Russians flock to Serbia for Western-made COVID-19 vaccines

October 09, 2021

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — When Russian regulators approved the country's own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot.

So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely — a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in recent weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots.

Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots. Organized tours for Russians have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.

“We took the Pfizer vaccine because we want to travel around the world,” Nadezhda Pavlova, 54, said after receiving the vaccine last weekend at a sprawling Belgrade vaccination center. Her husband, Vitaly Pavlov, 55, said he wanted “the whole world to be open to us rather than just a few countries.”

Vaccination tour packages for Russians seeking shots endorsed by the World Health Organization appeared on the market in mid-September, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators. Maya Lomidze, the group’s executive director, said prices start at $300 to $700, depending on what’s included.

Lauded by Russian President Vladimir Putin as world's first registered COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V emerged in August 2020 and has been approved in some 70 countries, including Serbia. But the WHO has said global approval is still under review after citing issues at a production plant a few months ago.

On Friday, a top World Health Organization official said legal issues holding up the review of Sputnik V were “about to be sorted out,” a step that could relaunch the process toward emergency use authorization.

Other hurdles remain for the Russian application, including a lack of full scientific information and inspections of manufacturing sites, said Dr. Mariangela Simao, a WHO assistant director-general. Apart from the WHO, Sputnik V is also still awaiting approval from the European Medicines Agency before all travel limitations can be lifted for people vaccinated with the Russian formula.

The long wait has frustrated many Russians, so when the WHO announced yet another delay in September, they started looking for solutions elsewhere. “People don’t want to wait; people need to be able to get into Europe for various personal reasons,” explained Anna Filatovskaya, Russky Express tour agency spokeswoman in Moscow. “Some have relatives. Some have business, some study, some work. Some simply want to go to Europe because they miss it.”

Serbia, a fellow-Orthodox Christian and Slavic nation, offers the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Chinese Sinopharm shots. By popular demand, Russian tourist agencies are now also offering tours to Croatia, where tourists can receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, without the need to return for a second dose.

“For Serbia, the demand has been growing like an avalanche," Filatovskaya said. "It’s as if all our company is doing these days is selling tours for Serbia." The Balkan nation introduced vaccination for foreigners in August, when the vaccination drive inside the country slowed after reaching around 50% of the adult population. Official Serbian government data shows that nearly 160,000 foreign citizens so far have been vaccinated in the country, but it is unclear how many are Russians.

In Russia, the country's vaccination rate has been low. By this week, almost 33% of Russia’s 146 million people have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and 29% were fully vaccinated. Apart from Sputnik V and a one-dose version known as Sputnik Light, Russia has also used two other domestically designed vaccines that have not been internationally approved.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko recently said administrative issues were among the main holdups in the WHO’s review process. Judy Twigg, a political science professor specializing in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University, expects Sputnik V to be approved eventually, but “maybe not by the end of this year.”

“The WHO has said that it needs more data, and it needs to go back and inspect some production lines where it saw issues early on. Those re-inspections are a multiweek process, with good reason. It’s not something that they just gloss over lightly."

Amid low vaccination rates and reluctance by the authorities to reimpose restrictive measures, both Russia and Serbia have seen COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations reach record levels in the past weeks.

The daily coronavirus death toll in Russia topped 900 for a second straight day on Thursday — a day after reaching a record 929. In Serbia, the daily death toll of 50 people is the highest in months in the country of 7 million that so far has confirmed nearly 1 million cases of infection.

Pavlova said the “double protection” offered by the Pfizer booster shots would allow the family "to not only travel around the world, but also to see our loved ones without fear.” Since the vaccine tours exploded in popularity about a month ago, they have provided welcome business for Serbian tour operators devastated by the pandemic in an already weak economy. The owner of BTS Kompas travel agency in Belgrade, Predrag Tesic, said they are booked well in advance.

“It started modestly at first, but day by day numbers have grown nicely,” Tesic said. He explained that his agency organizes everything, from airport transport to accommodations and translation and other help at vaccination points. When they return for another dose in three weeks, the Russian guests also are offered brief tours to some of popular sites in Serbia.

Back in Russia, some Moscow residents said they understood why many of their fellow Russians travel abroad for vaccines. But Tatiana Novikova said homegrown vaccines remain her choice. "I trust ours more, to be honest,” she said.

Associated Press writers Dusan Stojanovic and Ivana Bzganovic in Belgrade, Serbia, and Daria Litvinova and Daniel Kozin reported from Moscow.

Amman condemns Kosovo, Serbia's decision to move embassies to Jerusalem

9/7/2020

AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday inveighed against the decision of both Kosovo and Serbia to move their embassies to Jerusalem, describing it as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

Daifallah Fayez, the Ministry's spokesperson, said that the decision flouts international resolutions, foremost of which are the UN's Security Council resolutions 476, 478 and 2334. He highlighted that the resolutions clearly state that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory where international law is applied.

He said that establishing a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only means to establish a lasting peace to the conflict.

Fayez commended the EU for its position against moving embassies and diplomatic missions to Jerusalem.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=43962.

Serbian parliament convenes after elections, amid protests

August 03, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's new parliament convened Monday amid protests by the some opposition parties and far-right groups claiming that the parliamentary election, overwhelmingly won by the ruling populists, was rigged.

Dozens of protesters booed and jeered at the lawmakers arriving to the inaugural parliament session in the domed downtown parliament building. Some of them threw eggs toward the building. Police sealed off much of the area in front of the assembly to prevent the repeat of violent protests last month at the same location against the increasingly autocratic rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party swept the June 21 parliamentary vote that was boycotted by several of the main opposition parties. The Progressives won 188 seats in the 250-member assembly. The rest of the seats went to Vucic’s allies or minority groups, meaning that the real opposition will not be represented.

The opposition boycott was carried out citing the lack of free and fair voting conditions and a danger to public health amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But a number of smaller parties decided to run, saying the boycott only sidelined an already marginalized opposition.

Sasa Radulovic, the leader of one of the parties that ran in the election, took part in Monday's protest. “The government has forged the elections by falsifying the final electoral reports at the polling stations," he said, claiming he has proof of the wrongdoing.

