 244 81 27 e-mail: cordeditorial@cma.rs www.cordmagazine.com ISSN no: 1451-7833

Outstanding natural beauty

All rights reserved alliance international media 2009

This issue is audited by

ABC Serbia

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comment

ear to the ground The government should carefully listen to voters and entrepreneurs first, and only then hear out the advisors of the Imf and World Bank

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he Foreign Investors Council (FIC) welcomes the Serbian Government’s efforts to maintain macro-economic stability in Serbia. In that respect, the association says, “we would like to express strong support for the government’s announcement to offer the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a thorough public administration reform, as a measure to cover the budgetary deficit.”

FIC strongly believes that increasing the tax burden would have a highly negative impact on overall economic developments, for both foreign and domestic companies alike. This measure would significantly worsen conditions for doing business and eventually lead to expansion of the grey economy.

“Moreover,” the FIC says, “we encourage the government to cancel the already imposed temporary tax on mobile services at the year end, as envisaged. The FIC considers that the solution lies in continuing the reform process and implementing measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector.”

The FIC expresses hope that all stakeholders will exert maximum efforts in these challenging times to create a sustainable macroeconomic framework in Serbia. (FIC) With this issue of CorD ready to print, a meeting between repre-

International organisations are supposedly helping us, but they actually harm us. Instead of offering genuine assistance, they offer us a loan – even though it’s common knowledge that many developing countries are barely able to pay their debts sentatives of the Serbian Government and the IMF Mission saw agreement reached on the necessity to accept a higher budget deficit. It is still uncertain whether the increase of the deficit will be 4.5%, as is being sought by the Serbian side. However, the strategy of the Serbian Government includes public sector reform aimed at reducing public spending, which representatives of the IMF have highlighted as a necessary measure that will yield positive results in the medium term.

The World Bank, meanwhile, has recommended that Serbia reduce expenditure: firstly for pensions and health care, education and social welfare; while savings in investments in infrastructure, agriculture and industry would

By Vladan Alimpijević be smaller. The problem is that these cuts would seriously jeopardise the survival of the government, which defined its own policy at the beginning of the mandate as socially responsible.

Similarly to the sentiments of foreign investors covered earlier in this editorial, domestic entrepreneurs call for: no renewal of production if its most vital part has been destroyed, but as an American Nobel laureate Štiglic said: “The worst has passed, but the world economy remains weak”.

International organisations are supposedly helping us, but they actually harm us. Instead of offering genuine assistance, they offer us a loan – even though it’s common knowledge that many developing countries are barely able to pay their debts.

We should carefully examine which sort of consumption is healthy. If citizens do not work and don’t even have money to buy anything, while the state spreads the money around and then enters a phase when it ceases to spend on much-needed projects, who will successful companies sell their goods and services?

If existing investors leave the country then finding an exit from the crisis will prove impossible. Therefore, the Government should carefully listen to voters and entrepreneurs first, and only then hear out the advisors of the IMF and World Bank.

Tax rates are already so high that any further burden on the economy would be disastrous. Unemployment is so high that any further redundancies in education, health and administrative authorities would ensure the Government would not survive – without even mentioning the disastrous consequences for future generations who will lack opportunities to find work due to a lack of education.

A healthy economy means healthy competition and good government administration. Nothing more.

The Foreign Investors Council, an association which brings together over 120 companies operating in Serbia, has been building partnerships with the Government of Serbia since its establishment, always striving to use the extensive experience of its member companies to provide adequate support to the government and society at large in the process of economic transition. n

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Minister Šutanovac on an official visit to Iraq

Weapons are Dragan Šutanovac, Serbian Defence Minister

products of politics

Professionalisation of the Serbian Army is going to have far reaching social consequences in the value system of Serbian citizens

By Vladan Alimpijević Photo Slobodan Jotić ack in the day, the army used to be the biggest state expense.

Today, pensions replaced it at the top of the expense scale.

Reforming Serbia’s security system largely depends on the budget, so certain delays, in the time of the economic crisis are inevitable. At the same time, the army claims that there are many opportunities to save money, adding that there are weapons to export as well as the know-how.

We discussed these issues with the Serbian Defence Minister, Dragan Šutanovac in his

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office in the Birčaninova Street at the end of August. If you look around the building in Birčaninova, you could still see the remnants from the NATO air raids ten years ago. The minister openly says that Serbia still needs to re-valuate the benefits of joining NATO. n Could you tell us in a bit more detail, what does the Cooperation Agreement between Serbia and Iraq, signed by you and your Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Qader Jaseem, exactly entail? r There are very few defense ministers, whose countries don’t have soldiers engaged in peace missions in Iraq, who visit the country. I’ve

been to Baghdad on two occasions this year alone. We are going to finish implementing a very large contract between SDPR (Serbian weapons producer) and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. According to this contract, Iraq will buy from Serbia various kinds of weapons, equipment and ballistic equipment. n Both Iraq and Serbia had international sanctions lifted, and these were especially strict when it came to arms trading. What are Serbia’s qualifications for selling arms to such a politically sensitive area? r I think that the Serbian army industry suffered great damages in 1999, when it was

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interview | practically destroyed in air raids. The sanctions did less damage to it. A lot of efforts were made by the relevant experts and enthusiasts to revive the Serbian defense industry, to be ready to produce top-of-the-range army equipment and weapons, both for export and for domestic needs. We have had a long tradition in arms production, which dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, i.e. back in the time of former Yugoslavia, when we supplied certain markets and were instantly recognisable as top quality producers by our buyers. n Are we talking about the used weapons and equipment, which are our surplus? r No, we are talking about the equipment and arms that have been recently produced.

The Iraqis expressed a great deal of interest for these products and they were subsequently approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

The competition on the global market is tough, especially when it comes to infantry weapons and all sorts of ammunition. n I presume that the talks between Iraq and Serbia had to be supervised by the U.S.? r We held talks in Baghdad only with the Iraqi government. No intermediaries were involved. n Could you tell us if there are countries interested in buying equipment produced by our military industry? r I think that with reasonable investments, we could increase our export capacities by several times. Let me mention that five out of six military producers in Serbia have sold an almost entire annual production in advance.

If the talks, that we are currently having with other countries, turn out to be successful, than our military producers will have a lot to do for a very long time. n This is just one side of the medal, and the other side is that the management of Sloboda factory from Čačak was replaced last year, with Zastava Oružje (Zastava Weapons) from Kragujevac staging a strike. You were even accused of personally stopping Zastava from exporting its products. r The situation in the military industry is far better than it was in the 1990s, and nobody can deny this. The fact remains that there are certain problems in Zastava Oružje, and that these problems haven’t been dealt with

growing control within iraq

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hat are your personal impressions of Iraq?

On the day we arrived in Baghdad, 18 people were killed in terrorist attacks. I think that the Iraqi government is more in control of the situation now than it was six months ago, when I went to Iraq for the first time. Terrorist attacks happen all over the world and I am happy to see just how resolute the international community and Iraq are to deal with this problem. I would like to see Serbia helping with fighting terrorism and for my colleagues in Iraq not to perceive me as an arms trader who only came to sell something but rather as a representative of the country which sincerely wants to help the Iraqi people with the situation they are in.

for years. There are certain individuals in the company that think that Zastava exists only because of the trade unions. This has to be changed, since we cannot continue doing things in the 21st century in the same way we did them in the past. n Is it true that you refused to give an approval to export handguns from Kragujevac? r This is absolutely not true. The Ministry is not the one to issue export permits, it only oversees the transfer of technology. It is worth mentioning that weapons are products of politics, and they are sold not only in line with market demands but also to suit certain political constellations in the world. We cannot risk our country being sanctioned by the UN or some other friendly state because of exporting one truckload of handguns. n Aside from the military cooperation,

you’ve discussed other matters of mutual interest with the Iraqi government. r I talked to the Iraqi Prime Minister alMaliki primarily about reconstruction of infrastructure and about exporting our agricultural products. We spoke about engaging our construction workers who built many facilities in Iraq back in the 1980s. Many Serbian construction companies can reconstruct the war damaged buildings in a very fast and an affordable way. Maybe the first job could be building the Iraqi Military Hospital complex.

We have plans to bring to life a truly global brand called Serbian Ambulance. Our Military Medical Academy (VMA) is recognised all over the world and my Iraqi colleagues told me that they want to set up a similar facility in Baghdad, but smaller in size. n Have the Iraqis offered to pay for all of this in oil? r We haven’t discussed payment conditions CorD 63 / September 2009 9

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interview |

Chief on the mend

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hat is the current status of General Ponoš?

General Ponoš is available, which means that he doesn’t have specific duties, but is coming to work every single day.

Elections not looming

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s Serbia getting closer to extraordinary elections?

No, I don’t think it is. There is so much work to be done in the following two years and I don’t see any government members advocating extraordinary elections.

yet. So far, they have been paying via usual letters of credit. n Iraqi side claims that all issues pertaining to the old Iraqi debt have been resolved. r That has nothing to do with what we are discussing now. Several years ago, Iraq settled most of its financial obligations towards us and many other countries, but, following a great tragedy that befell the Iraqi people, only a fraction of the real amount owed has been paid. n Each Serbian minister receives different treatment in the Russian media. So, for example, your colleague, foreign minister Jeremić was portrayed as an unfaltering critic of the West, especially NATO, while Russian analysts claim that you are dragging Serbia into NATO despite the country’s military neutrality. r It is a well-known fact that minister Jeremić is one of the most deserving people for Serbia joining a NATO program called ’Partnership for Peace’. This is an acceptable framework both for the Serbian Army and the Ministry

Jeremić It is a well-known fact that minister Jeremić is one of the most deserving people for Serbia joining NATO’s ’Partnership for Peace’. programme

of Defense. We still haven’t used the program capacities to the fullest. This week, the government appointed Ambassador Milinković as our representative in NATO headquarters in Brussels. Now, we have even more chance of using every available potential for cooperating with the Partnership for Peace member states, including Russia. n Should Serbia discuss advantages of joining NATO after all, bearing in mind that all of the neighboring countries are going to become NATO members? r After the year 2000, when most of the people living in Serbia were in favor of joining NATO, I think that nobody has actually explained the benefits of joining NATO properly, as well as the positive effects that it has had on the surrounding countries. Even if you are invited to join NATO, there are many investments awaiting you. Whether we like it or not, we are, in effect, surrounded by NATO countries. n If we are talking about the modernisation and setting up new security standards

Croatia I think that the time has come to cooperate with Croatia, and resolve certain problems that members of the Serbian Army have been faced with.

in Serbia, could we also say that most of the Army has already been reformed? r There isn’t a ministry of defense in the world, which is not undergoing some reform or another. Security systems are constantly being reformed. Reducing the number of Serbian soldiers to what we actually need, working on legally defining the whole system (from reforming military schools and health clinics to passing the law on military agencies), changing the training system (even the food our soldiers eat) and finishing the professionalisation process by the end of next year are just some of the reforms which we have been implementing. Aside from good will, knowledge and desire to reform the defence system, we need the money. We don’t have enough financial means to buy even the basic things like new weapons and equipment. n You mentioned investments, so could you tell us what brought about a questionable decision to invest substantial amounts of money in modernising fighter jets two years ago? r I don’t think that this was a questionable

NATO I think that nobody has explained the benefits of joining NATO properly, as well as the positive effects that it has had on the surrounding countries.

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decision. Investing in fighter jets is very important and this is something that we are going to have to complete in the following years. I would like to point out that none of the jets that crashed, did so because of technical malfunction and this was confirmed by an official investigation.

Army have been faced with.

n Will the decision about Serbian army becoming entirely professional really be adopted by the 1st of January, 2011? r If you had asked me that a year ago, I would have told you that we would meet all the relevant deadlines. Unfortunately, at this very moment, not much depends on our defense system. The n Could you compare Serbian Army to the Army Head-Quarters and the Ministry of Dearmies of the neighboring countries? fense have completed all the necessary preparar That is a thankless task. A renowned anations. We have already reduced the number of lytical agency, Stratfor, says that our army new recruits who serve as civilians by 40%. For is the most respectable military force in the the first time ever, I witBalkans. nessed a situation where We have already reduced the number of new a civilian is not invited n Since the Serbian public recruits who serve as civilians by 40%. For the first to serve, but insists on is currently occupied with doing so. The only issue the issues of making the time ever, I witnessed a situation where a civilian is which remains unclear army entirely professionis whether we are going al, not much attention has not invited to serve, but insists on doing so to have enough money been paid to the fact that Serbian soldiers are successfully partici- year we had a total of 140 soldiers from to carry out the professionalisation process. The pating in four UN peace keeping missions. abroad attending our military schools, with result will be visible once the entire procedure When we mention Serbian army being en- 30 coming from Iraq and 20 from Algeria. has been completed.. gaged in such missions, we inevitably feel There is quite a lot of interest in our military proud, but, on the other hand, there is the schools. This year, aside from the officers n How many professional soldiers is Serunderlying fear of the country being drawn from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro bia going to have? into a conflict which should not concern us. and Macedonia, we are going to have sol- r Just over 12,500. There will be 10,500 r The people in Serbia haven’t been prop- diers from the Russian Federation, who will professional soldiers and 2,000 of those who want to serve the army in order to acquire erly explained what the peace keeping mis- be trained in our facilities. certain know-how or skills. sions actually entail, and certain political parties have been using this issue to attack n The issue of military property is still an the government. This is completely inappro- issue in Serbia-Montenegro relations. n What are the export potentials of Serpriate, not only to us, but to our allies in the r We have good regional cooperation. Partic- bian military industry? peace keeping missions. If Switzerland can ularly significant is the progress which took r In 2008, the total military exports amountparticipate, so can we. We should remind the place in the last six months. We are proud of ed to nearly 400 million U.S. dollars, but I do Serbian public that soldiers from military having cadet’s from Bosnia and Herzegovina think that the true potential is much higher. super-powers like Russia, China and the U.S. and Montenegro joining our academies. I ex- There is a suitable market for these products, take part in these missions, and not only the pect the property issues with Montenegro to and it is up to us to raise our production caNATO members. be resolved in autumn, which will bring sig- pacities. I would like to mention Prvi Partinificant benefits to our air force. zan company from Užice which has sold its entire production in advance, and even if they n What is your definition of Serbian military neutrality? n Serbian police has been successfully doubled their production, they would still sell r We are just stating the obvious. We are cooperating with their counterparts in each product they make. not members of any military alliance and we Croatia. Are there any plans for the two have no defense contracts whatsoever. Serbia armies to do the same? n Last year, a lot was said about General is practically neutral, and I don’t see this as r In the period between meetings in An- Miletić being an interim choice for the an obstacle to cooperating both with the East- kara and Vienna, I had a chance to talk with Chief of Army post. ern and the Western countries. all of my colleagues from the neighbouring r General Miletić is one of the most expecountries and I think that set an example of rienced and one of the best officers in the n Military schools, health clinics and sci- good regional cooperation in the Balkan area. Serbian Army. He was my choice for the entific institutions have generated substan- I think that the time has come to cooperate Army Chief, and I’ve never viewed him as a tial income for Yugoslav budget and this is with Croatia, i.e. to raise the existing coop- temporary solution. On the contrary, we need eration to an even higher level and resolve stability and continuity and I think that he is something that should make us proud. r We are fully aware of this tradition. Last certain problems that members of the Serbian the right person for the position. n CorD 63 / September 2009 11

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politics |

Muhamed Filipović, member of the Accademy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia & He

Bosnia needs an agreement free

of tutorship

One of the leading intellectuals of the region, Dr. Muhamed Filipović, questions Bosnia’s statehood

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By Andrej Klemenčić uhamed Filipović, nicknamed Tunjo, turned 80 this year. His mind is as sharp and as impeccable as it was in the times when he was seen as one of the key advocates for the cause of the Bosnian Muslims. He is one of the few who openly speaks out against the Dayton Peace Agreement, The Hague Tribunal and some key decisions made by Bosnia’s wartime president Izetbegović. Filipović saved many Serbian intellectuals during the first months of the war in Sarajevo, enabling their safe passage to Serbia. He warns Europe against anti-Islamism and says that Milošević could have been a better option than a devastated country with its perspectives dimmed by inexistent political cohesion.

His youthful voice tires only after almost two and a half hours of conversation. The lyrical beauty with which he speaks of Bosnia between the questions and answers is stunning. The pride he takes in talking about this

diverse playground of political and historic currents can only be contrasted by his stark criticism of Bosnia’s reality. Filipović wrote 23 books on philosophy and history. He spent his academic life lecturing at Sarajevo University. He was ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina in both Bern and London. n Bosnia & Herzegovina is coming of-age next year. Can we say that, in the political sense, it has obtained a certain level of maturity? r Bosnia & Herzegovina does not have active legitimation. Our statehood is dictated by the Dayton Agreement, which is illegal. n Why? r Because there can be no federation between nations, only between states. It also asserts foreign power as the ultimate decision-maker, which means that the country is not factually independent. Milošević and Tuđman wanted to alternate the state of affairs in the former Yugoslavia, imposing their

šešelj

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f nothing else, I would tell him that I am a fierce opponent of The Hague court. I strongly opposed a court being set up for just one nation or one group of nations.

Who will you prosecute? Those who committed war crimes? There are at least 500.000 people who committed war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. Are you going to take them all to court? All war criminals should stand trial in front of a court which has jurisdiction over the area where a crime was committed.

will by force. Once the force makes you leave the legal ground, everything is possible. That is how the Dayton Agreement came to be. n Is there a viable alternative to Dayton? r The alternative is an agreement between the three nations of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

An agreement free of foreign tutorship. There are hundreds of reasons speaking in favour of such an internal agreement. Most of all, though, one has to realise that Bosnia was always under somebody else’s influence.

When President Izetbegović was opting for independence under the severe influence of Western diplomacies, I warned him: “Do not let them make peace for us, they will make it for themselves.” And so it was. We have been living here for centuries. Three nations, side by side, and we always found a way to live with one another in harmony. n You were actively involved in politics during the Bosnian war, between 1992 and 1995: counselling President Izetbegović and also serving terms in diplomacy. You were also one of the most active politicians when it came to talking piece with all the sides involved. Was an internal agreement, free of tutorship, as you call it, ever at hand? r Yes, it was. In the early spring of 1995 I was in Belgrade talking to Milošević. I explained to him that it was in his interests to

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a & Herzegovina politically recognise Bosnia & Herzegovina, thus contributing to the end of the war. In any other case, he would have lost. If Bosnian Serbs were defeated, Milošević would be blamed for not having offered them the proper support. If they had won, Karadžić, not Milošević, would have taken all the credit. Milošević understood this. But as I went back to Bosnia, Izetbegović made me stop all further talks, because Tuđman was angry that we’d bypassed him and gone straight to Belgrade. I was removed and the peace talks, which I had arranged with the Swiss government who gave us a chateau to use until we reached and agreement, were cancelled. n Bosnian Muslims now call themselves Bosniaks. Where does that name come from and how did it come to be a name of only one of the three nations in Bosnia? r It is an ancient name, used for all people of the old Bosnia, which was never ruled by a single tradition, so a common name for all its inhabitants was Bosniaks. In time, as national movements swept Europe, Bosniaks of Orthodox Christian denomination became closer to Serbian ideas and the teachings of Ilija Garasanin and Croats embracing Ilirism. Those divisions remained until the mid 20th century. The Partisan movement in the Second World War favoured Muslims, as they were the largest ethnic group in Bosnia, where all of the major battles of the Balkan front were fought. After the war, it took many years for us to be recognised. Muslims were first listed as ‘Non-defined’. It was only in the later part of Tito’s reign that the name Muslims was recognised. I always opposed this, because a religious denomination cannot be a name for the nation. Since Serbs and Croats did not consult us when they were choosing their national names, we did not see it necessary to consult them when we decided to call ourselves Bosniaks. It is important to understand that Bosnian Muslims never wanted to create their own state. We understand that the core of Bosnia & Herzegovina is multilateral and multilateralism does not, at its core, recognise the idea of a national. n You frequently said that Bosnian Muslims would have been better off if they’d opted to orientate Eastwards, to Serbia,

rather than towards Croatia. Do you still believe this is true? r Our link to Croatia never proved positive.

During the Pavelić puppet state of NDH (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska) between 1941 and 1945, Croats terrorised other nationals on its territory. While Muslims were partially spared - as Bosnia & Herzegovina was entirely annexed by the NDH - Serbs were brutally slaughtered. Muslims stood against this and 18 Bosnian towns presented NDH officials with petitions to stop killing their Serbian neighbours. As a result, NDH killed many Muslims. My father was among them.

So, going back to more contemporary his-

tory, Tuđman was the same as Milošević, only more cunning. He told Croats to vote for the independence of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Were it not for those votes, the independence vote would not have gone through. But then instead of having those same Croatian people who supported the independence fight for Bosnia, Tuđman made them invade it. He sent three Dalmatian brigades into Herzegovina and one of them was destroyed entirely close to Mostar.

By allowing the Federation of the Bosniak and Croats, Alija Izetbegović legalised the existence of a Croatian state inside Bosnia & Herzegovina.

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Dayton Agreement: Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović and Franjo Tuđman n So, why did the distribution of power and territory that we see today come to be? r I did my PhD in London in the late ‘50s with Michel Rocard, who later became the Prime Minister of France. We created a friendship and I once asked him what the plan of the Western powers was concerning Bosnia. He said that Serbs, always seen as a piece of Russian influence in Europe, must lose Yugoslavia and in return be compensated with a large part of Bosnia. Croats must not be seen as losers, so they too must be compensated with a part of Bosnia.

Muslims then must be protected and their survival ensured. n So, what did Izetbegović do wrong, since Bosniaks gained so little? r He made serious mistakes. First of all, he did not create a matrix of political action, but acted randomly. For example, he created a purely Muslim Bosnian Army and this is something we had great difficulties with, because we were not fighting for a Muslim state. Secondly, Izetbegović had very little to do with Bosnia & Herzegovina. His ancestor, the famous Alajbeg Jahić, an Ottoman nobleman, was from Belgrade. He had mas-

sive real estate on Vraćar and on Ada Ciganlija. After the incident at Čukun Ćesma in the late 19th century, Sultan moved his family to Bosnia, creating for them a safe haven near Bosanski Samac. So Izetbegović’s origin is not Bosnian. He never understood Bosnia or its ways. Once he said to me: “Ok, so let’s divide Bosnia, take each his own and end the war”. And I told him to go to Belgrade and claim what was his. Despite that, I greatly respected Izetbegović, because he was ready to make great sacrifices for what he believed in. But he truly had significant difficulties. He was full of prejudices and this is something a politician must never be. He was also a religious fanatic. We must give him credit, because he was putting immense efforts into surpassing this, but there lieth an explanation about a certain duality in his character and this is also not a desired

hospitality the key

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hat is the best remedy for postwar Bosnia?

To never cease being welcoming towards everyone. That is its driving force.

If that ceases, Bosnia will cease to be.

characteristic in a statesman. n How do you think Europe perceives Bosnian Muslims? r We are a nation who, under historic circumstances, accepted a culture that is spiritually marked by Islam. In our practicing of Islam, we have nothing in common with other nations who practice it. It is a fact that a genuine form of Islam persisted here for 500 years.

This is European Islam and Europe cannot oppose that fact. It must not be anti-Islamic. n Perhaps Europe is more afraid of the influence of radical Islam and the influence of the Church, particularly of its more radical teaching, onto the mental frame of everyday Bosnia. r There is no church in Islam. The Islamic Community is not a church. It is not an intermediate between the divine and the human.

Compared to Catholic or even the Christian Orthodox Church and their wealth, the Islamic Community is as poor as a beggar. What Europe should be more concerned about is the fact that very few of the 1,800 Bosnian mosques destroyed between 1992 and 1995 have been repaired.

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printed and sold on the Croatian market. n But the Islamic Community has been lives would have been saved.

Milošević also would not have a direct known to express hostility towards nonnegative influence on Bosnian Muslims, n Bosnian Muslims followed the wave of Muslim residents of wartime Sarajevo. r It is true that Serbs were killed in Sarajevo since his primary interest was in Croatia, nationalist movements, as the ‘Croatian between 1992 and 1995. Many people do where Tuđman dramatically broke Serbian Spring’ in Croatia was followed by the not want to admit that, as they prefer blam- national rights. Bosnia should have remained ‘Young Muslims’ Movement in Bosnia.

What was the aim of that movement and ing only one side for what happened. But it free-of-conflict. what are its historical implications? was not only Serbs who were killed. There were also murders of prominent Croats and n So, Bosnian Muslims were better off in r The Croatian Spring had broad social Muslims. This is partially due to the fact that Yugoslavia than now? support, while Young Muslims were limited Izetbegović made an army of former crimi- r Yugoslavia gave us stability, peace, safe- in scope and there was a sense of an illegal nals he’d met during his time in jail. I person- ty, progress. National rights were respected. movement. Its aim was to define the role of ally rescued professor Ekmečić from prison, There was absolutely no reason for us to be Bosnian Muslims. But the fact is that there because I was close to general Hajrulahović, against it. Truly, it would have been better was not a clear idea of what that should be. who was my neighbour as a child. I helped to be integrated with those with whom we So the movement wasn’t politically instrusome other Serbs as well, but, unfortunately, shared the land for hundreds of years, than mental and their ideas sunk.

