ESI newsletter 08 October 2013

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The European Court of Justice

• The European Court of Human Rights and Bosnia

• Belgium, Italy, Cyprus … and Bosnia

• The European Court of Justice and Turkey

• EU, the East and Visa Liberalisation

Dear friends,

Croatia recently joined the EU. Serbia obtained candidate status and stands on the verge of opening accession talks. Montenegro has already done so. Albania may now move forward as well. And yet one country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is lingering at the end of the queue. How much longer?

In a new report published today ESI examines how this came about – and how to move forward:
Lost in the Bosnian labyrinth – Why the Sejdic-Finci case should not block an EU application

ESI in Bosnian media: 12 September – 2 October 2013

 The European Court of Human Rights and Bosnia

In December 2009 the European Court of Human Rights found – in its judgement in the case Sejdic and Finci vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – that the constitution and election law of Bosnia and Herzegovina violate the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols. Bosnia's laws require that political candidates identify themselves as "Bosniak", "Croat" or "Serb" in order to be able to run for president or become a member of the upper house of the state parliament.

Four years have passed since the ruling. Bosnia's constitution and election laws have not changed. The EU has warned that if the issue is not resolved, it will block the country's path to the EU. Behind this lies a b sense of moral outrage. How can a country in today's Europe prevent a Roma or a Jew from running for head of state? Is this not a racist constitution?

On 1 October 2013 Bosnia's most influential politicians travelled to Brussels and agreed on "principles for finding an agreement". They set a new deadline for reaching it – 10 October 2013. However, it is possible that once again no agreement will be reached. The looming question for the EU then becomes: what next?

Belgium, Italy, Cyprus … and Bosnia

Brussels – South Tyrol – Cyprus

In our new report we argue that the current EU policy of blocking Bosnia over this issue is counterproductive. There are three reasons why:

This is not an issue of "racism". Apartheid South Africa had a racist electoral system. Bosnia does not. Neither does Belgium or South Tyrol, although in both countries legislation requires citizens to declare a community affiliation for certain purposes, similar to Bosnia. In fact the Bosnian system is more liberal than either Belgium's or South Tyrol's or the constitution of Cyprus.

Bosnia is not violating fundamental human rights. The issue at stake in the election of the Bosnian presidency is not a violation of the rights enumerated by the European Convention on Human Rights itself. It is a violation of Protocol 12 of the Convention. This protocol has so far been ratified by only 8 out of 28 EU member states!

This is not an issue of Bosnia systematically violating its international obligations. Bosnia's record implementing European Court of Human Rights' decisions is better than that of most current EU members.

For all these reasons non-implementation of the Sejdic-Finci decision, although regrettable, does not justify blocking Bosnia and Herzegovina's application for EU membership.

For more information on the numerous efforts to resolve this issue until now see also the chronology put together by our new ESI fellow Adnan Cerimagic:

ESI Sejdic-Finci Chronology – Not for Lack of Trying

 

The European Court of Justice and Turkey

Leyla Ecem Demirkan – European Court of Justice

On 24 September 2013 the Court of Justice of the European Union (or European Court of Justice) delivered a judgement in one of the most important cases of this year.
The issue at stake was visa-free access to EU countries for Turkish citizens. At the centre of this court case was Leyla Demirkan, a 20-year old Turkish woman who asked the German consulate in Ankara for a visa in October 2007. Her request was denied.
She went to court, arguing that Germany's visa requirement for Turkish citizens is illegal. The case reached the ECJ, which rejected her claim.

For more on this case and its consequences for visa liberalisation please see the new ESI report:
Turkish tourists and European justice. The Demirkan ruling and how Turkey can obtain visa-free travel (26 September 2013)

What now? How can the Turkish government reach its goal of visa-free access to the EU?

The abolition of the visa requirement will not be achieved through court rulings. The ruling on 24 September makes it all the more imperative that the Turkish government takes action now where it has hesitated so far. On the day of the judgment we also published a call to action:
After the Demirkan ruling: launch visa liberalisation dialogue now

In Turkish: Demirkan kararının ardından: vize muafiyeti süreci şimdi başlamalı

All these publications are part of the ESI White list project in Turkey supported by Stiftung Mercator.
 