Vucic has repeatedly denied interfering in the vote, saying his opponents are crying foul because they have little popular support. Vucic, who was elected to a five-year term in April 2017 and was not running for office this time, still dominated the election campaign through the mainstream media which he controls, denouncing and ridiculing his critics. He rejected allegations that by taking a leading role in the campaign, he was abusing his largely ceremonial presidential powers.

Most of the opposition parties accused Vucic and his government of letting the coronavirus crisis spin out of control in order to hold the election that tightened the ruling party’s grip on power amid widespread feelings of chaos.

Lawmakers at the inaugural parliament session wore face masks, and kept social distancing rules.

Serbia's leader not worried about losing power amid protests

July 10, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's president said Friday he's not worried about losing political power amid large protests against his handling of the coronavirus crisis and hard-line rule, but instead expressed his fear about the spread of the virus by the demonstrators.

“It is so irresponsible to call upon people to gather and demonstrate when we are faced with the most horrific numbers of infections from the coronavirus," President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters during his state visit to France.

“I beg people, please let’s keep our health safe. Nobody is going to take power by force. Power is taken at the elections. You can protest as much as you want when the epidemic is over," Vucic said. “If you don’t understand this, and you want to bring some tycoons to power — let me tell you — this is not going to happen."

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Friday announced the highest daily number of deaths, 18, since the start of the pandemic in the Balkan country. She also recorded 386 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours. That makes over 17,300 confirmed cases and 352 deaths since March.

Brnabic said that in three to four days, “the consequences of the protests will have to be seen." After two nights of violent protests and clashes with police, peaceful demonstrations were held in the capital of Belgrade and several other Serbian towns on Thursday. A few people wore face masks.

Defying a ban on mass gatherings passed by the government on Thursday, many protesters wore white T-shirts with the inscription, “Sit Down, Don’t Be Set Up” — referring to widespread reports that the violence the previous nights that played into the government’s hands was staged by far-right groups close to the authorities.

The opposition Alliance for Serbia coalition said in a statement that Vucic’s regime on Thursday apparently “gave hooligans a night off’’ while he attended a summit in Paris that is focusing on peace talks between Serbia and its breakaway province of Kosovo.

“With the peaceful protests last night, people showed in what kind of a country they want to live,” the statement said. “We had an almost normal day when Vucic was not in town, without him playing around with the protests, the pandemic and our lives.”

Vucic denied that “hooligans,” who were seen beating up the protesters, are under his control, claiming they were brought in by the opposition. The spontaneous protests started on Tuesday when Vucic announced that Belgrade would be placed under a new three-day lockdown following a second wave of confirmed coronavirus infections.

The protests then mushroomed into wider frustration with Vucic’s increasingly authoritarian rule. The unrest, considered the most intense since the overthrow of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2,000, continued although Vucic suspended his decision to enforce a second shutdown.

After initially handling the pandemic relatively well, Vucic and his government have been accused of allowing the crisis to spin out of control in order to hold a June 21 election that tightened his grip on power.

Opponents blame the president for contributing to the large spike in deaths and new cases after he entirely lifted previous very tight lockdown measures. Mass gatherings at soccer and tennis matches and at nightclubs were allowed despite warnings by experts that this could lead to a spike in infections.

Serbian officials denounced the protests as an attempt to overthrow the government and weaken Vucic’s position in the European Union-mediated negotiations on Kosovo, a former province whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade doesn't recognize.

More protests are scheduled for Friday.

Serbia bans mass gatherings after virus lockdown protests

July 09, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian authorities on Thursday banned gatherings of more than 10 people in the capital, Belgrade, after two nights of violent clashes between police and thousands of demonstrators protesting coronavirus lockdown measures.

Thousands of people defied the ban to stage a sit down protest Thursday night in front of Parliament, along with other peaceful gatherings in towns elsewhere in Serbia. Many protesters wore white T-shirts with the inscription, “Sit Down, Don’t Be Set Up” — referring to widespread claims that the violence the previous nights was staged by hooligan groups close to the authorities to smear the opposition groups' image.

“This is how the protest should really look like, without their mad dogs present,” said one of the main opposition leaders, Dragan Djilas. Despite no police intervention, there were several skirmishes between peaceful protesters and the far-right groups, but no clashes like the violence of the previous two nights.

Serbia's government crisis team said the restrictions imposed Thursday were intended to prevent the virus' further spread following two nights of clashes, during which few people wore face masks. In addition to limiting gatherings, businesses in closed spaces, such as cafes, shopping malls or shops, were ordered to operate shorter hours.

“The health system in Belgrade is close to breaking up,” Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said. “That is why I can’t understand what we saw last night and the night before.” The clashes followed an announcement from President Aleksandar Vucic that further lockdown measures were likely as the outbreak in the country was spiraling out of control, especially in Belgrade, where 80 percent of new cases were recorded. At least 17,342 cases and 352 deaths have been recorded throughout Serbia.

Although the new government measures passed Thursday don’t include an originally planned weekend curfew, the limit on gatherings effectively means a ban on protests. After initially handling the pandemic relatively well, Vucic and his government have been accused of allowing the crisis to spin out of control in order to hold a June 21 election that tightened his grip on power.

Opponents blame the autocratic president for contributing to the large spike in deaths and new cases after he entirely lifted previous very tight lockdown measures. Mass gatherings at soccer and tennis matches and at nightclubs were allowed despite warnings by experts that this could lead to a spike in infections.

Over the previous two evenings, rock-throwing demonstrators fought running battles with special police forces, who used tear gas, armored vehicles and horses to disperse them. Both protests started peacefully before far-right nationalist groups started hurling objects at police.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement Thursday it was “deeply concerned" by the violence. “We condemn all violence, including what appeared to us to be coordinated attacks on police seemingly intended to provoke overreactions, as well as what appeared to the use of excessive force by police," it said.

Dozens of people were injured in the two days of clashes in Belgrade and other cities. Serbia's police chief, Vladimir Rebic, said 118 police officers were injured and 153 protesters were detained. “Such violence is inadmissible and police will use all means to stop it," Rebic said in a statement.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International, however, blamed the police for applying “heavy-handed measures" against the demonstrators. “Images of Serbian police firing tear gas and stun grenades indiscriminately into the crowd, and of protesters and bystanders being charged by mounted police and beaten by police in riot gear, raise serious concerns," Amnesty International’s Balkans researcher Jelena Sesar said in a statement.