I could not help professor Najdanović. His to be governed by those against whom we murder shocked me. fought wars. I was shocked to learn that Otto n You travelled extensively before and durI also helped Vojislav Šešelj to be re- Von Hapsburg had been proclaimed Honor- ing the war, presenting the position of Bosleased from prison before the war, as well ary Citizen of Sarajevo. nian Muslims as the ambassador of Bosnia as Božidar Jakšić. & Herzegovina and I did not tolerate as a negotiator. What Milošević and Tuđman wanted to alternate the state of people being imwas your impression affairs in the former Yugoslavia, imposing their will by prisoned because of of how the West saw their ideas.

Muslims at force. Once the force makes you leave the legal ground, Bosnian the time? n What could r They saw us as a everything is possible have been done for tool against Milošević, this situation not whom they associated to have taken place? Almost 200,000 lives n What about the prominent Bosnian with Russian influence. We were encouraged were lost in Bosnia & Herzegovina alone. Muslim intellectuals who refused to be to take an independence stand. At one of the You spoke against Bosnia’s independence called Muslims, but rather opted for Serbs White House meetings, I asked Secretary of and warned about catastrophic conse- and Croats? Two such examples were writ- State Lawrence Eagleburger if he realised quences of a potential conflict. that taking a stand against Milošević means ers Meša Selimović and Mak Diždar. r It is easy to be smart now. Ante Marković r Meša Selimovic did not want to be called war. We wanted assurance of support and got should have won the pre-war elections and a Muslim, same as myself. He found reli- some, but it proved not to be what we had besome kind of Yugoslavia would have re- gious mark to be fully unsuited for national lieved it would be. Milošević made one key mained. Mathemetics did not favour Bosnian denomination. He also had many unpleasant mistake. He should have made an agreement Muslims. There were nine million Serbs, al- moments with Bosnian authorities and I think with the Albanians. He believed this was not most four million Croats and 1.8 million of that only made him go further with his idea. necessary, since the West, in his opinion, Bosnian Muslims. We should have remained But Mesa was a true Bosnian; a man who would never touch Yugoslavia’s territorial inin whatever combination Serbia remained. lived for his ideas and it pained him to see tegrity. Yugoslavia, it so happens, was at one Milošević would not have lasted forever such disrespect being paid towards him. As of the most significant geopolitical junctions and we have seen and survived much worse for Mak Dizdar, one of the reasons why he in the world and the idea of it not being anythroughout our history. As many as 200,000 said he was Croatian was to have his books one’s interest sphere could not hold water. n

Dayton

Islam

Kosovo

Bosnia & Herzegovina does not have active legitimation. Our statehood is dictated by the Dayton Agreement, which is illegal.

It is a fact that a genuine form of Islam persisted here for 500 years.This is European Islam and Europe cannot oppose that fact.

Milošević made one key mistake. He should have made an agreement with the Albanians. He believed this was not necessary.

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By Vladan Alimpijević Photo: Slobodan Jotić

and Serbia. Mr. Al-Gorani is an experienced diplomat who has held posts in most Gulf countries (with the Iraqi mission to the UN), as well as in neighbouring Bulgaria. He says that he is very happy that he was sent to Belgrade, since relations between the two countries are developing, with the Serbian defence minister visiting Baghdad on two occasions this year alone. The interview was conducted

n How do you see the present relationship between Serbia and Iraq? r Given the fact the countries established diplomatic relationship in 1958, I would say that ack when times were much hapwe have a firm, long-standing relationship bepier, at the end of the 1970s and tween the two countries. There are also more the beginning of the 1980s, the than 80 protocol agreements signed between former Yugoslavia earned over us. Times have changed and many years have $22 billion just by doing busiUS passed, but we consider 24 of those agreements ness in Iraq. Thousands of young Iraqis were to be still valid, which speaks educated in our country and We have good relations with all our neighbours highly of the quality of our tens of thousands of our conties. I would say that the struction workers were buildand consider them friends. We know that we foundation of the relationship ing all over Iraq, from Mosul need their support and they support us is truly very good. to Basra. After the wars, both in Iraq and in Serbia, now both free of dictatorships, relations between in the Banjica villa that houses the Iraqi Em- n But were there better times, when the cobassy. Mr. Al-Gorani openly talks about re- operation was on a much higher level? the two countries are again on the up.

This month we talk to Mr. Yahya S. M. Al- lations with the U.S. and terrorism, pointing r I believe we should renew our relationship, Gorani, current Charge d’ Affairs in the Em- out that he comes from a mixed Sunni – Shia making it stronger than before. bassy of the Republic of Iraq in Belgrade and Muslim family. The only question that he dea servant of the Iraqi foreign ministry since clined to answer was the one about relations n Iraq is now at a junction. What is its 1975, about the collaboration between Iraq with Israel. possibility of becoming a strong country

B

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Interview |

Half a century Yahya S. M. Al-Gorani, ChargÊ d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq

of friendship

In the following few years, Iraq could easily regain its position as a significant foreign partner of Serbia, while both countries emphasise that the economy is not the most important thing in their bilateral relations in its own right? r We are trying to rebuild our country from scratch. Many things need to be rebuilt, starting with infrastructure. A lot of companies, ongoing projects, have been damaged throughout Iraq by the war and also by the embargo we have endured for more than 15 years. During that period little could have been done to ensure prosperity. We intend to rebuild the country in accordance with the peoples’ needs. Iraq is a rich country, as you know. Oil and other resources are plentiful.

Regretfully those could not have been used properly, because we were busy fighting this place or the other. n What could be the role of Serbia in rebuilding Iraq? r We first want to start developing relationships with friends. We consider Serbia a successor of former Yugoslavia, which was a friendly country. This relationship must be maintained and developed at all levels. n The United States of America has announced that it will withdraw from Iraq.

Does the Iraqi government have a plan how to maintain peace after that happens? r If we take a look at the situation as we see it from the media perspective it is one positive news piece per five negative ones. Many are still killed and injured in terrorist attacks. Let me answer that by using an analogy. When you

are building 100 bridges, no one pays attention, in other words, it does not make the news. But after a madman drops a granade in a crowd, you will see it broadcasted around the world in 15 minutes. We cannot deny that the country still suffers from some terrorist attacks.

So, can you imagine anyone taking control of such a long border in a way that would prevent even the slightest possibility of a penetration? It is a complicated case, as you said before, but we really consider all our neighbours friends. They are brothers to us.

n From whom? r Iraq still has some enemies.

n Does that mean, for example, that you do not have any open issues with Iran regarding the border? r We have a good relationship with Iran.

n When the surrounding countries are taken into account, you have a complicated relationship with Iran, Turkey, Syria. r We have good relations with all our neighbours and consider them friends.

We know that we need their support and they support us. But we have a long border with many countries. We have borders with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan and Syria. It is impossible to fully control such a border. Our border with Iran alone is 1,200 kilometres long.

With Syria, the border is 650 kilometres.

n How do you see Americans in Iraq? As your allies or occupiers? r We are an independent country and consider the United States as a friend. n Is there a possibility of Iraq regaining total control over all of its oil fields and other resources? r Of course we will have control. We gave permissions for some companies to invest.

O i l

M u s l i m s

A l- Q aeda

We intend to rebuild the country in accordance to peoples needs. Iraq is a rich country, as you know.

No one in Iraq will ask you if you are a Sunni or a Shia. Unless they are people who want to divide us.

Al-Qaeda is an illusive organisation. It is hard to trace them, so it can as easily be connected to Iraq as elsewhere.

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Interview |

passengers to open such a connection. When perhaps a project-based co-operation starts, things such as airline connections develop simultaneously. n Apart from oil, what could be interesting to foreign investors in Iraq? The country was a well-known food producer. r There are possibilities connected to rebuilding the electricity network and telephone network. There are many real estateconnected projects. As I was told, there is a Serbian company which is to participate in a housing project near Karbala. n When foreign troops finally withdraw, will Iraq be ready to take control of its destiny? r 100 per cent yes, absolute yes.

We consider Serbia a successor of the former Yugoslavia, which was a friendly country.This relationship must be maintained and developed on all levels n What are the first steps Iraq needs to take as an independent country? r We need to rebuild the country and establish a lasting peace among its people. We have to do this: create a peaceful, stable country for the coming generations. There is a figure going around that the rebuilding of the country will cost around US$700 billion. I think it will be less than that. Iraq has a lot of oil and we have to use it to rebuild our country. Iraq was also well-known for its education and health system. Most of this has been destroyed. Despite the war and everything that happened, the system of education in Iraq is very good and is still free-of-charge throughout, from elementary school to university. Even books for study are free. n Some 20 years ago there were many Iraqi students receiving their education in the former Yugoslavia. Could we expect those young people to come to Serbia?

integrated We have a unified country.

Don’t believe any rumours.

Even my family is made of both Sunni and Shia. All the Iraqi tribes are mixed.

r Yes, I believe this will be a step in rebuilding the relationship between our two countries. n At the time of my travels to Iraq, there were seven flights a week connecting Belgrade and Baghdad. Is there still a reminiscence of this friendship from “the old days”, visible in everyday life? r If we talk about flights, there are no direct ones, but there are good connections via Istanbul. Rebuilding of this type depends on you, not on us. Serbia has to show initiative. But this depends on many things.

When flights are considered, it depends on the budget of airline companies. If there are passengers from one place to Despite the war and everything that happened, the system of education in Iraq is very good and is still free-of-charge another, there is no reason for direct flights not to be established between those two destinations. At present, though, I do not believe there is a sufficient quantity of

academics Despite the war and everything that happened, the system of education in Iraq is very good and is still free-ofcharge

n Even with its present internal divisions? r We have a unified country. Don’t believe any rumours. Even my family is made of both Sunni and Shia. All the Iraqi tribes are mixed.

No one in Iraq will ask you if you are a Sunni or a Shia. Unless they are people who want to divide, rather than unite. n Western media frequently connects AlQaeda to Iraq, although I have not so far seen a clear connection. r Al-Qaeda is an illusive organisation. It is hard to trace their activities, so it can as easily be connected to Iraq as to any other place. n What is your opinion of US President Obama’s speech in Cairo, which is considered a platform for new relations between the Western and the Islamic worlds? r That speech truly gave us an opportunity to see what the relationship between the U.S. and Arab countries will be like. People in the Moslem world need to hear something like that.

Since September 11th, the Arab world has been portrayed in a negative fashion. To change that, you need acceptance. I believe President Obama made a move in the right direction. n

infrastructure We are trying to rebuild our country from scratch. Many things need to be rebuilt, starting with infrastructure. throughout the country

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CorD PROFILE |

Aiming for a Lea Heineken is now operating on some 66 different markets and our biggest single market does not account for more than 10 per cent of our overall profit

By Mark R. Pullen Photo Slobodan Jotić

er’s fiercest international rivals.

peaking to CorD this summer, Francois Xavier Mahot, CEO of Heineken’s United Serbian Breweries (USB), spoke of the company’s fight to gain the position of a market leader on a Serbian market that is already dominated by two of the Dutch brew-

n USB recently announced plans to promote CSR, take care of the environment and promoting sustainable development.

How much would such ambitious plans cost to realise – considering the need to leave room for profit; i.e. how can such investments pay off?

S

r First you have to understand the Heineken business model. Here on my desk you will see our annual report and sustainability report.

The first one looks purely at the financial performance of the company, while the second looks at the CSR activities of the company.

To understand how we operate, you first have to look at our 360 degree approach to doing business. We don’t only do business for profit,

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eading Position but rather also take care of all aspects of the environment within which we are working.

It’s true that there’s always a cost attached to reducing waste, such as that needed to invest in more efficient equipment able to do that.

There’s a payback to this, of course, but the greatest payback is always in the enhanced reputation of the company.

n Are you considering the introduction of any new brands to the market?

We have already done a major overhaul of our portfolio. The MB brand issues were looked at; we talked about the Weifert brand that needs to be revamped, etc. We basically took a portfolio of ailing brands at the beginning of last year and we had to take some decisions on the ones that we’d like to build our future on and the ones that had to be dropped.

This was a tough decision that we took last year. Now we have a clean portfolio that comprises brands with a history in Serbia and those that we have introduced – the main one being the Amstel brand.

produced according to ancestral recipes. It’s 100 per cent natural and there’s almost no introduction of any agents: it’s made of water, hops, malt, yeast and that’s it. As such, like with wine, you have to really take care of the production process because it can be very unstable if you do not monitor it properly. And for that we have technology that has helped us to really standardise production. With this in mind, we can say that the Novi Sad brewery is really state-of-the-art. We had our worldwide CEO come to visit us this year. He has visited thousands of breweries in his life and even he was amazed at this one.

n So this is all about gaining recognition from the community as a responsible contributor to society? r Yes, as a good corporate citizen company.

This policy has been fully adapted for Serbia.

One of the first things we did last year was to upgrade our production facilities in order n When the Rodić family built the brewery to make them comthey were looking at also pliant with not only using it as some kind of “Now we have a clean portfolio that comprises Serbian rules, but a nightlife venue. Is this brands with a history in Serbia and those that we have something Heineken is also with international standards that looking at doing? introduced – the main one being the Amstel brand.”

Heineken complies r No, because this would with regardless of local regulations in the host n The brewery you purchased in Novi affect some safety issues and members of the country. We received great recognition so far, Sad has something of a mythical image, general public partying in the heart of your opas we managed to certify our two Serbian with talk of marble floors and disco balls. erations does not conform to any ISO Standbreweries with ISO Standards, including the How unique is it really and what did the ards.

ISO20:2000 ecologically-friendly certificate.

Heineken team think when they first came to take a look at it? n In the UK, of course, brewery tours are n Do Serbia’s breweries generally conform r This brewery is amazingly different in two very popular, though Serbs don’t tend to to international standards or does work different aspects: the first is the shiny part organise them... Do you organise brewery need to be done to improve the level of the with the unique look and feel – for a non- tours with ample opportunity for testing? industry as a whole? brewer visiting this place it’s like entering r We do arrange brewery tours for students r You have to separate them into two groups: a temple; while the second aspect is the real and small groups of people, but there are no the local players and the international players. brewing technology, which is state-of-the-art. big events inside the brewery house.

All of the international players – whether that This not only follows the German rule of wabe AB Inbev, Carlsberg or ourselves – are aim- ter purity and ensures very strict compliance n Does Serbia produce the raw materials ing at implementing international standards with the strictest rules you can imagine for you need to produce your beer here? in Serbia. The local players, meanwhile, are beer production, but added to this is the lat- r Not the hops, which come from Germany, struggling with some very serious issues and est technology to master and monitor produc- but the barley is grown here, yes. The beer we tion. You may or may not know, but beer is a produce here in Serbia is 70 per cent made of don’t have international standards.

Three players

Vital market

Market in crisis

Serbia has become a three-horse race and we are the latecomers to the party, having arrived only last year.

This market is similar to others in Europe, but Serbia was always a black hole we needed to enter.

The market is suffering everywhere, across the board. Economic crisis equates to less consumption.

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CorD PROFILE | tal to stay number one in Europe and defend our turf, as it were. As such, we really had to enter the Serbian market. Serbia is at the forefront of the development of the European community and though we don’t know for sure when Serbia will join the EU, we’re sure that it will. n With the global downturn in mind, have sales fallen markedly this year? r In a big way.

decline in consumption.

N

ow we are talking about double-digit decline: according to the Serbian Brewers Association, somewhere around 13 per cent decline to June, while in Western Europe we’ve seen around a five per cent decline in consumption. local malt, while the remaining 30 per cent cannot be sourced from Serbia because it is used for the Amstel brand, which demands a higher quality of malt that we cannot find locally yet. n You’ve announced plans to take a leading position on the Serbian beer market. How tough is the competition? r It’s very tough. Apart from the small breweries that we talked about, which all told account for a six to seven per cent market share, our real competition is represented by AB Inbev and Carlsberg. Serbia has basically become a threehorse race and we are the latecomers to the party, having arrived only last year. We arrived at a time when the market was almost consolidated, with AB Inbev controlling more than 50 per cent of the market and Carlsberg more than 30 per cent of the market. So, with a combined market share of 80 per cent, they have the critical mass to make life extremely difficult for the competition. They were strong players that dominated this market, while we came with a 10 per cent market share, an ailing portfolio that we would have to reengineer here, as well as some production assets that were also not fully compliant. As always in any transition, there is a tendency to destabilise your organisation.

And if you do that with strong opposition in front of you while you’re very small, you will end up with a very tough challenge. Now that period is over. That was 2008 and now we are a strong player with a gaining market share. This is a good sign for us, but at this moment in time we still have a market share that’s half the size of Carlsberg’s.

n You say you want to take a ‘leading position’. Why not the top position? r This fits with the Heineken worldwide business model. Heineken is number three worldwide and the number one brewer in Europe.

It has a very simple business model. The first part says: spread your regional presence over a lot of markets. Accordingly, we are now operating on some 66 different markets and our biggest single market does not account for more than 10 per cent of our overall profit.

The second part of Heineken’s business model says that when you are in a market you have to be able to control your business model and not be a follower of a follower, which means that you have to be either number one, not following anyone, or number two, maybe following the number one player to a certain extent, but still having great control over your business model. If you’re number three on the market you are simply lost, because number one will take a decision, number two will make a decision based on what number two has done, and number three will be left with two options: follow number one or follow number two. n I presume that the big brewers are playing this market share game on all sorts of markets. How does Serbia compare to other transition markets? r This market is very similar to others that you’ll find in central and eastern Europe, but Serbia was somehow always a black hole on the European brewery map for us. I told you that we were number one in Europe and, for us, it is vi-

n It’s often said that people don’t drink less during a crisis, but rather drink more and simply buy it from the supermarket instead of the bar. r This is an urban myth. The market is suffering everywhere, across the board. Economic crisis equates to less consumption. You also find shifts in the brand mix, but none of those shifts are leading to either stability or growth.

What happens is that we see down-trading – from premium brands to mainstream or from mainstream to economy – and a shift from onsite consumption to off-premises consumption; or from a trendy downtown bar to a local supermarket. This is very applicable to what we are seeing in Serbia now. What’s still been a surprise for me is how fast and severe the decline has been in Serbia. n Can the beer you produce in Serbia compare to the beer you produce in Heineken’s other breweries; do the ISO Standards ensure that? r Precisely. That’s the base, plus we have some corporate brands that should always comply – whether locally produced or not – with the quality standards that come from the brand owner n Have you developed models to cope with the crisis and are you preparing the ground for the post-crisis revival? r The crisis, for me, is completely irrelevant.

We just entered this market. When we arrived we announced that we would be investing €50 million in order to rebuild our portfolio and upgrade production facilities, then the crisis hit Serbia immediately. If you’re really a serious player, you only look long term. I won’t say that the crisis is a positive development, because this cannot be, but it can be full of opportunities if you look beyond the crisis.

Crises are moments of change, which can also mean change in consumer behaviour. Then, if you’re persistent and long-term orientated, you can really gain ground. n

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interview |

Milenka Mila Jezdimirović, Managing Director of Dunav osiguranje insurance

Insuring

“It is in our interests to safeguard a company that is as healthy and strong as Dunav osiguranje is and, with the help of a minority stakeholder, recapitalise it – thus giving more wind to the company’s sails, both on the domestic and regional markets… After several meetings, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) emerged as the most likely candidate.”

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co

ce

company

business

By Tatjana Ostojić

T

he first woman to be appointed managing director of Dunav insurance, Milenka Mila Jezdimirović, is a lawyer with extensive experience navigating financial waters. However, she still insists that working in the insurance sector poses a real challenge for her. Ms. Jezdimirović worked in the Ministry of Finance for 25 years as an immediate advisor to ten different Serbian ministers. She then worked in the banking sector for seven years – firstly as special advisor to the head of Komercijalna banka A.D. Beograd and later as chairwoman of the assembly of Montenegro’s Komercijalna banka affiliation. She next worked as an advisor in the banking supervisory sector and then as an authorised representative of Komercijalna banka in Jugobanka’s Board of Creditors.

At the beginning of April, following a unanimous decision of Dunav’s Managing Board, Mila Jezdimirović was appointed managing director of the company, after two months as acting managing director. This month we talk to Ms. Jezdimirović about issues relating to selecting a strategic partner for the company and Dunav’s future plans.

n The issue of Dunav’s privatisation has been on everybody’s lips, especially in the autumn of 2008 when the whole process was postponed. Do you think that Dunav should first undergo ownership transformation from a socially to a state-owned company? r Quite a few companies went through the process of becoming state-owned and this should not be viewed as an obstacle to their business operations. By so doing, Dunav osiguranje would prepare itself even better for the arrival of a minority stakeholder, since the term ‘socially-owned’ is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution and is a relative unknown to foreigners too.

If we take a look at the experiences of

neighbouring countries Slovenia and Croatia in this area, we can see that neither country sold their biggest insurance companies. This is a clear example of what we need to do and which policy we need to exercise, especially in this time of the global economic crisis.

It is in our interests to safeguard a company that is as healthy and strong as Dunav osiguranje is, and, with the help of a minority stakeholder, recapitalise – thus giving more wind to the company’s sails, both on the domestic and regional markets.

in Serbia and you will see for yourself just how contemporary this financial institution is, in terms of its products and client base.

This bank is shoulder-to-shoulder with its European counterparts.

n The insurance market in Serbia, as with the rest of the world, has been hard hit by the global downturn and the biggest bankruptcies were recorded in the insurance sector. In which way was the insurance market in Serbia affected?

What the state can do is to provide an adequate legal framework in order to create conditions for a fair market game, hence preventing unfair competition from emerging n Have you set your eyes on a company that might be an adequate strategic partner for Dunav? r We had a very good meeting with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). I think that they might be one of our potential minority stakeholders.

Afterwards we made a presentation of our company and the EBRD’s representatives expressed interest. Now we are awaiting their call. I am quite pleased to see just how successful the recapitalisation of Komercijalna banka proved once the EBRD became one of the bank’s shareholders. I really don’t need to go into detail about the benefits of this, since they are plain to see. You just need to go to any of Komercijalna banka’s branches

r The impact of the economic crisis is clearly reflected in the falling living standards of the population and the failing of the economy as a whole. In the current economic situation, the insurance sector is affected by falling economic activity and the diminishing economic power of the consumer. When you want to eliminate certain expenses from your household budget, the fist thing you will cross out is insurance. I do have to say that this is the wrong approach. In times of crisis and these times that are difficult for every individual, family or business, insurance is really necessary and nobody should belittle its relevance. During a crisis risks become even more pronounced and new, unexpected threats are constantly emerging. Insurance is

Institutional investor

M

y opinion of the role played by an institutional investor in infrastructure at the company’s local level is that it is an important role indeed – not only for the company, but also for the society as a whole. In order to implement this, we need more know-how and for local governments to show more entrepreneurial spirit. I would like to go back to the beginning: state authorities also need to provide adequate regulations when it comes to guarantees and regulating property that local governments have at their disposal and could use as collateral for the company’s investments.

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interview | on their individual efficiency and work performance. We are also continuing to upgrade our offer and are working on new products.

Dunav osiguranje will pay special attention to its clients and the wider community through various joint projects. We are also going to implement several corrective measures that will enhance the company’s advantages on the domestic insurance market, such as a strong infrastructure, knowledgeable people and the longest tradition of all domestic insurance companies.

the right way to provide a safeguard, for business and family, from unexpected events in the future, i.e. financial and other impacts.

It is very easy to see that you are covering yourself against future risks for the relatively small amount that you pay for an insurance policy. You can actually clearly see just how huge the benefits and advantages of insurance are. This is why it is necessary to have an insurance policy in Serbia. n Is there room for the insurance sector to develop even further in Serbia; does life insurance have the highest growth potential? r The insurance sector is undeveloped in Serbia. We are among the countries where mandatory insurance types dominate, unlike European countries (Switzerland, Austria, the UK and Germany) where life insurance makes up the biggest slice of the insurance portfolio.