EU, the East and Visa Liberalisation


Tbilisi

On 1 October ESI's Alexandra Stiglmayer and Gerald Knaus spoke in Tbilisi at a round table on "Prospects and Challenges of the Visa Liberalization Process in Georgia" organised by the Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies (GISS). The workshop was attended by high-level officials from the Georgian Government, Parliament and the EU Delegation. Alex and Gerald talked about the experience of other countries in the EU's visa liberalisation process. (For more information see here the Workshop agenda and Participants list)

 

Senior analyst Alexandra Stiglmayer (Brussels) – Our new fellow Adnan Cerimagic (Sarajevo) – Deputy Chairman Kristof Bender in Podgorica

On 2 October 2013 Alexandra spoke at a hearing of the European Parliament on the EU - Eastern Partnership cooperation in the area of migration and mobility.

Alexandra talked about lessons learned from the Balkans visa liberalisation process. Other speakers include numerous MEPs, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, and senior EU Commission officials.

At this year's Visby conference on 5-6 October on Gotland island Gerald Knaus also addressed visa issues and political prisoners in Europe's East. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt had invited senior policy makers from the Baltic region, Russia, Ukraine and Scandinavia to this Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation event to discuss the "Road to Authoritarianism – Political Trends in the Eastern Neighbourhood".

Meanwhile ESI's Kristof Bender discussed lessons from Croatia for Montenegro in Podgorica with Slaven Radunovic, the president of the Committee for European Integration of the Parliament of Montenegro, and Snezana Radovic, the General Director of European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

This followed a screening of the ESI Croatia documentary funded by ERSTE Stiftung, co-organised by the Centre for civic education. Kristof also spoke at the 4^th Budva Strategic Planning Seminar organised by the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

Many best regards,



Gerald Knaus

 Further reading

• ESI discussion paper: Lost in the Bosnian labyrinth. Why the Sejdic-Finci case should not block an EU application (7 October 2013)

• ESI chronology: Not for lack of trying. Chronology of efforts to solve the Sejdic-Finci conundrum

• ESI paper: Turkish tourists and European justice. The Demirkan ruling and how Turkey can obtain visa-free travel (26 September 2013)

• ESI appeal: After the Demirkan ruling: launch visa liberalisation dialogue now (24 September 2013). Also available in Turkish: Demirkan kararının ardından: vize muafiyeti süreci şimdi başlamalı

• Interview in Dnevni Avaz: "It won't be Bosnia's fault if visas are re-imposed" (12 September 2013)

• Interview in Dnevni Avaz, "Koncept "ostalih" vrlo je čudan" (2 October 2013). Also available in English: "The concept of "others" is very strange".

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© European Stability Initiative (ESI)

09.10.2013

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The Australian Government's new stance on human rights?

Malaysian Activist and Lawyer denied Visa to Australia

Murray Hunter

The Malaysian political activist and lawyer Haris Ibrahim was refused a Visa to Enter Australia by the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur indicates a new attitude on the part of the Abbott Government towards human rights and free expression in South-East Asia.

Haris Ibrahim was scheduled to speak to academics at the Australian National University in Canberra on 29th September. He was also scheduled to visit Sydney on private business and attend another speaking engagement in Melbourne.

Haris Ibrahim is the founder of ABU or Anything But UMNO, referring to the main political party in the ruling coalition. He along with two opposition members of parliament has been charged with sedition over remarks made at a May 13th forum about the recent election in Malaysia, a law almost defunct in Australian jurisprudence.

It is standard practice for Australian Immigration not to divulge the reasons for rejecting any application for an Australian visa, however speculation from an unnamed source from the organization Global Bersih, a body concerned about free and fair elections in Malaysia cites the Australian Government belief that Haris Ibrahim poses a "high risk" if he is allowed to enter Australia, as many issues he may bring up could be very sensitive to the Malaysian Government.

Thus it could be asked does Haris Ibrahim's proposed visit to Australia pose a 'high risk' to whom?

 

Prof. Murray Hunter, He has been involved in Asia-Pacific business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, academic, and researcher. Murray is now an associate professor at the University Malaysia Perlis. He'd been also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the region. Murray is the author of a number of books, numerous research and conceptual papers in referred journals, and commentator on the issues of entrepreneurship and development in a number of magazines and online news sites around the world. Read other articles by Murray.

More likely, this visa decision in the first few days of the new Abbott administration more rightly indicates the government's attitude and policy in action towards governments in the region. Based on this decision, what we may be likely to see during this administration is the government going out of its way to placate South-East Asian Governments in the area of human rights and civil liberties, in the interests of good government to government relationships. The new Abbott government did not want to rock the boat with Kuala Lumpur in these early days of the new administration.

The Haris Ibrahim decision shows that the Abbott Government will be pragmatic rather than principled on general foreign policy issues. This decision comes very quickly after the Australian Government's remarks on asylum seeker policy, which has riled Jakarta.