Videos on social media appeared to show police severely beating up protesters. In one, a protester was seen being hit and kicked by several officers and dumped on the sidewalk, seemingly unconscious. The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified.

Under apparent pressure from the protesters, the Serbian president backtracked Wednesday on his plan to implement a weekend curfew, claiming the measure could not be carried out without proclaiming a nationwide state of emergency.

In an Instagram post on Thursday — from inside the plane taking him on an official visit to France — Vucic said the state will curb unrest, and urged his followers not to confront violent demonstrators.

“I promised that we will know how to preserve peace and stability despite criminal hooligan violent attacks that have shocked us all," he said. Vucic has accused foreign intelligence services of being behind the unrest. He has described the protests as “political" and aimed at weakening Serbia in its talks with Kosovo, a former province whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade does not recognize.

Although Vucic stopped short of identifying the alleged foreign spy agencies, tabloids under his control accused pro-Russia far-right groups of fueling the violence. The Russian ambassador to Serbia on Thursday vehemently denied accusations that Moscow was behind the unrest.

Serbia eyes restrictions; virus spreads in US, Brazil, India

July 09, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The European nation of Serbia mulled how to curb accelerating coronavirus infections following two nights of clashes involving anti-lockdown demonstrators, while the virus showed no sign of slowing Thursday in the countries with the highest caseloads — the United States, India and Brazil.

The three nations on separate continents are accounting for more than 60% of new confirmed cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University. India on Thursday reported 25,000 new cases; the United States on Wednesday reported just short of the record 60,000 cases set a day earlier, and Brazil reported nearly 45,000.

Much of Europe appeared to have put the worst of the crisis behind it, at least for now. But Serbia has emerged as a new focus of concern — and of unrest. The country's crisis team was expected to reimpose a ban gatherings in the capital, Belgrade and to limit the cafe and night club operations following a spike in infections that officials say threatens the Serbian health system.

It wasn't clear whether officials would reintroduce a weekend curfew, the initial announcement of which triggered violent protests in Belgrade and other cities. Critics accuse President Aleksandar Vucic of letting the crisis spin out of control by lifting an earlier lockdown to allow for an election that tightened his grip on power.

Rock-throwing demonstrators this week fought hours-long running battles with special police forces who used tear gas to disperse them. Vucic said in an Instagram post on Thursday that the government would control the unrest.

Flare-ups of new virus cases are causing concern in several parts of the world, and in some cases leading to the reintroduction of restrictions on public activity. In France and Greece, officials warned that residents were too frequently ignoring safety guidance. The French government's leading coronavirus adviser, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, lamented that “the French in general have abandoned protective measures.”

“Everyone must understand that we are at the mercy of a return (of the virus) in France,” Delfraissy said. “It suffices to have one super-spreader in a gathering and it will take off again.” Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said authorities were “determined to protect the majority from the frivolous few.” He said the government may announce new restrictions, if needed, on Monday.

Pestas said authorities were focused on the rising number of cases in nearby Balkan countries and tourists who traveled to Greece over the land border with Bulgaria. In Australia, which had initial success containing the outbreak, authorities on Thursday reported 179 new cases, most in Melbourne, where authorities are battling a resurgence and have imposed a new six-week lockdown.

Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said six new cases were from a Melbourne high school which has become the state’s largest known cluster, with 113 people infected. More than 2,000 students and hundreds of staff are in quarantine.

Tokyo confirmed more than 220 new cases Thursday, exceeding its record daily increase from mid-April and prompting concerns of widening of the infections. Tokyo’s more than 7,000 cases are about one-third of Japan's total.

“It’s a wake-up call,” Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike told reporters. “We need to use extra caution against the further spread of the infections.” Experts on Tokyo’s virus task force said the majority of recent cases were linked to night clubs but rising infections from households, workplaces and parties raised concerns the virus is spreading in the wider community.

Hong Kong moved to tighten social-distancing measures after it reported 42 new infections on Thursday. Rules for restaurants, bars and fitness centers will be tightened for two weeks starting Saturday.

In India, research by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai shows that the reproduction rate of the virus ticked up in the first week of July to about 1.2 after it had steadily fallen from a peak of 1.8 in March. The rate needs to be below one for new cases to start falling.

The head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it would be wise to prepare for the worst-case scenario as virus=related deaths passed 12,000 and confirmed cases climbed fast on that continent. A day after confirmed virus cases across Africa surpassed half a million, the total was over 522,000 and climbing. Testing levels are low, so the actual number of cases is unknown.

’We’ve crossed a critical number here,” Africa CDC chief John Nkengasong said of the half-million milestone. “Our pandemic is getting full speed.” In the U.S., the number of confirmed cases has passed 3 million — meaning nearly one in every 100 people has been confirmed as infected — and the death toll in the pandemic is more than 132,000.

U.S. President Donald Trump remains determined to reopen America’s schools despite worries about the virus, and on Wednesday threatened to hold back federal money if school districts don't bring their students back in the fall.

Despite Trump’s pressure, New York City announced that most of its students would return to classrooms only two or three days a week and would learn online in between. A growing chorus of public health experts is urging U.S. officials to reconsider how they are reopening the broader economy, and to prioritize schools. That effort that will likely require closing some other establishments like bars and gyms to help curb the virus spread.

Perry reported from Wellington, New Zealand. Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Associated Press reporters around the world contributed to this report.

Serbia sends mixed signals on virus lockdown after clashes

July 08, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president and other officials sent mixed signals on Wednesday whether they will go ahead with the plans to reinstate a coronavirus lockdown in Belgrade after thousands protested the move and violently clashed with the police in the capital.

Chaos erupted as thousands of protesters fought running battles with police and tried to storm the parliament building after President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Tuesday that a weekend curfew will be reintroduced in the Balkan country after health officials reported the highest single-day death toll of 13 amid 299 new COVID-19 cases.

Opponents blame the autocratic Serbian leader of contributing to the spike in deaths and new cases after he lifted the previous lockdown measures. They say he did that to cement his grip on power after parliamentary elections held on June 21. He has denied those claims.