There is plenty of room to develop the insurance sector, especially if we are talking about the life insurance sector, which is quite immature at the moment. This is where Dunav osiguranje sees its chance for development. I have to say that there are no insurance companies in the world that have gone through periods of hyperinflation, international isolation and bombing, like those in Serbia. We survived all of that and became the insurance leader in Serbia. Believe me, that wasn’t easy for the company’s employees or the management. n In your opinion, how much can the state contribute to this sector’s development? r What the state can do is to provide an adequate legal framework in order to create conditions for a fair market game, hence preventing unfair competition from emerging, which is always detrimental to insurance policy holders. Also, tax exemptions on primarily life insurance can be extremely important for an undeveloped market like Serbia’s, particularly if we bear in mind that this insurance is also considered as a form of savings. In-

We are among the countries where mandatory insurance types dominate, unlike European countries surance is a very specific and sophisticated product which, above all, needs to offer quality and guarantee safety, especially when it comes to reimbursement claims. The cost of an insurance policy should not be the crucial argument when one buys a policy. There are several other factors that need to be taken into consideration. Taking out an insurance policy is not the same as buying office furniture. The current Law on Public Acquisitions doesn’t take into account all of the specific features of the insurance sector and this law ought to be changed as soon as possible. n What are the company’s plans for this and the following year? r We are going to continue our internal reorganisation so that it will have been completed by the end of this year. By doing this we are going to operate in a much more costeffective and profitable way. We have also prepared incentives for our employees, based

n You won Serbia’s award for top businesswoman. How did you initially react? r I have gained huge experience in the financial sector. In the Ministry of Finance I was an advisor to ten finance ministers and an assistant minister of finance in several governments. I was a special advisor to the president of Komercijalna banka for seven years and left that position to become the head of the biggest insurance company and the leader on the insurance market, as well as the first woman to be appointed managing director of Dunav osiguranje. The top businesswoman award is a sign to me that I am on the right path and I did not go wrong whenever I stuck to my profession and solid ethical principles. I reacted very emotionally, like any woman, and I am not ashamed of that. This award also means that I have to do even better; I need to show that we, the women, can be number one and take up leading positions whenever given a chance.

We need to fight for important goals fearlessly and without feeling inferior to men. I have always had very loyal colleagues and my husband is always there for me. He is my biggest supporter and friend. If it wasn’t for him and his understanding, I wouldn’t be what I am today in this traditional Serbia.

Hence, I would like to share this award with him and my children, who have always been so supportive of everything I do. n

top manager

Company plans

Strategic partner

The top businesswoman award is a sign to me that I am on the right path whenever I stuck to my profession and solid ethical principles.

We are going to implement several corrective measures that will enhance the company’s advantages on the domestic insurance market..

A few companies went through the process of becoming state-owned and this should not be viewed as an obstacle in their business operations.

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| ECONOMICS

New projects in Kragujevac NALED: SERBIAN TOWNS CREATE FAVOURABLE BUSINESS CONDITIONS

Serbia is a positive rock-bottom on the list of countries passing laws that are unfavourable for business, according to a report compiled by the Global Economic Forum

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he three greatest obstacles to doing business in Serbia are political instability, corruption and an inefficient public administration, which inter alia includes a huge number of hours spent in front of information desks, paying numerous, complex and expensive fees and complicated bureaucratic procedures. In order to encourage city and municipal governments to facilitate the operations of existing entrepreneurs and future investors, NALED (The National Alliance for Local Economic Development) is implementing a programme called ‘Certification of Business Friendly Municipalities’. In this case, the term ‘certification’ means that a municipality has met certain standards ensuring that it guarantees entrepreneurs and investor companiess will be provided with information and services that the local governments are authorised to provide in the easiest and quickest way possible. As part of the programme, local governments are required to encourage partnershps between municipalities and the private sector, provide good quality infrastructure and ensure transparent and efficient procedures for allocating land plots to investors. Accoding to NALED Executive Director Violeta Jovanović, “a favourable climate doesn’t only entail financial incentives for investors, but also communication between them and the local authorities, professional attitudes and a partnership relations”.

Satisfying the criteria to receive the certification is by no means a simple procedure. In the past two years since the programme’s inception, only three municipalities have been granted a certificate: Kragujevac, Loznica and Inđija. The plan is to include fifteen other municipalities into the programme by the end of this year.

“By receiving a certificate, a municipality confirms that it has met the high standards in certain economic sectors within the municipali-

ty, as well as in services rendered to businesses and citizens alike. By so doing, the municipality has become eligible to receive support from NALED, USAID, the Ministry of Economy and SIEPA in the form of an attractive presentation to potential investors,” Jovanović outlines.

Kragujevac has obtained the NALED certificate. In order to create a favourable business climate, Kragujevac City administration lowered construction costs threefold, converted abandoned land into industrial zones and provided investors with paved roads, water, electricity and gas supplies. Veroljub Stevanović, Mayor of Kragujevac, explains: “In the last few years, Kragujevac – as the most attractive investment destination in Šumadija and central Serbia – has recorded investments of over €500 million, which were made in the production sector, retail chains and residential construction.” According to Mayor Stevanović, NALED’s certificate was one of the reasons why both domestic and foreign investors came to this area. “The following companies have already invested in Kragujevac: Plaza, Merkator, Tuš, Supernova, Metro, Delta Generali, MPQ and Tempo. In the past four years, quite a few domestic, privately-owned companies that are recognised all over Serbia have set up branches here, as well as abroad. These include Forma Ideale, Agromarket, Prizma, Sena, etc.,” Stevanović says.

NALED executive director Jovanović adds: “The effort exerted to obtain a certificate and reach the required standards is even more valuable during this time of economic crisis, because the state administration and local governments are no longer able to offer financial incentives to investors, but are more focused on providing better quality services to businesses, which is sometimes even more valuable than the aformentioned financial incentives.”

At the beginning of July, the City of Belgrade also began the certification process by signing a Co-operation Agreement with NALED and USAID. The agreement stipulates the conducting of training for close to 3,800 city and municipal personnel, with the aim of teaching them how to accommodate foreign and domestic investors in the best possible way. Municipal staff will learn more about their municipality’s potential, tax policy, investment incentives and stimulations.

The aim of the certification programme is to increase the competitiveness of Serbian municipalities in comparison to their regional counterparts, thus preparing them for the end of the global economic crisis. n

Launched to facilitate dialogue

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he National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) began as an initiative launched by the Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) programme – a project funded by USAID and implemented by The Urban Institute. NALED was officially inaugurated on 6th March 2006

by President Boris Tadić and then U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Michael C. Polt, who signed Memoranda of Understanding with the mayors of ten Serbian municipalities.

NALED’s primary mission is to facilitate dialogue between local and central government, institutions and the private sector

and, thus, create an enabling environment for the growth of the business community in Serbia, increased investments and enhanced economic development.

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INTERVIEW |

Maja Piščević, Executive Director of the Serbian Association of Managers

Credible part of governme “Being a manager is becoming increasingly important, both in Serbia and the wider world”

By Tatjana Ostojić

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rules of the game.” This month SAM’s exec- tion with similar associations in neighbouring he national association of man- utive director, Maja Piščević, talks about the countries, SAM is actively engaged in raising agers was established in Serbia association’s achievement so far and plans the quality and intensiveness of regional cooperation, while improving Serbia’s position because, among other things, for the future. as the leader in this process. Another SAM the country lacks an adequate, independent, professional asso- n When was the Serbian Association of mission is to educate managers in Serbia, bring them together and improve the overall ciation dedicated to continuously developing Managers established? managing executives, as well as a specialised r The Serbian Association of Managers quality of management staff in Serbia.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: “We must association through which managers can ar- (SAM) was founded in 2006, becoming the ticulate and express their social interests. first national professional association of be the change we want to see in the world.”

One of the aims of the Serbian Association managers in Serbia. If I had to describe the This speaks volumes about the importance of leading by personal examof Managers (SAM) is We support the efforts of President Boris Tadić ple and taking responsibilto advance the development of the business clito act as an ambassador of the Serbian economy, ity for the changes going on in society. On the basis mate in Serbia. When foundbut also consider the task that each of us has. of that notion, the Serbian ing SAM, its president, Association of Managers Slobodan Vučićević, chairman of Droga Kolinska, Grand Promotions Association’s objective in one sentence, I strives to share responsibility for some of the and Štark’s Managing Board, said: “Being would say that our mission is to provide an changes we see happening in Serbia today. a manager is becoming increasingly impor- active contribution to improving the business tant, both in Serbia and the wider world. It environment in Serbia as a credible partner to n What do these changes entail exactly? is, therefore, extremely important that there is the Serbian Government. Through collabora- r Primarily, they pertain to changing relasuch an association in our country that will protect present and future managers and assist Who are SAM’s members? them in finding their way around, obtaining relevant information and becoming more succcording to SAM’s Articles of Association, a manger with at least two years’ cessful in their work. We started off with 40 experience in an executive position can apply for membership. founding managers of this association, while Aside from Slobodan Vučićević (Droga Kolinska), the other members of the SAM today we have over 220 members.”

Managing Board include: Draginja Đurić (Banca Intesa), Bojan Radun (Nectar), Speaking during SAM’s latest meeting in Aleksandar Radosavljević (Carlsberg Srbija), Branko Radujko (Telekom Srbija), Nenad June of this year, Vučićević reminded particĐurđević (Ball Packaging), Ljubo Grujić (Coca Cola), Miroslav Nikolić (Srboexport), ipants that businessmen want to operate in Veran Matić (B92), Branimir Bošković (Telefonija), Vojin Starčević (Polimark), Dragica a healthy economic environment. “Since the Pilipović-Chaffey (SBB), Dragan Kovačević (Multicon), Ana Bovan (Bovan Consulting), state is our partner, we expect it to deal with Dmitar Polovina (Prvi Faktor), Jelena Galić (Deloitte), Miroslav Bogićević (Farmakom), corruption & crime and create an environSrđan Šaper (McCann Erickson), Srđan Janićijević (Common Sense Group) and Zoran ment in which we will have clear and fair Tirnanić (DIS).

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rtner ment tions between the state authorities and business. If anything positive has emerged from this crisis (and I am convinced it has, no matter how hypocritical that might sound at this moment), it is that it has made us talk to one another again; and not only talk to each other, but also begin to listen and hear.

SAM’s aim is to be a credible partner to the Serbian Government; a ‘voice of business’ that is trustworthy. We need to have transparent communication and synergy with the state, without serving merely to uphold the individual interests of our members, but rather helping to end this crisis today and improve Serbia’s position in the Europe of tomorrow. We also need to improve the overall investment environment, both for domestic and foreign investors.

n What is your opinion of managers in Serbia generally? r One of the things that SAM wants to bring to Serbia is better quality managers. The key issue in Serbia today is an inadequate education system at all levels: from nursery, primary and secondary schools, all the way to university level and even the retraining of production workers. SAM’s role on this issue is to be proactive in the educating of managers. This is important on many levels, as it’s one of the basic problems being faced by the majority of foreign investors here. The lack of quality managers is quite evident, especially those able to assume control of large, valuable and dynamic systems and projects. Thias is where collaboration between the state and business comes in.

In his book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’, Barack Obama suggests that the state’s role is to build infrastructure, train a workforce (while taking the education system into consideration) and CorD 63 / September 2009 29

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INTERVIEW |

CIPE

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t the beginning of October, in collaboration with CIPE (Centre for International Private Enterprise), SAM is organising a roundtable discussion with the main topic of the solvency of the Serbian economy. Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Radovan Jelašić, will take part in the discussion along with managers of the biggest banks in Serbia – the most competent people to discuss this issue.

create the basis for economic growth, such as the legislative framework, strong and effective institutions and encouraging healthy competition. The Serbian Association of Managers is channelling its efforts in this direction and is quite stringent when it comes to selecting managers as prospective members. We want to become a hub for responsible and competent managers willing to lead their companies in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards recognised in the European Union and the U.S. n How important is regional business cooperation? r As part of the network of influential management associations in neighbouring countries, the Serbian association is ready, energised and has the capacity to support the government in raising the quality of regional co-operation, which has a completely new meaning in this time of crisis. We support the efforts of President Boris Tadić to act as an ambassador of the Serbian economy, but also consider the task that each of us has. We the members of the association, the association itself, and each government minister, need to provide our own contribution to the execution of this task and to lead by personal example. SAM has done a lot to that end and will continue to work on improving regional co-operation in the future.

Education The key issue in Serbia today is an inadequate education system at all levels: from nursery, primary and secondary school.

Trust, integrity and responsibility are just some of the buzzwords often mentioned of those who will need to make the most important decisions in their companies. n How do you see a manager’s role in a crisis? r The fact that the blame for the all-engulfing global economic crisis has been assigned to certain irresponsible individuals in key positions (mainly in financial institutions), we have been forced to revaluate the role and definition of a successful manager. Trust, integrity and responsibility are just some of the buzzwords often mentioned as essential prerequisites for the selection of those who will need to make the most important decisions in their companies. In other words, the moral qualities of a person are equally as important as his or her competence. I think that this is a fundamental change that the global economy and the world’s future will largely depend upon. In this regard, SAM could not have better or more direct support for the principles and values it advocates.

Crisis SAM is ready, energised and has the capacity to support the government in raising the quality of regional cooperation

n You came to SAM from the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade? r I came to the Serbian Association of Managers in November last year after seven wonderful years at the U.S. Embassy, i.e. in USAID, to be more precise. At USAID I was the Senior Legal and Business Specialist responsible for managing the CCASA projects (Commercial Courts Administration Strengthening Activity). The total budget for the implementation of this project was $13.5 million. I was also engaged in the implementation of the $10 million BES programme (Bankruptcy and Enforcement Strengthening), as well as raising competition, working on Serbia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation, etc. These are all reform projects, just like SAM, and their goal was to improve the environment for domestic and foreign investments. n

Synergy We need to have transparent communication and synergy with the state, without serving merely to uphold the individual interests.

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LEADERS Miroslav Prokopijević, Director of The Free Market Center

Dr Goran Nikolić of the Institute for European Studies in Belgrade

Serbia is not doing what it should in this crisis he Serbian economy in 2009 is hardly a little more reformed compared to the “old regime” from the period before October 2000 or the changes in 2005. The Serbian economy in 2009 is, for the first time since 2005, facing a drop in GDP, and the external economic crisis has only laid bare and highlighted the weaknesses that existed before as well. Basically, Serbia is not doing what it should in this crisis, which is carrying out state and business reforms. Rather, it is doing what it should not be, which is reinforcing state involvement in market flows, greater redistribution, re-nationalisation of firms, etc. Therefore, the loss is double.

Perhaps some have hopes that investments will be returned even without the reforms, as it was before 2008. That, however, cannot happen. Before 2008 the money could be obtained under more favourable terms, primarily because the U.S. favoured such a monetary policy. There had been both donations and privatisation revenues in Serbia. Once this crisis is over, it will be difficult to obtain money under favourable terms again. There will be no donations or revenues from privatisation, which will have finished by then – at least when profitable firms are concerned. Therefore, the rules of the game must be significantly advanced if we want economic growth and a decent living standard. Simply put, Serbia should be more competitive in relation to its rivals, attracting more substantial investments here. If the business surrounding and state reforms do not come to an end, Serbia will be a stagnating economy which will fall further and further behind not only the developed countries, but also the majority of our neighbours.

End of the crisis by January? conomic indicators are showing the recovery will come in the first quarter of 2010, which is welcome news for the Serbian economy. If the recovery of the Belgrade Stock Exchange since mid-July, which is expected to continue, is any indication of a turning point, then the recovery of the real economy in Serbia could happen in January, or shortly thereafter. Exports look set to recover in early 2010, though from a very low base. Impor ts, too, will rise, although large ly because of the rise in raw material prices. This will effect the increasing income from value added tax. Telecommunications, real estate, construction and financial sectors also look set for modest growth, which would, along with a likely drop in overall tax collection and retail trade, allow for a modest rise in GDP in early 2010. It seems, therefore, that predictions of a recovery are realistic and that the Serbian stock market is anticipating it. Like other markets across the Balkans, BELEX reacted to changes in the world markets and the economic crisis that first affected the U.S. and then European countries. In Serbia, prices of steel, copper, aluminum and food products, which together made up 40% of Serbia’s exports in 2008, recovered in the first half of 2009. It is realistic to expect the rise to continue in the third quarter, stimulating depressed export markets. Imports, however, dropped by a massive 30% and exports by 23% (although encouragingly, export decline is slowing down), although, paradoxically, perhaps this is a crumb of good news for a country with such a large trade deficit. So whilst it’s perhaps too early to be certain, the signs are encouraging and we may perhaps

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be seeing the green shoots of recovery in advance of a return to growth in 2010.

Miodrag Kostić, President of MK Group There are more rich men to be taxed he Ministry of Finance has to find a way to tax those citizens who really spend a lot, live in luxury, drive expensive cars and are not taxed at all. What are you going to do with thousands of people who live in luxury and pay less then 100 Euros of taxes? Five people can never pay as much for taxes as three million people can.

The Serbian government needs to stop encumbering the Serbian economy. Otherwise the very few domestic companies that are still solvent will be at jeopardy and the rest of industry will follow. If the government imposes additional taxes, it will smother the existing business activity, which will also be bad for the state, since healthy and solvent companies are the ones that actually bring money to the state budget. Both workers and pensioners live off healthy companies. So does the government. A remedy should be found for companies that have been in a difficult situation and still have a chance to survive, just like you would treat a sick person. One of the remedies is certainly offering favourable loans. For those companies that are not able to stay afloat, declaring bankruptcy is the only way out. We ought to find a tax model according to which each Serbian citizen would pay taxes in line with how much he or she earns. What we can see today is that the number of tax payers is disproportionate to the very visible luxury in Serbia. The tendency at the moment is to impose additional financial burden to the companies which have regular revenue and pay their taxes in time. Also, there are quite a few companies which don’t pay

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any taxes, but their proprietors have beautiful houses, drive topof-the-range cars, buy expensive jewelry and spend money left and right.

Dana Popović, Professor at the Faculty of Economics Coalitions have ruined us ew things in this crisis depend on us. Serbia faced problems not because the country had made a mistake, but because the demand on the world market had decreased. Predicting what will happen here and how big the decrease in gross domestic product will be means predicting what will happen in the world. Serbia is too small to be able to defend itself from a huge crisis, but it is big enough to find its place and create a good investment environment. However, this has never happened so far. Coalition governments are the main reason for this. When someone has a Communist, Socialist, Zapatista or simply an ignorant for a coalition partner, they cannot persuade them that reforms are needed. World economists say that the crisis is nearing its end and that a gradual and long recovery is about to occur. The latest analyses referring to the USA, show that the unemployment rate will reach ten percent, which is the limit of political acceptability. Higher unemployment would result in social disorders, but this is unlikely to happen. During the 1930s crisis, the unemployment rate in America reached 25 percent, which proves that this time the reaction was good and timely. So, if global experts say that the end of the crisis can bee seen soon, certain calming down will occur in our country as well. The world industry will most likely come into play, and exports can then start again. Anyway, I think there are no bases for pessimistic scenarios at the moment. n

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eCOnOMy |

Erste group: Special report – June 2009

CApITAL FLOWS An D the slump in investments will be greatest in countries that had the strongest housing boom. household savings rates will increase, denting consumption.the cyclical effect is strong, but the long-term outlook remains positive

by Juraj KotIAn

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ver the last five years, the Central and Eastern European economies have been outperforming the growth in the Euro Area by almost four percentage points on average, having become a very attractive destination for foreign direct investments and portfolio investors. The global deleveraging process and collapse of global trade have hit the region hard, dragging down the growth to red figures, similar to those seen in the Euro Area.

Before the crisis started, CEE economies had been benefiting from lifted trade barriers, surging exports and strong capital inflows, which had boosted investment growth, increased employment and the potential output in these economies.

CEE economies have had much higher growth of investments, as well as higher investment ratios (about 26% of GDP on average for 2005-07) compared to the Euro Area (about 20-22% of GDP on average for the same period), boosting output in both the short run (cyclical component) and the long run (potential output).

There were also big differences in the structure of investments – in most CEE countries, investments were mainly focused on expanding production capacity, productivity upgrades and infrastructure projects.

Investment rates of households in CEE (with the exception of Estonia) were far below the EU average (about 10.5% of disposable income of households).

The highest household investment rates were in Ireland (26%), Spain (15%) and Estonia (14%), contributing to a housing boom and bust cycle. Countries with excessive investments were facing external imbalances, as their national savings1 were not high enough to cover investments.

Gap between investments and national savings vs. current account balance

vulnerable to capital outflows. Given the global deleveraging process and drying up foreign capital inflows, it is no longer possible to get financing in order to run such large current account deficits.

Thus, the gap between investments and national savings has to narrow significantly, either through the scaling down of investments or an increase of national savings – through the collapse of consumption or strong fiscal consolidation. This is exactly what has been happening in countries that have been running large current account deficits.

The biggest drop of investments has occurred in countries with high investment rates – Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – where investments collapsed about 25-40% y/y in 1Q09. These were the countries with the highest imbalances in the past. Declines of investments in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania were only single-digit in 1Q09, while investments in the Euro Area declined by 10% y/y.

Investments (y/y %, 1Q2009)

Investment ratio and GDP growth (2005-07 average) The amount and structure of capital inflows differed across the region. The Czech Republic, with a relatively high amount of national savings, needed less foreign capital and was able to cover the whole current account deficit by net FDIs over 2005 to 2007.

On the other hand, net FDIs into Latvia, Lithuania covered only about one-third of current account deficits. Thus, external debt increased dramatically in these countries in recent years, making these economies more

Since the beginning of this year, current account deficits have been narrowing in almost all CEE countries, despite the difficult situation on export markets. It is very likely that we will see impressive improvement

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n D grOWTH In Cee of the current account deficit in Romania this year, probably halving to about 6-7% of GDP, from about 13% of GDP seen in the past two years.2 The main driver will be a drop in consumption (especially of durable goods) and an improvement of the negative savings ratio.

There is one negative aspect and one positive aspect related to the quick improvement of the current account deficits. The negative one is that the negative cyclical effect will be stronger (faster), hammering the growth this year. The long-term effect depends on the investment growth after the cyclical shock is over. If the investment growth rate were to stabilize at half of the rate seen in previous years, it would choke about 1-3 percentage points off the average GDP growth rate seen in the past.

We believe that there are good economic reasons (competitive labor costs and higher return on capital) to boost productive investments in these countries when growth

resumes. The short-term positive aspect of the quick narrowing of current account deficits is that countries will need less foreign capital to finance the external gap.

We have carried out analyses of balance of payments for other CEE8 countries3, according to which we found that the IMF was very inaccurate with their figures published in April’s Stability Report on external debt refinancing needs. Later, the IMF substantially scaled down its estimates for refinancing needs for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine. Recently, Fitch Ratings published a similar report on refinancing needs, concluding that, within CEE, only the Baltic countries are seen as high-risk regarding refinancing of external debt, while the Czech Republic is seen as low-risk and the rest are medium-risk.

Assumptions on what portion of maturing external debt will be refinanced (rollover ratio) either by the same lender or another lend-

the short-term positive aspect of the quick narrowing of current account deficits is that countries will need less foreign capital to finance the external gap Estimated external debt refinancing needs in 2009 (USD bn)

Juraj Kotian, Co-head of Cee Macro and Fixed Income researh, erste Group er from abroad, are crucial in determining of potential capital outflow. We expect the lowest roll-over ratio (about 60%) for refinancing long-term corporate loans, a higher rollover ratio for the banking sector (70-90%)4, while the roll-over ratio for government debt mainly depends on the attitudes and chances of governments to issue Eurobonds on foreign markets this year.

For countries under the IMF program, we have conservatively assumed 0% rollÂŹover ratios (IMF will rollover maturing external government debt), so the issuance of Eurobonds would improve their financing position. However, there are good chances that CEE8 countries will decrease their gross external debts (held by the private sector), while the remaining financing gap (if any) will be financed through FX reserves and reduction of other foreign assets.

So, given the already committed inflow of funds from international institutions and expected reasonable roll-over ratios for maturing external debt, CEE8 countries should not have problems with external financing. n CorD 63 / September 2009 33

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society |

The secret of the Pioneers of New Capitalism in the former Yugoslavia

first million Back in the days of communist Yugoslavia, having a private company was not completely banned, but most of the private companies were mainly arts & crafts shops

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By Vladan Alimpijević

ning of the privatisation process, large, pri- public viewed Slobodan Radulović (from C n such circumstances, personal wealth vately-owned companies started to emerge. Market), Ljubomir Mihajlović (the former of an ordinary citizen could not be The nouveau riche (or the new money) all general manager of Komercijalna banka) and head of AIK Banka, Ljubiša Jovanović, as compared to that of politicians, gener- came from the same branch - foreign trade. als and police chiefs Writer Ivo Andrić Today, the Balkan tycoons mostly gener- the actual owners of these respective compawas the first to get ‘big bucks’ after the ate their wealth from trading and agriculture. nies, but they were more or less just successSecond World War as the Nobel Prize Winner Some were quick to brag with their newly- ful managers and small shareholders.