If these assumptions are found to be valid, then we may have witnessed a major turn in Australian foreign policy, where the encouragement of free expression and ideas within the Asian region is no longer encouraged. Foreign policy was not an issue widely debated during Australia's recent election, however many voters will be very surprised with this new policy stance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8paf0SGIREY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay8JmBbqiQI


23.09.2013

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The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses events in the Middle East and the Balkans. It has analysed current events in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of security in view of the disintegration of the country's security system. The most interesting sections from the analysis entitled “BiH: NATO rejects Bosnia and Herzegovina due to Russia's influence” are published below.

Director:   Bakhtyar Aljaf

Bosnia in Herzegovina:
NATO rejects Bosnia and Herzegovina due to Russia's influence

According to some verified sources, Bosnia and Herzegovina's accession to NATO has been definitely stopped. NATO does not want the Russian Federation to infiltrate into its membership indirectly through Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The accession of BiH in NATO would automatically give a voice to Russia that could block NATO actions through BiH membership. BiH has fallen victim to the Russian-Serbian agreement which is supported by a certain part of Croatian and Bosniak politicians in BiH. The present situation in that country obviously shows that the whole security and defence system of BiH is controlled by Serbia, i.e. Moscow. In its analysis published on 28 August 2012 entitled “BiH: The Moscow – Belgrade – Banja Luka – Sarajevo transversal” (link: http://www.ifimes.org/en/researches/the-moscow-belgrade-banja-luka-sarajevo-transversal-2013-01-24/) IFIMES among other wrote the following analysis and assessment:
 IFIMES-BiH-SEPTEMBAR 2013-ENG.pdf  .....

22.09.2013

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PUBLICATIONS:


      The European Court of Justice of Human Rights and Bosnia

      The Australian Government's new stance on human rights? - Murray Hunter

      NATO rejects Bosnia and Herzegovina due to Russia's influence - Bakhtyar Aljaf

      The immorality of Australia's prostitution laws - Murray Hunter

      Australian Election: Abbott as PM may surprise everyone - Murray Hunter

      Malaysia: Desperately needing a new national narrative - Murray Hunter

      One Man's view of the world and a thousand faceless men: Singapore's cadre system - Murray Hunter

      How important is the Australian Election? - Murray Hunter

      El Indio: Seeking Symmetry - By Jamil Maidan Flores

      Australian Immigration - the Snowden link? - Murray Hunter

      Sarawak Reenacts Independence from Britain 50 years Ago -Murray Hunter

      The return of Kevin Rudd as Australian PM: For how long? - Murray Hunter

      Reinvigorating Rural Malaysia - New Paradigms Needed - Murray Hunter

      Can there be a National Unity Government in Malaysia? - Murray Hunter

      Will Australian Labor Remain Principled and fall on its own Sword? - Murray Hunter

      Finding a long term solution in the 'Deep South' of Thailand - Murray Hunter

      Islamic Freedom in ASEAN - Murray Hunter
  
      Multiculturalism is dead in Europe – MENA oil and the (hidden) political price Europe pays for it - Author: Anis Bajrektarevic

      Malaysia: It was Never About the Election It was always about what would happen afterwards - Murray Hunter

      Enriching the Sustainability Paradigm - Murray Hunter
 
      Does Australia's 2013 Defence White Paper Signal a Strategic Withdraw? - Murray Hunter

      Where is Saudi Arabian Society Heading? - Abdullah Abdul Elah Ali Sallam & Murray Hunter University Malaysia Perlis

      Critical Similarities and Differences in SS of Asia and Europe - Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic

      Searching for an end game in the Korean Crisis - Murray Hunter

      Turks suspicious towards German Government - Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann

      The high Australian Dollar: Whose interests is the Reserve Bank of Australia looking after? - Murray Hunter

      Is Secretary Kerry's trip to China a "face saving" measure? - Murray Hunter

      Asia-Pacific at the Crossroads - The Implications for Australian Strategic Defense Policy - Murray Hunter

      Obama's Korean Peninsula "Game" Strategy seeks to achieve a wide range of objectives in his "Asian Pivot" - Murray Hunter

      Institute for the research of genocide - IGC Letter Regarding Vuk Jeremic Agenda in UN

      Who rules Singapore? - The only true mercantile state in the world - Murray Hunter

      The Thai Deep South: Both Malaysia and Thailand Desperately Seeking Success - Murray Hunter

      The desperate plight of Islamic education in Southern Thailand - Murray Hunte

      Who makes public policy in Malaysia? - Murray Hunter

      MENA Saga and Lady Gaga - (Same dilemma from the MENA) - Anis H. Bajrektarevic

      Australia's National Security Paper: Did it amount to lost opportunities? The policy you have when you don't have a policy - Murray Hunter