On Wednesday, Vucic appeared to backtrack on his new lockdown plans that were to take effect during the coming weekend. “You know, seven days ago I thought to impose once again the lockdown of the entire country because of that new wave of the COVID-19 crisis,” Vucic told a video conference with his populist allies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovenian Premier Janez Jansa.

“But you know, if we would have done that, we would have no chances of surviving economically and we need to live with this, and we need to take all precautionary measures but we need to keep on working, to keep on working very hard just to protect our business community and our workers,” he said.

Serbia's chief epidemiologist, Predrag Kon, told N1 television that the announced curfew is still under discussion and might not be imposed after all. Kon said the protest on Tuesday evening “showed how people feel” about the possibility of total lockdown in Belgrade during the weekend.

He said the virus' spread has to be curbed and lockdown is the easiest way. But he suggested the measures might be less strict than Vucic announced. Serbian police said 23 people have been detained and scores of police officers and demonstrators injured in the clashes that lasted for more than six hours.

Police chief Vladimir Rebic told state-run RTS television that authorities are working to identify more people who took part in the rioting in central Belgrade that left 43 police officers and 17 demonstrators injured.

Rebic said police showed “maximum restraint” and reacted only when it was absolutely necessary. Some rights groups in Belgrade denounced what they described as police brutality. The Belgrade Center for Human Rights urged citizens to come forward and offered legal aid.

Vucic will deliver a TV address to the nation later Wednesday as more protests by opposition groups are planned.

Serbs storm parliament after virus lockdown announced

July 08, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of protesters fought running battles with police and tried to storm the parliament building in Belgrade on Tuesday after the Serbian president announced that a coronavirus lockdown will be reintroduced in the Balkan country.

Police fired several rounds of tear gas at the protesters, some chanting “Resignation! Resignation!" as they gathered in front of the downtown parliament building in the Serbian capital. Some of the protesters briefly managed to enter the parliament by force, but were pushed back by riot police.

The protesters responded by hurling flares, stones, bottles and eggs at the police. Several clashes erupted between some of the most extremist rioters apparently belonging to far-right groups and the baton-wielding police.

Protesters also clashed with police in front of the state TV building. The broadcaster is accused by the opposition of having a pro-government bias. A number of police vehicles were set on fire. Serbian police director Vladimir Rebic told the state television that a number of demonstrators have been detained and police officers injured, but did not specify how many. He said smaller protests were also held in other Serbian cities.

“I appeal to the citizens ... to help ease the tensions,” Rebic said. “I'm certain police will respond adequately and prevent any form of hooligan behavior.” Earlier, President Aleksandar Vucic called the virus situation in Belgrade “alarming” and “critical” as the city's hospitals neared their capacity limits after health officials reported highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus on Tuesday.

Vucic said the government would reimpose a curfew as of Friday. He said it will “probably" last from 6 p.m. on Friday till 5 a.m. on Monday. He also said the groups of no more than five people will be allowed together.

Many blame the autocratic Serbian president for lifting the previous lockdown measures just so he would cement his grip on power after parliamentary elections. He has denied those claims. Soccer and tennis matches were played in packed stands and the election was held on June 21 despite warnings from experts that the mass gatherings without social distancing could lead to a new coronavirus wave.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic denounced the protest, saying the state will protect law and order and accused opposition politicians of being behind the storming of parliament. “I strongly condemn the vandalism of politicians who are behind the violent break into the Serbian Parliament at the moment when the state and the health system face the toughest blow from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic,” Brnabic said.

The country’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that 13 people had died in 24 hours in Serbia and 299 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed. That brought the total to 16,719 confirmed cases and 330 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in Serbia, which went from having one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns to a near-complete reopening at the beginning of May.

AP Writer Jovana Gec contributed.

Australia isolates virus-prone state, Serbs oppose lockdown

July 08, 2020

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia isolated the state of Victoria on Wednesday in a bid to contain the worsening spread of the coronavirus as the city of Melbourne prepared for its second lockdown, an example of a resurgent disease in places that initially succeeded in taming it.

Melbourne’s failure to curb the virus in the past three weeks is a starkly different pandemic experience to other parts of the country that have been reporting single-digit daily counts of infections if any.

In Serbia, chaos erupted as thousands of protesters fought running battles with police and tried to storm the parliament building in Belgrade on Tuesday after the president announced that a coronavirus lockdown will be reintroduced in the Balkan country.

President Aleksandar Vucic called the virus situation in Belgrade “alarming” and “critical” as the city’s hospitals neared their capacity limits after health officials reported the highest single-day death toll of 13 amid 299 new COVID-19 cases.

Many blame the autocratic Serbian leader for lifting the previous lockdown measures just so he would cement his grip on power after parliamentary elections. He has denied those claims. In China, where the pandemic appeared late last year, only seven new cases were confirmed on Wednesday, all of them brought from outside the country. But South Korea reported 63 additional cases among a population twice the size of Australia’s. South Korean authorities are scrambling to stem transmissions tied to places such as churches, temples, restaurants and workplaces.

Pakistan’s daily infection rate dropped below 3,000 for the second straight day. Medical professionals are urging caution, noting testing has been cut by almost one third. Still some experts, particularly in the eastern city of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province where nearly 60% of the country’s 220 million people live, are suggesting the virus may have peaked in June.

Victoria authorities announced another 134 coronavirus cases in the latest 24 hours, down from a daily record 191 cases on Tuesday. The rest of Australia recorded 13 cases including three Melbourne-linked infections in the national capital Canberra. The Canberra infections are the first recorded there in almost a month.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the entire nation was behind Melbourne as it locked down for six weeks from Wednesday night. “We’re all Melburnians now when it comes to the challenges we face,” Morrison said. “We’re all Victorians now because we’re all Australians and that’s where the challenge is right now."

The Victoria border with New South Wales closed on Tuesday, but a steady stream of cars continued to pass through police checkpoints with permits granted to travelers to cross for reasons such as work and medical treatment.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned her citizens against traveling to the border region. She foreshadowed potential restrictions on travel within Australia’s most populous state to further reduce the risk of Melbourne virus reaching Sydney.

Other states have warned that people from Victoria would be turned back or be forced to spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival. Australian successes in the early weeks of the pandemic through its suppression strategy were similar to near-neighbor New Zealand, which set out to eradicate the virus and ended community transmission.