We left out entrepreneurs who are doing for Literature. He is perhaps the first million- acquired wealth, while most of the big comaire in the socialist Yugoslavia, but he certain- panies from the former Yugoslavia are still their business elsewhere but originate from ly wasn’t an entrepreneur. The first real entre- owned by anonymous traders or compa- the former Yugoslavia. The list should cerpreneur millionaire emerged in the 1970s and nies which have headquarters in exotic loca- tainly begin with Filip Zepter (formerly Milan his name was Slobodan ‘Bata’ Todorović. He tions. As the Croatian issue of Forbes mag- Janković), who is the richest Serb, with perwas born in January 1925 in Smederevo and azine says, it is easier to find out ‘what be- sonal wealth of $4 billion. This ‘king of pots longs to whom?’ and ‘who is actually behind and pans’ is nowhere to be seen on other simiwas a lawyer and perennial deputy head of lar lists, since nobody can actually get the foreign trade sector in a company called Progres. Since such companies It is easier to find out ‘what belongs accurate information about what exactly his business empire comprises. were established under the tight supervision of UDBA (the Yugoslav KGB), to whom?’ and ‘who is actually behind Zepter began his business by selling that he designed himself. He was it is safe to assume that Bata Torodović everything?’ than to find an answer to pots born in 1951, in the Bosnian town of was a collaborator of the Serbian poBosanska Dubica. He graduated from litical police. Later he traded arms and ‘who is who precisely?’ the Belgrade Faculty of Economics and ships, as well as setting up dozens of companies all over Italy and Germany. At everything?’ than to find an answer to ‘who is was a close friend of Zoran Đinđić. Following what was probably a staged trial at the begin- who exactly?’. To complicate the matter fur- the political uprising of 5th October 2000, ning of 1980s, he was sentenced to 20 years in ther, many Yugoslav companies were very ac- Zepter financed the people who lobbied for prison for ‘embezzling state-owned capital’. tive in the Far East and particularly in Russia, Serbia in Washington on a regular basis. His where transparency in business is unknown.

Todorović eventually died in prison. company ‘Zepter International’ employs over Croatian businessmen, Jozo Ćurković For example, one of the biggest and most suc- 100,000 people in 40 countries. It has an anbragged on several occasions that he was al- cessful Serbian companies, Invej, cites a rela- nual turnover of over $1 billion and has eight tive unknown, Srđan Sredojević, as the com- factories in Switzerland, Germany, Poland so a millionaire back in the 1980s. Today, Ćurković lives in Herzegovina, hiding from pany’s proprietor, while it is quite obvious and Italy. This Serbian billionaire bragged on that the real owner of the company is Predrag several occasions that he earned his first bilthe Croatian justice system.

Following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Ratković Peconi, one of the richest Serbian lion faster than Bill Gates. He was suspected the demise of socialism and the begin- capitalists. At the same time, the Serbian of illegal arms trading, but never formerly ac34 CorD 63 / September 2009

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Miroslav Mišković, Mirko Tuš and Mujo Selimović cused. When it comes to his investments in Mišković bought Pekabeta, Sunce, Juhor, was eventually prosecuted for this and spent four and a half years in the Stara Gradiška the Balkan region, Zepter is mainly interested PZP Beograd, Autokomanda, Podunavlje, in real estate, medical equipment, culture and Obuća and C Market, as well as founding two prison. After his release, Ante talked his son media, which are just a fraction of his compa- large supermarket chains – Delta Maxi and into building a house in Zagreb, while Ivica TEMPO. In public, Mišković has often been talked his father into opening a chain of flowny’s activities.

Most relevant lists cite the founder and pro- branded as a retail monopolist, but has never er shops. After only a few years in the busiprietor of Delta Holding, Miroslav Mišković, been actually penalised for that. Mišković is ness, the Todorić family was holding 40% of as the most successful capitalist in the region. also the owner of companies Bazar and Seme, the flower market in the socialist Yugoslavia.

Mišković was born in Kruševac in 1945. agricultural estates Napredak and Jedinstvo, Aside from that, the family engaged in fruit After graduating from the Belgrade Faculty Investbanka’s premises in the central Belgrade and vegetable trading. Today, in addition to of Economics, he worked for Jugobanka in quarter of Terazije and over 20,000 hectares Agrokor, Todorić owns the companies Sojara, Jamnica, Agroprerada, Ledo, Kruševac. Later he worked Bobis, Mlinove Vinkovci silo, briefly in Trayal, then in the “I made my first million from importing the Pag slattern, Unikonzum, Župa Chemical Industry, where consumer goods. I imported clothes from Zvijezda and DIP Turopolje, as he was appointed general manager. He was elected one of the Singapore and Bangkok to Serbia and shoes well as his own bank - Kreditna banka Zagreb. five deputy Prime Ministers in from Italy and I was doing well” He is also the proprie1989, but soon withdrew from tor of Hotel Opera (the former politics due to different views of the privatisation process in Serbia. Today of arable land. The richest Croat by far is the Inter Continental), ice cream factory Berpah he employs around 17,000 workers in the re- owner of Agrokor and supermarket chains Čapljina, Serbian frozen food company gion and, according to WPros, his company is Konzum and Idea – Ivica Todorić. He was Frikom, mineral water company Kiseljak, worth 1.5 billion euros. However, Serbian me- born in Zagreb in 1951 and spent his child- PIK Vrbovec, Belje, a cooking oil plant in dia reports that Delta Holding aloneis worth hood on a farm in Božjakovina. He came to Zrenjanin and Nova Sloga from Trstenik. that much, adding that Mišković is an offi- Zagreb to attend high school and graduated Todorić also owns a share in mobile telephone cial representative of companies like FIAT, from the Faculty of Economics. Todorić’s fa- operator, Tele2. Last year, the total number of Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Honda, BMW, Nivea, ther, Ante, was director of Agrokombinat his employees stood at 30,000, while the enMulinex, Nike, Speedo, Escada, Mexx and company when he was accused of embez- tire group had an estimated value of around Zara, which all add to his personal portfo- zling six million Deutschmarks from the com- 900 million euros. When it comes to Slovenia, lio and corporate revenue. During the priva- pany back in 1971, which he allegedly then no entrepreneur’s personal wealth exceeds a tisation of state-owned companies in Serbia, gave to Croatian ex-pats to buy weapons. He billion euros. The richest man in Slovenia is CorD 63 / September 2009 35

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society |

The richest Croat by far is the owner of Agrokor and supermarket chains Konzum and Idea – Ivica Todorić. He was born in Zagreb in 1951 and spent his childhood on a farm in Božjakovina

Filip Zepter

Ivica Todorić Mirko Tuš, the owner of the Tuš supermarket chain, with personal wealth of 300 million euros. He opened his first shop in 1989, with Energotuš becoming the first supermarket chain in Slovenia. This was before Zoran Janković revitalised Mercator to become the biggest Slovenian shareholding company.

Today, aside from the Tuš chain, this entrepreneur owns movie theatres, real estate and telecommunication companies, with the total number of employees standing at 4,500.

The richest family in Bosnia & Herzegovina is certainly the Selimović family – Mujo, Hilmo and Mujesira. They embarked on private business by buying the Sarajevo Brewery through privatisation. The Selimović family is one of the most renowned families in Sarajevo, trading on Sarajevo’s Baščaršija for genera-

tions. During the civil war, Hilmo sent his family to the Czech Republic, where, as a supporter of Alija Izetbegović, he helped Izetbegović’s Party of Democratic Action (SDA). Following his return to Sarajevo, he acquired the Sarajevo Brewery. According to some sources, when Hilmo was buying out the brewery’s shareholders, who were of Serbian nationality, a minister in the Republiks Srpska’s government, Momčilo Mandić, lent him a helping hand.

Mandić himself was one of the richest people in Bosnia at the time. Mujo Selimović and his sister Mujesira own three supermarket chains in Bosnia & Herzegovina – MIMS, Merkur and Konjic Distribution Centre. Selimović is the majority shareholder in dailies like Oslobođenje and San, as well as a movie producer. The revenue generated by the Selimović family last year amounted to 257 million euros, with their personal wealth estimated at 650 million euros. Mujo Selimović is also a close friend of Todorić. Selimović describes his cooperation with Todorić as “quite good”. His business ties with Todorić are certainly much stronger than those with Mišković.

For many years now, Russian capital has been predominant in Montenegro. The richest Montenegrin is the owner of Atlas Group, Duško Knežević with 110 million euros.

Knežević spread his business to the neighbouring states. Panto Vučurović has a business empire that employs almost 2,000 workers with annual revenue of close to 100 million euros. His supermarket chain called Pantomarket bought Plusmarket in 2007, beating Delta Holding to it. Vučurović also owns numerous other companies in Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia like Vračar flower shops, PKB Herceg Novi, Zelenika, Stočar Čačak, Uniprom bakery, Žitopromet Čačak, Baters Prom from Belgrade, Export-import from Zemun, Kim Export from Kraljevo, Plus komerc from Nikšić, Napredak Vršac, the Spuž fodder factory, Kokaprodukt Spuž, the Spuž pig farm, the Čačak veterinary clinic, Koni konfekcija, Poljopromet from Mrčajevci, Veleprodaja from Nikšić, Panto group from Skoplje, Živinoprodukt and the Vranjska Spa.

Macedonia When it comes to Macedonia, the situation is somewhat different as conditions for establishing truly large corporations owned by just one person are virtually non-existent.

However, there is one man who is synonymous for wealth and that is Risto Gušterov, who used to sell iron to Russia and Ukraine.

Today, he has only one company in Macedonia – Rimako, but he owns quite a few in Russia, Bulgaria and the U.S. His personal wealth is estimated at several tens of millions of euros.

For the last two years, Minčo Jordanov has been considered the richest Macedonian. He is the single biggest shareholder in Maksteel and also has personal shares in companies Beton, Fakom and Intertranšped. He also has a health clinic called Remedika, 5,500 hectares of land and a huge flock of sheep. Jordanov is estimated to be worth around 50 million euros.

Slovenia Three Slovenian business giants – Mercator, Petrol and Laško Brewery – have a very dispersed ownership structure and their biggest shareholders are people nobody has ever heard of. The owner of Prevent Global and Koruški Holding, Janko Zakerešnik, is a former truck driver. In 2008, the revenue generated by Zakerešnik’s companies stood at almost 400 million euros. He sells mainly car parts and is co-owner of a VW factory in Bosnia & Herzegovina and AD Plastika and Torpedo companies in Croatia.

Ivan Zidar is the majority shareholder in the biggest Slovenian construction company, SCT, which is currently building a bridge across the river Sava in Belgrade. He is considered rather controversial and has been plagued by financial problems. However, Zidar remains one of the wealthiest people in Slovenia.

Viktor Pistotnik is the owner of the biggest security company in Slovenia – Sintal. He employs 700 people and runs the business with his son, Viktor. The Pistotnik family is considered one of the richest families in Slovenia.

Croatia Another wealthy Croat, Zlatko Marić, also made his fortune in the security business.

His agency, Sokol Marić, has over 3,000 em-

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Data sources

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sing data from the Serbian edition of ‘The Economist’, Croatian & international editions of ‘Forbes magazine’, Polish ‘WPros’, Ljubljana daily ‘Finance’, Bosnian ‘Poslovne Novine’, ‘Utrinski Vesnik’ from Skopje, official websites of various companies and state agencies, as well as evaluations by two experts in macro-economy, we put together a list of the most significant tycoons in the region.

ployees and many controversial articles about the company have been published by the tabloid press.

Zdravko Pevec, proprietor of a supermarket chain, a transport company and construction businesses, is a rather reclusive businessman. Pevec has been branching out to other regional countries and currently has 3,000 employees.

The owner of Rijeka-based retail chain, Plodin, Mile Ćurković, generated 220 million euros worth of revenue last year. He is a mathematics teacher, born in Benkovac, and shies away from politics.

Alongside TV Pink (owned by Serbia’s Željko Mitrović), Robert Čoban’s Europapress is the biggest privately-owned media company in the former Yugoslavia. Ninoslav Pavić, who owns 50% of Europapress, is the biggest Croatian publisher. His annual revenue is 160 million euros and he has 2,000 employees.

Montenegro and Bosnia Together with close friends Veselin Barović and Dragan Brković, Aleksandar ‘Aco’ Đukanović (elder brother of Montenegrin PM, Milo Đukanović) is one of the most influential and richest businessmen in Montenegro. Đukanović’s company, Monte Nova, is a big player on the Montenegrin business scene. According to the annual report of the Montenegrin Central Bank, Monte Nova is the fourth most profitable company in Montenegro. In January 2007, it bought a 75% stake in the Montenegrin Spatial Planning Authority for €2.7 million. Đukanović also held a stake in Crnogorska komercijalna banka, which he subsequently sold to Hungarian OTP Bank, reportedly for €10 million.

After his ‘cigarette business’, Veselin Barović ‘transferred’ his money into legal businesses, and multiplied it by get-

Konzum in Livno: part of the Todorićs empire ting involved in the privatisation process.

He is now chairman of the Montenegrin Basketball Federation. Barović’s company, Eurofond, manages the Ulcinj slattern, Izbor company from Bar, Fjord from Kotor and Rad from Bijelo Polje. He is one of the biggest shareholders in the Pljevlje coal mine and owns shares in Montenegro’s Electric Power Industry, the Aluminum Combine, Jugopetrol, the Bar Harbour, Montenegrin Railways, etc. Barović is also active in telecommunications, as he is one of the founders of Montenegro BroadBand, which was granted a license for installing cable TV,

Most relevant lists cite the founder and proprietor of Delta Holding, Miroslav Mišković, as the most successful capitalist in the region wireless Internet and video telephony in all Montenegrin municipalities. Dragan Brković owns a company called Vektra and was the best man at Milo Đukanović’s wedding. He amassed wealth by trading in aluminum, building residential buildings and through owning the forest estate called Jakić from Pljevlje.

The proprietor of Atlas Group, Duško Knežević, is also one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Montenegro. He owns a management company in Serbia called Atlas

Group, a brokerage house, Belgrade’s Hotel Majestic, Centroproizvod, the Valjevo brewery, a leather processing plant in Pančevo, and Rad Inox Company. In Montenegro, he is the owner of Atlas Bank, Invest Bank Montenegro, the Mediterranean University, an insurance company, TV station Atlas, the Adriatic Fair in Budva, the first investment fund in Montenegro – Atlasmont, and, with his business partners from Dubai, he is building the Atlas Capital Centre in Podgorica and a spa in Meljine. In Cyprus, Knežević owns Atlas Kapital, which has branch offices in London and the United Arab Emirates, while he opened a bank in Russia in 2008, which is entirely owned by Atlasmont Banka from Podgorica. Despite Knežević having friendly ties with Đukanović in the past, he fell out of Đukanović’s grace. He is also one of the first businessmen to speak openly about ‘how he made his first million’. “I made my first million from importing consumer goods. I imported clothes from Singapore and Bangkok to Serbia and shoes from Italy and I was doing well,” Knežević says.

Slobodan Stanković, owner of Integral Inženjering (engineering) from Laktaši, is one of the biggest entrepreneurs in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska. Laktaši is famous for being the birth place of current Republika Srpska PM, Milorad Dodik. Stanković is often portrayed in the media as being close to the politicians in power, as well as being corrupted. Integra employs over 1,500 workers and is doing business in Serbia and Montenegro too. n CorD 63 / September 2009 37

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B2B |

Visiting ’The School of Friendship’ Banca Intesa and the Embassy of Spain played host to this year’s ‘School of Friendship’, which was again traditionally organised by ‘Naša Srbija’ (’Our Serbia’) for the ninth consecutive year on Tara Mountain between 15th July and 6th August.

One of the school’s numerous activities was marking the ‘Day of Spain’, which was held on 5th August and was attended by Spanish Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Ignacio de Palacio España, Serbian President Boris Tadić, President of Banca Intesa’s Executive Board, Draginja Đurić, Ambassadors of the Chinese People’s Republic and Cyprus, H.E. Wei Jinghua and H.E. Homer Mavrommatis, as well as the Serbian national water polo team.

NIS losses reduced

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n the first half of 2009, the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) recorded a loss of 7.2 billion dinars, the company announced on 13th August. The loss in the first half of the year is a consequence of the negative result recorded by NIS in the first third of this year, i.e. a loss of 11 billion dinars that couldn’t be compensated with a profit of 3.8 billion dinars recorded in the second quarter.

“However, it is evident that the trend of accumulating losses has been halted and we consider this the main positive result in the first half of the year,” estimated Kiril Kravchenko, General Manager of NIS. According to NIS officials, the positive result in the second quarter was recorded thanks to an increase in sales revenues caused by a growth of prices, the dinar’s appreciation against the dollar, as well as decreasing reserves for suspicious debts. Namely, the company’s receivables have decreased by about seven billion dinars and currently amount to 27 billion dinars. However, NIS’s total debts to banks amount to about €800 million. The management intends to reduce the company’s indebtedness by five to ten percent by the end of the year. According to Kravchenko, investments of at least €548 million, stipulated by the purchase contract for the modernisation of NIS, will not be sufficient to turn this company into a leader in the region.

Source: EMportal

Dinkić: No tax hikes or wage cuts Speaking on the occasion, Serbian President Tadić that he was happy with the fact that the School of Friendship had been active for almost ten years and that each year it gained new friends and supporters.

“We were all thrilled with the success that our national water polo team achieved. They are proof that you can achieve any goals you set your mind to just by being persistent, diligent and dedicated. Let these athletes be your role models, because some of you might become champions or state presidents one day. Not everybody can be a champion, but whatever you achieve in life, you have achieved it not only for yourself, but for your country as well,” said President Tadić.

Also speaking at the event, Banca Intesa’s Draginja Đurić said: “we recognise just how important universal values like mutual respect, fostering diversity, love and understanding are to our youngsters.

Banca Intesa is more than willing to join projects that aim to help children who don’t live in “conventional” families.

“Through playing, learning and working, we are trying to convey to these children a value system that is based on good principles, since that is the only way to make sure that our society’s future and progress are in safe hands,” explained Đurić Celebrating the Day of Spain also marked the end of this year’s School of Friendship, which has brought together 400 children who are mostly from Serbian enclaves in Kosovo of from Bosnia’s Republika Srpska.

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erbian Economy & Regional Development Minister, Mlađan Dinkić, has stated that there will be no tax increases or lowering of salaries in Serbia, since that would be an economic error.

“If we requested a tax increase we would additionally reduce demand, which is the main cause of recession,” he told journalists.

Dinkic expressed his belief that the Serbian government will convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission of that if they raise the question. According to him, it is necessary to make the country “less costly” and the only long-term budget solution is to reduce the excessive public sector and bureaucracy.

Source: Beta

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Trimo and Corus sign contract

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eneral Manager of Trimo, Tatjana Fink, and Director of the British company Corus, Peter Strickwerd, have signed a contract on supplying tin of the brand Corus Colorcoat Prisma for the new and unique modular frontage systems Qbiss by Trimo. Trimo has invested seven million Euros in this product and the development of the technology.

Qbiss by Trimo, a new product on the world frontage systems market, represents an optimal combination of aesthetics and functionality. Elements of the frontage system are self-supporting, which reduces expenses and shortens mantling periods.

Corus is a highly respected British company, the second biggest steel producer in Europe. The partnership of Corus and Trimo represents an additional value on the frontage systems market.

Source: EMportal

Tigar issues corporate bonds

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igar AD from Pirot issued the Series I short-term corporate bonds to insurance company Dunav osiguranje in early August.

The overall series value is RSD95 million. Dunav osiguranje, a local company and the leader on the domestic insurance market, decided to participate in the purchase of these bonds in accordance with its objective of investing free funds into profitable projects, such as this one launched by Tigar.

“Further development of the capital market is to establish conditions for those companies with projects of interest for investors, thus prompting issuers to search for best solutions through bank loan analyses or securities issuing,” Tigar representatives underline.

Source: EMportal

Belgrade Fair tender fails

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he Belgrade Fair tender failed after consortium Verano Group and Rimini Fair refused to offer the price of €40million set by the Ministry of Economy, said State Secretary with the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, Nebojša Ćirić. Instead, it will become a state company managed by the government, Belgrade City and the Belgrade Fair, which will then invest in it jointly, he added. Asked whether the state plans to invest in the company although it is profitable, he said one way of doing this would be through loans and another is similar to the Vienna Fair model, in which the stateowned company selects a management for several years. Some 424 privatisation deals have been terminated in Serbia since 2002, accounting for about 23 per cent of the total number of companies sold through tenders and auctions.

Source: SEEbiz

Eurofast Global Ltd.

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urofast Global Ltd. is a professional services Group operating in Southeast Europe through fully fledged offices in Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, as well as a number of carefully selected associates in Bosnia, Belarus, Kosovo, Croatia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Their professional services range from payroll, accounting, tax, legal and merger & acquisitions, with considerable know-how to address various cross-border issues and reach optimum company expansion levels.

Our aim is to remain large enough to offer a full range of technical services, but small enough to deliver personal confidential service and advice. Our Groups vision is to maintain a medium-sized professional company in order to sustain both a manageable organisation and the delivery of personalised services to our clients.

Eurofast achieved worldwide recognition in 2009 for its exceptional tax advice, capabilities and innovation in 2008 in the area of international tax planning, as well as regional recognition in Southeast Europe.

Eurofast has been voted: “Best Regional Business Partner in the Balkans”

by Mass Media International; Cyprus Tax firm of the Year for 2009” by International Tax Review; “Best International Tax Team in Cyprus” by World Finance. It has been ranked “Tier One Tax Transactional Practice” by the International Tax Review and the “Best Regional Business Partner Balkans for 2009” by Mass Media International.

Serbia’s office has a remarkable operational record in all type of services. The Serbian Team has been reinforced with a number of new highly qualified professionals in the accounting and tax and legal fields.

Moreover, in these times of crisis Eurofast is perhaps the only firm in Southeast Europe which is still aggressively recruiting, thus showing the momentum we experience in our growth.

Serbia Q2 Computer Sales Fall 21.5%

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omputer sales in Serbia fell by 21.5% year-on-year to 67,570 in the second quarter of 2009, the country’s Chamber of Commerce has said.

“Sales are expected to pick up in the next quarter, but they are unlikely to reach 2008 levels,” the chamber said in a statement.

Desktop computers accounted for 70.7% of all personal computer sales in Serbia, while laptops accounted for 18.9%, the statement said. Sales of servers were 1.3% of the total.

Hewlett Packard (HP), Lenovo and Dell held a combined 80.4% share of the computer market in Serbia in the first half of the year.

According to local analytical company Mineco, which follows the information technology market in Serbia, the country’s computer market will recover in the third quarter, but growth will be slower than that achieved in the third quarter of 2008, the statement added.

Source www.limun.hr

Radomir Metals hit by crisis

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ulgarian machine builder Radomir Metals has sent many of its workers on leave in August, as it battles against weakening orders in the wake of the economic crisis, the company said.

Output at the western Bulgarian plant has dwindled almost 3.5-fold since the start of the year.

In March the company laid off 600 employees.

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Passion, sportiness and charisma: lines with the power to move you The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupé aims straight at the senses: it takes only a moment to be captured by the charisma of this sports car. Its taut lines, powerful muscles and sharp, arrow-shaped front speak directly to the emotions and promise compelling driving enjoyment. The proud tradition of Mercedes-Benz coupés continues with the latest two-door model from Stuttgart. The newcomer features styling elements which give Mercedes-Benz coupés their unmistakable identity: elements such as the side window treatment, which has no B-pillar to interrupt it and features fully retractable windows, or the characteristic sports radiator grille with the large central star. Simultaneously, this model points the way to the future with an exciting, contemporary design idiom. The Coupé makes no secret of its close relationship to the new E-Class Saloon. It is immediately obvious from the twin-headlamp face which features a similar rhomboid design for the lights but with a somewhat sportier, sharper treatment which creates a more dynamic and incisive look. Another design feature which the Coupé shares with the Saloon is the powerful contour

of the rear wing - a styling cue which also gave the S 220 “Ponton” Coupé of 1955 its athletic appearance. Despite its E-Class family traits, the new Coupé has its own, distinct identity and a personality that speaks more directly to the emotions. The arrow shape of the entire front section from front bumper to radiator to bonnet, the more extreme interpretation of the twin headlamp face and its more sinewy build give it a racier and more dynamic presence - in short, it is every inch a coupé and evokes speed even when stationary.

RTB Bor increases production by 38.1%

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TB Bor recorded a 31 per cent increase in copper production in the first six months of 2009.

The company has adopted an operating plan according to which its profit up to 2023 should reach US$366 million. The plan is based on 1.2 billion tonnes of reserves and the government’s decision that RTB will not be privatised until its value increases.

The plan also provides for investments in ore extraction, purchase of ore extraction mechanisation and metallurgy.

Source: Tanjug

Cost of living up in Belgrade

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iving costs in Belgrade increased in July this year by 9.6% year-on-year, the city bureau of statistics says. The price of personal hygiene items rose 5 per cent, the price of food increased by 5.1%, grocery prices grew by 8.9%, while the cost of services went up 26.3%, a statement from the bureau said.

Construction material prices increased the most (37.2%), while tobacco products cost 26.7% more than in July last year. The cost of shop services increased 0.6%. Footwear, newspaper and school supply prices stayed the same as last year, while – surprisingly – the cost of clothing dropped by 4 per cent.

Source: ANSAmed

Ikea won’t build factory in Serbia

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wedish furniture producer Ikea has given up the planned construction of a factory in Serbia.