      Are "B" Schools in Developing Countries infatuated with 'Western' Management ideas? - Murray Hunter

      The Stages of Economic Development from an Opportunity Perspective: Rostow Extended - Murray Hunter

      Who Really Rules Australia?: A tragic tale of the Australian People - Murray Hunter

      Europe: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue - Murray Hunter

      Back to the future: Australia's "Pacific Solution" reprise - Murray Hunter

      Hillary to Julia "You take India and I'll take Pakistan", while an ex-Aussie PM says "Enough is enough with the US" - Murray Hunter

      Entrepreneurship and economic growth? South-East Asian governments are developing policy on the misconception that entrepreneurship creates economic growth. - Murray Hunter

      FOCUSING ON MENACING MIDDLE EAST GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS, ENDANGERING SECURITY AND STABILITY OF WESTERN BALKAN* - Brig Gen (Rtd) Dr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, Pakistan

      Australia "Do as I say, not as I do" - The ongoing RBA bribery scandal - Murray Hunter

      Australia in the "Asian Century" or is it Lost in Asia? - Murray Hunter

      Surprise, surprise: An Islam economy can be innovative - Murray Hunter

      Do Asian Management Paradigms Exist? A look at four theoretical frames - Murray Hunter

      What China wants in Asia: 1975 or 1908 ? – addendum - prof. dr. Anis Bajraktarević

      ASEAN Nations need indigenous innovation to transform their economies but are doing little about it. - Murray Hunter

      From Europe, to the US, Japan, and onto China: The evolution of the automobile - Murray Hunter

      Missed Opportunities for ASEAN if the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) fails to start up in 2015 - Murray Hunter

      Lessons from the Invention of the airplane and the Beginning of the Aviation Era - Murray Hunter

      Elite educators idolize the “ high flying entrepreneurs” while deluded about the realities of entrepreneurship for the masses: - Murray Hunter

      The Arrival of Petroleum, Rockefeller, and the Lessons He taught Us - Murray Hunter - University Malaysia Perlis

      Ethics, Sustainability and the New Realities - Murray Hunter

      The Dominance of “Western” Management Theories in South-East Asian Business Schools: The occidental colonization of the mind. - Murray Hunter

      How feudalism hinders community transformation and economic evolution: Isn’t equal opportunity a basic human right? - Murray Hunter

      On Some of the Misconceptions about Entrepreneurship - Murray Hunter

      Knowledge, Understanding and the God Paradigm - Murray Hunter

      Do Confucian Principled Businesses Exist in Asia? - Murray Hunter

      Samsara and the Organization - Murray Hunter

      Integrating the philosophy of Tawhid – an Islamic approach to organization. - Murray Hunter

      What’s with all the hype – a look at aspirational marketing - Murray Hunter

      Does Intrapreneurship exist in Asia? - Murray Hunter

      One Man, Multiple Inventions: The lessons and legacies of Thomas Edison - Murray Hunter

     People tend to start businesses for the wrong reasons - Murray Hunter

     How emotions influence, how we see the world? - Murray Hunter

     How we create new ideas - Murray Hunter

     Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? - Murray Hunter

     The five types of thinking we use - Murray Hunter

     Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities: What’s wrong with SWOT? - Murray Hunter

     How motivation really works - Murray Hunter

     The Evolution of Business Strategy - Murray Hunter

     Not all opportunities are the same: A look at the four types of entrepreneurial opportunity - Murray Hunter

     Do we have a creative intelligence? - Murray Hunter

     Imagination may be more important than knowledge: The eight types of imagination we use - Murray Hunter

     The environment as a multi-dimensional system: Taking off your rose coloured glasses - Murray Hunter

     Generational Attitudes and Behaviour - Murray Hunter

     Groupthink may still be a hazard to your organization - Murray Hunter

     Perpetual Self conflict: Self awareness as a key to our ethical drive, personal mastery, and perception of entrepreneurial opportunities - Murray Hunter

     The Continuum of Psychotic Organisational Typologies - Murray Hunter

     There is no such person as an entrepreneur, just a person who acts entrepreneurially - Murray Hunter

     Go Home, Occupy Movement!!-(The McFB– Was Ist Das?) - prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

     Diplomatie préventive - Aucun siècle Asiatique sans l’institution pan-Asiatique - prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

     Democide Mass-Murder and the New World Order - Paul Adams

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Crans Montana video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tN8tam1nRQ
 

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