New Zealand authorities said Wednesday they will press charges against a coronavirus patient who escaped quarantine in Auckland and went shopping at a supermarket. Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the head of managed isolation and quarantine, said the 32-year-old man escaped through a fence at the Stamford Plaza hotel and was gone for just over an hour before returning.

The man later tested positive for the virus. Webb said the man was a New Zealander who recently returned from India and his actions were “completely unacceptable.” New Zealand is trying to contain cases at the border by placing new arrivals into a 14-day quarantine at various hotels.

Morrison said he wanted to reduce the numbers of Australian citizens, permanent residents and foreigners exempt from Australia’s travel ban landing at Australian airports because of the strain on hotel quarantine.

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.

Serbia to reintroduce virus lockdown after new case spike

July 07, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president announced the reintroduction of a lockdown after the Balkan country reported its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus Tuesday. President Aleksandar Vucic called the virus situation in the Serbian capital of Belgrade “alarming” and “critical” as the city's hospitals neared their capacity limits.

Vucic said the government would reimpose a curfew as of Friday. He said it will “probably" last from 6 p.m. on Friday till 5 a.m. on Monday. He also said the groups of no more than five people will be allowed together.

The country’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that 13 people had died in 24 hours in Serbia and 299 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed. That brought the total to 16,719 confirmed cases and 330 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in Serbia, which went from having one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns to a near-complete reopening at the beginning of May.

Soccer and tennis matches were played in packed stands and a parliamentary election was held on June 21 despite warnings from experts that the mass gatherings without social distancing could lead to a new coronavirus wave.

“We have probably relaxed too much. Everyone thought it was all over," Vucic said, angrily rejecting widespread criticism that his insisting on holding the election led to the lifting of the earlier lockdown and the recent coronaviorus case spike.

On Tuesday, Montenegro introduced a compulsory quarantine for all people arriving from neighboring Serbia, citing coronaviorus health risks. Greece also banned Serb tourists from entering the country on Monday.

In an apparent tit-for-tat move, the Serbian government said Tuesday it was introducing a 14-day self-quarantine period for Montenegrin citizens who come to Serbia. A country of 620,000, Montenegro split from the much larger Serbia in 2006, but many in Montenegro and Serbia remain opposed to the separation. Serbs represent about 30% of Montenegro’s population.

Montenegro, the first European country to declare itself free of the coronavirus, has recently seen an uptick in new confirmed cases.

Serbia opposition stage curfew protest against government

April 30, 2020

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A group of Serbian opposition leaders on Thursday staged a protest during an evening curfew to voice their criticism of the populist government's measures against the new coronavirus.

Also Thursday, thousands banged pots and blew whistles from their windows and balconies, even as authorities eased a previously announced 83-hour curfew planned for the upcoming weekend. Serbia’s populist government in mid-March introduced some of the harshest measures in Europe, imposing a state of emergency, banning people over 65 years old from leaving their homes and imposing daily and weekend curfews.

Government critics have insisted that the authorities of autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic have used the state of emergency to curb democracy and media freedoms. Vucic has denied this. Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday gathered at the start of the curfew at 6 p.m., holding speeches outside the Serbian parliament building in Belgrade. They wore masks but didn't fully respect social-distancing measures.

No opposition supporters were invited to the protests, but some supporters of the government showed up, shouting at the opposition leaders. No major incidents were reported. The curfew initially was meant to last until Monday morning to prevent people from socializing during the brief May Day holiday, but the government earlier on Thursday shortened the ban following public pressure.

Fueling tensions, pro-government protesters and apparent soccer hooligans on Wednesday lit flares in support of Vucic on top of several buildings in the new part of town, drawing sharp public criticism.

Serbia has reported 9,009 infections while 179 people have died. The Balkan country has started easing the measures, but experts have warned that the situation is still volatile.

US opposes Kosovo's 'new barriers' to Serbian goods

April 01, 2020

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The decision of Kosovo's government to phase out the country's 100% tariff on imports from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina starting Wednesday did not ease international pressure on the tiny Western Balkans country and sparked more domestic tensions.

Although the United States and the European Union had pushed for lifting the import taxes, Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced early Wednesday that his caretaker Cabinet would instead require goods from Serbia to be certified for quality, a mandate already in place for Kosovar products shipped to Serbia.

Marko Djuric, head of Serbia’s office for Kosovo, rejected Kurti’s move, saying “the situation did not deescalate or return to the previous state when uncivilized taxes were introduced.” Kosovo imposed the punitive tariffs in November 2018 over Serbian efforts to block Kosovo from joining international organizations. The dispute led to the suspension of European Union-mediated talks to normalize ties between Pristina and Belgrade.

Most Serb goods stopped arriving in Kosovo after the import taxes were introduced, except for products that were mainly smuggled into Kosovo's Serb-dominated Mitrovica. Annual trade between Serbia and Kosovo was valued at about 400 million euros ($440 million) before the tariffs were adopted, and inflation in Kosovo rose to about 3% in 2019 after the import taxes took effect compared to 1.1% the previous year.

Kosovo was formerly a part of Serbia and won independence after a 1999 NATO bombing campaign that ended a bloody Serb crackdown on an armed uprising by members of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority. Serbia refuses to accept Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

Since the start of the Pristina-Belgrade talks in 2011, 33 deals have been signed to ensure the country's recognition each other in areas such as education and professional degrees. Kosovo claims Serbia has not fulfilled its side of the agreements. Kosovo recognizes diplomas from Serbian universities, but Serbia does not accept the degrees of Kosovar university graduates. It’s the same with drivers' licenses.

Kurti said the government would monitor whether Serbia moves toward reciprocity until June 15 and if not, the tariffs will be restored. The junior partner in Kurti's coalition government, the Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK, initiated a successful parliamentary vote of no-confidence vote in his Cabinet last week. His government now is acting in a caretaker capacity.

The motion came after an LDK minister was fired for not supporting the restrictions on movement the government imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The LDK also wanted Kurti to fully revoke the 100% tariff and not damage ties with the Kosovo's most important ally, the United States.