The initial plan was for Ikea to commit to beginning construction by 2012, while the Serbian government would support the company by providing land.

In a direct deal, the government had agreed to grant Ikea the right to use 72 hectares of land near the Belgrade airport.

Source: limun.hr

Gazprom to secure

gas in Hungary

for Serbia

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ussia’s Gazprom will secure 200 million cubic metres of gas to be stored in Hungary for the Serbian market, Srbijagas CEO Dušan Bajatović stated on 6th August. After meeting Gazprom representatives in Vienna, he announced that Srbijagas would secure the transportation and distribution of gas and added that the price would be the same as the price of Jugorosgas gas.

“In the event of a crisis, the distribution of up to three million cubic metres of gas a day will be possible from the storage facility in Hungary, which, alongside five million cubic metres of domestically produced gas, will be sufficient for the basic needs of the Serbian market’s households and heating plants,” said Bajatović.

Source: Beta

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Victoria group buys Zorka’s assets

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he movable and immovable assets of Šabac-based producer of mineral fertilizers Zorka was sold at auction for €3.42 million to Novi Sad-based Victoria group. Victoria bought more than 100 of Zorka’s warehouses and facilities for the processing of chemical products. Victoria is one of the largest companies in the agricultural sector in Serbia. It has the highest capacities for production of vegetable oil, soya processing and mineral fertilizers’ production, while it also owns a port in Bačka Palanka. Victoria also owns soya processing company Sojaprotein.

Source: Beta, Tanjug

Srbijagas takes over Gas Promet

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rbijagas is set to take over Republika Srpska’s Gas Promet Pale, so says CEO of Srbijagas, Dušan Bajatović. The strategy of Srbijagas is to take over companies in which it has major outstanding receivables, as in the case of Pančevo-based Azotara, and create a partnership of the government, public companies and private capital.

Source: limun.hr

Sovenia’s NKBM Eyes Serbia’s Credy Banka

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lovenian blue-chip lender Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM) is interested in acquiring a majority stake in Serbian state-owned peer Credy Banka, Croatian media have reported. NKBM’s supervisory board is expected to take a decision by the end of August. Credy Banka, 55% owned by the state and based in Kragujevac, was previously the bank of Serbian car maker Zastava.

NKBM first indicated its interest after Italy’s Fiat set up a strategic partnership with Zastava and announced plans for investments of €750 million in their joint business.

Source: Limun.hr

State company losses higher than revenues

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ast year saw state-owned companies in Serbia register a total loss of RSD52.9 billion (around €569 million), which is four times more than their revenue of RSD11.4 billion (€122 million) – according to research carried out by the Serbian Development Fund.

The company with the biggest loss is Elektroprivreda Srbije (Electric power industry of Serbia), with a total loss of 46.5%, followed by Železnice Srbije (Serbian Railways) with a 30% loss, JAT Airways and NIS (Petroleum Industry of Serbia). The company with the most profit was Telekom Srbija with 48.9% of State companies’ profit, followed by Posta Srbije (PTT Communications Serbia) and Nikola Tesla Airport.

Source: ANSAme

Sintelon records

largest profit

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he greatest private sector profit in Serbia in 2008 was recorded by Bačka Palanka-based Sintelon. The company recorded profit of RSD4.4 billion, while DIN Philip Morris made profit of RSD4.1 billion and Invej earned RSD3.47 billion.

Telenor made profit of RSD3.4 billion, Hemofarm made RSD3.97 billion, Industrija mesa Matijević made RSD2.9 billion and Beočin-based Lafarge also earned RSD2.9 billion. The analysis included companies which have more than 100 workers and have their own capital.

Piraeus Bank

Emphasis on

Asset and

Loan Quality

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sset quality, high liquidity, loan quality and cost cutting were the key priorities of Piraeus bank AD Belgrade during the first six months of 2009, with the aim of further safeguarding the Bank. Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on servicing and supporting our customers. Implementing a conservative and prudent business policy has ensured that Piraeus bank in Serbia has succeeded in maintaining strong capital adequacy and increasing total deposits. At the same time, consistent with Piraeus Bank’s corporate responsibility principles and aiming to reduce the implications of the crisis, the bank has taken timely measures to facilitate both retail banking and SME business. During the first half of 2009, Piraeus Bank started negotiations with the European Investment Bank to secure additional funding for SME, infrastructure and municipality lending, in order to enlarge its loan portfolio. Moreover, Piraeus Bank has reconfirmed in practice its ability and commitment to provide funding to the local market with attractive terms by submitting a most competitive loan offer to the Serbian State. Piraeus Bank was among the first banks to join the Vienna Initiative driven with the idea of providing full support to maintaining macroeconomic stability in Serbia. Meanwhile, the bank is also a member of the Serbian Government’s programme for prevention of global financial crisis effects. iraeus Bank will continue to follow global trends in using new technology to improve the banking sector, while creating services to best satisfy clients’ needs and supporting the local community through different CSR activities.

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b2b |

Retailers Merkator, Metro, Interex and Veropoulos settle their overdue debts

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“Europe” in Belgrade

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his summer Belgrade embraced a new exclusive hotel in the very heart of the city at Terazije Street no. 2 (entrance from Sremska Street no. 1).

In the best European tradition, beauty was combined with comfort; traditional with contemporary, design with functionality – and all this spiced up with the latest miracle of technology that adorns each room of the hotel. This is a creation intended to induce a feeling of distinctiveness in everyone who enters.

In case you are wondering about the name of the hotel, it is simply “Europe”.

Hotel Europe contains seven luxury suites, two premium rooms, a conference room, library, cocktail bar, bureau de change and spa, and all suites are named after European capitals.

At your disposal are the royal suites: London, Paris and Moscow (area 140m2); Deluxe suites: Athens, Rome, Madrid and Berlin (70m2), as well as two Premium rooms: Oslo and Prague (60m2 each).

Hotel Europe is the right place for business people and their partners, as well as being the perfect destination for hedonists and all those who enjoy life. *Only a step away…step in…*

erbian Minister of Trade and Services, Slobodan Milosavljević, has stated that major retail chains have almost completely settled their debts towards suppliers, while the debt of small retailers remains quite significant. Milosavljević said that top retailers Merkator, Metro, Interex and Veropoulos have settled their overdue debts, adding that there are still businesses that have not attempted to reduce their debts. He said that the debt of Futura Plus is the largest at the moment, explaining that the last audit of the overdue debt of retailers was made on 14th July following a second meeting between retailers, suppliers, government representatives and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković.

Source: Blic

Telenor CEO urges Serbia to scrap new mobile tax

K

JAT records drop in passenger numbers

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AT Airways recorded a 16.7% drop in the number of flights in the first seven months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008. The number of passengers dropped 22 per cent. JAT had only 776 charter flights this year by 1st August 2009, compared to 1,065 charter flights by 1st August 2008, while the airline’s occupancy rate amounted to 75 per cent. JAT’s most popular flight is to Moscow, while occupancy rates are also satisfactory on flights to London and Scandinavian destinations.

Source: limun.hr

Energoprojekt Signs €16.4 mln Construction Deal in Ghana

S

erbian blue-chip engineering holding company Energoprojekt has announced that it has sealed a €16.4 million deal for the construction of a Ministry of Justice building in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. The agreement was signed in July through Energoprojekt’s subsidiary in the Republic of Ghana and the project should be completed within three years.

“The contract involves complete construction of the project (area of 21,000 square metres) which is financed by the Ministry of Justice,” the statement said.

Energoprojekt (www.energoprojekt.rs) signed new contracts worth €240 million in 2008, of which 68% are outside Serbia, according to data from the company’s website.

jell-Morten Johnsen, CEO of Telenor Serbia, has urged the government to abolish the country’s temporary 10 per cent tax on mobile phone services in 2010, warning that the levy has created uncertainty and is damaging to both the country’s top investors and its people.

Telenor has revised its Serbian unit’s market value downwards by about €220 million, due to Serbia’s economic slowdown and the introduction of the new tax in June, which will force the company in Serbia to increase efficiency, Johnsen said.

Russia to grant €1 billion loan to Serbia

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ussia will grant Serbia a €1 billion loan, the Russian ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Konuzin, has confirmed. Russia is currently reviewing the conditions of the credit financing. Serbia has asked for €1 billion from Russia for the stabilisation of the budget, construction of an underground railway system and other structural projects.

According to Ambassador Konuzin, Russia has agreed to grant the loan but still has to arrange the conditions. `Source: Beta

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economics

Credit rating agency D&B

Serbia is still a high risk country

The DB5a risk indicator assesses risk of doing business in the country as high, with considerable uncertainty associated with expected returns.

T

he economic activity will most likely continue decreasing till the end of the year, and D&B experts thus expect real GDP to fall by four percent in 2009, predicting mild recovery in 2010.

Dun & Bradstreet, the largest credit rating agency in the world, in its August report once again included Serbia in the list of high risk countries, with the rating DB5a, announced Belgrade company Rating, exclusive representative of D&B for Serbia.

Weak economic activity has decreased budget revenues and threatens to jeopardize projected consolidated deficit of three percent of GDP. The deficit amount was agreed with the International Monetary Fund as part of the financial support package worth three billion Euros, which accounts for about 10 percent of Serbia’s GDP, the credit rating agency reminds. Till the end of June Serbia drew EUR 780 million of financial assistance intended for support to the exchange rate and foreign currency reserves that had started decreasing due to the high balance of payments deficit and reduced capital inflows. D&B warns that ceasing the IMF payments due to Serbian incapability of keeping the agreed deficit amount would have very negative effects when it comes to risk. However, analysts of the said agency expect that the IMF will allow Serbia certain delays referring to a decrease in consumption so that it could be adjusted to lower revenues. D&B advises cautiousness to those who prolong credits to Serbia, since operating revenues have fallen suddenly, the capability of companies to pay off their debts is

Snapshot of the Business Environment in Serbia limited, and there is also a risk of changes in the foreign currency exchange rate.

“The exchange rate has been stabilized recently, but having in mind the current weaker economic conditions there is a threat of new depreciation,” the analysts claim. According

Serbia rated BB-

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tandard & Poor confirmed Serbia’s credit rating as BB- for long term loans and B for short term loans. Standard & Poor informs that Serbian economy is marked by slow structural reforms, especially in public administration and social insurance, as well as slow progress in the restructuring of public companies and increasing competitiveness. According to Standard and Poor experts, recession in Serbia will be worse than expected. GDP might drop 5 percent, instead of 3 percent.

to D&B’s estimations, the financial system in Serbia has overcome the crisis in a relatively good way, and the financial instability risk has decreased partly due to the IMF’s timely support. A decrease in industrial production is still present. Household consumption, investments and exports are negatively influenced by the unemployment growth, weak earnings of potential buyers, limited access to loans, decreased foreign investments and a decrease in demand all over Europe. Positive aspects are a decrease in the inflation rate and balance of payments deficit and the fact that the risk of financial instability is limited, D&B analysts think. n CorD 63 / September 2009 43

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faces & places |

Indonesian Ambassador to Serbia, H.E. Muhammad Abduh Dalimunthe and Mrs. Muhammad Abduh, pictured at a Belgrade City Hall reception marking Indonesian Independence Day (17th August) on 19th August.

Serbian Culture minister, Nebojša Bradić, opens an exhibition entitled “Fortresses and Ruins of Fortified Cities in Serbia’ at Kalemegdan Fortress’s Sava promenade on 19th August.

A traditional exhibition of contemporary Serbian copper etchings opened at Gallery Belgrade on 20th August. The exhibition, entitled ‘Beografika – Copper Etchings II’, was opened by its authors Nenad Nikolić and Mihailo M. Petković (pictured).

Belgrade Mayor, Dragan Đilas, (left) appears as an honoured guests at the promotion of a monograph by Dragoljub Acković entitled ‘The Roma in Belgrade’. The promotion took place at the Belgrade City Hall on 21st August.

Moroccan National Day is celebrated with a 30th July reception at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Pictured (second left) is Moroccan Ambassador H.E. Kamal Faqir Benaissa.

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A scene from t he Independence Day reception at the U.S. Ambassadorial residence in Belgrade. Top domestic officials attending the event included Serbian President Boris Tadić and Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković (centre), and Deputy PM Božidar Đelić (left).

The 61st traditional ‘Belgrade Trophy – Agrobanka Grand Prix’ bicycle race gets underway on 22nd August. The race was run over 150 kilometres and the competition lasted for two days. The event included over 74 junior and senior riders from Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Jennifer Brush, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, pictured with Delta Holding President, Miroslav Mišković, on 4th July.

H.E. Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to Serbia, and Serbian Culture Miniser, Nebojša Bradić, picured at the opening of an exhibition marking the centenial of the birth of painter Milena Pavlović Barilli at the Academy of Science and Arts in Belgrade on 17th July.

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faces & places |

H.E. Aly Galal Bassiouny, Ambassador of Egypt to Serbia, welcomes Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić to a National Day reception on 23rd July..

Moroccan Ambassador H.E. Kamal Faqir Benaissa (right) addresses guests at a farewell reception for H.E. Josep Lloveras (left), EU Ambassador and Head of the European Commission’s Delegation to Serbia.

Pictured left to right: EU Ambassador H.E. Josep Lloveras, French Ambassador H.E. Jean-François Terral and Serbian Interior Minister and 1st Deputy PM, Ivica Dačić - pictured chatting at a reception marking Bastille Day on 14th July.

Hosts and guests pose for the cameras at a 20th July reception marking Japanese Ocean Day. Pictured: H.E. Toshio Tsunozaki, Ambassaror of Japan to Serbia, and Mrs. Tsunozaki, Serbian Finance Minister Diana Dragutinović and Mr. Dragutinović

A scene from the traditional Canada Day reception on 1st July.

Pictured, left to right: opera singer Jadranka Jovanović, EU Ambassador H.E. Josep Lloveras, Canadian Ambassador H.E. John Arthur Morrison, and Swedish Ambassador, H.E. Krister Bringeus.

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American pop legend, Madonna, pictured performing at Belgrade’s Ušće on 24th August as part of her Sticky & Sweet tour.

Belgrade Mufti of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Muhamed Jusufspahić, congratulated Muslims participating in Ramadan across Serbia on behalf of the Islamic community’s Riyasat at the Bajrakli Mosque in Belgrade.

The U.S. Navy Band, pictured during its participation in Serbia’s famous Guča Trumpet Festival this August.

Croatian President, Stjepan Mesić, pictured after receiving his copy of CorD from CorD Editor Vladan Alimpijiević, during his stay in Vela Luka on the Croatian island of Korčula.

Jennifer Brush, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, pictured visiting Pranjani on 15th August to mark the 65th anniversary of Operation Halyard and to honour the Serbian families who assisted in saving the lives of hundreds of U.S. airmen shot down by Nazi forces during WWII CorD 63 / September 2009 47

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Jovan Ćirilov, Art Director of Bitef

steering through

times of crisis

The art director of the former Yugoslavia’s most prestigious theatre festival explains how the current economic crisis is not the greatest recession that the festival had seen during its 43 years

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By Andrej KlemenČiĆ itef was not only a theatre, but also a political mammoth that bound together, carefully and with taste, the ties between the divided political worlds of the late 20th century. Jovan Čirilov shook hands and exchanged ideas with Tito, Jean Paul Sartre, Sir Laurence Olivier, Judith Malina, to mention but a few. He has spent his life travelling, but has never considered leaving Belgrade.

Born in 1931, Čirilov was a young man when the hounds of the Second World War haunted the lands of the then Yugoslavia. He has served time in all of the key theatre institutions of Yugoslavia.

He worked in Atelje 212 at the time of its foundation, then man-

aged the Yugoslav National Theatre during the blossoming democracy of the late ‘80s and while the country was breaking apart bloodily. Knowing many times of crisis, he sees them not necessarily as being bad for creativity. In 1967 Mira Trailović and Čirilov established Bitef, thus putting Yugoslavia on the map of the world’s major theatre festivals. After 43 years, both Čirilov and the festival are still going strong. n ‘Crisis of Capital – The Art of Crisis’ - This is the title of Bitef 2009. It is a logical title and what does it actually mean? r This is, of course, the biggest economic crisis since Bitef was founded. When the last big crisis struck, in 1933, I was two years

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CULTURE old. Art does not necessarily suffer during crisis. In fact, a moderate crisis is good for art, because it triggers a reaction. It either makes art remove itself from the crisis and create its own world or it makes it deal with the situation using its own methods, like portraying the social aspects of a crisis through a work of art, for example. n To what extent will the crisis be reflected in this year’s Bitef programme? r Ana Susa and myself, as selectors, had to face reductions.

We have decided to go for the high quality shows, which deliver their message through diversity, rather than through impressive figures. This has proven an excellent formula and we will adopt it for the festival in future. So, Bitef will no longer have a programme comprising 15-20 shows. We believe 10 is the optimal number. This would ideally include eight shows by foreign companies and two domestic productions. What happened this year is that Lehman Brothers sank in January and this was a sign we must immediately become aware of the crisis through our budget. By that time, however, we had already selected the first several shows for this year. As we usually select the most expensive pieces first, following the rule “I am not rich enough to buy something cheap”, we already had an agreement with eight foreign companies in January, so those pieces remained. Foreign productions are also financially supported by their respective countries. Germany, for example, supported every single one of our 43 festivals. The Netherlands, Norway and Canada also help extensively. Great Canadian artist, Robert Lepage, is bringing this year’s festival the most expensive show: The Blue Dragon. n You said this is the greatest economic crisis in your life.

Has Bitef ever faced other kinds of recession? In other words, were you ever limited in your expression due to the political situation in Yugoslavia? r No, never. We never faced censorship, different to, for example, Atelje 212, when pieces by Aleksandar Popović were banned. There are two reasons: no one could know in advance what the shows are going to be like, at least not and detail; there was never really anything orientated against the regime. Other than that, there was the period when the EU believed that foreign theatre companies should not come to Serbia. n When was that? r That was during Milošević’s time. At one time I was faced with choosing between staging only domestic pieces at Bitef, or not staging the festival at all. This was 1992 and I decided that the festival must survive, so we only had domestic shows. The slogan was “Bitef under Embargo”. This truly was the festival’s deepest crisis. By the next year there were already three foreign companies brave enough to come - they were private companies, of course: Polish, Russian and Australian theatre companies. n What was Bitef’s relationship with politics at the time of

I strategically chose the survival of the festival. It felt right its foundation and during the first years? r Bitef was created on the foreign politics platform of building connections between Tito’s Yugoslavia and the North, East, West and South and, of course, the Non-Alligned movement - though we had perhaps fewer than 10 shows from the Non-Alligned block. Mira Trailović and I, as selectors, never aimed at politically balancing the programme, even if mainstream Yugoslav foreign policy was to balance the two sides. At one time we only had shows from Eastern countries, while at another festival we only had Western ones Yugoslavia was an ideal place for festival such as Bitef. No visa policy towards both the East and the West enabled Westerners to come and see Grotowski and the Easterners to see Living Theatre. n What was the relationship between the Yugoslav government and Bitef? r It was excellent. They loved the fact that the festival illustrated Yugoslavia as a free society, even if there was less freedom than portrayed. So, at one occasion, as there were no diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and Israel, Mira and I went to the Central Committee saying that we’d spoken to Israelis and that they would really love to send a show to the festival, although we’d done nothing of the sort. The government thought that was an excellent idea, so then we called an Israeli company and they came. We always strove to bring outcasts: like companies from Franco’s Spain, from South Africa during Apartheid, etc. n Bitef today? r Bitef today is information about new theatrical tendencies.

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CULTURE Second World War, there were extreme things happening, but from then on it got better and better. With Milošević it just got worse and worse. Historically, that time was a huge step backwards for us. n You spent some time with Tito. What were your impressions of him? r He was a cunning peasant from the outskirts of Zagreb. I greatly respected him for his ability to grasp politics as the art of the possible, unlike Milošević, who saw it as the art of the impossible. Tito had the ability to listen. He listened to intellectuals after the falling out with Russia. Modernism almost became the official political stream of the then Yugoslavia. Tito did not have a great sense of humour, so I cannot tell you an anecdote from the time I spent with him. But he did have a sense of history. Once he was at Bitef, watching Danton’s Death. After the show he said, in his typical Zagorje accent: “You see, after seeing this show, it would be unfair to say that Stalin was Robespierre and I was Danton. Every moment in history has its pecularities, as it is true that different times have many, even if occasional, similarities.”

He did, without question, see himself as a great historic figure.

We always strove to bring outcasts, like companies from Franco’s Spain, from South Africa during Apartheid n Your life has been connected to Bitef for the last 43 years.

How does it feel to be connected to an event that has changed over time throughout such a large portion of one’s life? r I feel like a dinosaur of the brotherhood of world theatre festivals.

There is no one alive who has held such a position for 43 years. n What happened with the festival during the time of Milošević’s politics? r It was basically a case of ‘do your job as you have been doing it so far’. It was very important for him to create a sense of continuity and freedom. There was some freedom during his time. You could, for example, draw caricatures. That was not possible during Tito’s time. But Tito did allow more actual social freedom. Milošević portrayed the image of freedom in culture, then with his other hand murdered journalists who offended him or his wife. Tito did not do this. Perhaps, immediately after the

Mira Trailovic, director We had arguments every day, but she never took it personally.

n Was he, personally, what he wanted the people to see in him? r Absolutely. He was a hard-core proletariat. He believed, for example, that he should work on self-improvement, so he took piano lessons. Tito was a very skilled hochstapler. n “Now I am Mira Trailović and Anja Suša is Jovan Čirilov,” you said on one occasion. What did that mean? r It means that as I was the younger part of a duo, with perhaps more freshness in my intake, now Anja has that function. The only difference is that there wasn’t even a decade between me and Mira Trailović, but I could easily be Anja’s grandfather. n How did you decide to have a co-selector? r Belgrade City Hall’s representatives for culture called me for a conversation once. They asked me if now was the time for me to have assistance in my work on Bitef. I said yes. They asked if I could propose anyone. I said Anja Suša. They said okay and that was that. The whole conversation took less than 30 seconds. n Mira Trailović is seen as an icon of cultural enlightenment in post-Second World War Yugoslavia. How do you see her? r I see her as the public sees her. As a legend with whom I spent a large part of my life. We had arguments every day, but she never took it personally. She was truly good-spirited. n You once said that long-serving Belgrade Mayor Bakočević gave Bitef Theatre to Mira Trailović as a well-deserved big toy. Do you plan to retire and what kind of toy would you like for yourself? r I will find my own toy within these four walls. And if it does not know how to find a way in its own room, it certainly will not know how to travel the world. n

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Leisure & Lifestyle

L

What

CULINARY COMMENTARY by Andrej KlemenČiĆ

fish,

bolan?

As healthy food is still a luxury in the Balkans, the logical connection is that the more public your healthy eating is, the better your social standing.

jubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade share the phenomenon of a newly enriched class of people who like to live expensively. To set comparative parameters and to see how restaurants cater to the needs of the wealthy, I decided to choose the ultimate healthy meal - Adriatic Sea white fish – in all four capitals.

Ljubljana is perhaps the farthest from the hustle of this galloping capitalism era. It does not have the breeding ground for tycoons, like Western Herzegovina, Sandžak or Montenegro, as viewed from the perspectives of Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade. Slovenian tycoons are either in prisons, Mexico or have legalised their enterprise to the fullest, which is to say the most European extent. So, eating well in Ljubljana is by no means a fancy social occasion. However, going to restaurants is, since the habit of eating out is, in the minds of most Slovenes, connected to festive Sunday lunch.

My first stop was a Ljubljana riverside restaurant, whose owner conveniently changed his surname to Gourmet after spending a few years in Paris. Ljubljana’s distance from the coast is a plus, with the seaside but an hour’s drive away. However, the sea around Slovenia’s 48-kilometre long coastline is not plentiful when it comes to big white fish. As such, the delicacy is imported from the Dalmatian islands.

My fish was crispy where it needed to be. The ambience was nice, save the fact that I was the only one in the popular restaurant. Sauvignon, produced by a known Slovene winemaker, was substantial and nicely buttery. Its quality is by no means top-notch Northern California, but it’s most certainly not below upper middle class when compared to high-quality European wine regions with long traditions.

Zagreb is the capital of a country that has in excess of 5,000 kilometres of coastline and some of the cleanest sea water in the world. Most of the region’s fish is caught there. One of its most formidable fish restaurants is a relatively modest konoba (small Dalmatian restaurant), at least according to modern yuppie standards. Nevertheless, more than a few ‘young professionals’ have populated this restaurant of tables adorned with red & white checked tablecloths, the Croatian national symbol.

People were talking in hushed tones, creating a pleasant murmur as the food, evidently of good quality, came and went.

When my fish arrived, I remarked that it smelt like it had been caught near the island of Korčula, where I’d lived. The stony face of the waiter changed with such ferocity that I almost jumped out of my chair in fright. He was from Korčula and, as it turned out, we shared some mutual family friends. All of a sudden, I was his pal and the wine that had so far accompanied the meal, and could be described at best as slightly deprived of flavour (waiter’s recommendation from the times before I shared the Korčula information), was replaced by Korčula’s finest Posip.

Abrupt and clumsy as it is, Posip’s texture and the way sweet elements prevail over its full, almost too well-rounded taste, make for a unique drinking experience, after which anything but going to bed is excluded.

“Forget that,” a friend of mine – a lover of fine cuisine from

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The sea around Slovenia’s 48-kilometre long coastline is not plentiful when it comes to big white fish Sarajevo – had told me when I announced my imminent unaccompanied departure to a fish dinner. I had no idea whether he merely opposed the idea of me dining alone or of me, anyone for that matter, going to eat fish. “Don’t be a peasant,” he said gently, when I announced my desire to go to an old Dalmatian-style city restaurant.

As anything but following the suggestions of Čaršija (the inner, old Ottoman city of Sarajevo) folk is evidently excluded in Sarajevo, I followed him up a steep hill to one of Sarajevo’s highest mahala’s (neighbourhood). At an elevation of almost 1,000 metres, the air itself makes you hungry as you delicately press the discreetly hidden doorbell of the ‘closed’ (to the general public) restaurant.

A former mehana (workmen’s restaurant), it has developed into a uniquely authentic venue where Eastern delights meet western clientele. “Ooo, Slovenac (Ah, Slovene)”, was the welcoming remark of the owner’s son, a strong man with a wide smile who seated us, tapping our shoulders. We had been seated at a table with a view that seemed to cover Sarajevo’s entire panorama. While our breath was taken away by the view, we were joined by our host. He seemed to ignore the other, mostly English-speaking guests and brought a bottle of homemade brandy to the table. We toasted several times and the panorama suddenly wasn’t the only thing taking our breaths away.

When I laid out my plans for sea fare, his gentle face became gently puzzled. He smiled, “What fish, bolan (the word ‘bolan’ is probably best translated as a mild derogatory insult like ‘prat’). I said I understood that we are in Bosnia and pointed to the opposite hill, where I was born. In his desire to meet my needs, our host went to what could be described, in Balkan terms, as uncharted territories.

The fish came to the table about an hour later. The waiter broke under the pressure of our persistent interrogation as to how the fish had got here. The owner’s son actually went to a place that was my original suggestion, bought a fish and brought it to where we were. The gesture was so sweet that it almost undid the effect of the fish guts that spilt inside during the baking. I was grateful that my determination caused such a beautiful sacrifice, yet slightly envious of my friend who was eating lamb from the owner’s Herzegovina ranch. You could smell the sweetness coming out the finely roasted piece.

My fish destination in Belgrade was a well-known restaurant on the Danube. Here the smell of high heels, moderate silicone implants and peroxide blondes are the defining marks of a restaurant’s atmosphere. Despite that, the seating next to the river provided a cosy experience.

The waiter seemed to be sorry to see me all alone and began loading prequels and sequels of cold and warm starters on the empty side of a spacious table for two. A tall man in his ear-

ly twenties, the waiter seemed to know all about the origins of spicy Serbian spreads, but little about the Adriatic fish they were offering. I thanked him for the appetisers, insisting that they were slightly too heavy for what I was about to order, a remark he ignored entirely. I pointed my finger to one of the white fish dishes and he nodded.

The second staff member who approached me was the restaurant’s sommelier. Seeing that a restaurant has a dedicated sommelier was a pleasant surprise. His appearance was one of a freshly released fighter from one of the Bronx fight clubs. That image was only underlined by a heavy golden lion, most likely made for training the neck muscles of MidWestern American men who can pull five-tonne lorries with their index finger and a smaller plane with their necks. That said, his suggestions were very subtle. He is a lover of tender white vines that merely bruise the palate, rather than touching it. As I was enjoying the wine, the fish came. The big sommelier left in time.

What I was eating resembled some over-spiced substitute for meat. I asked for the chef. After a tortuous conversation we established that the fish had been frozen for a longer period of time, information which contradicted that I had received when asking the waiter the same question five times within a minute. In time, as guests were waiting for their orders, the chef admitted his limited knowledge of Adriatic white fish, yet he was very convincing when talking about the fishy delights of the Danube, which he serves on a daily basis to the crème of Belgrade clientele. nn

Adriatic fish Most of the region’s fish is caught there

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Culture calendar ANNUAL EVENTS

AIRPORT KIDS

BITEF 09 (Belgrade Theatre Festival) Founded in 1967, Bitef has continually followed and supported the latest theatre trends, becoming thus one of the biggest and the most important European festivals.

Transcending all political and cultural borders, in more then four decades Bitef has managed to keep its pace with a tumultuous evolution of performing arts. Thus, one could identify the history of Bitef as a history of contemporary theatre.

19th & 20th th September, Sava Centre Théâtre VidyLausanne, Switzerland Text and direction: Lola Arias, Stefan Kaegi

DREAMERS by Robert Musil 20th and 21st September,. 17:00; 23:00 in Yugoslav Drama Theatre Directed and adaptated by Miloš Lolić

VACATION FROM HISTORY

43rd BITEF - MAIN PROGRAMME Shaolin Temple 15th September, 20:00 Sava Centre Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, United Kingdom Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley, Monks From The Choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

21st & 23rd September, 20:00 In Cvijeta Zuzorić Pavilion Shadow Casters, Zagreb, Croatia Concept, Script and Directing: Boris Bakal, Katarina Pejović

THE WRITER

THE BLUE DRAGON

Theatre Directed by Helgard Haug/Daniel Wetzel (Rimini-Protokoll)

6th INTERNATIONAL BELGRADE TANGO FESTIVAL 4th - 6th September, 2009 In three festival days, packed with workshops and milongas, tangofriendly city of Belgrade will traditionally be the host to world-famous, exceptional artists, teachers, musicians and tangueros from all over the world.

Organizer-: Belgrade Tango Association Belgrade

Tango Festival 2009 – Programme Friday 4th September, 2009.

Tango workshops / 4.30pm Music School “Dr Vojislav Vuckovic”, 6 Kondina street Music School “Mokranjac”, 6 Decanska street Gran Milonga / 10.00pm - 04.00am Central Military Club, 19 Brace Jugovica street DJ Dragan Mikic - Serbia Special guest: Damian Esell & Nancy Louzán – Argentina

Saturday 05.09.2009.

22nd and 23rd September, 20:00 In Serbian National Theatre Novi Sad, and Atelje 212 ; Jo Strømgren Kompani, Bergen, Norway; Directed by Jo Strømgren

KAMP 16th, 17th & 18th September,. 20:00, Yugoslav Drama Theatre Ex Machina, Quebec City, Canada Marie Michaud, Robert Lepage Directed by Robert Lepage

THE DOLL SHIP 18th September, 20:00, In Sava Centre Serbian National Theatre, Novi Sad, Serbia Milena Marković; Directed by Ana Tomović

24th September, 20:00 in National Theatre, Belgrade Authors and performers: Herman Helle, Pauline Kalker, Arlène Hoornweg Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, Düsseldorf, Germany

KARL MARX: DAS KAPITAL, ERSTER BAND 25th September, 20:00, Yugoslav Drama

Tango workshops / 11.30am Music School “Dr Vojislav Vuckovic” Tango Ball / 10.00pm - 04.00am Central Military Club, Special guests: Beltango Quinteto Gustavo Rosas & Gisela Natoli - Argentina

Sunday 06.09.2009.

Tango workshops / 11.30am Music School “Dr Vojislav Vuckovic” Gran milonga /10.00pm-03.00am Guarnerius Art Center DJ Nemanja Maric - Serbia

CLASSICAL MUSIC BALKAN IN SPIRIT & SOUL Art Center Guarnerius

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RADMILA RAJIĆ NJUE, soprano and ADAM ØRVAD, classical accordion (Denmark) Monday, 7th September 2009. at 20:00 RADMILA RAJIĆ NJUE (soprano), is educated as a classical singer at the Sarajevo Music Conservatory in Bosnia, the Academy of Music in Aalborg and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. She has reaped several prizes for her song, incl. second place in the International Song Contest in Verona, Italy, first place at the Song Contest in Bosnia, first place at the Soloist Contest in Aalborg. Radmila has performed with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, at the Folk Theatre in Sarajevo and with the Danish Saxophone Quartet and has reaped critical acclaim for her lead part in the musical drama “Paradis fuglen” at Jomfru Ane Theatre in Aalborg. Concerts in Denmark and the Faroe Islands. In 2009 she gives out her first solo album.

ADAM ØRVAD (classical accordion), is educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where he made his debut from the soloist class with much critical acclaim in 2005.

He has established himself internationally as both a soloist and a chamber musician and has performed at musical festivals all over Europe with leading Danish and foreign ensembles – for instance as soloist with Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice and with Ensemble Modern and musikFabrik.

ROCK, POP Leonard Cohen Belgrade Arena, 2nd September, 20 30 Leonard Cohen’s 2008/09 World Tour proved to be one the year’s hottest tickets. The sold out concerts wowed arenas, opera houses, festivals and Edinburgh

Castle. The shows received rave reviews, bringing Leonard’s music to his devoted fans and hoards of converts, including a moving set at the this summer’s Glastonbury Festival.

Leonard Cohen , celebrated singer and songwriter, is beyond comparison and a true original, providing some of music and literature’s most illuminating writing on love, sex, death and religion.

JELEN PIVO LIVE FESTIVAL Student Cultural Center 18th and 19th September, 20 00

Annual Belgrade Festival 18th September- The Fall

er achieved widespread public success beyond a handful of minor hit singles in the late 1980s, but have maintained a strong cult following.

Obojeni Program Obojeni program is a rock band from Novi Sad, Serbia. It was formed in 1980 in Novi Sad by a group of people who were instantly and strongly infected with the ideas and actions of the punk rock movement.

They were later also influenced by the new wave and post-punk bands such as The Fall, Television, Magazine, Gang of Four etc.

19th September Echo & the Bunnymen

The Fall are an English post-punk band, formed in Prestwich, Greater Manchester in 1976. The band has existed in some form ever since, and is essentially built around its founder and only constant member Mark E. Smith.

Initially associated with the punk movement of the late 1970s, the group’s music has gone through several stylistic changes over the years. However, The Fall’s music is often characterized by repetition, an abrasive guitar-driven sound, and is always underpinned by Smith’s vocals and often cryptic lyrics, described by critic Steve Huey as “abstract poetry filled with complicated wordplay, bone-dry wit, cutting social observations, and general misanthropy. The band’s output is prolific—as of April 2008 they have released 27 studio albums, and more than triple that counting live albums and other releases. They have nev-

Echo & the Bunnymen are an English postpunk group, formed in Liverpool in 1978.

Their original lineup consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine.

RAKE, London UK British band of the new generation Eva Braun , Becej, Serbia

Pop-rock band, notable as one of the most important bands of the Vojvodina poprock scene of the 1990s. The band is credited for starting the pop revival

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Culture calendar in domestic scene in that decade.

away on the trip.

The Final Destination 4 From 17th September

FILM Orphan From 3rd September Directed by ColeSera Starring- Vira Farmiga, Piter Sarsgard, Izabel Furmen Genre- Horror, Mystery, Thriller A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.

The ugly truth From 10th September Directed by Robert Luketic StarringCatherine Higel, Gerard Butler, Erik Vinter, Kevin Conoli Genre- Romantic Comedy A romantically challenged morning show producer is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests...

UP Sava Center, Great Hall 13th September, 17.00 and 19.00 In cinemas from 17th September Genre- Animation, Adventure Voices- Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo, Jordan Nagai.

Directed by Pete Docter By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stow-

Directed by David Ellis Starring- Boby Kampo, Santel Van Santen, Krista Alen Genre- Horror After a teen’s premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.

La veritable histoire du Chat Botté From 17th September

Directed by Rian Johnson Starring- Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane Genre- Adventure, Drama Romance The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world

ART Saku Paasilahti (Finland): Thin Slices, photography The ARTGET Gallery, Belgrade Cultural Center 28th August - 20th September Directed by Zerom Desam, Pascal Erol Starring-Zerom Desam, Joland Moro, Luise Valon, Artur Desam Genre- Animated A free adaptation of Charles Perrault’s famous Puss’n Boots, “The True Story of Puss’n Boots” is a story for young and old for the first time on cinema screens

G.I JOE: RISE OF COBRA From 24th September Genre- Action Starring- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph GordonLevitt, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans and Dennis Quaid Stephen Sommers An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer

BROTHERS BLOOM From 23rd September

Saku Paasilahti (born in Helsinki, Finnland, in 1967) has worked as an art photographer since 1990. The main themes of his early works revolve around humanity, history, and food, as seen from a perspective of contrasting the past with the contemporary, and treated it in a very abstract, fictional way. His images contain various layers of meaning focusing on their interdependencies, and reveal a hidden and unexpected symbolism via the employment of different scales. In most of his projects Paasilahti uses experimental photo techniques, which are an important part of the process of exploration on both a conceptual and technical level.

Education 1988-1995 Master of Art, University of Art and Design Helsinki | Photography Departmen, 1987-1988 Orivesi College | Art department. n

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ARTS

Monkey art

16th European Film Festival in Palić

Yushi Masho is the most talented monkey ever and I am sure you will enjoy meeting him

By Marko Mihajlović

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Palić, 20th July, 2009 his year’s recipient of the Aleksandar Lifka Award for Cinematographic Contribution at the 16th European Film Festival in Palić was celebrated British director, Ken Russell – director of such cult films as Women in Love, Gothic, Mahler and Tommy. Now in his eighties, Russel is still working and is currently directing a film entitled Moll Flanders, based on Daniel Defoe’s famous 18th century novel. Asked about his opinion of experimental film, Russell tells CorD: “In a few days I will have the privilege of being the first to see a movie made by a first-time director,” referring to a film from the ‘Young European Authors’ selection that was ‘directed’ by a monkey. Russell adds: “It will be a unique experience to see the indescribable possibilities of film direction. Yushi Masho is the most talented monkey ever and I am sure you will enjoy meeting him.”

Explaining how he can manage to appear so full of joy even in his eighties, Russell says: “This is very important. Actually, it is so important that it is impossible to relate. I am not giving up on monkey business. I visited the zoo here, searching for the greatest monkey film director of all time.”

Making movies has a lot to do with audiences, says Ken Russell, adding that he directs with the aim of lightening the

audiences’ mood and making people laugh. “I make movies so that people can feel fulfilled. I can see that all of this is a kind of joke and you should make the best out of life. Let’s raise our glasses and toast the notion of being positive about making movies, as it was for generations before us and will be for those to come,” Russell adds.

Offering a short anecdote of his prolific career, the famed director recalled his time in Rome. “I was in Rome, searching for a shoot location. The rain was pouring and this car stopped right in front of me. A man got out of it wearing a cape and surrounded by a bunch of people carrying umbrellas. Obviously, this was someone very important. I recognised the person and saluted the maestro Fellini. He told me that he was proud of being dubbed the Italian Ken Russell. This just goes to show that making movies is a universal thing; that we are speaking a universal language and I am glad that I am one of the ‘translators’ of this language. As filmmakers, we are not only recognised in our own countries but around the world. I do hope I will make more films in the future,” says Russell. n

Boudica Bites Back

Monkey magic

Palić

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he world premiere of Ken Russell’s ‘Boudica Bites Back’ took place at the 16th European Film Festival in Palić within the Young European Authors programme. ‘Boudica’ is a quirky short movie, a rock opera and historic CGI spectacle wrapped in trash aesthetics. Peculiarly, it was Ken Russell himself who suggested that the premiere take place at the Palić film festival, along with the movie ‘Capucine’, the first ever picture to be filmed by a monkey.

ussell is so obsessed with movie ‘Capucine’ and the idea that animals can create art that during the Palić film festival he visited the zoo and interviewed a local monkey for an article to be published by the Times. In a statement for the Times, Russell says: “Holy cow! God has apparently taken my call (he usually puts me on hold) and followed it up by making one himself to one of his secret emissaries on Earth.”

alić Film Festival was founded in 1992 by the municipality of Subotica.

It started as a small, unpretentious event and has never given up on the idea of becoming a regional event. During the Yugoslav wars, the festival helped bring the cinematographies of the warring sides close again. Since the 10th anniversary of the festival in 2003, it has become a true European cinematographic event and is now a member of the ‘European Coordination of Film Festivals’.

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CULTURE NEWS Days of Sarajevo in Archaeological dig continues at the Šalitrena Cave

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rchaeological excavations are continuing at the site of the Šalitrena Cave in Ribnica Canyon near the village of Brežđe in western Serbia).

This location is one of the most important Palaeolithic period discoveries in the Central and Western Balkans. Based on research carried out so far, it is safe to say that the Šalitrena Cave is also one of the most significant archaeological sites in Southeast Europe, dating back to the late Palaeolithic era.

Various stone artefacts and fauna remnants have been found and scientists engaged in the dig say that the cave was inhabited in the middle of the Palaeolithic period, i.e. 38,000 years ago, while the materials found in chronologically earlier layers belong to the most noted late Palaeolithic structures in Europe.

“The significance and potential of the Šalitrena Cave are exceptional, while archaeological research on this location provides an insight into the oldest period of the human past, the prehistoric culture, its origin and relations between the people who lived here at that time.

Finding anthropological remains here would shed light on the history of human existence in the Balkan area,” the National Museum says.

The Šalitrena Cave project is led by Bojana Mihajlović, senior curator of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Collection of the Belgrade National Museum.

Super Wall on BELEF

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he formal unveiling of murals created by young contemporary Serbian artists, Vladimir Perić and Biljana Đurđević, in the Belgrade municipality of Vračar (the wall at 57 Mileševska Street) at the beginning of August, marked the end of an extensive project implemented by the Belgrade Summer Festival Super Wall.

A total of five murals were put up in the Belgrade municipalities of Stari grad, Savski venac and Vračar, all part of the project. The murals adorning the Belgrade facades will be permanent street fixtures. Aside from the Belgrade artists, other artists engaged in the project Blue, Valerio Barutti and M-City - came from abroad and spent time in the Serbian capital. One of the most celebrated mural artists in the world, Blue, painted the mural at 6 Pop Lukina Street, which is made to resemble sheets of drawing paper. Valerio Berutti did the mural at 61 Resavska Street (on the walls of the Petar II Petrović Njegoš secondary school). This young Italian artist will also exhibit at the Venice Biennale this year. He usually paints scenes from everyday life, with his own childhood serving as his greatest inspiration. M-City is a project devised

by Marius Varas. It includes several hundred murals painted in many large cities of the world. The main theme of his work is urban landscape. His mural is located at 16 Durmitorska Street. The Super Wall project is closely related to the “Start Up City” project instigated by the Telenor Foundation as support to the decision of the Ministry for State Administration and Local Self-Government to grant official city status to all large towns in Serbia.

“These projects reintroduce murals as an art form. The fact that prominent world street artists came to Belgrade this year contributes to the promotion of art in public places, one of the key themes of this year’s BELEF,” says Milica Pekić, Visual Arts Selector of the BELEF. The Super Wall project is jointly implemented by BELEF, the Telenor Foundation, the Contemporary Art Platform KIOSK and the Belgrade municipalities of Vračar, Savski venac and Stari grad.

Awards at the Herceg Novi Film Festival

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he Herceg Novi Film Festival, one of the most significant film festivals in the region, took place from 1st to 7th August, with the award ceremony taking place at the city’s Kanli Tower.

The festival’s jury unanimously decision to award the Grand Prix (The Grand Gold Mimosa Award) to the film ‘This is not the end’, directed by Vinko Brešan.

The jury members, Darko Bajić (jury president), Laszlo Kantor and Danijel Hočevar, say that Brešan’s movie continues the best tradition of Yugoslav cinematography and deals with the painful topic of post-war life.

“Brešan and his film crew combine a theme that is very serious and tragic with elements which establish a very direct and warm communication with the audience. The result is a picture that communicates in a universal way, transcending regional borders. With this picture, Brešan continues to search for the answer to the question: why did all of this happen in the first place?”

The award for best director was shared by two filmmakers: Peter Strickland (for his film Katalin Varga) and Vladimir Paskaljević (for Devil’s Town).

The Golden Mimosa Award for the best actor was given to Slavko Štimac for his role as Hasan in Buick Riviera, directed

by Goran Rušinović. The same award in the best actress category was given to

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Jelena Đokić for her roles in the films The Tour, by Goran Marković, and Wait for me because I am definitely not coming,

by Miroslav Momčilović. The latter director is also the recipient of a special jury award for the best screenplay.

Kusturica to receive the 8½ Award

the absolute originality of his filmmaking style (as the film organisers say). The other 8½ Award will be given to Francis Ford Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope. The director of The Godfather trilogy is to be awarded for his prolific contribution to the American film industry and his role as an intermediary between classic and modern cinematography.

Days of Mokranjac

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mir Kusturica is set to become the recipient of the 8½ Award by the Turin Film Festival, which will take place in the Italian city from 13th to 21st November for the 27th consecutive year.

This relatively new award, which is given in honour of director Federico Fellini and his legendary film 8½, is given to directors who “contribute to the revitalisation of the language of film and promote new tendencies in contemporary cinematography”.

During his long career, Emir Kusturica has twice received The Gold Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his woks Father on a Business Trip and Underground.

The 8½ Award is to be given to Kusturica for the inventive quality of his films and

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he Days of Mokranjac festival will be held in Negotin – the birthplace of famous Serbian composer Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac – between 11th and 16th September for the 44th consecutive year.

Artists from Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Hungary will all participate at the festival, which will be opened by Serbian Culture Minister, Nebojša Bradić, and the president of the municipality of Negotin.

The first festival night will be dedicated to choral competitions, with the following choirs participating: Mecesek from

Pecuj, Hungary; Ipavska from Slovenia; Cantum Novum from Belgrade; Jeka primorja from Rijeka, Croatia, and Vardar from Skopje.

A roundtable discussion will be held on the second day of the festival on the topic of Mokranjac’s music in cinematography, followed by a concert by the Belgrade Review Orchestra, conducted

by Nenad Pročković. The orchestra will play mostly film music.

An exhibition of Olja Ivanjicki’s paintings will also be staged in the Youth Centre Gallery; while 13th September will see the RTS Children’s Choir hold a concert in the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Mokranje. On the same day, ethnogroup Marinik will perform at Negotin’s Music Pavilion and Vasil Hadžimanov and his jazz quartet will give their rendition of Mokranjac’s classics in the Culture Centre.

The fourth day of the festival will see an opening of the exhibition of paintings from this year’s artists’ colony in Vranje, while the Hungarian choir, Jazz Voices, will perform in front of the house in which Mokranjac was born. A premiere of Zoran Hristić’s masterpiece 15 Collections According to Stevan, which was specially made for the festival, will be performed by the wind section of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.

On 15th September the Poet’s Twilight event will be held at the Music Pavilion, with famous poets like Matija Bećković, Pero Zubac, Dobrica Erić and Tomislav Mijović taking part. On the same day,

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CULTURE NEWS pieces of music by composer Ljubica Marić will be played, apropos the 100th anniversary of her birth, at the house where Mokranjac was born.

On the final day of the festival, the book Music Pastels, by Gordana Krajčić, will be presented, followed by a concert by Croatian choir, Rondo Histriae, in the Holy Trinity Church. This choir was last year’s festival winner. Romanian theatre, Roma Fest, will close the festival by staging a play in the Negotin Culture Centre.

Belgrade Phil announces new season

an Orchestra’, which takes place only a month after the world premiere in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. The programme will include concerts featuring rare musical instruments like the accordion and harp, as well as several premieres by contemporary Serbian and world composers.

The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will also mark the 100th anniversary of the death of famous Serbian composer Ljubica Marić, with Nataša Bogojević and Irena Popović performing pieces especially commissioned for this event.

The pre-sale of season tickets has already begun and subscriptions can be bought at the Belgrade Philharmonics ticket office from 1st September.

Tony Parsons has visited Belgrade on several occasions and his books My Favourite Wife, Stories We Could Tell, The Family Way, Man and Wife, One for My Baby and Man and Boy, were all translated into the Serbian language and released by Laguna. Parsons is one of the most renowned writers in the UK. He is a former music journalist and the recipient of numerous journalistic awards. His first novel, Man and Boy, was a UK bestseller, selling a staggering 750,000 copies in the first two weeks following release.