The United States argued that Kurti's actions would strangle Kosovo's economy. “We remain opposed to the latest move to implement reciprocal measures on the movement of goods from Serbia.” the U.S.Embassy in Kosovo said in a statement Wednesday.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, hailed Kosovo's move as “an important decision.”

Associated Press witers Dusan Stojanovic and Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade.

Kosovo lawmakers occupy office over tax on Serbian imports

December 02, 2018

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Lawmakers representing Kosovo's ethnic Serb minority are refusing to leave the parliament building to protest a 100 percent tax on all goods imported from Serbia. Ten lawmakers from the Serb List party said on Sunday they would remain closed inside their Parliament office and express their concerns about the tax to the European Union's enlargement commissioner, Johannes Hahn. He is scheduled to visit Kosovo on Monday.

Kosovo's government imposed the tariff on Serbian imports last month and said it would stay in place until Serbia recognizes Kosovo's independence and stops preventing it from joining international organizations.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The EU has said that normalized ties between the two are a condition for the countries to become members.

Vladimir Putin gets lavish welcome on visit to ally Serbia

January 17, 2019

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Vladimir Putin received a hero's welcome in ally Serbia on Thursday as the Russian president attempted to maintain political and economic influence in the Balkans, which is increasingly looking Westward.

Putin's presidential plane was escorted over Serbian airspace by MiG-29 fighter jets he recently donated to Serbia as he arrived for the one-day visit. Church bells tolled, guns saluted and people waved Russian and Serbian flags on Putin's route through the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

Serbia has maintained close links with traditional Slavic ally Russia despite formally seeking European Union membership. It has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and has pledged to stay out of NATO.

Putin has recently stepped up efforts to restore Moscow's influence in the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Putin and his host, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, praised the relationship between the two countries. Putin handed a top Russian honor to Vucic, who gave a puppy of a Serb dog breed to the Russian president.

Vucic thanked Russia for its support for Serbia's claim over Kosovo, a former province that declared independence in 2008, and added that "however small," Serbia has been a "reliable partner" to Russia.

Several bilateral agreements were signed, including on the supply of Russian gas and weapons to Serbia. On the gas, Putin said Russian companies are ready to invest about $1.4 billion into a stretch of a pipeline that would go from Turkey via EU-member Bulgaria to Serbia and then on to Hungary, "but in the end, everything will depend on other countries, including the European Union."

Putin's visit come as thousands have been holding weekly demonstrations against Vucic because of what they see as his autocratic rule. Tens of thousands of Vucic's right-wing party supporters were bused into the capital on Thursday to gather in front of the St. Sava Orthodox church, which the two presidents visited. They were chanting slogans including "Serbia-Russia, we don't need the European Union!"

Vucic's critics say the gathering was staged to suggest that the Serbian leader has many more supporters than opponents, who have been marching the same route since December to demand free elections and media.

Several liberal Serbian rights groups issued a statement on Thursday protesting "glorification of Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime." It said that Putin's visit "indicates that the Serbian rulers are ready to sacrifice human rights and better living standards of citizens because of their servile attitude toward Putin's regime."

Russia's interest in Serbia relates to its strategic position between East and West. Of Serbia's eight neighbors, five are NATO members and two more are seeking membership; and four are in the EU and two more are working toward accession. Serbia remains Moscow's only ally in the region.

Unlike NATO, Putin formally does not oppose Serbia's EU path and analysts believe that this is because he wants a staunch ally — or perhaps a Trojan horse — within the 28-nation bloc. Putin's popularity in Serbia is mostly because the Kremlin is supporting Serbia in its rejection of Kosovo's independence. In contrast, most Western countries have recognized Kosovo's statehood.

AP writer Jovana Gec contributed.

Serbian lawyers go on strike to protest slaying of colleague

July 29, 2018

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Lawyers in Serbia declared a weeklong strike Sunday to protest the killing of a prominent attorney who was on the legal team that defended former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Dragoslav Ognjanovic, 56, was gunned down late Saturday outside his home in the new part of Belgrade, the Serbian capital, police said. Ognjanovic's 26-year-old son was wounded in the arm during the shooting, police said in a statement.

Police said they were searching "intensively" for the killer. Serbian media reported that police sealed off the area near the home Saturday night and blocked exits from the city. The search continued Sunday.

Ognjanovic was part of the legal team that defended Milosevic at the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, where Milosevic was tried for war crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Milosevic died of a heart attack in 2006 before the end of the court proceedings.

Ognjanovic has also defended well-known crime figures in Serbia. Serbian media said his killing might have been the latest in a series of Mafia-style executions that took place amid an ongoing war among criminal gangs in Serbia and in neighboring Montenegro.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Sunday that police have "certain leads" in the investigation. Vucic added that the state would step up pressure to curb crime. "The clan war over the drug market is becoming something that the state must deal with in a more brutal way," Vucic said, according to news channel N1.

The Bar Association of Serbia said Ognjanovic's slaying "showed in a most drastic way the circumstances in which lawyers in Serbia conduct their professional work." "This killing is only the latest in a series of attacks on lawyers, many of which have remained unsolved," the statement said, urging Serbian authorities to use "all possible resources" to find the killer.

The lawyers' protest strike starts Monday. The association also said it would offer a reward for information on Ognjanovic's killing.

Kosovo celebrates 10 years of independence, Serbs boycott

February 18, 2018

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The Kosovo Assembly, or Parliament, convened in a special session Sunday to celebrate the country's 10 years of independence — a ceremony boycotted by the country's ethnic Serb lawmakers.

Speaker Kadri Veseli pledged that "the second decade of independence would be focused on the economic well-being of Kosovo's citizens." The second day of celebrations continued with a parade of military and police forces and a state reception.

In Feb. 17, 2008, Kosovo's Parliament unilaterally declared independence from Serbia nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians.

Kosovo, one of poorest countries in Europe, has taken a first step to European Union membership by signing a Stabilization and Association Agreement. But the country faces serious challenges besides its relations with Serbia, including establishing the rule of law and fighting high unemployment, corruption and organized crime.

Kosovo is recognized by 117 countries, including the U.S. and most Western powers but Serbia still sees Kosovo as part of its own territory and has the support of Russia and China. A day earlier in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Kosovo's independence remains fragile and won't be concluded without an agreement with Serbia.

Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania contributed.

Serbia museum benefits from renewed interest in Nikola Tesla

January 30, 2018

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Along dimmed corridors in an elegant villa in central Belgrade, visitors are treated to a flashy presentation of Nikola Tesla's technology — as well as a huge array of the visionary scientist's clothes, hundreds of instruments, and even his ashes.

The Serbian museum, dedicated to everything to do with the 19th-century inventor and electricity pioneer, remained in relative obscurity for decades under the communist-run former Yugoslavia. But thanks to a global revival of interest in the scientist, the collection is now drawing big crowds from home and abroad.

Museum staff say some 130,000 people visited last year, compared to about 30,000 a year in the past — when its audience included generations of local school children but hardly anyone from abroad. Now the small museum is ranked among the top must-see destination for tourists.

Tesla is best known for developing the alternating current that helped safely distribute electricity at great distances, including from the hydro-electric plant at the Niagara Falls in mid-1890s. He experimented with X-ray and radio technology, working in rivalry with Thomas Edison.

Although he's known to many science lovers, his following and name-recognition among the general public has rocketed in recent years thanks to Paypal billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla electric car. In the U.S., Tesla admirers have raised money through crowdfunding to purchase his laboratory In Shoreham, N.Y.

An ethnic Serb born in 1856 in the Austrian Empire in present-day Croatia, Tesla spent most of his life abroad, working in Budapest and Paris before emigrating to the U.S. in 1884. The Tesla Museum in Belgrade holds a vast array of the scientist's personal items, from his sleepwear, shaving kit, tailor-made suit and cane to tens of thousands of documents and his awards. Even pieces of furniture from the New Yorker Hotel room 3327, where Tesla spent the last ten years of his life — his bed, fridge, metal lockers and a cupboard — are included.

"He was a man who took great care of his belongings and saved a large number of documents, so thanks to that we can now reconstruct his life and his work," curator Milica Kesler said. "He was fully aware of the importance of what he was doing."

Packed in some sixty trunks and containers, Tesla's entire property first arrived in the former Yugoslavia on a ship from New York in 1951, eight years after his death. Authorities set up the museum in 1952, which later struggled with scarce funds and low attendance.

Nowadays, thrilled visitors are given fluorescent light sticks that light up wirelessly with the discharge from the Tesla coil, a four-meter-tall transformer circuit that generates electricity. In a separate room, in a somewhat macabre setting of dimmed lights and dark drapes, are Tesla's ashes in a golden ball urn.

There are now so many visitors that the museum has extended its working hours and introduced more guided tours. Museum worker Pavle Petrovic says "the holiday season is the busiest, of course, but numbers stay high throughout the year."

Although Tesla visited Belgrade just once for 31 hours, Serbia celebrates him as the pride of the nation. Belgrade's airport and a new city boulevard are named after Tesla, his image is on souvenirs, and the Serbian Orthodox Church wants Tesla's ashes placed in the country's main religious temple, triggering protests by the liberal scientific community.

Typical of the Balkan divide, neighboring Croatia also claims Tesla as its own, turning his house in the home village of Smiljan into a memorial center. The rival former Yugoslav republics have marked important dates in Tesla's life separately amid strained relations stemming from the 1990s' bloody breakup of the joint ex-federation.

Away from the crowds, Tesla's archive of more than 160,000 documents, scientific plans, manuscripts and letters is stored carefully in the museum's basement. Curator Kesler said Tesla made the experts' job easy by keeping a neat chronology of the documents.

"Sometimes I have a feeling he left us some kind of a path, a guideline to follow," she said with a smile.

Kosovo Serb politician is gunned down; police start manhunt

January 16, 2018

MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP) — A leading Serb politician in northern Kosovo was gunned down Tuesday morning, an attack that raised ethnic tensions in the Balkans and prompted the suspension of EU-mediated talks between Kosovo and Serbia.

Assailants opened fire on Oliver Ivanovic, 64, close to the offices of his political party in the Serb-controlled northern city of Mitrovica. He was taken to a hospital but doctors were unable to save him.

The doctors said Ivanovic had received at least five gunshot wounds to his upper torso. The assailants escaped in a car that was later found burned out. Kosovo police sealed off the area of the shooting and began a manhunt for the attackers.

Ivanovic was one of the key politicians in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, a former Serbian province where tensions still remain high a decade after it declared independence in 2008. Serbia does not recognize that independence.

Ivanovic was considered a moderate who maintained relations with NATO and EU officials even after Serbia lost the control of its former province following NATO's 1999 bombing to stop a deadly Serb crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.

A Kosovo court convicted Ivanovic of war crimes during the 1998-99 war. That verdict was overturned and a retrial was underway. In Pristina, the Kosovo government strongly denounced the slaying, saying it considers the attack a challenge to "the rule of law and efforts to establish the rule of law in the whole of Kosovo territory."

In Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held a top security meeting to discuss the shooting. Afterward, he called the killing "a terrorist act" and said Serbia is demanding that international missions in Kosovo include Serbia in their investigation into the slaying.

"Serbia will take all necessary steps so the killer or killers are found," he said. At the news of Ivanovic's slaying, the Serb delegation at the EU talks in Brussels immediately left to return to Belgrade.

Delegation leader Marko Djuric said "whoever is behind this attack ... whether they are Serb, Albanian or any other criminals, they must be punished." European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called the presidents of Serbia and Kosovo to express the EU's condemnation of the killing. She appealed for both sides "to show calm and restraint."

The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador Jan Braathu, said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" and considered Ivanovic "among the most prominent Kosovo Serb representatives for almost two decades. "

He also urged "all sides to avoid dangerous rhetoric and remain calm at this sensitive time, and recommit themselves to continue the work toward the normalization of relations and improvement of the lives of the citizens of Kosovo and Serbia."

Dusan Stojanovic and Jovana Gec in Belgrade; Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania; and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

Erdogan receives warm welcome from Muslim Serbian town

2017-10-11

NOVI PAZAR - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan received a rapturous welcome on Wednesday during a visit to the Serbian town of Novi Pazar, capital of the Muslim majority Sandzak region that has seen mass emigration to Turkey since the violent breakup of Yugoslavia.

Erdogan, on a two-day visit to Serbia, hopes to boost Turkey's economic and cultural influence in the Balkan region, which was part of the Ottoman empire for centuries, at a time of increased tensions with the European Union and United States.