Celebrating a centenary of Milena Pavlović Barilli’s birth

Tony Parsons’ Serbian premiere

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he Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has announced the programme for its new season, with a total of 30 concerts to be held. Violinist Sir Neville Marriner and cellists Sol Gabetta, Daniel Miller and Ralph Kirshbaum will perform with the orchestra for the first time ever, while the new season will also bring premiere guest performances by violinist Gilles Apap, trumpet virtuoso Sergei Nakariov and world renowned French horn player, Radek Baborak. There will be more performances from violinists Stefan Milenković and Robert Bokor, cellist Maja Bogdanović and pianist Barry Douglas in the Kolarčeva Foundation, though the biggest novelty of the season will be the ‘Artist in Residence’ performance of great Israeli violinist Hagai Shaham, who will have both a solo and a chamber performance. The biggest unconventional attraction of the new season will be ’The Concert for a DJ and

tarting Over, the latest novel by celebrated British writer Tony Parsons, had its premiere in Serbia at the beginning of August. The novel, released locally by Laguna publishers, was released several days earlier than in Parsons’ homeland - Great Britain. In his latest novel, Parsons writes about love, life and relationships. The main character, George Bailey, is given another chance to live his life all over again. After suffering a heart attack, George receives a heart from a nineteen-year-old and everything changes. He starts behaving like a pal rather than a father to his young children, stops being a control freak, pays more attention to his wife and gets a strong urge to change the world. However, in the end he discovers that being young is not that much fun and he wants his old life back.

British daily, the Sunday Express, calls this novel ‘entertaining, serious, gentle and honest,’ adding that the writer deals with genuine dilemmas of modern living.

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retrospective exhibition of paintings by distinguished artist Milena Pavlović Barilli was staged from 17th July to 25th August at the SANU Gallery. The event marked the beginning of celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth. A total of 136 paintings, sketches and drawings from her house in Požarevac and the Belgrade Museum of Modern Art were exhibited. A parallel exhibition of Barilli’s works was also opened in the Italian city of Rimini, which is the result of co-operation between the University of Bologna, the Department for Advanced Fashion and Technology, Belgrade’s Faculty of Applied Arts and the Milena Pavlović Barilli Museum in Požarevac. Barilli, one of the most important painters of the first half of the 20th century, is of Italian descent (on her father’s side). During her stay in America in the 1930s, she illustrated many fashion magazines and was engaged in commercial design. One of her

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drawings appeared on the cover page of famed magazine American Vogue. Milena Pavlović Barilli was born in Požarevac in 1909. She studied painting in Belgrade (1922-1926) and Munich (1926-1928). After leaving Yugoslavia in 1930, she lived in Rome, Paris and London, where she exhibited together with members of the European artistic elite like Jean Cocteau and Andre Breton. She then joined the school of romanticism and found inspiration in the past rather than the future.

She became an advocate of surrealism, or metaphysical romanticism. Not only was she a prolific artist with over 300 paintings, sketches and drawings, but also an accomplished poet whose poems were translated into several languages.

She moved to New York in 1939 where she lived until her untimely and sudden death in 1945.

The celebration of a centenary of Milena Pavlović Barilli’s birth is sponsored by the Serbian Ministry of Culture. As a part of the celebration, an exhibition of the best artwork by Barilli called ‘Mobile Museum’ will be staged all over Serbia. The entire celebration programme was created by the organisation board, whose members include Serbian Minister of Culture, Nebojša Bradić, Director of the Belgrade Museum of Modern Art, Branislava Anđelković-Dimitrijević, and assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Sanja Domazet. Other members of the board are the curator of the Milena Pavlović Barilli Gallery in Požarevac, Radoslav Stanojević, language expert, Adela Macola, advisor in the Ministry of Culture, Sanja Grujičić-Cupaić, and art historian Lidija Merenik.

Madonna graces Ušće

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op megastar Madonna held a spectacular concert at Belgrade’s Ušće (confluence) this August, delighting over 30,000 fans. Her two-hour party in

Belgrade once again justified her status as the Queen of Pop. The concert was delayed by more than an hour. According to the concert organizers, the reason was that “Madonna wanted to additionally heat up the atmosphere and make the audience wait for her performance with even greater impatience.”

Exactly at 10.03pm, the lights on the stage flashed on, thousands of mobile phones shone in the dark and Madonna appeared on stage, her throne, and the concert began with the song “Candy Shop”. “All right Serbia, this is what I am talking about,” shouts the American singer and starts singing “Beat Goes On,” while the audience greets her with standing ovations as she appears in a white old-timer.

“Are you ready? I am asking you, are you ready?” she addressed the audience with the first lines of the song “Human Nature”. Her song “Vogue” ended the first segment of the concert, after which she went backstage to change her clothes and return dressed as a cheerleader.

The audience, quiet at the first, started waking up with the song “Holiday”, while the atmosphere reached its peak with her song “She’s Not Me” and Madonna kissed one of the dancers. The best description of the concert would be to say that it was the perfect execution of a perfectly practiced routine. When it comes to a Madonna concert, everything is clear. We expected a visual spectacle, a great party with numerous dancers on the stage, the change of rhythm, new versions of old hits using different

samples, from “Sex Pistols” to Michael Jackson, etc. We also expected Madonna to move around the stage, poll dancing.

And that is what we got! Of course, we didn’t expect to hear her outstanding vocals, because it was never her strength.

However, her show in Belgrade is worthy of praise and being at Ušće was an amazing experience. This is the first time that the Queen of Pop has visited Serbia, which seemed something out of a pure fantasy just a few years ago.

“Let me see you… motherfucker,” shouted Madonna and started singing her hit “Ray of Light”. She finished the concert with a series of hits, including “4 Minutes”, “Like a Prayer”, “Give it 2 me”. While the music was slowly fading in the background, Madonna went off the stage, greeted the fans from the first rows and sang the final lines with them.

“Thank you Belgrade, good night,” she greeted the audience at the end of the concert exactly at midnight. n

By Jelena Jovanovic

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Sport

Sporting

Why sport’s good for Serbia, but not vice versa

Midsummer

Night’s Dream

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By Milovan Miličković f it weren’t for the Serbian national water polo team’s outstanding goalkeeper, Denis Šefik, hitting one of the best water polo players in the world, Aleksandar Šapić, at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, there would be very little chance of Serbia becoming world champions again this year – this malicious, albeit factual, statement was made by a journalist from daily Pravda who was bothered by the fact that Šapić is a member of the Democratic Party.

Following the fight between Šefik and Šapić, four of their players left the national team and nobody actually believed that the Serbian national water polo team would make it even to the top four at the World Championships in Rome without these four players. But their gold medal is just the icing on the cake, since the cake itself is embodied by swimmer Nađa Higl (it’s a good thing that the Pravda commentator didn’t know Nađa is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party).

Nobody expected Nađa to bring home any medals, including herself. Her victory in the 200-metre breaststroke and setting of a new European record (if you don’t know the record time Nađa achieved, you could see it tattooed on her father’s forehead) is the biggest surprise of the Rome World Championships. The two medals won by Milorad Čavić were somewhat pushed aside in light of the success of this young girl from Pančevo. Čavić is a whole different story, since he is a U.S. citizen of Serbian origin who chose to compete for Serbia. After the Bejing Olympic Games and the race he lost (or maybe not) to Michael Phelps by one hundredth of a second, Čavić started to resemble one of the best basketball players in the former Yugoslavia, Duci Simonović. When the Yugoslav national basketball team was beaten by a dopedup Puerto Rican team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Simonović’s life was ruined. So, Milorad Čavić viewed his defeat by Phelps as a reason to avenge his defeat. Čavić broke the world record twice in Rome and, in maybe the most beautiful race of the championship, won a silver medal. Without Phelps present, he was the best swimmer at the twice shorter distance. Čavić, the true athlete in his heart, congratulated the winner. It seems that he possesses enough persistence and maturity to become the number one at the next Olympic Games in London.

So, Serbia – a country with only three proper swimming pools – took eighth place overall in Rome when it comes to the number of medals won. If such miracles were possible in our economy, we would be in line to win the Nobel Prize for sure.

Aside from the exceptional tennis players who brought much joy to the nation last year, 100,000 citizens of Belgrade also celebrated Nađa, Milorad and the national water polo team.

There was no politics or strikes in front of the Stari Dvor on 3rd August, only a mountain of positive emotions for those returning from Rome.

Just one night being cheered home on the balcony of Stari Dvor is enough incentive for thousands of girls and boys The recent successes of Serbian athletes – illustrated by the medals they won at the Mediterranean Games, the Universiade Student Games and the World Championships in Rome – cannot be attributed to systematic efforts, investments or well thought-out politics. Only emotions can make a swimmer who has competed in many global competitions without notable results become a true champion. It is quite interesting to see that in a country burdened by history and ethnicity, nobody was actually bothered that Nađa’s surname doesn’t sound Serbian. It is worth mentioning that Nađa, right after she won the medal, said that she would not leave this country for a better one. Obviously, she did receive some offers, just like our water polo players who have been propositioned to play for other countries on many occasions.

Every summer our athletes are the pride and the joy of our country. True, their success is mostly due to their persistence and the money their families invest in training, but the synergy that could be felt in front the Belgrade City Hall between the people of Serbia and the champions was priceless.

Serbian people have said the biggest ’Thank you’ to these athletes for representing the country in the best possible way.

I am not sure that the politicians are fully aware how big a favour our athletes are doing them.

The Serbian state is known for investing close to nothing in sports. Water sports, gymnastics and athletics fair worst in

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sport

The recent Belgrade Universiade is a perfect example of the fact that sport doesn’t need to be commercial in order to bring joy and prestige to the country this deal. Serbia has only two semi-decent gymnastics halls, three swimming pools and two running tracks. So, nobody should raise a voice against Nataša Janjić, who is competing for the Hungarian national team.

Just before the summer, the state announced very loudly and clearly what kind of sport it wants: the profitable kind. That is the gist of the draft Law on the Privatisation in Sport. This draft has been severely criticised by most sporting clubs, but we know who actually makes the law in this country. Media publications have been speculating that rich tycoons have actually been eyeing up the property of sporting clubs, contemplating just how high a building they could construct on land currently occupied by stadia and sport centres. The only time athletes get scholarships or pensions is when they win medals. The draft law doesn’t say how exactly they are supposed to win these medals. So far, they have somehow managed to

get by. Media houses have a keen understanding of what the problem with Serbian sport really is: a lack of collective care and state investments. The recent Belgrade Universiade is a perfect example of the fact that sport doesn’t need to be commercial in order to bring joy and prestige to the country. In just thirteen days, the 25th Summer Universiade assembled 10,000 student athletes from 145 countries. The heads of the World University Federation (WUF) say that these student games were exceptionally successful, while WUF president, George Killian, declared the Belgrade Universiade as the best ever. A total of 669 medals were won during the competition. Athletes competed in 15 disciplines, with 56 countries winning medals. Serbia was also quite successful, with five gold medals, five silver and nine bronze, thus taking 10th place on the list of the most successful nations at the games.

When the Universiade came to an end, the EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Jan Figel, said that he had just witnessed twelve fascinating days at the Belgrade Universiade and added: “I would like to congratulate all participants and the Organisational Committee, since they are a prime example of the Universiade’s motto – perfect unity of mind and body. You have a lot to celebrate and you can be pleased with what you have achieved.”

The games were staged after much trouble and uncertainty: the number of sports was reduced, the relevant facilities were almost not constructed in time, the chairman of the Universiade’s Executive Board was arrested and all of this happened amidst the swine flu pandemic.

Serbia spent €75 million on organising the Universiade, which was funded from the state budget at the time of the global economic crisis. Universiade’s next host, Beijing, plans to spend ten times that amount. The immaterial benefits of the whole event are far greater than the money invested in it. Sport might closely resemble business, but it is also one of the most important vehicles for national presentation.

On the global scene, Serbian athletes are far more important than Serbian politicians, businessmen and artists. This summer, our junior basketball team achieved exceptional success in Europe, thus giving us hope that we can expect a great return of Serbian basketball to the global stage.

This wonderful summer was made even better by the success achieved by our junior athletics team at the European Championships. Tanja Jelača became the European javelin champion, Ivana Španović won silver in the long jump, as did Mila Andrić in the 400-metre hurdles. We should not forget those names, since one of those ladies is certainly going to appear on the Stari Dvor balcony one day, just like our swimmers and water polo players.

The state has an obligation to help these athletes in their infancy and not remember them only when elections are coming up. Booing the U.S. anthem at the medal award ceremony is certainly nothing to brag about, but it is rather a reminder that athletes are role models for young people and

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not political puppets.

All of the aforementioned results achieved by Serbian athletes this summer just prove that Serbia can do well even without ideal conditions and sufficient funding. Just one night being cheered home on the balcony of Stari Dvor is enough incentive for thousands of girls and boys.

Tennis Following the accomplishments of Serbian tennis players in the last two years, Serbia has become the land of ‘tennis experts’. These experts have all predicted that Novak, Jelena and Ana’s ratings will fall and that they will soon leave the tennis world. ‘Rich, famous and not interested in winning’ – this was their diagnosis. However, aside from a temporary drop in Ana Ivanović’s form, our tennis players are still at the top of the world. A possible success at the U.S. Open and the Masters could silence the local media in Serbia, which do not favour our tennis players as they did before.

Serbia at the Universiade When it comes to the Universiade, gold medals were won by our basketball team, runner Marina Munćan (1,500-metre hurdles), Ivana Španović (long jump), tennis player Aleksandar Slović and the men’s tennis team. Nađa Higl won two silver medals at 100 and 200 metres breaststroke respectively, the women’s volley ball team won one silver medal, as did runner Goran Nava (800 metres) and Ninoslav Babić in taekwondo. Bronze medals, meanwhile, were secured by the water polo team, Goran Nava (1,500 metres), swimmers Csaba Silagy and Miroslava Najdanovski (50 metres breaststroke and 100 metres freestyle respectively), tennis doubles Boris Čonkić - Aleksandar Grubin, table tennis double Zsolt Pete – Marko Jevtović, the women’s taekwondo team and Andrijana Ćirić and Stevan Rašić (individually in taekwondo competition).

Serbia’s Pippi Longstocking Nađa Higl was born on 2nd January 1987 in Pančevo as the second child of Snežana and Dragan Higl. The Higl family originates from Germany. They came to Travnik, Bosnia & Herzegovina, in the 1920s and later moved to Pančevo.

Higl (hügel) means hill in German. The red haired Nađa and her raven haired brother, Sebastijan, grew up like most children in the poverty stricken 1990s. Until the age of eighteen, Nađa had never been to the seaside, since the Higl family did not have enough money to go on holiday. However, Dragan Higl took his children to the swimming pool on a regular basis. He was a lifeguard and a swimming judge, so he didn’t need to pay the entrance fee. Swimming was a passion that he inherited from his father, Ćiril Robert, who, although blind, was state swimming champion.

Nađa won her first medal at the tender age of ten. Even back then she set records that remain unbroken to this day. She

was successful in every single swimming category and actually stopped counting her medals once she got to 300.

When times were tough, family friends stepped in and made it possible for Nađa to train in the Taš and Banjica Olympicsized pools with swimmers from the Partizan swimming club. In summer, the Rasina swimming club kindly let her use swimming pools in Kruševac and Knjaževac. In 2007, Sebastijan and Nađa founded their own swimming club which, to this day, has only one member – Nađa. Now their little swimming club called Tamiš is famous all over Serbia.

Gold water polo players Aside from shooting and basketball, which have brought the most medals in Serbian sporting history, water polo is also one of the most successful sports in Serbia. It is quite interesting to see how Serbs, who are individuals by nature, are so successful in team sports. Nobody expected this young generation of Serbian water polo players to achieve any significant successes until the 2012 London Olympics. For decades, Serbia has had only one decent water polo club and after some senior members of the national team left, many were sceptical that the new generation could be as successful. The same was thought for basketball and handball. Winning the gold medal in Rome demonstrated that young talented water polo players, which have been developing in the shadow of their older team players, could also be the best in the world. n

Golden boys Nobody expected this young generation of water polo players to achieve anything significant before 2012 CorD 63 / September 2009 65

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CoMMerCiaL ProPerTY: a ConCreTe ProBLeM

Banks face another round of property-related bad debts: this time it will be flashy offices, not rundown homes Jul 30th 2009 There is something comforting about investing in bricks and mortar. To many people it is a solid, “real” asset, unlike those complex pieces of paper that flighty financial markets spend all their time trading. But that very tangibility can lead to reckless speculation. Banks are almost always willing to lend against the security of property. The more they lend, the higher prices are driven. History is littered with stories of property crazes that ended in tears, from the Florida land boom of the 1920s to the recent subprime bubble.

The commercial-property downturn has a greater geographical spread than the residential bust

After two years of pain, American house prices seem to be stabilising. But attention is now switching to the commercial-property market. Here too loans were bundled together to make complex securities, known as commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBSs), on which defaults are now rising. And here too prices were driven higher by the use of borrowed money. Thanks to cheap finance, investors could use the time-honoured trick of covering the interest payments with the rental yield and hoping for capital growth on top.

The aftermath of bubbles can last for a long time in financial markets. Wall Street has been celebrating the return of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the terrain above 9,000. But it first passed that mark in April 1998.

As with paper, so it can be with property. In Japan land prices are still nearly 60% below the peak they reached in 1991. Earlier this decade American homebuyers took false assurance from the oft-quoted fact that house prices had not fallen, at the national level, since the second world war; well, they have now. At the moment transactions have dried up in the commercial-property market as owners try to avoid selling at a loss. Those owners are implicitly assuming that a rebound

is imminent, yet the downturn may be prolonged.

This is a dilemma that will spread worldwide. The commercial-property downturn has a greater geographical spread than the residential bust. Prices and rents have already taken a hit in Asian financial centres like Singapore and Hong Kong, in developing economies like India and Russia and in European countries such as Spain and Ireland .

The biggest danger may lie in refusing to acknowledge the scale of the problem. Some countries are awake to this: in Britain, where prices have fallen by nearly half in real terms, big property groups have raised equity to shore up their balance-sheets, and reduced prices are attracting foreign buyers to London.

BaLKans’ PinK PanTher JeWeL Thieves sMash heir WaY inTo MYTh

Members of the unglamorous gang, which has hit boutiques in Paris, London and Dubai, are heroes to some in their war-ravaged native Serbia.

‘I hope you rob the U.S. Federal Reserve,’ one fan writes

By Jeffrey Fleishman July 29, 2009 So let’s get this straight. A guy in the raspberry business from western Serbia smashes and grabs his way through a heist eight time zones away in Tokyo and scoots off past shopping centers and sushi bars with a $31-million necklace known as the Countess of Vendome.It happens.

The Panthers, a collection of 150 to 200 Balkan bad guys and a few women, have stolen about $140 million in jewelry and watches over the last decade from 100 luxury shops around the world, including boutiques in Paris, London, Monaco and Dubai. They come in rough, swinging hammers and axes, shattering glass, flashing semiautomatic pistols and an occasional grenade, and vanishing with gems in satchels lined with toilet paper to prevent scratching.

They’re untailored and uncoiffed, preferring black leather jackets and ball caps to cashmere and cuff links, a kind of “Ocean’s 11” minus the panache. But they’re disciplined and fluent in many languages, and they strike with precision. Their heists usually clock in at 90 sec-

Most of the Pink Panthers are Serbs, and most of them come from the city of Nis

onds, and when one of them gets arrested, like, say, Rasovic, another takes his place in an organization that has grown wiser since the early days, when its members were so brash they didn’t bother to conceal their faces.

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“They’ve become more than pure criminals, they’re heroes,” said Dragan Ilic, a morning radio talk show host in Belgrade, the Serbian capital.

“They’re violent but they haven’t killed anyone. It’s as if they’re saying, ‘We can beat the technologically superior West with our raw power and intelligence.’ They’re feeding the Western myth of the dark, tribal Balkans -- these criminals coming from those wars and woods.”Panther lore has crept into chat rooms and elsewhere in cyberspace. One of them skied in the French Alps before knocking off a nearby jewelry store; others case shops for months, buying watches and trinkets and befriending managers.

The Panthers lead hidden lives among Europe’s Balkan diaspora of refugees, former paramilitary fighters, opportunists and laborers who watched Yugoslavia splinter throughout the 1990s. Working in hospitals, bars and restaurants, they’re summoned by messages to join comrades and hatch robberies on streets that glow with designer names. They’ve become so proficient that they’ve inspired copycats, and the aura of the Pink Panthers lingers around crime scenes like the infectious theme from the 1963 movie that is their namesake.

Scotland Yard came up with the nickname after police found a blue diamond ring worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in a jar of face cream -- similar to a scene from “The Pink Panther.”

Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau would be stymied by the likes of Dragan Mikic, a former soldier, taxi driver, used-car salesman and business manager who, with two accomplices, headed for the Courchevel ski resort in France and walked into the Doux jewelry store at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2003.

Dressed like tourists and brandishing fake guns, the thieves made off with jewelry valued at several million dollars. Mikic was arrested the next day after a clerk identified him while he was buying a train ticket with a 500-euro note.

Described as one of the group’s masterminds, Mikic rarely goes quietly to his cell. In 2003, he escaped from a French courthouse. He was captured, but two years later he was sprung from prison when fellow Panthers fired Kalashnikov rifles at guard towers while he hustled down a ladder. In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced in absentia for the Courchevel robbery and heists in Saint-Tropez, Cannes and Biarritz. “It’s audacity,” said Monaco criminal investigation chief Andre Muhlberger.

“Difficulty doesn’t stop them. . .

When you’ve lived through the atrocities of war, and especially a civil war, you don’t have the same fears as you or me.”

Most of the Pink Panthers are Serbs, and most of them come from the city of Nis, an amalgam of block-style buildings and flaking Ottoman-era facades rising from farm fields at the foot of a mountain. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s warped nationalism resonated in Nis for years, but wars and sanctions hobbled the town’s big employers -- TV manufacturers and the textile and metal industries -- and Serbia’s third-largest city quickly became less enchanted with “Slobo.”

The Serbian official believes the Pink Panthers may be controlled by larger forces: “These criminals are from small provincial towns in Serbia. You need big money for these kinds of crimes, and they aim for the most expensive jewels on the planet. In my opinion, they’re pawns and stool pigeons.”The Countess of Vendome has not been found.

TerrorisTs Can resorT To CheMiCaL WeaPons 4 August 2009. Terrorists are getting “more and more aggressive” and can resort to using chemical weapons to cause maximum casualties, defence minister A.K. Antony said on Tuesday, adding that the Indian armed forces will prepare to counter any such attack. “Terrorists are getting more and more aggressive in their activities the world over. They are adopting newer techniques and technology in their mode of operation,” Antony said here while releasing the national guidelines on the Management of Chemical Terrorism Disaster. The guidelines, compiled by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), have been prepared by experts from various streams, academia and scientific institutions. Experts from the Armed Forces Medial Services and the Defence Research and Development Organisation have also made significant contributions in the formulation of guidelines. The comprehensive guidelines deal with several issues like counter-terrorism strategies, surveillance and environmental monitoring, prevention of illegal trafficking of hazardous waste, and human resource development, which includes education and training, knowledge management and community awareness.

“Terrorists are getting more and more aggressive in their activities the world over”

“The defence ministry shall also prepare itself for the management of (any) chemical terrorism disaster,” Antony added. India is one of the original signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention, 1993, and has already destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles.

rUssian-U.s. neW nUCLear agreeMenT: Too ManY eMoTions

By: Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the analytical department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis July 31, 2009 As of today, Russia has a much weaker negotiating position on cuts in strategic nuclear weapons than the United States.

Russia’s strategic forces are rapidly decreasing because the delivery vehicles (ICBMs, SLBMs, submarine missile cruisers and strategic bombers) with an expired service life are being retired at a rate which exceeds the construction of new delivery vehicles by several times.

Worse, the majority of retired ICBMs (RS-18 and RS-20), and all SLBMs are MIRVed (multiple warhead vehicles), whereas all new ICBMs (Topol-M) have only single warhead capacity. By virtue of this, the total number of Russia’s warheads is being reduced at an even faster rate than that CorD 63 / September 2009 67

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of its delivery vehicles. Considering the number of warheads and vehicles stored in munitions depots, the United States has already doubled its superiority over Russia, and this gap continuous to increase.

Russia continues building ICBMs, while the United States is not building any strategic delivery vehicles, but paradoxically, the U.S. advantage is growing at an accelerated rate.

Adoption of the RS-24 multiple-warhead missile will not give Russia any substantial advantage. Nor will the submarine-launched Bulava ballistic missile with its poor test record.

Obviously, neither the United States nor Russia will start a noholds-barred arms race the minute START-1 expires because neither has the ability or the desire to do so

The U.S.’ absolute advantage in high accuracy weapons (particularly submarine-launched cruise missiles) is making Russia’s inferiority disastrous. Under the circumstances, Washington could afford not to agree to any negotiations and wait until “things straighten out by themselves.” Apparently, Washington is initiating the negotiating process because President Barack Obama wants to assert a peacemaking image (as distinct from the bellicose George W. Bush), and because the United States wants to put the disarmament process under control and make it legally binding. An absolute superiority in precision conventional weapons allows the United States to safely sacrifice a considerable part of its strategic nuclear force.

The development of a nuclear missile defense system by the United States is an additional factor in the negotiating process. It does not take a rocket scientist to see a direct link between offensive (strategic nuclear forces) and defensive (missile defense) strategic armaments.

Moscow is correct in linking the two, but its weak bargaining position prevents it from gaining much.

However, Moscow’s irrational fixation on missile defense in Eastern Europe is perplexing. Based on its tactical and technical features, this system (which will appear no sooner than five years, if at all) does not present a serious threat even for Russia’s weakened nuclear force. The United States has a far more sophisticated and dangerous Aegis-equipped missile defense system on its cruisers and destroyers, but for some reason Moscow has not voiced any concern about that.

The Bush administration had the same fixation on missile defense in

Eastern Europe. As distinct from its predecessor, the Obama administration must realize that this system is useless militarily, extravagant (especially during the economic crisis), and politically volatile.

Therefore, America can afford to give it up, presenting this as a major concession to Russia in exchange for help with Iran, or the issue of retrievable potential (the ability to mobilize stored warheads).

The problems of missile defense and retrievable potential are bound to complicate the signing of a new treaty on strategic nuclear forces. It is quite probable that it will not be concluded until December. START-1 expires in December, but this fact should not lead one to expect dramatic changes. Such apprehensions are unfounded. In fact, they are so irrational that it is even difficult to object to them.

Obviously, neither the United States nor Russia will start a no-holdsbarred arms race the minute START-1 expires because neither has the ability or the desire to do so. As Washington’s attitude to the ABM Treaty has shown, where there is a will there is a way, and even the operating agreements become of no consequence. To sum up, the expiration of START-1 and the lack of any new treaty to replace it will have no bearing on global security.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

aFghanisTan reMains a DesPeraTeLY Poor anD UnJUsT CoUnTrY

Douglas Alexander,UK Secretary of State for International Development 6. August 2009 Both of our governments understand that the desperation described by Secretary [Hillary] Clinton cannot solely be answered by military action or even political processes. It can, however, be answered by a comprehensive approach embracing development. For development can address the pent-up grievances, unrelenting poverty and lack of opportunity that contributes to people resorting to violence. And it is clear that today such desperation still remains

It is clear that today such desperation still remains widespread in Afghanistan.

widespread in Afghanistan.

For while our headlines and broadcasts inevitably and appropriately focus upon our armed forces’ engagement in the country, it is often forgotten that Afghanistan remains a desperately poor and unjust country. A legacy of poverty, civil war and warlordism coupled with the current Taliban and al-Qa’ida insurgency means over half of Afghans live

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below the poverty line, 40 per cent remain unemployed, and violent incidents have risen by 60 per cent in Helmand this year alone. Indeed, to give just one example from Helmand, only two or three criminal cases are handled by the court in Gereshk each month.

It is little wonder therefore, that on Monday, when I met teachers in Musa Qala and farmers in Lashkar Gar, they all made the same single plea – for security. For so great is the fear and the threat of violence that security and justice matter as much, if not more, than the provision of other basic services in the eyes of many ordinary Afghans.

This prioritisation of security, however, is not unique to Afghanistan.

Indeed such views underpinned the World Bank’s 2000 Voices of the Poor report, which captured the views of 60,000 poor people across the globe, and highlighted that safety, security and access to justice are among their top concerns, and highlighted the full detrimental impact that their absence has on the lives of the poor.

This is why in my department’s newly published White Paper we place such a strong emphasis on getting the building blocks of security in place first in all fragile countries. And in the distinctive circumstances of Afghanistan, working to address the insecurity and impoverishment of the population is vital to our shared counter-insurgency efforts.

This is part of a speech by the Secretary of State for International Development to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington

The ‘Who is a Jew’ saga, UK version

By MICHAEL ARNHEIM

6. August 2009 Are the Jews a race or a religion? What are the applicable criteria? And who decides? This has been a long-running saga in the Diaspora as well as in Israel.

In England, the whole question has blown up as the result of a highprofile lawsuit filed by the parents of an 11-year-old boy who was denied admission to a top Jewish school. The school, known as the Jewish Free School (JFS), is paid for by the British taxpayer but is restricted to Jewish pupils. Who decides who gets in? The office of the British chief rabbi, head of the biggest - but not the only - group of Orthodox synagogues in the United Kingdom.

The chief rabbi’s test, applied by the school, was based on parentage. A child whose mother was not Jewish would be turned away. That sounds simple enough, but the problem arose with conversion. Conversion by a non-Orthodox synagogue was not recognized - but conversion by an Orthodox rabbi, even in Israel, was by no means guaranteed to be kosher either!

IN JULY 2009 the English Court of Appeal branded the chief rabbi’s motherhood test “racist” and therefore unlawful. But the school’s lawyers didn’t exactly help their case by proposing two different definitions of Jewishness. They accepted that the 11-year-old at the center of the storm - who was teased at his non-Jewish school for wearing a kippa - was Jewish in race but not in religion. Needless to say, this illogical and self-contradictory position was rejected by the court.

So who was right? Neither, since both failed to understand the true na-

ture of Judaism as a communal religion.

The argument accepted by the Court of Appeal is simple, not to say simplistic: “Jews constitute a racial group” - so discriminating against someone on the grounds that he is not Jewish is racial discrimination.

A Jew’s religious identity was part and parcel of his or her communal identity British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

The judges concluded: “Eligibility must depend on faith, however defined, and not on ethnicity.”

The terms “Jew,” “Jewish” and “Judaism” derive from Judah, the name of the ancient Jewish kingdom, which in turn was based on the name of the Jewish tribe of the same name. A Jew’s religious identity was part and parcel of his or her communal identity. So, when Ruth in the Bible converts to Judaism, she solemnly declares: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” SHOULD THE school have won the case on the basis of the chief rabbi’s definition of Jewishness? No. The school also failed to grasp the key concept that Judaism is a communal religion. Had it done so, it may have been able to persuade the court that selecting pupils on the basis of their Jewishness was not racist but truly religious, since the religion in question was a communal one.

Instead, they agreed with their opponents “that Jews are an ethnic or racial group.” They argued that the schoolboy in question was Jewish by race but not by religion. So, instead of having a single definition of Jewishness - which the concept of communal religion would have given them - they ended up with two conflicting definitions. Not surprisingly, this self-contradictory position didn’t impress the court.

Because Judaism is a communal religion, the only sensible position is that a person is Jewish either for all purposes or for none. So who decides? Why should it be the chief rabbi, who heads only a part of the British Orthodox Jewish establishment?

The real question to ask, which neither the old nor the new test does, is very simple: Is this applicant for admission to a Jewish school a member of the Jewish community? If the child or his previously non-Jewish mother - or father, or both - has identified with the Jewish community to the extent of going to the trouble to convert, then it would make no sense to exclude that child.

There is only one Jewish community, embracing all those who regard themselves as Jewish. Anything less would amount to self-destructive arrogance. Judaism is never going to attract large numbers of converts, but those who are prepared to undergo the process of joining the Jewish people should be given every encouragement. n CorD 63 / September 2009 69

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Leisure & Lifestyle

“Now Serbia offers it’s lesser known face, it’s green treasure. This heritage gets a boost from grand hospitality among the old woods, amazing lakes and rich gastronomy” La Razon, Spain

K

osjerić. With charming rivers, green plains, rolling fields and blooming meadows, the Kosjerić region in western Serbia - 136 kilometres from Belgrade and half way between Valjevo and Užice - is an ideal place for a village holiday.

With over a hundred cultural and historical landmarks in the region, there is much sightseeing to do before and after leisurely meals accompanied by excellent wines and tranquil country views.

In the village of Seca Reka, the Timber Church, originallty built in the 15th Century, has burned to the ground and been reconstructed several times. The existing structure dates back to 1812. Among the valuable artifacts encased inside is the icon, “Golden Doorway” obtained from Herzegovina, and a local chalice, both dating back to the late 1700s.

Seca Reka is a stronghold of Serbian folklore tradition and aspires to attract tourists with its authentic customs and festivals. Home to the previously mentioned Timber Church, the village also holds an annu-

Outstanding TOs and CorD recommend: Village life

natural beauty

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al exhibition of traditional Serbian costumes, musical instruments, customs and recipes, staged in co-operation with a festival called Shepherd’s Days (Cobanski Dani).

Varda sprawls across a small portion of the Povlen Mountain slope at an altitude of 900 metres. This village has an excellent environment for studying nature, particularly during the summer, and there is a boarding house for students.

Makoviste is 21 kilometres far from Kosjeric and also lies on the green slopes of Povlen and Maljen mountains.

The villagers breed cattle and grow raspberries and plums.

The nearby spring of Godljevo contains the source of the renowned Taor waterfalls in western Serbia.

Mionica (Kosjeric) is a small town of less than 250 inhabitants. The main source of income is cattle breeding and fruit farming. Not surprisingly, the small village with an emphasis on fruit is well-known for its high quality plums and tasty plum brandy.

Kosjeric (village) lies on the outskirts of Kosjeric, just along the foothills of mountain ranges Drmanovina and Crnokosa.

Visitors to the area will be pleased to find that local households love taking in tourists and providing them with an authentic home style experience.

Scenic and accessible, the Drmanovina landscape is covered in leafy green vegetation. Aside from hiking, hunting and bird-watching, there is always the city centre to be enjoyed.

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Leisure & Lifestyle

With an Olympic-size swimming pool, football pitches and tennis courts, a variety of entertainment options awaits.

Tourist Organisation of Kosjerić Karađorđeva 66, 31260 Kosjerić; Tel/fax: +381 (0)31 782 155 E-mail: tokos@verat.net; www.kosjeric.org.rs Lučani lies in mountainous western Serbia’s area of Dragačevo. The area is full of luxuriant farmlands, rich forests and pastures best known for producing excellent wild raspberries and healthy herds of cattle.

Dragačevo is awash with cultural and historical monuments. Hidden amidst the rolling foothills of Ovčar are the Trojice and Sretenje Monasteries. In the tradition of artistic enclaves, Lučani is a haven for painters, sculptors and weavers. In Guča there is a gallery show-casing the work of the self-taught painters and sculptors of Dragačevo, while in Donji Dubin there is a Co-op where women weavers gather to share stories, compare work and possibly sell their wares.

Kaona is a mountain village 850 metres above sea level,

Old mill Gornja Dobrinja is best known for its well-preserved watermills, built in the 1800s.

between Jelica and Cemerna. The hunting season here relies on the abundance of indigenous game. In May, the regional tourism office organises cultural attractions, such as performances of local song and dance.

Lučani Tourist Organisation Republike 72, 32230 Guča Tel/fax: +381 (0)32 854 739 Mionica An easy excursion from nearby Belgrade, the region of Mionica is about 20 kilometres outside Valjevo.

Known primarily for its fruit orchards and cattle breeding, the region boasts a strong cultural and historical tradition.

Mionica is locally famous for being the home of famed 20th century Serbian military strategist, Živojin Mišić. In July, Mionica hosts Duke Mišić Days, up to nine days of feasting, dancing, horse shows, parades and plenty of plum brandy.

The villages in the region have a Šumadijan style life, with similar traditions, hospitality, cuisine and people who care fondly for their idyllic environment.

Berkovac is eight kilometres from Mionica and about teo kilometres from Banja Vrujci. On the foothills of the Suvobor and Maljen mountains, this old-world village is home to around 600 inhabitants.

The Ribnica River Gorge attracts nature enthusiasts. Daily excursions from Berkovac up to Rajac and Struganik can be organised. For visitors who choose not to stay in the homes of the villagers, Banja Vrujci has more modern accommodation with swimming pools and athletic facilities.

Planinica is only 15 kilometres outside Mionica, lzing slightly higher on the slopes of Suvobor and Maljen mountains at an altitude of 670 metres. Only 334 villagers reside

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in this authentic rural community, blessed with delightfully untouched meadows and streams, as well as gorgeously tended orchards. There is plenty of good hunting and fishing in the vicinity.

Aside from enjoying the hearty, tasty food and the hospitality of the good-natured locals, tourists to the region can also visit Struganik and visit Živojin Mišić’s former home.

Popadić lies at the foothills of Suvobor and Maljen mountains, eight kilometres from Mionica and two kilometres from Banja Vrujci. It has a similar character, but is slightly larger than Berkovac.

Tourist Organisation of Mionica Vojvode Mišića 23, 14242 Mionica Tel: +381 (0)14 62 080 Požega is a town of about 13,000 and the centre of the Požega Municipality, which is in Zlatibor county.

The town is surrounded by three rivers: the Skrapez, Djetinja and Moravica. Travellers will find villas with views looking out over the Ovčar, Kablar and Maljen mountain ranges. A short drive of 180 kilometres from Belgrade, the town is a bustling traffic hub, as it connects the Serbian capital with the Montenegro’s Adriatic coast.

The biggest Ilyrian necropolis of Serbia lies in the vicinity.

Visitors will find comfortable accommodation with swimming and sport facilities, as well as a hospitable environment for hunting and fishing.

Jezevica lies 18 kilometres outside the town of Požega.

With only 673 villagers living in 180 households, the village is a classic Serbian country community. With pure waters and immaculately unspoiled forests and glades, Jezevica draws visitors to its quaint three star hotel “Jele-Jezevica,” locally renowned for its excellent regional cuisine.

The town Požega is surrounded by three rivers, the Skrapez, Djetinja and the Moravica. Travelers will find villas with views that look out over the Ovcar, Kablar and Maljen mountain ranges Gornja Dobrinja is best known for its well-preserved watermills, built in the 1800s. At an altitude of 655 metres, there are only 124 villas dotting the hillside in the picturesque little village. Gornja Dobrinja is the birth place of Serbian hero and prince Miloš Obrenović. Visitors won’t want to miss the memorial erected in his honour.

Birdwatchers come to view raptors, pygmy cormorants and other species at the nearby Ovčar Kablar between Čačak and Požega.

Tourist Organisation of Požega Francuska bb, 31210 Požega Tel: +382 (0)31 814 650

Handmade pottery Pottery and Ceramics in Serbia produced by hand using coiling and slabbing techniques.

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We all know that fashion has always thrived in Europe. But there are also some amazingly well known American designers. So here’s a little guide to designers and who came from where.

Knowing a designer’s origins and where their collections are made today can also keep you from getting a fake or knock-off.

If your handbag made by an Italian designer says it was made in China, I hate to break it to you, but it’s probably not authentic..but I’m hoping you knew that.

VERA WANG is another designer that America has to be thankful for.

Her name is embedded in pop culture and celebrities love to call her up when they get engaged.

FASHION D ES

WHO IS FROM W H

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Donna Karan’s designs are recognised throughout the world, but she lives and works in New York City. (Hence forth her brand, DKNY)

Christian Dior, who hails from Normandy, actually opened up an art gallery before starting his career in fashion design. He died at the age of 52 under suspicious circumstances

Oscar de la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic and educated in Spain, but he has forged a long and illustrious career in the U.S.

D ESIGNERS:

W HERE 2009/2010

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Giorgio Armani, who is the king of making men on the red carpet look fabulous, is one of Italy’s most successful designers. Just an interesting piece of info, he was also the ďŹ rst designer to ban models who have a BMI of under 18 after one of his runway models died of anorexia nervosa.

FASHION D ES

WHO IS FROM W H

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Marc Jacobs is an American designer even though he has gone international, working with Louis Vuitton while living and working a lot in France.

Roberto Cavalli, born and raised in Florence loves to experiment and try new techniques. He lives with his wife and children in a villa overlooking Florence.

Calvin Klein. His collections may have changed, but his roots haven’t.

Ralph Lauren lives and works from within the U.S.

D ESIGNERS:

W HERE 2009/2010

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technO talk |

DOT-COM WITH WINGS

Fine LiVing: HoW To aCCess a PriVaTe PLane

a new breed of smaller, cheaper jets, powered by compact, superlight engines, could transform the face of aviation. do the planes warrant the hype? some may think that first class is living well, and truly the only comfortable way to escape all the nonsense of economy class, but the only way to experience an avian utopia is through a private plane. Finding and purchasing a private plane isn’t as hard as it might sound. With the internet at our fingertips at all times, the task can be completed within minutes. in fact, some doubters are calling the VLj boom a “dot-com with wings.” an extremely Light jet, powered by a theoretical 500-pound-thrust high-bypass turbofan engine, could carry two passengers at 250 mph and get 30 mpg. at only $350,000, it would reduce the cost of a civilian jet to that of a brand-new loaded Bentley. now that’s a real game changer.

Cessna MustanG Price: $2.6 million

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mallest model from the world’s largest biz-jet manufacturer. Cessna Mustang is the first VLJ in mass production.

The Cessna Citation Mustang, Model 510, is a “very light jet” (VLJ) class business jet built by Cessna Aircraft Company at their Independence, Kansas production facility. The Mustang, in standard configuration, has four passenger seats in the aft cabin and seating for two in the cockpit. Like most other very light jets, the Mustang is approved for single-pilot operation.

Speed: 390 mph Passengers: 4 Available: Now

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DiaMonD D-Jet Price: $1.4 million

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imple, cheap, easy-to-fly “personal jet” capable of using short runways. Has single Williams FJ33 engine. The D-JET is a composite, five-seat, single-engine jet aircraft produced by Diamond Aircraft Industries. The aircraft is undergoing flight testing.

Speed: 360 mph Passengers: 2 to 3 Available: 2008

aDaM a700

Price: $2.25 million

A

dam Aircraft’s turbofan powered A700, with a twin-boom tail, weighs only 8300 pounds. The Adam A700 AdamJet was a proposed sixseat civil utility aircraft that started development in 2003. The aircraft was developed in parallel with the generally similar Adam A500, although while that aircraft is piston-engined, the A700 is powered by two Williams FJ33 turbofans. The two models have about 80% commonality.

Speed: 390 mph Passengers: 4 to 5 Available: 2008

PiPer MatriX Price : $757,000

W

ith the largest cabin in its class, not only is the Piper Matrix a more comfortable way to travel, it also offers no compromises concerning performance and capability. 213 KTAS, 1345 NM at longe range cruise. 25,000 FT operating altitude and Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI) approved.

Originated as Taylor Brothers Aircraft Manufacturing Company in Sept. 1927.

Manufacture stopped in the mid 1980s and began again in 1995. In May 2009, American Capital Strategies sold the company to investment firm, Imprimis. Piper is now located in Vero Beach, FL. Speed: 215 mph Passengers: 5 + 1 Available: from 2008 CorD 63 / September 2009 79

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techno talk |

Cirrus SR22 Price: $380.650

T

Mooney Ovation2 GX Price: $650.000

he SR22, by Cirrus Design, is a highperformance single-engine, four-seat, composite aircraft. It is a more powerful version of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a 310 horsepower (231 kW) engine.

It is extremely popular among purchasers of new aircraft and has been the world’s best-selling single-engine, four-seat aircraft for several years.

Like the Cessna 400, but unlike most other highperformance aircraft, the SR22 has fixed (nonretractable) landing gear.

Speed: 232 mph Passengers: 3 +1 Available: from 2000

H

ave you ever driven a Ferrari? A Ferrari is like no other, a bit hard to climb into, but once you’re there, you become part of the car. Acceleration, braking, turning, a Ferrari does everything fast, with a solid incontrol feedback you feel in your whole body. It looks as fast as it drives.

Mooney’s newest Ovation2 is like that. The difference is that the Ovation2 will beat a Ferrari on less horsepower—not around the corner, but across the country. The Mooney Airplane Company (MAC) is a U.S. manufacturer of single-engined general aviation aircraft. Mooney has been a leader in civil aviation even though the company has gone bankrupt and changed ownership several times.

Speed: 242 mph Passengers: 4 + 1 Available: from 2006

Cessna 162 SkyCatcher Price: $111,500

T

he Cessna 162 SkyCatcher is a two-seat light-sport aircraft (LSA). The latest aircraft in the Cessna general aviation product line, its intended market is flight training and personal use.Cessna Aircraft Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes, has a proven record of delivering the finest aircraft in category. Additionally, Cessna offers an extensive network of customer service, flight training, maintenance and distribution facilities with the ability to assist customers in securing financing and insurance.

Speed: 112 mph Passengers: 1+1 Available: 2006

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The Cessna 172 Skyhawk Price: $297,000

T Beech Raythoneon G36 Bonaza

he Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft. Measured by its longevity and popularity, the Cessna 172 is the most successful mass produced light aircraft in history.

Speed: 141 mph Passengers: 3 + 1 Available: from 2005

Price: $600.000

T

he Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. As of 2009 it is still being produced in derivative form by Hawker Beechcraft, becoming the longest-running production airplane in history. More than 17,000 Bonanzas of all variants have been built.

Speed: 203 mph Passengers: 4 + 1 Available: from 2008

Cirrus SR20 Price: $269.900

T

he Cirrus Design SR20 is a piston engine composite monoplane that seats four. Hundreds of SR20s have been sold since the first was delivered in 1999. One of the major selling points for the SR20 is that it has a fully digital avionics suite with one 10-inch Avidyne FlightMax primary flight display and one multi-function display. A pair of Garmin GNS430s provide GPS navigation, conventional radio navigation, and radio communications. The SR20, like the faster SR22, is equipped with the Ballistic Recovery Systems Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System, a large parachute which can be deployed in an emergency to lower the entire aircraft to the ground safely.

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how to... |

How to... ... pay the highway toll You can use euro as well as local currency. You can exchange foreign currencies at exchange offices, banks, and post offices.

When withdrawing money from your credit or debit card at bank machines, you will receive the money in domestic currency.

CROSSWORD

Solve this crossword puzzle and test your Serbian – the clues may be in English, but the answers should be entered in Serbian

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... rent an apartment or stay at a hostel You can rent apartment for your short stay in Belgrade. Prices published on web site (http://www.beorent.com) are the minimum daily prices based on 1 month stay. Or, you could take a look at our hostels offer, if your budget is limited...

Hostel mr. walker, Zagrebačka 9, tel 011-30-38-100 www. mrwalkerhostel.com Hostel Captain, Kapetan Mišina 16, tel 011-218-18-19 www. hostelcaptain.com Hostel lucy Mileševska 63, tel 308-56-39 www.hostel-lucy.net Hostel Belgrade Kralja Milana 17 Tel 011-32-32-336 www. hostelbelgrade.com In Old Shoes Brankova 18 tel 218-36-50 www.inoldshoes.com

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... register a vehicle All owners of motor vehicles who live in Serbia, both foreigners and citizens, are obliged to register their vehicles each year.

Registration can be done in person at any police station or through a number of agencies. The list of relevant agencies can be found at the site www.portal-srbija.com/automobili/registracija-vozilaprenos-vlasnistva.

All these agencies are ready to complete the technical review and provide insurance. The majority of agencies have Englishspeaking staff.

Foreigners in Serbia can drive their car with foreign licence plates as a tourist. For temporary import there are special plates.

Members of the representative offices of foreign companies are entitled to special licence plates.

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...find a job in Serbia?

Very useful website: http://poslovi.infostud.com/ You will see numerous job postings from both international and local companies. Some ads are in English. On the same portal you will see a section “HR Agencies”, where the most important companies have created own presentations.

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9 10 11 12 13 ACROSS : 1. Infectious inflammation of ear glands, mumps, 2. Painter that only paints animals, 3. Zen’s school of philosophy – river in West Europe, 4. Voice, sound - symbol for Sulphur – Arab Republic of Yemen (abbreviation), 5. First name of American actress, Archer – lonely – symbol for Calcium, 6. Symbol for Rhenium – mobile shelter, 7. Seclusion of people who are suffering from infectious diseases, 8. A piece of food that you swallow whole – abbreviation for Russian Ruble, 9. Measure denoting surface – English chess player, Jonathan – symbol for Tantalum, 10. Emperor – symbol for ton - slime, mud, 11. Willow forest – a heroine from comic books, 12. A village near Negotin , 13. French film actress.

DOWN 1. Eliminating microbes through heating, 2. First name of Russian writer, Chekhov – a mountain plain, 3. River in Georgia (former Russia) – first name of French poet, Hellier – animal that lives in water, 4. River in Russia – reception room – a body part, 5. Initials of actor Arsić – Italian politician, Giuseppe – towards, 6. Troops (in Greek) – cat (endearing term) - English statesman, Thomas, 7. River in Vojvodina – a short story

by Nikolai V. Gogol – tropical fruit, 8. Debarkation – gentle, subtle, 9.

Serbian painter.

REŠENJE: Parotina – animalist- stoa – esko – ton – s – Arj – En – sam – ca – r – paravan – izolacija – zalogaj – r- ar – nan – ta – car – t – kal – ivik – mini – jabukovac – Ana Karina

...order food for home delivery Order food for home delivery via the site www.donesi.com/ beograd/en.

Site visitors can choose between any of several dozen restaurants, the best Serbian grill takeaways in town, offers of great gourmet dishes and different kinds of main courses, as well as traditional Italian specialties that will bring the charm of Italy into your home - foccacias, pizzas, lasagnas, pastas ...

Donesi.com offers Asian food too, with the city’s great Chinese restaurants and one of the unique sushi bars in town - great food, fast delivery, the place you will love!

All orders are carried out directly on the site, no phone contact required.

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Autor: Branko Polić

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