"We have special relations with this region. Your happiness is our happiness, your pain is our pain," Erdogan told more than 10,000 people gathered in front of the municipality building.

"Sandzak is the biggest bridge linking us with our brothers in Serbia," he said, with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic standing close by.

Turkish influence is already strong among fellow Muslims in Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo, but mainly Orthodox Christian Serbia is traditionally much closer to Russia. However, Belgrade and Ankara, which both want to join the EU but are frustrated by the slow pace of progress, are keen to increase bilateral trade.

Erdogan said Turkey would finance the construction of a road linking Sandzak with the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, reconstruct an Ottoman-era hammam and build a bridge in Novi Pazar.

In Belgrade on Tuesday, Erdogan pledged gas and Turkish investments for the Balkans and he signed deals with Vucic to expand a bilateral free trade agreement.

In Novi Pazar, local people waved Turkish flags and the green and blue flags of Serbia's Muslim community, and chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest). A big banner read "Welcome Sultan" and was signed by "Ottoman grandchildren".

"Erdogan is our nation's leader, Vucic is our state leader, this is the greatest day for us Muslims to have them both here," Ismail Ismailovic, 28, from the nearby town of Tutin, farmer, sporting long beard and white embroidered Muslim skull cap.

It was a far cry from the 1990s when Serbia and Turkey were sharply at odds in the conflicts that tore apart Yugoslavia. Turkey sees itself as the historic defender of Muslims across the Balkan region.

"I know I am not going to be welcomed here like Erdogan is," said Vucic, who was a firebrand Serbian nationalist during the wars of the 1990s but has turned strongly pro-EU. "But at least I can come out and say that I am working in your best interest."

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=85351.

Unrepentant Mladic sentenced to life for Bosnia atrocities

November 22, 2017

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An unrepentant Ratko Mladic, the bullish Bosnian Serb general whose forces rained shells and snipers' bullets on Sarajevo and carried out the worst massacre in Europe since World War II, was convicted Wednesday of genocide and other crimes and sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Defiant to the last, Mladic was ejected from a courtroom at the United Nations' Yugoslav war crimes tribunal after yelling at judges: "Everything you said is pure lies. Shame on you!" He was dispatched to a neighboring room to watch on a TV screen as Presiding Judge Alphons Orie pronounced him guilty of 10 counts that also included war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Human-rights organizations hailed the convictions as proof that even top military brass long considered untouchable cannot evade justice forever. Mladic spent years on the run before his arrest in 2011.

"This landmark verdict marks a significant moment for international justice and sends out a powerful message around the world that impunity cannot and will not be tolerated," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe director.

For prosecutors, it was a fitting end to a 23-year effort to mete out justice at the U.N. tribunal for atrocities committed during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s. Mladic's conviction signaled the end of the final trial before the tribunal closes its doors by the end of the year.

But legal battles will continue. Mladic's attorneys vowed to appeal his convictions on 10 charges related to a string of atrocities from the beginning of the 1992-95 Bosnian war to its bitter end. "The defense team considers this judgment to be erroneous, and there will be an appeal, and we believe that the appeal will correct the errors of the trial chamber," Mladic lawyer Dragan Ivetic said.

Mladic's son, Darko, said his father told him after the verdict that the tribunal was a "NATO commission ... trying to criminalize a legal endeavor of Serbian people in times of civil war to protect itself from the aggression."

Presiding Judge Alphons Orie started the hearing by reading out a litany of horrors perpetrated by forces under Mladic's control. "Detainees were forced to rape and engage in other degrading sexual acts with one another. Many Bosnian Muslim women who were unlawfully detained were raped," Orie said.

The judge recounted the story of a mother who ventured into the streets during the deadly siege of Sarajevo with her son as Serb snipers and artillery targeted the Bosnian capital. She was shot. The bullet passed through her abdomen and struck her 7-year-old son's head, killing him.

In Srebrenica, the war reached its bloody climax as Bosnian Serb forces overran what was supposed to be a U.N.-protected safe haven. After busing away women and children, Serb forces systematically murdered some 8,000 Muslim males.

"Many of these men and boys were cursed, insulted, threatened, forced to sing Serb songs and beaten while awaiting their execution," Orie said. Mladic looked relaxed as the hearing started, greeting lawyers, crossing himself and giving a thumbs-up to photographers in court. But midway through the hearing Mladic's lawyer, Dragan Ivetic, asked for a delay because the general was suffering from high blood pressure. The judge refused, Mladic started yelling and was tossed out of court.

When he started speaking, "it was not about his health but much more I think trying to insult the judges," Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said. The conflict in the former Yugoslavia erupted after the country's breakup in the early 1990s, with the worst crimes taking place in Bosnia. More than 100,000 people died and millions lost their homes before a peace agreement was signed in 1995. Mladic went into hiding for around 10 years before his arrest in Serbia in May 2011.

Mladic's political master during the war, former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, was also convicted last year for genocide and sentenced to 40 years. He has appealed the ruling. The man widely blamed for fomenting wars across the Balkans, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, died in his U.N. cell in 2006 before tribunal judges could reach verdicts in his trial.

The ethnic tensions that Milosevic stoked from Belgrade simmer to this day. Top Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik said the tribunal only underscored its anti-Serb bias by convicting Mladic. Dodik said the court was established with the "single purpose" of demonizing Serbs.

"This opinion is shared by all the Serbs," Dodik said, describing Mladic as "a hero and a patriot." Serbian President Alksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist who supported Mladic's war campaigns but now casts himself as a pro-EU reformer, agreed that the court has been biased against Serbs but added that "we should not justify the crimes committed" by the Serbs.

"We are ready to accept our responsibility" for war crimes "while the others are not," he said. For a former prisoner of Serb-run camps in northwestern Bosnia who was in The Hague, the verdict was sweet relief.

Fikret Alic became a symbol of the horrors in Bosnia after his skeletal frame was photographed by Time magazine behind barbed wire in 1992 in a Bosnian Serb camp. "Justice has won," he said. "And the war criminal has been convicted."

Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Sabina Niksic and Amer Cohadzic in Sarajevo, Eldar Emric in Srebrenica and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.